For visually challenged writers, theimage shows a pale pathway meandering through a field of purple heather towards the green of distant hills.
Sleep would not come, just waves of fear and pain. There was no silence either. Voices discussing, the news, gardens, family, Covid… I can’t blame them this was their day. Their shift, they would go home and sleep.
The scariest thing was the voice that echoed through the ward of the disturbed patient who repeated and repeated “It’s the Covid cough, the Covid, Covid, cough gonna get you” If he was not sleeping that’s all I could hear. It was better during the day because he’d call out for “Tea tea” and the nurses would bring him one and then he would shout “Happy Birthday” and we’d all smile.
At night it felt like he was closer, he was not, he was on the male side of the ward but sound carries at night. I was frightened, unreasonably so by this prophet of doom. I was lonely and in pain.
Then the pain spiked I had to give in and use my buzzer, the nurse came I told her I couldn’t take the pain. She gave me some intravenous painkillers as an extra to the antibiotics and fluid IVs. She stayed a while and then thankfully I drifted off to a better place.
For visually challenged writers, theimage shows a landscape wearing a light dusting of snow. From the hill, where skeletal heather and brown grasses pierce the snow, a valley spreads out below, lit by the rays of a pale sun.
After the noise of the battle earlier the silence cut like a knife. The snow was doing a good job of covering the dead and dying. From nowhere came silver rays from the sun bathing the valley in an almost gentle way.
It seemed almost impossible that only at dawn she had stood on the horizon looking toward the castle wondering what was to come. There had been no snow or cold when she had arrived. The witches still held sway over the climate around the castle. Yet as she had stood in the early morning warmth wondering about her future she had felt the temperature drop and seen the white of the Vampire winter approaching.
Realising there was no time to waste she ran to the castle altering those within to the incoming danger. Not bothering to morph from wolf to human she bounded up the stairs howling. She halted at the sight of Ewan, relieved to see he was back to his old irritating self! He confirmed this by patting her head. ***********
The men, dwarves and elves were ready, Rachel told Ewan that the warewolves were on their way. Everything was set and ready, the battle was nigh.
The snow and ice covered the ground silently, it didn’t fall from the sky it was just there. The temperature plummeted, the men’s breath frosted their beards as they saddled their horses, the dwarves drew their cloaks about them against the cruel wind, their axes glinting in the pale morning light. The elves lined the turrets their quivers full of wooden arrows tipped with silver.
The men on horses rode out across the draw bridge and lined up outside the castle in a phalanx the others formed a line infront of then with their spears and weapons raised. Not one of these brave men had ever fought vampires before. The dwarves were ready inside the gates singing and banging drums. The women, children and the old were all inside the castle praying to their gods . Alicia, Lisa and Rachel stood on the ramparts with the elves.
Then of a sudden a whispering, a screaming, a moaning carried across the valley and up the hill towards the castle. “They are here” shouted Alicia, “where” shouted the men. Too late they were upon them , bodies flew around, and were torn apart, men’s and horse’s hearts ripped out and thrown upon the ground. The vampires were invisible they picked the men off simply and cruelly. Within minutes men lay dead and dying, disemboweled, quartered some just drained of blood.. The elves fired into thin air and many arrows met their mark, revealing the evil vampires, writhing and screaming as they caught on fire then turned to dust.
Not a man was left standing not one survived the carnage. All the while the vampires fill the air with their screams and threats.
Hope stirred in her cot, she visualised the Vampire hoards and broke their veil of invisibility. The Elves took aim and fired their arrows up into the sky from where they rained down on the the enemy. The dwarves now came into their own as each vampire swooped at them they used their honed weapons to decapitate as many as they could. Sadly the dwarves took heavy losses.
Lisa and Alicia felt Hope’s power and they joined with her willing the sun to shine at its brightest and hottest. Slowly their powers joined and the warmth in the sun turned into heat. The elves could see the younger vampires crawling up the castle walls and taking advantage of the light they shot at them mercilessly. Rachel looked out to the plains where she saw that the hoards of Vampires were still massing. All was lost how could they cope how could the beat these numbers? The humans barring the women, children and old all dead, all gone. The Dwarves were valiantly holding the castle but for how much longer!
Then a miracle happened the Vampires began to feel the effects of the sun.. they began to burn, black dust from them coated the snow. Their war screams turned to wails of anguish and pain as they died.
The order from the ancients went up R
“Retreat, Retreat” and soon the sky was full of retreating and burning vampires.
After the noise of the battle earlier the silence cut like a knife. The snow was doing a good job of covering theb dust and human dead and dying. From nowhere came silver rays from the sun bathing the valley in an almost gentle way. The heat was gone and the cold had returned. The vampires had gone for now they would be back at night.
Hope stirred in Lisa’s arms as her power subsided so did her mother’s and Alicia’s. “Sleep for now Hope my darling” whispered Lisa, ” they shall not have you” The child smiled in her sleep.
To be continued.
If you wish to read Lisa’s and Rachel’s story up to this point you can find it here.
Mathew came through the door still stunned not only by the pleasant warmth but how suddenly his spirits had lifted.
Calador greeted him as a friend hugging him and offering him a drink. Mathew was taken aback this elf was so open hearted and generous, not many greeted a Vampire like this and meant it.
Lisa put Hope back in her drawer and said to Mathew. “Would you like to talk about it” “Talk about what ” enquired Rachel.
A look of sorrow, anger and pain crossed Mathew’s face as it all returned to him. ” I have killed Fay, I had to” Mathew sat down and to everyone’s horror he wept. Huge tears that ran down his face leaving red marks.
Rachel crossed the room to take him in her arms. The smell and touch of her helped. Mathew took a deep breath and told them all about Fay’s alience with Roman and the Ancients. How she wanted him to side with them. How he had fought with her to her ugly death…… Worst still how he felt he had been fighting Roman right up until she died when she had again become his sister.
Rachel was stunned and sickened to her stomach, the shock turned her into her Werewolf form. Lisa and Calador were not shocked, having physic powers they had known the second,the place and the method of her death.
Mathew turned to Lisa and asked… “How did you not know of her treachery, why did you not warn me?” Calador rose from his chair “she could not if known even I saw nothing untoward in her thoughts. Roman probably wove a spell over her to hide her true intentions”
Sighing Mathew lay down next to Rachel and stroked her coat, looking into her ice blue eyes he pleaded “come back to me Rachel I need you”
Lisastod and Calador picked up Hope and headed for the door,”We will watch the sunset from the roof” adding quietly as they left “we don’t need to be physic to know what they need to do” Lisa giggled as Calador put his arm around her waist. Then she felt a warm bubbling feeling in parts of her body that she thought had died with Mark. Calador looked into her eyes and said, telepathically “don’t feel guilty I ask nothing until or even if you are ever ready.” Lisa let out a sigh and smiled at this beautiful gentle Elf before her.
Back in the room as the sun set Mathew felt himself aroused as Rachel returned to her human form. Every bone in his body wanted her and he could see she felt the same.
They had sex, fast and furious on the floor in front of the fire,then Mathew carried Rachel to the bed and they slowly and gently, this time, made love…….
Out on the roof of the castle tower Calador and Lisa surveyed the frozen wastes outside the castle perimeter, such a contrast to their own Indian summer.
A crow that had been watching them from a nearby tree fluttered across and landed on Calador’s arm.
“Hello mister Crow and how are you?” Asked Lisa. The Crow looked from one to the other then said ” My name is Corvo and I have come to join you in your hour of need. I have many brothers and sisters and we want to side with you.”
“Then you are all welcome” said Lisa and Calador together as one.
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