Scarlet Soul

Chapter 9: Magic

Chapter 9

Kayla and Edrich left as soon as the presence of the vampires was revealed, true, but there was no way for a human to outrun a vampire. Edrich was as weak and useless as ever but he could, at least, run properly for a long time; funny what a short period of vigorous training can do to you. Running put strain on the body but it left the mind as clear as ever before- Edrich could think normally and had enough time to form a plan. Once he did so, the boy grabbed the vampire's cold hand and led her further north – northwest, to be precise- to where the estate of the Lord of the Tear was according to his maps.

Seeking refuge in a castle would be ridiculous, of course, even if for some odd reason the Lord would approve of their hiding there- a stone wall was nothing a grown vampire could not climb. No, he was not searching for shelter... he was after an escape route.

The two did not run all the way there- they stopped several times and they actually passed half the distance walking. The total time it took them to reach their destination was two hours. By the time they got there Kayla was already done adding the bits of untraveled land to the imaginary map she kept in her head at all times. She could tell that their next task would be stealing a horse or two.

Neither of the two cared for innocence as long as the crime did not dirty their hands with blood. Stealing was a simple act that was necessary for their survival and they did not think much of it.

The first horse they found was quite a beautiful one- female, obviously well-bred and the property of some noble. She did not flinch when she noticed Kayla's presence- she did not react in any way, actually. Kayla stood back and took in her surroundings while her partner approached the beast. There were several people around but none were paying attention to the two children dressed in simple clothes and wearing the same tired expressions as everyone else. The mare had a rope attached to the saddle and its other end was tied to a large stone table on which the noble's servants were playing cards.

Kayla waited as Edrich approached the animal patiently, careful not to alarm it, and put a hand gently on its head. Her heart would have been consumed by jealousy had she been able to see how warmly her friend smiled at the horse as he slid his fingers across its flesh. He did that several times before the mare lowered its head and brushed its head against his cheek.

That was the moment the vampire finally understood what Edrich was doing- he was communicating with it! The boy was actually communicating with it without acting awkwardly or being uncomfortable. Could it be that it was the humans that he was unwilling to communicate with? Was the reason he did not speak because he did not need words to communicate with animals?

Regardless, the men were pulled out of their game once they finally noticed the boy's presence. "Hey, kid, that horse belongs to Lord Ferren's bastard. Step back." There were three men- two were intoxicated and one was not, all three of them dressed in red and black and not particularly worried that he might do something. They did not expect him to retaliate or disobey so Edrich had several spare seconds to begin untying the knot closer to the saddle. "Stop it or I'll cut you in two." The tipsiest of the three unsheathed his sword. Before he could get close enough to the boy, a second sword was unsheathed and it cut through the man's thigh.

The soldier fell to the ground, screaming in pain, his sword discarded. His comrades were up immediately and Edrich used the sword to cut the rope. He would have been caught by one of the men before he could climb the horse had Kayla not hit him with one of her arrows. It hit the man on the inside of his sword arm and he, too, dropped the weapon. When the third finally had Edrich in his reach, the boy was already mounting the horse and it was too late to capture him. A second of ride in Kayla's direction and she was pulled up onto the saddle behind Edrich.