Empire of Blood (Book 2): Fading In Darkness Read Online Free
Author: Robert S. Wilson
gripping the back of her head and the blood flowed evenly. He could feel her body lighten as he drained her more and more. It had been over 15 years since he drank from the source and of course the thirst was now stronger than he'd ever known it to be.
He cast the body aside as he leapt to his feet. His senses were on full alert and every cell in his body was alive. With his thirst abated, now he could savor the hunt. He lunged through the door and pounded his feet against the concrete floor of the hall in the direction he'd heard the Emperor's footsteps lead. Not a second's thought went into opening the elevator door in the traditional manner as he sped toward it. It grew before him as he reared his shoulder forward to ram through it with brute force.
As he crumpled into the thick titanium elevator doors, he remembered just how secure every unit of construction within this place had always been. The collision sent a rupture of pain through his arm and side. He slid down to the floor still moving with the momentum that had thrown him at it.
After a moment of dizziness, he flung himself upward and grabbed at the place where the two doors met in the middle. His claws pressed into the thin crack between them and stretched the opening slightly further. Pressure pushed against his fingers where his claws attached to the flesh. The pressure became pain and his claws were near to breaking from his fingers when he finally managed to gain passage for his fingertips.
Fingertips led to knuckles. Knuckles led slowly and painfully to more of his fingers until finally he had enough of his hands inside to grip. Then, he started to pull with his arms, so that the doors would move away from each other. At first they stood firmly still, but with time and focus they began to budge like glaciers in the sea. The opening exposed more dull gray features from inside the elevator, only these were of a different texture than the rest of what he had seen inside the hallways and his cell.
Seeing inside the doors encouraged his strength and will and he pulled harder with more focus, creating a gap wide enough he could have fit his arm into. After a moment of even more focus and pulling with all of his strength, he had the doors open with enough of a gap to fit in sideways. He let go with his right hand and twisted his body fast enough to catch hold of the door and then wedged himself through. As soon as he was in the elevator the doors slammed back together and an alarm sounded within the tiny space. Red lights flashed all over the control panels.
Jack tried typing instructions on the keypad along the right side of the doorway, but nothing happened in return save for the monotonous screaming and flashing of the alarm. In frustration, Jack swung his fist full on into the control panel, shattering it like glass. Silver shrapnel shot out in all directions and sparks flew as electricity hissed from inside the hole that had been the panel.
He reached his hand inside the hole and felt the pressurized jolt of electricity flowing through his body. It barely slowed him as he pulled his hand back from the opening with a handful of wires and metal. The alarm stopped, but still the elevator sat still. Jack looked up at the ceiling and could see the vulnerability he had been looking for.
He flung himself upward with all of his might and slammed through the thin sheet of metal that covered the top of the elevator car. Dozens of thick cords, which usually held the elevator as it went up and down the shaft, reached upward and downward deep into the darkness. He grabbed two of them and immediately pulled himself upward toward the mixed scent of his prize and the Emperor's musky dead odor.
He pressed his feet into the side of the elevator shaft as he continued to pull on the cords, sending himself upward at an incredible rate of speed. Friction had long ago warmed his feet to the point of pain, but he was determined to find his prey. His momentum and the scent of
He cast the body aside as he leapt to his feet. His senses were on full alert and every cell in his body was alive. With his thirst abated, now he could savor the hunt. He lunged through the door and pounded his feet against the concrete floor of the hall in the direction he'd heard the Emperor's footsteps lead. Not a second's thought went into opening the elevator door in the traditional manner as he sped toward it. It grew before him as he reared his shoulder forward to ram through it with brute force.
As he crumpled into the thick titanium elevator doors, he remembered just how secure every unit of construction within this place had always been. The collision sent a rupture of pain through his arm and side. He slid down to the floor still moving with the momentum that had thrown him at it.
After a moment of dizziness, he flung himself upward and grabbed at the place where the two doors met in the middle. His claws pressed into the thin crack between them and stretched the opening slightly further. Pressure pushed against his fingers where his claws attached to the flesh. The pressure became pain and his claws were near to breaking from his fingers when he finally managed to gain passage for his fingertips.
Fingertips led to knuckles. Knuckles led slowly and painfully to more of his fingers until finally he had enough of his hands inside to grip. Then, he started to pull with his arms, so that the doors would move away from each other. At first they stood firmly still, but with time and focus they began to budge like glaciers in the sea. The opening exposed more dull gray features from inside the elevator, only these were of a different texture than the rest of what he had seen inside the hallways and his cell.
Seeing inside the doors encouraged his strength and will and he pulled harder with more focus, creating a gap wide enough he could have fit his arm into. After a moment of even more focus and pulling with all of his strength, he had the doors open with enough of a gap to fit in sideways. He let go with his right hand and twisted his body fast enough to catch hold of the door and then wedged himself through. As soon as he was in the elevator the doors slammed back together and an alarm sounded within the tiny space. Red lights flashed all over the control panels.
Jack tried typing instructions on the keypad along the right side of the doorway, but nothing happened in return save for the monotonous screaming and flashing of the alarm. In frustration, Jack swung his fist full on into the control panel, shattering it like glass. Silver shrapnel shot out in all directions and sparks flew as electricity hissed from inside the hole that had been the panel.
He reached his hand inside the hole and felt the pressurized jolt of electricity flowing through his body. It barely slowed him as he pulled his hand back from the opening with a handful of wires and metal. The alarm stopped, but still the elevator sat still. Jack looked up at the ceiling and could see the vulnerability he had been looking for.
He flung himself upward with all of his might and slammed through the thin sheet of metal that covered the top of the elevator car. Dozens of thick cords, which usually held the elevator as it went up and down the shaft, reached upward and downward deep into the darkness. He grabbed two of them and immediately pulled himself upward toward the mixed scent of his prize and the Emperor's musky dead odor.
He pressed his feet into the side of the elevator shaft as he continued to pull on the cords, sending himself upward at an incredible rate of speed. Friction had long ago warmed his feet to the point of pain, but he was determined to find his prey. His momentum and the scent of
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