Dhampir

by J. H. Hutchins

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Fang!”

  A dagger flew past the rope, missing it by an inch. A second one came right after it, slicing through the rope and releasing Jayce from his death trap. He fell to the floor and gasped for air.

  Acorn burst through the wall at the other end of the barn. But this time, she wasn’t the choker-wearing, high-heeled servant who got bossed around by Lincoln. She was a Stage 3 Lycanthrope — the largest and strongest type of wolf transformation possible in the Gothic Realm. Her tremendous howl sent the Timberwolves scattering toward the forest.

  Bali and Trent carried the princess wheelbarrow style toward the forest at a breakneck speed. They were both in their Stage 1 Lycanthrope forms — in which they had long claws, fangs, and fur, but still kept their human form. Vicky ran off at the front of the pack. She held a Stage 2 Lycanthrope form — a simple transformation into a full grown wolf. They were horrified by the screams coming from the compound behind them. Lincoln and his servants were taking souls and counting names. But it seemed like the Timberwolves’ numbers were endless. They had no Stage 3 Lycans on their side, but the weaker stages were doing just fine in weakening the Goths.

  “Where’s Mallory?” Jayce asked during the assault. Lincoln surveyed the area and found nothing. He ordered his vultures to scan the entire compound — including the forest. He’d go check the front.

  Jayce had learned a thing or two about The Death’s Dawn. After escaping the crowded barn where Acorn mauled the weaker Timberwolves, Fang escorted him inside to get his wand and Mallory’s cloak. Despite wanting to kill Lincoln and his servants a couple hours ago, Jayce felt safe and sound with these Goths around. He’d already seen — and could still hear — Acorn wreaking havoc in her Stage 3 form — but Fang was good also. He played more of an assassin role; using his hand movements to control his levitating, gothic-style daggers. When they were stuck in the second-floor hallway, surrounded by Timberwolves at all sides, Fang showcased another ability of his — he tore open his black tuxedo and calmly said, “Feast, my loves — for the Realm blesses our victory.” Jayce ducked as hundreds of bats were summoned from the tuxedo. The bats’ ability not to bite Jayce a single time proved Fang’s control over the creature was second to none. Jayce was inspired.

  When the wizard entered Vicky’s office he immediately pointed out the grunt who held his wand. A gothic dagger and many bats flew past the wizard and pierced the Stage 1 Werewolf. Jayce picked up The Death’s Dawn with newfound purpose. He was ready to use what he learned from observing Fang.

  Instead of breaking his focus thinking about the endless abilities his wand could someday perform, Jayce focused on a single, simple thought: shoot a fireball. Fireball after fireball, Jayce pounded the Timberwolves as he and Fang made their way back downstairs and out of the house. Black blood dripped from his nose. He couldn’t keep the sinister grin off his face. He was finally in control of a situation that threatened to take his life.

  Fang even trusted Jayce to handle two growling Rottweilers that ran through the rain with their broken leashes — ready to rip Jayce to pieces. Jayce closed his eyes, imagined them lunging toward him, and shot out a large fireball that drowned them both in flames. The rain wouldn’t save them either. Fang pulled Jayce outside and shut the door.

  Meanwhile, in the forest behind the Timberwolves’ compound, Mallory struggled to break Trent and Bali’s grasp. Both Stage 1 Werewolves endured her Vampiric bites and deep scratches. But Mallory would be the least of their problems. The princess heard howls coming from deeper within the forest. Bali and Trent abruptly stopped. They dropped the princess in the mud and began backing up. When she rose, she squinted her eyes to see what was wrong. A pair of glowing, red eyes lingered in the distant forest beyond Vicky and the Timberwolves. Mallory felt Trent grab her shoulder. Then Bali. She didn’t mind. Whatever was in the distance would settle things anyway. She just hoped she’d live to tell the tale to her thirteen children.

  But it didn’t look likely. More and more red eyes popped up, surrounding the group into a standstill circle.

  “GERONIMO!”

  A deep voice sent the heads of Mallory and the thirty or so remaining Timberwolves toward the night sky. The battle cry seemed to be coming from the clouds above. Suddenly, a gigantic man landed on the muddy ground below. The lamps held by many of the Timberwolves dropped. The mighty gust of wind that followed the giant’s landing was the culprit. He stood around ten feet tall, had muscles the size of car tires, and wore a horned helmet, chest plate, plateskirt, and large, brown boots. He was holding a war hammer with a gigantic slab of steel at the top of the pole. It was taller than him and was shielded by sparks of electricity. Mallory smiled.

  Garth!

  “For the princess!” the man roared. He grabbed the war hammer with both hands, spun twice in a circle, and then threw the weapon at the circle of Timberwolves. Bolts of electricity shocked all nearby lifeforms, so it was successful in making the pack scatter.

  Mallory used the distraction to break free from her captors. She bent over and grabbed a lamp before bolting back toward the brightly lit compound. Bali, Trent, and a few wolves chased her. She had outrun them before, but this time was different. One of the gray wolves was significantly faster than the other Timberwolves. It dodged vultures that descended upon its partners and lunged at Mallory.

  The tackle was successful. The princess and the wolf rolled in the mud before facing each other head-on. The sound of their vicious struggle could be heard through the cries, howls, and cracks of lightning surrounding them.

  Jayce, Fang, and Despy arrived at the scene. Bali, Trent, and two more Timberwolves were covered in black blood and vulture feathers. They charged Jayce and Fang.

  “Stand back,” Fang said to Jayce. “This will be their last stand.”

  Despite his urge to help Mallory, Jayce trusted Fang enough to stand behind him. The servant ripped open his tuxedo and held the position.

  “Goodbye.”

  The hungry colony of bats Fang had summoned before began to return to the tuxedo. But for each bat that returned, a dagger was summoned. Soon enough, Bali, Trent, and the two approaching Timberwolves were engulfed by hundreds of gothic daggers.

  But Trent had a trick. He sacrificed Bali by using his body as a shield — significantly decreasing the number of daggers that sliced and stabbed his own body. Bali’s Werewolf form descended into a normal human. When Trent was closer to Fang, he thrust Bali’s body at the Vampire. It knocked him to the ground — forcing the daggers to fly toward the sky.

  Trent ignored Fang and lunged at Jayce. The wizard quickly shot a fireball, but it was too weak. Thankfully, Jayce felt string wrap around his ankle. Despy pulled the wizard out of Trent’s way — saving him from certain death. He dragged Jayce deeper into the forest and left him beside Garth. The giant was taking care of the remaining Timberwolves. Even with his war hammer still in the mud, the giant punched, crushed, and stomped them out.

  Suddenly, Jayce heard the sound of gallops. He turned toward the sound and saw a pair of red eyes coming closer. But they weren’t the only ones. Red eyes were surrounding the wizard and the giant — galloping closer to shorten the distance between them.

  “Watch out!” Jayce yelled. He shot a fireball in the direction of the red eyes.

  It was The Bull.

  Garth saw what Jayce saw and grabbed the boy by his hood. He dragged him to his war hammer and dropped the wizard. Garth rose the war hammer just in time to strike the many Gothic Minotaurs. He swung his arms in a circle and deleted all of the Minotaurs but one. They all disintegrated into black dust, but the last one standing caught the war hammer with his bare hands. Jayce ran behind a tree as Garth and the Bull struggled to take control of the war hammer. The Bull was doing well for being at a disadvantage. Garth let out a battle cry — draining every last bit of electricity from the war hammer to paralyze The Bull.

  “DIE!”

  But the Bull’s power was remarkable. He
pulled the war hammer forward and poked Garth back with the end of the pole. The giant fell back with a giant Thump! His body shrunk from ten feet tall to seven. He held his chest and grimaced in pain.

  The Bull shook off any remaining sparks of electricity and turned to Jayce. The wizard shot as many fireballs as he could, but they weren’t very effective. The Bull charged Jayce.

  “It’s raining out here, boy!” Garth yelled at Jayce. “Try something else!”

  “That’s easy for you to—”

  Before Jayce could finish his sentence, he noticed something. The button on the tail end of his wand was glowing white. Without hesitation, he pressed the button. The wand turned into a large, white battle staff with an orb at the top. The orb was covered in gray, and the pole was heavy. As soon as the Bull reached the wizard, Jayce swung the pole as hard as he could at the Bull. It knocked the Bull clean out, shattering the orb into many steel pieces.

  But the successful attack couldn’t stop The Bull’s powerful charge. The left horn of the Bull impaled Jayce’s chest and pinned the boy to the bark of the tree behind him. The wizard’s body shot black and red blood from his mouth. The battle staff transformed back into a wand and fell through Jayce’s fingers. It was over.

  Elsewhere in the forest, Despy returned to his master. The Cloak of Despair attacked the gray wolf assaulting Mallory. It hovered over the princess’s battle until it found the right moment to strike. It wrapped itself around the wolf and choked it — finally revealing the wolf’s true, human form.

  Vicky.

  Despy rolled her over to Mallory, opened up to raise Vicky into the air, and held her before the princess. The female leader swam in the air as she struggled to release Despy’s tight strings from around her neck. Mallory finally stood, though she was very wobbly from the bloody battle. She used a tree to help her stand. She couldn’t help but grin at Vicky begging for mercy.

  “Drop her,” the princess ordered.

  Despy dropped Vicky to the ground. Her gasps pleased the princess.

  “This is all your fault,” Mallory told the weakened leader. “You had the choice to give me my belongings but you couldn’t. You’re obsessed with inflicting pain upon others. But how does it feel having pain inflicted upon you? Not so great, does it?”

  “Please,” Vicky struggled to spit out. “We surrender.”

  “I warned you,” came a voice behind Mallory. The princess looked over her shoulder.

  Lincoln.

  The male Vampire was dragging Trent by his blond ponytail.

  “Vicky,” Trent cried like a little girl. “Vicky!”

  “Follow me,” Lincoln said as he passed Mallory. “I’ve found your friend.”

  “Jayce?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Mallory followed closely behind Lincoln. Before heading deeper into the forest, he grabbed Vicky by the ankle and dragged her through the mud with his only free arm. They finally came across Fang and Acorn — covered in the blood of the Sperns they’d massacred — standing with a lamp in their hands. Garth was lying on the forest’s floor making mud angels. Standing before them, the Bull was frozen — its horn stuck within Jayce.

  “Heavens, no!”

  Mallory bolted past Lincoln to check on him. Although Jayce was near death, he continued to laugh like a stereotypical movie villain. She tried to pull the horn out but it did nothing. Jayce mustered enough strength to place his hand on her shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” he lied. “Thank you for everything.”

  “No, no, no!” Mallory objected. “You’re not dying!”

  Jayce grimaced as he made another struggle to dig into his pocket and reveal something to Mallory: The Chariot.

  “I’ll always be with you.”

  “Move him!” Mallory ordered. Garth immediately stood up. He walked over to the Bull and was about to pull.

  “Wait,” Lincoln interrupted. “Let me consume his soul.”

  “No!” Mallory objected again. “He’s my friend.”

  “Not the boy — the Minotaur.”

  “He’s my friend, too. We can seal him now and Fang can get rid of the corruption patch on Despy.”

  “I need more Prana,” Fang admitted. “That could take weeks.”

  “He’ll be of more use if I consume him,” Lincoln went on. “His spirit will be a great addition to my abilities.”

  “No,” insisted Mallory. “Garth — lay him down.”

  The princess took Despy and laid him out beneath Bernardo. He stretched his length to catch Bernardo’s fall. Garth pulled the Bull from the tree, releasing Jayce and a ton of his own blood. Bernardo was dropped into Despy’s abyss, and the cloak wrapped itself into a bundle. When it rolled back out, it looked like a normal cloak.

  “Shed your blood over his wounds,” Lincoln told Mallory. “The boy shall live.”

  Mallory grabbed one of Fang’s gothic daggers and cut her wrist. She ripped off Jayce’s hoodie and poured Angelic blood over his wounds. After a few more cuts, she had covered the large hole and every small cut visible on his body. The pain would linger on for months, but the wound was completely covered in fresh flesh.

  “What now?” Garth asked.

  “We go home,” Lincoln said. “Right, dear?”

  Mallory nodded reluctantly.

  “As for them?” Fang asked about Vicky and Trent — the Book of Souls clutched under his right arm. Lincoln dropped Vicky’s ankle and Trent’s ponytail.

  “Remind your superiors and successors what happened on the night of February the fourteenth,” Lincoln glared at the frightened duo. “And tell the Enterprise that they can keep the Beans. We won’t cause any more trouble for the remainder of our stay in the Human World. We’re going home.”

  Lincoln had picked up Jayce and threw him over his shoulder. Mallory had placed The Death’s Dawn into the wizard’s jean pocket. The Goths made the long trek back to the Fletcher’s house and saw lights shining through a couple of the windows.

  Fang knocked on the door. Abby opened it. She covered her mouth in agony. Seeing Jayce completely unconscious meant that the worst had come.

  But Lincoln moved past her and walked up the stairs. Mallory helped him take Jayce’s muddy pants and shoes off in the hallway. The princess took off her own muddy boots and picked up Jayce. He would be surprised at her strength, but it didn’t matter now. She placed him on his bed and tucked him in. Before leaving, she placed The Death’s Dawn on the desk beside him.

  “He’s had his fun,” said Lincoln. “Bring me the wand.”

  “No,” Mallory refused. “It’s his.”

  “He is too reckless of a user to wield such power.”

  “He’ll learn. He’ll grow into its power over time.”

  “His power will be unchecked and he will run rampant around this pitiful realm. We will be the blame for the Human World’s destruction.”

  “Please, Lincoln. I believe in him.”

  “Your friend’s right,” Abby chimed in. “Gatsby may return to normal if you guys take that thing home with you. It was my fault for bringing it to Gatsby. This city hasn’t been right since it arrived.”

  “Abby,” Mallory pleaded, “Jayce will never forgive us. He’ll be devastated.”

  “The truth of the matter is that it’s not up to him,” Abby responded. “This is good for everyone.”

  “He may even struggle to remember anything that’s happened over the past few days,” Fang added.

  “Correct,” said Lincoln. “Bring me the wand, dear. You will save his life by doing so.”

  The princess took a moment of silence to think. Reluctantly, she grabbed the wand and tossed it to Lincoln.

  “And the box,” he pointed at the desk. Mallory saw the box and tossed it over. Lincoln dropped the wand into its case before it burned through his white gloves.

  “Bid your farewells,” said Lincoln.

  Fang waved from the doorway. Acorn took something from her own pocket and tossed it on Jayce’s bed. It was
Vladius, the Vampire doll.

  The princess struggled to find the words to say. The princess would never see the wizard again. What string of words was powerful enough to evoke the immense amount of feelings flowing through this Gothic child’s heart? How could she block out all of the memories they shared? When would she remember to stop crying in public and hide the tears she shed for leaving her potential soulmate behind in the Human World?

  She didn’t say a word. Instead, she laid a kiss on his forehead. Before leaving the room, she picked up Vladius and stood him upright on the desk beside Jayce. She hated the thought that Jayce would forget everything they went through. When Lincoln wasn’t looking, she even sneaked a kiss on the wizard’s lips.

  “I will always love you, Jayce Fletcher,” she promised. “You are forever mine.”

  Mallory Vice — Daughter of Natas, Princess of Avalon, the Rightful Heir to the Gothic Realm — finally left. Only Abby remained to comfort her grandson as he slept through an ending he would forever regret.

  The Goths were going home, but destiny was calling for a reunion.

  The End.

  Glory (Avalon #2)

  A new school year has just begun at Lampburn High, but Jayce's return isn't the only thing on everyone's mind. . .

  The Glories have arrived!

  With flair, confidence, and attractiveness, this new group of teenagers is set to take Gatsby by the horns.

  But why are they here? Why have they already become The Enterprise's new favorite enemies? Why are they obsessed with Jayce?

  Find the answers and much, MUCH more by reading Glory.

  Additionally, a new character — foreign to the Glories, but native to both Jayce and Mallory — is set to steal some reader's hearts. Stay tuned!

  About the Author

  Hello, world! My name is J.H. Hutchins and I’m a new author looking to express myself through the art of writing. As a hopeless romantic and pessimistic perfectionist, I decided to spend nearly a year living like a hermit to finish crafting my dark romance novel Dhampir. I intend to not only make this the beginning of a successful, long-running series (like my literary heroes Michael Anderle and J.K. Rowling), but also the start of a prolific career in which I bring heart, laughter, and joy to all those willing to join the psycho trolley and follow my abstract creations. Be sure to email me with ANYTHING, and I promise to get back to you unless something goes terribly wrong. Thank you!