Field of Bones
“What’s going on?” Zack whispered. “The Prince claimed there would be two vampires here.”
“Maybe he was mistaken,” Ila said, but from her tone of voice it was clear she did not believe that.
“I don’t like this,” said Leo. “We should turn back and investigate before we go on.”
Myra agreed, and yet she could not bring herself to say it. They were so close. The Wizard was right over there. If they turned back now, they would never get another chance.
“We have to do this,” Lidia said. “We have come this far, we can’t turn back now.”
“That’s faulty logic,” said Thomas. “If something is obviously wrong, we need to go back.”
Ila stepped forward, squinting. “I don’t see guards on the other side either.”
Maybe they’re hiding, Myra was about to say, but she kept quiet. There was nowhere to hide.
Nimah walked next to Ila and narrowed her eyes, staring at the hill ahead. “They may be inside the caves.” All eyes turned to her, and she went on. “I’ve been here, before the Nightfall. I remember a large cave system at the base of the Peak and in the surrounding cliffs. Some caves are natural, and some are man-made. Humans stationed to work here used them for storing supplies and sometimes as living quarters.”
“Are any of those caves near the bridge?” Ila asked.
Nimah nodded. “There is a large one on the left. We would need to descend the hill to reach it. The rest are on the other side.”
Ila placed her hand on the rope railing, throwing Zack a sideways glance. “I think we should go and check if there are two guards on the other side, and if not, search this cave. Any thoughts, General?”
Zack was quiet for a moment, locking eyes with Thomas, Myra, and Lidia in turn. “I agree,” he said. “If the cave is empty, we can regroup there and decide our course of action.”
The “if not” hung unspoken in the air as Ila took the first step over the rope bridge. Humans and vampires followed one by one. Myra lowered her crossbow and strapped it to her belt as she watched the bridge swallow her friends one by one.
A wind rose, swinging the bridge left and right. Myra held the rope railing and took the first step. The wooden planks swam wildly underneath her feet, and she grabbed the rope with both hands. The wind blew her hair away from her face, and she stared down. A deep dark pit stared back, ready to swallow her whole. Sharp, jagged rocks waited for her at the bottom. The world swam in a whirlpool of colors and death. A large raven flew before her face with a blood-chilling caw.
Once Myra finally reached solid ground, she collapsed to her knees, taking deep, desperate breaths. But there was no time to relax. The two guards Vlad had warned them about were nowhere in sight.
“That’s it, then,” Ila said. “We need to find this cave and search it. Everyone, draw your weapons and be prepared.”
Myra raised her crossbow once again, but this time she reached for a wooden bolt. If this was an ambush, all plans and agreements were off.
As they walked down the hill, stones and gravel detached from the ground and rolled down with a growl. Mushrooms grew among the stones, some sickly pale like moonlight, others a strange, dull red. A flock of ravens circled above them, pure black against the grey clouds, cawing as if their throats were torn open. A cold wind rose, seeping through their clothes, carrying dry, dead twigs and branches to the valley below.
They had almost reached the foot of the hill when Nimah stopped in her tracks and pointed at a large rock. “There.”
Myra squinted, her finger tense on the crossbow’s trigger. She saw it, a black gaping opening, so narrow that a person could barely pass through. Nimah raised her own crossbow and stepped inside.
The others approached slowly, weapons raised. A raven descended and landed on top of the rock at the entrance, staring at them. Ila walked to the entrance and paused, raising her palm to the others. “Wait until I call,” she said and followed Nimah inside.
Thomas stepped closer to the entrance, the gravel screeching underneath his boots. He placed his hand on the rock and peeked inside but yelped and fell onto his back.
A ghastly screech rose from the darkness, and Myra gasped and jumped aside as a black mass flew towards her face. Panting, she turned around to avoid another one. Her heart pounded. Was this some dark magic? No, a bird? But no, it was far too massive, far too solid, far too monstrous.
A rat. Large and terrible, carried in the air on a pair of wings of a paper-thin dark membrane stretched over narrow bones.
The screeching mixed with a clear peal of laughter, and Myra turned to see Anne grinning broadly, her pink hair a beacon of brightness amidst the gloom. “Cute little bats!” she cried. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
Alex raised his hand and caught one in the air. “Marvelous.” He stroked its hideous head and handed it to Anne. “You want one?”
“I see no one so far,” Nimah’s voice sounded from deep inside the cave. “Come in. We need to search more thoroughly.”
Myra followed the others into complete darkness. The wind flew through the cave, coming through the narrow entrance and leaving from some unseen hole with a high-pitched wail. Dust hung in the air, dry and grating. Myra felt sharp edges underneath her boots. She took a step further inside, and something snapped beneath her feet, like a dry twig. All she saw was deep, impenetrable black.
“Light,” she said. “We need light.”
“Oh, sorry,” Ila’s voice sounded from somewhere ahead, followed by a shuffling noise. “Not much to see, anyway.”
A bright light appeared, and Myra saw Ila holding a torch. She froze. While she could not see the ground around her, she saw what surrounded Ila on all sides.
Bones. White or yellowing, some streaked with brown, and all stripped of flesh. Long and short, thick and lean, straight and curved. Gasping, Myra moved her foot and another crack sounded underneath.
More lights appeared, and the vampires passed torches to each other and the humans. The light danced over the bones that covered the entire floor and parts of the walls. Myra froze in her place, heart hammering, as she stared at two black, empty sockets gazing back at her. The skull was large and white, and two long horns rose from it.
Alex laughed, the sound mixing with the wind’s bloodcurdling howl. “Cows,” he said, walking to the skull to pick it up. “These are all cow bones.”
“Not all,” Sissi said, shaking. She stared far ahead at an intact skeleton sitting against the wall. Its legs were crossed beneath, and long arms rested alongside the torso. “A human.”
“Or a vampire,” Nimah said. “Take torches and come. We need to search every nook.”
Myra took a torch and raised it to the wall, her eyes running up and down the uneven stone. She spotted a wide crack and stepped forward, casting her light over it. Her heart stopped, and her breath caught in her throat as something lunged at her.
Another bat, huge and gruesome. “There’s nothing here,” Leo called from far ahead.
“I’ve reached the end,” called Ila. “All empty.”
They examined the cave a few more times, to make sure there was indeed no one inside, and gathered in the center. “Now, what?” said Zack.
Ila secured her torch against the wall. “We can’t just go on blindly.”
Anne stepped towards the center, a large black bat in her hands. She ran her fingers down the animal’s back, and it screeched. “Why don’t we send scouts?” she said. “If there is an ambush, they’re expecting our whole army. A few spies could go unnoticed.”
“It’s too risky,” Nimah said. “There might still be guards at the Peak or along the way.”
“Then send volunteers only,” said Anne. “I volunteer.”
Ila frowned. “It looks like this is our best bet. I will send volunteers. Vampires only,” she said as Lidia raised her hand. “It would take a human over two hours to hike up to the top. One of our people can make it in forty minutes. We don’t need large numbers for this task, and I would bet on speed.”
“What about a full-strength vampire, fed on human blood?” Myra asked. “Are they faster?”
Ila nodded. “They could make the hike in twenty minutes, perhaps even fifteen. Do we have another volunteer?”
Almost half of the vampires raised a hand, Leo and Alex among them. Ila shook her head. “No, I won’t send so many; we need to remain unseen. Maria, Serhan, you will go with Anne. Learn what you can and come back. If you see any guards, do not engage them, no matter the number. Return to report.”
“And what if there is no one?” the vampire called Maria asked. “Should we try to set the explosives, or should we return to report?”
“The moment the other vampires hear the explosion, we are all in danger,” said Ila. “I prefer us to be close together when that happens. I don’t want you to be singled out.”
“Got it,” said Anne. “No matter what we find, we return and report.” She winked at her leader and turned to walk towards the exit. Serhan and Maria followed.
“Be careful,” Ila whispered as the three vampires disappeared into the gloom.