The Orb of Wrath

The moment of truth had arrived. They had done everything possible to avoid this confrontation, but it had not worked. They would have to fight for their life against a formidable enemy, without the help of the magician and the knight's forces in an extreme situation.

  With a huge effort to control his nausea, Ithelas raised his symbol again and repeated his prayer from before. He wasn't sure what the results would be as the symbol prayer was usually very effective against weaker undead, but not against the more powerful ones. After completing his prayer, one of the shadows, which was closest to the cleric, ran in fright and disappeared through the wall of the room.

  Erion watched the two figures of his brother that were still paralyzed. The young man attacked the second shadow with his sword, but his blow went through the place where the monster was as if hitting the air. Erion realized that, somehow, the blow had not been effective. Thost drew his sword and tried to hit the kalta, who managed to dodge him. The knight moved his sword slower than usual, with a lot of effort. The shadow counterattacked and hit Thost. His two arms were hanging down, dropping his sword and shield, without force to hold them.

  The flying war hammer shook the kalta's back with its impact, who gave a horrible shriek of pain. Then the hammer vanished into thin air. Enraged, the kalta took a blow which reached Erion's arm. The young man felt how his arm and then his body began to freeze. But with a supreme effort of concentration he managed to avoid paralysis. It was like avoiding falling asleep, barely, when you're exhausted. Knowing that there was no possibility of holding anything in, Samar loaded her last special arrow in her bow and, after making a quick turn at the last moment, she aimed at the vampire that was advancing towards them from the corner of the room, and fired. The arrow shattered the monster, who immediately turned into smoke and floated through the door.

  Although the situation was complicated, given the growing constraints, going up against only two enemies after a long fight instilled courage in the hearts of the group. Samar loaded her bow with a conventional arrow and shot the kalta. The arrow had pierced its chest from side to side but it hadn't finished it off. One of Mithir's images vanished, leaving a single image of the magician, who was still frozen in the middle of the room.

  Then, when their hopes were reborn, a man of about fifty years old who was very elegant appeared in the door of the room; his bloodshot eyes left no doubt of his nature. They had before them another vampire. But this one was different. His presence filled the room like a tsunami beating against a beach. A primary, absolute fear consumed them completely. Nobody could do or say anything. Their bodies were not paralyzed, but they felt an uncontrollable panic.

  Unexpectedly, Ithelas had a vivid image in his mind. It was a memory of his childhood, when he was a young kid and played with his father and mother in a field in front of the family castle in Borydos. That had been the happiest time of his life. With a superhuman effort, Ithelas managed to chant a prayer, almost in inaudible whispers. Although it was hardly heard, those murmurs reached the ears of his teammates that while they were still feeling a great panic, somehow it didn't grip them to the point of being unable to move. Soon after, the panic had softened to a deep fear, but a more conventional kind.

  Erion and the kalta in front of them simultaneously attacked. The looter managed to nail his short sword in the belly of the monster but, unfortunately, this happened while the kalta struck the young man's neck with his claw. This time Erion couldn't avoid being paralyzed by the vileness of the corrupt monster. Erion was at least consoled when he saw how the beast fell dead on the floor of the room. Thost had to make a quick decision. He could, on one hand, bend over to try to collect the shield or at least his sword. But this would open his guard and leave him in a very vulnerable position against the shadow before him. In addition, he was so weak that he doubted he could hold those heavy weapons. So, he chose a second option, if anything, a more reckless one. He took a knife from his belt and stabbed the monster. Somehow, he surprised the shadow that was hit and it emitted a strange moan.

  With a devilish speed the vampire lunged against Samar, who was in profile with regard to the door. With the first blow on the elf's back, her quiver was shattered and the little ammunition she had left was scattered on the floor. The second blow was even more violent. Samar was thrown through the air to the other side of the room and fell on the only wooden chair, shattering it. The blow knocked her unconscious against the wall. Without missing a beat, the vampire turned and moved towards the knight.

  Ithelas threw himself in front of the shadow and chanted a new prayer, the same one he had used days ago in their unpleasant encounter with the spiders. The shadow began to throw punches on the theoretically defenseless cleric, but the spell prevented any of the blows to reach him. Thost used this moment of confusion to stab his dagger. This time he was successful and the monster's cry was so horrible that it froze their blood. The figure broke and faded, finally, leaving some ash remains on the ground and the knight's dagger.

  But the joy did not last long. The vampire was quite close to him now and looked him straight in the eye with a terrible look. Thost felt his will leave him. First, he became very still. Then he began to feel that he must obey that creature.

  Ithelas was still chanting with his eyes closed. But the skilled vampire didn't try to attack him. Finally, he simply stood in front of him and waited a while. Shortly later Ithelas could not sustain his enchantment any longer and stopped praying. In just a moment the vampire lunged at him and grabbing his head, forced him to look at him. Ithelas resisted with all his will, but after a long struggle, he couldn't help but feel his body become unresponsive as well. He became still and calm. He would do the will of his master.

  The end had come. Erion and his brother were still paralyzed because of the horrible kalta scratches. Thost and his son had seen their will subjugated to their powerful adversary. The anger and hatred that conveyed the look of the abject creature seemed endless.

  “You’re going to pay dearly for the tremendous insolence that you have committed. You're going to die, one by one, but before that I promise you are going to suffer like hell,” the angry monster said.

  The vampire then hit Thost in the leg. For a moment they thought he broke it. The knight fell and could not help wincing. However, he said nothing; his master would not allow him to speak.

  “Leave him alone, you coward! You only hit him because you know he can't defend himself,” Erion managed to stammer, still unable to move.

  “Why would I allow him to defend himself? He would be no match for me anyway, insolent insect,” the vampire said, turning to Erion.

  Vuthral then carefully looked at Erion and felt a special connection between him and Mithir. He had no doubt that they were relatives or close friends.

  “I see you appreciate the magician a lot,” he told Erion with a vile grin. “It's time for you to bid him farewell,” he added while he lunged at Mithir's neck.

  At that time, when all hope was lost, the vampire threw an agonized and angry cry. A wooden stick had pierced his back and peered now on the left side of the chest. After writhing for a moment the vampire dropped dead. Ithelas and his father felt, suddenly, that they were released from a horrible trance. What had happened?

  In the other corner of the room Samar was panting wearily. Although she had no ammunition, she had gotten one of the thin and splintered legs of the chair that she had just smashed and somehow had managed to use it as a projectile in her bow. Not only that, but despite the precarious balance that such a projectile could have, she had reached the monster's heart. It was a shot in a million.