The Price of Blood

Chapter 11: Killer Instincts

Klen stopped suddenly in the middle of the road. He had taken the form of a sleek, ghostly panther for the journey east. It amazed her how well he managed to mimic the graceful forms of the animals he transformed into, but his use of their senses was what was truly spectacular. As he sniffed the air, the spectral hairs on his back went up. Victoria tugged on the reins, slowing Riven to a stop beside him. She didn't dismount but followed his gaze out into the high grass that towered on either side of the road. Klen flicked his tail, agitated. Riven pawed the dirt road. His ears went back and he peered into the grass. Victoria patted his flank to steady him.

"What is it?" Victoria whispered. If there was anything lurking in the grass, it remained completely still. It was then that she noticed how quiet the road had gotten. No birds sang, and no insects droned.

"Can you smell them yet?" Klen asked, briefly glancing up at her.

She sniffed the air as a sudden breeze swept through the plains. The hairs on the back of her neck went up, and her heart began to flutter excitedly in her chest. A familiar stench floated in with the sweet smell of fresh greenery and vernal flowers.

There were undead somewhere out in the plains.

"There's something unnatural with them. I can sense a very powerful source of magic out there, but it's still very far from us." Klen tore his gaze away from the grass and continued forward at a fast walk. "It'll be nightfall in a few hours. We best put some distance between us and them."

"How many do you sense out there?" Victoria nudged Riven forward at a trot. She dropped one hand to the hilt of her blade. Even though there were a few hours of light left, she couldn't help but prepare herself for what the night would bring. If her hunch was right, they were closing in on another branch of the cult moving east. It wouldn't be long before the town of Alize would be visible in the distance. Rhôze, the capital province, was close at hand. Ilerius and Talondin had spoken true.

"About a dozen."

"That's not so bad. We can take them."

"If that source of magic catches up, we may very well be in trouble. It's moving quickly. Perhaps our undead friends out in the grass are fleeing from it also."

"We will just have to move faster." She snapped the reins. Riven took off at a gallop down the road. Klen ran after her, leaping up into the air and landing in Victoria's lap in the form of a small monkey. "Tired already?" She asked him.

"I should conserve my strength for nightfall. You'll need my help." Klen climbed up onto her shoulders and stretched up to see above the tall grass, wrapping his tail gently around her neck. "Blast it. Still can't see them."

"They're camped out somewhere, waiting for the sun to set. They'll be on our trail soon enough, I'm sure of it."

They continued on in silence. Klen held onto her back as Riven ran down the trail, occasionally peering up over the grass to see if he saw any movement. Aside from a herd of deer leaping through the grass, he reportedly saw nothing out of the ordinary. The plains were still, almost void of life.

He took the form of a large owl as the sun kissed the horizon. Circling overhead, he finally pinpointed where the vampires were potentially camping to their south. Back to the west, Klen could still sense the source of magic he'd been so worried about. For the moment, it was still hidden within the trees of the Vermeil Forest surrounding Tru'Lis. Victoria had begun to sense it lingering behind them too, like an ominous shadow. She urged Riven to run faster, sharing Klen's concerns over what its source could be. She'd never sensed anything quite like it.

Once the sun had set, the night came upon them in a heavy silence. Finally, after a while of feeling like the entire world was holding its breath, Klen raised the alarm. To her dismay, their numbers were nearly double his first guess. Victoria patted Riven's flank as he ran, urging him onwards. If she was to fight these vampires, she needed more room to maneuver than what the dirt road provided. Just another few miles ahead, according to Klen, was a large clearing in the tall grass, used as a pull-off point for caravans going along the highway. There, Victoria would make her stand. If she could get there in time, anyway.