Page 24 of Cruel Vampire King

Anna sat up, the sleep seeming to have gone from her. “But the baby isn’t due until next month!”

I knew by the alarm in her voice that something was wrong.

“I know,” Dad said. “Try not to worry, sweetheart. The doctors will know what to do.”

He kissed her forehead and headed out. The shadows seemed to grow even larger outside the window as Anna pulled on her slippers and padded out. I didn’t sleep a wink that night, praying to the gods to protect us, to protect the new baby, and most of all, to protect Mom.

Darcie had had to stay in the hospital for a week, but when she was brought home, a tiny, pink bundle with large dark eyes and a solemn gaze, I knew I’d do anything for her.

The forest was still silent, so I slipped through the trees and returned to the fire. My scars ached tonight. They were tight and itchy and far too sensitive to the slight temperature fluctuations. I rubbed my face absently, trying to erase the discomfort.

With Darcie having been claimed for the gods, at least she’d be well treated. She wouldn’t go without. She wouldn’t be taken advantage of. The gods demanded only the purest souls,so she wouldn’t have faced the same horrors of the world I had seen. She wouldn’t have the same scars that I had.

Darcie was still the innocent child I remembered.

And I’d still do anything for her.

Chapter 10

The central area of the forest had a gradual downward slope. The new map showed no sign of a lake at the bottom of the valley, but after the kelpie, I wasn’t going to make assumptions. The vegetation around us slowly shifted day by day. Whereas before, we had much more of the evergreens dropping their acidic needles onto the forest floor, the lower we got, the more of the deciduous trees there were. Oaks replaced pines, then elms started to dot throughout the forest. Ash trees, with their brilliant red berries, birches, and aspen, dominated the forest soon enough.

Unfortunately, as we got into the brighter greens and fruit-bearing trees, the undergrowth came in much thicker. Our progress slowed significantly, though we were able to snatch handfuls of berries more often. They helped to sate our hunger and thirst a little.

We hadn’t heard the dying screams of the other teams in a couple days when Kael suddenly called for us to stop. He gripped his axe in both hands, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. His eyes widened as we watched him. I cocked my head, searching the forest, but none of my senses indicated danger. The only thing I smelled was the sunbaked forest, with the sweet scent of honeysuckles lingering in the air.

“There’s a manticore nearby,” Kael murmured. “I can smell it.”

My grip tightened in my staff. Manticore. What was that again?

“Are they aggressive?” Thessa whispered.

“Very.” Kael glanced at my staff doubtfully. “Listen carefully. If you hear what sounds like a cat’s meow, that’s it.”

We were all quiet. The distant noises of birds and squirrels seemed terribly loud in the stillness surrounding us. Then I heard it, a soft meowing. I started to turn, but Ysara grabbed my arm. Her yellow eyes were focused just behind me.

“They swallow their victims whole and spit out the bones,” she murmured. “But they only attack once you’ve made eye contact. It’s behind us, waiting. If we’re going to kill it, we need to split up. Lure it into an ambush. Nobody look back.”

My lips pulled back slightly. The hairs prickled on the back of my neck. Thessa’s brown eyes were huge, her breathing rapid. I wanted to reach over and reassure her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But I didn’t dare move. The meowing crept closer, and a shiver raced down my spine.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Kael rumbled. “Greyson and Ysara, you break off to the left and work your way behind the manticore. Thessa and I will go to the right. Elara, you’re our bait. Don’t turn around. Keep moving forward, drawing it after you. When you get to a clearing, stop. Lift your staff to be a T over your head. It can only expand its mouth so far. So long as you keep the staff in place, it won’t be able to swallow you.”

“Very reassuring,” I said, a little sarcastically.

I didn’t like being bait. How did I know this wasn’t Kael’s attempts at getting me killed? But I was also the only one with a staff. I sucked in a breath through my nose—the honeysuckle scent was even stronger—and nodded once.

The others peel off from me and I headed forward, walking as bravely as I could. I held my staff above my head, laying it crosswise on my head with my arms looped over it. I heard nothing following me, except that little meow every now and then.

The brush was so thick it was a struggle to get through. Sweat itched under my clothes as I battled through the branches. I must look like a pretty helpless piece of prey. And not in the way I wanted to be when I signed up.

I stumbled out of a particularly thorny bush into a clearing. Hawthorns ringed the space, which was a wide meadow with blue, white, and pink flowers scattered through it. A boulder sat in the middle of the clearing. Perfect! I hurried toward it. It would give me something against my back when I did this. I hesitated a moment before turning, my staff still held above my head.

The manticore flew at me at once. It let out the roar of a tiger as it came at me, claws outstretched. Its head was human enough, but as it opened its mouth, three rows of teeth stretched in a hideous maw. I dropped, pressing my back against the rock as I held the staff fast, one end on the ground, the other against the rock. The manticore slammed face-first into it. The wood groaned but held as the manticore snapped its jaws shut. It nearly took off my fingers. I had to drop the staff.

Before it could open its mouth again, there were four loud shouts, followed by the sinking of blades into flesh. An axe whistled through the air, and Kael took off the monster’s head with a single blow. He pulled the axe back before it could touch my staff or the ground.

Heart hammering, I scrambled to my feet and looked down. The manticore had the tawny, lithe body of a lion. Its tail, which was shaped like a scorpion’s, had been taken off, too. A thick green ooze flowed from the body.

“That’s that,” Ysara said, wiping her sword off on the ground, “Let’s keep moving.”

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