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The Feri Light
Chapter 7
It took us five minutes to break up camp. This time I rode with Caleb. We brought up the rear, Kane in the middle while Wren and Keene were in the lead. As I suspected the ride was arduous yet boring. Thankfully, Caleb was in a chatty mood.
We talked about his adventures on board Captain Roman's vessel. Apparently his life on the ship hadn't been all in hardship. He met a lot of new people including a young lady friend in Pixan who was willing to buy his freedom. As it turned out, Roman double crossed the young lady's wealthy father and took off with Caleb and the ransom money.
Caleb had mixed feelings talking about his past but that didn't mean I couldn't tease him about it.
As we rode, Caleb was getting aroused. For a while I pretended that I didn't notice but it was an impossible feat given our proximity.
It was he who brought up the subject midway into our journey.
'Are you and Wren exclusive?'
I snickered because it was apparent where this conversation was heading.
'Yes and no,' I replied.
He strained his neck so that he could look at me. 'What's that supposed to mean?'
'Both Wren and I are new at this together thing. He is willing to devout his life to me and I to him. But I knew monogamy would be hard on him. He's young, virile and in lust all the time. So, we included a condition in our commitment to break the boring monotony of a relationship.'
'Which is?' Caleb said with interest.
'We can have sex with other people as long as it meets the other's approval.'
'Wow,' was his only reply.
He sort of fell silent for a moment.
'Would you mind if I ask Wren's permission for us to sleep together?'
I just about peed myself laughing.
'What's so funny?' Caleb asked. His ears and face were red. He was surely embarrassed. I didn't mean to laugh but I couldn't stop it either.
"You're making too much noise atsa." Wren's whisper brushed against my ear.
I totally forgot that he and Kane have super shifter hearing. They probably heard the whole conversation. It didn't bother me in the least though.
'Sorry,' I shouted for Wren to hear, 'oops.'
Caleb gave me a wan smile.
'Cheer up Cale. I'm not saying no. It's just the way you said it. That's all.'
'Why?' he asked.
'Wren isn't my father. He doesn't hold the key to my pants.'
"Tell him yes. But I want in on the action." Wren interjected with a smirk.
I laughed again.
'Now what?' Caleb asked.
'Wren said yes.'
'Oh!'
Now he was grinning from ear to ear.
We took a short break around midday. After gorging ourselves on berries we found a few miles back, the boys snoozed in the shade as I stood guard. I insisted on doing it because I slept through my shift this morning. Well, it wasn't my fault. Wren was supposed to wake me. Most times, he thinks I'm an awkwardly frail girl who constantly needs saving.
I was contemplating a hot bath when I saw Keene headed for the giant boulders not far from where the horses were grazing. I was in a tree, so he didn't see me.
He crouched down by the boulder and plucked a handful of weeds with vivid blue flowers on them. He twisted them a bit before smelling them. I couldn't see his face but to my surprise he started rubbing them on his skin and clothes.
In this heat, the horses were attracting a lot of bugs. Maybe he found some sort of repellent. I should get some, I thought. I reeked of horse sweat and the bugs were pretty much bothering me as well.
As I climbed down from the tree, Keene suddenly climbed up a boulder and lay flat down on it. He gazed in the direction we just came from. I rushed to him and did the same.
'What have you found?'
'We're being followed,' he said.
'How do you know?' I said looking in the direction of his gaze.
'Look in the tree line, over there by the ridge. You see how the animals are fleeing the place.'
Surely, I saw a deer and three birds scurrying away from the ridge.
'It's a scout. He's watching us right now. The others must not be far behind,' Keene said.
'What do we do?'
'Let's get the others. We need to ride now.'
As we got down from the boulder I saw Kane coming towards us. 'What is it?' He asked. Actually, it was more like a command. I didn't like the authoritative gruffness of his tone.
'There are men on the ridge behind us. Keene believes we're being followed.' I replied because Keene was already getting on his horse. He was clearly avoiding Kane.
'Wake the others. We're leaving this place,' Kane said just before he wrinkled his nose and started sniffing his clothes and armpits, 'and what is that smell.'
Again I rode with Caleb. This time we went at a faster pace. Keene promised us we would be in Lore before sundown. I believed him because he managed to find the road leading to the village.
An hour later we were met with a ghastly sight just as we rounded the bend to the village entrance. Carrion eaters; crows, wild wolves and a few scrawny foxes where picking at a mound of carcasses next to a broken down fence. And the smell, it was nauseating.
'What do you suppose those are?' Kane asked pointing at the carcasses.
'Livestock I hope,' Wren said wrinkling his nose.
'They're must be preparing for a hell of a feast,' Caleb said trying to make light humor.
I, on the other hand, was having a bad feeling about this place.
There was nobody at the broken down gate as we entered. From what I could see, the whole village was centered on the road leading to another exit at the far end. The houses showed years of neglected. Tattered walls, poor patched work on the roofs, you couldn't keep a dog out of the house. Speaking of dogs, I found it strange that I had yet to encounter a domesticated animal or even a child. And stranger still, there were no cooking fires or smoke coming from any houses for that matter.
A dozen or so villagers were moving about. They stopped and stared at us as we passed by. They were skinny, filthy and haggard. In fact, the whole village looked like they'd just came out of a devastating plague.
'Keep on going. There's no way I'm spending the night in this place,' Kane said in a disgusted tone.
'I was about to say the same thing,' Wren said eying the villagers.
I agreed to their resolve.
About forty-five minutes from the village we finally came to a halt. It was dark and I was exhausted.
'We can't stop now. We need to keep going,' Keene said.
'Why? I'm so tired.' I protested.
Keene huffed. My whining irritated him. 'Didn't any of you notice?'
'Notice what?' Wren asked.
'The villagers are vampire food.'
Hearing the word vampire, I perked up. 'How do you know?'
'Red angry rash around the mouth, loss of body mass and neglected appearance. These people had long term exposure to vampire venom . That's why they look like that.'
'Okay,' Wren said, 'we keep riding then.'
He said something else but I got distracted by Devlin's voice in my head.
"Your Majesty, You must get to safety immediately. The vampires have picked up your scent and they are coming for you."
'Oh guys. We need to get out of here fast,' I said. 'Devlin sent me a vision of the vampires coming our way.' The blood drained from my face. I can fight vampires but not without feri-lights. I had a handful left and they'll do shit against the coming hoard.
"There's a ranger outpost to the south of your location. Activate your medallion and get to it now before it's too late," Devlin interjected while showing me what to do.
I hesitated. We're going to die, I thought. But right now I'm still alive.
Snapping out of it, I jumped down from Celeb's horse and scurried straight for Wren.
'Change of plan,' I said. 'There's a ranger outpost nearby. We need to get to it now.'
'How do you know this?' Keene asked with a frown.
I ignored him. I thrust my hand at Wren and he pulled me up on his horse.
'The vampires got our scent. We intruded on their feeding ground. They are coming for us. Trust me, we need to go south.'
I removed the medallion around my neck and whispered the incantation Devlin showed me in a low even tone. 'Kings of old, I summon you. Be our guide, bring us to safety.'
Keene's eyes bugged out as the medallion came to life. Radiating a blue hue, it levitated above our heads.
I heard a collective gasp followed by a, 'What the fuck!'
'There's no time to waste. Follow the medallion, now,' I said to the guys. I raised my head towards my most prized possession, 'Go, go now.'
Like a tiny winged fairy, it whizzed through the trees in front of us before making a beeline south to the ranger outpost.
Galloping at full speed, we followed closely behind the tiny ball of blue light. I never rode that fast and it was scaring me to death. On two occasions I was afraid we would hit a tree or the horse would buckle and we would be tumbled off breaking our necks in the process.
Shrieking noises came from behind us. I shivered.
The vampires were getting closer.
I clung tightly to Wren as he urged the horse to go even faster.
Very soon the trees receded and I saw stars dashing by over our heads as we raced across a grassy meadow. The sweet smell of flowers filled my lungs as I spotted a cluster of lights in the distance.
The outpost.
We were nearly at the gate when two bloodsuckers crisscrossed in front of us trying to cut us off. I tried to push them off with my telekinesis but we were going too fast. We didn't slow down. However, they were spooking the horses.
Suddenly it was raining fireballs. Warlocks from the wall got rid of the two vampires before us and a few more surrounding us. I was glad they were only shooting at the vampires.
'Open the gate,' Wren shouted.
The gates opened while the warlocks kept the fireballs coming. As we crossed the threshold, more warlocks rushed to the walls.
Wren pulled on the reins hard, bringing the horse to a halt. Sliding off the horse, I saw that the others had made it as well.
Wren didn't wait for the others as he made a mad dash for the wall. We followed closely behind.
It took nearly two hours and a hundred dead vampires before the others retreated. As we watched the last of them flee, the rangers shouted in victory.
We were still on the wall when a female warlock came to us. Her face was devoid of make-up, she was tall and a little too muscular compared to most women I know. And with her armor, she had the stature of a man.
'The name is Fiori, commander of this outpost. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?'
Wren gave a short bow before answering. 'I'm Wren. I apologized for bringing trouble to your doorstep.'
Commander Fiori gave a raucous laugh. Her men joined in as well.
'Nonsense! My men have been on edge all week and you provided us with the perfect distraction.' The men shouted their contentment again. 'Take charge Hedrick,' she said to the shorter man by her side. 'Get everything back in order and attend the wounded.'
'Ay Commander.'
To us, she said, 'Come, let go inside so we can speak more peacefully.'
We left the men cheering in our wake.
Commander Fiori brought us to the main hall where half a dozen men, still in armor, sat drinking the infamous Targeten brew.
'Give us the room,' Commander Fiori barked.
Without arguments, they left. The only person who stayed was a young boy around six years old. His presence at the outpost puzzled me. I figured he was either an orphan adopted by the Commander or the son of non-military personnel.
'Ander, be a darling and fetch us something to eat and drink,' the Commander said to the boy. The tender tone in her voice told me that she had a soft spot for the boy.
'Yes, commander,' he replied before leaving.
The Commander invited us to sit at her table. Wren and I sat opposite her, Kane and Caleb on either side of her and Keene by Wren's side.
'Now gentlemen, would you care to explain to me why two princes of Wyrmer are so far away from home?'
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End of chapter 7