Draven crept through the woods silently, every sense alert and awake as he moved. The elk was close. Its heart rate hadn’t changed—it didn’t know he was there. Draven lowered himself, and every muscle in his body coiled. He could smell the blood running through its veins. He jumped out from the shadowed tree line, grabbed the neck of the animal and twisted; a sickening crack echoed in the silence of the woods. The elk fell limp. He leant down and fresh, warm blood exploded in his mouth. The taste was exquisite, metallic and intoxicating. This was by far the best way to start a morning.
Pulling his teeth out of the elk took all of Draven’s willpower. It was like depriving a human of water after a month in the desert. He considered wiping the blood that dripped from his mouth, but decided against it. An act of defiance. He slung the carcass over his shoulder and started the trek back towards the fortress.
It was midday by the time he got back to the ruined castle he called home. Years ago half of the building had been blasted apart, and most of the towers had lost roofs. Faded grey stone was interrupted by ashen scorch marks, making the castle look mottled. Stupid place to live. A cave or a hollow tree would work just as well. Draven trudged up to the gate, which swung precariously off its hinges, and walked into the courtyard, dropping the elk in the centre. Bowing his head, he stepped back from it and knelt to the ground.
Draven winced as the colossal boom of large reptilian wing beats attacked his ears. He remained kneeling and stared at the ground. He could still hear the echo of wings in his ears long after the beating had stopped. He tilted his head to the side so he could see the dragon. It was three times his height and glittered with jet black scales. It looked down at the elk, which was tiny in comparison to the massive dragon. It flicked its eyes to Draven and back to the elk.
It snorted and shook its head.
“The woods are running out of food,” Draven said.
The dragon snarled and gulped the elk down in one bite.
Draven waited for it to leave again, but it just sat there looking at him. The dragon leaned closer, inspecting his face, focusing on the dried blood on his chin. Then it roared, and warm breath and spittle engulfed him. The next moment he was face down on the ground. He hissed in pain and anger. The dragon had knocked him off his feet with a swing of its muscular tail. He was shaking with restraint, determined not to bare his teeth at the beast, determined not to give it a reason to kill him.
It didn’t take long for it to lose interest. The dragon flapped its wings, loudly taking off into the sky to join the others. Draven pushed himself off the ground and snarled at the retreating figure of the dragon. Dirt clung to his clothes, and the dried blood cracked around his mouth. He stomped further into the castle. The twists and turns were second nature now. A left, then two rights, another left, and down three flights of stairs. The basement.
Candlelight flickered off the walls, and the familiar damp smell lingered in the air. Down here the sound of wing beats was a distant thrum. Almost as if it wasn’t there at all. “Are you alright?” Astrid asked, walking over. Her eyes ran over him, assessing for injuries.
“I’m fine,” he said tightly.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “If you’re sure,” she said cautiously. “The escape is almost ready.” She pulled him over to the corner of the room to Samuel.
“How’s it going?” he asked Samuel. Samuel stood with his arms braced over a piece of paper and let out a breath.
“Good, good. I’ve got dragon sleeping patterns and times which I’ve used to plot our best route; but…” he hesitated.
“What?”
“I’m just worried,” he said, chewing his lip. “There’s too many of us.” His gaze darted to the rest of the basement full of vampires.
“Everyone deserves a chance to get out,” Draven said evenly.
“But maybe only half the group should go, just to be safe.”
“Samuel.” Draven slammed a hand on the desk. “We are ALL going. Time has run out; there is no food in the woods. Dragons have already started to eat some of us to make up for it.”
“What if they follow us over the mountains?” Samuel asked meekly.
“They can’t survive in the cold of the upper mountains. They never followed the humans over the mountains.”
“Fine, tonight, then.” Samuel paused and gave Draven a hard look. “Remember, I warned you.”
“Good.” Draven nodded. “I’m going to the old weapons room just in case everything goes to shit.” When Samuel lifted a brow, he sneered. “I’m not saying that it will.” Draven walked back towards the staircase.
“Hey, wait up,” Astrid said. Being half his height, she had to run to catch up with him.
“You’re not coming,” Draven said gruffly.
“I didn’t even say anything,” she whined.
“Didn’t need to, and you’re still not coming.”
“Why not?” she demanded and pulled him to a stop.
“Because it’s dangerous.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m coming, end of story.” She strode past him, and he grabbed her arm.
“You are not coming.”
“Stop arguing—it’s just wasting time.” Astrid glared at him.
He rolled his eyes, groaning, and let go of her arm.
“Now let’s go. We need to be back before the sun sets,” Astrid said.
Draven muttered in annoyance but didn’t say anything else to her. Annoying, stubborn, hard-headed woman.
They walked down a few enclosed corridors silently before reaching an open one. The majority of the castle no longer had a roof, and walking without a roof was a gambler’s game. “Get behind me,” Draven said.
“You’re so annoying,” Astrid countered then moved behind him. He listened for any wing beats. Nothing.
“I’m your brother. I’m supposed to protect you,” he hissed back at her.
“It’s been a hundred and twenty-two years; you should have got over that by now.”
He smiled at her over his shoulder before he scuttled out from the protection of their corridor. She followed a few steps behind him and stayed low as they moved, keeping to the shadows.
“Left,” Astrid reminded him as they came to a corner. Draven followed her instructions, then froze and pressed against the wall.
One of the dragons flying high above must have noticed them, as a lazy wing beat suddenly became heavier above them. Some dragons were known for plucking vampires from the ground and eating them right there, an unfortunate side effect of slavery to beasts.
Instantly, Draven and Astrid were sprinting down the corridor, trying desperately to outrun the dragon.
Draven slid around the corner into a roofed section, and the dragon overshot them.
He grabbed the nearby doorway and pulled himself inside. Astrid followed a moment later with a beaming grin.
“That was fun,” Astrid said through deep breaths.
Draven ignored her, surveying the little room. The weapons room had remained mostly intact, despite the dragons tearing most of the castle apart. It was dusty from disuse and stocked to the brim with every kind of sword imaginable.
“Nothing too big—” he started.
“Don’t lecture me about swords, brother,” Astrid interrupted. “I’m the one who knows how to use them.”
“Just remember, we’re getting them for people who haven’t spent fifty years mastering swordsmanship.”
She laughed lightly and walked further into the room. Astrid picked up a silver sword with an intricate gold handle and flipped it in her hand, then flicked her wrist, swirling the sword gracefully through the air. She whistled. “These are some nice blades. Very well balanced.”
Draven was already loading up his arms with swords. A few skimmed his arm and left shallow cuts, but they healed quickly.
“Hurry up,” he called to Astrid as he balanced more swords in his arms. Running with his arms full would be problematic—he hadn’t thought about that.
“Okay, we should take the long way back if we want to avoid being snatched up by a hungry dragon,” Astrid said, and she grabbed her own bundle of swords.
“That will take too long. We have to make it back before sunset.”
“We might make it back by then.”
He didn’t argue any further. It was pointless.
As they walked, he could see the sun creeping towards the horizon through the windows. Unconsciously, he sped up. “I’m not waiting for you to pick them all up when you drop them,” Astrid said from behind him. He slowed to walk in step with her, the smaller steps almost physically paining him.
The sun was kissing the horizon when they descended the stairs to the basement. Swords clattered loudly as he dropped them to the ground. Everyone looked over, and he moved away to lean against the back wall. Astrid placed her bundle of swords down carefully and then grabbed two from the top of the pile. One was the gold-handled sword she had swung around earlier, and she handed the other plain sword to him.
There was a slight scuffle as vampires crowded around the sword pile. “Sun’s setting,” Draven said to Samuel, who shuffled awkwardly over to them. He held a sword in his hands and swayed uneasily from side to side. “It’s now or never.”
Samuel nodded sourly at Draven, then shot a smile at Astrid before trying to herd the crowd.
“You could be nicer,” Astrid said.
“He’s an idiot!” Draven snorted. “And he’s been in love with you for almost thirty years, which is disturbing.”
“Doesn’t make him a bad guy.”
“Doesn’t make him a good one, either,” he said nonchalantly, and Astrid gave him a hard look. “Fine, fine.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “I’ll admit he has a few good qualities. Emphasis on few.”
She laughed and shook her head.
Samuel began to lead everyone up the stairs. The group was quiet, but not silent. Astrid bit her lip watching them, her sharp teeth flashing at Samuel.
“It’ll be fine,” Draven said, bumping her shoulder. She turned her worried gaze to him and nodded unconvincingly. They waited for the last vampire to disappear up the stairs before following.
The darkness felt comfortable, like coming home again. Draven’s body was alight with energy. He could taste it, the sweet beauty of freedom. So much planning and anticipation had led to this moment. To finally escaping. Astrid glanced around, her eyes wide. “We’re too loud,” she breathed out.
“The dragons are asleep. They won’t hear,” Draven whispered back.
“Maybe—” she began, but was cut off as a ripple of gasps spread through the group and everyone came to a halt.
“That’s not good,” Draven muttered as he peered over the heads of everyone ahead of them.
“What is it?” Astrid asked. She stood on her toes to try to get a look at their obstacle.
“Dragon,” he replied and pushed through the crowd in front of them. He held up a finger to his lips at everyone he passed. The group was still unsettled but quietened down.
The dragon was a bright emerald in the moonlight and lay blocking their path. It was asleep, a blast of hot air rolling over them with every snore from it. The barbed tail flicked back and forth lazily in its sleep. Samuel stood at the front of the crowd, staring wide-eyed at the dragon, his paper clutched tightly in his hands.
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” he muttered to himself without blinking.
“Plans change,” Draven said, shoving past him. He looked down at Astrid as she took in the scene quickly. “We have to go over the tail, don’t we?”
She winced and nodded. “It’s moving slowly enough. If everyone’s careful, then the dragon won’t wake up.” She gulped, then added, “Theoretically.”
Everyone shuffled carefully over the tail. Astrid tapped her foot nervously and glanced towards the horizon. “At this rate, the sun will be up before we make it to the mountain.”
“We can’t speed this up.” Draven ground his teeth in frustration. “At least the dragon is still asleep.” He spoke too soon. One of the last vampires tripped right onto the tail of the sleeping beast. Its eye opened lazily and glared at them.
Astrid cursed beside him and leapt into action. Draven took a second to recover from the shock before he joined her with his sword raised. Astrid slashed at the beast’s neck, and the sword clanged off the scales. She dived to the side, avoiding the snap of its jaws as it stood. “The outer scales are too thick,” she yelled as the dragon rose to its full height. “Distract it!”
Draven waved his hands wildly and yelled at the dragon, “Look at me, you big oaf.” It turned its head to study the yelling lunatic. The stars glinted off its scales. “Ummm.” He froze, not sure what to do next. Astrid attacked before he needed to work it out. Her sword slashed across the unprotected flesh on the dragon’s underbelly. It roared in pain. She made another cut and slid out from under the beast as it fell to the ground. Draven jumped forward and stabbed his sword through the dragon’s eye into its brain.
“We need to move,” Astrid said urgently. The group no longer had any kind of formation, and they ran wildly towards the forest. Draven glanced back. The dragons had started rising into the air to come after them.
“It’s everyone for themselves now,” he muttered, watching the haphazard movements in front of them. They just had to make it to the tree line. The wing beats were getting closer. His feet pounded against the hard ground. For one frightful moment, he was sure that claws were about to dig into his back and carry him away.
Then Draven and Astrid crashed into the underbrush and hit the ground as a dragon above the trees roared angrily. No time to recover—they scrambled further into the forest. The dense canopy hid them from the dragons for the moment.
“Should we be moving faster?” Astrid asked as her eyes searched the trees.
“We’re safer under the trees than out in the open,” Draven commented. They jogged lightly despite his words.
“I’m just fretting.” She smiled shakily at him. “It can’t get any worse though.” As she let out a shaky laugh, her foot caught on a tree root and she fell to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Draven said, kneeling beside her.
She cursed and grimaced, gesturing at her ankle. It now sat at an odd angle. “How bad is it? Cause it hurts like hell,” she said through her teeth.
“I think it’s broken.” He reached to straighten it out, causing Astrid to screech. “Yes, definitely broken.”
“Damn it, breaks take so long to heal,” she moaned.
Draven collected a few sturdy sticks, some strong vines, and a few leaves. He padded the ankle with soft leaves, positioned the sticks to keep her ankle straight, and wrapped it. “Let’s see if you can walk.” He grabbed her arm and helped her up.
“I can stand on it.” Astrid shifted her body weight and almost toppled to the side. “But can’t put any weight on it.”
“That’s not good,” Draven said, studying her foot.
“I’m not staying here,” she said defiantly. “I will crawl if I have to!”
“Calm down, you’re not going to crawl, that’s just a recipe for disaster.” He scooped her into his arms. “Not ideal, but it’ll have to do.” She wrapped an arm around his neck and sighed in relief.
“Thanks.”
He flashed her a smile. “I’m your big brother. It’s my job.”
She shook her head and smiled back. Then she perked up in his arms. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” He strained his ears. It was faint, and he couldn’t quite make it out.
“It sounds like—” she paused, turning an ear towards the sound “—screams.”
He grimaced. “And smells like blood.”
Draven slowed his pace as they reached the screaming.
“Holy hell,” Astrid breathed.
The trees ended abruptly, and beyond lay a flat expanse of barren land. The only cover was a large rock formation halfway between the tree line and the mountain. Screams carried across the wind, and dust mixed with blood. A small huddle of vampires crouched under the safety of the rock formation while the others remained scattered along the tree line. Every minute or so a vampire would break cover and rush towards the rock. At the same time, a dragon would swoop down and snatch up the vampire. Then they would carry their prey into the sky, screams echoing out before the dragon ripped into them, causing blood to rain across the wide plain.
“What do we do?” Astrid asked him. “We’ll die out there.” He set her down and rubbed his face.
“I don’t know.”
“We could just stay here.” She readjusted her splint.
“This is all a game to them. None of us will make it to the mountain, and if we stop running, then they’ll burn us alive in this forest.” He watched as another vampire rushed into the open, only to be snatched up.
“We can do it,” Astrid said, her eyes glinting as she nudged his shoulder. “Look.” She pointed up, and Draven surveyed the sky. The dragons flapped lazily around, with sharp eyes watching the ground. One lower than the others. “Do you see it?” When the lower dragon swooped down to grab a vampire, another would take its place.
“They’re taking it in turns,” he gasped with wide eyes.
“Exactly, which means they’re only expecting one vampire at a time.”
He threw his arms around his Astrid. “You’re brilliant.”
She smirked. “I’m your little sister. It’s my job.”
He smiled, and he picked her up again.
“Ready?” she asked.
He nodded, gripped her tighter, and didn’t move his gaze from the rock. Astrid would be his eyes. “The dragon’s getting ready to swoop.” She held her breath, and all of his muscles tensed. “Run.” He sprinted out from the tree line.
Draven heard another vampire scream as they ran. The next dragon would be moving. His breathing echoed in his ears as he pushed them further. “Left,” Astrid shouted. Draven banked to the left. The swooping dragon claws were close enough that he felt the wind from them on his head. He turned again towards the rock formation and pumped his legs faster. They were almost there, just a few more seconds. Astrid cursed, and he glanced up. There was another dragon heading straight for them with claws outstretched.
It was going to be close. Draven launched them forward, diving for the rock. Astrid tumbled into safety, and he rolled onto his back just short of the rock cover. His chest heaved as he stared up at the scaled feet above him. It was too close to do anything about it now. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
Hands grabbed onto him and pulled him out from under the dragon. It roared, and he held his breath, unsure if it would fly away or land. For a moment it hovered, massive wing beats shaking the earth around them. It snorted and flew up to join the rest of its kin. “Thank you,” he said, to the other vampires and then scurried over to Astrid.
“Are you okay?” He checked her ankle, and everything looked fine.
Astrid punched him in the shoulder. “Damn, I would be so angry right now if you hadn’t just saved us from a crazy dragon.”
He laughed and helped her into a sitting position. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that if you hadn’t been watching my back.”
“We’re only halfway.” she grimaced. The mountain wasn’t as far to run, but it included a climb into the shelter of a cave.
“Have you got your sword?” He didn’t look at her while he spoke.
“I dropped it when I fell. It’s lying somewhere in the forest.”
He nodded and handed her his sword. He looked at the rest of the group huddled under the rock. They were all haggard and scared out of their minds. He cleared his throat and sat up in the tight space. They looked at Draven curiously.
“If we want a chance, then we all spread out and run at the same time.”
Some nodded at him, while others looked sceptical.
“Are you suggesting I sacrifice myself for someone else’s freedom?” a vampire said incredulously.
“There’s no guarantee you will make it to the mountain, or that you won’t. But if we go one by one, then I assure you that every one of us will die.” The smart mouth looked as though she might argue. “The more that run, the more chance that you live.” That shut her up.
Draven picked up Astrid. “We go on your signal,” he told her. “When the next person starts running.” She nodded at him.
He took a deep breath in and out again, needing to stay calm. One of Astrid’s arms looped around his neck while the other held his sword. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use it.
“GO!” Astrid yelled, and he launched into a run along with everyone else. Immediately Draven ran in a zigzagged motion, eyes fixed on the cave up the mountain. The wings were moving closer to them.
“Right.”
He turned quickly, and the dragon flew past, claws in the spot where they had been moments ago.
They had reached the slope of the mountain with still a few of the vampires left. It was harder and slower going uphill. Sweat poured off Draven, and he was beginning to feel dizzy. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other. That was all his mind could focus on.
When they finally made it to the cave, he placed Astrid against the wall and collapsed next to her. Draven closed his eyes, waiting for his head to stop spinning.
“You okay?”
“Just need to rest for a second,” he said as she rubbed his shoulder.
He opened his eyes to see Astrid pull herself up using the wall. She stood on her good ankle with a raised sword. Further in the cave, four other vampires lay spread out on the cave floor.
“Brace yourself,” Astrid yelled, and his head snapped up. A dragon flew straight at the cave. He jumped up as it collided with the opening. Its head couldn’t fit in, but its jaws gaped open, flashing sharp teeth at them. All they could see was the inside of its mouth, lined with sharp teeth. The forked tongue snaked into the cave, waving around, trying to grasp anything it could reach. Astrid flicked her sword and severed the dragon’s tongue. It roared and pulled back. She hopped forwards and slashed across the eye looking in at them. This roar was followed by the dragon retreating back into the sky.
“That should keep them at bay.” Astrid hopped away from the cave entrance. The cave itself was larger than it looked, it extended further into the mountain, forming a tunnel.
“Do you think that this leads to the other side of the mountains?” one vampire asked.
“I’ve heard rumours.” Astrid peered down the tunnel.
“Emphasis on rumour,” Draven added.
“What have we got to lose?”
He looked back at the mass of flying dragons. “If it’s a dead end, then I told you so.”
Astrid beamed at him and hopped further. He rushed to her side and slung her arm over his shoulders to support her.
The tunnel was long and dark, and even for a vampire, it was hard to see.
Hopelessness practically coated the air. The only positive thing was that Astrid’s ankle had almost healed. It would likely stay tender for a few more days, but at least she could walk on her own now.
Astrid raised her hands and smiled widely through the dark. “Do you hear that?”
“I don’t hear anything.” He strained his ears. There had been no change in the tunnel or the air around them.
“Wind—I hear wind!” She hopped for joy beside him. Draven would not celebrate until they were out of the mountain, as far away from the dragons as possible.
They walked for what felt like hours before light began to filter into the tunnel. The wind Astrid had heard earlier rushed around them, bringing with it a familiar scent.
“Do you smell that?” he grinned widely.
Astrid sniffed the air and flashed her fangs. “Humans.”
“Human blood,” he corrected her. It had been too long since he’d tasted a human, felt their warmth flow out of them. He shivered in delight at the thought. Yet even that paled in comparison to the cave opening onto a mountainside village. Humans tasted beautiful, but freedom tasted even better.
First published in 'FANTASY 7: Lockdown Fantasy Adventures' by Black Hare Press
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