by A L Wright
“Addictive? What does that mean?” Nikka asked, confused. She had drunk blood since she was small and had never felt addicted to it.
“Taken straight from the source you not only take in the strengthening properties of the blood, you take in the creature’s life force as well. It is overwhelming, as it opens up every sense you possess and amplifies it twenty-fold. Then later, after a bit, a haze overcomes you. It overtakes your ability to think, to rationalize. It makes you thirsty, angry, and if not controlled, will make you plain murderous.” Dartein paused in his speech to let his words soak in.
“Which is why I never passed on this secret to anyone else,” her grandfather chimed in as he walked over to the small group. “I had created a balance between the Nobles and the humans. If Nobles had been given this secret, the ones who lust after power would have fallen prey to it. And preservation of human life was why we were created all those years ago. This secret is lethal, and necessary to keep amongst only those who are trustworthy.”
“Which is why we store it. Victor, Clyd and Tynen are the only ones who know the full secret.” Dartein scooted over to make room for his father to join their circle.
“Okay,” Nikka said slowly. “So, explain to me this. Why was I fed blood since infancy? And does that have anything to do with this?” She held up her hand and let her nails grow out into claws, then quickly retracted them. When she looked back, up her father was not looking at her hand, but at her face. He seemed stunned into silence, and her grandfather spoke up instead.
“Indeed, that would definitely be the reason. You see when a Noble goes feral, lusting for blood, his canine teeth elongate and sharpen. And sometimes, though I've only seen it happen with myself and the other warlocks, claws will spring forth from the fingertips.” Her grandfather, The Patriarch, master warlock, held up his hands and his nails turned into claws. Just like hers did.
Looking up at his face, she watched as he opened his mouth and tapped on one of the now long and sharp teeth there. Total of four, two from the top and two from the bottom, and it made him look vicious.
“But how come I don't have those?”
“Oh, but you did. I think since you have been raised on the blood, your mouth had adjusted to allow for those teeth, and it feels quite normal to you. Have you ever looked in a mirror while growing your claws?” Her grandfather asked.
“No.” Nikka was shocked. She hadn't ever thought of looking at herself for that reason. Never had felt anything different.
“And, as for why I fed you blood, I was half crazed when I fled the Palace with you and Victor. I had no idea how to take care of a child, let alone one born to Nobles. I tried different milks; goat, cow. None of them satisfied you. You were weak, and blood was the only thing I knew of that had the possibility to strengthen you. And it did. After drinking the blood, you were healthy, strong, and grew quickly both in body and mind. It took some time to wean you from the fresh blood to the stored kind, and later it was another difficult transition to go from blood to fresh meats.” Her father stared down at the cask in his hands. “I did the best I could without your mother here to help me. And I was too heartsick to return to the Palace where she died to ask my father for his advice.”
A silence grew around them as they all considered what had just been discussed. Her father's grief was still as fresh as it ever was. She looked over at Victor and decided she could understand his grief over losing someone who meant so much to him. Victor smiled at her and pulled her close, laying his cheek on top of her head. At least revealing her secret hadn't freaked him out. She hadn't been sure how he would react to her being able to grow claws. And fangs? She was going to have to consult a mirror when she got back home to the Keep.
“Well, let us mount back up and make a bit more time before camping for the day. By midday tomorrow we should reach the border of the Lothnau, and we can spend some time scouting before we head in.” Her father got to his feet and moved away towards his horse.
Victor squeezed her shoulder then stood up. “I will get our mounts ready,” he stated before walking away in the same direction as her father.
“Do not worry too much about these things which make you different. You have the potential to be greater than all of us, truly. I just wish we had more time to make you ready, but I fear this war will pull us all in before we know it.” Her grandfather's sincere smile made her feel a bit better.
However, she couldn't shake the feeling something big was looming in the distance ahead. Something none of them were ready for.
Chapter 28
It was slow moving through the dense forest, following only rough deer trails. Since the goblins had been growing bolder and more numerous, humans had been avoiding the forest, which meant the old trails had been completely grown over by scrubby bushes and saplings. In single file, the main group moved through the thick trees, while the scouts rode off to each side, trying to stay in sight as best they could.
Yosan led the group, moving along silently a few hundred feet in front of them. His mount made hardly any noise, making him the perfect forward scout.
Two miles into the forest, the normal noises made by creatures of the night went completely silent. With no more hooting owls, chirping crickets or squeaking bats, the forest was eerily silent. Still the group continued to move forward, but now in a tighter formation. They didn't want to be spread out in case of an attack. There was no sign or smell of their enemy, but they were prepared just in case.
The horses grew nervous in the quiet but continued moving forward, mainly because the trail was so narrow it would be difficult for them to turn around. It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Another mile in, they came to what had once been a clearing with a ring of stones in the middle that had once been used for a fire pit. Recognizing the area, Dartein signaled for the group to halt. His father reined up alongside him.
“I passed through here, last time,” Dartein whispered to him. “We fought goblins here, and their cave is just to the west and north.”
His father nodded and dismounted. Dartein signaled Clyd to do the same and the rest of the group followed suit. Quietly they erected a light pen around the horses consisting of small poles and bailing twine. It would keep their mounts contained, but just in case they didn't return, the animals could easily break free of the enclosure and escape the area.
Dartein divided his pack into three groups, plus one smaller group of scouts led by Clyd. He kept Victor and Nikka in his group, and his father and Yosan led the other two. Clyd and his three scouts slid away into the night. They were to have a two-minute head start before the rest followed.
Dartein started his group forward after counting out the time. The remaining two groups followed behind and off to each side. Like a slow-moving spear, the Nobles crept forward in the direction Dartein remembered having seen the cave before.
About fifteen minutes later the groups caught up to Clyd, where he and his scouts were huddled up behind a large rock face. Just beyond it was the opening into the cave. Dartein listened before moving forward, to ensure nothing was moving near them. The forest was still silent, but as far as he could tell no enemies were close by. The only goblin smell was coming from the opening of that cave.
Clyd handed him a blood cask and Dartein realized he had forgotten to bring any with him from the horses. Shaking his head no, he handed it back to Clyd. The ranger would need it before he would.
Dartein turned his full attention to the cave and opened his sight up for traces of heat. Not spotting any, he focused back to normal then began to move forward towards the opening. The rest of the Nobles followed him silently into the cave, creeping slowly along the wall until they came to the cavern he had found once before.
This time there were no goblins present, it was dark and quiet. They all moved into the cavern and searched around. What they found were markings all over the walls, appearing to be crude letters, but not put toget
her to form sentences. They were more like markings for names, as if the goblins had signed the walls.
Moving further into the cavern they found another opening in the back that took them deeper. There were more markings all down this hallway, as well. Dartein took them in absentmindedly, keeping his mind focused on moving ahead and keeping his senses open for Goblins.
Coming to yet another cavern with more of the same markings on the walls, they finally heard noises. Guttural voices, grunting to each other, growing louder and louder. Dartein spun around and realized that the voices were coming from behind them, and they were about to be trapped in the cavern.
Looking over to his father, he saw a grim delight in the man's eyes. His father nodded his head and moved to the middle of the cavern. Dartein watched as his father held his hands out before him and a blackness grew forth, spilling over and down onto the floor, spreading out quickly across the room. The blackness moved up the walls and across the ceiling, plunging the whole cavern into complete and utter darkness.
Dartein could no longer see anything, but could still hear the goblins coming towards them. Torchlight approached from the hallway, the voices following it. The oddest thing happened as the light came closer, however. No matter how close it came, it never penetrated the darkness clinging to the cavern walls and entrance.
On and on the goblins came, oblivious to their uninvited guests. They marched down the hallway quickly, almost trotting, and a half dozen of them were inside the cavern before they realized they could no longer see.
A bright blue light pierced the darkness and quickly grew to fill the cavern. Dartein closed his eyes just as the blue light pulsed and died out. Upon reopening them, saw that the darkness had completely gone. In its stead there were now a couple dozen dead goblins on both the cavern floor and in the hallway.
The rest of the goblins still in the hallway were stunned, temporarily blinded by the blue flash. Dartein spied Clyd popping the cork on the cask and throwing back a long drink of the stored blood, then handing it to the ranger next to him. He looked back to the hall just as the goblins spotted them, their vision beginning to clear.
Piercing screams came from the creatures’ mouths as they launched themselves at the group of intruders in their cavern. They poured into the room, waving clubs and handmade obsidian axes, and the occasional hammer made from lashing a stone to a large branch. Dartein's group had already drawn their weapons under the cover of the darkness, and were ready for the onslaught.
Just before the first goblin crashed into them, he looked to make sure that Nikka was safely in the middle of their group.
Chapter 29
The clinging darkness almost scared her senseless, but she kept her wits about her and remained quiet and still. They had all known there was a possibility of the goblins finding them when they entered this cave, but nothing had prepared her for the brutal force with which they rushed their group after the blue light pulsed and the darkness dropped.
In the fight back at the Keep, she entered the fray after most of the goblins were dead. But here they were deep inside the enemy's home, where untold numbers of them could be dwelling. And on the goblins rushed, screaming furiously at the intruders.
Nikka had both of her short swords pulled free before the blue light had finished its heart stopping assault on the first wave of goblins. She attempted to press forward to meet the assault, but fighters and rangers both pressed in front of her, cutting her off. She didn't have long to wait before engaging the enemy, however, as the group of Nobles had to spread out to give themselves room to swing their weapons without fear of taking out one of their own.
She took down the first goblin easily, then the second. They both had underestimated her strength because she was female. Having quickly proved them wrong, she turned as another two came at her more cautiously. Nikka crouched low and held her swords out to either side, giving them what looked like an opening. The first one charged and almost made it to her, but not before Nikka’s alternating slashes took it across the throat and then the belly.
The second charged in right behind the first and kept coming. With total disregard for his kin, it stepped on the dead goblin's body to give him more height to slash at her with his large rock-hammer. The swing came towards her quickly and she was a split second too late bringing her first sword back around. Victor suddenly appeared behind the creature, knocking the hilt of his sword into the back of the goblin’s neck, causing it to jerk backwards and shorten its slash.
Nikka's furious swing finished and nearly lopped off its head.
Victor moved to her side and they both assessed the fighting happening around the room. They witnessed her father being mobbed by several goblins, outnumbered, and Victor rushed away to his aid before she could say anything.
Whilst trying to defend herself, she had backed up almost to the back of the cavern. No goblins were currently getting through the lines of fighters and rangers, but there were many more pressing their way down the hallway in their direction.
“Yosan!” Nikka yelled to the warlock as he dispatched the goblin in front of him, and pointed towards the hallway. Yosan shook his head, indicating that he couldn't get there. He must not be able to project his powers, or may fear hurting the others if he did so. Still, something needed to be done. If the enemy kept pouring in at their current rate, the Nobles wouldn't last long.
As she watched, two of their fighters went down under mobs of goblins, and the small victory seemed to bolster the rest of the enemy. With heightened cheers and yells, the mob of goblins pressed in even harder from the hallway, threatening to smother them if nothing else.
Victor's aid to her father had helped at first but they were now badly outnumbered. Nikka grew suddenly cold, becoming utterly emotionless and detached. She quickly analyzed the room and made a decision. The power she felt growing in the pit of her stomach churned, begging for some sort of release. She held her hand out in front of her and a white light grew in her palm. She threw the ball of light at a goblin near Victor and struck it dead with the one hit.
Victor had obviously seen what happened, but had no time to acknowledge it. Nikka fired off several other missiles of light and picked off a few clear targets here and there, but grew frustrated as most of the goblins were in front of the group of Nobles and she could no longer see them clearly enough to target them. And even with picking off the few that she had, there were still more pressing in from the hallway.
Deciding the masses were more important to attempt to take out, she grew a larger ball of light in both of her hands, concentrating on increasing it in both size and power for several seconds. Finally, when she was satisfied with it, she lobbed it up and over the heads of her fellow Nobles. With a shriek like a banshee it broke over the goblins in the entrance of the cavern and exploded their bodies into bits.
This sudden amount of carnage and destruction caused the goblins to hesitate, even the ones currently fighting. Quickly the Nobles dispatched them, using the confusion to their advantage. The goblins in the hallway shrunk back, hovering, grunting to themselves and trying to decide what to do next.
Her grandfather came over to her as the rest of the Nobles regrouped into a tighter formation in front of her.
“That was unexpected, my dear.”
“For you and me both.”
“I have never been able to project power forces before, I am impressed.”
“It wasn't really a force. I held it in my hands, it was like an object full of raw energy.” Nikka tried to explain, but it was still as much of a shock to her that she wasn't sure she explained in correctly.
Her grandfather didn't have time to further his queries, though, as the goblins outside had made up their minds to approach them as a large group, but more slowly this time. The two warlocks moved to the front of the Nobles, waiting for the enemy to engage. They both held steady, still as stones, fearless in the eyes of all around them.
Finally, the goblins made their charge. Yosan an
d Mortul charged up their blue lights quickly and Yosan released his first, taking down a couple dozen, and Mortul taking down another couple dozen after that. This time the goblins didn't lose heart or become distracted. They continued to pour in through the opening, wave after wave.
The warlocks got off another few charges, before stepping behind the soldiers to rest and recharge. Nikka felt the power rebuilding in the pit of her stomach once again and summoned another ball of white light in her hands, lobbing it into the caverns entryway. The explosion had the same devastating effects as before, but this time the goblins still came on.
Every now and then one warlock or the other would step back to the front and release a charge of light, and the fighters and rangers continued to swing wildly. Even with magic at their disposal, the sheer number of goblins coming at them threatened to overwhelm them all.
One goblin had managed to slip past the main group and was headed straight towards her. She watched it come and made another decision, one that she hoped wouldn't backfire on her.
As the goblin came on, she deftly sidestepped at the last second, barely missing the swing of his axe, and brought the hilt of her sword down on its head. The sword bounced off the creature’s thick skull and the impact vibrated up through her arm. The goblin didn't fall, but it was dazed and she didn't waste time.
Grabbing it by the back of the neck, Nikka sliced open the goblin’s throat and she clamped her jaw over the spurting wound. Quickly she drank, with the thought that goblin blood was much more bitter than the deer blood she was used to, flitting through her mind. Once done, she flung the creature’s limp form to the ground, and swung back around to face the enemy once more.
The motion made her head swim, and she nearly lost her balance, but she could feel the power churning in her gut, screaming for release. She quickly built another ball of power and tossed it, followed by another and then another. Even after the three, the power was still there, still screaming at her to do more.
