The Vampire's Harvest

127

Uncertain how a pin so small could keep an army of vampires away, you put your trust in magic and remove the adornment from your clothes. Holding the silver pin in the palm of your hand, you cast a similar charm as you used on the jack-o-lantern, hopeful it may conjure something akin to a shield.

The pin grows hot in your hand as the spell spills from your lips. Then the shard of silver rises up from your palm, hovering in the air for a moment as it glows with heat. You tilt your head with curiosity, only to discover you aren't the only one watching with interest. A few eyes have spotted your magic trick and tensions shift away from the furred bodies that continue to wrestle with the vampires still ignorant to your spell.

Then, the pin twitches and in a blink of an eye, they multiply to form a wall of needles pointed out towards the fray.

A vamp roars with disapproval and you think you see them charging forward with zero hesitation. Your breath catches as your eyes survey the flimsy barrier that your silver pin has formed. Through the small gaps between pins, you watch the obscured mass leap forward with hands outstretched.

You take a step back, preparing yourself for impact.

Then the wall shatters and a blood-curdling screech pierces the night. However, the cry of pain didn't come from your lips.

Like a swarm of bees, the silver pins puncture the offending vampire, driving themselves clear through their clothes and skin before emerging from the other side. With their job performed, the sizzling, bloody needles return to position and the vampire writhes on the ground as silver poisons its veins. It will survive. Silver isn't enough to kill a vamp, but it's one of the few materials that can leave a wound that will take weeks, even months to heal.

A few more approach, only to be met with lightning quick retaliation from the pins. They hesitate and a smile curls up your cheeks as you begin to appreciate the fact that you may have actually beaten them back.

Then, all the vamps stop. They stumble, they seize up, they tense. The battlefield grows silent and the wolves step back with apprehension as the night bursts into flames.

The vamps cry out as pain wrenches their bodies. Their faces become taut with fear and agony, while their hands claw at their skin. From within their body a fire grows and soon each vamp is completely engulfed. As if the morning sun peeked out from behind the moon, the vampires roast alive. After several agonizing minutes, they all turn into piles of ash.

Their drones, completely without will and utterly devoted to their masters, are set to kill their vampire's slayer should their master die. With vengeful cries tearing through their husks, the drones turn to you. For a moment, you eye the swarm with horror, but it doesn't take long for the werewolves to recover from their shock. They tear through the mass of mindless monsters, who then crumble once their head is removed from their body. Without the sustaining power of a vampire's poison in their veins, the drones' carcasses transform into a sort of shredded, rotted meat. The wolves hack at the taste, but continue to clear the street of any hostilities while you and the coven watch mortified, but riveted, by the carnage.

Once it's all over, the wolves return to the forest without a word. You see Gianette leave with them, though she gives you one warm, passing glance on her way out. You raise your hand in goodbye, uncertain when you'll see her again.

Though the town walks away victorious, it is not an easy battle to recover from. Many resent Ferris for what he did. He took away dreams, he took away the future as everyone knew it. However, as the years go by, the act of rebuilding shows the town a new way of life. Those that did not like it left for other villages that were farms for new feeders to the vampires. You don't know how much success those villagers will have though, since almost the entire nobility of vamp society was obliterated that night. There are still plenty of low level vamps around, but it will take time for them to build up the power the nobles used to wield. And even when they do, they won't be able to take your town back.

Ferris and the coven watch over the town, training the villagers to be proper mages, including yourself. Not only that, but you see your sister far more often than you thought you would after that night. She and the other wolves took up residence in the forest outside of town. With their presence and the might of your coven, no vampire will be taking control of your village again.

***

Congratulations, you found the successful ending for this branch of the story! Why not go back and see what happens when you can't fend off the vampires...