Vampire Wares pt 55

As Sim and the other vampires closed in on Josif’s house, they slowed themselves down to a quieter step that wouldn’t disturb any of the sleepers inside.  Quietly they pattered towards the house, equipment on their backs.

Upon arriving, Sim quietly walked around the house in search of an entrance.  The window shutters were closed and the door was locked.  As he walked, though, he smelled the air to ascertain who was inside and where they were.  He could smell three bodies inside on the side of the house opposite the door.  They were just beneath one of the shuttered windows, and he noted to the others, “One of them smells of vampires.  That one must’ve been eating vampire wares recently.”

They decided that they would enter through the window nearest the three, net the youngest of them and speed out of there immediately.

Moments later Constanta was startled from her sleep.  She’d heard a noise she couldn’t identify outside, and instinctively she reached to the side of her bed where her brother Anton would normally sleep.  He wasn’t there, out somewhere hunting vampires, and she felt a cold chill to think of him so far away.  Her parents slept peacefully in the bed next to her, and she wondered whether she should wake them.  The sound had frightened her and she needed comfort.  Anton would always wake up at night whenever she awoke and he would help her to sleep.  He would sleep right next to her so that he would keep her warm, and he would put his arm over her to protect her from the monsters of the night

But before Costanta had a chance to approach her parents, a sudden crash startled her so much that she nearly fell over.  Turning her head behind her in a flash she saw the shutters being ripped from out of the window frame, such that now the window was open to the night.  Cold air poured in and the settling dust was illuminated in the moonlight that glowed down upon her.  She didn’t have a chance to react, though, since immediately a net was cast over her.  One end of the net was pulled beneath her to sweep her inside of it, and then she was hoisted bodily out through the window.

In those brief moments between the initial crash and Constanta’s disappearance, her parents had also been startled from their sleep.  They’d leapt from their beds and they’d lunged for their daughter who was plucked out of her bed like a fly being plucked from the air by a frog’s tongue.  But they could only watch as she was snatched from them while screaming her final plea of “Anton!  Help me!”  They were too slow.  Her voice was already fading as they reached the window.

Looking out through the window, Josif and Viorica watched helplessly as the four silhouettes quickly disappeared: two of them carrying Constanta between them in a net, one carrying a bag of equipment and the fourth carrying a young vampire on his back.

Viorica couldn’t contain her despair and in one great wail of pain she screamed out the name of her daughter, “Constanta!” such that her voice echoed across the plain.  Lina heard the sound of the lamenting mother even as the house faded in the distance, and she turned back to see if she could make out the distant shapes of the two grieving parents.

Vasile too heard the cry, but only faintly and indistinctly.  “What was that sound?” he asked Anton, who sat beside him as they were perched high in a tree, “It came from the direction of Vallaya.  Did you hear it?”

Anton had to confess he hadn’t heard anything, but he was curious, “What did it sound like?”

“Like a human scream,” Vasile said uncertainly, “But it was distant.”

“Do you think there were any vampires involved?” Anton asked.

“How could I know,” Vasile responded, “But if there were, they’re likely to pass near us.  We should get ready.”

Vasile raised his crossbow while Anton raised his longbow, with an arrow armed and in position.  They both turned in the direction of Vallaya and tried to pierce their sight through the darkness and forest, but all they could see was the swaying of leaves in the wind and the glistening of the moonlight reflected on these flickering leaves.

After what seemed like an eternal wait, Vasile began to hear the faint sound of vampires running and he silently mouthed to Anton, “Vampires” and pointed in the direction of the sound.

<-- Go to Part 54         Go to Part 56 -->

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

As Sim and the other vampires closed in on Josif’s house, they slowed themselves down to a quieter step that wouldn’t disturb any of the sleepers inside.  Quietly they pattered towards the house, equipment on their backs.

Upon arriving, Sim quietly walked around the house in search of an entrance.  The window shutters were closed and the door was locked.  As he walked, though, he smelled the air to ascertain who was inside and where they were.  He could smell three bodies inside on the side of the house opposite the door.  They were just beneath one of the shuttered windows, and he noted to the others, “One of them smells of vampires.  That one must’ve been eating vampire wares recently.”

They decided that they would enter through the window nearest the three, net the youngest of them and speed out of there immediately.

Moments later Constanta was startled from her sleep.  She’d heard a noise she couldn’t identify outside, and instinctively she reached to the side of her bed where her brother Anton would normally sleep.  He wasn’t there, out somewhere hunting vampires, and she felt a cold chill to think of him so far away.  Her parents slept peacefully in the bed next to her, and she wondered whether she should wake them.  The sound had frightened her and she needed comfort.  Anton would always wake up at night whenever she awoke and he would help her to sleep.  He would sleep right next to her so that he would keep her warm, and he would put his arm over her to protect her from the monsters of the night

But before Costanta had a chance to approach her parents, a sudden crash startled her so much that she nearly fell over.  Turning her head behind her in a flash she saw the shutters being ripped from out of the window frame, such that now the window was open to the night.  Cold air poured in and the settling dust was illuminated in the moonlight that glowed down upon her.  She didn’t have a chance to react, though, since immediately a net was cast over her.  One end of the net was pulled beneath her to sweep her inside of it, and then she was hoisted bodily out through the window.

In those brief moments between the initial crash and Constanta’s disappearance, her parents had also been startled from their sleep.  They’d leapt from their beds and they’d lunged for their daughter who was plucked out of her bed like a fly being plucked from the air by a frog’s tongue.  But they could only watch as she was snatched from them while screaming her final plea of “Anton!  Help me!”  They were too slow.  Her voice was already fading as they reached the window.

Looking out through the window, Josif and Viorica watched helplessly as the four silhouettes quickly disappeared: two of them carrying Constanta between them in a net, one carrying a bag of equipment and the fourth carrying a young vampire on his back.

Viorica couldn’t contain her despair and in one great wail of pain she screamed out the name of her daughter, “Constanta!” such that her voice echoed across the plain.  Lina heard the sound of the lamenting mother even as the house faded in the distance, and she turned back to see if she could make out the distant shapes of the two grieving parents.

Vasile too heard the cry, but only faintly and indistinctly.  “What was that sound?” he asked Anton, who sat beside him as they were perched high in a tree, “It came from the direction of Vallaya.  Did you hear it?”

Anton had to confess he hadn’t heard anything, but he was curious, “What did it sound like?”

“Like a human scream,” Vasile said uncertainly, “But it was distant.”

“Do you think there were any vampires involved?” Anton asked.

“How could I know,” Vasile responded, “But if there were, they’re likely to pass near us.  We should get ready.”

Vasile raised his crossbow while Anton raised his longbow, with an arrow armed and in position.  They both turned in the direction of Vallaya and tried to pierce their sight through the darkness and forest, but all they could see was the swaying of leaves in the wind and the glistening of the moonlight reflected on these flickering leaves.

After what seemed like an eternal wait, Vasile began to hear the faint sound of vampires running and he silently mouthed to Anton, “Vampires” and pointed in the direction of the sound.

<-- Go to Part 54         Go to Part 56 -->

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

Vampire Wares pt 55