The wind howls until it seems to announce the presence of an unseen entity. I could hear it rustling through the bushes, stirring up a flurry of leaves that dance in the night air like frightened wraiths. Something is out there, watching us. I could feel its malignant gaze upon us-Vampires. Its hunger for our warm blood is palpable in the air.
"Whew! Vampires really give me the chills," Klevon comments as he grips tightly on his sword.
I prepare my knife and coat it with my fire magic. Klevon is right. The presence of these vampires is sinister, much more than the original vampires with us.
"They've drained dry a couple of humans already," Inanna whispers. "That's why their presence is like this. Feel the difference?"
"I do," I respond.
Then there's the sound of wings. The heavy flapping grows louder as the second passes.
"That sounds like wings," I remark this time. "I never saw you use your wings before."
"We have wings, but we don't need them because our jumping ability can already compensate for it."
"Ugh, it's getting colder," Klevon comments. His eyes scoured the air and the bushes.
"Just come down here!" Ninus screams in the air. "Don't make us take your wings off!"
Suddenly, there is pressure that hits the ground. The four remaining vampires finally let their feet touch the grass.
I watch them. There is something different about them compared to the original vampires. Their features are that of humans except for their eyes, which glitter in the darkness. There is also hunger and malice etched on it. They move closer and encircle us.
"Should I attack now, vampire priestess?" Klevon asks.
One vampire steps forward. He is tall and lean. He is wearing a long black cloak and has piercing eyes.
"Welcome, preys!" he greets. His voice is low and cold like ice. "Voluntarily coming to our domain… You will be our feast!"
The other vampire laughs, and their voices echo in the darkness. Klevon massages his ears and then nudges my side.
"Did I hear it right? They really think that we are the prey here?"
I groan. "Let's see if you won't die against the four of them."
"Oh! A challenge from my dearest," he grins. "I wonder where is that weapon…"
Klevon searches his body and then pulls the whip strapped on his legs.
"Here it is. Remember this, Kaiya?"
I do. It's the same silver whip that he used against me at the hunting park. "The magic embedded in that only works for werewolves," I remark.
"Oh, but even without magic, this can still injure them..." He unclasps the whip and then hits the ground with its end. "... fatally."
Klevon steps forward, and the vampires encircle him. Their eyes are filled with hunger and anticipation, and I can feel them so pronounced.
"They are stupid. Maybe they don't know how to hide their vampiric aura?" Ninus asks.
"What aura?" I ask.
"That blood-curdling scent," Inanna answers. "We have that, but we learn to hide it, especially when living with other creatures."
Then Klevon attacks. He slashes at them with his sword, but only manages to cut the air and leave a scratch on a vampire's shoulder. The other three quickly surround Klevon and try to grab his neck with their hands.
"Tsk, tsk." Klevon uses his sword as a shield against them. "Don't you think you are overdoing it? You guys are already dead. Relax a little, will you?"
"What a braggart," Gezer mutters. "We are not undead."
"He is just showing off," Ninus says.
"Let him be. He hasn't had a decent fight for a while," Inanna says. "He might lose his head if you don't let him de-stress."
"You guys have a problem with me?" Klevon asks as he dodges another vampire's attempt to grab his neck. "You should be happy I am doing this for you."
"Just keep fighting," I mutter as I watch him. He's not even focused!
Klevon swings his sword wildly and slashes one vampire in the head, which takes his head off. He stumbles back, and a knife comes out from behind him. He dodges it again and pierces another vampire through his neck.
"Okay, that's two down," he says as he takes a few steps away from the remaining two vampires.
They both hiss and jump toward him again, but Klevon is quick enough to evade them and run behind a tree. He prepares his lasso and then catches one vampire around his ankle before he rushes in and strikes the vampire's face with his knife.
"Another one down." He looks back at me with a grin on his face. "Well, Kaiya. I think you will give me a kiss later. There's only one remaining vampire now."
I roll my eyes and shift my attention away from him. I scour the surroundings, and I am aware when I hear another dying grunt from the fourth vampire.
"Why does it look so easy for him when Owusu mercenaries had a hard time?" I ask Inanna.
"Other than his combat abilities, I modified his weapons to be more effective against vampires," she answers. "It's to prevent our regenerative abilities."
I look back at Klevon, who is wiping his blade clean of the vampire's blood. "So against you guys, it will be harder?"
"I doubt he will be able to kill us," she answers. "We are made immortal until such time that the Blood God reaps us."
"I am impressed," Gezer comments. "Four vampires in just a few minutes."
"I know." Klevon puts his sword back into its sheath that is attached to his back.
"Thankfully, you had help from us. Else, you won't be able to kill even one vampire."
Klevon laughs. "I am inspired. Besides, I will get a kiss soon, right, Kaiya?"
"Kiss of death, you mean?"
He smirks. "Well, at least it is still a kiss."
Suddenly, there is a loud crash and then a voice. "Well, well, I guess I underestimated you," the voice says.
"Bryer," Inanna whispers.
A figure emerges from the shadows. The vampire called Bryer is lean, small in stature, and has a gentle face. Like all the new vampires, he is wearing dark clothes, but unlike them, no massive power radiates from him. He is like the original vampires in that regard.
"Any reason you are showing yourself now?" Gezer asks. "Rather than escaping us?"
"You used a tracker, didn't you? So, there's no use running."
"So, you appeared to destroy the magic sensor?"
As he approaches, I can see that his eyes are bright blue. He is wearing a faint smile on his lips. Then his focus transfers to Inanna.
"Inanna! The other abused vampire! I'm guessing you are doing well?"
I stare at him, but there is something about his blue eyes that is making me uneasy. They are soft and gentle, like an innocent child's eyes, even if I know that he is nothing like that.
"We are treated better by the citizens of the Pitchford kingdom."
"Maybe they just feel bad because you are blind?" he asks, pausing for a moment. He points at his icy blue eyes and says, "Don't worry. Your eyes are also being treated well."
"Your eyes?" I ask Inanna.
"When my eyes were gouged out, the Blood God transferred them to Bryer."
"Why?"
"I don't know either."
Inanna steps forward. "Bryer, stop this now. You are taking out your anger on the wrong group of people. You should be angry at the Blood God, not at them."
Bryer maniacally laughs. "Where is the Blood God?! Tell me. Is he here?!" Bryer approaches. He is seething with anger. "It's your fault that the object of my wrath is back in his place!"
"You are just becoming an object of destruction."
Bryer stops for a moment and then continues with an insane look on his face, except his eyes. "You think I care? I've been destroyed already! It's only fair that every living creature on this planet feels a little of my pain!"
"That's not the right way of living and healing," Inanna adds.
"Who are you to dictate what I should feel?!" he screams at her. "Priestess, my ass. You are nothing but a god's whore!"