Page 68 of As Darkness Fall
I looked around wildly. There was no sign of anything. We’d been in his realm for hours now, closer to half a day hiking to reach this point. In our entire time here, I hadn’t seen so much as a flicker of movement. There were no leaves to blow across the landscape. No wind to stir the sand.
It was like the entire realm was dead. Now, he was telling us we would have to fight? Fight who?
Yet, even as a part of my mind raced with questions, I pushed them back into their own detached box, isolating the questions, the fear, the hesitation. My mind calmed, and I took in a slow, deep breath, working to reduce the frantic beating of my heart. They were basic tricks I’d learned during my fighting days in Kellar, and they served me well now.
The calmer I was before a fight, the better I’d be able to analyze the situation to ensure I reacted swiftly and in a smart way.
I continued to face the building where I’d seen the statue and the alleyway just to the left, with Vir covering my right side. The rest of the team spread out. I trusted them to cover all other avenues to us. That was what you did with a team. You trusted them.
With my heart calm, I called upon my wolf. We didn’t shift yet, but I merged her senses with mine. The world swam into brighter clarity. I could practically pick out individual grains of sand. My nose filled with–nothing.
I could scent my team, but that was it. There werenoscents to be found around us. Even the stone didn’t seem to give off a particular smell. How was that possible?
Fighting back a spurt of energy from my wolf, I reined her in. She was eager to fight, to tear out some vampire throats. As if she was meant for it. The strength of her mental assault surprised me, and I considered shifting. Aaronhadsaid upon our return from Shuldar that he and his team couldn’t keep up with my wolf. Perhaps I could turn that to my advantage now. Something I could use to better help the team.
Looking down, I went for the zipper to pull off my one-piece outfit.
In that instant, my wolf raised the alarm. I snapped my gaze back up, watching with horror as half a dozen vampires appeared from nowhere less than twenty feet from me. I could hear the shuffling of feet and knew that others must be here as well.
We were surrounded.
They continued to walk closer to us, not bothering to slow down.
Overconfident little pricks, aren’t you?
I grinned, and when the nearest one to me was mid-step, I sprang at him with a shout. We went down, and I drove my elbow into his nose. His eyes went wide with shock, followed by pain.
Yeah, I bet you didn’t expect me to be that strong, did you?
Rolling free of him, I sprang to my feet, feeling fast and furious, ready to go after the next one. I launched myself at her, my fingers bent, nails aimed to take out her eyes. They were so slow! None of them were reacting to my attack yet. I grinned, lips pulled back to reveal my teeth, ready to taste vamp flesh and–
“Urk,” I grunted as something snagged me mid-air and held me there by the scruff of my neck as if I weighed nothing.
I swung and thrashed, trying to turn enough to get a glimpse of my attacker. They were devilishly strong.
“Vir!” I shouted, desperate for help.
“Yes?” an amused voice came from over my shoulder.
I frowned and calmed my attempts to escape as I reached up and patted the hand on my neck. Large. Warm. Slightly hairy. I reached farther back, following the arms behind me as best I could.
Around the neck, the skin turned to fur, and instead of the flat, angular human face that came to me in my dreams these days, there was a pointy wolf’s snout.
I slowly turned my head. This time, my captor turned their grip as well. As I’d suspected, Vir was holding me. He was in his giant warrior form, with the golden armor only now materializing around his chest and torso and the bracers on his forearms. In his free hand, he held the golden spear I’d seen him wield with deadly ferocity.
Looking past Vir, I could see the rest of the team staring at me in shock. They were all still in their protective circle, but not one of them had moved to attack. While Fred and the rest of the team still held their weapons, the barrels were pointed at the ground. Not at the vampires who had us surrounded on every side.
“I take it,” I said quietly when nobody spoke, “that by ‘ready yourselves’, you did not mean to attack.”
“No,” Aaron said quietly. “I did not.”
I licked my lips. “See,thisis why maybe it’s a good idea for you not to leave me in the dark. How bad did I screw us over?”
To my surprise, Aaron smiled. “Not bad. That particular one could probably deserve another few reminders like that.”
From the crowd of vampires, someone spoke. “Welcome back, Pr–”
“Don’t,” Aaron spat, cutting off the speaker with a violent slash of his hands. “Do not. I am not back. I’m not here. We are passing through. Nothing more. So piss off, and leave me alone, got it?”
