EPISODE 6: THE BATTLE ## CHAPTER 1: FIRST BLOOD Elena's crossbow bolt caught the lead vampire in the chest. It didn't kill him—silver-tipped but not enough to reach the heart—but it slowed him. He staggered, clutching at the wound, and two more bolts from her allies finished the job. First blood to the defenders. But there were forty-nine more where that came from. "First wave engaged," Elena reported over the radio. "Eight, maybe ten approaching my position. More coming." "Copy," Adrian's voice crackled back. "Teams Two and Four are engaging on Royal Street. Cassius reports movement near the cathedral." Helena's army had split into multiple columns, flowing through the French Quarter like water seeking the path of least resistance. Exactly what they'd hoped for—what they'd planned for. But planning and execution were different things. Elena fired again, reloaded, fired. Two more vampires went down. But they were learning, spreading out, taking cover. Her elevated position that had been an advantage was becoming a trap. "Moving to secondary position," she announced, already dropping from the roof to a fire escape below. A vampire was waiting for her. --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE MELEE He was older than her—a century, maybe more—and his fist was already swinging as she landed. Elena twisted, barely dodging, and brought her knee up into his...