Prophecy: Child of Light (Vampires Realm Series Book 1) (Reading Sample) - Felicity Heaton (novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📗

it. It looks so at home at night that it seems as though it was built to be seen in darkness.” He noticed the solemn edge her expression picked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She winced slightly but tried to hide it from him. He frowned at her, concerned that she was hurt. Opening his mouth, he thought about questioning her about it but let it go instead. She clearly didn’t want him to know what had happened with the witches and he didn’t want to force her into telling him. It would only spoil the evening. “You will see it again. I am certain of that.”

He removed his hand and let it rest on the railing again.

She smiled at him, evidently relieved that he wasn’t mentioning her flinching. “I know.”

His brows knit again when something caught his eye. It was too far off to make out in the dark square below them, but it was rapidly approaching. His fingers tightly gripped the railing as the creature below them finally came close enough for him to see it properly.

It looked as though the evening was about to get spoiled after all.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Prophecy didn’t quite know how to react when Valentine leapt up on top of the barrier around the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. She’d been enjoying a quiet evening away from the increasing pressure of the prophecy and suddenly it was coming to an end. She looked at Valentine. He was peering at the ground below them, scanning it for something. He’d seemed a lot better tonight. He’d been happy to be near her and talk to her. In a way, she got the feeling that he was concerned about her. She’d given him good reason to be worried after all.

She pressed her hand into her shoulder and frowned while she rubbed it. It was still sore.

Her whole body was sore, but she didn’t want to worry Valentine. It was strange seeing him so concerned about her. He was so agitated and attentive, and it made her feel self-conscious and awkward. She wanted him to be confident about everything again, everything including herself.

“What is it?” she said and then heard a scream from far below.

Her eyes immediately sought out the owner of it and she saw two men harassing a woman.

“Someone is about to get much more than they bargained for,” he said and gave her a grim look. “Werewolf.”

“Which one?” She focused her senses, trying to determine which one out of the three people was the werewolf.

“See you down there,” he said and dropped off the side of the tower.

She watched him plummet towards the ground, land gracefully on his feet and then run straight for the three people. She hesitated and then jumped up to the same spot where he’d been. Looking down at the dizzying drop below her, her gaze followed Valentine where he was now fighting the three. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

If he didn’t break anything by jumping, then she wouldn’t.

Would she?

Another scream pushed her into a decision and she stepped out into mid air, letting her instincts guide her movements during the fall. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the ground as it came up to meet her. There was no point in looking; she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it if she was going to hit the ground wrong. She’d rather not know.

She landed on her feet in a crouching position, opened her eyes and bolted over to Valentine.

She levelled a swift kick at the head of the man who was about to hit him and when it connected, she realised that he was human. He fell to the floor unconscious and she wondered if Valentine would be sorely disappointed if she killed him. She was getting hungry again. She looked at Valentine as he grappled with the woman and saw the other man unconscious on the ground. He hadn’t come here to fight the men.

The woman was a werewolf.

A roar of pain filled her ears and Valentine clutched at his arm.

She was by his side immediately, trying to check the damage, but he was looking straight past her. She realised that the woman was gone and turned to see her running across the square towards the Eiffel Tower.

When Valentine started running, Prophecy did too. She kept up with him as the world sped by, nothing more than a blur as they tracked down the werewolf. They ran into an area of low bushes and trees. She stopped when Valentine caught her arm and pulled her backwards.

He pressed a finger to his lips and then pointed through the trees.

She looked there. It was another open square and the woman was stood in the middle of it, waiting for them to make a move. Prophecy looked up at the moon. It was only a quarter full. She wished it still held its sway over all werewolves, but those over a century old learned to defy it and change at will. The woman was staring at them and she got the feeling that they were about to find out if she was older than one hundred years.

The woman’s bones shifted and clicked into place, her body changing shape as fur erupted across her skin and her face distorted into her werewolf guise. It stared across at them with yellow eyes, its teeth glistening with saliva as it waited.

“We have to kill her.” Valentine’s voice broke the silence and Prophecy glanced across at him.

“Why? She’s just a werewolf. She probably doesn’t even know who we are.”

“She knows,” he said, looking down at Prophecy. “She is a guardian of Aurorea. I have met her before. That’s why Kalinor sent her out to hunt us down, because she would recognise me. If we do not kill her, she will report back to our families.”

She looked from him to the woman and back again. “But I’ve never fought a werewolf before.”

“It is about time you learned then.” He removed his jacket and placed it over a bench before he walked out into the open square.

She couldn’t move. She didn’t know what to do. She had to fight, but a part of her was begging her to remain in the safety of the trees. Valentine would be able to handle this. He wouldn’t need her help so she was fine where she was. A quiet voice at the back of her mind said that she was hiding because she was frightened of going into a fight where she didn’t know the strengths and weaknesses of her opponent. She couldn’t even remember how to kill a werewolf. She knew it wasn’t just silver that could kill them. Although they were immortal like her, they were weaker and more vulnerable than a vampire. She cast her mind back, trying to remember what Tiberius had told her when she’d been learning about different demon species. A werewolf could be killed by silver, severe blood loss and decapitation or breaking of the neck. She didn’t have any silver other than her necklace, she didn’t have a weapon that she could use to damage it enough to create severe blood loss, and she didn’t think she had the strength to break its neck. She had to fight it though.

She’d feel a lot better if she didn’t have to fight bare handed.

Her eyes scanned the bushes surrounding her for something she could make use of. There wasn’t even a decent-sized branch to make a club from.

She was really going to have to start carrying a weapon.

She watched as the werewolf and Valentine began to circle each other, both of them growling as they sized their opponent up. She had to move. She should be fighting by his side, not cowering in a bush. He was relying on her to help and she really did need to learn how to fight a werewolf if she was going to survive this prophecy.

Valentine changed into vampire guise. His face shifted when his teeth descended and his eyes became a rich blue. She flinched when he launched himself forwards, clashing with the werewolf as it mimicked his move. The twin roars of the warriors in front of her made her feeling of nausea worsen. Valentine lashed out at the werewolf, leaving deep gashes across its chest where his claws had made contact. The werewolf sneered at him, growling low in its throat as it leapt backwards, placing some distance between it and Valentine.

She couldn’t move as the two pounced on each other again. Their actions were raw and primal, not measured or executed with skill. They both slashed and hacked with their claws, not giving the other an inch as they attempted to defend themselves while attacking. There was no room between them and as they moved into a darker area of the square, they seemed to merge into one. Fur flew as they clashed, their growls filling the night air. She couldn’t tell who was winning.

A loud roar filled her ears and instinct drove her to run out into the square. She hadn’t needed to be able to see them to know that Valentine was hurt. When she reached them, she saw the werewolf hunched over Valentine with its teeth sunk deep into his shoulder.

She leapt onto its back, grappling with it as she tried to get an arm around its neck and drag it off him. When it released Valentine, she struggled to get her hands on its jaw. It tried to get her off its back, its teeth gnashing as it attempted to bite her hands.

She slipped into vampire guise and dug her claws deep into the flesh under its jaw and the side of its head. She tried to summon the strength to kill the beast as it shook, trying to shift her while she clung on tightly. It wouldn’t come.

A low moan caught her attention.

She didn’t need to summon any strength. When she saw Valentine lying on the ground with one hand pressed to his shoulder and smelled the blood on him, she roared.

Twisting the werewolf’s head, she smiled in satisfaction when she heard the bones in its neck crunch. It fell to the floor with her still on its back. She sprang off, her face shifting back into her human guise while she ran over to Valentine.

She pressed her hand to his where he held his shoulder and then withdrew it, frowning at the sticky, dark blood that coated her fingers. He removed his hand to inspect the damage and fear clenched her heart.

The wound was bad. There were deep, ragged teeth marks in his left shoulder and the whole of his shirt on that side was wet with blood and saliva. It looked as though the werewolf had been chewing him.

“I must taste good.” He pressed his hand back to his shoulder and grimaced.

She looked from him to the werewolf. The woman had changed back now. She was lying naked on the floor with her blonde hair caked with blood and deep scratches marking her pale flesh. Crimson stained her lips and chin.

Prophecy realised that the werewolf had been drinking his blood in an attempt to weaken him.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hesitated. I