"Bring it!" Lumi's eyes blazed. Her right hand snapped up. With a sharp twist of her wrist, the air above her warped and solidified into a shimmering barrier etched with ancient glyphs!
CRACK!
The sound wasn't the shield breaking. It was the troll's granite forearm shattering. The barrier held firm against the mountain-splitting blow, then erupted with violent recoil. It flung the massive fist—and half the arm attached—violently backward. Stone exploded into shards and choking powder. The troll roared in fury.
Tch! "Packed a punch!" Lumi flexed her fingers, golden light flaring brighter at her fingertips. Her tone stayed mocking. "Shame the brain's as solid as the rest!"
Simultaneously, a slightly smaller troll fixed its murky red eyes on Ellis. It lumbered forward with surprising speed, huge stone fist whistling toward her ribs!
Ellis's pupils contracted. Her werewolf blood sharpened her reflexes. As the fist came, she pivoted hard, driving her boot against the rock wall. Using the kickback, she launched herself sideways, narrowly clearing the sweeping fist. She landed solidly on the creature's broad, moss-covered back. Her silver dagger flashed down, stabbing toward a seam at the base of its stony neck!
Screech!
The blade skittered off rough rock, throwing sparks and leaving only a pale scratch.
"Pup!" Lumi's voice held exasperated amusement as she deflected a wild swing from the one-armed troll. "That little knife's useless! The magic I taught you? Use it!"
The third troll charged, fist aimed at Ellis as she landed. Fierce light ignited deep within Ellis's dark green eyes. She snarled, dropping her weight. Crimson motes of magic swirled into existence around her right arm like burning sand, coiling tightly. Heat radiated outward.
"Hah!" Ellis twisted her torso, unleashing a punch that channeled her strength and the scorching magic.
A blazing spiral of fire erupted. The air sizzled. The fiery corkscrew slammed into the charging troll's chest. Rock instantly softened and melted under the terrible heat. Half its torso collapsed like wax in a forge, leaving a smoldering hole. Molten droplets fell with a hiss, sending up acrid white smoke. The troll froze. The red lights in its eyes flickered… and died. The massive body crashed backward, raising a plume of dust.
"Oh?" Caius, who'd observed like a noble at bloodsport, finally voiced interest. His crimson gaze lingered on the fading red sparks around Ellis's arm. Surprise flickered, replaced by deeper hunger. "A surprising flavor… Pup. I find myself increasingly tempted by your blood." He ran a pale tongue over his lips.
Lumi clenched her right fist, the golden shield condensing around her knuckles. She drove it forward. The one-armed troll flew back a dozen meters! She shook her hand. "Old bat! Stop spectating. Last one's yours!"
"As you wish, madam," Caius drawled, his tone suggesting a bored tea party. He strolled forward two unhurried steps, stopping before the final troll. His elegance clashed violently with the chaos.
He merely lifted his eyelids. Deep within those silver eyes, crimson light flashed—like a fissure opening into an abyss.
Instantly, the murky red glow within the troll's sockets was plucked by an unseen force. It tore free, becoming two wisps of crimson smoke that vanished into Caius's pupils. As the light died, the troll froze like a puppet with cut strings. The heavy stone body collapsed onto the scree, utterly inert.
Ellis's breath hitched. She knew Caius was powerful, but this effortless display chilled her. Terror wrapped in elegance.
"Crude puppetry," Caius remarked, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "We vampires grew bored with such tricks millennia ago. Shall we proceed?"
"Speaking of puppets," Lumi said, golden light fading as she approached. A hint of teasing colored her voice. "Shouldn't a fancy vampire lord like you travel with an entourage? A gaggle of spawn?"
"I've no interest in those," Caius replied offhandedly.
"Bull!" Lumi snorted. "Lived thousands of years. Never bitten a human? Never made a single vampire spawn?"
"No." Caius was curt. His silver gaze swept over Lumi, utterly detached. "I've drunk from many. Tolerable flavor. But turning them? Too troublesome. Too dull."
He paused, a faint curve touching his lips. "When one possesses sufficient power and time… why burden oneself with servants? To admire clumsy obedience? To endure eternal stupidity?"
The answer struck both women silent. His arrogance didn't suggest a lie… A millennia-old vampire noble who'd never created spawn? Unheard of.
Ellis found her voice, threading it with teasing. "Then, mighty Caius Thorne, why stoop to ally with mere mortals like us?"
Caius turned. The dying light traced his profile. His gaze traveled over his companions: the formidable witch, the half-wolf girl with strange power. A predatory smile touched his lips. Crimson light glinted deep within his pale pupils.
"Because, dear Ellis… dear Lumi," his voice was low, magnetic, like smooth poison, "you two are… rarities. In this tiresome world. Traveling with you is a privilege." His eyes flickered to the fading magic on Ellis's arm. "And the journey's sole amusement."
Canyon wind, thick with dust, swept past the three. Ahead, the darkness deepened.
They finally crested the high, steep pass through the Blackstone Peaks. The treacherous, shifting scree beneath their boots gave way to solid earth.
The wind, thick with sulfur stink and the mountain's oppression, lessened. The air cleared, filled now with the crisp scent of pine.
They walked silently into a sparse forest. Trees whipped thin by constant mountain winds cast patchy shadows in the twilight. Utter silence hung over the woods. No birdsong. Only the muffled tread of boots on thick pine needles and the occasional sharp snap of a dry twig.
Not long after entering the trees, Caius, walking ahead, paused almost imperceptibly.
His pale face looked colder beneath the shifting shadows. His nostrils flared slightly. Just beneath the scent of pine and loam, he caught something else. But the forest breeze snatched it away before he could place it.
A flicker of confusion passed through his silver eyes, swift as a phantom. He moved on without a word or backward glance, as if the moment had been nothing more than a falling leaf.
The woods opened abruptly at their edge. A small town lay bathed in the warm, golden light of dusk. Low houses, mostly built of dark stone with thick moss or slate roofs, looked sturdy and peaceful. Clean, gravel-paved streets wound between them. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys, carrying the warm smells of woodsmoke and cooking.
A few windows already glowed with soft yellow light. The distant sounds of barking dogs and murmured conversation reached them. A weathered wooden sign stood at the town entrance, its lettering clear: "Welcome to Blackstone."
"Blackstone!" Lumi breathed out a long sigh, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Thank the skies! A place to breathe, get hot food, and sleep warm!" The exhaustion of their long journey seemed to lift at the sight.
The tension in Ellis eased completely. Her weariness seemed to melt away in the town's warmth. She looked at the lit windows and rising smoke, the warm light reflecting in her dark green eyes. A small, unconscious smile touched her lips. The faint unease from the woods vanished in the face of this welcoming life.
"Let's find somewhere warm," Lumi said, suddenly energetic. Her eyes scanned the lit houses, finally settling on one whose windows shone brightest and loudest chatter spilled out. "This one. Smells promising!"
Ellis nodded. Her hand, which had been resting on the hilt of her silver dagger, relaxed. Her steps lightened. The town's lights and sounds wrapped around the three of them like a thick, warm blanket.
The lights of Blackstone cast hazy yellow pools in the deepening dusk, lighting the gravel road at the town's edge but unable to reach the silent pines beyond.
At the forest's border, the last twilight was swallowed by gnarled branches. The darkness thickened, becoming heavy, deeper than before.
A suffocating silence descended. The woods returned to utter stillness. Even the feeble light from the lantern on the town entrance signpost seemed to flicker weakly.
The guard at the gate huddled deeper into his fur-lined coat near his hut's shelter. A chill prickled the back of his neck. He glanced uneasily towards the black mass of the pine forest. Nothing but impenetrable dark.
He spat. "Damned weather," he muttered, tucking his face into his collar, blaming the mountain wind. He didn't notice the faint, almost invisible scratches on the rough wooden doorframe beside him – marks like the lightest, unintentional scrape of claws.