Page 11 of Paying The Vampire
She reached the branch below the nest and reached up, hoping to pluck the eggs out. They were just beyond her reach though, even though she strained her fingers to curl over the edge of the nest. She struggled up another branch and then straddled it, shifting along, getting ever closer to the nest.
But elsewhere in the forest the mother must have realized that its nest was in danger. I noticed flickering movement swooping from the corner of my eye towards the tree. Its wings were stretched out and its talons were bared. Moments after I called up to Willow with a warning she was alerted to the bird’s presence by a screeching caw, and twisted her neck abruptly. She reached down to draw her sword, but the eagle was already upon her. It screeched again, an unholy sound, and tried to strike with its talons. Willow had to try and defend herself. Instinctively she gathered her arms around her head to protect her face. I thought about going to help her, but then thought better of it. It had been important for her to come on this hunt. Sometimes allowing people the opportunity to fail was more important than saving them.
The bird flapped its wings and flitted around her head. As I looked up, all I could see was Willow trying to fend it off with helpless flails of her arm, and the eagle crashing down upon her with all its fury and its might. Its dark wings covered her in a shadow and made it appear as though she was being consumed by the darkness.
Willow’s only recourse was to scurry back. She swung her body around and let herself droop down, clinging to the branch with her legs. She then reached out to the branch below, and in a manner similar to the one she had used to climb the tree, she descended to the lower branch. As soon as her hands touched the wood she released her legs from the upper branch and allowed gravity to bring her body down. She tucked her legs into her stomach and landed on her feet, twisting her body in a graceful and agile way. Even though I witnessed it with my own eyes the movement was so fluid that I could not quite believe how she did it. I suppose all that mattered was that she succeeded.
What was even more impressive about the curling of her body was that she managed to draw the Blood blade as well in one swift movement. The eagle, no doubt thinking it had the upper hand, darted down and tried to continue the assault in the hope of driving Willow farther and farther away. It did not count on the fact that Willow was preparing to fight back. As Willow drew her sword she lashed out at the eagle with all her might. The eagle managed to dodge the first blow, but it did not have the wisdom to retreat. Willow brought the blade back around for another strike and this time caught the eagle with the full force of the blade. As it struck the bird and the bird fell from the sky, I noticed Willow watched the blade. From my vantage point I could just about make out the red trickle of blood pouring into the middle of the blade, although I didn’t really need to see it now as I had seen it many times before. I closed my eyes in shame as what came before passed in front of my mind’s eye, and tried to focus on the future that stretched before me, a future that seemed far more bright now that Willow was here.
Willow dusted herself off and sheathed the blade as she climbed back up to the nest and clutched the eggs in her hands. She carefully made her way down the dark tree and wore a triumphant smile on her face, although she seemed a little troubled by the sight of the blood on the blade.
“Where does the blood go?” she asked.
“You would have to ask Amara that. I was never much of a warrior,” I replied. “But you got your eggs.”
“I did indeed. This is going to be much better for my stomach,” she patted the middle of her torso and then strode back towards the keep. I allowed my gaze to linger on the forest for a few moments. Willow had not even begun to scratch the surface of its horrors.
Chapter Eight
We returned to the castle and I made my way towards the kitchen. I warmed the stove, with the help of some conjuration magic, and then cracked the eggs in a pan. Despite living by himself his pantry was not completely empty. There were some spices and herbs that had lasted over the years, and I used these to flavor the dish. While the eggs sizzled and the strong, musky aroma filled the kitchen, I leaned against the counter and folded my arms.
“So when are we going to get to why I’m really here?” I asked. I noticed there was a brief flicker of surprise in Cassius’ face.
“You mean to learn how to unlock the wolf inside you?”
“Yes.”
“Frankly I can’t understand why you would even want to do such a thing. I can’t imagine anything more horrible than turning into one of those dreadful creatures, but I suppose if you must then we can start as soon as you would like.”
“And where do we begin?”
Cassius stroked his chin. “The most logical place would be the library. It may take some time to find the right tome, but I am sure that we will find the right guidance there.”
“Are you sure that you’re okay with this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, helping me to find the wolf inside me. I mean, you’ve already said that you’ve been to war with wolves and it’s clear that you don’t think much of us. So why would you try and help bring one into being?”
Cassius shrugged. “Because you have accepted my invitation and I want to be a gracious host. The time for wars and animosity between our people is over. There are no more vampires to have a war with so I don’t think there’s any point in allowing these grudges to rule our lives. I like to think my judgment has not been impaired enough to prevent me from seeing a threat, so I don’t think that once you discover the wolf inside that you are going to attack me.”
“No, I’m not. I don’t even want to attack anyone. I just want to feel complete.” I looked over at the eggs and noticed that they were done perfectly. I served them on a plate and offered some to Cassius, although he refused. The eggs were rich and the herbs added just the right dashing of flavor to elevate the taste of them into something wonderful. Up until that moment I hadn’t been sure how much I needed this meal. It might well have been my last meal as well, since the wildlife of this world was scarce.
“It’s funny really, when I was young I had the whole of my life planned out,” I said.
“And what did that plan look like?”
“I was going to be the best huntress in the pack. I used to joke with Brandon that I was going to be even better than him, and teased him that I was going to make a play to be the Alpha. He never took those jokes in good humor. But I thought that I would make a good ruler alongside him. I wanted to play an active role in the direction of the clan, and I wanted to really push us to achieve more as a pack. I wanted us to look at the world around us and begin to learn and understand more about it rather than just doing the same things day after day. I wanted children too, and I wanted to know that the world was in a better place than when I had been born. I suppose it just goes to show how silly it is to have dreams,” I said, my easy smile falling into wistfulness.
“Dreams are never silly. Even when they don’t come true they still matter because they remind you of who you used to be.”
“And who did you use to be?” I asked. By his visible reaction I could tell the question took him by surprise.
“If there was another version of me then he’s been lost to time.”
I didn’t buy that for a second. “You must have had some dream though. Were you born here or were you made a vampire?” I asked, suddenly realizing that there were still plenty of things I needed to know about him.
“In a way both things are true,” he said, and I was beginning to notice that he had a skillful way of evading my questions. “But if you must know there was a dream I had a long time ago. I wanted to be a concert pianist.”