Page 50 of Black Onyx
“How far away is the village?” I ask, not having bothered to before.
“About a three-hour ride,” Killian replies, having obviously thought to find out that information before we set off.
“Thanks,” I reply. I’m glad the village isn’t days away, although Revel could probably do with the ride.
After that, the ride is mainly spent with Storm continuing to go over the plan even though we’ve been over it so many times that by this point, I think I could recite it in my sleep. I think he’s more concerned about the way the Headmaster was acting towards Reaper and me, he’s almost certain that there’s something else going on with this mission, and I have to say I agree.
After three hours, we get to a tiny village that seems far too quiet for the time of the day. Usually, people would be getting on with their daily tasks, and even in a village this size, the streets should be bustling with activity, but instead, there are only a couple of people out on the cobbled streets, and they look like they’d rather be anywhere else.
“The file didn’t say anything about where exactly the Rogue vamp was last seen, did it?” Killian asks.
“No, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone about who would be willing to point us in the right direction.” Rival answers him.
“It’s like a damn ghost town,” Loki adds, looking around with concern.
“Well, in my experience the local tavern wouldn’t be shut even in an apocalypse and is probably the best place to get some answers.” Mayhem grins.
“I didn’t realise you’d been here?” Storm questions as we make our way through the streets looking for the tavern.
“I haven’t, but taverns are all the same no matter how small the village.” He answers with a shrug.
“He’s not wrong.” Reaper chuckles.
Thanks to the small nature of the village, it only takes five more minutes to find the tavern, and we lead the horses around to the adjoining stables and settle them down, giving them some much needed water.
“People in these small villages can be very close-knit and not that welcoming to outsiders, so let me do the talking.” Storm orders, striding towards the door and not letting any of us question whether he’s really the wisest choice to get people talking.
He certainly wouldn’t have been my first choice; I would’ve suggested Loki; his bubbly personality and smile are infectious and instantly put you at ease.
Keeping my mouth shut through sheer force of will so no snarky comments come out, I follow after the guys, getting lost in their massive forms as they surround me from all sides.
“Good morning, lads. What can I do for you?” I hear someone greet the guys slightly warily as I push myself through them so I can actually see what’s going on. His eyes widen somewhat as they land on me, “sorry, ma’am, I didn’t see you there.”
“We’re with the Black Onyx academy and have received reports of a Rogue vamp near your village.” Storm starts to explain, and the tavern owner's face becomes serious, “if you could point us in the direction of the last sighting, we’ll deal with it.”
“Thank fuck. It’s been terrorising us for weeks. We had to evacuate the houses on the west end of the village. If you follow the main road through town, you’ll get to it. It’s in the small wood behind the houses there. You’re welcome to leave your horses here; it’s only a ten-minute walk, and we’ve lost several horses to it so far.”
I frown at his words as Storm thanks him and we all exit the tavern starting off in the direction that he pointed us in.
“That doesn’t seem right. The amount of damage that he was talking about seems far too much for a level one. They usually steer clear of people’s homes attacking stragglers and loners, not going right into the village to attack people in their homes.” I start, voicing my concerns out loud. “We only really take them out, so they don’t turn into any of the higher levels.”
“We knew going into this that something wasn’t right, and we’re prepared.” Storm replies.
The atmosphere is more tense than it was, and the mood darkens even further when we get to the edge of the village. The tavern owner wasn’t lying when he said they had to evacuate some of the houses. We walk through the first row of boarded-up and abandoned houses before we get to another six that back up onto the woods. These ones look like they’ve been invaded. Doors have been ripped off; blood smeared down the pathways, and no intact windows.
“Holy fuck.” Loki curses, his eyes on the destruction surrounding us. “How many do you think survived?”
“I’m not sure I want to know, but I don’t think many.” Rival mutters.
“That information should’ve been in the fucking file. That’s their whole point so that we have all the information possible. All of this we should’ve known.” Storm growls angrily. His wings make an appearance shifting behind him and reacting to his anger as his horns start to spark.He very rarely has them out, so much so that I had almost completely forgotten he had them. In fact I don’t think I’ve seen them since I first arrived. Even when we are in combat class, he keeps them hidden. I try not stare as they fascinate me, they’re beautiful and I force away the uneasy feeling as they remind me of my past. I wonder if there’s a reason behind why he rarely has them out? I suppose I might never know since that would mean having a civil conversation with him.
These poor fucking people, they’ve been terrorised for weeks, and we’ve only just been sent out. They’ve lost family members, homes and animals vital to their survival. Something is not fucking right with the system if they’ve been abandoned this long waiting for help. I do not doubt that they didn’t hold back on the details of what was happening here, so why wasn’t it investigated sooner? And how many more people are in need and reaching out to their enforcement to protect them and receiving nothing in return? It's unacceptable and something that I intend to look into as soon as I get the opportunity.
“You’re right. Let’s get this dealt with and then we can go and see what the fuck the Headmaster is playing at.” Killian says calmly, the anger in his eyes and the stabbing movements his tail is making is contrasting sharply with his calm tone.
The brothers share a meaningful look, and their murderous intent for the Headmaster seems to lessen slightly as they come to some sort of agreement that only they understand.
Storm draws his sword as we get closer to the forest, and we all follow his lead. Despite the sunlight, the woodland seems to be darker than it should be, and there are none of the usual sounds that you tend to find in the woods, no animals, no rustling of leaves, just eerie silence. There’s definitely a predator in these woods and one that’s more dangerous than we initially thought.
