Off the puddle came a white stream of light that burnt through my lashes as I stood looking through the lenses of my black shades. My sight blurred as tears swell in protection. Sighing, my leather clad fingertips slipped in the space behind the black glass; rubbing the salted water free. The groan next to me alerts of Willow’s arrival. Glancing at her with a nod I turn back to my ride. Hearing Willow’s four little paws stepping in tune to mine.
“Serenity, I can’t smell the troll yet,” Willow’s words sound in my head. I nod back to her in response. “How far do you believe it is?”
“Willow, they live in families and they are roughly…” I smell the breeze that flushed against my face from the North East. “I would say about an hour away,” saying this as I hop into my truck. Willow jumps through the passenger side window before curling into my side. “You’ll scratch the paint if you keep doing that Will.”
“No hands,” She retorts with the smirk seeping in her words. “I want to sleep for a while, so play with my ears.” Putting her muzzle on my leg she bumps my arm a few times before she whimpers. I roll my eyes as I rev awake my beast beneath me.
“Impatient Mutt” I mutter as I allow my nails to touch her fur covered flesh. In response Willow scoots closure to me waging her tail. As I pull out of the park’s drive onto the gravel drive I steer right with the music encouraging me along. The dusty road marks my tracks as we made our way off the side road to another. Willow’s snoring kept to the beat of each song making the drive peaceful as the sun dropped low. Humming to myself trying to ensure my attention is aware of what is around.
As the sun hit the horizon line I could taste the rotting mud. Willow’s head popped up as she growls in the discomfort that has insulted her nose. I nudge her gently as she groans her way to plop that jaw of hers onto the window’s ledge. “Keep your eyes open, alert me if there is anything abnormal.”
“You do mean other then this awful smell, right?” Willow whimpered.
“Stop complaining, we have a job to do. I’ve spoiled you too much.” I smiled as Willow growled at me completely not amused. Keeping my eyes trained on the town coming closer, I slowed the truck to a crawling speed. Willow’s nose reached the sky as her ears perked up. After a few minutes a low growl seeped out of her bared teeth.
“Serenity, they are this way. I feel the magic strongest from this direction.” Nodding I turned the truck to the east with a slow movement. “What is the plan now?”
“Willow, let’s go for a walk,” pulling the wheel to move into the road’s side parking slot. I open the door as I twist out of the opening. Willow follows behind me through the door, on the pavement, in the grass to the woods lining past the town’s center. Willow rounded my side as she took left with a grunt, I kept straight heading towards the cliffs.
“Three sets of prints,” howled Willow before she returned. Jumping up the trees to hide in darkness. Willow crouched, crawling through the brush. We made our way to their camps clearing and waited for nightfall. Lightning bugs began to shimmer as the last rays of the sun disappeared in the cool night air. The forest’s frogs began to sing trying to attract the crickets strings. Bat’s nicks to locate food called for the troll’s to remove themselves from their homes. Soon a fire was burning with a pot of water boiling. Willow began to crawl along their base’s edge digging her tail in the dirt behind her. When she had completed her circle she let out a howl. I dropped softly down while placing a few gems where I entered the ditch. Willow crawled back to me before breathing on the light green gem stones.
“I locked it,” she announced excitedly in my head.
“Thank you, keep an eye out for me;” I replied before turning around to confront the trolls ignorantly chatting by the fire. Picking up a hand full of dried leaves to be immediately thrown in the air. Summoning the forces of the wind I push the leaves to cover me as the wind blew out the lit fire. As the wind suffocates the last breath of the flame the troll family tries to chant a language that I never cared to learn. Killing the wind as my final step settles where the fire once was.
“Who’s there?” cried out a haggled voice.
“We smell you vampire,” a deep gravel tone yelled.
“Our eyes are weak but you smell of death,” a snippy female spat-out.
“We have helped many of your kind, we can help you as well young vampire.” Starting to hum a jolly tune I step closure to the last male who offered help. I can never tell the difference in the looks from one troll to another only their voice seem different. I hand them a piece of fabric. The slightly tall toll that I decided was male grabbed the fabric quickly.
“This smells faintly familiar. Does it not?” he asked the ones beside him. They all smelt the piece while handing it around. Looking to each other they nodded as the one originally spoke back up, “vampires of the hordes, generating from the Master vampire Chronoloki.” I nodded my head in thanks, while showing my palm for my fabric only to be interrupted by the snippy female.
“We desire payment for this information. Do NOT think we do not smell you being different. Young Vampire not a horde nor a Master...You look for another Vampire? How odd…”
“Unless sister, she is the fire blessed killer?”
“Why would she come find us, you idiot if she is that vampire?”
“Both of you shut your mouths. Why came here murder?” the hag said. With a smile I extended my hand again this time with four labradorite stones of medium weight.
“Lets kill her!” they said at once. Before they could move I had jumped high above their head still humming my cheery tune. I quickly place the stones back in my pouch and flipped behind them before they had reached my old spot. I kicked the hag in the back of the head making her face plant in the burning coals earning me a loud howl of pain. Playing my odds I dug my extended nails into the “brother’s” throat directly beneath his jaw bone under his left eye. Then using my right hand I dug each of my five nails in the gravel skin of the sister bringing her closure to me. Feeling my canine teeth extend I dug them into her jugular sucking in every drop of her with in three seconds. The troll left holding my cloth started screaming out a charm. Letting “sister” drop lifeless to the ground I pulled the gurgling brother to me to drain him dry.
The old trolls magic started to aim at me in time to hit the stone skin of brother causing him to stop bleeding. Throwing him on the hag still trying to remove herself from the pit of hot ashes. I leapt to the old troll before he could react to the turn of events, landing softly on his wide shoulders I dug my teeth deep into the side of his neck as his knees began to bend. Leaping off seconds before his face hit the rocks in front of the pit, leaving him completely bloodless. I pull the hag out of the coals after I collect my fabric. Her face covered in green ooze from the blisters forming on her raw skin. Hissing in her ear, “stopping your charms from ruining humans and helping those abominations. That is why I came here. You were never going to make it out alive from our meeting.” After I finishing my words I ripped her head off her body by digging my fingers in an interlocking manor.
After burning the place down I walked out of Willow’s protection grabbed the stones and kicked the ditch of dirt freeing her from place. After standing, shaking, and yawning Willow ran up next to me. Cracking my neck as we exited the wood line, Willow b-lined to the truck in full sprint mode. Laughing I sprinted after her only to open the door before she even could make it to the town square.
“Show off!” Willow huffed out as she jumped in the truck.
“Nah, not showing off when you are just slow,” I laughed out smacking her blue brindle behind earning me a snarl before she scooted far away for me.
“Unbearable sucker,” she muttered under her breath. I acted like I could not hear her giving her the idea of privacy. Turning my beast on with the turning of a key I leaned back in my seat. “Where to now, Serenity?”
“South,” all I said as I made my way out of town towards the highway over three hours away. Willow curled up with one last yawn, I placed her fuzzy blanket over her body up to the muzzle that she liked to poke out. Traveling deep in the night to the next unknown destination while the will-of-the-wisp lit the path for me to follow. Willow snored as I continued heading south. The late night radio played dreadful music that I kept low. Pulling to the side I slipped out of the car.
Finding a meadow nearby, I sit with my back to a rock feeling the breeze on my bare arms. Laying my head back as I rest on the rock watching the stars until they start to fade into light. Wisp lead me here so here I sit, waiting. Closing my eyes as I feel the sun rays hit the top of my head. The wind whispers to me as it strokes my hair. I am completely alone in this world always have been, seems to be deemed that will be how it will always stay. I hear the birds start talking above my head with the squirrels chattering along the ground. A young fawn skitters across the bumpy landscape. Bunnies jump towards my side sniffing their little noses up and down myself. Muscles in my entire body stays completely lax.
“Bunny, I’m looking for food,” I whisper softly in his head. “I need meat, veggies, and fruit.”
“MMMMMiiissssss,” the little hopper whispered back. “I know where veggies and fruit are I can bring some to you.”
“I will take any elder’s for meat.”
“OOOOOOOOkkkkkk, we have a few that are slowly dying.”
“Thank you, Bunny.”
Took a while for the bunnies to return, when they did they returned in numbers. Each fluffy rodent carried back enough food for a few days. I said my thanks as each item is placed in my bag. Breathing deeply to bend up once they have left. Snapping the necks of the rabbits still next to me, gutting each with a nail. Draining the blood with my teeth before packing them away. I pop a huckleberry on my taste buds rinsing my mouth of all flavor of disgusting bunny blood.
A low growl sounded from by the trees lining my meadow right before a blur jumps out aiming at me with a surprising speed and force.