Tower of Ancients

by Jaeger Mitchells

  “Is there anything we can do to co-exist? We do not wish to—.”

  “What? Fight? Kill me? That could have worked if you spoke from a point of power, but all I see are two puny Vampires trying to oppose me! I’ve eaten more of your kind than you can possibly imagine!”

  “It’s up to you, Serpent King, but don’t tell me we didn’t warn you!” I growled, readying my sword.

  “Beat me and we’ll talk. Lose, and you’ll end up as food!”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Basilisk slithered into action, spitting a mucus mist that traveled almost as fast as an arrow. I jumped to my right and ended in a roll, coming up behind a stone pillar. I looked back quickly to see where Dimas was, but he was already gone. A roar reverberated from the other side and was quickly followed by a meaty thud. The basilisk screeched and hissed as it tried to move its gigantic body in the equally large cavern, but the stony pillars were in its way. They shattered as its body rolled around.

  “You alive?” I yelled, running around and moving in from behind the creature, launching myself up onto its body. The blade bounced off the scale it struck, forcing me to fall and cut myself along its bladed growths.

  “Hell yes!” Dimas finally yelled as he appeared atop the creature’s head and started slamming down the claws against the scales covering its brain. The Basilisk tried to throw Dimas off, but his claws dug deep in between the scales.

  I jumped up again and stabbed down with my sword, trying to lodge my shield in between the gaps. They were barely wide enough for the thick piece of metal to wiggle in between them. Suddenly, the scales started moving and a mass of green mist released from under them, covering the entire cavern.

  “What the fuck is this?” I cursed, trying to hold on as the creature thrashed around and threw itself to the ground, rolling over and almost crushing us. Dimas jumped off and moved down the spine, slamming the tips of his claws down against exposed bits of skin.

  I jumped up again and ran along its side up to the head, slashing as I went, but most blows bounced harmlessly off. The bastard was way too armored and thick-skinned. I slashed again and again, but it wouldn’t go through no matter how hard I tried. Dimas, however, was gutting the beast as if it was nothing. Were the claws really the difference? Or was it because of his primordial strength?

  A strange sensation washed over me as my heart beat once and stopped again, cold sweat running down my neck and back. All strength left my body and I almost dropped off the Basilisk’s head, barely managing to hold on. A new, second wave of energy flooded me right after, changing my body. I could feel the energy around me, the creature’s life, and all his weaknesses. I felt where the armor was thinnest and weakest along where it was cracked. My arms grew thicker, more muscled, and stronger, chest and shoulders wider.

  “The fuck? Did you just awaken your Bloodline?” Dimas laughed as the Basilisk threw him off its head and slammed its body down against his smaller frame, breaking his legs on impact. “Motherfucker! He just crushed me!” Dimas growled. I could see him struggle to break free, hitting the unarmored side of the Basilisk. It screeched and spat a poisonous mucus that struck Dimas head on. His body started sizzling, the skin on his arms burning.

  “Get the fuck out of there!” I cursed, jumping to where he wounded the Basilisk before it threw him off earlier. I tensed my muscles and struck the spot which Dimas had ravaged. The blade sunk in deep and cut through the skin, but it still didn’t reach the flesh beneath. The bastard was too thick-skinned and the length of my blade not long enough.

  I pulled the blade out and stabbed it all the way to the hilt, jumped up, and dropped down, stomping the pummel. The blade slid down further, eliciting new screeches and hisses from the Basilisk. Its body coiled around, rolling and thrashing, trying to crush me beneath its weight. Stupid Dimas. The cavern was exactly what we needed. Out there we’d have an even harder time.

  I jumped off at the last moment just before the creature struck the wall with its back, shaking the cavern and breaking pillars as it rolled. Stalactites dropped from overhead, showering us with large chunks. An enormous piece of sharp rock dropped atop its exposed underside, piercing and pinning it to the ground.

  A sudden build-up of power made the hairs on my back stand up straight. I looked around as if something else was about to attack us, but only the two of us remained here. Where the hell was Dimas?

  I jumped over to where I’d been stabbing the Basilisk and slipped, falling on my back. The damn thing was as slippery as an eel. I got up again and hurriedly pulled the sword out and dislodged the shield, strapping it again to my left arm before the snake managed to free itself.

  “Dimas!” I yelled, trying to get anything out of him, but he didn’t reply. “Shit, don’t tell me you dissolved him!” I hissed at the Basilisk. It turned its head toward me, all twelve of its eyes staring into mine. One by one they lit up, the left row green and the right purple. Its mouth opened wide, letting out a forked tongue that slithered in the air.

  “You’re next.”

  “As if! And since when did you grow another ten eyes, you freak?”

  My body stopped listening to me and I froze in place as a tight energy beam struck me. I couldn’t move anymore no matter how hard I tried. First my legs up to the knees, then my hips and all the way up to my head. The only thing that still worked were my eyes. At that moment I wished they didn’t work more than anything as the Basilisk slithered toward me, taking its time. Suddenly it stopped, straining to move forward.

  My eyes darted to the right, seeing the large stalactite still pinning the creature down. It turned its head around to see for itself and I could feel a slight sensation of tingling along my body. My fingers were the first to move again. Its body shuddered and spun, slamming against the large piece of rock and finally snaked up along its length, pressing down on the pillar and crushing it.

  “Fucking beast,” I cursed, forcing my body to move a step before the Basilisk turned its deathly gaze toward me again. With all of my power, I hurled myself behind a large pile of rock and lay there, trying to recover the sensation in my body.

  “Where are you hiding, you little Vampire?” I could hear the Basilisk speak in my mind, but I remained quiet, not sure if it could find me that way. The beast stopped at the center of the cavern and curled up, staring right past me. Shouldn’t it see much better with that many eyes? Or was it using another way to search for its enemies? No, that was the wrong word, such a creature didn’t have an enemy, only prey.

  The beast screeched suddenly, shaking the cave and causing more stalactites to drop as a sudden chill ran over me. I peeked through a hole in the debris and saw a chunk of ice forming along its skin and exploding.

  “Fuck! Why the hell is she here?” I cursed, getting out from behind the rubble and charged the slithering bastard. “Over here, you fucking monster!” I yelled, drawing its attention.

  “He’s still alive!” a female voice yelled from outside as another chunk of ice exploded against its skin.

  “Get the fuck out of here! This isn’t a Three-Horned Viper anymore!”

  “We know! Dimas came to get us!”

  I cursed again under my breath and lunged at the Basilisk’s head, using whatever power I had to ram the sword deep into its skin. I could finally see the sisters outside the cavern, holding their hands out palms first toward the beast and casting magic. Dimas appeared next along with all of his Coven. He looked like shit, bone still showing on his left shoulder and thigh, but other than that, he looked pissed off more than anything else.

  The Vampires spread out and started attacking the Basilisk without any hesitation. Every single one of them attacked without care for their lives. Some were armed with spears and swords while a couple wielded bows. Every attack went right through or at least chipped away at its armored skin. The creature hissed and let out a mind-numbing screech, paralyzing all of us for a couple of seconds, depending on our resistance.

  The same strange wav
e of energy surged from the Basilisk as it moved its head around, releasing a ray that paralyzed more than half of the group with a single glance.

  “Don’t look at it while its eyes are glowing!” I yelled, slamming the sword down again into the same spot and managing to finally get through. My arm went in up to my elbow and got stuck along with the sword.

  I sighed and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. How the fuck had this turned from a picnic into a damn fuck-up?

  Dimas landed next to me and pulled me up, then ripped down at the hole beneath our feet, ripping it open wide. He looked up at me, smirked, and jumped inside.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I hissed as he disappeared into the bowels of the beast.

  “Follow me!” he yelled from below. “Let’s get the damned core!”

  I growled, not interested in the least to get my armor dirty, but I followed him inside. After all, he just saved my ass by bringing his Coven and the girls here. Before I could even make my first step, the Basilisk started hissing and crying as it spat the poison mucus and thrashed its body around like mad.

  “Stop! You have won! I’ll do what you want!” it projected into our minds.

  I remained quiet and stayed still, interested to see what Dimas had to say, but he didn’t say anything at all.

  “You want to spare his life?” I asked sarcastically.

  “Only if it’s worth more than his core!” he shot back.

  “Yes! I will be worth more to you alive than just a core in death! I promise!” it hissed and spat, ceasing all movement.

  “Found it! Shall I rip it out?”

  “No, place the device around the core. If it ever turns on us, we can use magic to activate it to kill him!”

  I could feel it became quite uncomfortable for the creature. Especially after Dimas mentioned the core.

  “No! Stop! Don’t pull at it!” the Basilisk screeched, shaking the cavern again. “I’ll serve you! I’ll give you my young! I’ll kill your enemies, just don’t take my core!”

  “Wait! Don’t kill it!” I ordered. “What do you mean with young?”

  “I have laid three eggs since evolving! I’ll give them all to you!”

  “That might actually be a good trade,” Dimas said as he up to me. “My coven will take one, you do with the other two what you want.”

  “And what will they hatch?” I asked curiously. This was a situation I thought I’d never find myself in. No, this wasn’t right. I had a better idea if the snake was up for it.

  “How often can you lay eggs?”

  It remained silent for a moment before replying barely audibly.

  “Once in a lifetime.”

  “Then how about this. We’ll let you choose one egg and we take the other two. In turn, you’ll stop attacking my people and protect them if called upon.”

  “What about food? I can’t live off fish!”

  “How many bodies do you need per—whatever you think is appropriate?”

  “I can live on five bodies per month, but I’d settle for seven.”

  I thought long and hard. We had a lot of wounded and elderly who were all but alive. Using them I could get us a couple of months’ worth of time. By then we should be far away from here and inside the tower if it indeed existed.

  “I can agree on seven a month. What about your loyalty? How do we make sure you will keep what you promise?”

  The Basilisk moved its head around and brought it to a foot distance from me.

  “I gave you two of my only offspring. Treat them well and they’ll grow to be as strong as me one day. That Vampire has put that—thing around my core which can kill me if you wish so. What else can I give you?”

  “You’re right. Show us to the eggs and pick one, we’ll take the rest,” I snapped, suddenly feeling all anxious. Was it really willing to give up such valuables?

  I jumped off its neck, or at least it would be if it was anything but a snake, while Dimas followed me quickly after glancing around for a moment longer. His Coven withdrew from the cavern and stood protectively in a circle around the sisters.

  The Basilisk unrolled its tongue and licked a part of its neck. A number of scales moved aside, revealing three eggs the size of Dimas and me combined. The Basilisk lowered its body and used its tongue to roll two of the eggs out, setting them down right in front of us. I couldn’t help but let greed take over and chose first. Dimas stood there, waiting for me to finish. But it wasn’t meant to be. I couldn’t feel anything coming from the eggs.

  “Dimas? You next, please,” I offered, motioning at the two eggs. One was slightly orange while the other black and gray in color. The Basilisk chose an egg that was greenish in color. I had no idea if the colors meant anything and I was sure that it didn’t matter. If anything hatched from it, great, if not, it wouldn’t be a big loss.

  “Are you sure?” he asked quite excitedly.

  “You saved my ass by bringing the cavalry, so—.”

  “Yeah, then I’ll take the orange one. Kids, carry both eggs back to camp. If any of them cracks, I’ll feed you to the Basilisk.”

  I was sure he did that only to please me as he could have made the order telepathically. It would be a lie to say that I didn’t appreciate it. But now the main issue remained: how to break the news to everyone that there would be a sixty-foot-long and monstrous Basilisk ‘guarding’ them?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “So, will the two of you tell me why you came to fight the Basilisk?” I asked, trying to sound all serious and angry.

  “See! I told you he’d be angry! We should have let the Basilisk eat his—.”

  “Shush, sister,” Sylvana said, placing her finger against Helena’s lips. “Can’t you see he’s just acting?”

  I couldn’t hold it in any longer and started laughing, then placed my arms around the girls. It was an awkward sight for sure, but they didn’t let it show, and instead, Sylvana hugged me tightly while Helena just put an arm around me. It was all I could ask for right about now.

  Dimas jumped up the Basilisk’s head again and started talking to it. I didn’t want to be one of those ‘leaders’ who didn’t trust their people, so I walked out the cavern after nodding at his Coven as they dragged the eggs out. While still holding onto the sisters, I enjoyed the curse of daylight. It sure topped being dissolved and having to endure that deathly stench any time of day. What a feeling it was to beat such a beast and come out on top.

  The only thing that really bothered me was how to break the news to my Coven and the bandits. Or were they all my people now? It would be a great start to unify them all this very day after such a victory. First of all, though, I’d need to talk to Rennes about everything.

  “Who would have thought you’d need saving so quickly, my Lord,” Helena jabbed. Her tone was quite distasteful, but I didn’t mind since we were alone. Their intoxicating scent was driving me wild along with their melodic voices. I wanted their blood so bad I was about to go insane, and it showed.

  “I rather have you two save me over anyone else if you already want to know,” I laughed, lowering my hand to her lower back. She froze for a second and placed her hand on mine but didn’t move it.

  “Don’t push your luck, my Lord. We’re not that close yet,” she whispered.

  Sylvana looked past me and at Helena who looked away embarrassedly. I thought so. It was the same for them, the attraction between them and the blood that coursed through my veins.

  I tightened my arms around them and jumped, hurling myself forward across the riverbank toward the camp. The girls screamed for a second before they started enjoying it. Sure, Elves were fast, but they couldn’t jump nearly as far as we could, among other things.

  “Faster!” Sylvana cheered as I jumped from rock to rock. It almost felt like a dream, this serene feeling of peace. The water below us wasn’t quite standing water, it ran along steadily, but not to the degree it got muddied. The first two-to-three feet were clear as crystal, but there it stopped.


  “I thought you people couldn’t jump so far!” Helena yelled as we flew through the air. She was right to a degree. Ordinary Vampires can’t, but I wasn’t ordinary. At least not anymore.

  “I awakened Crozan’s Bloodline during the battle, inheriting super strength.”

  The sisters grinned at the revelation.

  “So you’ve become even stronger than before? What a treat, my Lord,” Sylvana chuckled. “You’ll really be able to protect us if something happened.”

  “Oh? Wasn’t I already able to?” I laughed. Their little jabs were far from annoying, instead, I was coming to love them.

  “What’s that over there?” Helena asked as she pointed at a group of soldiers and bandits. I just landed as a scuffle broke out between the two groups of people. To one side stood a group of my people laughing and cheering while the other side booed and threw mock insults their way.

  “You got nothing better to do?” I yelled as we landed. I let go of the girls and approached the group of mostly men.

  The ones recognizing my voice made a corridor for me to proceed, hanging their heads low. They didn’t protest and just stood there, waiting for me to announce their punishment. Instead, I spiced it up a bit. Why not celebrate the accomplishment with a bet?

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to punish them,” Sylvana whispered. I winked and stopped at the center, looking over the crowd.

  “In seven days we’ll hold a contest in wrestling, brawling, sword, and bowmanship! The top three spots in each of the four disciplines will get an infusion of my own blood!” I stopped there to let it sink in for a moment when the men who knew what it meant erupted in renewed cheers. “What that does, well, you’ll become someone else entirely both in mind and body! You’ll be strong as ten men, have the endurance of five, and become quick as a horse!” The group who had never been infused wasn’t cheering and didn’t seem to be happy by the offer. At least not yet.