Page 128 of Of Shadows and Blood

The vice around my torso releases and I draw in a sharp breath of air before stabbing the dense space again. Oddly, I can feel it find purchase and the void begins to shrink in on itself. Slowly the pressure around my hand releases as it wraps around the hand holding the dagger.

“LET. GO!” I scream, yanking my hand from the small black orb before me. Inky, black matter spills from it. I scramble backwards to avoid touching it. The void ripples and recedes in a floating manner back down the tunnel we came through, struggling to stay afloat and groaning the entire time down.

The door at the top of the stairs does not open. Killian believes I am still being finished off.

Wherever Sawyer is, he was involved in this.

Pulling myself to my feet, I slice the bottom of my dress off to a comfortable tea length and trudge down the left tunnel, hand covering my nose to avoid the stench. This tunnel slopes down before forking again. Using whatever vampyr sense of smell I have, I sniff the left tunnel and immediately repulse, vomiting against the rock wall.

This is ancient death. Rot.

The right side, I carefully offer my nose to. The stench lingers from the other but this one feels safer. My options are scant so I take off to the right. Gods, I hope this does not connect with the other tunnel. It very well could.

There is no light down here so I take each step slowly, trying to discern any bumps or changes in direction. There must be miles of tunnels under here, maybe all of Krue. What other horrors do they hide?

A soft pin of light appears at the end of a straight section. I pick up my pace, my feet aching from the jutting rocks that cut into my soles. Freedom is close.

Without warning, I drop into a pool of water. The drain water smells putrid and I swim to the top and begin stroking to the end as the tunnel opening becomes clearer. Vines hang in front of the exit, hidden naturally by the elements. Water is something I have yet to master but I imagine, with my normal abilities, I could float myself to the edge. The ground meets my feet on the slope up and I exit the tunnel, leaving the manor behind.

Chapter 35

A tree without a limb is still a tree. A limb without a tree is lost.

Smoke rises in the distance and I need to keep moving.

The sun is setting and my clothing is damp from navigating the tunnels and swimming in the mystery water.

The testament of vampyr healing and my strength is the only thing keeping me alive. Now that I’m outside of the manor, they will notice that my corpse is missing soon. My body is in impeccable condition, save for the dirt. I stretch my limbs and take in my surroundings. Going back to Orvynn or even the nearby village is not an option.

Killian left me for dead.

Every ounce of training in me kicks into action. Krue is on the eastern side of Lux. If the manor is on my right, then I need to keep heading away from it towards the main part of Lux. There must be legions or soldiers left over. I’m counting on it.

Barefoot, I continue trekking through the cold forest, thankful the frost has melted. These moments give me a chance to breathe, to digest what has befallen me. Somehow, I lost my shoes in the fight.

Killian tried to kill me. Something, some hidden motive is driving him and I know somehow it is linked to Sawyer. If only I knew what. But one thing I am positive about? He was involved in my amnesia. This was instrumented by him. At what capacity, I do not know.

And that monster, that beast. A part of me took Cedric’s stories of the old continent as myth. Vampyr are not the real monsters here. Evil incarnate is here on earth among us. How many more are hidden?

The pads of my feet start to wear raw before healing and wearing again. The sun is completely set now so I wrap my arms around my midsection, scanning the surrounding foliage. The sounds of birds and the wind fill the silence and something else.

Slowly, I cease movement to listen. I am not alone.

I step behind a tree, pulling my body in close. Being unarmed and powerless is not ideal, yet I’ve made it this far.

“Come out,” a voice orders across the space. Deftly, I peek out from behind the tree and see someone do the same, but they release an arrow from their bow. Dodging it, I conjure that seed of power Avonde trained me to, expanding the width of the trunk a half an inch. I want to laugh at my show of skills in this area but another arrow fires on the other side, embedding in another tree.

The blood I’ve been drinking has granted me some energy, but I am nearly depleted.

“Like hell,” I mutter, calculating my options. The jeweled dagger is no longer with me.

“We can hear you,” a second, female voice yells. “Reveal yourself or die.”

Wait.

“Serene?” I yell. Could the cess really be out here? I’m only a few miles from Orvynn but a long distance from Demis.

“Come out, slowly,” Serene coaxes from behind the tree. I turn to my right and find an arrow in my face, pulled taut and ready to release. She furrows her brow and lowers the weapon.