Blood Wizard

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Darkness. Shadows. Those crept into my dreams as I lay in slumberland. The children of Night brushed against my sleeping visions, chilling me to my soul.

And then a light came from afar and a voice called to me.

“Kate!” The shadows stirred and scurried away like rats. “Kate!” The voice was growing louder. I stretched out my thoughts toward it and a light slowly appeared.

My eyes flitted open and I found myself staring up into the pale face of Tegan. His bright eyes searched my features and relief washed over him. I gave him a weak smile. “Sorry about the nap.”

He shook his head as he lifted me off the ground and propped me up in his arms. “It wasn’t your idea.”

My pulse quickened as I recalled whose idea it was. I tried to whip my head about but I received a nasty case of dizziness for my effort. “Ow. . .”

“Keep still for a moment. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

His words didn’t keep my heart still. “Am I going to die? Or worse?”

Tegan shook his head. “Nothing as serious as death. As for the other option-” He dropped his concerned eyes to my throat and pursed his lips. “I’m not sure.”

My face drooped. “What do you mean? Isn’t there some way to tell?”

“Not until there are signs,” he told me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What kind of signs?”

“I might start looking as tasty to you as you do to me,” he teased.

I glared at him. “This isn’t funny.”

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed as he studied my face. “But humor is a good antidote to fear and panic, both of which I can see in your eyes.”

I shut my eyes and turned my face away. “Well, do you blame me?”

Tegan grasped my chin gently in his grasp and drew my eyes back to face him. I dared peek them open and saw him smiling at me. “Not, I don’t. I was only trying to give you comfort.”

My shoulders sagged and a heavy sigh escaped me. “I. . .I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you, especially with how much you’ve helped me.”

A crooked grin slipped onto his lips. “We’re in this together, remember? You did bind me to you.”

My mouth dropped open. “Me bind you? You’re the Key master here, bucko.”

He arched one handsome eyebrow. “Bucko?”

I waved off his question. “Never mind. Just know that it wasn’t my idea to go flying over my apartment building during a thunderstorm.”

Tegan chuckled. “Nor mine, but I do like what came of it. Very much.”

I couldn’t help but notice a slight heat in his words and his glowing eyes. My cheeks reddened and I had to swallow a lump in my throat. “Y-yeah, well, what do we do now? Do you start digging a grave or do I start picking out coffins?”

“Neither, I hope,” Tegan replied as swept his eyes over the woods around us. “But we should keep moving. I know these lands pretty well and there should be a castle a day’s walk to the northwest. The master there is an old friend and knows more about the bite of a vampire than I.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “A vampire specialist?”

“More like a specialist who’s a vampire,” he corrected me as he swooped his arms under me and lifted me off the ground.

“Hey!” I protested as I looped my arms around his neck. “I can stand!”

“Do you really want to try that?” he countered.

I looked down at my legs and bit my lower lip. “On second thought, I’m fine, but what’s this about the doctor being a vampire? You told me they didn’t get sick.”

“They don’t, but some vampires make their living helping the living,” he told me as he stooped and snatched up his traveling bag. He tossed that into my arms. “Ready?”

I grasped the bag against my chest. “You really don’t have to do this. I mean, I’m not exactly light.”

He grinned. “To me, you’re as light as air.”

Tegan set off through the thick woods. We passed tree after tree with only the occasional creek or huge boulder to break the monotony. However, the further we traveled the more the scenery began to change. Rocks replaced trees and the ground grew more uneven, as if a great upheaval had occurred in a distant past to rend the earth. Holes dipped low between short mounds, creating an endless roller coaster of travel.

What stood out most were the large mounds of boulders scattered here and there. They were stacked as though a giant had played blocks with them and then left to do something else, never to return. As we passed a few, I noticed some looked like they’d been carved out in the interior, though it was difficult to tell from all the nature trash of leaves and sticks, and the deep shadows that hid the deepest depths.

All of this was merely a view of nature, but something had slowly crept into the back of my mind. It was a sense of being watched.

“Did people use to live in these boulders?” I asked my native guide.

Tegan nodded. “Very very long ago. Legends state that the first vampires came out of the grave near these parts and made their beds in the constant shadows.”

I leaned my head back and glanced at where we’d come from. “This isn’t very far from the werewolf kingdom.”

He chuckled. “Territories change. Before the last war, these were werewolf lands. The vampires fought even during the sun to reclaim the territory of their ancestors.”

My heart fell a little at the mention of battle. “Do you think there’ll be another war?”

His good humor, too, faded as he stared ahead. “I hope not.”

We continued onward far into the woods. Tegan didn’t pause for several hours, but when he did I felt him stiffen beneath me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I couldn’t speak above a whisper. “What is it?”

His bright eyes scanned the area. The night was waning and the day would arrive in a few more hours. “We’re surrounded.”

My eyes widened. “Surrounded by-”

“Do not move!”

The shout came from ahead of us. A tall, lean figure stepped out of the shadows of a tree. The person wore a completely black ensemble of boots, pants, and a shirt, all of which were covered by a long cloak that trailed the ground. The stranger threw back their hood and my heart skipped a beat when I beheld their pale features.

“Who are you?” the stranger demanded.

“Merely a pair of travelers,” Tegan called back as he held me up. “One of us was attacked by your kind a few miles back and we’re trying to get to the nearest settlement.”

The vampire studied us with a sharp look. “We weren’t informed of two travelers passing through the High Road that fit your description. How long have you been in the woods?”

Tegan lifted an eyebrow. “I’d like to know why you’re watching the road so stringently.”

“I will ask the questions here,” the vampire snapped as he beckoned with one finger. A half dozen more bloodsuckers stepped out of the woods and surrounded us. “Take them to the outpost.”

The vampires closed in on us and I shrank into Tegan’s arms. He tightened his grip on me and a few whispered words passed his lips. “Courage.”