Page 10 of Paying The Vampire
The walk along the path was long. We strayed to the middle, avoiding the short walls that provided scant protection from the sheer drop below.
“Are you sure you wish to do this?” I asked, giving her the opportunity to reconsider if she was reluctant to continue with this path.
“Yes,” she replied tersely, her words snapping.
“Well, you chose a worthy blade to hunt with. That is the Blood blade.”
Willow glanced down at her weapon. “That sounds ominous.”
“It’s merely a name. Every good weapon has a story, which I doubt you know since it does not seem like something your people would have told you. The Blood blade was built with blood rubies, and it is said to be able to drain the blood of anyone it slays, collecting it in the blade for later use. It was wielded by a great warrior called Amara.”
“I’m guessing she did not have a happy ending considering that her blade is here and she isn’t.”
“No. The blade could only do so much, and only in battle. It could not protect her from what happened to her in the end.”
“And what did happen to her?”
My gaze drifted into the distance as I thought about the past, as I thought about so many things that had drifted into the ether of time, so many things that faded into my memory.
“She was killed by someone who loved her, and who she loved.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone kill someone they love?”
“I suppose it was required. They did not like the path she was on,” I sighed. “But that is all ancient history and I’m sure the blade will suit you just as well, although I’m certain that you won’t use it as often as she did.”
“That depends what kinds of thing lurk in the forest. I am going to have to find other things to eat. Did you not think about that before you brought me here?”
“Of course I did, but I wanted your first meal to be something notable. I remember that eating can be quite a tactile thing and often it is not just about the nourishment, but about the way the food feels and tastes. I wanted to try and give you that experience.”
“You gave me an experience, certainly,” she muttered.
I smirked. “There is actually something you can use to get all the nutrients you need. It is a concoction that was created a long time ago by a scientist who did not like the barbarism of hunting and wanted to make something that could give people all they needed without having to cost an animal their life. I was intending to show it to you later.”
Willow stopped abruptly. “You mean that I can basically take a dose of medicine and it will give me all the nutrients I need?”
I nodded.
“And you didn’t think to tell me this before we came out here?”
“Well… it had slipped my mind. I apologize. Sometimes I forget that other people are not aware of the thoughts in my head. As I said… it has been a long time since I have had a companion.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could start remembering quickly. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“Nothing that comes to mind. Given this new information would you care to return to the castle?”
She gazed at the path before us and then shook her head. “We’re out here now. We might as well continue.”
I got the sense she wanted to show me her capabilities, something that I certainly wasn’t going to deny her. It wasn’t long before we reached the edge of the forest. Here the mist was thin, yet undeniable. The wood of the trees had long hardened into something black and twisted. The roots reaching into the ground, while the skeletal branches looked like the legs of spiders stretching through a web. When I thought of the massacre that happened here I felt my knees go weak. It was hard for me to be here again, but I too wanted to prove my capabilities to Willow. I composed myself and continued forward, peering into the distance in search of an animal.
“Can you see anything?” she whispered. “It’s so hard to tell in this mist.”
“I did warn you that this planet could prove challenging.”
“I’m not afraid of a challenge.”
“Up there is an eagle’s nest. The bird seems to have gone off hunting. Perhaps this is an opportune time to steal some eggs.”
It was only a suggestion, but Willow took it as a command. She gazed up at the branches in the tall tree. The nest was resting in the crook of a branch. I watched as she climbed up the tree, using her lithe strength to swing herself up with great dexterity. She moved from branch to branch, using her momentum to help her, and made a zigzagging motion as she crossed between the threshold of the branches. The brittle branches offered little in the way of give, and every time she put her entire weight on them I feared they would crack and snap. So far they were holding though, the trees showing more mercy to her than they ever had to us vampires.