Crystal Guardian

7

When they reached Gliendale, there were no Jagophites to be seen. To Aldric, it just looked like the same old village. Tiny black and white houses, arranged neatly along the roads, outlined the grey streets with an archaic charm. The morning sun peeped over the tops of Dale's Hill, illuminating the deserted street that normally bustled with life.

Traders and early-birds should have been sorting through crates of stock and setting up their market stalls. Children should have been wandering down the road in groups, dreary from their night lessons. More children should have been wandering in the opposite direction, eyes bleak from having to wake up early for day lessons. Aldric noticed the school at the end of the road, its gates barred shut. On a normal day, this would have pleased him. He stepped carefully down the middle of the road, no energy left for running, whilst Raiden lingered beside him, glancing around the place like he was on holiday.

'It doesn't look that bad,' said Aldric. 'I was imagining dead bodies, pools of blood and guts...'

'Charming,' muttered Raiden.

'No, really,' he retaliated. 'Maybe the authorities are making it sound worse than it is. Maybe it is safe here.'

'I doubt it,' Raiden replied. 'There's no blood because Jagophites do not like to waste a drop. They're vampires.'

'So where are they all? And where are the bodies?'

'Beats me,' said Raiden. 'Who is this friend of yours anyway?'

'K,' Aldric replied. 'Her father's garage is just down that road.'

Raiden strode ahead, turning down the path that Aldric had been pointing to, but he soon came meandering back.

'Any other routes?' Raiden asked.

Aldric briskly walked to catch up but was faced with a sight he had feared. Jagophites, more than he had ever seen before, prowled the quiet lane.

'But they can't see us,' he replied. 'Can they?'

'Course not,' said Raiden, 'but we'd never get through. They're packed in too tight.'

'I know another way,' said Aldric, taking the lead. He reached a shadowy alleyway between two shops and made sure it was clear before heading down it. 'This will lead us to the back entrance,' he added, bearing in mind to keep his voice down for the Jagophites had keen senses and even their footsteps were being magnified by the enclosed walls. They weren't to know if something was hiding in the shadows, waiting for them.

Aldric let out a loud startled shout as he tripped over a cold lump and landed in a shallow puddle. 'What was that?' he said, staggering to his feet. He could taste blood in his mouth but it wasn't his own.

'Just keep going,' said Raiden as he stepped over the mass. 'It's nothing.' But when Aldric turned his head, he could not stop the yell that escaped him. A distorted dead corpse with its neck cleaved open, exposing bone lay in the alley, eyes wide and mid-scream as its blood oozed into a murky puddle. The same puddle Aldric had landed in.

'That's not nothing,' exclaimed Aldric as he rushed from the alley, desperate for air. Together, they paced the short distance to the Bottimore Garage. Aldric stopped just outside the rusty building that stood out from all the others. It would have been better situated with an urban backdrop. He tiptoed to peep through a small grimy circular window and spotted Travors Bottimore, the man in charge, arguing with his daughter. Aldric tapped on the glass but was unheard.

'Please don't make me go,' he could hear K protesting. 'I can't just take off and leave without-'

Raiden banged on the metal door. Travors stuttered upon his words and glanced around to search for the origin of the sound but K's sharp ears found the source first. She hurried to the window.