Dmitri pulled me to my feet and the movement caught the attention of the scouting party. They shone their lights on us, and I cringed before Dmitri pulled me int he direction of the barn. The scouts yelled at their compatriots and soon the whole village came running with their sharp stakes and pitchforks. We raced through the muddied streets and made it to the barn with everyone in close pursuit. Dmitri pulled me inside and slammed the doors shut. He secured the doors with anything he could find. Bails, a toolbox, a small cart, anything.
I stepped backwards and listened to the chants and shouts beyond the flimsy barn walls. They wanted blood more than I did. One of my friends called for a torch, and every joined in the chant. I saw flames flicker through the walls and realized they intended to burn the barn with us inside.
"Dmitri!" I yelled.
Dmitri turned away from the secured door, grabbed my hand and pulled me to the rock. He pressed his shoulder against the stone and slowly moved the large boulder. A small hole appeared beneath the stone and metal glistened against the light from the torches outside. The metal were bands around a large chest set into the deep, narrow hole. Dmitri finished pushing aside the boulder and grabbed two shovels close at hand. He handed one to me and proceeded to dig the hole deeper, creating a shelf beside where the chest sat.
"We must dig this deep enough so we can both fit," he whispered to me.
With that kind of motivation I jumped into the work and dug as furiously as I could. I only hoped I wasn't digging my grave. Dirt flew into piles beside the hole, but Dmitri went to work smoothing them out across the floor to hide any traces of our efforts. As he reached the doors someone touched a torch to the entrance. The old wood ignited instantly and illuminated the barn with its dreadful light.
Dmitri tossed his shovel back where he'd grabbed it, took mine and did the same, and helped me into the deep pit we'd created. Above us the roof caught fire and flaming boards started to drop onto the floor. Dmitri tucked me into the hole with himself beside me. Then he grasped the boulder and slowly moved it back into place. I reached up and helped him with the last few inches just as the rest of the barn burst into flames.
With the stone in place we could only wait and see if the fire and heat would catch and consume our little hiding spot. Overhead the barn crackled and burst. Boards knocked against the stone and thudded upon the floor. The heat and flames consumed the air inside our tiny space, but that wasn't a problem for us. The flames themselves were terrifying as we heard them crackle above our heads. I clutched onto Dmitri and buried myself in his coat. He wrapped his arms around me and lay very still. It felt like we were in there for an eternity. The flames hadn't died when I began to feel very sleep. The sun arose, and we drifted into slumber.
The next I knew there was a gentle movement against me. My eyes flickered open and I looked around in bewilderment at the tiny space. Then everything came back to me. The running through the woods, the villagers chasing us into the barn, and finally the fire. We must have survived because my rear ached from sitting on hard stones and dirt for so long. I glanced up at Dmitri, and noticed he was awake and staring at the rock ceiling above us. I cocked my head to one side and listened. A few faint voices, but nothing close at hand.
"Let us see if we can escape," Dmitri whispered to me.
He stood, or stood as well as he could in our tight space, and pressed his shoulders against the rock. The boulder slowly moved and revealed the sky of a new, young night. I breathed deeply its delicious smell and reveled in the feel of its cool air as opposed to the hot, dry air inside the hole. Dmitri created a hole a few inches wide and peeked out. I caught a glimpse of the barn and saw there was nothing left but charred boards and twisted metal.
"There is no one nearby. We may be able to escape," he surmised.
"With the whole chest?" I wondered.
"No." He ducked down and carefully pried open the flimsy lid of the ancient chest. It crumbled beneath his hands and he opened the lid to reveal a glittering mess of diamonds and rare coins. "We will take what is most valuable and leave the rest here. The rock has not moved in two thousand years, and I do not believe they will move it for another two thousand."
We picked out the largest and most expensive jewels and coins, and stuffed them into the pockets of Dmitri's coat. With our treasures loaded, Dmitri carefully pushed aside the stone wide enough to allow us to slip out. I kept very still as he replaced the boulder and turned to the village. Everything was quiet, but not as quiet as the night before. A few people laughed, others snored. They no doubt thought the vampires were destroyed in the fire, vanquished forever.
Dmitri led the way out of the village and northward into the woods. About midnight we paused in a grove of trees and I slumped against one of the trunks. I was tired, dirty, and just a little hungry, but not enough to attack anyone. I slid onto the ground and glanced up at the night sky. There were no clouds so the stars twinkled brightly against the black backdrop of darkness. Dmitri sat beside me and caught my eyes.
"Do you regret your choice in coming with me?" he wondered.
I snorted. "I have to admit it hasn't all been fun, but looking back some of it was funny," I admitted.
He chuckled. "I'm afraid you'll find the rest of your long life very dull compared to the beginning," he mused.
I sighed and leaned against his shoulder. Wolves howled in the distance, serenading us with their sweet song. "I'm sure we'll find some trouble to get into. After all, we have quite a few years ahead of us."
For all books by Mac Flynn visit her Smashwords author's page
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Mac Flynn, Blood Treasure Box Set
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