Depths of Darkness

“A familiar sight,” the wanderer uttered.

Alejandro expected a more ominous entrance from the old mining site when he looked into the hollow abyss. Like the site he had his near-death encounter, the mine was as weathered with little activity from the centuries of abandonment. The warped trailers leaned along the chain-link perimeter. Enne looked over her shoulder, assessing everyone with a passing glimpse.

“The mines are extensive,” she said. “The mountain is hollowed out like a maze. The path we take will be—An unsettling one.”

The wanderer sensed oozing mana laced with her stern expression. She didn’t wait for a response as she exchanged a momentary glance toward Alejandro. Her bone-chilling gaze betrayed her typical warmth. Little did everyone know of the stakes involved. They pressed forward, feeling the sun’s warmth cast a cold glow as they entered the darkness.

“How far in do we have to go?” Billy asked.

“Not very far,” she answered. “The vampires shouldn’t attack us.”

“Shouldn’t?”

“As long as you stay close, I can guarantee your safety…Otherwise, you’re asking for a death wish.”

Enne lit a brilliant lilac orb that filled the widening tunnel. The wanderer couldn’t help but note the quality of the neon light. He could see the faint particles surrounding the orb’s center, a beautiful but deadly sight. Billy shivered from the brisk cold, following faint howls from the depths. Approaching an open chamber, a horrendous smell wafted with flies buzzing about.

Enne brightened the orb, revealing the bodies of woodland fauna against the walls. Billy vomited upon seeing the hapless wildlife while everyone but Enne looked in horror. Puncture wounds riddled their rotting bodies, some withering to the bone. Enne observed a deer struggling to breathe, seeing its eyes dart. Its legs were broken, showing signs of gangrene, but it was kept alive for feeding.

“This is a feeding chamber,” the wanderer finally spoke.

“They won’t attack us,” she reminded.

The fauna in the Hollows suffered since they were the only source of mana available to her vampiric counterparts. It wasn’t ideal to Lord Drake, the abandoned mine’s vampiric ruler, but it kept the opposing worlds at relative peace. They walked further into the chamber, discovering a more disturbing sight. Human remains were scattered, mirroring similarly broken legs found on the fauna. Enne looked upon the scene with disgust, though Billy couldn’t look away.

“Some of them are from 50 years ago,” she said.

“I thought it was just a one-off,” the young man’s voice trembled. “Like they just attacked a few of our people. They captured people also?”

“Before I could broker a treaty, some of them were too far gone. The necrotic properties of the vampiric blood overpowered them. Healing would’ve done nothing.”

“You were hiding this from us?”

“Hey,” the wanderer intervened.

“No! A lot of them were reported missing. I—I saw the files. There were a lot of families wondering what happened to them. They had the right to know!”

“Billy! Now isn’t the time.”

Her silver eyes remained on the tarnished skeletons while absorbing his understandable anger. The room evoked a deep-seated shame as she remembered the echoing agony of those lost. It served as a constant reminder of her failure. If what happened came to light, the city would’ve demanded retaliation, perhaps with implications beyond her control.

The truth had to die in darkness.

They continued further, hearing scrambling feet circling along the widened chamber. Enne expanded her light upon hearing a gurgled gasp under frenzied chewing. Her eyes traced the ground, taking a few steps forward before finding vampires feeding upon a young woman’s body.

“Are those—” Billy gasped in horror.

“Lesser vampires,” the wanderer responded. “Like the one we encountered in the city. I’m sure you didn’t get a good look at it either.”

Puncture wounds covered her naked body, bloodied by the ravenous vampires. She laid next to many others, already dead and well into their decomposition stages. One of the lesser vampires noticed their presence, hissing to alert the others. Its bared canines exaggerated its skull structure with unsettling eyes were sunken, black, and lifeless. Their talons were thick and dagger-like, much larger than their small palms. They backed into the crevices along the walls of the chamber; Their scrawny bodies betrayed their brute strength.

Enne stepped forward, kneeling down to the convulsing woman. Iscah tried to hold her back as her plea failed to reach her, but the half-elf cast little concern from the withdrawn creatures. The dying woman was slowly succumbing to the coursing necrotic venom. The horrible death introduced a multitude of different diseases from several vampires. Parts of her body show signs of gangrene and blisters. She sweat profusely; Her breathing was erratic and shallow. Enne looked into the woman’s eyes before it began rolling back from shock.

“May Ethos guide you,” She whimpered, closing her eyes.

She placed her hand against the side of the woman’s head. The jolt convulsed the body one last time before it went limp. Enne opened her eyes, seeing the woman’s eyes cast toward her. Memories trickled in, reminding her of those who thought she would save her. 50 years felt like a moment in time, but she never forgot. She stood up, regaining her steely composure.

“Enne?” the maid spoke.

“It’s not much further,” she sighed. “Look over there.”

She pointed above to the distinctive markings clawed into it, marking the deepest chambers of the vampiric world.

“Alright, kid,” the wanderer said. “Remember, they’re like glass cannons.”

“Glass cannons?” he asked.

“They can dish out, but they can’t take.”

“I—I’m sorry I don’t follow.”

Alejandro sighed.

“He’s saying that although they’re powerful, they’re actually very frail,” Iscah answered.

“Ah, well, that makes sense,” Billy commented.

But the analogies didn’t? his eyebrows twitched.

***********

Their footsteps echoed louder during their descent down the large chamber’s widening path. The ceiling climbed higher until it blended into the abysmal darkness. Neon lights lit the remaining path leading to a massive stone door. An archaic language marked up its massive frame, leaving Alejandro with many questions. Enne showed little reluctance when they approached the heart of the vampire’s lair. A heavy-snarling voice called out to them from the darkness.

“Step no further, bastard of the elves!” he spoke.

“I believe you meant to say you shall not pass,” she smirked.

The source of the voice emerged from the ceiling. A full-blooded vampire presented himself with wings spanning 16 feet wide. He towered above his half-elven counterpart, looking upon the group with menacing orange eyes; His hidden canines didn’t make his gaze any less pleasant. Unlike his lesser vampiric peers, his body was muscular and well defined, and wore an intricate but tattered royal garb; It reminded Alejandro of what the Greeks wore. Its purple color contrasted with his ghoulish blue hue. The garb embellished the insignia of the House of Drake. Enne looked on with her arms crossed, standing yards apart from him.

“Orpheus,” she spoke in a soothing tone. “You must have been working out. How much can you bench—”

“State your business, half-elf,” he interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

“Is that any way to talk to an old friend?”

“Old friend?”

“C’mon, I’m not here to fight. I just want to discuss an incident that happened by the Hollows, and the questionable things I observed as we descended.”

“What happens within Lord Drake’s territory does not concern you.”

“Is that so? We found 2 bodies out in the field, about 70 yards away from your territory. And let me not start with why vampires were in the city—"

“Are we to be accountable for stray lesser-vampires? You understand our behavior quite well given our history between our worlds.”

“Why is it they’re so close to the city all of a sudden?”

“Such falsities you speak. You’re fetching conspiracies.”

“Seriously? Don’t believe me? Here’s the evidence.”

Enne pulled out the Polaroids that Billy and Kenneth took from the scene and the mining area. She flung them over as the large vampire caught them. He scrutinized them with bared canines, seeing the clean puncture wounds and the dead bodies of his comrades in the mining site. He tossed it back toward Enne’s feet, grunting as the maid scavenged them.

“What sorcery is this?” he questioned.

“Evidence!” she responded. “And it shows there’s a lot more going on, whether or not you acknowledge it.”

Orpheus scoffed at her findings.

“Lesser vampires are residually tied to those that infected them. So, higher vampires can control the actions of their underlings. The last thing a higher-up or a noble would need is to break an agreement for a poor cause.”

Orpheus grunted at her assessment.

“Are you implying we have anything to do with this?”

“Even with the evidence and explanation? I’m practically the number one expert on lesser vampire biology!”

“I didn’t say it like that.”

“Well, then if this won’t convince you, then I have this.”

Enne brandished a strange tooth, prompting the wanderer’s immediate observation. He saw roots attached to the yellow object, quickly reminding him of its origins. She threw it on the ground with a heft sound echoing briefly. The vampire stared at it, huffing through his nostrils before looking toward the mischievous woman.

“If I’m not mistaken,” she continued. “Those nerves are connected to the host’s brain. That’s only possible by being infected by—"

“Lord Leonidas Drake has long passed,” he raised his voice. “His son Cassius rules the House of Drake.”

Oh god, not that brat, she frowned.

“Cassius has no desire—”

“No need to be rude to our guest, Orpheus,” someone spoke

A man of royalty appeared from the strange mist, passing the tall guardian. He was slightly shorter than the greater vampire, having a leaner physique. His ghoulish purple hue made her wince as he stepped forward with his hand reaching out to her. The bony fingers looked like talons and the closer he got, the more putrid his scent. His subtle overbite revealed his canines and a set of deep red eyes smiled upon the Elven beauty.

“Enne,” he spoke. “It’s been a long time.”

“Cassius,” she sighed. “We have a lot to discuss.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to come around. I am still looking for a wife.”

“I’m not here to goof around. I’m sure you were listening to us the entire time. We need to ensure the delicate balance of our worlds can coexist.”

“Oh? Not interested in that.”

“Not interested?”

Cassius chuckled in the face of her displeasure.

“I thought you Elven were more intelligent than us mere vampires,” he said. “You think I’m concerned that one of them got their keeps? It’s a vampire’s nature! And yet, you come to our territory to tell us how things should be? I dare say, bastard princess, you live in a bubble.”

“A bubble, you say?” she responded, clenching her fists.

“Look at the state of the world! How much of the human population do you think diminished by us merely existing? You ask for peace that defies the ways of society, our society. So yes, you live in an unattainable fantasy that would crumble.”

“That’s not true. If we can set aside our dif—”

“Your father understood the value of mana in a world full of untapped potential. Though we had a disdain against that abrasive man, we respected him, but—We couldn’t wait until he was gone. The difference between you and him was that he didn’t need to lift a finger. Yet again, my father was a coward.”

“Then, that’s on him. It’s between us, the descendants to carry out what we’ve agreed to.”

“There’s no longer need for this worthless treaty,” he shrugged.

“What? You can’t do that!”

“But I just did, deary. We won’t abide by an agreement that’s put shackled on my people. But enough of this. Orpheus, keep her barely clinging to life, will you?”

Then Cassius vanished into a hazy mist.

“As decreed by Cassius Drake, the successor of the Great Leonidas Drake, there will no longer be a treaty between us. We will take what is necessary for the survival of our people!”

T-this isn’t what I wanted, she thought as Cassius disappeared into a mist with a smile.

“Enne, we need to fall back,” Iscah yelled after she nudged her away.

“No, I can’t,” she resolved. “The city would be open to attack.”

“She’s right,” Alejandro agreed. “We gotta make this happen.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Billy responded. “There’s so many of them.”

“Allie,“ Enne decreed with a concerned gaze. “Focus on the underlings, I can take Orpheus. But please, be careful.”

“En, don’t overdo it.”

“I’ll try.”

He could sense the warmth and protectiveness exude from her. She created a bubble that provided temporary protection for them while many growls of the vampires drew closer. Her eyes soon expressed a twisted joy at the prospect of their fight. Orpheus assessed her power with admiration, feeling mana burst throughout. Enne brushed away the hair from her face, revealing cold purple irises.

“You would make a fine bride,” he said.

“Sorry,” she responded. “But, I’d like my prospective husband to be on the lively side.”

“Discriminating.”

“It’s called preference, jackass.”

Yes, vampires have a primitive hierarchy with their own interests.
That complicates the nature between them and the city...
And they made good points, for a scary bunch.
Let me know what you think!
Hit the like and thanks for reading!