We pull up outside a small cottage with exposed brick walls. "I thought it was a double story?" I ask.

"It's a few places down. I don't want to park right outside it and draw attention to ourselves," Zach explains as he turns off the ignition. "Now." He glances at Caleb before turning to look at me. "Are you guys ready? This is a big one."

Terror grips me in its unforgiving claws and a sheen of sweat clings to my forehead. Now that we're here, my heart beats so hard against my ribcage that I'm almost worried it will burst out of my chest. Clenching my fists, I take a deep breath and count to five. It doesn't help as much as I'd hoped.

Seeing that Zach is still awaiting a response, I do my best to smile, swallowing my fear and nodding my head slightly. Caleb grins and climbs out the car, going to the trunk to grab weapons. Zach leans over and places a hand on my knee, as though he can see how scared I am. I'm reminded of my first mission, when he did the same thing, and the comfort that I drew from his touch.

His eyes meet mine, ocean blue as always. The same colour as my pendant and one that is starting to remind me of warmth and safety. I feel my heart beat start to slow and my fists unfurl as I take another deep breath.

"It will be okay, Peyton," he reassures me, removing his hand from my leg. I immediately feel cold, the fear threatening to creep its way back in.

"And if it's not?"

"Well then, I have to admit that I will miss you." He smiles and unbuckles his seatbelt, leaving me wondering if I have broken the poor guy. He seems to joke and laugh way too often now, even when the timing is completely inappropriate.

"Right," Caleb whispers as soon as I join him by the back of the car. "Stay close to me, Jennings." He pulls me toward him and places a soft kiss on my forehead. "We are making it out of this."

I nod and watch as Zach heads towards a house just down the road. His blonde hair, tall stature and broad shoulders making him easily recognisable, even in the moonlight. I stare at his retreating back, hoping that he was right and that everything will be okay.

Caleb counts to ten under his breath before following him, tugging on my hand as I trail behind. Every few steps he pauses, glancing around and listening to the soft whistle of wind. Finally, we stop in front of a beautiful double story house, the mailbox proudly proclaiming the number '213'.

The garden is immaculately kept, the flowers a riot of colours and the lawn beautifully mowed. The walls look like they could either be a soft yellow or cream colour with a dark brown roof. It's a stunning and well looked after house. But, in the moonlight, the front of it looks creepy and ominous somehow, with its many windows and the steps that lead up to a wraparound porch.

Or maybe it's just my imagination.

Zach's nowhere in sight, and I assume he's gone to around the back to find entrance, since it looks like all these windows are closed. Goose bumps erupt on my skin as Caleb and I approach the door and I remove my sweaty hand from his with my heart in my throat.

Caleb lifts his hand, rapping his knuckles twice on the door before stepping off to the side. I look at him in confusion and panic as he mouths something at me that I can't decipher. I'm about to follow his lead when the door slowly creaks open, and a tall man with long blonde hair looks out.

Drew Andrews.

"Henry's girl." He greets me with a grin, probably assuming I'm alone and not bothering to look further outside. I suddenly understand what Caleb had been trying to tell me a few seconds before, he had wanted me to be a momentary distraction. Drew's eyes search my face and I'm not sure if they flash red, or if it's just my imagination playing tricks on me. "Come in." He steps back to allow me entrance, leaning against the door.

"Peyton," I hear from beside me. "Duck."

And I do, just in time to see Caleb's sword whistling through the air, the sharp edge slicing through Drew's neck like butter and embedding itself in the door. Drew's head rolls off the top and onto the floor before bursting into flames. His body slumps forward, igniting as well. I suppress a shiver as the ashes blow towards me with the wind and Caleb yanks his weapon out of the heavy wood.

That was... too easy.

I don't have time to think about it as we hear a very familiar yell from inside the house. The sound of it slices through me like a searing hot blade, making way for the panic that courses through my skin. "Zach!"

I race through the hallway, almost slipping on the polished wood floor in my haste. My heart thuds loudly as I follow the source of the noise. I pass a living room and turn a corner to see Zach on the staircase, swinging his sword wildly at the two men approaching him.

Without even thinking about it, I leap onto the back of the closest one, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. He staggers a few steps back under my weight, his hands reaching up to try and pull mine off. I tighten my grip, clinging onto him like an octopus and wishing I had thought this through more and at least grabbed my necklace or one of my daggers.

After a few fruitless attempts to peel my arms off, the vampire clearly realises that I'm not letting go any time soon. He backs away from the staircase and straight into a wall, slamming me against it with a sickening thud. Pain explodes up my spine and my arms loosen, giving him the opportunity to throw me off. I land on the floor with a groan, my muscles screaming in agony.

Quick as lightning, he stoops down and lifts me up by my shoulders, his eyes turning a deep shade of scarlet. I recognize him as Langton Byers from the photo I looked at earlier. He doesn't look gorgeous now. In fact, he looks absolutely terrifying, as his teeth elongate, stretching into sharp points. He lunges for my neck and for a heart-stopping moment, I think he might actually bite me.

He's inches away when his face contorts with pain and a howl escapes from his mouth, so loud that it makes my ears ring. Dropping me to the floor like a sack of potatoes, he swivels around and comes face to face with Caleb. I crash down, landing on my knees and looking up to see a dagger protruding from the vampires back.

He desperately tries to reach it to yank it out, but Caleb lifts up his leg and kicks him hard in his chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. I try to catch my breath, unable to believe how close I just came to being bitten and cursing myself for not grabbing a weapon before I foolishly attacked a vampire.

"Jennings." Caleb reaches out a hand to help me up and I scramble to my feet, my entire body trembling. "Did he get you?"

I shake my head, eyes wide and pulse going haywire. Terror coats every inch of my skin as I try to pull myself together. I'm just about to unlatch my necklace, when a body is thrown from the staircase, flying straight past us. Zach hits the wall with an awful bang and crumples to the floor, still and unmoving.

"Zach!" I start towards him but a hand wraps itself around my ankle, yanking hard. I fall to the ground, my chin slamming against the wood. The taste of copper fills my mouth and a sharp pain streaks through my tongue.

I wildly kick out my feet, relief filling my chest when I feel one connect with something and the grip on my ankle loosens. Quickly reaching down to my boots, I grab two daggers, one for each hand, before scrambling to my feet and turning around to face my attacker.

Only, the vampire that pulled me down is nowhere in sight. I glance around desperately for him, fully expecting a sneak attack. Caleb is slicing his sword through the air as he fights with the one from the staircase. Zach is still out cold on the floor where he landed after he was thrown.

I'm wasting time standing here. I need to do something.

I hesitate, wondering who I should help. Zach is motionless, a trail of scarlet flows from the back of his head, turning his blonde hair crimson. Caleb is clearly struggling, barely managing to evade the blows that the vampire is firing at him. The choice should be easy, but for some reason it's not. I can't bring myself to make the decision.

Check on Zach? Help Caleb? Find the other vampire?

After a few torturous moments of going back and forth, I decide that Caleb is still fighting. I can tend to Zach after we've won this battle. I've wasted precious time making my choice, and I know it will cost us. Trying not to let the guilt of it weigh me down, I tighten my grasp on the daggers and start towards Caleb.

I only make it three steps when I feel a sharp stinging pain shoot across my scalp as my hair is yanked backwards. I stumble, tripping over my own feet and landing hard on my back on the floor, my daggers skittering uselessly in opposite directions.

He's on top of me in seconds, pinning me down with his knees and grabbing my shoulder with his hand in a tight squeeze. He raises his other arm and swings it down, giving me just enough time to see the flash of silver before it sinks into my skin.

A scream rips through me, so loud and full of anguish that my throat feels raw. White hot pain explodes in my stomach from the protruding dagger. Nausea swells through my belly from the overwhelming pain. All consuming agony fills my entire being until my vision is tinged with red.

The vampire smiles at me, a truly eerie grin that I know will give me nightmares. His crimson eyes glance down at the blade embedded in my flesh. He licks his lips, poking the wound with his finger and ignoring my shrieks of pain.

And then, his head disappears as a sword slices through his neck. His body bursts into flames right on top of me and I can feel the heat even through my special jacket. Zach, my saviour, kicks away the corpse before the fire can eat through my jeans.

"Peyton, can you hear me?" His hand hovers over the dagger in my stomach as though he's unsure if he should pull it out or not. "Are you okay?"

Of course I'm not okay, there's metal sticking out of me!

My mouth won't form the words, the all-consuming pain rendering me incapable of speech. I vaguely feel Zach's hand on mine, his ocean eyes piercing through the red haze that seems to have enveloped me. The ground beneath me feels sticky with blood, trickling out from my stab wound and pooling on the floor.

"Pull it out!" I hear Caleb yell from somewhere in the background.

"I'm trying!" The edge of hysteria in Zach's voice scares me more than anything, usually he's so calm in these situations. Panic and pain fight for the top spot in my emotions as I look at Zach's terrified and blurry features.

"Am I..."

But I don't manage to finish my sentence. A hard tug jolts through my stomach and the overwhelming agony reaches a crescendo. The world tilts on its axis as everything fades to black.