by Casey Knight
A scrapping noise woke me with a start. I might have been dreaming or the draug might be back. The notion of the draug sent a shot of adrenaline through me. Zane woke with a jolt and jumped to his feet. The storm had passed and we were surrounded by fog. I struggled to my feet. My legs were so stiff I nearly fell. Zane reached out and grabbed me. We steadied ourselves and I activated my bracelet. After several long minutes we still hadn’t heard any further noise. Zane motioned for me to check my side of the boat and he took the other. I inched along the railing toward the stern. Zane had already arrived and signaled he hadn’t seen anything. We stood in the stern and listened. The visibility was only five feet or so. It was hard to see, but at least there wasn’t another half rowboat tied to our stern.
I did notice the anchor chain was taught. I pointed at it and Zane looked out scanning the anchor chain. He looked surprised and then he laughed.
“What is so funny?”
“I think we’ve run aground. I never thought we would find the island this way.”
“Are you sure? How can you tell?”
He walked back along the railing, looking overboard as he went. When he reached the bow he leaned over to look more closely. He got up and ran back toward the cabin. Lashed along the side was a long pole. My guess is it was about fifteen feet long. He untied it and carried it back to the bow. Leaning out over the bow he pushed it into the water. Hand over hand until he nearly reached the end of the pole.
“Well, I’ll be. We’ve found something. I just touched bottom. My guess is the noise we heard was the boat scrapping against the bottom. The boat is still swinging on the anchor chain. At its nearest point we must be close to land.”
“That’s good isn’t? I mean we found an island. When can we go ashore?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It is good, but we don’t know where we are. We could be on a sand bar. We need to wait until the fog lifts enough for us to see. If it is one of the islands we are looking for, we’ll need to proceed with caution. I suggest we eat and get our gear together while we wait.”
“Do you want me to send Tokem out to check?”
“He might as well wait until there is slightly better visibility. I’m going to drop the bow anchor to stop the swinging. You can get him up. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
I went below deck and woke Tokem. He had evidently slept through the entire storm. He was ecstatic to hear we found land. I was getting food for myself and Zane when I heard a splash, followed by the sound of the anchor chain, which whirred until the anchor dug into the bottom. Spirits were high as we enjoyed our breakfast on deck. The fog was starting to evaporate and we could see well enough to send Tokem out. While he was gone we strained our eyes trying to catch a glimpse of where we were. Moments later, Tokem sped past me and landed on the cabin roof.
“The island is about a hundred yards off the bow. I didn’t see any signs of movement or inhabitants. But, it is still pretty foggy over the island.”
I turned to look at Zane. He’d pulled out a small telescope and was scanning the area. It appeared he was scrutinizing the water and the shoreline. That is when it dawned on me maybe this wasn’t fog. It could be the mists. I needed to do a scan of my own. Turning my focus within, I channeled as much of my energy as I could, letting it build. Then I sent it out to explore the island, which wasn’t without risks. I could alert anyone else employing magic. A risk at this point, I was willing to take. I sent a low enough field of energy that it wasn’t likely to announce our arrival.
I intuitively knew we weren’t alone. There was something or someone out there. Luckily, I didn’t sense any strong magic. There either wasn’t much or whoever employed it was being as careful as I was being. I turned to tell Zane what I’d found. He had just finished his inspection, so I waited for him to speak.
“I take it you just completed your own scan. My guess is that we’ve reached the same conclusion. We aren’t alone and there is some magic being employed. I don’t like the feel of this.”
“Zane, I sensed something. However, it was subtle, which concerns me. Vampires aren’t usually restrained. Unless they are very powerful, subtle they are not.”
“My sentiments exactly, we will have to use extreme caution.”
Chapter Seven
Zane lowered the dingy into the water. We were armed to the teeth. I activated my bracelet and carried my staff. Unsure of what we might encounter I strapped on my Glock 45. Satisfied that I was ready, I stepped over the side and into the dingy. Tokem went ahead and Zane jumped in after me. He pushed off and rowed toward shore. I rode in front and watched the bottom for any signs of trouble. The water was dark, murky, and dangerous looking. Making it a perfect match to the inscrutable sky, added together all the factors made visibility poor.
“Lauren, I’m going to try and beach us on the sand. Whatever you do, do not step on any rocks if you can help it. The draug often enchant beach ball sized rocks and stepping on one activates them.”
“Good to know.” Then I turned my attention back to watching the water. I could now see the bottom and it was strewn with rocks about that size. Great, I sure hoped we didn’t capsize. When we got closer to shore Zane stopped and studied the area in front of us.
“There looks like a place to our left. I’m going to aim for that. When we get close I’ll need you to jump out and start pulling us in.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. The water looked cold and I still couldn’t see enough of the bottom to make me happy. Thankfully, I also didn’t see any rocks that looked like draug houses.
“Lauren, jump in and grab the line.”
I jumped in and fortunately the water was only up to my knees. Cold as hell, but my feet hit sand. I yanked the line and pulled us forward. A splash behind me told me Zane was out of the boat. We hauled the dingy in and pulled it up on shore.
“It is about time you two got here.”
“Have you seen anything suspicious?”
“I haven’t seen anyone, but I found an old fort on the other side of the island.”
Zane stopped looking around and looked at Tokem. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like an old abandoned stone fort, mostly intact and I’m guessing made of rock and mortar.”
“Lauren, help me pull this dingy up toward that brush. We’ll tie it down and cover it up. Then we can decide what to make of Tokem’s fort.”
We picked up the dingy and carried it into the brush. Zane tied it to a tree and we covered it with branches. We moved back toward the water using an evergreen bow to erase our footprints.
“Tokem, how do you suggest we get there?” I asked.
“The shore is pretty rocky with long stretches that are underwater. Knowing your love for swimming, I suggest finding animal tracks and following them to the other side of the island. The woods look dense in places, but the elevation gain isn’t too steep.”
“Tokem, go back and keep an eye on the area. We’ll head inland and move toward the fort. Is there a recognizable landmark where we can meet you?”
“Zane, I noticed an old fir tree that was struck by lightning about three hundred yards west of the fort. You will have to pass somewhere in that area. I’ll wait for you there.”
“Okay, let’s get to it. Tokem, if you see anything before that then find us.”
Tokem flew off and I fell in behind Zane. We walked in silence with our senses on high alert. My instincts were already buzzing from what I wasn’t hearing. There were no birds, insects, or animal tracks that I could see, not a sound of any living thing. Don’t get me wrong, I was fine with no insects, but it wasn’t normal. There weren’t any animals yet, there were animal trails.
Zane motioned for me to stop before we traversed more than a quarter mile. He pulled a small pad and pencil from his pack, scribbled something and handed it to me. I read it, nodded, and handed it back to him. He looked around before picking his way off the trail and into the woods. Apparently great minds think alike. He d
idn’t like it there were no animals or sounds of any kind. This type of silence was usually deadly. We were going to avoid the path and any traps that might have been set on them.
This would make the going harder, but safer. It was my experience when things were too easy there was a reason. Sadly, the reason was usually not a good one. Zane wisely moved us up and away from the trail. It took us until mid-day or later to reach the rendezvous point where we were to meet Tokem. While we waited, Zane pulled out his monocular and studied the fort. After a few minutes he handed me the telescope and I got my first close look at the place. It was old. My guess is it dated to around the time the Romans occupied much of Europe. It had a stone or earthen wall surrounding it. There were places where the wall had fallen, but it looked pretty much intact. There was a small cluster of buildings in the center, which had probably been barracks and a bath house. The Romans did love their baths. They aren’t the only ones. I’d kill for one after four days in that boat.
Tokem streaked into view and landed on a limb near my head. “I was starting to worry about you two. I don’t like this place, it gives me the creeps. It is too damned quiet.”
“You noticed too.” I said.
“Are you kidding? I haven’t seen so much as an ant, since I landed. I tell you it doesn’t feel right.”
“Tokem, did you look around the fort?”
“I checked out the places I could get into without touching anything. I didn’t want to trip any defenses. There were only a few places I couldn’t gain access to. The central structure doesn’t have an easy way to get inside or at least not one I could find. The rest of the buildings look disserted and it doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a while. Zane did you find anything like this on your visit to the Paradise Islands?”
“I haven’t set foot on this island before, but I’m with you Tokem, this isn’t natural.”
It was now well past mid-day and I didn’t think there was time to get back to the boat before dark. Besides, I wanted to wait until dark and see if there was any activity after the sun set. I was about to ask Zane what he thought when he spoke.
“I think we should wait until dark to investigate those buildings. There isn’t enough time to get to the boat and back. I suggest we eat, get some rest, and take turns keeping watch. If we don’t find anything after dark, we can hole up in the fort for the night. What do you two think?”
“I’ll take the first watch. You two rest. I didn’t have to hack through the woods to get here.”
“All right then, I’ll set our picnic up.” I pulled off my pack and pulled out some cheese, dried bread, and some hard tack. We all had canteens to wash this five star meal down. I sat down and leaned against a tree. Go figure, no one jumped at my gastronomical spread, ingrates.
“Bon appetite,” I said.
Zane tossed a pine cone at me. Tokem lifted his tail and I felt a little moisture splash onto my hand. He wisely glided down the hill. It was just my luck to be on an uninhabited island with two food critiques. One bite of the hard tack and I knew I’d need my veneers checked. My wizarding insurance did not cover cosmetic dentistry. Thankfully, daddy did.
Zane and I took turns snoozing and keeping watch. Tokem kept up a steady surveillance from the air. The sun set on a nearly cloudless night and soon moonlight illuminated the area, bathing us in a golden glow. My guess is the moon was about three quarters full. We would have good visibility, but so would anyone else who was around. We spread out around the hilltop and kept an eye on the fort. If there was anyone there, we wanted to give them time to make their presence known.
I was stiff and bored. Don’t get me wrong, boredom is a good thing when you are dealing with miscreants. Edging my way back toward our meeting place I thought I heard the sound of running footsteps. I dropped to a full crouch, listening intently to hear for any movement. Yes, I definitely heard the sound of someone or something running. Whoever or whatever it was the sound was coming from the vicinity of the fort.
I continued my way back toward the large pine tree we were using as a meeting place. I nearly collided with Zane. It wasn’t a ringing endorsement of our skills. However, in our defense, we had both been concentrating on the noise below us. When our hearts recovered we turned our focus to the fort below us. I hoped Tokem had the runner in view.
That is when I spotted the source of the noise. There was someone running head long up the hill and into the trees. The person was making enough noise to wake the dead. If I didn’t know better I’d think the hounds of hell were pursuing him. Zane motioned he was going to follow. I decided to wait and see who or what was chasing this person. Zane moved silently into the woods and was immediately swallowed by the darkness.
I watched the fort below for any signs of movement. My breath caught in my throat. Below me, coming out of the fort, flew three bat-like creatures. They seemed to drift effortlessly up the hill, soaring as if they were riding the thermals. Their silhouettes against the night sky were abhorrently hideous. They made condors look pretty. They weren’t close enough for me to clearly see their features. However, they looked like a chilling version of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. They seemed to be searching for the runner. They silently, swooped low, searching and gliding in and out of the trees. One turned in my direction and I swear my heart stopped in my chest. I pulled myself into the shadows and held my breath.
They must have heard something because they floated off in the direction the runner went. I needed to warn Zane or cover his back. Moving as swiftly as I could through the woods without giving myself away I headed after Zane. It was much darker in the trees, branches snagging and clawing at my clothing. I stopped to listen ever few yards. That is when I heard branches snapping and breaking. It sounded like the runner was now headed my way. I knelt down and activated my bracelet and unsnapped my gun. The noises were getting louder.
A loud shriek sent chills down my spine and the hairs at the back of my neck stood on end. I couldn’t tell, but my guess was the vampires spotted the runner. No one could have missed that horrific sound. Zane would be on high alert, which freed me to focus on finding the runner. I found evidence of his passing. There were snapped and broken tree branches, shredded pieces of cloth stuck on a bush. Following this guy was easy, which wasn’t good for his life expectance.
Another loud shriek echoed through the trees around me. These things reminded of hawks shrieking to scare their prey into running and it was working. There was at least one vampire in the immediate area. I had to give the runner thumbs up for staying in the thick brush. He was effectively keeping the vampires from diving and plucking him from the ground. A series of loud, shrill shrieks reverberated around me and the runner. Great. The vampires were circling for the kill, trying to flush their prey out. I had to get to the runner before the vampires found him.
I stopped to listen and frowned. There weren’t any sounds, nada, zip. I started to draw my pistol and decided against it. In this thick brush I didn’t want to shoot the wrong thing. Instead I pulled out one of my silver tipped stakes and tucked it into my belt. Satisfied, I inched my way slowly forward. It took me a moment, but I spotted the runner. He’d wedged himself into the trunk of a rotting tree.
Before I could decide how to get to him without alerting the vampires, Zane swung down from a nearby tree. He landed so lightly the man never heard him. He clamped his hand roughly over the man’s mouth. The man started to struggle and Zane hit him with the butt of his gun. This sent the unconscious man slumping back down into the tree. Zane wisely decided to knock him out until this was over. Crawling on all fours I got within three or four feet of Zane. I threw several small rocks toward him. He spun around and I signaled him. Nodding, he scrambled over to join me. Together we headed away from the unconscious man. Once we were far enough away we would try to draw the vampires out. When we were satisfied that we had gone far enough we stopped.
“It won’t be long, we had better prepare. I saw at least three Red Court vampires s
earching for our runner.”
“Lauren, these vampires are strong and fast. I’ve got my gun loaded and I’ll try to blast them. I also have my sword.”
“I activated my bracelet and I’ve got my silver tipped stakes. We’ll have to burn them or decapitate them,” I said as I pulled several more stakes from my belt and tucked them into the top of my boot.
“Ready?”
I nodded and together we walked back to back toward the fort. We got about half way down the hill when a blood curdling shriek announced we’d been spotted. Crouching down, back-to-back we searched the sky for the vampires. Zane elbowed me and I followed his gaze. Two of them were flying toward us.
Zane whispered, “You take the one on the right. I’ll get the vamp on the left. Good luck.”
I trained all my energy on the vampire coming in fast toward me. Waiting until the vampire was within twenty feet, I fired a steady stream of energy into its body. It screamed, landed hard, and rolled. In its haste to extinguish the flames, it turned its back on me and I wasted no time. I dove at it and drove the stake deep into its chest. It thrashed and shrieked before it erupted into flames. In an instant it had turned to ash. Spinning around I looked up in time to see Zane thrust his staff into the vampire, pinning it to the ground. He reached for his sword and in one swipe beheaded the vampire. It too turned to ash before our eyes. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time to gloat. We had to find the last vampire and hopefully take it alive. We needed to question it.
Drawing back into a tight formation we edged further down the hill. We hopped up and over the forts outer wall, crouching in the shadow of the wall. We waited for our eyes to adjust. When we were sure we wouldn’t trip over any vampires, we started walking around the inside of the wall. After a few feet we came to a place in the wall were it jutted out, into the inside of the fort. Zane looked around. Satisfied, he started off along the wall. He didn’t get far. A blurring or slight change in the shadow and the vampire flew at Zane. It struck him before he could get off a shot. The vampire’s momentum drove Zane back into the wall. He was stunned and hesitated for an instant. The vampire rose up and started toward him.
