CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Everyone was anxiously waiting for us in front of the dining hall.
“Did you see anything or hear anything?” Kate asked anxiously.
“Yes and yes. He’s in the village of Draden, he has a room above the beer house, number 5, and the journal is hidden under his mattress. He spoke with another man out in front of the beer hall and mentioned there are ten Volator, nine of whom are camped outside of the village in the woods. We heard the other men call the leader ‘Weldon,’ and he will be meeting the rest of them at their encampment tomorrow afternoon. He said if they have no news, then he will get rid of Eric and move on.”
“We will send Watchers there tonight, to watch and confirm everything, and then we should be able to act on this tomorrow afternoon,” Father said. “I’ll speak to Gunter right away; he’s escorting Elizabeth back to our quarters.”
Soon Father came striding back, his face stern, and we heard horses thunder out the front gate.
“They’ll be in place in a couple of hours,” he said confidently.
“The Volator will all be together tomorrow afternoon, and the woods are a perfect place for an ambush,” said Damien.
“We’ll send someone for the journal and another party to free Eric; those two operations have to occur at the same time as the ambush,” Father said. “How many men will you need, Damien?”
“None; the girls and I can handle this by ourselves. Keep the Watchers in place, just in case, and forces in the woods ready to clean up after us.”
Damien then turned his attention to us and said, “Letta, you get the journal and anything else he left in the room. With your speed no one will see you. When you get the journal, pass it to a Watcher; we’ll have someone wait just outside town. Then come join us in the woods. El, can you free Eric? Watchers will be nearby to help you get in, but with his blood-lust you’ll have to take him back yourself; we can’t trust him with a Watcher.”
“Yes,” she said confidently.
“Get him back here as fast as you can, and take Crimson with you. He should feed before you leave, otherwise the Watchers may not be safe,” he added.
“I’m strong enough, don’t worry,” she said.
“I know you are…you all are. We can handle the ten in the woods. We’ll meet just outside their camp tomorrow morning, once they are all there. El and Letta will tend to their tasks and we to ours,” said Damien.
“We are all in agreement then?” Father asked. “And you understand the seriousness of your assignments?”
We all agreed.
“Rest up, then. You’ll leave at first light,” Father charged, as we all rose to leave the room.
“I’ll meet you in a few minutes,” I said to the others.
“We knew that was coming. Come on, everyone, let’s go,” Kate said. “Thank you for trusting us, Damien. It means a lot.”
“Your father said you’re ready, Gunter says your ready, and I’ve seen Katrina in action, remember?”
“We know. We’re just glad to see you have confidence in us too,” Rosa said.
The girls left us to go to their rooms to rest.
“I’m already tested, but they’re not,” I said, my anxiety for the girl’s safety showing on my face.
“Are you having doubts? Because if you are, this would be a good time to voice them,” he said.
“No, it’s just…”
“What? Listen, we’ll have back-up. The Watchers will be there and besides, you and I could handle ten men by ourselves.”
“That’s true,” I sighed, not feeling much better.
“Instinct will kick in with them, just as it did with you. Their training has made their reactions automatic, just like yours. Isn’t this why they came to train with you in the first place?”
“You’re right; I’m probably worrying for no reason. It’s just if anything ever happened to any of them, I don’t know what I’d do.”
He curled his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. He kissed the top of my head and I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest.
“When were you going to tell me about Eric?”
I pushed myself back, so I could look into his eyes. There was still some pain there.
“I was as shocked by it as everyone else was,” I said. “It was totally different from what you and I have; he can’t answer me back with his mind.”
“You didn’t at first, either.”
“It wasn’t intimate with him. It’s not what we have.” I assured him.
He smiled and kissed me, and then he gave me a warm embrace.
I sighed; I loved being held by him. “I love you.” I had not meant to say that, but now the words were out of my mouth, I knew them to be true. But was it too soon? Yes, but I knew it was right.
“I hope you mean that,” he replied.
“I do.”
“We’d better get some rest. Sunrise comes quickly.”
“I’d hoped for some idle, restful days together before the others arrived.”
“If I remember correctly, participating in a sword fight can make one quite aroused,” he said with a wry smile.
His jibe brought back the memory of how much I’d wanted him that day, sending butterflies to my stomach. There would be no reason to pull back next time.
“We’ll just have to see if it still holds true,” I challenged as I walked away. I turned back to look at him one more time. “Damien…”
“It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” he looked so confident and sounded so sure, I believed him.
When I got back, the girls were gathered around the fireplace, giddy with excitement.
“Finally we’re going to use our training.” Rose threw her arms into the air, “I don’t know how I’ll ever get to sleep.”
“Damien really took charge tonight. He didn’t seem to have any doubt we could handle our tasks,” Kate said looking to me for confirmation.
“He has every confidence we’ll be successful tomorrow, but we do need to rest. We need to be at our best in the morning.” I assured them.
Why was I so apprehensive, I wondered as I changed for bed? Maybe it was just my other battles had been more spontaneous, with no time to think about them. I had only to react; that was a better way, I decided.
Everyone was ready; I knew that. Oh, go to sleep, I scolded. Staring at the ceiling isn’t helping anything. I fluffed my down pillow and put it back under my head. I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing and willed myself to sleep.
The dream started with the point of view of my walking down a tree-lined street. It was evening, and the gas lanterns were flickering, casting a golden glow up and down the street. Once again a woman was walking towards me, but this time it was as if I were looking at her through someone else’s eyes.
The street scene had changed from the first vision. As she came closer, I could see it was the same woman, but she wasn’t wearing the same dress. This one was black, with a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves, buttons from her elbow to her wrist. Before she reached me she turned and entered a shop, so I kept walking. When I got to the window of the shop, I could see her talking to two other women. “Why am I dreaming about these women?” I thought, “And isn’t it strange to be talking about your dream while you’re still dreaming?” Then she turned around and came back outside.
“I’ll contact you soon,” she said, and walked right by me as if I weren’t there.
I looked through the window at the other two women, who were looking at dresses. There was something familiar about them. They made a purchase and started for the door, and as they came out one of them said. “I can’t wait to show her.”
“She’ll be here in a couple of days,” the other one said.
They didn’t seem to see me either, and they just strolled away.
I woke up gasping for breath. “It was just a dream,” I told myself, but I didn’t believe it. It was a vision trying to show me something I needed to know. Who were these
women, and where were they?
“I don’t have time for this right now.”
I flopped back down onto my pillow.
“Well, that was a restful sleep,” I said to myself sarcastically, “I might as well get up.”
So I dragged myself out from under my down-filled cover and over to the window. Dew lay heavily on the ground and shimmered in the last light of the setting moon. Deciding there were still a couple of hours left before dawn, I dressed, gathered my weapons, and quietly left my room. The only thing lighting the outer room was the last of the coals glowing in the fireplace. Now what? The kitchen would be open, the cooks already baking bread and preparing food for the morning meal. I decided to go over and get something to eat and drink. I’d need extra Crimson today, we all would. Avery was outside, having just returned from watching at the ports. Lately we had been seeing our Watchers less, but today his presence felt comforting.
“You’re up early. Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked in his normal good-natured way.
“I’m going over to the kitchen; I’m starving again.”
“I could wake Sarah for you.”
“No, don’t do that, I’m fine. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“I’ll be here,” he said. He had that same adorable smile and twinkling blue eyes all the Voss brothers had.
I made my way across the courtyard, being the first to disturb the dew I’d seen from my window. Klaus, the cook, was busy baking bread when I arrived, so the kitchen smelled wonderful. I chose some pastry and asked for some eggs and ham with potato pancakes. Klaus had been making me breakfast my whole life.
“Help yourself. There’s fresh Crimson in the crocks in the cool room.”
I slid off my stool and went to the cool room across the hall. I chose a crock, removed the cork stopper, and with a couple of glances to be sure no one was looking, drank directly from the container. The Crimson was wonderful, cool and somehow both sweet and salty at the same time. I can only describe the feeling it gave me by saying it was like pouring water on a dry sponge. Every cell in my body was being filled by the liquid life, and my energy was being replenished with each swallow. That’s better, I said to myself. I brought the crock back to the kitchen, and Klaus had my breakfast waiting for me. You’d think I’d never eaten before, from the way I inhaled it.
Klaus enjoyed a good belly laugh at my expense.
“It’s a pleasure to see you enjoy your food. I’ll pack you something to take along. Now finish what’s left in your crock. Sarah will be over soon.”
“Thanks, Klaus; you always make me feel good.”
“Everyone feels better on a full stomach. You stay safe today, you hear?”
“I will.”
I felt much better as I walked back to my room. As I passed Sarah in the courtyard on her way to get something for the girls to eat and drink, I promised her I had left a few things for them in the kitchen.
Everyone else was up now, getting ready. Sarah brought breakfast, and all the girls drank generous servings of Crimson. Kate braided my hair and we made small talk, trying to ignore the tension in the air.
“We have some time, and I think we’d feel better if we took a look at the encampment. It’s the only thing we haven’t seen,” I said finally.
We all agreed and sat down together at the table.
“Now let’s concentrate. Kate, let’s focus on the huge swordsman we saw. He’s supposed to be at the camp. Let me know when you can visualize him.”
“Got him. He’s asleep by the fire.”
“Ah. I see him too.”
In a few minutes we could see several crude tents surrounding a central fire pit, and there was our giant. It was quiet, maybe too quiet. Where were the horses and guards? I took a deep breath so I could “see” better.
“Oh no!” I said.
I smelled death, and something else. We looked around, and then saw the swordsman wasn’t sleeping. He was lying on the ground, his sword still in his hand, his throat ripped open. We looked for the others. In the woods, bodies littered the ground. This was bad—very bad—because now I recognized what else I scented: fledglings.
I broke concentration then.
“We have to go now!” I said.
“Damien,” I called with my mind, and then told him we were leaving right away, and why. Where were our Watchers I wondered; were they dead or on their way back? There was no time; we had to hurry.
“Listen, we have to stay together; we may need to enhance our gifts. Our plans concerning Eric are changed. We can’t worry about him right now, because if those fledglings get to the village, all hell is going to break loose.”
“I told the guard to follow. They’ll clean up the site,” Damien said, as he joined us. “How many are there, could you see?”
“No, there was no time to look any further. I should be able to tell once we get closer. Let’s go.”
Together, we flashed out the gate and into our battle formation. Damien and I in the lead, followed by Rosa and Letta, then Kate and El. It took mere minutes to arrive at the site at full speed. We slowed and drew our swords. I scented when we got close. We had to get between the fledglings and the village.
“There are at least fifteen, this way,” I called, as I led the way.
The forest was littered with death - the missing horses from the camp, as well as Volator who must have been fleeing, all dead, ripped apart. Someone had kept the fledglings hungry, effectively creating ravenous killing machines that were absolutely crazed by blood-lust. We made a large arc so we could get in front of them and block their path to the village, and then we made straight for them.
“Spread out!” Damien yelled. “Don’t let any of them get by you!”
We curved the arc around, moving Kate and El forward so we formed a half circle. Now we’d close up the circle and meet in the middle, as we finished them off. I smelled them before I saw them; they were somewhat spread out, but easily inside our formation. They had slowed; having just fed, they weren’t as frantic as they must have been earlier. They were covered in blood, and if we hadn’t had Crimson this morning it would have been overwhelming to us. Other than their unnatural strength, and their teeth of course, the fledglings were unarmed.
“They aren’t trained,” said Damien in my mind, “Just monsters that need to be put down. You take the right four, I’ll take the left. NOW!”
Of course they weren’t expecting us. I almost felt sorry for them - almost.
I had drawn my sword, and now drew my dagger as well. I attacked the first fledgling and it went down easily. Once alerted, the next two viciously came at me together; I struck low, spilling the entrails of the first and dodging the other, swiftly turned, attacking him from behind and ran him through with my sword. The fourth of the group turned and sprinted towards Letta, who had two dead at her feet, and was engaged with another.
“Letta!” I screamed.
Letta just glanced at me, but the fledgling she was battling actually stopped in mid strike and turned in my direction. Letta used the opportunity and stabbed him in the chest, easily avoiding the charging fledgling. The wild vampire didn’t give Letta a glance as he flew by her. Then it occurred to me, they weren’t charging her; they were fleeing. Letta, in one smooth motion drew and threw her dagger. I threw mine at the same moment. Each dagger found its target in the back of the fleeing fledgling. As we looked around, El was just pulling her sword out of a fledgling lying on the ground, with two others dead close by. I scented again to make sure none had gotten away; they had not. There had been twenty-one fledglings in this group all together. Damien was making sure they were all decapitated, so they stayed dead. As I finished my survey of the battlefield, I was extremely proud of the girls. Their performance had been on par with that of the vastly more experienced Vampire Guard.
“Letta, how about some rain, just a light one?” I suggested.
“With pleasure,” she responded by immediately understanding what I wan
ted.
I could see her concentrate, and instinctively we all helped. Soon a nice light rain was washing the blood off of us.
Suddenly, I knew we had to go back to the camp.
“Damien, we have to go back. You go to the village, take care of the leader, get the journal, and then meet us back at the encampment,” I said.
“Fine. It shouldn’t take me long,” he said, and then flashed off towards the village.
The light rain stopped when I said we had to go back. Now I had to ask Letta for something else.
“Can you give me a breeze coming from the west, Letta?”
“Of course.”
The light breeze came and I took in a breath, knowing what I was scenting was going to be painful.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we ran together back to the forest behind the encampment. I turned over the first body, tears streaming down my face. It was Gregor, a gaping wound in his chest, his eyes still open in a lifeless stare. The girls were all sobbing now, as I walked the few feet further to the next one. It was Cedrik, the sweetest of the seven brothers, and from the position of his neck, it was apparent it had been broken. We heard a gurgling moan and seeking its source, found a man slumped in front of a large tree. He was gravely injured.
“Thomas!” I cried.
“Oh no!” El screamed, running to him. He was unconscious, blood was coming from his ears and his nose, and he was barely breathing.
“El, we can save him, can’t we?” Kate cried. “Please, we have to try.”
“Everyone! We have to concentrate. I’ll put by hands on Thomas, and you all put your hands on me. Please, everyone, take a deep breath, compose yourselves, then concentrate, hurry,” El said, tears still running down her cheeks.
El put her trembling hands on Thomas’s chest. When I saw her face go calm, I closed my eyes, and put both my hands on her back. Rosa, Kate, and Letta followed. I could feel energy flowing. This had to work; it just had to. After what seemed like ages, El moved, and I opened my eyes to see El kissing Thomas’s forehead. His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to be aware.
“El, did it work? Is he all right?” said Rosa.
“He’s better, but still not good. I don’t think we should move him yet.”
“The guard should be here any second. They’ll be carrying Crimson. We can replenish and try again,” I said, looking desperately around.
We heard something behind us and instinctively drew our swords and surrounded Thomas.
“Damien, thank God,” I said as he came closer.
He glanced around and instantly knew the group was wild with sadness.
“I’m so sorry,” he said softly, making an effort to hold back his emotions.
This made us all start to sob again.
“Thomas is barely alive, and we need to feed if we’re going to be able to save him,” said El.
He looked puzzled. I had forgotten he didn’t know we enhanced each other’s gifts.
“El’s gift is healing, remember? That’s how she helped those villagers at the mission. What you don’t know is if we concentrate together, we can enhance our gifts and make them stronger. But right now we’re too weak to try.”
“I passed the guard on the way here. I’m sure they brought supplies; I’ll go get them right now.”
“Did you get the journal?” I said.
“He was gone when I got there and the journal with him. The Watcher had been knocked unconscious. I found him rubbing the back of his head.”
“We’ll have to worry about that later. Hurry Damien,” El said.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
And in a flash, he was, with a pack filled with dried meat, cheese, and several flasks of Crimson. Damien handed each of us a flask, which we eagerly emptied. Almost immediately the Crimson did its job. Once we felt reinvigorated, we quickly knelt next to Thomas to try again.
“Let me join you.”
“Thank you, Damien,” El said.
Once again she put her hands on Thomas, this time on each side of his head, and closed her eyes. The rest of us, including Damien, placed our hands on her. When we closed our eyes, I could feel the energy was much stronger this time, and in a few minutes, I was shocked by the loudest blood-curdling scream I’d ever heard. It was filled with horror and it was coming from Thomas. He was awake and leaning away from the tree, his eyes wild, and I at once knew he was reliving the deaths of his two brothers. El had broken away and was trying to calm him, but he was having none of it.
“Thomas, please! You’re not well,” she pleaded.
He pushed her away and got to his feet, then immediately started to sway. Damien stepped forward to steady him.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” he said to Thomas.
“Nooo…” Thomas cried.
Damien helped him to his brothers’ sides, where he fell to his knees and pulled Cedrik to him, cradling him in his arms like a child, wailing and rocking back and forth.
We were each sobbing, not knowing what to do. Damien put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I hugged him back, and as I looked up at him, I could see tears rolling down his cheeks as well. The guard arrived a few minutes later. El finally used a gentle, but powerful strength to pull Thomas away and held him close, where they stood, both quietly crying together. In my whole life, I’d never felt crushing sadness.
The guard silently went about their business, burying the dead and dismantling the camp, so it looked as if it had never existed. Then they carefully wrapped Gregor and Cedrik in linen and gently carried them through the woods to a waiting wagon. Thomas and El followed and rode away with them on their final journey home. The rest of us stood in silence, tears still flowing. I sobbed; my head began throbbing with pain.
“You intervention saved Thomas, remember that,” Damien said.
It didn’t help right now, but later I was sure it would.