Vampyre: Desire Immortal

Chapter 37

Destined to Be Mine

Drink your fill.

We gladly give send our souls to hell.

*****

Kelda tapped a stick impatiently on a nearby rock.

He looked out over his band. Coarse and dirty. Still, no braver bunch of men ever walked the earth. One chewed on a turkey leg. Another worked on his spear. They were only a handful in number, but Kelda knew of no others he'd rather take into battle.

The men were getting restless. It had been many days since their last raid on the village near the GarrakoRiver. If he did not provide them with somewhere to pillage soon, they would leave him.

He knew he had to act quickly. Bending down and gathering up six smooth creek stones, he tossed them into the sand at his feet. The stones fell into an almost perfect circle. He took a dirty root from the pouch he wore about his waist with a leather string. Biting off a chunk, he chewed. A pained look spread over his face. The root was as bitter as gall, but it was the essential ingredient for seeing into the future.

Kelda swayed. He must sit down. The portent of his vision was astounding.

If he read the signs correctly, all of Megara would soon be his.

He ordered his men to pile their weapons in a large mound. They were told to strip and go the nearby field. The men grumbled, but Kelda had led them into many battles. He was sly and smart and ruthless.

They obeyed.

The sky was a blanket of twinkling stars. The air was warm and caressed them with a gentle breeze. The crickets and frogs filled meadow with a chorus of night sounds. The full moon shimmered against the indigo universe. It was one of those pristine nights where it seemed possible to gaze into infinity.

Kelda ordered his men to square off, head against foot. The meadow looked like a patchwork quilt of virile manhood. Precisely at midnight, he blew into his antler horn. It was a jarring sound, shrill and piercing. The crickets stopped chirping. Silence overtook the entire meadow.

In the cloudless sky, a dark shadow bled across the horizon, advancing over the hills, and heading straight for the meadow. Several of the men gasped in astonishment, but none dared to move.

It was a swarm of giant locusts full of magic beyond his wildest imaginations. His men would be granted the ravenous insects powers, going forth without fear to pillage and devour whatever was in their paths.

The sharp prick of fangs, followed by the slurp of greedy tongues and the sucking sounds like starving infants at their mothers' tits filled air. From above, it looked like an orgy of pale arms and legs squirming underneath winged demons intent on the frenzy of quenching their bloodlust.

Kelda rubbed the bites that covered his body and smiled. Now, his men would be unconquerable. Victory was sure to be theirs. Soon all the battles that had come before this would pale. Kelda would go down in history as the greatest warrior who had ever lived.

The castle and Megara were destined to be his.