Chapter 13

The first vampire lunged, he sidestepped and drove his fist into the thing's ribs. The crack of shattered bone barely registered before he spun, using the momentum to slam an elbow into the next one's throat. The vampire gurgled, staggering back as Zane seized his wrist—then yanked him forward, using him as a human shield just as another undead bastard slashed forward.

A scream. Clawed fingers tore through flesh that wasn't Zane's.

Then Zane planted his foot against the wounded vampire's chest and kicked. The body flew backward, crashing into the others.

"Oops," he deadpanned.

Two more lunged, faster now. Fangs bared, eyes filled with annoying hunger in the dark. Zane ducked low, letting one of them soar over him, then grabbed the second by the collar. A brutal headbutt sent the leech reeling, and before he could recover, Zane grabbed his arm and wrenched it out of its socket.

The howl of pain was almost satisfying.

Almost.

Because they just kept coming.

The remaining vampires circled him now, their grins stretching wide, their lips slick with saliva. 

At this point he wished he brought his runed weapon, it would have made this fight so much easier.

One of them—a tall bastard with jet-black hair—tilted his head. "You're strong for a newbie hunter i have to admit. Maybe we'll keep you instead, drain you little by little."

Zane smirked. "You can try."

The vampire blurred forward.

Zane saw the faint flicker in the air, a flash of movement just before impact. He shifted his weight, pivoted—

—and drove his fist straight into the leech's chest.

A wet crunch.

The vampire's smug grin melted into shock as he looked down at the arm buried in his torso.

Zane's fingers clenched. "That was a bad call."

Then he ripped his hand free.

The vampire collapsed with a strangled gasp, black ichor spilling from his gaping wound. The others froze, suddenly their hunger didn't seem so important in their eyes anymore.

Doubt.

"You should run," Zane suggested, rolling his shoulder. "If you can."

They didn't.

They were either quite hungry for blood or they were too stupid to see their situation.

Fine.

He cracked his knuckles. "Your funeral."

They dove at him again.

Zane moved.

One came from the left—he dodged, grabbed his wrist, and twisted—the snap of breaking bones barely finished before he used the momentum to swing the body like a goddamn bat into another attacker.

A vampire latched onto his arm—he wrenched free, spun, and drove a knee into its face. A spray of blood as teeth shattered.

Behind him, another one aimed for his throat—Zane caught him mid-air, slammed him headfirst into the pavement so hard the ground cracked.

Eve watched from the alley's edge, hands trembling as she took a stumbling step backward. "Holy shit…"

But it wasn't over yet.

One last vampire stood now—the apparent leader. He hadn't moved, hadn't spoken. Just watched.

And now?

He was smiling.

"You're good," the vampire admitted, flexing his fingers. "But you're out of time."

Zane's brows furrowed.

Then he heard it.

More footsteps.

Emerging from the alley's darkness, stepping into the dim light.

More vampires.

A lot more.

Zane exhaled sharply. "Well… shit."

The leader smirked. "Now let's see how long you last, Hunter."

Zane barely had time to brace himself before the swarm descended.

They came like a tide, Too many to count.

He moved.....once again

Ducked under a set of claws. Drove his elbow into a throat. Spun on his heel and sent a brutal kick into a chest. A vampire crashed through a dumpster, crumpling like a broken doll. Another latched onto his back—Zane snarled, slammed them backward into the brick wall, then drove his fist into their jaw so hard their head snapped sideways with a sickening crack.

Restore.

More. More.

They were relentless. Too many, too fast. For every one he took down, another two came at him.

The worst was his efficiency, most of them weren't dying, he was damaging them but vampire healed quickly, and in a fight like this wasting extra time to make sure an enemy was dead was quite tricky.

A clawed hand raked across his ribs—fire lanced through his side. He hissed in pain but twisted away before another strike could come.

Restore.

Fuck!!! he was suddenly feeling dizzy, everything in his sight was twisting out of shape.

Eve screamed.

His head snapped toward her, just in time to see a vampire had gotten past him and managed to seize her by the throat.

NO.

He tried to move—tried to break away from the swarm before it was too late—but claws dug into his shoulders, his back, pinning him in place.

Eve struggled, gasping, fingers clawing at the vampire's grip. Her legs kicked out, desperation in her eyes.

"NOOO YOU GODDAMNED BASTARDS"

Then the fangs sank into her throat.

"LET HER GO!!!!!"

A muffled scream. The wet, disgusting sound of flesh being torn echoed in his ears.

Zane saw red.

A roar ripped from his throat, reeking of rage. His entire body suddenly felt connected to a new entity, a separate yet connected entity.

His shadow.

He vanished from their grasp into his shadow, before appearing beside them punching them aside like ragdolls. His foot came down on a skull—a sickening crunch. Another lunged, Zane caught its arm and wrenched it clean off.

He sunk into the ground again.

The vampire holding Eve didn't even see him coming.

One second, he was standing there, reveling over the taste of the young woman's blood.

The next—

Zane's hand was around his face.

The vampire barely had time to gurgle before Zane slammed his head into the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

By the time he let go, there was nothing left of the vampire's skull but shattered bone and black blood.

His Clan screamed in grief, he seemed to be an important one.

He didn't give a single fuck.

He spun to Eve—

—and his heart stopped.

She was on the ground. Pale. Blood soaked her clothes, pooling beneath her in a dark, glistening puddle.

No.

NO.

He dropped to his knees, hands hovering uselessly over her body. She was barely breathing. Her pulse was weak. Seconds away from slipping away.

His mind raced. He had to do something.

He didn't know the supernatural rules of this world yet, didn't know if a rune could undo a vampire bite.

But he knew he had to try.

He tried pressing his hand on her throat, he activated the rune and waited.

It didn't work, fuck.

A snarl behind him.

Zane stiffened.

Shit—he had focused too much on Eve. He'd left himself open.

A vampire lunged at him from behind, claws ready to tear into his back.

Then his shadow moved.

It rose from the ground, twisting unnaturally before materializing behind him.

Zane barely had time to react before the shadow solidified—its shape human, exactly like his but faceless.

And then—it grinned.

An eerie, jagged grin stretching across its featureless face.

The vampire didn't even have time to scream before the shadow lashed out, a tendril of darkness piercing straight through its chest.

Zane stared.

The shadow had moved on its own.

Like a separate entity.

Like it was alive.

The vampire gasped, choking on its own ichor, before the shadow ripped its hand free and let the body turn to ash.

Zane watched this in wonder, then slowly stood.

The shadow flickered beside him, still grinning. Waiting.

For orders.

Zane exhaled. "Kill them all."

The shadow tilted its head, as if considering something.

Then it grinned wider.

And vanished.

Screams filled the alley.

The remaining vampires barely had time to react before the shadow was among them, tearing through their ranks like a demon unleashed.

Zane ignored the carnage. He turned back to Eve, eyes darkening at the sight of her blood-soaked body.

She was losing blood to fast.

He tried again, concentrating, trying to will the rune to know that it wasn't himself he wanted to restore but alas it only restored him, nothing happened to Eve, 

He was starting to panic, was he going to mess up again?

What type of trashy Shadowhunter was he?

Determination slowly arose in him, he wasn't going to fail this time.

Like a wild beast he bit into his hands until he drew blood

Blood welled up, hot and dark gold.

Perhaps the angelic quality in his blood would heal her?

Then, he reached down, pressing his bleeding hand against Eve's lips.

"Drink," he ordered.

She didn't move. Didn't react.

He gritted his teeth, tilting her head up. "Eve—dammit, drink!"

Her lips parted slightly.

Then, finally—

His blood touched her tongue.

Nothing happened, dammit.

Zane's other hand slammed down on her chest, drawing the Restore rune. Bright white light flared to life, the magic thrumming against his skin as he poured every ounce of power into it.

He didn't know if it would work.

Didn't know if it was even possible.

But then—

Eve's body arched violently.

A choked gasp tore from her throat as her entire body seized. Her veins lit up like fire under her skin, glowing bright gold and crimson.

Zane recoiled, heart hammering. "Eve—?"

She screamed.

Her wounds closed shut swiftly, like it was never there.

Then her eyes snapped open.

And they weren't human.

Not anymore.