Origins of the Fates

15: Callisto Carver

"Callisto," a voice says, sounding distant.

The elven vampire opens her red eyes, which she needs to blink a few times before she can see clearly. She sits up and scans her room, which is only lit by a handful of candles.

"Rye Belanore is in danger," the voice says.

She looks around, but she is alone. So, Callisto stands up and pads into the tunnels outside her room. She is also alone in here, she can sense that literally everyone in this general area is asleep.

Callisto walks into the main chamber, looking around. There are a few people awake, even at this time of night. The lights above are all dimmed, making it easier for the people in Rye Belanore to sleep. She steps into one of the tunnels leading up and outside.

She rubs her arms absently as she emerges into the cool night. The sky is a very dark blue shade, meaning it is going to be light in a handful of hours. She walks over to the edge of the perimeter fences, looking for any sign of anyone out here. But no, Callisto is alone out here.

Finally, she sits down on a bench and rubs her face. She's tired, but ... There is something wrong about this. Someone is out here, and they are watching her. Callisto sighs and walks up to one of the warded gates.

Just as she steps onto the hard-packed dirt outside the wards of Rye Belanore, she senses something watching her. She takes a deep breath, scenting the air.

A werewolf lurks in the woods that are all around the small village. The woods are not too thick, but no one goes in them alone. That is likely because of the wyrdbeasts that call the Wastes home.

Wyrdbeasts are monsters, creatures who were once native to this world but now are combined with those from her world. Callisto shivers hard thinking of the first of the wyrdbeasts she's ever seen.

But then, the wolf lunges from the woods. It tears across the hard-packed dirt, kicking up dust. Callisto steps back, watching the mammoth gray and black furred wolf as it charges at her. Bright blue eyes shine in the moonlight, and she bolts to the side. He plows into a nearby tree with such force that it breaks the wood, knocking the tree over.

The wolf, now furious, turns on her, snarling.

"Come on, boy," she says, taunting him. "Come and get me."

The wolf charges again. She summons her vampiric power that allows her to Flicker away, reappearing several yards from the wolf. The beast, angered even more, howls with rage. He leaps at her, and she Flickers away, appearing in another tree, looking down at him.

She grins. "Wolfy, wolfy, wolfy! Lookee here!"

The wolf turns, but she Flickers into another tree, higher up. Growling, the wolf turns, sniffing the air. Callisto knows she needs to get this werewolf far from her home. The wards have likely hidden Rye Belanore from him, but if that voice she heard is something real, and telling the truth, she needs to ensure that she does whatever she can to save her people.

"Come and get me, dog boy!" Callisto yells.

She Flickers from tree to tree, always out of the wolf's reach as she goes. But at the fifth tree, a male laugh breaks through the silence of the first.

"Got you," he says.

Callisto looks down just as a tall vamp fires a net-gun from below. The thick, power-restraining ropes wrap around her, and she loses balance. Callisto hits the ground hard, her breath leaving her lungs.

She snarls as the wolf and the vampire, who for whatever reason are working together, stand over her.

"Look what we have here," says the vamp in an odd accent.

The werewolf morphs back into his human shape, a very tall and muscular Black man with a gray, bushy beard and messy hair. His piercing blue eyes are odd, but they remind her of ice. He looks at his vampire friend.

"We'll see if she's right for this," says the wolf man.

Nodding, the vampire laughs. "Indeed."