Blood Wizard

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

A vampire grabbed his arm and yanked him forward. The speaker led the way through the wilderness and after a mile, a meadow opened up before us. The trees had been newly chopped as evidenced by the fresh stumps and their bodies used to build a high wall that encircled the whole of the clearing. A single gate led inside and two pale men stood in the shadows with one weary eye on us and another on the horizon.

We were marched into the interior which was occupied by a long, narrow building of wood that reminded me of barracks. The only other structure was a smaller square building. Two dozen vampires stalked the perimeter as we were led through them and to the smaller of the two structures.

“These buildings aren’t up to your usual lofty standards,” Tegan commented as he inspected the wood structures.

The leader vampire turned his head enough to stare at us with one eye. “The prospect of war softens standards.”

“With the werewolves?” Tegan wondered.

“You’re asking questions again,” the vampire scolded him as he stopped at the wood door and rapped his knuckles against the entrance.

Tegan grinned and shrugged. “It’s a habit.”

“Break it,” the vampire snapped as the door opened.

We stepped inside and found ourselves in a primitive office. Only one window had been cut out of the log walls and faced the forest. An unlit lamp sat on a simple desk at the rear and a half dozen chairs were scattered about the room. The only oddity was a hole dug into the ground in the farthest corner in which a sturdy wooden crate had been set. A mess of straw surrounded the container and the contents were accessed via a top hatch.

The leader lit the lamp as Tegan was herded over to one of the chairs. He set me on a seat before being forced to take one himself. The vampire turned to us and nodded at his compatriots. Half of them left while two took up positions on either side of the door. Our ‘host’ clasped his hands behind him and strolled over to stand in front of us.

“Why were you really out there crossing through the woods into our territory?”

Tegan nodded at me. “As I said before, my companion here was attacked by your kind. The quickest way to the next settlement was through the woods.”

“And where did this attack occur?” the man questioned us.

“You would do better to find the culprit attacking visitors to your land than to detain us with my companion in such a weakened state,” Tegan scolded him. I tried to look as lethargic as possible and to be frank there wasn’t too much acting needed. I didn’t feel quite up to snuff and a stubborn chill clung to my bones.

“You would do better to answer my questions or I will have you charged with trespassing on the king’s property,” the vampire warned us as he glared at Tegan. “Now tell me why you needed to conceal yourselves in the woods. What are you hiding from?”

Tegan studied the huge logs that made up the cabin. “These are very ancient trees. I wonder that you were allowed to chop them down. That last time I checked, Baron Grau was most particular about his forests.” He cast a side glance at our ‘host.’ “That is, unless the crown has seen fit to confiscate his lands.”

The commander scowled at him. “The crown takes what it needs, but what do you know of the baron?”

Tegan shrugged. “I know of him. He’s a friend to all, werewolf and vampire.”

Our ‘host’ curled his lips back in disgust. “He does indeed claim to welcome everyone. Such a man honors allegiance to no one and what is a man without his allegiances.”

“That would depend on what those allegiances make a man do,” Tegan countered as he cast a worried look at me. “For instance, yours is keeping my companion here from proper medical attention.”

The commander studied me with a sharp look before his eyes rolled back to Tegan. “She will receive proper attention when you have answered my question: why were you traveling through the woods? And I want the truth.”

I could see Tegan’s struggle in his eyes. To talk or to keep quiet. I smiled at him and opened my mouth, but at that moment something strange happened to me. I felt. . .light. It was as if my mind had been lifted up and all its worries poured out. The rest of my body, too, had a strangely detached sensation, as if I’d handed the reins over to someone else. It both frightened and soothed me.

I was just building up a good panic attack, assuming my body would have allowed me to do one, when I heard something. Or rather, I felt a word slip into my mind like someone slipping a note under a door.

I c****d my head to one side and wrinkled my nose. “Nachtschatten?”

The commander started back before he regained his composure. Still, there was doubt in his eyes as he focused all his attention on me. “What did you say?”

I shrank beneath his sharp voice. “Nachtschatten?”

He narrowed his bright eyes at me. “Where did you hear that word from?”

“Is that not the word she’s supposed to say?” Tegan chimed in.

The vampire scowled at both of us. “Why didn’t you speak up sooner if you knew the word?”

“We only just learned it and weren’t sure you would recognize it,” Tegan countered. He grasped my arms and hauled me to my feet. “Does it pass?”

The commander reluctantly nodded. “It passes, but be sure to use the password before wasting our time.”

Tegan smiled and bowed his head. “We’ll be sure to do that.”

I for my part couldn’t keep up with this confusing conversation but I was glad when we strode through the crowd of bloodsuckers without any of them stopping us. I leaned toward Tegan and lowered my voice to a ghost of a whisper. “What just happened?”

“Wait,” he hissed.

We made it out of the office and into the cool night air. I breathed in a breath of fresh freedom as Tegan turned us left and led us around the back in a westward direction. We slipped into the trees but I had hardly gone half a mile when my shaky legs started to give out.

I stumbled and fell against a tree. Tegan was at my side in a moment and wrapped his hands around my waist to keep me up. “Do you want me to carry you?”

I turned to him with curious eyes and set a hand on his arm. “I don’t want you to carry me, but if we want to get to that place you mentioned before we’re gray then it’ll have to happen. I do want you to tell me what in the hell happened back there.”

Tegan smiled and swept me into his arms. “I’d like to know, as well. Where did you hear that word?”

I tapped my temple with a finger. “In here. It just sort of popped in there and I repeated it. What does it even mean?”

“Nightshade,” he revealed as he stared ahead with a dark cloud on his brow. “Did you feel anything else when this word popped up?”

“Yeah, but it’s hard to explain,” I replied as I folded my arms over my chest and frowned at my lap. “I sort of felt like a stranger in my own body. Kind of light and faraway, if you know what I mean.” A flicker of fear in his eyes answered my question. My pulse quickened as I tried to catch his eye. “It. . .it doesn’t mean what it thinks I mean, does it?”

He didn’t meet my gaze. “If you’re thinking the vampire has infected you with his blood, then yes.”

An icy chill wrapped around my heart. I tried to put on a brave face but my quivering voice couldn’t be hidden. “S-so what does that mean? Am I. . .will I-” I couldn’t get the words out.

Tegan bowed his head. “Yes. You will turn into a vampire.”