by C D Muller
“No wait, please don’t leave!” he pleaded. Silver looked down and realized he was holding her left hand. Selena, out of reflex, moved her hand away from his. His face became red with embarrassment.
“My apologies.”
“That was uncalled for,” she said defensively, “it seems like you were following me earlier. Please tell me why you’re here.”
“Me?” Silver pointed at himself, “oh, nothing! I was just merely enjoying a wonderful afternoon stroll through this forest until I stumbled upon you and your wonderful pet. I had to get a close-up view of your dragon!”
Silver forced a smile.
Her heart skipped a beat. Someone else saw Thor. What if they turned her in to the Council?
“You must be mistaken,” Selena quickly said.
“Nonsense! I swear I won’t say anything! I know how risky it is dealing with business with Vidar and the Council! It will be like I wasn’t even here!”
Selena was not sure if she should feel relieved or to be even more worried.
“I… I really should be going,” Selena said as she took a step backwards, “it was nice meeting you. Farewell.”
As she began to walk back, Silver clasped his hands behind his back and followed her.
Selena stopped to look at him and he stopped as well.
“Why are you following me?” she asked him.
“Me? I’m not! It just so happens that we are traveling the same path together!”
A huge grin appeared on his face.
“I don’t see how that’s possible, as I’m heading back home,” she said, shaking her head.
“But you came from that direction. You’re heading deeper into the forest, my dear,” Silver said, pointing in the opposite way.
To Selena’s astonishment, she realized that Silver was right, for the forest had suddenly grown thicker with trees.
“Then why are you heading this way?” she asked him.
“I’m looking for someone. Perhaps you’ve seen him?” Silver bent over and placed his hand above the ground. “He’s about this tall, with brown and orange fur. He talks a lot, goes by the name of Locky, Looki, Mooki…or something like that.”
Selena looked at him like he was insane. She knew only of Loki, and thought that Silver was referring to him. However, she was not sure if she should trust him by giving him that information.
“I…I’ve never seen or met anyone like that.”
“Well, he’s typically a fox. Have you seen any foxes around here?”
“I have not. Why are you asking?” Selena asked.
“It’s a rather confusing story,” Silver quickly said, “if you wish, I shall tell it to you.”
He bowed graciously to her.
“I think I will be heading back home now. I have stalled long enough.”
She turned around to walk back in the right direction towards her house. However, she caught a glimpse of a black blur dash towards Silver.
“There you are, you little son of a –!”
The voice was deep and masculine. His sentence was cut off as he smashed into Silver and into the ditch nearby.
Selena quickly stopped and looked to where Silver was standing a moment ago, hearing swear words echoing through the forest, thinking that he was in danger.
She quickly ran over to where the two dropped into the small ditch to see if she could help Silver.
However, she stopped at the edge and saw that Silver was lying on the ground with a foot on top of his head.
The black figure that smashed into Silver had jet black hair, with a white stripe parting the front. He wore a sleeveless mesh shirt and baggy black pants with thick, black boots. Leather gauntlets rested over his hands, and strapped over his shoulder was a coffin-shaped case with a handle on the side.
“Dammit, Silver! Do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is for me to track you down during the day? Do you even understand the shit that I’ve been getting from D because of your little escapade?”
Silver laughed.
“What Phantom Dust doesn’t know, Kain, won’t hurt him.”
“But he does know!” Kain said in a more irritated tone. Selena figured that the person they called Phantom Dust was nicknamed ‘D.’
“You arrogant brat! Sometimes I really just want to crush that little skull of yours!”
Selena immediately thought that he was going to kill him.
There’s no time to find help, she thought to herself. She thought of calling out to her dragon, but she did not feel that he was there. It was as though there was a mental block. She did not like the feeling of solitude.
Dismissing this, she quickly looked around and grabbed the largest stick that she could find to help Silver. In a rescue attempt, she ran over and hit with her brittle weapon.
When she slammed it over his back, it broke in half with a loud crack. Kain did not flinch at all.
He gave out a slight chuckle at her failure.
“So the little princess does have some fight in her.”
He turned to face her with his boot still on Silver’s head. Selena gasped when she saw his fangs. He was a vampire.
“All right. I’ll bite.”
Selena trembled with her broken weapon.
A malicious sneer played upon his lips. His eyes were cold and sinister and made her heart freeze. She tried to find the strength to move, but it was as though she were frozen in her tracks.
“You’d make a good snack,” he said a bit jokingly. Silver began to mutter a phrase that was indistinguishable to anyone. Both Kain and Selena looked at him.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Kain, with a puzzled look on his face, slowly lifted his boot from Silver’s head.
“Dragon!” Silver shouted at the top of his lungs.
Both of them looked up. Selena was terrified to see a black dragon flying overhead above the opening of trees over their heads. Its musty and putrid scales polluted its surroundings. Near the shoulders were two large claw-tipped wings. Strapped over its back was a leather saddle that carried three riders.
When the dragon looked down to see the three of them, it roared and dove down after them. The creature focused its attention on Selena. It opened its mouth and reared up for an attack.
Just as the dragon was about to strike, Kain dove in and grabbed the beast by its gaping jaws with his bare hands. In an attempt to free their beast, the first rider raised his hands and started to cast lightning bolts in Kain’s direction while the other two were getting their guns ready.
Selena quickly backed away near to where Silver scurried to his feet. He grabbed her by the arms and forced her to run with him away from the attack.
“But wait, what about…?” Selena began.
“Don’t worry!” Silver cried out, heading towards a large fan of bushes nearby. He pushed her into them for cover as he dove in with her. Selena had a concerned expression on her face, her heart racing. She looked up at Silver, who was instead smiling.
“Oh don’t worry,” he said again, “everything will be fine. Have a look for yourself.”
He nodded towards the scene, and Selena sheepishly poked her head out of the bush that hid them both.
Kain slightly redid his footing to get a better grip on the dragon’s maw, his muscles in his arms tightening. His black fingernails were like claws.
He chucked the head of the beast to the ground while yelling, “you overgrown lizard!”
Its body was tossed around by Kain like a rag doll, and the three riders were thrown off the saddle.
“Leave the dragon! Find the girl and kill her!” one of the riders commanded through his dark blue bone mask. The other two wore similar fashion as their leader with gray robes to match.
Kain quickly moved to the side of the dragon’s neck with his fangs bared. He dug them through the scaly flesh with blood pouring from the wounds like a river. A dark aura emanated from Kain as he sapped the energy from the beast, the body corroding away to bone.
&n
bsp; Selena cried in fear. No matter how ghastly the incident was, she could not tear her gaze away.
Kain jerked his head back after he finished feeding off the beast.
“Your head will look good mounted on a stake, Vampire!” one of the riders shouted as he rushed froward with a wicked looking blade that was the color of blood.
While Kain kept the first rider busy, the other two headed towards where Silver and Selena were hiding. Before they could, however, Silver jolted to his feet and jumped out as if to ambush them.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you!” he exclaimed, almost as if he were singing.
“Find her! I want that child’s head on a platter! Our Master will not be happy unless she’s dead!”
“I’m sorry to say that you’ll be walking away empty handed. You cultists can explain that to your master,” Silver said coolly.
Words were fired. While Selena cowered in the corner, she watched the two followers rush in after Silver. However, he danced around them to avoid their attacks with his hands behind his back.
“I don’t think you two are trying hard enough!” Silver taunted.
The two attackers stopped, looked at each other and nodded. One of them immediately took off while the other stayed to fight Silver. Silver’s expression immediately changed as he took a defensive stance instead.
“You cannot defeat the Obsidian Order,” the cultist hissed.
Silver growled and immediately pulled out two enchanted swords hidden in the sleeves of his robes and, with one swift movement, beheaded his attacker. The corpse burst into flames.
Selena frantically looked around to see where the other member of the Order ran off to, but then felt a sudden jerk of her arm and a cold touch of metal pressed into her throat.
“If you attempt to move or speak, I will kill you right where you stand,” the assassin growled in her ear.
She swallowed hard, knowing that he was going to kill her either way. She locked gazes with Kain for a brief moment. His eyes widened as he swore under his breath and turned to face his enemy. He rushed in and kicked the rider’s lower jaw. Kain then grabbed the follower’s shoulders before sinking his fangs into his foe’s neck.
The third member of the Order forced Selena to quietly stand as he dragged her back into the trees in an attempt to sneak away from the two. She attempted to kick and to fight back, but her assassin sunk his blade deeper into her skin.
A feeling of grim and despair washed over her. She kept thinking that she should have stayed where Thor was. Her final thoughts were of him.
Silver suddenly appeared from the trees with his swords drawn. The cultist laughed maniacally.
“I will kill her if you get close to me!” he barked.
Silver twitched slightly. His gaze shifted to where Kain stood. Instead of running over to join them, he reached out towards the skeletal maw of the dead dragon, grabbed one of its larger fangs and ripped it from the jaw with ease. He then held it between his fingers like a throwing knife and chucked it at the robed man in the back of the neck in the spinal cord. Both him and Selena stood still for a moment in a daze. It took her a while to realize what just happened, but she quickly made her way to Silver’s side when her assassin lowered his dagger and stumbled to the ground.
Kain casually walked over with his hands in his pockets and rolled the body over with his foot, forcing the rider to look at him. The man was paralyzed from the neck down, but his face still showed a look of fear.
“Huh,” Kain said with an evil smirk, “at least I get to crush someone’s skull today.”
He lifted up his large boot in the air over the cowering face and slammed it against his head, the bones crunching under his foot with ease.
Selena gasped with terror and quickly looked away. She trembled with tears falling down her face.
Kain then made his way back towards the two of them with his hands still tucked away. When he got really close, Selena looked at him with a terrified glance, noticing the blood splatter all over the boot, hands, and chest.
“You know, you should be a little more grateful to the person who just saved your life, child,” he said with a bored look on his face.
Selena struggled to speak.
“T… t… thank you,” she forced out.
“Don’t you even know who they were?” Kain asked again.
“No,” she choked out in fear.
“Oh great, you still don’t remember a damn thing, do you? Fine. Those masked monsters are part of the Obsidian Order! Stay away from them! They are part of a cult dedicated to worshipping the Lich! His word is their law. If he wants something done, they will do everything in their power to make it happen. Right now, that damn necromancer wants you dead. They will be out looking for you.”
“Why does he want me dead? What did I do?” Selena asked.
Before Kain could answer, Silver interrupted.
“Are you done scaring her for the day? Don’t you have something to report to D?” Silver asked in a defensive tone.
“Actually, yes, I do. Walk her home. Do something right for once. After you take her home, that’s it! You stick to regulations,” Kain growled.
He walked away. Silver looked at him and spat at the ground where he previously stood.
“Let me take you home. I’m pretty sure Chaliss is worried sick about you.” Selena nodded, too afraid to question how Silver even knew of her caretaker. He helped her to her feet.
“Let me look at that,” he lifted up her chin to get a better look at the small cut on her neck. For a moment, her eyes were locked with his, but he immediately looked down to see her wound.
“When we get back, I’ll give you an ointment to help that heal faster.”
While they walked back, Silver continued.
“That was Kain Vanguard. Don’t worry, he’s on our side, even as part of the Shadow Templars. If you ever get into trouble, he will always be there to help, and so will I.”
“What are the Shadow Templars?” Selena asked.
“The Shadow Templars are a secret group of vampire assassins under the rule of the Empress herself,” he began to explain, “the Council doesn’t know of their existence. Since they have been slowly taking away the Empress’ power over the years, she made secret allies to help her.”
Selena was still confused, but at the same time, she felt a sense of familiarity about him. However, her thoughts were too chaotic, believing that perhaps this was merely just a dream.
“If…but Kain is a vampire!” she choked out.
Silver nodded.
“Then…how can he be wandering around in the middle of the day?”
“Not for very long,” Silver quickly answered, “that’s why he said it’s difficult for him to track me down during the day. The sunlight makes him gravely ill, but it can’t kill him. That’s why he always carries his coffin around with him, in case he needs to hide while in direct sunlight. It’ll be difficult to kill that bastard! You would have to chop off his head and mount it on a wooden stake and leave it outside as the sun rises. Good luck to you if you can even get close enough to the bastard!”
Selena nodded.
“And…who is Phantom Dust?”
Silver grumbled.
“He’s kind of like our boss. He prefers if we just call him D.”
“You still haven’t answered my question. Why does the Lich want me dead? I still don’t understand.”
Silver abruptly stopped and took a deep breath.
“There is a lot that I’m not allowed to tell you. I wish I could! You know that you were rescued from the Lich by the Council, right?”
Selena nodded.
“Good. All I can really say at the moment is that your blood and your dragon are important to him. He needs both.”
“Why?” Selena asked again.
“I’m not allowed to...” his voice trailed off. Selena looked up and noticed that his lips were twisted and locked but after a few moments, he was finally able to speak again. He
cursed loudly but stopped.
“That’s the reason!” Silver finally said.
Selena looked at him with grave concern.
“Should I be worried about this? And about you?” she forced herself to ask.
“What? No! No, no, no! Not at all! You’ll learn soon enough! We should be almost back!” Silver attempted to change the subject.
He was right. It felt as though all around her became familiar once again; she felt Thor’s mental presence return.
He eventually led her to where Thor was. He quickly stood up on all fours and bared his teeth, but Silver held out his hand.
“Don’t worry. He’s …a friend,” Selena reassured him. She was not sure if he was or not, but he did help protect her from the attack.
What happened? I smell blood.
“She will be fine. Please help me get her inside where she can rest,” Silver said with his hands held up.
Please listen to him.
You still didn’t answer my question. What happened to you? It was like you disappeared.
I don’t know. I only walked through the woods. It felt strange, as though I were cut off from you.
You’re not leaving me like that again. I’m staying close to keep an eye on you from now on. And who is this?
She attempted to explain but kept stuttering as Silver led her to the back door of their cottage, with Thor following closely behind.
Did he hurt you at all?
No! I was saved.
Saved from what?
Selena explained to Thor what happened when they were separated. As Silver knocked on the door and they waited for Chaliss to respond, Thor growled from the news.
I didn’t hear or see anything. One moment you left and I couldn’t talk to you. The next, you and Silver showed up and I thought that he did something to you.
Not at all!
If I see those assassins, I will tear them limb from limb! What did you call them again? The Obsidian Order?
Yes. We need to be more careful. I don’t know what’s going on or why they randomly attacked us.
They will think twice before coming after you again. I won’t let them!