“What did you do? What did you do to me?” he whispered. “I feel better than ever!”
“Doesn’t matter. My blood has healing properties. Now, tell me what else you know of The Blight.”
The Shaman pushed off the ground and sat upright, crossed his arms, and sat there silently for a long minute. I was about to get impatient, but he finally spoke up.
“They enslave our people. Every time we fight back but can’t do much despite our powers. They have armor and some kind of magic that we can’t do anything against. They have weird things in their hands that fire some kind of light that can kill my people if they hit us enough times. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes!”
I couldn’t help but get an eerie feeling. If I was to believe the Troll, he would have to give me some proof. But not now, we had many more important things to take care of.
“What’s your name, Troll?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“My name is Makas. I’m the third Shaman in line.”
“In line for what?”
He frowned at the question. It was as if I should have known what the fuck he was talking about. A low bellow resounded from my left. The Golem was finally down and being beaten badly by their bone clubs.
“It seems they won’t need your help—what was it? Vampire?”
“Yes, Makas. I’m Raziel, a Vampire Lord.”
He nodded as if understanding what I was saying. Maybe he was, who knew?
“Good, Raziel. I won’t forget this debt. You have saved my life, and with it a great deal of Trolls. If I don’t come back, they will all be killed or banished.”
“Huh, and why is that?” I asked curiously. Now he had me hooked.
“Our race doesn’t work well without—leaders. Shamans lead groups of our people to work, battle, conquer, or die. I have about one hundred warriors under my command and another hundred workers. But you need to understand that even our young are born fighters. It’s who we are.”
“I see. So what now? Will you return back where you came from?”
He looked away and stared off into the distance before letting out a deep sigh. It made him almost look Human-like to a degree.
“I can’t. If I go back without my pack I’ll be laughed at. The only thing I can do is get my people out of there, or die trying.”
“What then? Where will you go?”
Makas shook his head and turned back to me, staring down on my smaller form.
“Flee and try to build a new life for my people. We’re far too inferior in comparison to the other tribes living in the Shade.”
“Shade? Is that the place you come from?”
He nodded and turned North-East.
“There is a gigantic tree a week walk from here. We live there at the Shade.”
It was funny how Rohan never mentioned anything similar. He made me believe it was much smaller than it actually was. If I somehow ended up finding the place, who knew what would have happened to me? Death most likely.
“How many of you are there in The Shade?”
“Thousands. We live there as one big group.”
“I see. That’s quite a number. Anyway, what if I could offer you a new life under the condition that you pledge your life to me and my army?”
“You would never trust a Troll Shaman after they attacked you.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Is there a way for you to bind your life to mine?”
“No, there is not. But there is something else that I could do if you save our lives. I would transfer my power to you so that you would be able to control the brethren in my stead.”
“And how would I know it worked? I can’t trust someone who wanted to kill me mere minutes ago that easily.”
“No, you cannot, Vampire Lord. We can do it right here and right now. I will do the transfer of power and you can try out on what remains from my pack and me.”
“Sure, we can do that,” I smiled as I got up. The Troll Shaman followed me and swiped his hand across my head. Unfortunately, it was something I’d foreseen. He’d been too willing to submit and become an ally.
I blocked his left swipe and stabbed cleanly through his chest with my Mithrill blade. There was no way he could dodge or block this close. My blood only made sure he wouldn’t die, but the lack of magical energy was his undoing.
“You are smart,” he whispered as blood seeped from the wound. “It’s a shame we had—to meet.”
I nodded.
“You could have become an ally if you weren’t so hasty. Now tell me one last thing. When will The Blight be coming next time?”
He shrugged and dropped to his knees, looked up at me and spat.
“They’ll be here in seven years. I sincerely hope they—find you as—well, Vampire.”
Makas fell over, his motionless body hugging the dirt, but he wasn’t quite dead yet. I walked over to the ledge and looked down at the remaining Trolls. They looked lost as if someone had shaken them from a compulsive type of magic. Maybe it was what the Shamans did to their own people?
It didn’t take long for them to start ripping each other’s limbs and heads off. Then I remembered their regeneration rate and walked back to Makas, if that was even his real name and cut his neck wide open. I would have to keep him wounded and unable to fight until we got back where we could have a better look at what made him tick.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The ground started trembling beneath my feet as I still stood atop the cliff, trying to figure out how to get down with the Shaman and cut up what remained of the Trolls. A massive, horned head rose from the ground and coiled around an equally massive body. It was the Basilisk.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I yelled, throwing a rock at it. The creature blinked for some reason as if a small rock could hurt it.
“You said to follow you so I—.”
“Never mind. I did, and it’s a good thing you came. Is there a way for you to carry the corpses back without digesting them? Especially this guy?” I asked, shoving the Shaman down the cliff. His body hit the rocky ground with a meaty thud.
“Is he still alive? I feel some life force in him.”
I nodded to myself.
“Yeah, he is. I’m curious what makes him tick. He tried to sell me a story of loyalty and allegiance after I showed him some compassion and then attacked me.”
“Oh? What a nasty creature it is. I’ll make sure he suffers all the way back to the camp.”
I jumped down the cliff and landed on top of the Shaman’s broad back, then got off and looked over to where Rohan was supposed to be.
“Rohan?” I yelled. “You can come out now.”
I waited for ten long seconds. It was only then that he came out.
“It’s safe?”
“Yeah, it is. Well, minus the fact that this Basilisk could have us for breakfast if he wanted.”
He stopped and sat there on his horse, deliberating if to approach any further.
“Say, is he going to—you know, eat us?”
“No, I’m not. I serve Raziel for now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t become food one day down the road,” the basilisk hissed, mocking Rohan.
“Hey, quiet you!” I yelled. “Eat them all up and carry us on your back. It’s going to be much quicker that way.”
He looked at me for a second, all of its eyes staring right at me. It was probably thinking something along the line of having me for breakfast one day as well. If it was to be, why not?
We sat atop the Basilisk within minutes, slithering through the craggy terrain and holding on to its scales. The Basilisk had a way of opening up the scaly armor on its back and the space was easily large enough for us to sit in comfortably. Now, the horses were off worse than us. I tied them up against the scales so they wouldn’t fall off. My horse was doing better than Rohan’s, but after a while, it calmed down once we bound its eyes.
It was a nice change of pace not to have to do anything and just enjoy. Th
ings like this, riding a gigantic snake-like creature were things others could only dream of. Maybe it was even a dream. Who knew?
“What are you thinking of?” Rohan asked just loud enough for me to hear.
“About how good it is to put your feet up and rest for a change. Beyond that, not much. Maybe what is to follow over the next days? Who knows if we’ll manage to survive their onslaught and things like that.”
He looked away and remained silent for the rest of the journey, probably lost in his own thoughts. Good, at least no one would be bothering me for a while.
“Basilisk, wake me up if anything needs my attention.”
He remained quiet as well, but I knew he would do as ordered. After all, he had no idea if our threat was real or not. Having someone like him watch over me was more than enough reason for me to shut my eyes and drift off into something we Vampires called the State of Bliss. It greatly improved our senses and perception after waking up. A mere six hours were enough every fifteen days to function properly, and now I finally found the time.
“Wake up,” the Basilisk boomed in my mind what only seemed like a heartbeat later. I opened my eyes and was surprised by mellow light from my surroundings. The Basilisk had come up to the gate and stood there, waiting for me to get off while on the other side of the gate a bunch of soldiers was waiting nervously to see what was going to happen.
“Don’t worry, this big guy here is our friend,” I laughed as I lifted the two horses and jumped down. I removed their blindfolds and the ropes around their legs before turning to the Basilisk. “Can you spit the Trolls out?”
He lowered his head and started twitching, making weird noises and generally creeping me out. I stepped back and let him do his thing. Before long, the Shaman came out flying first. He was unconscious, which was only to be expected. The seventeen Troll corpses dropped next to him, one by one. In the end, a heap of stones followed.
I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath. Had he brought that damn Stone Golem with him? I stared down at the perfectly round pieces of stone and nodded. It was most likely it.
“Why did you bring the Golem with us?” I asked curiously. The Basilisk hissed at me and stuck its forked tongue out, spittle flying in all directions.
“It has a magical signature! Why wouldn’t you want it?”
“Is it alive? Can it regenerate just like that?”
“No. There’s only enough energy present for it to sustain life. See that rock over there?” the Basilisk asked, nodding toward the largest of the rounded pieces of stone. “That’s the core. As long as it’s intact, the Stone Golem will never die.”
“I would rather it stayed dead. It sure has some power in those legs and arms.”
“Whatever. I’m off now, I got better things to do than chat with a Vampire.”
The Basilisk struck the soft soil beneath its body and slithered away, disappearing into the dark of the forest. Before long, the sound it made as its body slid across branches, leaves, and whatever else was to be found on the ground, disappeared. I turned back toward the gate and waved for them to come out.
“These shits won’t carry themselves in!” I yelled. The gate opened and out came over fifty of my soldiers carrying rope and what looked like long stakes or whatever. Were they going to roll them over the ground? I sighed and turned to the Shaman. I noticed him stir slightly, but the bastard was playing dead.
“My Lord!” Slayer yelled as he ran up to me. “What the hell is this? What are these—things?”
“It’s the Trolls I set out to kill. There are two sorts of them. Those over there are dead,” I said pointing at the corpses, “While this guy here is acting as if he’s dead.” I kicked him in the side. His eyes fluttered open as if he was just coming to. What a bad actor.
“Y-you! Vampire! Why am I here? Didn’t you kill me? Why am I still alive?”
“Don’t act all stupid or you’ll wish you were!” I turned around and looked for Dimas, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Dimas!” I yelled. “Dimas!”
A good minute passed in silence before he jumped off a tree and landed right next to me.
“What? Isn’t it a bit late to call on me? We’ve been busy preparing for battle all day.”
“You can rest when you’re dead. Now, what can you tell me about this piece of shit?”
“It speaks our language.”
I scowled.
“It’s a Troll Shaman. He controlled all those other corpses, and when I almost killed it, probably severing the connection between them, they went nuts and started killing each other.”
“Oh, I see. It’s the Blood Sacrifice ritual. I thought they didn’t do it anymore up in the Shade.”
“We don’t! I’m not from the Shade, I’m an outcast!” the Shaman hissed, his eyes narrowed on Dimas. “I still remember you, Dimas! It was your fault I ended up being banished by my people!”
Dimas started laughing madly as if all of this amused him greatly.
“Makas?”
The Troll Shaman nodded and spat his way, but that was all he could do. His limbs were all pointing at odd angles and none of them were moving.
“Yes! It’s me!” he replied proudly.
I was getting sick of the onlookers so I motioned for them all to leave. They did so as they pulled and pushed the Troll corpses into the camp.
“You know this bastard?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah,” Dimas replied, nodding his head. “He is a slaver among his people. The worst thing he could do was take one of my daughter’s prisoner, so when I stormed The Shade, prepared to take their tree down and ready to die fighting, their Chieftain intervened, made him return her and banished him from their lands.”
I snorted.
“Sounds about right. He tried to double-cross me so easily.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll take over. This is a magnificent gift you’ve presented me with. Count any debt you might have had toward me so far cleared.”
Dimas looked up at me, almost daring to try and say otherwise. Now, if I was any more stupid and prideful, I would have fought him then and there, but I rather decided against it. He could have the Shaman if he wanted, but I was getting the corpses.
“Have you soaked your egg in blood yet?” I asked. He shook his head.
“A little bit of the Razorback’s, but that’s it. Why?”
“I’m taking the Trolls and using them for the egg. If there’s any left, you can send yours over.”
“Yeah, that’s not as important to me as this bastard is,” Dimas laughed. “Thanks for the offer.”
I nodded and turned to face my Slayer.
“Slayer, have someone drain them in a bath of sorts and place the egg inside. It needs a lot of blood in order to grow and hatch.”
Slayer looked up at me, unsure of what to do. Something weighed on his mind, but he finally nodded and ran off just as Sentinel came running back.
“My Lord, welcome back,” he said, bowing slightly.
“Tell me, where are the sisters?”
“At the center. They’re draining the crystal from its power.”
I nodded and launched myself past everyone, grabbing a thick branch that was half-ways cracked. I almost fell as it gave way, but I managed to swing without falling. It took me two more jumps to land next to the crystal. Helena and Sylvana scurried up when I appeared right before them. It seemed as if I startled them from a deep conversation or something.
“Before you say anything, Helena had a vision,” Sylvana said. “The tower’s shield is failing, so we need to move fast. It could appear any day now.”
I stood there dumbfounded. What the hell did this mean? That all we did up to this point was for nothing? I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“What do you mean?”
“Once we put up the crystal fragment in here, Helena started shaking once she absorbed more magical power than she should have. I pulled her off the crystal, but she was already deep into a vision.”
“Yea
h, and I don’t think you’re going to like what I’m going to tell you right now,” Helena added, interrupting her sister. I narrowed my eyes on her and stepped in closer.
“What do you mean?” I whispered, then turned around to see if anyone was listening in.
“The tower will appear in the No Man’s land. Battles will be fought both against the Humans and against the Vampire army, but I didn’t manage to see the outcome as—you know, it halted abruptly.”
“As I pulled her out of it too early,” Sylvana mumbled, playing with a lock of her hair. I sighed and shrugged.
“You couldn’t have known, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Now, I need you to tell me every single detail you can remember as it can mean life or death for us.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
I sat in front of the armory on a large rocking-chair which I didn’t recognize from before. It must have been something they made recently. The wood felt cool under the touch, but it was still full of tiny splinters. Looking around, I spotted the skeletal remains from something that could only be the Trolls. Their bones were thick and rather more gray than an ivory white.
“What are you staring at, my Lord?” Harlan asked as he sat next to me on a wooden log. He looked tired beyond his years despite my blood flowing through his veins.
“I want to know if you managed to find anything out regarding the Shaman. The army will be moving out soon as you might have heard by now.”
He took a deep breath and stared back at me.
“No, we haven’t managed to find anything. However, if you’re leaving, either take him with you or kill him. We won’t be able to do shit against him if he manages to heal, and heal he does like a madman. We keep breaking his limbs and neck, but unless it’s ripped off his shoulders or the heart crushed, he won’t die I guess.”
“Or burned alive,” I added. “Here, take this bomb and kill him,” I said, handing the blacksmith one of the majestic wonders the sisters created. “Make sure he can’t move as not to miss, alright?”
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