Vampire Wares pt 54

The light that streamed in through the gaps in the roof of the great hall was almost completely absent, indicating that it was early night now.  This light was the only sense of any passage of days that most of the vampires would perceive, since the coven was mostly kept in a continuous twilight of low light and flickering flames.

After a few moments of waiting, Asha announced to the vampires in a forceful screech, “Silence!” and the many quiet conversations that had produced a continuous murmur throughout the room, abruptly ceased and quietly faded as an echo through the caves.

“As many of you know, I’ll be visiting the village of Terem for an agreement that will officially end all hostilities between vampires and humans.  Thus, tonight is our last night of freedom.  And we’re going fill it full, to overflowing.  I want four teams out there tonight and I want you to bring back four humans in your nets.  Four pathetic humans, who will wail for mercy at my feet,” Asha explained, “Success is essential.  Failure will be punished.”

Asha successively addressed three of her most aged and experienced vampires to lead three separate teams to three separate villages.  She saved her favorite for last and gave Sim the most important destination, telling him, “You’ll attack Vallaya.  Bring three with you.  And also take your little minion.  This’ll probably be the only time she’ll ever get to experience the thrill.”

Sim turned to Lina and smiled after Asha said this, telling her, “You’re with me tonight.”

Sim organized a party much like the one that had fetched Lina, Nicoleta and Oana, including Bai and two other vampires named Ela and Tam.  They gathered together their equipment, including a weighted net, an unweighted net, a pair of bolas, and substantial lengths of rope.  They stuffed these into bags that felt overwhelmingly heavy to Lina.  Fortunately, she wasn’t required to carry anything.  She only had to follow along.  They dressed lightly in loose fitting clothes that moved just as silently as the vampires moved while they walked about.

To fortify themselves for a long run through the night they all drank hearty bowl-fulls of nourishment.  Lina, too, drank the still unpleasant red mixture, but as it suffused through her body she felt a rising energy that thrilled and excited her.

Before they left, Sim explained to Lina, “You’re just a passenger on this ride.  Do what you’re told and be sure to stay close.  Vampires that stray away on their own have a tendency to get sniped by vampire hunters.”

The five of them then walked up through the halls to the exit where Sim opened the door for them and they all three departed in a line, stepping out into the moonlit forest.

Lina could already run faster now than she was able to before, and was noticing both her speed and her strength improving, but next to the four aged vampires she was with, she was a slow sluggard.  For this reason, Lina again had to climb onto Sim’s back.  Sim bent down and she wrapped her legs around his midsection, gripping him tight around the neck and resting her head on his nape.  Even in the cold of the night, Sim felt so warm and she could hear the quick thumping of his heartbeat.

Before she had a chance to brace herself, Sim was off in a mad dash through the woods, raising clods of dirt beneath his feet.  Just to show off he suddenly leaped into the air, landing on the branch of a tree and leapt from it even higher into a grand arch above the trees.  Lina screamed as she was carried with him high into the air and gripped him even tighter as she looked down at the receding ground below.  With his hands, Sim snatched a bat flapping through air, and dropped to the ground with the panicked animal between his two hands.  Before the bat had a chance to bite him, he threw the animal out of his hands and continued on his run.

The first building they passed was the complex belonging to Andrei, where his business and his home were joined into a solid stone structure.  Lina asked if they were going to attack this building, and Sim told her, “No, that belongs to Andrei.  It’s well built.  Very hard to break into.”

Instead they passed by it, zipping through the heart of Vallaya, across the main street and by the church, moving rapidly and unseen, like shadows made by a falling star.  They headed beyond the village center, towards the nearby farms and the small houses that the farmers occupied.

In particular, Sim had his eyes on a small, single-room farmhouse atop the horizon. Inside this farmhouse Josif, Viorica and Constanta, silently slept in their beds.

<-- Go to Part 53         Go to Part 55 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

The light that streamed in through the gaps in the roof of the great hall was almost completely absent, indicating that it was early night now.  This light was the only sense of any passage of days that most of the vampires would perceive, since the coven was mostly kept in a continuous twilight of low light and flickering flames.

After a few moments of waiting, Asha announced to the vampires in a forceful screech, “Silence!” and the many quiet conversations that had produced a continuous murmur throughout the room, abruptly ceased and quietly faded as an echo through the caves.

“As many of you know, I’ll be visiting the village of Terem for an agreement that will officially end all hostilities between vampires and humans.  Thus, tonight is our last night of freedom.  And we’re going fill it full, to overflowing.  I want four teams out there tonight and I want you to bring back four humans in your nets.  Four pathetic humans, who will wail for mercy at my feet,” Asha explained, “Success is essential.  Failure will be punished.”

Asha successively addressed three of her most aged and experienced vampires to lead three separate teams to three separate villages.  She saved her favorite for last and gave Sim the most important destination, telling him, “You’ll attack Vallaya.  Bring three with you.  And also take your little minion.  This’ll probably be the only time she’ll ever get to experience the thrill.”

Sim turned to Lina and smiled after Asha said this, telling her, “You’re with me tonight.”

Sim organized a party much like the one that had fetched Lina, Nicoleta and Oana, including Bai and two other vampires named Ela and Tam.  They gathered together their equipment, including a weighted net, an unweighted net, a pair of bolas, and substantial lengths of rope.  They stuffed these into bags that felt overwhelmingly heavy to Lina.  Fortunately, she wasn’t required to carry anything.  She only had to follow along.  They dressed lightly in loose fitting clothes that moved just as silently as the vampires moved while they walked about.

To fortify themselves for a long run through the night they all drank hearty bowl-fulls of nourishment.  Lina, too, drank the still unpleasant red mixture, but as it suffused through her body she felt a rising energy that thrilled and excited her.

Before they left, Sim explained to Lina, “You’re just a passenger on this ride.  Do what you’re told and be sure to stay close.  Vampires that stray away on their own have a tendency to get sniped by vampire hunters.”

The five of them then walked up through the halls to the exit where Sim opened the door for them and they all three departed in a line, stepping out into the moonlit forest.

Lina could already run faster now than she was able to before, and was noticing both her speed and her strength improving, but next to the four aged vampires she was with, she was a slow sluggard.  For this reason, Lina again had to climb onto Sim’s back.  Sim bent down and she wrapped her legs around his midsection, gripping him tight around the neck and resting her head on his nape.  Even in the cold of the night, Sim felt so warm and she could hear the quick thumping of his heartbeat.

Before she had a chance to brace herself, Sim was off in a mad dash through the woods, raising clods of dirt beneath his feet.  Just to show off he suddenly leaped into the air, landing on the branch of a tree and leapt from it even higher into a grand arch above the trees.  Lina screamed as she was carried with him high into the air and gripped him even tighter as she looked down at the receding ground below.  With his hands, Sim snatched a bat flapping through air, and dropped to the ground with the panicked animal between his two hands.  Before the bat had a chance to bite him, he threw the animal out of his hands and continued on his run.

The first building they passed was the complex belonging to Andrei, where his business and his home were joined into a solid stone structure.  Lina asked if they were going to attack this building, and Sim told her, “No, that belongs to Andrei.  It’s well built.  Very hard to break into.”

Instead they passed by it, zipping through the heart of Vallaya, across the main street and by the church, moving rapidly and unseen, like shadows made by a falling star.  They headed beyond the village center, towards the nearby farms and the small houses that the farmers occupied.

In particular, Sim had his eyes on a small, single-room farmhouse atop the horizon. Inside this farmhouse Josif, Viorica and Constanta, silently slept in their beds.

<-- Go to Part 53         Go to Part 55 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Vampire Wares pt 54