I fell, with the torch in my hand though, watching as the sky appeared above me. I hit the ground hard, and I let the torch drop. A flame shot up as soon as the wick hit the oil and the fire spread. A large piece broke off the side of the building. I was still dazed from my fall. I couldn’t move fast enough, the damn thing impaled me through my midsection. I heard Noemi scream and the flames shot up around me.
The flames soon jumped to my clothes and I screamed out in pain. Why did I have to feel pain, I still do blame the witches for it. The flames consumed me, I could hear my own flesh sizzling and smell it in my nose. I remember looking at my hand and seeing bone, then another log fell on my head and all went black. My first death. I opened my eyes and I was floating above earth. I looked over and could see the sun peaking up over the earth. The light from the sun crept over the land and when it hit my eyes, I saw smoke and shut my eyes.
I heard a sickening popping noise in my ears. I opened my eyes and I was peering through rubble. I cleared the rubble from my face and looked at my midsection. The log that had pinned me, had burnt down to stump of burnt wood and ash. I looked my hand and I was missing flesh and muscle all the way to elbow, my right hand was charred and I couldn’t see my legs yet. I used my elbows and arched my back to remove myself the charred stump. I fell over to the side that’s when I noticed my midsection started to heal up. I tried to get up, but there was so much debris and rubble that I couldn’t stand up fully. I got angered and pushed with all my might, screaming as I done so, sending the debris and rubble flying off me.
There were villagers all around, they stopped what they were doing and watched as I stepped out of the ashes. I looked down and watched as muscle and flesh grew back, inching its way over my bones. Charred flesh flaked away to reveal new flesh growing. I was dazed, still gathering my bearings when I felt my head tingling, I reached and could feel my hair growing, I stumbled and fell and when I looked up, Noemi was standing there with cloth of sorts, it was red and white and when she draped it over me, it had silky feel to it. She helped me up, then I felt another around me, one of the townspeople had come to help me as well. The rest of the townspeople parted way as I heard sobs coming from Noemi.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that, I thought you were dead,” she wiped her tears away with her free hand.
“I was….briefly,” I said, feeling as if I could stand on my own, “thank you both. So, what happened?”
“A majority of the vampires burned up with you, once the wall went, the whole place went,” Noemi said.
“Did you get hurt?” I asked as I sat down near one of the large huts. My newly formed muscles were tight, so I had to work them around a little bit.
“A few scratches, but no bites,” she said as showed me the scratches she had on her back and legs. She then gave me some water in a camel-skinned canteen, and oddly I needed it, it was the first time I needed substance. I downed the water as fast as I could, emptying the canteen.
“That’s the most I’ve seen you drink,” Noemi
“I’ll be fine in a little…..” and before I could finish my sentence, Noemi hugged me, tight.
“I thought you were dead Roldian,” she sobbed, her tears felt cool on my bare skin.
“As so did I,” I said, “the worst part is, my good clothes burnt up.”
Noemi chuckled, “Did you think I would just only get you one pair of clothes, I even got you an extra pair of eye-covers.”
I looked up at the sun and let its warmth fill my soul, if I had one. Noemi sat some clothes down next to me and with replacement pair of glasses or eye covers, as Noemi called them. I felt refreshed, I grabbed my clothes from the ground and got up, making sure to keep myself covered.
“Here you can use my home,” I heard someone say and looked in the direction of the voice. There stood a small man, skinny and short, but had warming eyes and smile as well. His eye were a soft grey, he had no hair and large scar and dent on the side of his head.
“Thank you!” I said and went into his hut, he stayed out and let me get dressed in peace. I walked back out in and Noemi was there with her horse, and Sabor came up to me and nudged me with his head. I scratched his head and he shook it, sending some ash and dust in the air.
I smelled food cooking and the man with the dent in head led Noemi and I to a common hall. He informed us that they built the common hall after the vampires took over the temple.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Levente,” he said, but he spoke slowly.
“What happened to your head?” I asked only to get smacked in the arm by Noemi.
He chuckled, “It’s okay, I get asked that a lot. My father took a rock to the side of my head, then my mother took an axe to his. I’ve been slow ever since, but I’m alive.”
I almost felt bad for him, I couldn’t imagine if Lucifer tried to kill me. We followed Levente and we finally came to the common hall, which was small, compared to the temple. There were great smells coming from the there, and I was actually wanting to eat more, with my blood lust starting up.
Levente opened a set of double doors and we walked in. There was no main table that no leader sat at, there was a main table that housed the food. People sat at round tables and would walk to large rectangular table and would get what they wanted. We followed Levente and it was then I noticed they were using something different than rough cut, wooden plates, they were using large leaves. They were long and broad; I didn’t know the area well enough to know if they were grown local or brought in.
“The meats are lamb, chicken, goats and cow, you have fruits and vegetables over there,” he pointed to the other side of the table, “My favorite is the lamb.”
I walked up to the table and the room grew quiet, I looked up and people were looking at me, then they started cheering. Music was coming from somewhere, but the people quit eating and started dancing so I couldn’t see. I heard a flute play and it was magic to my ears. I loved the way it sounded, the person playing was good.
In the corner of the common hall was a large fireplace, it was there they cooked the meats on a slanted, vertical spit set up with wooden gears. It was interesting to see the meats rotating by one man turning them instead of three separate men turning them. It was a long time before I saw that again.
I loaded up on meats, and some root vegetables they had there. I went and sat down and a table closest to the main table. The dancing was still going on, but I was too busy stuffing my face to pay attention to anyone dancing. It was after I was done, that I notice Noemi was gone. I went into instant alert and started scanning the room. I used my ears and heard an audible moan and then someone say, “shhh!”
I briskly walked outside and listened again, I heard the moans again and circled the building, I turned the corner to go around the back of the building when spotted Noemi, going down on another woman behind the building. I startled them and they startled me. The brown-haired woman threw her dress down and took off, Noemi gave me a look, wiped her mouth and smiled.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you and…..”
“It’s okay, I got what I wanted’,” she laughed and got up off her knees, “Where you worried about me?”
“Yes, I was, in fact,” I said.
“Awe! That’s sweet of you,” she said and gave me hug.
She followed me back inside, where she started dancing instead of eating, I went back to eating. I liked the textures and tastes, but I was craving vampire blood. It was the only substance that affected me, and I enjoyed it.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and when I looked over there stood a woman about five-foot-three, she was a little heavy set for her height, but she still looked beautiful to me. Her eyes were a deep brown and she had a few strands of hair woven down the side of her face and tucked behind her ears. She had full lips and plump little cheeks, she smiled at me.
“Would you like to dance?” she asked and put her hands out, I was hesitant at first the
n took her hand. The flute music slowed down everyone started dancing with each other instead of themselves. She led me to the center of the room where she put her head against the to of my stomach and simply just swayed, it was nothing special, no twist or turns, just simply swaying. After awhile the flute music turned more, I guess party-like would be the answer. That’s when the person I was dancing with, switched pace. She planted her hand on my backside pulled me forwards, she thrust her crotch upon my thigh. I was baffled, I looked around for Noemi, who was laughing at me while leaning up against the wall. She thrusts a few more times, before I felt uncomfortable. I pulled away and told her I was feeling famished and needed to rest. I was still healing from earlier. All which were lies, but her forcefulness reminded me of Lilith.
As I was walking away, she grabbed my hand and spun me around and attempted to straddle me again, “Please stop, I don’t want to dance anymore!” I said and tried walking away, but she pulled me back once again. Then, from the side of me, a fist came, squarely planting on the jaw of the woman trying to force me to dance. She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes and when I looked to see whose fist it was, there stood Noemi, an angered look on her face.
“Impressive,” I said.
“You told her you didn’t want to dance, she should have stopped at that,” she said and shook her hand.
“Were you worried about me?” I asked with a little positive sarcasm in my voice.
“More worried about what you would do to her,” she laughed, “lets get out of here.”
We walked out of the common hall and heard yelling behind us, “HEY! WAIT UP!” it was Levente.
We stopped and waited for him to catch up to us, we weren’t walking back. “You travel right?” he asked.
“Yes, we do,” I said.
“I want to give you something,” he said, “It used to be my mother’s, she traveled a lot. Come with me!”
“We don’t want anything Levente you’ve been nice to us,” Noemi said, as she took the rein to her horse and I took mine.
“No please! It’s going to waste, it’s a tent I figured you could use it,” he said. I felt bad for him, speaking a simple sentence was so hard for him.
I looked over at Noemi, who shrugged then we followed Levente back to his home. He walked around back and came back around holding five posts, one longer than the rest, wrapped in something beige in color.
“There are five posts here, the outside are hides from my mom’s many hunting trips. It’ll keep you dry in the rain and there are two holes, one on each side of the center posts, that way you can have a fire and the smoke has a way to leave the tent.”
I felt weird he was just giving us a tent, so I decided to ask him a question, “Would you like to come with us Levente?”
His face lit up and he chuckled, “No, no, no I’m slow, I have no place outside of here. I would get myself killed or get you two killed. I thank you though!”
I strapped the tent to the side of Sabor who didn’t mind its weight. I minded the fact that my leg straddled it and made it somewhat uncomfortable to ride Sabor. We waved to Levente and took left, some of the townspeople shouted at us to stay, but we simply said others needed our help.
I wasn’t worried about helping others, even though they took my gesture of killing of the vampires as helping them, when I was helping myself. I felt a rush when I killed them, I pictured each on as Derium. It wasn’t the Derium whose head I buried, but the Derium from the night I was taken advantage of. The one with the smirk on his face, like he was enjoying what was happening to me.
We traveled, we didn’t know where to, but we traveled on a path that wasn’t taken much. We traveled a few hours before Noemi broke off on a bathroom break as I stood guard. We traveled a few more hours before Noemi wanted to stop and set up camp, which I did. Levente meant well, but he didn’t pack a rock or hammer of sorts or way to drive the spikes that made the tent taut. I used my bare hands to do it, while Noemi went off to gather food, she snacked on the fish from days ago, but I didn’t care too much for it.
The tent was a decent sized, something told me Levente’s mother done more than hunt in the tent. It could easily hold four or five people and she traveled a lot. I used a little bit of my speed to scout the area for graves, which I should have done before I set up the tent, but I wanted to see the tent set up. When I got back, there was a small pig and a chicken hanging up outside the tent in a nearby tree. I could smell and see smoke rolling out of the top of the tent. I went inside and there stood a naked Noemi.
“I’m sorry,” I said and turned my head.
“You’ve seen me naked before, don’t be sorry,” she said and smiled, she turned and faced me like it was no big deal, “This is how I walked around my hut when I had it.”
I turned my attention back to her as she brought out her small bag of spices from her pack and looked saddened, “I’m almost out of spices, this is sad, we need to find a market.”
“We have no money,” I said, but thought quickly, “Maybe we should start getting things we need from the people we help?”
“That’s not a bad idea, because if you go up in flames again, you’ll have to walk around naked.”
“You don’t seem to mind,” I laughed a little.
“You should try it,” she laughed.
“Maybe when I bathe, other than that, I think I’ll be fine.” I said. She shrugged and went on her merry way, naked around the tent, she went out and brought back the baby pig that was gutted and skinned.
“How did you catch them?”
“The piglet thought I was friendly, and I was until I slit it’s throat, then the chicken, well I hit it with a rock, then snapped it’s neck,”
“You are a brute,” I laughed.
“A brute that looks good and can cook,” her confidence high.
“True there,” I said and watched her work.
She cut the piglet up into small pieces, taking a thick section off the side of the back, that I later and I mean later, learned was the loin. She, then spatchcocked the chicken and had pieces of pork next to the chicken on each side. She was like clockwork, she would rotate the pork every so often and after about twenty minutes she rotated the chicken. The fact she did this naked was kind of weird to me at first but grew on me over time.
She was eating before I knew it, of course I tried her food, it was always flavorful. She gave me half the chicken which was juicy and had hints of garlic, salt and pepper and few other herbs that I didn’t know at time. She leaned up against the tent when she was done eating and let out a loud, rumbling belch. I laughed then she laughed. She got went back outside and came back in with her woven sleeping mat and put it down.
“You need one of these,” she said.
“I think you forget, I don’t sleep, but being comfortable is nice, what’s it made of?” I asked.
“It’s a mixture of lamb’s wool and fur from various rodents that I’ve weaved together, it took me a few weeks to make, but I’m glad I made it. I might make you one if we ever get the things we need to make it.”
“I think I will be fine until then,” I said, I walked outside for a minute to check on Sabor and grabbed a few loose sticks to burn in the fire. When I walked back in, Noemi was asleep. I picked up her sticks she had the meats on and tossed them in the fire. I sat by the fire and poked at it a few times, watching as my sticks burned.
I got lost in the coals, the bright oranges and yellows danced in my mind and for the first time in a long time, I thought of Mylicious. I wondered what he was doing and sent out thought to him and got nothing back in return. I shrugged off and poked the fire again with my stick.
I heard Sabor make a noise outside and Noemi’s horse started stomping. I felt the presence of a vampire and walked outside. The vampire was looming around the horses.
“I’d suggest you not try to bite them,” I said, and she turned around. She hissed at me, bared her teeth and curved her fingers into claws.
“Why
not?” she asked and came out from the darkness and into the light was being cast out from open flap of the tents. Her clothes tattered and torn, dirt caked her, long black hair.
“Because the owners wouldn’t like it,” I said preparing myself for battle. The vampire lunged and I managed to catch her with one hand and easily grabbed her right arm with my other. I didn’t take me long to tear into her throat and rip it out. I let her blood fill my mouth and swallowed it in gulps. She screamed out and tried to fight me, but I was taking the blood from her at an exceptional rate. She quit fighting, she wasn’t dead, just too weak to fight, and I dropped her. The wound on her neck didn’t heal up, in fact it seemed to spread a little before stopping. She reached up at the wound and made a miniscule squeak of pain.
“What the hell?” I looked and Noemi standing in the entryway of the tent.
“My bloodlust can get the better of me, I’m sorry,” I said, fighting the urge to wipe the blood from lips, but it quickly absorbed in my body.
“I don’t care about that, why isn’t the wound healing?” she asked, getting down and uncomfortably close to vampire.
“I don’t know it happens, every time I bite them,” I said.
“We can use this, what if you spit on my knife? Do you think that would do it?”
“I don’t know, we can try it.”
Noemi went in the tent as the vampire, looking withered, moved slowly about, looking at me with sadness in her eyes. She reached out for me and I kicked her hand away. Noemi returned, still naked with her knife. I spit on it and she rubbed my spit in and then proceeded to slice the vampire’s face with it. She hissed as the wound spread.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Noemi said, “Well I’m going back to sleep.”
She went back in the tent and laid on her mat. I reached down and tore the head off the vampire and tossed it aside. I went in the tent and Noemi was sound asleep again, as if nothing ever happened. I on the other hand, was feeling the effects of the vampire blood. There was nothing I could do though, I was too afraid to leave Noemi by herself, so I sat there and poked at the fire, a few times I would see Noemi shiver and then I went and got a few pieces of loose wood and put on the fire, part of me wanted to lay next to her to keep her warm but I didn’t that night.
The Godsend Backfire: The Beginning Page 11
