Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Elongated, dripping teeth were the first thing I noticed. Their mouths were a maw of fangs. The two in front of us let out a blood-curdling screech, spit flying toward us. Altyr’s posture became more rigid as he changed into a defensive battle stance. He was trying his best to protect me, but I didn’t know how he’d do that if the ones behind us reached us before he could slay the two scratching at the ground in front of us.

The moon shone above, reflecting off the creatures’ shimmering fangs. Their claws were sharp and dripping a dark liquid. The misting darkness I had seen on their victim was swirling around their taut skin. Whatever these ghoulish creatures were, they could easily take us both out if we weren’t careful.

“Do your super speed thing!”

“I can’t.”

“Why can’t you? You’re a vampire!”

He let out an irritated sigh before shaking his head at me again. The first creature lunged toward him followed shortly by the other. He twisted and moved gracefully around them while pulling their attention away from where I stood.

With a quick move, I watched as he sliced the head off the first hollow. I heard a squelch of flesh as the head fell to the ground before the body. The second wasn’t deterred and attacked him before he could correct his posture. I watched as its teeth sunk into his arm with ease. His voice bellowed in anger as he flung it off with a powerful thrust causing its body to fly toward my feet. It skidded across the ground, a puff of dirt engulfing me. I jumped away from the creature in hopes it didn’t notice me. It had.

It pulled itself upright and scurried toward me. Grabbing my leg, it jerked my body, throwing me to the ground. Flinging my arms out, I tried to brace myself from the impact. I was desperately trying to pull away, grabbing handfuls of the earth as my fingers sunk into wet dirt. I clawed away from its chomping jaws but it still twisted and wrested my leg. Tears were streaming down my face as my body shook. With all my might, I flailed my legs as hard as I could at the creature.

Its grasp weakened as several kicks were able to connect with its jaw and I could free my leg from being gnawed off. I kicked again and again, hearing an audible crunch. Motion caught the corner of my eye as I saw a large group of the ghouls barreling through the woods toward us. My heart was going to explode outside of my chest in terror. I heard a squelch and looked back to see Altyr cutting the head off the creature beside me.

Grabbing my arm, he lifted me back to my feet and put his body in front of the mob, becoming a barrier himself between life and death. My jaw shook as I let out a sob I desperately was trying to keep under control. These creatures were hungry and we were the only food in sight. Their bodies were emaciated, their limbs were longer than normal. They were misting darkness, pulling in the fog to them. They were creatures of the night, creatures of pure death.

With a shaky voice, he said, “Stay behind me.”

“Don’t let me die here.”

“I won’t.”

In a rush, they were upon us. He killed a few right away, their bodies falling with a wet noise. They weren’t using any form of tactics or formations; they were just hungry. Staying behind him wasn’t an option when they pulled him into their grasp. I had no weapons. I had nothing to defend myself. Gritting my teeth, I ran.

A claw grabbed onto my dress and my body slammed into the ground again. My head smacked the dirt hard causing my eyes to blur for a moment and a ringing echoed in my mind. I blinked away the fog, and I brought my focus back to the moment just as the creature pulled me toward it. Its maw of teeth was about to clamp down on my exposed calf.

I reached my hand out and screamed, “no!”

It froze in place, mouth still agape, hands still tightly gripping my leg. It was only a mere few inches from cutting into my flesh. Its saliva was slowly dripping onto me. A thundering noise echoed off the trees and the stomping of hoofbeats was around my head. A sword sliced the creature’s head off causing it to fall onto my body. Its teeth cut into me, leaving a gash. The wound wasn’t as deep as it could have been had it still been connected to the creature, but I wasn’t unscathed.

The rider atop the horse was Altyr’s friend that was with him the night before. He didn’t wait long before moving in to assist his vampire companion. The two of them could take control of the battle and dispose of the rest of the hollow. The last one fell to Altyr’s daggers. I watched as his breathing was heavy and his shoulders relaxed.

“I got here right on time!”

Wiping the dark blood from his dagger onto his pant leg, Altyr shook his head. “A few minutes earlier would have been nice.”

“Can’t believe you two managed to summon an entire pack of those fiends, what were you doing? Singing the songs of your people?”

“It’s not my fault she won’t shut up,” he said as he glared at me.

The other man laughed and shook his head. “Not only do you have a hollow, but you have one that can talk? You, sir, are the most unlucky man I have ever met.”

“I know.”

Picking myself up from the ground, I brushed off the dirt and kicked the hollow’s head away from me. Their bodies lay there, limp and useless. The fact that they nearly overwhelmed and ate us was terrifying. I put my hands on my hips.

“I can hear you two, you know that right?”

The other vampire slid off his saddle with grace and deeply bowed. “My apologies, my lady. My name is Orrin Heimeri. Sorry, we have yet to meet. Under the circumstances, I hope you will forgive me.”

He was being incredibly polite. I was unsure how to handle the situation. My eyes darted between the two of them. Altyr continued to clean himself up, ignoring me entirely. Orrin was handsome and well-dressed. He looked like a proper lord compared to Altyr. His clothes looked fashionable and vibrant while Altyr’s were simplistic.

“I… I’m… my… My name is Sylvia. Thank you for saving us.”

He took a few steps forward, grabbed my hand, and bent down to lay a kiss on it. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“He was supposed to meet us outside with a ride. I see he was running late.” Altyr huffed as he joined us.

“How was I supposed to know you were leaving earlier than intended? I was doing my best to find these two.” He motioned toward his horse and another off in the distance. There were only the two. I would have to ride with one of them. I closed my eyes and let the cool night air fill my lungs before nodding at the situation.

“Lightbringers found us,” said Altyr as he marched to the other horse.

“They found you? How? You should have been able to blend in and avoid their senses!”

Altyr pointed to me. “Ask her.”

I gave Orrin a sheepish look and said, “the commander hates me and used it as an excuse to go after me. Altyr showing up just validated the man.”

Altyr stopped, cut his eyes back at me, and turned to face me with an incredulous look on his face. “How is it that the lead commander is close enough to a foolish girl like you to even have such a loathing?”

“He just does, okay?”

Orrin’s hand was holding his mouth as he tried to hide a smile. “Interesting. She’s interesting. I like her.”

“Stop liking humans, it’s unbecoming.”

He shrugged. “I like what I like!”

Altyr walked off toward the horse with a huff. I shook my head at the vampire’s behavior. His actions were so polarizing. He was just so grumpy every time I spoke. Orrin, on the other hand, seemed friendly. It was a surprise they were friends at all.

Orrin held his hand out to me and nodded at me to take it. Cautiously, I placed my hand in his and he led me back to his own horse. Helping me climb atop it, we bunched up my dress so I could straddle the beast. Sliding in behind me, he turned the horse toward where Altyr had walked.

“Don’t mind him, he doesn’t get out much.”

“I can tell.”

Orrin let out a surprised laugh. “It’s so strange that you’re sentient, but I like it.”

“I really don’t understand any of this, honestly.”

I felt his hand on my hip, keeping me firmly on the saddle. We watched as Altyr silently climbed upon his own steed and turned the creature back toward the forest.

“He explained nothing, didn’t he?”

Altyr’s eyes snapped to us. “I didn’t have to. She’s a human. She doesn’t need to know anything.”

“I’d like to know what’s going on,” I said.

I felt Orrin’s fingers grip me more tightly before releasing. It didn’t feel sexual in nature, just a comforting squeeze.

“Well, you’re a hollow.”

“Like those things,” I said while looking behind us.

“Well, no. Not exactly.” He motioned behind us as well. “Those are hollow, but not like you. Those are darkened hollow. That’s what you’ll turn into if you don’t go through a ritual.”

“What ritual?”

“It’s a monthly ceremony under the full moon where you either become a lightened hollow or choose to become a full vampire.”

“She doesn’t get to choose,” Altyr said in a flat tone.

Orrin rolled his eyes and continued. “A lightened hollow regains their senses and part of their humanity. They become servants to their vampire lords. It extended their lives quite a bit, but they are still human and will eventually die like any other human to old age. They can’t fight the passage of time as we can. While a vampire is, well, another one of us.”

“But I already have my… senses.”

“Yeah, that’s what’s strange. This hasn’t happened before. How did you not die? I was there, he drained you.”

Panic hit me. These men just saved me from untold agony and death, but that didn’t mean I could fully trust either of them. I wasn’t sure what happened and if the Night Flower was the reason for it. I wasn’t about to let them know a magic flower saved my soul.

“I don’t know. You left me there to die, and I… fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I was startled awake and gasping for air.”

The two men looked at each other with perplexed looks. Altyr pointed to the moon above them. It was shining brightly and nearly as full as it had been the day prior.

“Are you suggesting the full moon did it?”

Altyr shrugged. “It was a blood moon. Those aren’t normal. Maybe that had something to do with it?”

Orrin laughed, and I could feel his chest rumble behind me. “This is perfect. I can’t get you out of your keep for months and the one time I do, you accidentally create a hollow.”

I heard Altyr scoff. Their dynamic was so strange. Orrin was so open with me, no negative commentary about my humanity. While Altyr took every opportunity to complain about my existence and naivety. The concept of a hollow still confused me.

“So, if I am a hollow, bound to a vampire who… nearly drained me, why are there roaming packs of darkened hollow out here?”

I felt Orrin stiffen behind me. He shifted uneasily in the saddle. “We don’t know who is making them. Their existence is not usual. At least, they weren’t before this era.”

“This era?”

Altyr answered with a grim look on his face. “We live for so long, our culture puts timeframes into eras. A few decades ago, they declared this to be the Era of Darkness.”

“Fitting, don’t you think?” Orrin gave an awkward laugh. “That’s when the fog started moving in.”

“I thought you all made the fog.”

Both men laughed and I felt Orrin squeeze me again. “I wish. It makes it ridiculous to travel at night. If I could just brush it away, then life would be far easier.”

“The longer the fog hangs around, the more creatures we find in it.”

I could feel Orrin nodding. “Darkened hollow used to be extremely rare, coming from negligent vampires. They feed on humans and vampires alike. We don’t let those hang around too often.”

“You’re afraid of them too?”

Altyr laughed. “Hardly. They’re just a nuisance in packs.”

“We aren’t the monsters out here.” Orrin laughed and leaned into my back, his voice low in my ear. “Well, not usually.”

“We best be quiet until we reach the keep. I don’t care to have to fight another pack.”

“Fair enough,” said Orrin.

We rode in silence for quite some time. The fog was thick the further into the forest we explored. The men acted flippantly about the creatures, but I had seen how Altyr behaved in the fight. He was struggling to take them all on. Whatever was causing both the darkness, and the hollow, was filling the vampires with fear. Anything that did that was something to worry about.

I had learned so much in such a short time. If they were to be trusted, and who knew if I could do that, they were just as worried about the dark fog as the humans were. Altyr exhibited amazing strength and speed this evening. If his kind was afraid, humans should be terrified.

The thought of a ritual was mulling across my head. Bound to them as a human or bound to them as a vampire. If I chose neither, I’d end up like one of those horrid creatures. The racing in my heart as their dripping teeth came back into my thoughts shook me to my core.

Orrin’s comforting hands held me tighter in the saddle. I actually felt safe with this vampire compared to Altyr. I watched as he rode in front of us, leading the way. His shoulders were wide, his height towered above the both of us, he was a warrior. The way he carried himself, even on horseback, was intimidating.

We continued in silence for quite some time. I kept Altyr in my sight, his hair shining in the moonlight. The silence hung between us all as we slowly trotted through the dense woods. Exhaustion pulled at my senses. The evening had been one to remember. Every moment these creatures were in my life was more exciting than the next. Exciting was exhausting.

My eyes were getting heavy. My head was lulling to the side, startling me when I nodded off. Orrin always grabbed me if my body started to slack and lean forward so I didn’t fall. The way the two of them were behaving, rescuing me from Bazak and his men, even keeping me from falling off of a horse, it was confusing. One night they’re leaving me for dead and the next they’re protecting me.

The trees thinned out and a few stones were littered here and there to form a path. Wild overgrowth was obscuring it from vision, but it was there. The longer we followed it, the more complete it became. Eventually, we were walking on a stone road. I squinted in the distance and noticed a few buildings nestled under the dark limbs. We passed by dilapidated houses, barely holding themselves up. As we followed the path, there were more and more houses littering the countryside. It was an entire abandoned village.

A large stone wall with an iron gate blocked our path. The metalwork was intricate and complicated. It towered above us, looming over me as I got lost following the iron decorations. Orrin slid off the saddle with grace before I realized he had jumped to the ground. He held his hand out for me to take. Placing my hand in his, he gripped me firmly as I slid down the tall steed. With a sly grin, bowed deeply toward me.

“This is where I will have to leave you, my dear miss Sylvia.”

“You’re leaving us?”

He smiled and said, “I have to get back to my love. You would get along with her, I know it.”

Altyr had moved behind us without me noticing. “You will not speak of this with anyone.”

“I’m going to tell Lenora.”

He rolled his eyes at Orrin. “Okay, but no one else.”

“I’ll be back with help to get you set up. You don’t have the staff to host this month’s —”

“No. No one else. I can manage.”

Orrin scoffed and said, “Well, I will bring Lenora to help Sylvia at least. I can’t imagine she will feel comfortable alone with you for an entire month.”

An entire month until he hosted something. Was it the ritual they had spoken of?

“My dear,” Orrin bowed again, “I must bid you farewell. We will meet again. Unfortunately, you will need to continue with my prickly friend.”

Altyr made another huff. “Don’t take long.”

“I’ll make sure Lenora knows you’re rushing her.”

Shaking his head, Altyr grabbed his friend in an embrace. I hadn’t expected him to show such affection for anyone much less his friend. The embrace was quick and Orrin was back on his horse, riding away. We stood there awkwardly, watching him leave just as quickly as he had arrived.

Turning abruptly, he went to the iron gate. Pulling out an ornate key, he inserted it into a slot I hadn’t even noticed. A sizzling noise crackled through the air and a small light crawled across the metal from the keyhole, slinking away into the surrounding stone. A metal scraping echoed off the silence, and the gate opened on its own. I marveled at the magic. This whole world was getting far too complicated. Plants were simple, I missed simple.

Altyr stood there with his hand out toward me, beckoning me to join him. His eyes locked on mine, the look he gave was the same fierce one he gave me before he took away my life. It made a shiver crawl its way down my spine in fear and excitement. I cautiously lifted my hand and placed it in his. An electric twinge wrapped around my fingers from the contact, worming itself up my body and warming my heart.

He pulled me through the entry and motioned behind him. A large keep stood, towering above us. We were in some type of overgrown ward. My eyes tried as best they could in the darkness to trace the different dips and peaks but I got lost in the intricate architecture. This vampire had a whole keep to himself.

“Welcome to Castle Wymer.”