Back Into The Dark

 Kevin walked the group toward the back end of the city. Before this, Millie had filled him in on the nature of the beasts they were after, and watched the confusion wash over his face.

“...So those were around me this whole time?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Not sure what to make of that, he stopped asking, as they reached a back entrance.

“Now, the border extends about half a mile in that direction,” he said. “You’ll know when you’ve reached the dark again.”

“Thank you,” Talia said. “And about what your people did to us?”

“Me letting you all leave is my apology. Please don’t make me change my mind.”

Amaia rolled their eyes at him, as they headed through that back door. In all honesty, none of them would have batted an eyelash about ending this guy. And if he targeted any of Talia’s citizens again, they wouldn’t leave peacefully next time. But the vampire just wanted to get a move-on, as did the others.

As they reached the other side of the wall, Nibbles rubbed against Millie’s leg with a grumble.

“Yeah, I hear ya...you wanna be a wolf again, hm?”

A bark.

They got walking again, Talia pulling the cloak around herself. “I hope not all of my former predecessors ended up like that…” she said. “Or the poor soul you found in the library, dear.”

Millie shrugged. “It’s hard to tell, really,” she said. “Some people out there can’t deal with creepy stuff. They prefer the light and glittery. And then we get those of us that mainline horror movies and live for that kind of thing..out of curiosity, what kind of criteria do you use when summoning someone?”

The vampire chuckled. “It’s always been more of a random selection. I don’t always know a champion’s interests when they’re brought here. Admittedly, some people have seemed a bit intimidated by the fangs. And the blood. I’ve had at least one person that loved every part of it, though. Remember how you got knocked into the fountain?”

How could she forget? There was a difference between blood on a visual level and blood getting up one’s nose.

“There was one guy that jumped into the fountain after asking if it was real blood. It took a while to convince him to get out. I’ve also had a few have worse breakdowns than you did. They accused me of ruining their intended death, when I may have inadvertently saved their life. I’m not sure where they wound up. And then we have the ones like Kevin. He was all excited to go on a quest at first. He conjured that armor for himself and went on his merry way. Never thought he’d create a place like that…”

“Not surprised he was working with the enemy, though,” said Amaia. “More shocked that he didn’t know he was.”

“Somehow,” Millie said. “I’m not too surprised about that part...the enemy seriously reminds me of this technology they started using back home. Steals from all kinds of pre-existing sources, uses up a LOT of resources, never looks quite right when you know what to look for…”

“There are people using that on purpose?” Amaia asked, their eyes narrowing.

“Yeah. I got replaced by that crap. Though admittedly, it wasn’t as, like, outright threatening. But not everyone could see what the problem was there, either.”

A bit more walking, and they could see the dark ahead of them. They stopped and stared in awe at the sight before them, a few having started to wonder if they’d ever see the moonlight again. Talia was the first to rush toward it, discarding the cloak the second she stepped over the border.

Sara skittered her way over next, breathing a happy sigh. “I didn’t mind the sun, but it’s still good to be back,” she said.

Amaia followed, head tucked under their arm. As soon as they crossed to the dark, they let their head drop to the ground, kissing it gratefully. “Sweet darkness, how I missed you…” they murmured.

Millie chuckled, striding over to join the others, with Nibbles right by her side. As soon as her dog was back in the light of a full moon, the change began to take hold.

The whole group watched as the mid-sized dog grew back to that familiar seven foot height. There was a noticeable cracking noise as her bones changed to accommodate the larger form. Her fur became shaggier, her stance more bipedal, and she topped it off by rearing her head back and howling her loudest howl at the moon above.

“Welcome back,” Millie told the werewolf, going to hug her.

Nibbles returned the hug, picking the witch up in the process, her tail wiggling excitedly. “I missed this,” she said, before setting her down.

“Downside of the sun, huh?” Sara asked.

Amaia had been covering their ears at the sound of that ear-splitting howl, but ultimately smiled at the werewolf. “Admittedly, it was kind of weird seeing you smaller.”

Talia walked up and patted Nibbles’ arm, smiling up at her.

“So...think we’re actually on the other side, or he just took us around in circles?” the vampire asked, rubbing her forehead.

Nobody quite knew the answer to that, but Nibbles sniffed at the air.

“Smells different here,” she said. “Now, can we look for some food?”

To be honest, that sounded like one hell of a plan. Millie took a hold of Final Draft, as she and Nibbles began to explore this new area. There were more gnarled trees, and a cottage somewhere in the midst of them.

The witch looked to her werewolf companion, head tilting. “Think someone lives there?”

Nibbles shrugged. “One way to find out!”

Before Millie could stop her, Nibbles rushed toward the cottage, sat down outside of its door, and barked a few times. Millie cringed, but couldn’t help but watch. She held her scythe close just in case, and could hear footsteps running closer.

“What’s she barking at?” Talia asked, voice low.

“I can probably get a look,” Amaia offered, their head floating over to where Nibbles waited outside of the cottage.

Sara crowded in behind the witch, vampire, and body of the dullahan, all of them waiting with baited breath.

Soon enough, the door opened. Out stepped a half-asleep woman, her long purple hair pulled into a braid as she rubbed an eye.

“Hey, there...need something?” she groaned. “Because I was having a great nap before you came along…”

“Hey, I was wondering if you had any food around here? My friends and I are hungry,” said Nibbles.

The woman snorted a bit, her eyes glancing up at the dullahan’s floating head. Amaia just offered a smile in greeting. Looking out further, she saw the witch, drider, vampire, and the body that went to that floating head.

“Fine,” the woman said. “Come on in.”

She stepped aside for Nibbles to enter. Amaia waited for their body to catch up, and it did (the others following). The woman watched as each of them entered, stopping Talia for a moment. The vampire sighed, wondering if this was going to be another of those horrific encounters. She did not set out from her home just to be staked by someone.

But instead of judgement, she was met with a curious expression.

“...Are you the queen of Nightshade?” she asked.

Talia nodded.

“My husband has told me about you. Well, all of us, really.”

She grimaced. “Is there anything I need to apologize for while I’m here? I’d just like to know up front…”

“I don’t think so, no. But he’d probably be interested to see you again.”

The woman led the way in, Talia following with clear hesitation. She then turned and shouted at the top of her lungs (and much to the dismay of everyone’s eardrums), “HEY, ANTON!”

It took a few moments, but a man entered the room. He looked like he could use a shave, and his shoulder-length black hair was a mess. But to be fair, he did just wake up. He wasn’t alone, either. Four other women followed him, all having just woken up. One was a zombie, another looked to be a werewolf (though her fur was a bit darker than Nibbles’), one may have been a gargoyle, and the fourth was a dullahan, her head floating beside her.

Anton looked at the group, his eyes landing on Talia. “Hey, there...it’s been a bit,” he said, grinning a bit.

“Former champion?” Millie asked, looking at Talia.

“That he is,” the vampire replied.

And thankfully, not one that wanted revenge this time.

“Little weird to see you out and about,” he said. “But please, sit, and we can catch up.”

Millie definitely had some questions for this guy, as she wondered if he was running some kind of house for wayward creatures of the night, or if he had his own harem going on.