| |
––––––––
MY MIND LOST FOCUS after a while and I wandered off the path again. I ambled through the woods, eating a few birds and small animals I encountered. Aurora and Ruen didn’t realize I was gone for a few minutes. They were still within my earshot when the leech realized I’d disappeared. “Good, she’s gone. Now we don’t have to worry about her killing us in a bestial rage.”
“Saige wouldn’t hurt us,” Aurora scolded him. “She can’t help it that she turned into a troll. It’s the best form for her to be in with so many zombies in this realm.”
“You knew there were zombies here?” he asked.
“I saw them when I passed through here,” she confirmed. “Every cemetery has them. I guess necromancers must be common here.”
“How did you manage to survive?” the leech asked as they continued on without me.
“They didn’t even notice me,” she replied. “Zombies aren’t programmed to attack animals. They only attack their masters’ enemies.”
“Who are their masters’ enemies?” he asked.
“Mostly rival necromancers, from what I saw,” Aurora said.
I ambled along at a distance from them, finding it far more pleasant in the woods than being in Ruen’s proximity. He had no idea what had really happened between our boss and me. Aurora had promised not to tell him the truth. Even if she did, Drake would probably wipe his memories anyway. He wouldn’t want his number one lackey to be aware of our brief affair. Word might get back to his beautiful fiancé about it. She wouldn’t be happy to learn he’d indulged in sex with the likes of me.
The anger I’d kept buried rose to the surface again and I began to growl beneath my breath. Birds, animals and insects scattered. I needed an outlet for my rage, but there was nothing nearby to unleash it on.
“I can hear voices ahead,” Ruen said in a hushed tone. “I think we’re close to the first settlement.”
“Should we try to skirt around it?” Aurora asked quietly.
“Ylarggh!” I roared and began racing through the trees.
“Does that answer your question?” the vamp said with a heavy sigh as I burst out of the trees and back onto the path.
Racing down the trail, I could hear a few hounds and the clink of armor. Bloodlust and the need to kill made my mind go hazy.
“Troll!” a guard screamed in sheer terror when the village came into sight. Most of the dogs fled, dragging their handlers behind them while baying in fear. Villagers leaped into their houses and slammed their doors shut. The wooden barriers wouldn’t keep them safe. Nothing could keep me out if I wanted to get in. I’d tear the wooden boards apart or kick my way through them. I’d kill and eat every living being in the settlement, then roll on their remains to coat myself in their entrails.
Bellowing in glee, I swung my hammer and smashed a soldier’s head in. He crumpled to the ground and I lashed out with my fist at a brave hound that had stayed to fight. Ruen joined the fight, battling behind me as we worked together to take them all down. The leech gorged on blood until he was sloshing with it.
I bit into a soldier’s arm, but Aurora smacked me on the snout. “Eat the dogs, not the people!” she admonished me.
Her rebuke was enough to snap me out of my murderous thoughts. I could hear the villagers crying and screaming inside their homes and suddenly felt ashamed. Ruen was chuckling beneath his breath as he stood among the dead. I was no better than he was in when I was in this form. All I wanted to do was kill and eat my enemies. Unfortunately, everyone in this dimension seemed to be foes to trolls.
“Let’s get out of here before reinforcements arrive,” Aurora said. She’d taken charge of the mission, since she was the only levelheaded one on our team right now.
I picked up the dead hound to snack on, then lumbered after them as they raced through the village. We left the path to cut through the woods to avoid the towns. There was plenty to eat and numerous streams to drink from. The trees and plants were all dull shades of black and gray. I knew I wasn’t colorblind, because my fur was covered in red blood. This realm was dreary to look at during nighttime. Maybe it would be more pleasant during the day.
“The sun will be rising soon,” Ruen said as the night drew to a close. He flicked a worried look at me. “I don’t like leaving you two alone. I won’t be able to help you if anything goes wrong.”
“We’ll be fine,” Aurora said confidently. “You’d better get into your sleeping sack before the sun comes up and fries you.”
Taking the sack from him, she opened it so he could step inside. “Try not to let Saige wander off,” he said, then the first rays of the sun flickered over the horizon. He slumped to the ground and the demon pulled his sack shut.
Some of my tension seeped away now that I wouldn’t have his constant barbs flying at me all the time. I picked up the inert bloodsucker and tossed him over my shoulder. Aurora gasped when I tucked her beneath my arm and took off at a run.
The sun rose and the landscape didn’t improve much. Everything was dull and dreary and in shades of black, gray and brown. Even the animals matched the color scheme. They blended in well with the foliage, but I could hear every small noise they made.
“We need to head in that direction,” my bestie said in resignation at being carried like a football. I angled to the east, dodging around trees and leaping over shrubs. With her blend of gray, blue and green armor and hair, she was the most colorful being in this world so far.
I ran until I judged it was midday, following Aurora’s directions. She guided me away from the guards and villages, so I didn’t leave a trail of bodies behind us. We stopped at a pond for her to drink and fill up her waterbag.
“You’re covered in blood and other stuff,” she said. “Do you want to clean yourself?”
I’d stuck my face into the pond to gulp down water, but shuddered at the thought of immersing myself in it. I shook my head and she didn’t press the issue. I didn’t need to drink as much as she did, so I didn’t bother to fill my own waterbag.
Tiredness washed over me now that we’d stopped. I hunted for somewhere to make camp. Instinct led me to an old cave in a hill nearby. Aged bones were scattered around. From the tufts of brown fur and deep footprints, a troll had once lived here. It had either died, or had moved on, leaving other animals to use the cave as their lair.
A pack of huge gray rats lived in the cave. Instead of fleeing, they rushed to the back of the cavern and huddled together.
“Aren’t you going to eat them?” Aurora asked when I put her down.
I flicked a look at the rodents and they cowered in fear. I shook my head, then dropped Ruen’s sack to the ground. Lying down, I used the unconscious vampire as a pillow and closed my eyes. I kept my hammer next to me, within easy reach.
Aurora lay down near me, using me as a shield against the rats. She began humming and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, but a small part of my mind remained active.
The rats cautiously approached us, then decided we weren’t going to be a threat. Some of them left to find food, while the others groomed each other. Their young were herded off to one side, as far from us as they could get.
Several rats ventured closer, then began picking bits of meat and offal out of my fur and licking the blood off me. Instinct prevented me from smashing them to death, or eating them. Trolls didn’t bathe, so this seemed to be the only way I was going to get clean.
