The Vampire's Harvest

23

Pulling the pin from your cloak, you place the long, thin, silver spike in your palm before closing your eyes and beginning the basic all purpose spell Ferris has taught you. It would be more effective if you knew a specific chant, but without that knowledge, all you can do is concentrate upon your desire to tear the ward down and hope the pin is the proper conduit to do so.

You feel heat sizzling along your skin, concentrated along the line of the pin which becomes as hot as fire. It sears your palm and once the last word leaves your lips, you pull your hand away. As you do, burning pin levitates and multiplies until a wall of silver spikes forms before you. You stand for a moment in awe of your power, but then jump back in shock once the glowing needles begin launching themselves at the door. With each impact you hear the pop of the puncture followed by the fizz of a dissipating needle. You don't know for sure what is occurring since the ward is invisible, but once all the pins have evaporated until only the charred remains of the original lies on the floor, you forge forward and reach out for the door once again.

You brace for impact, but you find no resistance as you take hold of the handle and give it a turn.

Your entrance into the room grabs the attention of several members of the coven, however, Ferris continues to chant louder than before.

"Ferris, it's Kinley. Look Ferris!" You shout over his incantations, hopeful he will pause long enough to see the scarf. "She's a vampire Ferris, you have to stop this!"

At this his eyes pop open, though his mouth continues moving. However, once he shifts his gaze from your face to the scarf clutched in your hands, the words are sliced from his throat.

"What?" he sputters, stumbling towards you as he pushes his fellow mages from his way. "Where did you get that?"

Before you can answer, someone else joins you in the room and your breath catches. With all the courage you can muster, you turn to see who is stirring behind you.

"What is this?" demands Kinley.

You don't know whether to be relieved or concerned, but the second Kinley's eyes land on Ferris, you see the love still present behind her blue eyes. She fights back some emotion before turning back to some drones waiting outside of the room.

"Get my allies out and make sure no one comes down the hall." The drones leave immediately upon receiving their orders and then Kinley turns back to find Ferris, his eyes are bulging, as he strains against several emotions surging through him.

"What, what is going on?" He barely gets the words out and you can see more words are struggling to his tongue. However, Kinley raises a hand and proceeds in a calm voice.

"We don't have time so I'll be quick. I don't know what you thought of that night three years ago, but it was I who went to the ball of my own will."

Ferris starts to protest, his face contorting with the sting of betrayal. Kinley, however, continues on without letting him deter her story.

"I couldn't bear that I would have to be with other men before you, Ferris. As the day approached I realized the gravity of being a breeder. I could be with you, but in exchange I'd have to be with others as well. That's not the life I wanted. I only wanted you. So I decided I would change things. I would make it so no one had to live for their love that way. I went to the ball in hopes of fighting from within. I've lied and schemed, and I've done things I'm not proud of, but I clawed my way up so that I could be here for your first year of the ball. When I couldn't find you, I knew you must be up to something. I knew you wouldn't take my disappearance lightly. Just as I knew you would never have let me do this in the first place. That's why I couldn't tell you."

"Kinley," Ferris says with a terrible whine of pain in his voice. "You're a vamp..."

"Yes, and if you'll have me, you can be one too and we can live together forever." For the first time Kinley's voice breaks and her impervious facade shows a crack. "Do what you were going to do. Wipe the lot of them out. Just please tell me you still love me. Please say you'll still be with me."

She stops, waiting for an answer. You look at Ferris and you can see him struggling with it as well. However, you can also see out into the hall and you wonder just how long Kinley's drones can keep wandering eyes from looking in.

"Ferris, we need to..." you start, but Ferris cuts you off, ignoring you completely.

"I love you Kinley, I'll go anywhere with you."

Kinley fights back tears you didn't know vamps could cry.

"Thank you, Ferris." She grabs his hands as he raises them to wipe away her tears.

"Meet me at our spot in the forest."

She doesn't waste time. She nods in agreement, then rushes out of the room. Ferris then calls the coven back together and he picks up where they left off. You make your way in the circle, joining hands, repeating the words as Ferris commands them. You think you hear footsteps in the background, but you just keep pushing forward. And then, you hear the screams.

Before you can even appreciate the magnitude of what the coven has just accomplished, Ferris slips right into the next spell, which will release all of the deceased vampires' drones from their eternal servitude. Once that is finished, you can breathe.

"It is done," he says, his voice hot and eager. "Go to the rendezvous. I will not be there, but keep yourselves safe." With that, Ferris and the others dive back into the tunnel and you follow behind.

The next morning you learn from a distraught Ailisa that the vamps had all burst into flames that night. She wants to know where exactly you were when it all happened. You tell her you were sick. You also vow to tell her the truth some day, but today is not that day.

However, that secret doesn't stay one for long. Kinley and her allies take claim of the town since the town's previous owner died from Ferris' spell. With her now in power, and with Ferris by her side, the town is safe. They let everyone live their life as they want and they only take on new feeders if the person so desires that life.

As for you, you now have a life of possibilities before you. You take your time enjoying that luxury before you move forward in your new life.

***

Congratulations, you found the successful ending for this branch of the story! Why not go back and see what happens if you try to use something else to take down the ward...