Hunting the Beasts

The heavy wooden door squeaked as I stepped through. Candles flickered throughout the large marble entry way. "They live in a candlelit castle?" I muttered to headset in my ear. "Could they be any more stereotypical? I mean, vampires are immortal right? They can learn to use a light switch."
James sighed and replied, "Yes, Artemis, they're immortal. And apparently very traditional. Now shut up and try not to die." I laugh and slam the door behind me. "Could you at least try to be subtle?" James shouted into my ear. My reply was cut short by a petite form bursting from the shadowy edges of the room. Any humor was gone as I bent under the monster, his face sailing over mine buy inches. It tumbled across the floor, leaving his heart open to my crossbow. One shot from a trained eye and it would never get up again. Before I even had time to reload, another jumped onto my back and stated clawing at my coat. I jumped and leaned back, crushing the vampire beneath my weight. It screeched as I rolled away. I knew I had only stunned it, if anything. Reloading my crossbow as it stood up, I flashed it a knowing smile, and it showed me a universal expression of fear. It made a last ditch dive towards me, but it was dead before it hit the ground.
Experience with this job gives you two very important things: Quick reflexes, and a very high pain tolerance. So even though my gut was lit on fire as its fist drove into it, I ignored it. I felt it's head, and more importantly, it's fangs, moving towards my throat. Reaching behind me, I grabbed it's head, my silver rings instantly scorching its skin. It released me and clutched its smoking face, as I turned around and dug a silver knife into its heart. It fel to the floor, writhing in pain, but not dead. Silver will not kill it, only incapacitate it. I knelt on its chest and looked at it, demanding information. "How many of you are here?" It snarled, acting as if it had a choice of whether or not to tell me. I held my ring up to its head again, for several seconds. I repeated the question, this time much louder. This time, it seemed more eager to end the pain. It gasped in Latin, "Four. But you will not survive him human." I smiled. I'm sure I've survived worse. I thought. The silver knife was removed, and replaced with a stake.
I stood, reloaded my crossbow, and, grasping a bottle of holy water, explored the rest of the house. The house was fairly large, seeming more like a castle then anything. All the windows were covered by a thick black curtain, which seemed to be nailed to the wall. The lower floor seemed clear, and totally empty. It was along a two story building, and as far as I could tell, had only one room on the second story. I climbed the stairs, and prepared for whatever battle was coming. The three that has attacked me were probably younger. An older and more experienced vampire would not be so careless and slow.
I reach for the doorknob, when suddenly it felt like the room exploded. The doors blew outward, knocking me back several feet, and over the rail. I landed hard on my back on the first floor, and the wind was knocked out of me. I struggled for breath, and staggered to my feet, and assessed myself. My vial of holy water was crushed in my hand, causing my hand to be covered in blood from the glass cuts. Before I had time for anything else, a form jumped over the rail, and barred its fangs at me. It landed in front of me, and wasted no time. Within a blink of an eye, there were claws at my chest, tearing through my clothes. I grunted in pain and kicked it away from me. Staggering away, it snarled and moved closer to continue its onslaught. I put my hands to its face, the holy water and silver ring burning it. It writhed and squirmed, digging the glass deeper into my hand. Reaching for my crossbow, I was mildly irritated to find it not in its sheath, but laying upon the floor, a few feet away. A quick change of mind had my knife in hand, stabbing the monster in front of me. It's claws struck every part of me they could, scratching and wounding me everywhere. It finally dropped, still smoking from the burns caused by the silver. I retrieved my crossbow, and ended the fight. "James," I breathed into my headset, sounding as tired as I was, "can I tell you something very important?"
James returned instantly, sounding mortified, "Artemis, you okay? What is it?"
A smile was heard in my voice as I replied, "I'm the best vampire hunter in the world."