Page 2 of The Dragon King's Curse
Around my waist I wore a leather belt that held two daggers. Unless I was bathing, I never took them off. Dressed in leather pants, I also wore an armored tunic with metals woven in to protect my chest. My forearms and shoulders were covered in finely sculpted pieces of armor forged by some of the best among our kind. My boots were tough, made for both walking lengthy terrain as well as kicking in the skull of any foe who dared to cross me. Leif was dressed similarly.
My concentration was ruined as two men seated near us broke into an argument. They began to push and shove one another. One man’s cup fell into the fire, causing the flames to roar.
Miranda snapped at them to stop fucking around. When she rose with her sword in hand, they immediately took notice. They leapt apart, no longer intent on pummeling one another.
It didn’t take much for such incidents to occur. Plenty of time in close quarters waiting to be attacked made people a little crazy. Adding alcohol to the mix never helped.
Leif eyed her uncertainly. “On second thought, Miranda might be too much woman for me. If I didn’t please her right, she’d probably cut my damn head off.”
“Scared of her, are you? There’s a reason she’s leader of the squad.” I jabbed my elbow into his ribs.
“I’m not afraid,” he insisted. “I just like my parts where they are.”
“If you say so.” I went to jab him again, but he blocked me with a hand.
Before I could give him a good solid punch in the thigh, a scream rang out. Everyone seated around the fire was immediately on their feet. I grabbed my sword, ready to use it.
Two vampires emerged from the shadows, holding one of our men in their grasp. His pants were down, like they’d caught him doing his business. Blood poured from a gaping wound in his throat. Our tunics were designed with a high enough collar to provide some neck protection, although it didn’t seem to do enough to slow the vampires down.
They stepped forward, throwing our man down so he landed face first in the dirt. He was already dead. Killing the two of them would have been easy enough. However, we were soon surrounded as more vampires emerged from the forest on every side.
“Stay close,” Leif said, his sword gripped in one hand. Raising his other hand, he called forward his magick, producing a small beam of light that shone like the sun.
He whipped the beam of light at the first two vampires who’d appeared. It exploded against them, engulfing them with the essence of sunlight. They shrieked as they burned until nothing was left but ash.
Not every elf had such power, although we all possessed something personal and unique rooted in nature. As the vampires moved in, attacking us all at once, I reached out mentally for the surrounding trees. I asked them to protect us, and they obliged.
A tree root shot up from the ground, wrapping tight around one vampire. Pulling him off his feet, it crushed him until his head ripped from his body. Another tree bowed downlow, sweeping several vampires away, flinging them through the air.
The vampires had come in high number. Twice that of our twenty or so warriors. We had several squads spread out along the boundary line. They most likely picked ours due to the lower number.
Those who had been sleeping emerged from their tents to find that we were under attack. Others were accosted in their sleep, dragged out by vampires who quickly opened any artery they could sink their fangs into.
I did my best to stay close to Leif as I swung and slashed with my sword. Satisfaction filled me as I took off the heads of two vampires in succession. Another grabbed me from behind but was quickly run through by Leif’s blade.
A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the night as one of our men fell into the fire, taking a vampire with him. They came fast and hard, forcing us to constantly defend. All around me, my people fell.
Leif and I were quickly separated. Three vampires surrounded me, forcing me away from the fire and into the darkness of the trees. I called for the aid of the trees once again, but one of the vampires fought against my call, forcing them back.
The vampires had many tricks up their sleeves. One of their tricks was the ability to temporarily use the power of anyone whose blood they consumed. Having consumed elven blood most likely gave this one the ability to use our magick. Any vampire that had been one of us before their turn to a vampire would also have such magick.
I swung my sword, slicing open the middle of the vampire closest to me. Another one came at me from behind, his arms going around me as he crushed the breath from my lungs. A third hit me hard in the face, knocking me senseless.
All I knew was that I could not let them taste my blood. Among the many skills they possessed, some vampires could control the mind of those they’d taken blood from. Nothing frightened me more than the thought of falling victim to mind control. An unfortunate skill also possessed by some fae.
Bringing up my elbow, I slammed it into the face of the vampire behind me. Spinning around, I swung for his head. A blow to the heart worked as well, but they were cleverly wearing chest pieces to protect them.
He brazenly caught my blade. Blood dripped from his palm as he wrestled the weapon from my grasp. I did my best to hold on tight. The other two vampires piled on, helping him to disarm me. Once the sword had been taken, I reached for a dagger.
“Nothing will save you now, elven bitch. Your king should have known better. You can’t hold us back forever. It’s only a matter of time until we take everything from you.” A vampire with yellow eyes and bloody fangs trapped me against him. Pressing his face against my neck, he breathed me in with a soft moan that left a sick sensation in my stomach.
The other two pressed against me from every side, trapping me between them. I struggled and fought, doing my best to break free. Their immense strength made it impossible. Together, the three of them held me while the one with yellow eyes bared my throat.
I bit back a scream as his fangs sank into my flesh. Pain cut through me. A deep pain, sharp and burning. I’d never felt anything like a vampire bite.
This was it. The moment my parents had most feared when they had argued my choice to become a warrior for my people instead of a pampered princess. My death at the hands of our enemies.
As the blood drained from me, I felt myself begin to fade. I tried again to call to the forest for help. A tree root wrapped around the vampire who held me in a death grip, tearing him off his feet.
