𝙳𝚊𝚜 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚣: 𝙱𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝙴𝚒𝚗𝚜

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ

Upyr – Of Muscovian origin. Claimed to be one of the most vicious of the Muscovian undead, the Upyr is a creature that walks during the day and sleeps at night, though some legends tell of the beast not sleeping at all. It has a definite taste for blood, but prefers it to be of a younger age. It tends to eat only children, but has been found munching on their grieving parents.

A small girl runs under a wagon on the outskirts of the camp. She tries to seek refuge beneath the wagon behind one of its wheels. She lets out a cry and huddles her face into her arms on the ground when she sees Ermanno fling himself onto the dirt before the wagon. Frantically, he tries to crawl underneath to bury his teeth into the child. Whatever mind the crazy bald man had, is gone completely, now there is but pure unwavering hunger.

Just as Ermanno can barely reach her, his leg is seized by the iron grip of the Commander, and his body is hurled back out from under the wagon and thrown nearly into the treeline a good deal away. On the other side of the wagon, Thayer is making his attempt at the child when his shoulders are taken and roughly shook by Koza.

"What are you doing?! Stop this!" The violent jarring Koza gives his friend brings him into awareness. Just as Lorelei arrives, she sees Ermanno rise to his feet still in a state of enraged hunger. He rushes Eber appearing as a rabid animal bent on a kill. Being a hard man to threaten, Eber draws no blade nor does he even seem to prepare himself for the attack. Stumbling to his feet, Ermanno shakes his head and narrows his eyes on the Commander. A snarl creeps across his face as he bares his fangs at Eber. Lowly, a growl rolls up Eber's throat. At once, the feral Ermanno responds like the animal he is becoming, jerking his head and lowering his gaze from the cold one of Eber's.

In the fray, the girl scrambles from the wagon and makes for an escape to tell all what she has seen. "Wait!" Koza

calls. Eber shifts through the shadows again, appearing beside the child and snatching her up in one of his arms. The girl screams and Eber muffles her cries, holding her at a cockeyed angle whilst she fights. "What are we going to do with her?" Koza asks frantically, fearing he knows the answer. Quietly, Lorelei comes to the scene from the shadows, listening to Koza.

Eber turns and begins to walk with the girl thrashing in his arm. "I will drown her in the river, it will be a believable death for a child."

Koza's eyes flare with desperate plea as he runs to cut his Commander off. "No!"

"No?" Again, a growl rumbles from the Commander at the younger male presenting him a challenge of authority.

Knowing an outright demand of the Commander is not the best of ideas, he bows his head and loosens his tense body in complete submission. "Please, please, I beg of you, not a child."

With no change in his expression, Eber steps past Koza having no intention of stopping. Koza stares at the ground as he thinks of something which makes his breathing strain. He slowly moves his hand to the grip of his sword, his hand trembles slightly at the idea of challenging his Commander.

Passing by Lorelei, She breathes to him, "Eber." He stops. Eber heeds as she gradually lifts her hand between them, gently grasping the hilt of his sword at his side. "Not a child." Her tone is unlike any other time. Her words said softly up to him. Slowly, in Koza's mind, he begins to swear he can hear a faint hum, as though metal was vibrating. The more he listens, the more he realizes the hum is coming from Eber's sword. Seeming to come out of a haze, Eber's eyes gain life to them. It is a life that is accompanied by that pain in his chest. He looks to the child in his arm and begins to lower her to the ground as if not remembering picking her up.

Koza's hand slides off his sword as he tries to understand what he is seeing. Soft words from her and Eber obeys. Lorelei's hand slips off Eber's sword and once more, his eyes are cold and lifeless.

"Lulu! Lulu!"

The unfamiliar holler comes up on them quickly, only giving time for Lorelei to say, "Get into the shadows." Koza, Thayer and Ermanno abide and she grabs the girl, heaving her at the group of men just coming into sight. The men halt as they see Lorelei standing beside the familiar soldier.

The obvious father of the girl rushes to her, swooping her up close to him. "I have told you to stay away from the Bibi! Never go near her!"

Lorelei steps away from Eber who did not run to the shadows. "For their safety, I have warned all of you to keep your curious children away from my affairs." Her voice is deep and looming.

"Papa! There were monsters. They wanted to eat me!" the girl sobs in her father's arms.

With refined poise, Lorelei retorts, "What other than monsters do you think I would have for pets?" She takes the brunt of accusations so that no one might go looking for other answers to the girl's cries.

"We should not stand for your witchery!" one man dares step forward and speak up. "You should be hung by the neck until your body swings limp!" There is but a murmur of agreement from the group behind him.

Casually, the elder leader comes through the group to the front. Azzo examines Lorelei, then moves his gaze to Eber. "You forget the good she has done for us." He looks back at her. "...I do not." Having enough of the excitement, the tribe leader turns. "Come, let us go back to our own business." The men trail along, unhappy to dismiss the woman over past favors like Azzo.

Thayer comes from the shadows, watching the people leave and taking in a deep breath. "I am sorry Commander." He attempts to regain his place in the ranks. "When I saw Ermanno go for the girl I followed, it was a hunger like never before."

"Is that not what the Gypsy warned?" Eber replies unsympathetically.

Thayer shifts his glance to the woman. "Yes Sir."

"Then you should have been prepared."

"Yes Sir."

The Gypsy crosses her arms and swings a glare at the young man. "Well, at least now I know you are a Upyr sort of untoten." The men look at her having no clue what that means. She scrutinizes their faces. "It is an Undead that favors the taste of children." Thayer lowers his head again as his comrades look back at him.

"Commander, permission to speak?" Eber turns a look to Koza. "We all hunger now, even I am starving. It will take every bit of willpower to not show that hunger in front of Kasimir... What are we going to do?"

Interrupting the moment of silent thought, Lorelei speaks up, "There are always the prisons." She arches a heavy brow. "Deep in the bowels of Reinhard Castle, there are captives long forgotten, guarded by no one. And the best part is that the cells are enclosed by thick stone buried in the earth where no pleas for mercy or cries for help can be heard." Koza gapes at the woman, seeing the viciousness of her sharp mind. She is survival at its most wise and beautiful.

"Koza." Koza snaps from his thoughts and turns to Eber. "You will take Thayer and Ermanno to the deepest cells in the castle and satiate your hungers, being sure to not leave a hint of what killed the prisoners, understand?"

"Yes Sir." He shifts his eyes not wanting the task. "But Sir, I do not hunger for blood."

"What do you hunger for then?" Eber truly wonders.

Koza averts his glances to the others not quite knowing how to say it. "I am hungry... for... fish."

"Fish?" Eber remarks followed by Thayer and Ermanno, then Lorelei.

"That is what the Upir eats as he does not feed on blood, instead he consumes fish. Yet another mock of humanity which may prove this man useful to you, Soldier." She grins at the General.

Eber looks back to Koza. "Then find your fill wherever you wish, but you will still carry out my orders."

"Yes Sir." He nods reluctantly.