As the vampire fell to the ground, Wayne jumped back, gaining a little momentum by shooting a stream of fire from his fingertips as he sailed through the air.
That had the added benefit of torching the vampire.
Before Wayne’s feet hit the ground, he had already started scanning for another target. He kept the first in his field of view until the screams died off and the vampire lay still.
Two more vaulted over the crashed cars, one male and one younger female. Neither were of the clawed strain.
Wayne took three hops backwards, winding up with one of his preset traps between him and the two vampires.
One held up his hand, halting the other. He made a vague gesture at the ground. Whatever he was trying to say apparently got communicated, as the woman nodded.
Then they split up.
Wayne suppressed a groan. Tactics. If one wound up behind him, their speed would let them move fast enough to hurt.
Yet his lips quirked into a smile. The two were fighting a pyrokinetic. Only earth mages could contend with the sheer battlefield control that a fire mage could impose.
Wayne burned one of his pages.
He wouldn’t be able to catch both of them, so Wayne aimed towards the male. Best to take out the leader first.
A cone of hot coals spread out in front of Wayne. They started at his feet and extended out a good twenty feet, well behind the crashed cars.
The vampire slowed to a stop, looking down at the glowing ground. His eyes widened in slow motion as the glow increased in intensity.
All at once, the embers along the ground blazed to their full potential. A column of fire erupted, encompassing a good portion of the street.
The smile hidden by Wayne’s mask vanished as he watched the vampire leap out to one side. Flames licked the vampire’s jacket, burning it in places, but he seemed unharmed otherwise.
Unharmed and angry.
He twisted his head towards Wayne, spittle flying free as his lips contorted in a snarl.
His body blurred as he took off, leaving his companion behind in an attempt to close the distance.
An attempt he succeeded at.
Frantically backpedaling, Wayne burned another page to put a powerful shield between the two of them.
The vampire slammed into it, stopping, but shattering the shield in a single blow.
But it stopped him long enough.
The embers of Wayne’s trap flared to life, forming a miniature version of the cone of fire. This time, the vampire was in the dead center and stunned from his momentary collision with the shield.
Being stunned did not stop his screams.
Nor did it stop him.
Clothes completely on fire, the vampire jumped out of the flames. Wayne ducked under and stepped to one side.
Now there was a vampire on either side of him.
Wayne faced the closer target, the male, first. He burned another page to send off a wall of fire behind him. The other vampire could probably jump through unscathed, but would she?
No time to consider. The already on fire vampire was getting his bearings back.
Wayne stepped forward as the vampire turned around, a fireball bursting to life in his hand as he moved.
This time, the vampire backpedaled with fear in his eyes.
Maintaining the flames in one hand, Wayne burnt another page. That small fireball expanded to the size of a beach ball and it wasn’t stopping there.
Hot as the surface of the sun, Wayne launched the fireball straight ahead.
It didn’t go fast and it didn’t go far, but it didn’t matter.
The vampire tried to dodge. Even with his speed, there was no escape.
Tar on the street bubbled. A metal pole belonging to a street lamp warped and bent, falling to one side before collapsing completely to the ground in a puddle of molten metal. A wooden bench from a bus stop spontaneously burst into flames despite the miniature sun being nowhere nearby.
And the vampire…
What vampire? Wayne thought with a smile.
When the sun extinguished itself, not even ashes remained.
The only one granted protection from the intense heat of his sun was himself.
Wayne stumbled forward as something hit is back. Legs wrapped around his waist as a pair of arms encircled his shoulders. He ramped up his overclocking to its limits to give himself a moment to think.
To start with, Wayne decided to move a foot forwards. The impact had been at speed, and he wasn’t interested in falling into a puddle of molten tar. He might be protected from the heat of his own fires, and the residual heat, but jumping into a vat of boiling liquid was a separate matter entirely.
But really, what was the vampire thinking? Her arms weren’t in a position to break his neck. More like a position to bite down on his neck and feed. Even if it wanted to crush him, Wayne was willing to bet that he could get a fireball off over his shoulder before she broke too many bones.
So he did.
He aimed a ball of fire right where he felt a few fangs tickling his neck.
Unfortunately, the vampire saw it coming. She kicked off of his back, sending him stumbling forwards as much as it sent her backwards.
Neither of Wayne’s boots would be surviving the night. At least they kept his bare feet from the tar.
He whipped around to face his assailant, very glad that while ruined, his shoes weren’t stuck to the ground.
The vampire hadn’t relented. Had he pivoted around the other foot, he would have a fist in his stomach. Instead of that grisly demise, Wayne found himself to the side of an opponent with an outstretched arm.
Snapping his book shut, Wayne caught her arm and threw it straight up. He thrust the corner of his heavy tome straight into the center of her chest. A normal human would have air forced out of their lungs at the very least.
Vampires didn’t need to breathe.
But they were still slaves to basic laws of physics.
Stepping forward, Wayne put one leg behind hers.
And down she went.
One hand reached out, flailing in the air. She tried to grab his arm, but wound up grasping nothing. His enhanced mind gave him plenty of opportunity to dodge.
Once her back hit the ground, he picked up his foot and slammed it down on her chest. Something cracked inside, but Wayne didn’t care.
Dropping his foot within easy reach of her hands was a dangerous move, but Wayne was counting on the fireball aimed at her face to keep her docile.
“Your comrades are dead. A smart vampire would have run.”
She snarled again and reached towards his leg.
A portion of his fireball dropped, exploding right next to her ear with a rush of air.
The vampire shrieked, throwing her head to one side to put some distance between it and her.
Other than some hair singing, she wasn’t hurt, and that would grow back.
Actually, Wayne thought, would it grow back? Vampires regenerated from all kinds of debilitating injuries, but most of the older and more powerful vampires were bald. Hair not growing back would explain that.
Which meant that the vampires that still had hair were either incredibly new or extremely powerful and intelligent. Or lucky.
Tangent line completed in an instant of time dilation, Wayne focused back on the vampire before him.
“Answer my questions and you may live to see another day. Or night.”
She bared her teeth, glaring at him but making no move to attack.
A dark sky lay behind her eyes. Wayne looked beyond the surface to the raging thunderstorm beyond.
The sight gave him cause to frown. The Blacksky vampires weren’t a strain to be trifled with. The good news was that she had likely only been awake for a few hours at this point. Not nearly enough time to be a threat. Not enough time to realize her abilities.
And her next words proved that without a doubt.
“How,” she said, teeth gnashing. “How do you make fire?”
“Magic,” Wayne said with a smile. Not that she could see it. His voice came out oddly as it echoed behind his mask. “But I believe we were answering my questions.” Wayne let the fireball drop slightly for punctuation. “Who sired you?”