I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 58 - I'll Stand By You

Evangeline fired arrows indiscriminately. She didn't care if she killed the sentient werewolf or not. The big heaving back was mauling Valerian.

Most of her shots missed.

She kept firing.

At last, one hit the monster in the right spot in his back, and the creature reared up. Blood arced from his teeth as it yowled.

A second later, Valerian leapt up, his own fangs bared. With vicious roar, he latched onto the werewolf's throat and bit. The creature bucked from side to side, trying to dislodge the attacker, but the vampire's claws and teeth were dug in too deep.

The synergistic bond surged again.

Evangeline pulled her last arrow and aimed.

It was a perfect shot.

It pierced through the werewolf's eye.

The werewolf stopped fighting, and just stood there stunned for a heartbeat.

His last.

Then he dropped to the ground. Valerian dropped with him, letting go as soon as they were both on the ground. Rolling onto his back, he gasped for air.

The whole room had gone silent. Either the attacking wolves were unconscious or the remaining ones stood staring in equal amounts of shock at what had just happened.

"Oh, no," Harrowheart said from where she crouched on the ground, her beautiful eyes wide circles. "Oh no." Then she looked up at Evangeline. "What did you do?"

Out of breath herself, Evangeline's limbs felt so heavy and clumsy now. "He was killing Valerian," she said. Not as an apology. Just a statement of fact.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," the orcess just kept repeating as she raked her fingers through her darker hair. "Do you know who that was?"

"He was going to kill Valerian!" Evangeline repeated, no longer having any patience for any of this. She dropped her bow and crossed the space to the vampire's side. Blood dripped not just from the cuts on his face, but from his own mouth.

"That was the High Cleric's son!" Harrowheart shouted.

Evangeline had to resist the urge to freeze at that information. She had no idea. None of this was familiar, and right then, her entire focus was on Valerian.

"Are you alright?" she asked while Sigismund shouted, her voice rising close to hysteria, "What do you mean he is the High Cleric's son? He was a druid."

"No," Valerian said, then closed his eyes and went still.

"Shit, shit, shit," Sigismund said as she bolted past the pair of rogues to kneel beside the werewolf, who had not reverted back to a human form. Her voice echoed with power as she attempted to cast healing on the unmoving creature, the arrow still sticking out of his eye.

"Valerian? Valerian!" Evangeline called as she tried to shake him awake, but he didn't move.

"Get away from him, Evangeline!" Hagor shouted, appearing behind her as he pulled hard on her shoulder.

"No, he's dying," she shouted, but Hagor's strength beat hers, and he kept her back.

"He's a vampire!" Hagor shouted.

The space went stunned again.

Hagor grabbed her other shoulder, trying to force her to look him in the eye. "I saw him bite the werewolf—with fangs!"

"I already know, and I don't care!" she shouted, slapping his hands off.

"He's a monster!" Hagor shouted, the only time the soft-spoken larger man ever had. His voice echoed off the surrounding trees.

Evangeline defied the earth-shattering shout with angry eyes. She kept her voice calm and even. "We need to get him back to camp immediately. Phoenix will bring him back."

"You knew?" Sigismund asked, her voice cracking from the strain of her spell casting. "He could have bit us, any of us, while we slept." She looked to Artmond, the only neck she truly cared about.

"But he didn't. He's our friend and ally," Evangeline argued.

"No," Sigismund declared, standing up with accusatory eyes. "He bit you didn't he? Are you enthralled now?"

Special Skill: Meta. Activated.

"No, it's not possible for me to be enthralled," she said. At least, not at this point of the game, she thought but did not say.

"Can the phoenix..." Harrowheart started, then hesitated as she swallowed hard, glancing down at the werewolf's body. "Can the phoenix bring him back?"

Evangeline knew the answer was no. He was an NPC, not a member of their party.

Thieves Skill: Legerdemain.

"It's worth a try," Evangeline lied. Then she swung back to Hagor, his eyes still burning with anger and betrayal. "Open the way to our camp. Now!"

His jaw jutted out, a clear defiance.

Evangeline closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. "Please, Hagor," she asked in a softer voice. Then she opened her eyes and met his. "Please have mercy."

She had no idea if it would work. She had no idea what he was thinking.

Then he gestured. The door to their camp appeared, a pair of trees growing impossibly out of the solid ground of the devastated speakeasy. What few patrons remained gasped in awe, but no one moved to stop them.

"Thank you," Evangeline said, her voice barely making any sound.

Hagor turned away, and she let him. Their relationship was strained now. Evangeline focused on what she could control. Squatting down, she hauled on Valerian's arm to pull the limp body up to a sitting position. Artmond came to his other side, and between the two of them, they got his arms around their shoulders and hauled him up. Valerian's head just lulled there, his feet dragging on the ground as they moved to pass through the camp door.

On the other side, the camp was now different. Instead of in a forest, the camp was situated in a cave layout, their bedrolls settled into the various alcoves. Sitting on an outcropping of rocks. The Phoenix regarded the party with calm, half-lidded eyes. Evangeline tried not to drop Valerian as she dug into her pouch for one of the gems she had been stowing there. Holding it out to the immortal bird, it glowed amber in the light coming from a nearby brazier.

"Please, will you bring him back?"

To be continued...

To read the latest chapter as it comes out join my newsletter at meganmackieauthor.com