When we get lower, Colton is already gone and heading down tunnels in hot pursuit of what’s left of the enemy. When we get to the ground floor fully, I gag on the smell down here. It’s thick, vile dust, an overwhelming stench that coats every surface. The ashy remains of fried vampire, and I notice the throne, crude and carved without skill, as it sits in one corner and seems to be the one form of seating in this place. I gesture towards it, and Leyanne narrows in on it too. Carmen walks over to sniff at it and recoils as though the scent is painful.
“Covens have lords. This one was no different, but he was another halfling, and your mate already took care of him. I think he was newly promoted.” Leyanne points at the unbreathing evidence, and I turn to the lifeless body slumped in the corner that Colton discarded. Still intact due to not being in direct light, but it has no head. One sure-fire way to end a vampire is to take its head clean off its shoulders; I know from experience it’s Colton’s preferred method. He’s strong enough to do it with just a little flick of the wrists. It’s also why he’s covered in blood, as it’s probably the messiest way to kill one.
I also note how most of these vile creatures are naked and nothing like the ones we encountered in the woods, which were more human than these. They are nothing compared to Darrius in any way, and I wonder how many subspecies these things have. I thought from what he said, there was them and these. Yet, this is something entirely different. We have never seen them fly at all.
“These are different, and some have wings.” I point out in a questioning tone, leaning down to peer at the so-called leader, then straighten up to push it over with my foot and have a proper look. It has remnants of clothes that look like they were shredded from its body a long while ago, and all ribs and protruding bones all over as though it was malnourished. The ones we have fought were dressed and not like this, I’m sure. Well, maybe, but we never saw them naked. From memory, they didn’t seem this skinny and almost alienlike.
Long nails, yellow and brittle looking, but fiercely sharp. Waxy white skin, covered in a soft down of ugly hairs on arms and legs and weirdly oversized rib cages that are not in proportion to their bodies in any way. They’re more hideous than I thought like this. Bony with no connections to the human qualities of Darrius.
“Various degrees of DNA dilution. These are mongrels. Or as Darrius would call them, gutter rats.” Leyanne points out as Carmen and Sierra turn to human to join us. “Wings are common in pure, just not so much in rats.”
“Meaning?” Carmen asks with genuine curiosity as she and Sierra find their places by my side once more and look down at the mess at our feet with pinched expressions. The smell is so bad in here it’s hard to breathe properly, and we all shield our faces with our palms to cut out the worst of it. Not that it helps much, but it’s better than inhaling ashes of remains.
“Built for one purpose alone… mass making an army. Lord Varro didn’t care about their breed's purity or even fixing the flaws. He wanted numbers and feral instincts. The perfect instant way to fill your ranks and create killing machines.” Leyanne steps over and prods one with her foot as though checking out if it’s truly dead or God knows what witches do with morbid things like this. She’s a weird one even on a good day and seems fascinated to be able to inspect so close.
“So, not all vampires are like this? … Some are like that, Darrius? More human-like… less. Ughh.” Carmen didn’t get a good look at Darrius that day on the road, but I guess she saw enough to see he was more like a strong human with toned skin and normal lines of a muscular body. She didn’t see his red eyes, and I doubt she saw that his fangs were more in keeping with a Hollywood heartthrob vampire than these grotesque ‘Hills have eyes’ freaks. These have fangs that far extend their mouths, much like the ones in the orphanage that day. In comparison, Darrius had tiny pointers that slightly showed between his lips. I wonder if his can extend then shake it out of my head.
“These are not vampires… they’re halflings. Don’t confuse the two, especially not within hearing of an actual Vampire. It’s the worst of insults. I doubt you have battled a real one in your entire existence.” Leyanne wanders around, stepping over them and surveying the damage around her with literally no expression or care in the world. She’s not squeamish, and the smell seems to not affect her, given I guess our sense of smell is way more fine-tuned than hers. “The pure bloods haven’t lifted a finger to aid these wars in over five thousand years. Lord Varro has only ever used these rejects… that were once human. As diluted and flawed as you can get and nothing like what I know the vampires to be.” Leyanne leans down, touches the naked foot of the dead master near her, and then rubs her fingers together like she’s testing something. I grimace at the fact she touched it and has no way of washing her hands. “He’s damp and cold and feels like pig skin. I’m guessing it’s a sixth or seventh dilution of genuine vampire DNA. They get worse the more they create from one another. It’s no wonder they are no match for wolves. They’re probably closer to humans in terms of abilities, besides wings.” She sighs, seemingly irritated by this fact.
“You’re saying true bloods are….? Stronger? Faster?” Sierra asks but doesn’t finish as her words tail off. I frown, looking from her to it and back again. No longer doubting what Darrius said in the car and trying to remember what he told me.
“Put it this way. If the true bloods were the ones to stand up and take on the war… your species would almost be extinct for the second time in history. These don’t have their gifts… where do you think yours comes from, Luna. Your strength, your power…. Did you never wonder why it, in itself, was stronger than these creatures you fought for months?” Leyanne walks over the mess and comes back to my side, making me aware of the complete lack of wolves in this space as we hear the faint noises moving away. They are spreading out around the tunnels to catch the last of them, and I can still sense my mate within these rocks. Somewhere fighting to end this battle. Being his capable self, I stand here suddenly secure and no longer worried about our victory. Colton has always been invincible.
“I just thought my wolf DNA made it so.” I shrug, only half invested while I link him to feel his presence, but then leave him be in case he’s busy. Just feeling him is enough and his return second of connection tells me he felt me too. We do this sometimes, connect but don’t talk, just to touch base and say, ‘I’m okay’ and ‘I feel you.’ I smile, instantly warmed by the knowledge he’s truly with me again. One word, and he would appear like he always does.
I leave him alone, my silence telling him to do what he’s doing, and I’ll be fine wherever I am. No doubt his senses tell him exactly where I am, and he will have had someone link him to my whereabouts. I know Meadow, and the sub pack is with him. They won’t be far from his side. He’s with the most competent and is as safe as I am.
Leyanne laughs, breaking into my thoughts like I’m the most amusing thing she has never known. Pulling my brain back into our conversation, I sense Carmen bristle with hostility that this bitch dared to mock her Luna. I pat Carmen’s hand and pull her arm into mine to make her calm down. Sensing her softening, she stays put, and her glare remains stuck on Leyanne’s face.
“No. Your gifts come from the source; trust me, as strong as you seem, you are way down the ranks of what a true blood can do. Darrius, for example,… he’s a Shadow Knight, actually the high commander of the Shadow Knights. One of the most ruthless hunting machines in existence by any species' standards. He alone could take down maybe twenty of yours by himself without breaking a sweat or wrinkling his impressively tailored wardrobe, even if your alpha was one of them. So, it’s good he doesn’t waste his time chasing wolves.” Leyanne chuckles, a slight sense of admiration for that creature. “Probably also one of the most indifferent and cold bastards you will ever meet, who has no time for other people’s drama. I sort of admire him.”
The silence from the three of us as this sinks in makes it clear she has shocked us, and she pats me on the shoulder with a reassuring smile. I swallow with a loud gulp, a little torn with this insight into what half my bloodline is. Or why she even likes him.
I knew Darrius gave off weird vibes, but I didn’t think he was this impressive. We have a few suggestions of Shadow Knights in the grimoire library, but the facts are so few and far between. Hard to say if they were myths or real or just scaremongering from witches who wanted us to avoid all vampires. What we read made them seem like Devils on earth and untouchable by any species. If this is true, and they do, in fact, exist, that means Vampires still sit on top of the food chain among all of us. Wolves always thought themselves to hold that title, but then our history books aren’t honest.
“The lords and the coven dwellers with pure blood…. they stay away from any kind of people. They like their existence quiet and calm, and as long as their needs are met, they don’t care what goes on in the outside world. They’re a species that has been around since time began. There’s a reason wolves dwell in the human world, never far from them, even if you try to avoid them in life. It’s the only way your kind felt safe to repopulate after the purebloods left only a handful of you alive. That long-lost hatred of the species, they avenged what they wanted to avenge. Everything since has been halflings created for personal vendettas by rogue lords like Varro.”
We all stare at her for a long moment in silence as it sinks in, what she said, and it makes sense. All our lives, despite avoidance with humans, wolves populate near them and interact when we have to. We always find packs not far from human civilizations, yet no one has ever questioned it or looked into the past to find out why. There are plenty of places in the world where we could live away from them, yet we choose not to. It gives truth to what she says.
“That’s why you said I can end it. Because the high lord, he can recall Varro and pull him to heel. Finally, put this to bed.” I add in, pulling the conversation to something more productive as we stand in this echoey place. It sends shivers down my spine being here, but I feel, for now, that it’s the safest place. While our pack scourge the rest of the mountain and catch their last drops of these mongrel’s blood. They can’t go out, so they’re cornered and being wiped out.
“Yes. Of course, until the next lord finds reason to hate you. I’m sure with your species' popularity skills, it’ll happen eventually. But Varro is next in line to rule, so maybe you might have peace for a couple of thousands of years once he puts his vendetta to bed.” Leyanne shrugs and dusts off her dress, fixing her long black cloak, and seems unfazed about any of this. I guess living for three thousand years means there’s nothing she hasn’t seen before.
“That would be nice. Maybe we might have a chance at something normal for a while.” Carmen chips in and nudges me when returning figures draw our attention. We sense them, tingle with their presence, and a wide smile moves across my face as my mate’s aura looms back in on me.
Wolves are pacing back in, smeared in blood and remains, and I know without asking because I can feel that all the vampires are dead. All my senses and connections to these creatures can already tell me not one single heartbeat remains.
It’s over…. Really over, for us, here right now.
We won, and our mountain is now clear of the enemy at last.