And What I Found There - Book Two

33. I See It All Now It Was Wrong

I wearily open my eyes; I feel all sticky and muddy...

I cringe and gasp as I force myself to sit up, pain radiates from every fiber in my body. I'm ripped up like an old ragdoll, and coated in mud and oozing blood, all of my open wounds are aching and stinging.

"Where the...hell?" I groggily grumble, trying to wipe my eyes free of slimy mud.

I'm sitting in a huge patch of mud, actually everything is coated in mud, even the trees have mud dripping from their spiney branches. The storm for the most part has passed, rain only trickles from the bruised purple sky now.

Damn, I shake my head as I stand and survey the damage around me. It looks like the aftermath of a bombing, I grimace. I have no idea where in the woods I am, but broken headstones and huge pieces of the ruined church are scattered all around. Cracked open coffins that must've been pulled up from the soft ground during the flood are littered everywhere. Skeletons are laying about disrespectfully like streamers after a crazy party.

I shiver but now freeze as I hear a sickening sucking sound.

What the...? I'm sure I look horrified as I slowly turn around and look up.

I raggedly gasp and clamp my hands over my mouth in attempts to keep from screaming.

There, perched on a rocky ledge protruding from the massive hill, is the Vampire Blood Prince. The huge monster is crouched over the body of one of those dead gargoyle beasts. Oh it's atrocious! He's drinking its oozing black blood.

I take a numb step back, my heart hammering with terror. I shake my head slowly as I keep backing up, now look around desperately.

I have to get the hell out of here before he sees me!

Vyndren told me before that when a Vampire drinks, all of its senses are dulled. In theory, he shouldn't be able to notice me while he's too engrossed with his prey.

In theory.

But I have to take my chances! It won't take the Prince long to finish the main course and he might be in the mood for dessert. AKA me.

I anxiously take off running, desperately trying to ignore the pain that relentlessly radiates through my afflicted body.

I rip down vines in my way as I race through the forest, climbing over risen roots and scrambling over loose pebbles. I suddenly hear something huge cutting through the air rapidly over head. I wildly look up but just barely catch a glimpse of a dark shadow before something lands to the ground before me.

I gasp as I skid to a halt. My boots fly out from beneath me and I crash down with a frantic yelp. Omigod! I fearfully scramble backwards, my heart hammering with horror.

The gruesome Vampire Blood Prince is crouched on the ground in front of me. It tilts its hideous head as it softly hisses. Its black forked tongue flicks out to taste the air, as if it can't already sense how terrified I am.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that this beast is not Vyndren, but rather the demon that haunts him. So yes, I do stand a very realistic chance of being murdered right here and now.

The Vampire's muscles go tense as if it's about to spring but just before it can do anything -or I can anything- an enormous black wolf morphs from the shadows and savagely snatches the Vampire off the ground by its wing. The Vampire screeches with fury and pain and it wildly begins attacking the giant wolf.

OMG, that wolf! It's Vyndren's animal soul spirit!

He never had the chance to summon its spirit back before I forced him to phase. But demons can't control soul animals! What is it doing here?! His wolf spirit should've dissolved after its last mission was accomplished -