Page 6 of Champion of Cards

“Unless we can make him human…there’s nothing.”

They turned silent, the conversation finally over.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest, the owls hooting in the distance, the crickets chirping. To others, it was distracting, but to me, it was a lullaby.

“Kingsnake,” Larisa said, her voice a little louder. “You said you could turn human if you wanted…”

Kingsnake hesitated before he spoke. “I thought we finalized our decision to live as vampires for eternity—”

“No,” she said quickly. “If the witch could make you human, couldn’t she make Fang human?”

Kingsnake was quiet for a long time. “I’m not sure. That’s a totally different scenario.”

“What if we ask? He would only need it for twenty-four hours, just long enough to compete and win.”

Kingsnake hesitated again. “I guess we can ask. But that’s up to Fang—”

Yesssss.

“Fang says he’s up for it,” Kingsnake said.

“Then let’s go to the witch and ask,” Larisa said. “Do you know where she is?”

“Yes,” Kingsnake answered. “I think I know where to find her.”

* * *

We stopped in Grayson to feed then continued west. The mountains were jagged and rocky, and there wasn’t much land west of the mountains so we allowed others to claim that land for themselves. Mostly small villages that lived without a king or ruler.

We camped during the brightest time of the day and the darkest part of the night, slowly making our way to the village.

“Are you sure about this?” Kingsnake rode his steed with me wrapped around his shoulders, Larisa slightly behind us.

Yesss.

“What about the cost?”

I don’t care about the cossst.

“Because you don’t know what it is…”

I wasss meant for this tournament.

“What if you can never change back?”

I don’t ssspend my daysss worrying about thingsss that may never happen. Wassste of time.

“But what if that did happen?”

Asss long as I can ssstill crusssh bonesss and tear flesssh, that’sss fine with me.

The journey over the mountains was the longest part, and it took a while to find a safe path onward. The road was less traveled here, so the path wasn’t beaten by hooves and wagons, the ground slippery rather than compacted. But we eventually made it over, descending downward until we reached a small village. It was unlike the others we’d seen. The buildings and homes were made of dark wood and black brick. There were moss and willow trees everywhere. A large lake was nearby, green fireflies visible in the air. There were no people on the road or in the center of town.

“This is the place?” Larisa whispered.

“Yes.” Kingsnake dismounted the horse with me on his shoulders then moved to help Larisa down, even though she was fully capable on her own. He tied the horses to the side of one building before he examined the road, one hand on the hilt of his blade. Stay with Larisa.

I left his shoulders and slid to her instead, crawling up her body and perching.

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