The Hunt

Chapter 5

Alesco:

I step through the door of the stone structure. It's a large house. As large as the one we left behind, but it's better kept. The door is made of dark, solid wood, decorated with brass. Wynn is by my side. Mother is back at our hut on the outskirts of the settlement.

It's two weeks since Fabian and his companions led us to this place. To the deepest darkness I have ever seen. Darkness so thick I can feel it pressing, it's a relief from the sunlight.

It is a village of vampires. Bigger than the one we ran from all those years ago, stretching further than I can see. It has been built in a clearing where the sky is open and the light never shines.

We were brought to the clearing and shown to a hut near the trees. A simple structure made of mud and wood and twine. The roof is coated in leaves. There are many like it around us, on the edge of the dirt path we walked on. Fabian and his companions showed us the inside and told us it was ours. "This is your new home." he'd said simply. Wynn had nodded his head.

"Thank you for your hospitality." he'd said. But I saw his eyes burning. I think if father had not sent us, he would have fought, his anger was clear.

He'd questioned Fabian on the way. The trek from the border of darkness to here was an hour at speed. But Fabian had answered nothing. He told us that all would be revealed in due time, and refused to say anything else. The other's said nothing at all.

"Leave your possessions, I will show you the village." Fabian said. I looked around as mother deposited our few possessions into the hut. There were vampires all around us. Males, females, children. Many were openly staring. I bared my fangs and hissed at a nearby child, she turned and scampered away, moving quickly. A few of the others looked away.

"Let's go." Fabian said when mother came out from the hut. Only one of his companions remained, an older vampire, his hair hung to the bottom of his back. He's the only other one to have spoken to us when we crossed the border.

They led us further into the huts, towards the center of the village. As we moved further, the huts changed to small houses, made of timber and stone. The further in we went, the larger the houses became. Everywhere we stepped red and yellow eyes watched us.

"We don't get many newcomers now." Fabian said. "The village has been here for almost a hundred years, since the hunt began. It grew quickly in the beginning, but there are less and less of us around, as you know. Less and less to come."

"How do you keep it dark?" My mother asked him. He turned his gaze on her. "A wise question, but one I cannot answer. Not yet." Fabian said.

Wynn was silent, he looked at everyone, everything. Every building, every pathway and met every pair of gleaming eyes that stared his way. Many looked away when he stared back. Was it fear they felt? Or something else that caused them to look away?

I'd stayed silent as we were led further into the settlement. The houses were growing grander and grander until Fabian stopped. We'd reached a tall, stone wall. It was made from blocks of rough stone, different shades of black and grey, different sizes and cuts, built up one upon the other and cemented together. To the left was a gate of dense, dark iron, twisted and bent into various shapes. In the center was carved a face. It seemed to change as I looked at it, making it unrecognizable, although it was somehow familiar. We all stopped.

It was not Fabian who spoke, but his companion. "This is the center of the village." he'd said. His deep, powerful voice demanded attention. "This wall surrounds the house of the master. He sent us for you."

"Father told us to come!" Wynn said. His voice was fierce, challenging. His red eyes glowed brighter.

"Peace, Wynn." he said. "Your father told you to come, yes. But why?" He gazed at us each in turn.