Chapter 14 - Mine
1364 Words
It had been two nights since Erevus took Isadora back to the castle. There was no news of the High Princess, which he only hoped meant she was safe. Safe with a man who hunted vampires with a skill and knowledge unbeknownst to anyone Erevus ever met. Isadora was right, safe truly was a ridiculous word. Isadora wasn’t safe, not by any definition or version of the word.
Safe was having her here in the Dark Kingdom. Safe was where she could be herself under the stars. Safe was by his side.
Once again, Erevus glanced at the moon. Tomorrow night is the new moon. That night he would go and visit Isadora, and he was impatient to do so. More anxious about the idea that her abilities will continue to develop. Every purebred had abilities, but with Isadora being royal, her abilities would be more enhanced, have unique abilities to her, and it was hard to know how fast they would develop.
But the faster they developed, the faster the Coven would be alerted to her. That should be the least of his problems. But it was going to be a problem.
“My king,” Stefen whispered.
“Let’s go.”
Erevus glanced around at the other vampires, twenty-three in all. There was something comforting about having an odd number. The odds were against them, so why not have an odd number in their group?
They headed out zipping through the night. Erevus could easily outrun them as a purebred, but he remained in the front, leading the group into the mountains.
By a large lake, tracks extended out from the mountain with empty carts. Both Fildira and Torrin’s soldiers wandered the grounds.
Stefen said there were forty-two soldiers patrolling the area. An even number. It wasn’t even an exact two to one ratio. The odds were indeed in their favor. The only equalizer was the silver weapons they wielded.
“Let’s go.”
Experts, moving with the shadows cast by clouds as well as instinctively knowing where the darkest shadows were, advanced toward the head of the mine. Other vampires quickly climbed up the ridge. Erevus paused for a moment, watching the unaware guards.
He hesitated. What would Isadora think knowing he had taken another mine and had killed Fildira’s soldiers in the process?
He shook his head. That didn’t matter. His people mattered. Innocent blood had been spilled, he would not let it happen again.
The wind howled through the mountain canyon, ruffling his coat and hair. Gracefully, he inched closer.
He raised his hand, fingers extended. Everyone froze, waiting for his command. The anticipation was thick in the air.
Erevus’s eyes once again flicked to the soldiers waiting for most of them to turn their backs in their walks around the perimeter.
His fingers curled into a fist, and the surrounding air seemed to grow colder.
“Strike swiftly,” he murmured low. “No survivors.”
At once, the vampires, the vampires shot forward like shadows on a moonlit rock. Erevus’s speed was a blur to the human eye, his footsteps silent as he darted down the slope toward the soldiers. He reached the first guard, his hand closing over the man’s mouth as his fangs flashed in the moonlight. The guard barely had time to widen his eyes before Erevus sank his fangs into the man’s throat, the warmth of the blood surging over his tongue.
The guard’s companion turned, alerted by the faint rustle, but Stefen was already upon them. He slashed his knife through the air, catching the soldier across the throat. Blood sprayed, painting the rocks on the ground in crimson.
Erevus dropped his prey, feeling the rush of strength that the fresh blood gave him. He straightened, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and turned his gaze towards the main camp. The night erupted in shouts as the remaining soldiers realized they were under attack.
The sound of metal clashing filled the night air.
Two vampires quickly smothered campfires, darkening the night. Little did they know that darkening the camp was not to their advantage for their survival.
Erevus leaped forward again, his movements fluid and precise. He closed in on a cluster of soldiers, swiping his dagger across a man’s throat while twisting to drive his dagger into another’s chest. His dagger pierced through fabric and flesh, emerging crimson and dripping. The man’s eyes widened in shock as his body slumped to the ground.
Another vampire beside Erevus grabbed a soldier by the neck, snapping it with a vicious twist, then used the corpse as a shield against a silver sword.
A soldier swiped down his silver sword towards Erevus. He moved swiftly to the side, appearing at the soldier's side in a blink. He grabbed the hilt of the silver sword with his hand. It seared across his palm as he pulled the sword from the soldier and embedded it into his stomach. The soldier gasped, his life slipping away even as he reached feebly at Erevus’s face. Erevus let him drop, cold satisfaction flickering through his veins.
The remaining soldiers regrouped at the entrance of the mine. They all rushed forward. Some of his fellow vampires fell at the hands of a silver sword. Within seconds - fangs flashed, swords and daggers clattered to the ground, and blood spilled onto the ground.
Erevus straightened, the taste of victory mingled with the metallic tang on his tongue. He looked at the remaining members of his group, quickly counting nineteen. Four had perished. They licked blood from their lips as they stood amidst the c*****e. It was the one exception to the rule of vampires. In battle, to maintain strength and speed, blood can be taken.
The silver mine now laid unguarded, its entrance yawning like a giant beast.
Erevus took a step forward, pausing as he watched shapes emerge from within. Eight of the mine workers emerged, gripping their sharp tools as they raised them in the air to defend their livelihoods.
“Run, now.” Erevus commanded in an icy tone.
They glanced at each other, but held their stance.
“Go!” Erevus tried again.
Still they remained, standing between them and the mine.
“So be it.”
Erevus was the first to attack. His fellow companions quickly joined him. It was an unfair fight, the workers didn’t even yield silver. In a matter of moments, the mine workers laid among the c*****e of Fildira and Kilgindore’s soldiers.
The mine was now theirs.
Erevus heard a fast heartbeat to his left. He walked over to one of Torrin’s soldiers. Barely bleeding, but very much alive.
“Take him to my prison.”
Two vampires grabbed the fearful, pleading soldier and hauled him away.
He saw blood run into the lake swirling and mixing with the blue of the water. He dipped his hands into it, causing the blood to separate and further churn into the water. Erevus closed his eyes, feeling the coolness of the water and the way it lapped up over his hand. He reached over and grabbed a large clay jar, dipping it into the water, watching the remnants of blood rush in with the blue liquid.
Carefully and slowly, holding the jar close to his body, he left Stefen to handle the securing of the mine as he made his way to his village.
A deep sadness washed over him as he entered the massacred village. The building’s ruins were a testament of the thriving village that had used to be.
Erevus knelt beside the mass grave they had dug for his fallen people. He closed his eyes feeling every failure of a king he was to have let these people be so unprepared and so unaware of their fate.
He poured the water over their grave, watching the earth quickly inhale the liquid into it. He imagined the water rushing down to their bodies below cleansing and healing a part of them from Torrin’s brutal torture.
But he knew, they would never be healed, they would never be cleansed, until it was Torrin’s blood that he poured over their grave.
- Writer
