Gods and Dark Creatures (Book 3)

CH. 13: Dragomira

"I'll probably leave you here," said Erebus as they walked to the edge of the forest.

Dragomira was glad to finally be out of the Forest of the Dead. There was a kind of power in it that was destroying her from the inside. It tried to break her mind. Now she finally saw the sun again. Warm rays of light caressed her skin. A fresh breeze washed away the veil of madness. She took a deep breath. She breathed fresh air into her lungs, scented with the flowers of a blossoming meadow.

"Where do you plan to go?" Erebus asked her.

"I must find Queen Amaya. She can help me," she replied.

Erebus did not look very enthusiastically.

"What?" she didn't understand his look.

"I should warn you that Queen Amaya is not the most welcoming person," he said. "And certainly not now with the Shadow King."

"Who is the Shadow King?" Dragomira wondered. It is not the first time she has heard mention about him.

"One failed experiment of the gods. He is out of their control and thinks he is something more than the gods themselves. He is very dangerous." Erebus told her.

"However, I must find Queen Amaya," Dragomira said determinedly, regardless of the danger that might await her there.

Erebus thought. His smile twisted in displeasure. "I don't really want to go with you, but I'll keep you company."

"I don't ask you to," said Dragomira.

"But you don't know this land and you have no idea about dark creatures. You will need my help." Erebus said.

"Then lead me," Dragomira urged him with a smile.

He was right. She knows nothing about dark creatures and kingdoms lying behind the Forest of the Dead. She was glad he decided to go with her even if she didn't ask for it. She didn't want to be alone.

⸸

They walked through the empty land. In front of them lay only blooming meadows. Flowers in full bloom basked in the bright rays of the sun. Birds flew high in turquoise skies. Dragomira's eyes suddenly blurred. She fell to her knees. Her breathing was heavy.

"Are you alright?" Erebus was worried about her.

"Just a little hungry," said Dragomira. "It's been too long since I last drank blood."

"There's a village over there over the hill." He pointed into the distance where treetops rose from behind a low hill. "You will be able to drink as much blood as your throat takes."

He helped her to her feet. The whole time he was holding her so she wouldn't fall to the ground. She was weak. She had never been without blood for so long. It was torture. She felt worse than the day of her transformation. As if the reaper's vile fangs were crawling up her body, trying to drag her down to hell.

They arrived at a small village. It looked quite big, but it was just a few houses spread over a wide area. It looked like something from a fairy tale. Colorful flowers grew in the gardens around the houses. Climbing roses stretched up the walls to the roof. Butterflies flying around. Their wings shone with all the colors of the rainbow. Little children were playing in the streets. However, when they saw two strangers, their mothers took them to the safety of their home. They were surrounded by men with pitchforks and various tools such as hammers and spades in their hands.

"Did you come from the Black Forest?" they asked.

"Yes," Erebus confirmed as Dragomira was at a loss for words.

"No person has yet come out of there alive. You must be monsters like the Amorite ones." said one of the men and the others nodded in agreement.

"She's actually from the other side of the forest. Queen Dragomira of Toska." Erebus introduced her. "And we didn't say we were human either. I like my human form, but I definitely wouldn't want to be a poor human like you." he smiled mischievously.

"Call the hunters!" shouted someone in the crowd.

Abominable hunters, thought Dragomira. Hunters always bring trouble. She didn't like them in Toska, and that certainly won't change here.

"I'm afraid the only one Death will welcome today will be you," said Dragomira, lunging at the man standing closest to her. She bit his throat. She tasted his blood on her tongue. A loud scream escaped his mouth. He tried to break free from her grip, but she held him tightly. She let him go only when his heart stopped beating and not a drop of blood remained in his veins. The limp body fell to the ground. His glassy gaze spoke of his death.

People watched in dumb horror at what had just happened. They looked at their dead acquaintance and at the stranger who had his blood running down her chin.

"Who's next?" she turned to them with hunger in her eyes.

Starving vampires have one big problem, it only takes one single drop of blood and they get out of control. And Dragomira was no exception. She had not tasted human blood for a month, at most some animal she found in the forest. She needed blood. Blood was life. And one person was not enough to satisfy her bloodlust.

It was as if she was out of her body. Like it wasn't her. She was overcome by an animal hunger that she needed, had to satisfy. Some men were wise and ran away. Others were stupid and decided to stand up against her. No one who dared to do so survived.

She was covered in blood and dead bodies were lying around her when she finally came out of her murderous stupor.

"Quite a mess." Erebus laughed, looking at the dead bodies lying all around.

"I said I was very hungry," said Dragomira.

"We should leave before the hunters arrive," Erebus remarked.

Dragomira washed off the blood and they were able to go on their way. However, problems found them before they left the village.

"These look like people. We will take them to the king. He will definitely want to interrogate them," said the hunter, who was apparently the commander. His uniform was the most decorated.

The hunters attacked them. Dragomira and Erebus were definitely not going to give up without a fight. Dragomira drew her sword. The sound of steel hitting steel carried through the air. Dragomira was stronger and faster. And definitely better at fighting. Erebus used his power to control water against the hunters. He was able to draw all the water out of the hunter's body and thus kill him. However, some of them had protective amulets that prevented him from using his power on them. He had to fight them like a human.

Dragomira was still feeling the effects of hunger. She was aggressive. And the hunters stood in her way to get what she wanted. She hated hunters. She killed them one by one. They didn't stand a chance against her. She cut the throat of one. She cut the other one almost in half with her sword. She let their blood flow with perverted pleasure.

However, they pulled out very special chains on them. Magic circulated through the metal. They threw them at them and they wrapped themselves around them as if by themselves. Dragomira tried to fight them, but it was in vain. They wrapped around her legs, around her arms. She tried to wriggle out of them, but their grip was tight. It reminded her of the tree roots that tried to pull her under the ground in the Forest of the Dead. She tried to free herself from the chains, but the more she struggled, the more they tightened their grip. The sword slipped from her palm. They were handcuffed. They couldn't move.

"It's futile," Erebus told her. "These are divine artifacts. You won't get out of them if they don't let you go.''