Chapter 3

His steed trotted easily down the dark trail. The animal had been trained since it had been but a foal to have no fear of the unknown and had no hesitation in its step.

Growling bitterly under his breath, Roan drew the reins to make the animal pause with a snort. He was the one who was too distracted to travel. It would not be safe for him to continue in this state.

That damned elf. What had she done to him? Perhaps it was a spell that his eye could not counter. He still tingled all over.

Setting up a small camp, he built a fire and plopped cross legged before it. Staring into the dancing flame, he breathed deeply as he struggled with his urges. He could not afford to be so distracted right now. This mission had not required his partner so he had no one to watch his back right now.

Well, not no one.

His horse snorted and whinnied.

A rustle. Off to his left. He continued to stare off to the side of the fire so his normal eye could adjust to the darkness while pretending not to hear. The rustle again. Casually stretching, he got to his feet as though he intended to take a piss, keeping his back to the rustle.

Reaching for his sword, it hissed from its scabbard as he spun about, but it would do him no good against the beast that reared up from the brush behind him, its red eyes glowing of unnatural power.

He cursed himself. The vampire’s familiar! How could he have forgotten? Older vampires often conjured up powerful demonic beasts to protect them. Without its master, it was now rogue, its only thought to avenge its master, and then it would only think of filling its need for souls. No normal sword could cut this demon.

Damn that elf! It would have been better if he had forgotten her.

A spell on his lips, Roan was stopped short by a blood-chilling chuckle in the trees above him.

“Tsk, tsk, you didn’t think it’d be that easy, did you, my dear Seeker?” The voice was deep, raspy, evil.

Then Roan knew. He really hadn’t thought much of it at first, thinking he had caught the vampire by surprise. Had that elf not distracted him, he might have figured it out in the silence of the aftermath. But, now he knew– it had been a particularly good decoy, a conjured being of intense concentration. Now, he would face the real vampire.

Dropping heavily before the fire, its thick wings blew the flames out entirely, plunging them into the darkness of the night. All Roan could see now was the devilish glow of the vampire’s eyes and its inhuman grin as it stood, towering over him.

Roan was the first to move, tossing another of the magical nimbus stakes with enough force to pierce through a tree. The vampire swept it aside with a wing. It laughed, a horrible sound that Roan had never gotten used to.

The familiar growled and oozed towards him, taking on a terrifying and hulking form akin to a rotting bear. It swiped at him, at the same time its master lunged at Roan with unnatural speed, its talons catching the Seeker along his side as he attempted to dodge, cleanly cutting through his leather armor and flesh.

Spinning to the side, he spoke a word of magic that made his curved sword glow before he swung hard against the vampire’s ribs. Coated with silver, the scimitar cut deeply. Black, foul blood exploded from the wound. The vampire screeched in pain, twisting unexpectedly. Its massive talons snagged Roan by the arm. Its grip was crushing, the points digging into his flesh. The pain of his snapping bone was intense, but he pushed it aside, his other arm coming down with the sword. It bit into the vampire’s forearm, causing it to screech again.

But, that was not what caused it to release him.

It gave another cry and tossed him aside like a toy. He hit the ground hard, sliding through the soft dirt. He looked up as the vampire turned from him and noticed in the faint moonlight that an arrow stuck out of its back.

The vampire leapt at some unseen foe. The familiar turned to follow its master when a flash of magical blue light streaked through the night with a snarl, an immense shadow slamming heavily against it, and the two went tumbling into the brush.

While he heard the fights out in the darkness, he quickly sat up, his lips moving in a spell. Running his good hand over his broken arm, the healing warmth of the spell mended the bone back together. He quickly ran his hands over the deep gashes in his side as well, the wounds closing up.

His healing done, he turned his attention back to the battle he could hear in the darkness beyond his sight. His horse whinnied, but stood still as he rushed over and grabbed his crossbow. He cocked it, speaking another word of magic. The tip of the silver coated bolt burst into a magical silvery flame.

The wing beats of the vampire made him whip around. It landed heavily. He recognized the short white hair. The elf had her teeth bared and was kicking the vampire’s broad chest for it had her wrists together in its large talons. Its gruesome face was twisted in an evil grin.