We kept low, our feet crunching on the pristine snow as we crept through the forest. Skeletons of winter trees hung over us like interlocking bones - the rib cage of an undead monster waiting to devour us, if the giant hybrid vampire bats didn’t get us first. Hunting for vampette saliva was not the most challenging task Morgana had so far given my coven, but it was the most dangerous. When we’d protested, Morgana had said that as our Grandmaster trainer, it was her duty to ensure we were tough enough to withstand the rigours of hand-to-hand combat against vampires on the streets of every major city in the world. It was not uncommon for ignoranti like us to go missing during such expeditions. This was our first hunting trip. It could also be our last.
Vampette saliva held a special type of magic - the magic of vanishing and transformation. We could use it to create shape-shifting potions and vanishing potion. Both were an essential part of an arcane witch’s arsenal of magic. If we were to pass our arcane exams and make it as vampire hunters, we had to have it. All we needed was a few drops. The more of the saliva we collected, the greater number of credits we would gain, which would count towards our final rank upon graduation. I needed the extra credits. Having joined the academic year late, I was way behind the rest of my coven and if I didn’t get these extra credits, I wouldn’t get my vampire hunting license. I’d lose my chance to murder Hugh Beaufort, the world’s most evil vampire. The man I’d sworn to kill after he’d murdered my friend Darla in front of me.
A rustle in the bushes ahead sent an arrow of fear straight into my belly. I froze, swallowing as I clenched my spear harder. My palms were sweaty inside my leather gloves. Francois, at the head of the group, turned around. The whites of his eyes reflected brightly in the moonlight. His breath came out as a glittery grey plume around his ebony face. He raised one hand, pointing two fingers towards his eyes before pointing toward a cluster of ivy bushes. None of us made a sound. A second rustle was this time accompanied by an unearthly, mewling cackle. It was like the sound that squirrels make in the summer, except much deeper. A juddering, staccato yapping that affected me like nails being scraped down a blackboard.
My body went rigid and my heart thumped in my chest. Each member of the coven radiated fear. I turned to look at Theo. He looked close to tears, his mousy brown curls stuck to his temples. Next to him, Audrey’s mouth was set in a mask of grim determination, she’d tucked her bobbed hair neatly behind her ears - tidy and prim as always. But the flicker of her left eye told me she was as scared as the rest of us. And Scarlet chewed on her lips incessantly, her large dark eyes like two watery pools, about to overflow.
Unable to gain courage from my coven, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and willing myself to stay calm. We’d never get the saliva if we panicked. When I opened my eyes again, Scarlet yelped as a dark shape rose from the ivy bushes. The size of a large ape, it spread dark bat wings and screeched, soaring towards us with talons outstretched. My breath caught in my throat as I saw its face. A grotesque snout and rows of sharp teeth, with extended canines bared and ready to bite. Short, pointed ears and freakishly human eyes displaying a keen intelligence that sent a chill through my centre. It was the face of a gargoyle, an inhuman monster feared since time immemorial, but this was no demon. Spirit witches had purposefully created this creature, a genetic prototype for their ultimate creation of vampires. Vampettes were a hybrid of bat and human, birthed of magic and dark sacrifice to the goddess Vampiria.
The vampette swooped, clawing at me with long-nailed human hands. Its talons combed through my hair, pulling slightly as I ducked. At the same time, I jabbed upward with my rooticon. The weapon, containing both a spear and grappling claw, was specially designed for hunting vampettes. The creature screamed and jerked upwards, avoiding the sharp point by a few centimetres. It circled round and readied itself for another attack. A black tongue flicked out between thin red lips. Its eyes shone with hunger and desperation. It probably hadn’t fed for a long time.
People came into these woods seldom. Legends of missing hikers and the beasts which lurked within the forest had spread far and wide. Although the vampettes were contained behind the wards of the Arcane Realm and inaccessible to humans, occasionally the spell grew thin and a monster would escape to terrorise the local community. Over the years, stories of large bats had become fodder for urban legends and paranormal podcasts. The vampette dove, this time on Scarlet. She dropped to the floor and rolled, but not quickly enough to avoid one of the creature’s talons. It tore at her jacket, creating a nasty rip which just reached her shoulder.
“Aargh,” she wailed, clamping her other hand over the shoulder. “The son of a bitch got me.”
Audrey’s head whipped round. “Oh no! The smell of blood is going to bring more of them to us. We have to get the saliva quickly and then get the hell out of here.”
The need for silence was gone. Theo looked at Audrey and shouted, “let’s form a phalanx.”
Scarlet’s brow creased, “a what?”
“A phalanx, you know, like what the Romans did when they went into battle.”
Scarlet blinked at him, her face blank.
“Didn’t you do roman history at school?” Theo asked.
“No.”
Theo cast his eyes skywards and puffed out air. “American education.”
The creature swooped on Audrey, and she batted it off with her rooticon. “Could we debate the merits or otherwise of UK versus US education later, please? Preferably when we don’t have giant winged blood suckers trying to kill us?” Her accent always got posher when she was angry. The vampette flew higher, circling as it made a haunting, cawing sound. “It’s calling its friends.” Audrey said.
“How do you know that?” I asked. It wouldn’t surprise me if Audrey spoke ‘Vampette’ alongside all her other talents.
“I read ‘Deadly Beasts of the Arcane’ before coming here.” She explained, with a tone that implied I was lazy for not having done similar preparatory research before arriving at the Arcane Academy.
I tried to ignore the heat that rose within me. Even in this life and death moment, Audrey was a pompous little shit - she just couldn’t help herself. But I had bigger things to worry about. She may have been a smug know-it-all, but she was also right. Just as Audrey had warned, a group of large, dark shapes appeared in the distance. Was it the flapping of their wings which sent a gust of chilly wind to freeze my core, or was it fear? The flock of vampettes was approaching quickly. I counted eight - there were only five of us and we were smaller. If we were going to make it out of this forest alive, we had to act quickly.
I looked at Theo. “Phalanx, good thinking. You crouch next to me. Scarlet, you go in the middle and Audrey and Francois at the back. Rooticons up then when they get close we all stab at the same time.”
There was no time for debate. We sprang into our positions and crouched down, just as the flock was upon us. The same screeching, unearthly calls came in a deafening cacophony. It was all I could do to stop myself from dropping my weapon to cover my ears. That’s probably exactly what the bastards wanted. They weren’t as intelligent as humans, but they were pretty close. And as pack hunters, they were formidable. The flap of their wings caused the top layer of snow to blow an icy dust around us. I stabbed upwards, dipping my head. My stomach flip-flopped. I expected the sharp pain of a claw to pierce the skin of my shoulder at any moment. But instead I heard a blood-curdling cry of pain. I whirled my head from left to right, my heart in my mouth. Had one of us been hurt? Breathing a sigh of relief, I realised someone had stabbed a vampette. The creature’s cry sounded unsettlingly human, and it wailed as it flapped backwards, pushing the air in front of it to move deeper into the trees. It would probably go off somewhere quiet to lick its wounds. At least we had one less to worry about. But we couldn’t see them all off like that - we had to collect some saliva.
The injury of one of their flock acted a bit like accelerant on the flames of a fire. The other vampettes bared their teeth, snarling in fury as they circled around us. Breaking formation, they each dove erratically, with deadly speed, clawing at us randomly. Two of them attacked Scarlet at the same time. Had they worked out she was the weakest? As the smallest member of the coven, she had a face and petite body that could be mistaken for a child. Chubby, dimpled rosy cheeks and an innocence to her cherubic features which was enhanced by her blunt cut fringe. One of the vampettes clamped its wizened hands on Scarlet’s shoulder and pulled, lifting her off the ground. I leapt up, grabbing her ankle and clinging on with all my might.
“Hold on Scarlet.”
Her dark, almond-shaped eyes grew to terrified saucers. She screamed and whimpered, slapping at the creature's talons as she cycled her legs, squirming to get free.
Theo and Audrey were desperately swiping their rooticons from left to right, as if swatting flies. They were each warding off two separate vampette attacks.
The creature holding Scarlet howled as Francois embedded his rooticon into its thigh. He clung onto the shaft of the weapon, gritting his teeth. “Quick, Bree, get the container.”
I let go of Scarlet’s ankle and the vampette flapped higher, lifting her up into the air once more. Lunging forward, I grabbed hold of her ankle again. “I can’t let go.” I shouted, ducking as another vampette made a play for me.
“Merde!” Francois swore in French as he spat into the snow. Even through his winter coat, I could see his arms shaking with the effort of containing the creature.
Beside me, Audrey wielded her rooticon like a baseball bat and gave the vampette, which was besieging her a colossal whack, sending it spiralling into the night sky. Then she jumped forward and grabbed hold of Scarlet’s ankle. “Now Bree!” she shouted.
I fumbled in my waist pouch, my heart thudding in my chest. My fingers found the cup-sized plastic container, and I flipped the lid off. Dragging my booted feet through the snow, I stumbled and dropped the container. The other vampettes were getting ready to mount another attack.
Audrey gave an exasperated sigh. “Can you hurry up about it, please?”
“I’m trying my best,” I snapped. Grabbing the container, I positioned myself beneath the vampette’s head.
I focused on his snarling mouth. His slavering jaws glistened with our prize.
Steeling my resolve, I slid beneath the vampette, lying on the snow with my container positioned to collect the liquid which dripped from his gaping maw. The drops fell, and I counted. “One, two…. Three.”
Francois tightened his grip as the creature flailed around, trying to get free. It still had its claws clenched around Scarlet’s shoulder. “How much longer?” She wailed.
Ignoring her, I continued counting. “Four, five…. Six… hold on, almost there. Let’s try to get ten.”
Another vampette swooped on Theo, its claws lifting his woollen hat from his head. He batted it away with his rooticon. “Do you have to be such an over-achiever, Bree?”
“Seven… eight… I just want to make sure this is worth our while… nine.”
“Bree!” Audrey’s voice was tight with alarm. “There’s another flock approaching.”
Flicking my eyes in the direction the first flock had approached from, I saw a larger flock flying towards us. I swallowed. “Ten… we still have time… eleven.”
“Bree!” Scarlet screamed, the terror in her tone cutting through the frigid air like an ice pick.
“Twelve… almost there… thirteen.”
The vampette flock was almost upon us.
“For the love of God, woman!” Audrey shouted.
“Fourteen… fifteen.”
The flock reached us and Scarlet screamed.
“Sixteen.” I looked at Francois. “Let it go.”
Francois let go of his spear and I heaved on Scarlet’s ankle, using all my weight to stop the vampette from carrying her off. The creature lost its grip. It ricocheted into the air, directly into the path of the first vampette in the flock, which had been preparing to dive for us. The two colossal beasts twisted and tumbled, spiralling into the rest of the flock like a fiendish demon whirligig.
I clicked the cap tightly shut on the container and looked at the others. “Let’s get out of here.” I nodded at Audrey. She knew what to do.
Raising her arms, she closed her eyes and conjured a magical portal. Creating Ether portals for instant travel between two locations was something I couldn’t yet do, but I had to admit, Audrey was excellent at it and as much as I found her annoying, I was glad she was part of our coven. Only one person could enter the portal at a time, though, and as I looked up, I realised we were too late. The vampettes had regrouped and dove at us again. Cold dread seeped into my bones.
We weren’t going to make it.
With a piercing warrior cry, the flock leader reached me. Its warm, stinky breath was hot on my cheek as its teeth connected with my neck.
“Aargh!”
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