Page 6 of Magic & Secrets (Twisted Magic #1)
THE THUNDER OF HOOVES pounded rhythmically across the open ground. Our horses ran hard like a brewing storm. Using a tracking spell, Mina led our bevy. Her raven braids were swept back from her temples and bounced with her horse’s movement.
We were dressed in our Elven warrior garb, just as instructed.
If anyone asked, we were Elven half-breeds.
Though proficient in all weapons, we carried only arrows, blades, and shields like the warriors of the Elven Empire.
We wore leather leggings, chain mail, knee-high boots, and armored tops.
None of it was necessary to protect our flesh, but the gear would hide how quickly our wounds healed.
Red cloaks flew behind us as we moved like the wind toward our enemy.
Soon after leaving Haven Junction, the attackers had separated into smaller groups, likely hoping to make tracking them more difficult. Undoubtedly, the Bane Shifters were already on the hunt for vengeance.
Several hours before dawn, my bevy located the Chauve Vampyres. Their blood-soaked coterie had descended upon a human settlement called Emerald Outpost.
Vampyres were broken into two halves of the same species. Digne Vampyres looked mostly human and rarely killed for their food. Instead, their coteries forged treaties with human outposts, acting as protection for the settlements in exchange for regular feedings of human blood.
Chauve Vampyres were more deformed and animalistic. They hunted humans for food, killing whoever they bled. They were viewed as a scourge and regularly tracked down by humans and the Digne Vampyres.
The Emerald Outpost’s warning siren filled the air. I also heard the cracks of their weapons. The outpost was located in a disputed area within Arbdorre Territory. These humans were battle-tested, likely former Murade soldiers given land as part of their retirement packages.
Within the one-lane settlement, the humans put up a valiant effort for survival.
I spotted several dead men and women on the road.
The survivors had found refuge in a central building.
They fired their weapons through spyholes within their bunker while the Chauve Vampyres worked together to tear through the barricades.
We leapt from our horses and approached on foot.
Our steps remained silent as we prowled toward the enemy.
At my right side was Enya. Her scarlet hair was woven into thick braids.
Black and red war paint decorated her cheeks and forehead.
Our faces were marked with a prayer to Solme Divige in a dead language few knew.
As we approached the enemy, I took stock of their appearance.
Chauve Vampyres possessed deathly white skin, sickly yellow eyes, curved horns jutting from their balding heads, a mouth full of jagged teeth, and talons like blades.
The Chauve Vampyres shrieked in a frenzied call for blood.
Their claws tore at the barricades, slicing away at the wood and steel.
The settlement’s generators failed as the Chauve Vampyres grew more persistent against the approaching sunrise.
A sensible choice would be for them to flee into the dark woods and hide until a long night awaited them.
Instead, they ripped away another layer of steel protecting the bunker’s entry points.
The Chauve Vampyres’ human servants stood at the center of the road, each holding one wrist of an outpost child no more than seven. The crying girl struggled to break free. Her wails of pain and fear were likely meant to draw her family outside for a battle they couldn’t win.
My first arrow entered the eye socket of the Chauve Vampyres’ male servant. My second arrow ended the female’s life before his body even dropped. I swooped in to grab the girl and leapt out of reach before the Chauve Vampyres noticed my bevy’s arrival.
Enya sliced open the throat of the nearest monster, allowing me to remove the child from harm. I jumped from roof to roof before finding an open window. Dropping inside, I located a more secure room.
“Remain here until your kind saves you,” I told the child as I barricaded the single window and prepared to leave.
“What if the Vampyres find me?”
Kneeling in front of her, I stroked her wet cheek. “They won’t be alive long enough for that to happen. You were very brave outside on the road. Right now, I need you to be brave again.”
The child revealed the unbreakable grit of so many humans. She lifted her chin and nodded at my instructions. I offered her a smile before leaving her to lock the door behind me.
Outside, a sword-wielding Mina launched herself onto the bunker’s roofline, where several Vampyres were nearly through a barricade. The creatures moved in sync toward my sister.
Mina stood very still, allowing them to focus their bloodlust on her. I felt her struggling to control her magic. The Gathering had chosen to force too much power into a single person to avoid our kind outgrowing their control.
Despite her struggle, Mina moved with sheer grace when the Chauve Vampyres lunged at her. She drew from the ancient one’s magic. Solme Divige’s spicy scent filled the air. Mina anticipated the Chauve Vampyres every move, dodging their claws and drawing blood with her swords.
On the road, Enya lured the Vampyres away from the bunker.
Before I could aid my sisters, a strange beast jumped down from a rooftop and landed right behind me.
The creature might have once been a standard Chauve Vampyre.
Magic had twisted its body into a larger, more animalistic form.
Standing six feet tall on its back feet, it hunched over and dragged its front claws against the dirt.
The thing’s long teeth spouted from blackened gums and tattered remnants of clothing hung from its frame.
Dodging its massive claw, I stabbed at the creature. The thing was wild with hunger, slobbering in anticipation of the meal before it.
Its claw seized hold of my cloak, dragging me toward itself for a bloody embrace. The creature’s massive mouth opened, ready to swallow my head whole.
Unable to tear free, I dropped my sword and replaced it with a smaller blade better for close-contact encounters. The tip of the dagger met resistance against the beast’s thick, scaly skin.
Sliding out of its grip, I aimed my blade at its right eye. The steel disappeared into the cavity. The creature howled in pain and staggered away from me, its clawed hands fighting to remove the blade.
I flipped backward, retrieving my sword. Back on my feet, I swung hard for the thing’s neck and drove through the bone. The beast staggered, moaning deeply and drawing the attention of the other Chauve Vampyres.
The creature tumbled to the ground, struggling to live despite its head dangling by a broken neck. I removed my blade from its eye, wiped it on its tattered clothes, and slid it into my sheath.
The remaining Chauve Vampyres rushed at me, angered over the death of this particular monster.
My sisters dropped next to me, creating a united front against the foul attackers. The magic of Solme Divige heated the early morning air. Fears vanishing, I became one with my bevy and the ancient god whose magic burned through my veins.
The Chauve Vampyres swarmed us, lost in their rage and bloodlust. Fierce and unyielding, Mina, Enya, and I fought in perfect coordination. Inevitable as a storm, our blades flashed in the failing moonlight.
My training felt like an afterthought. I was more than the Citadel’s weapon. Solme Divige was my true master, and these Chauve Vampyres were mere playthings to a creature of her immense power.
Emerald Outpost’s single road was soon awash in the carnage of the fallen Chauve Vampyre coterie. Mina finished the last one by lopping off its head.
Standing over our vanquished foe brought me little solace. The lives this Chauve Vampyre coterie stole were gone forever. A melancholy washed over me at the thought of the many who had met grisly fates at the hands of these monsters.
“They took the Bane Shifters’ hearts,” Enya said as she stood next to the bodies of the Chauve Vampyres’ servants. “Why?”
Mina and I looked at the sack filled with three oversized hearts. Their odor held a distinctly spicy scent. My gaze met Mina’s and then Enya’s. We understood what the smell meant.
Ancient magic had been used to create the Bane Shifters. Whispers of such scenarios were common. The Bane Shifters’ gifts were clearly supernatural despite the Murade’s official declaration of their kind never using magic.
Nearby, the human settlers began to stir in the bunker. The door opened, and several of them exited with their weapons drawn.
“Who are you?” asked a man.
A woman stepped around them. “Where’s Rebekka? I saw one of you take her.”
“She’s at the house down the road in a locked room,” I told the woman. “I will show you in a moment. Does your kind know how to dispose of these bodies? They need to be burned before predators are drawn by their scent.”
“We know how to deal with magic folk,” insisted a snarling human male.
“Jackob, be wary,” said another man and lifted his hand in front of the angry male. “These warriors came to our aid.”
I could tell Jackob suffered from an unsated bloodlust. He’d hidden behind his barricades while wanting to battle the enemy. Now, he only had us to fight.
“I will show you where the child is hidden,” I told the woman and left Enya and Mina to burn the Bane Shifters’ hearts.
As the sun broke across the horizon, the settlers separated their dead from the enemy before dealing with the bodies. Rebekka and her mother thanked me and offered supplies.
“Can I use one of your handheld radios to call my overseer?” I asked rather than take their meager food supplies.
Soon, my sisters and I sat in a circle on the hill near where our horses grazed. Rather than conjuring a standard communication spell, I used the radio to contact the Citadel. A few minutes after we requested to speak to Gregory, the Warlock’s voice came over the handheld.
“Why are you communicating this way?” Gregory demanded. “Use your magic.”
“The strange magic in this location kept us from reaching you,” Mina casually lied.
We had agreed to this falsehood before contacting Gregory. Using our magic would allow the Warlock to enter our minds. I had no intention of slipping up and revealing Roque to the Gathering.
“We have destroyed the Chauve Vampyre coterie and helped the humans reclaim their settlement,” Enya said before Gregory could complain more about the radio communication. “Mina has located a pride of Lion Shifters involved in the attack. Should we hunt them?”
Unable to hide his irritation, Gregory muttered, “Are you truly asking me if you should complete your mission?”
“The Bane Shifters are currently hunting in the same direction we would be traveling,” Mina said in a tranquil voice, despite her growing frustration at our overseer. “We were told to avoid them.”
Gregory exhaled softly, considering our fates. “The Murade haven’t gotten wind of the attack on Haven Junction yet. Your movements in the Territories won’t draw the attention of our enemies.”
“And what of the Bane Shifters?”
“Avoid them. Track these Lion Shifters. If the Bane Shifters crowd your location, back off and allow them the kill. Keep your distance but use them to track the other factions behind the attack.”
“The Chauve Vampyres carried Bane Shifter hearts,” Enya stated.
Gregory’s tone was filled with indifference. “Likely trophies.”
“Or sacrifices,” I said, instantly wishing I had kept my mouth shut.
Knowing Chauve Vampyres worshipped no deities, Gregory quickly demanded, “Sacrifices to what?”
“One of the Chauve Vampyres was twisted by magic,” Enya interjected when I remained silent. “This creature seemed to be the coterie’s leader. It was larger and stronger. There might be more of them somewhere. The other Chauve Vampyres might worship them.”
The Warlock considered her words while I smiled at Enya for swooping in to help me. She mimicked my gesture. Mina watched us, still irritated.
In my head, I whispered her name like I did when we were younglings. Sensing me soothing her, Mina finally smiled.
“Interesting concept, Enya. The Gathering will consider this new Chauve Vampyre threat. You three remain focused on your targets. The sooner they are disposed of, the quicker the Bane Shifters will return to their mountain.”
Once Gregory disconnected from the call, Mina turned off the radio and covered it with her pack as if paranoid we might be overheard.
“The Gathering expects us to track Bane Shifters?” Mina hissed. “They’ve gone mad.”
“They expect us to die passively at the hands of our enemies,” Enya said, sounding tired. “If they thought we’d use ancient magic, they wouldn’t put us in the position to face Bane Shifters.”
I recalled Roque standing at the foot of Mt. Elysium. He felt right in that picturesque location. The image of him hunting within the Territories seemed unnatural. Roque belonged on his mountain.
“We will hunt the Lion Shifters,” I said, standing up and brushing off my pack. “If our targets bring us to the Bane Shifters, we don’t need to fight or flee. After all, no one knows what we are. Why wouldn’t the Bane Shifters believe we’re Elven half-breeds?”
My sisters considered our cover story as they stood and eyed me. “They might be so blood thirsty, it won’t matter what they think we are,” Enya pointed out.
Mina scowled harshly. “I refuse to die without a fight.”
I tried to envision myself battling Roque. I pictured my swords swinging toward him. I could even imagine drawing blood from the beautiful male. Taking his life would be out of the question. The very thought left me lightheaded.
“It won’t come to that,” I insisted. “Bane Shifters are big, strong warriors with big, strong egos. They’ll never view us as a threat. We might even aid them in eliminating the Territories of this new menace. We can return to the Citadel as heroes.”
Mina’s scowl softened at the thought of her successful return. The Gathering viewed her kind as troublesome. If she could remain faithful to the cause, Mina might gain the respect she often found lacking.
As we climbed on our horses and chased the new target, I felt invigorated over the possibility of seeing Roque in the flesh.
Even if he was the last thing I witnessed before he snuffed out my life, the view would be worth it.