The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) (31 page)

At the same instant the light flashed brightly, immediately the humming stopped, and Jak’s head began to clear a bit. He was still grasping the creature by its arms, but his hands were beginning to go numb where he was touching the beast. It felt bitterly cold, as if he were holding ice or snow in his hands. Jak could barely feel his fingers through the icy cold, and the numbness was moving into his arms.

However, now the creature was struggling to break free of his grasp and flee. Jak realized that the light had somehow affected the creatures. He then noticed that Benjim was awake and standing a few paces off, facing in the direction of Nicoldani and his assailant. The white light came again, emanating from Benjim, and this time Jak heard the creature that was attacking Nicoldani scream a blood curdling cry of pain and frustration.

As the bright light streaked past the creature on top of Jak, the monster seemed to turn almost completely white and milky, as the others had appeared. It too cried out in frustration and anger, struggling fiercely to break free of Jak’s grasp.

The light lasted for several seconds this time, and when it dissipated the creature that Nicoldani had been struggling with was ….. gone. The beast that had been trying to kill Jak was able to break free from his grip, and almost immediately, it melded into the night, and disappeared without a trace.

Jak lay there gasping and attempting to catch his breath when Benjim walked over and helped him to his feet, but it was difficult for Jak to even stand in his weakened condition.

Jak noticed Nicoldani slowly regaining his feet as well, and as the big man stood, he unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him uncertainly. It was amazing indeed, that Nicoldani had not even been able to draw his sword before the attack.

The sword in Nicoldani’s hand was wobbling back and forth, and the big man seemed barely able to hold it and remain on his feet. Jak felt totally drained and exhausted himself, and in desperate need of sitting, or better yet, lying down.

His hands were numb and cold from holding on to the creature so he rubbed them together in an attempt to get the circulation going. It wasn’t enough, so he placed them under his arms for added warmth.

Benjim examined Jak, making sure he had not taken any serious wounds. “Get close to the fire,” the old man commanded, before he made his way to Nicoldani. Benjim took hold of the big man’s arm and began to lead him towards the fire as quickly as the big man could walk at the moment.

Jak noticed Gin huddled near the fire with her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth, but at least she was safe. There was fear in the little girl’s eyes, but not nearly as much as he would have thought. She wasn’t even crying. Jak thought that Gin was much braver than he, considering he was terrified. These creatures were enough to frighten anyone. Even Nicoldani looked extremely shaken from his encounter with them.

Benjim returned to stand next to the fire, and after peering intently into the flames for a few moments, he began to murmur something in a low tone. Jak could still feel the eyes on him, even more strongly now that they had ever been.

There was rustling in the trees close by, and Jak could see movement as well. If there were more of these creatures out there, he didn’t think the four of them would survive if the beasts attacked again.

His strength was slowly returning but he had only barely been able to hold one of them off, and it was only for a short time. If there were more…..

Jak called to Frog, not knowing if the creatures would attack the dog or not, but he wasn’t going to leave Frog out there to find out. The dog quickly ran to Jak’s side with his tail between his legs, and crouched near the fire whimpering softly.

Slowly the fire seemed to increase in brightness and intensity, and Jak supposed it was something Benjim was doing. It continued to get brighter and brighter, until it shown with an intense white light that illuminated the surroundings all the way to the tree line.

Jak glanced around in horror, as hundreds of the creatures seemed to appear out of nowhere, all around them, made visible by the intense light.

The hoards of terrifying creatures surrounded them on every side. When the light from the unnaturally bright fire hit them, they seemed to turn a milky white color. The ones closest to the fire, within several paces, seemed to solidify before dissipating into a hazy mist. The remaining creatures further away, fled deeper into the darkness and disappeared.

Jak understood that it was the light that was somehow holding them back. He noticed Benjim with sweat beginning to bead on his nearly bald head, and could tell whatever it was the old man was doing with the fire was taking a great effort. There was no telling how long the old man could keep it up. There was still at least three hours before daybreak, the way Jak figured it, and he didn’t think the old man could hold out that long.

Jak exchanged glances with Nicoldani, “More wood” they chimed in unison.

They quickly began to gather as much firewood as they could find nearby and heap it onto the fire. It took some time, since they dared not enter the forest, or venture too far from the light of the fire that Benjim was maintaining.

In order to gather enough wood to get the fire blazing, as well as enough to maintain it until dawn, ended up taking quite a bit of time. Especially since neither Jak, nor Nicoldani was recover fully from their encounter with the creatures.

It wasn’t long after that, the fire was raging and the flames leaped skyward, so much so, that the old man had to take several steps back to avoid the intense heat it was giving off now.

After a few moments, the brighter, unnatural light winked out, and Benjim slumped as his legs gave way from exhaustion and he sat hard on the ground.

The darkness seemed to close in on them again and panic began to rise in Jak, until he realized that the light from the huge fire they had built was substantial. It only seemed dim compared to what the old man had done.

Hopefully, it would be enough light to hold the creatures off. Jak knew they were still out there because he could feel them, just beyond the edge of the light given off by the raging fire. But the ferocious monsters, unable, or unwilling to enter the light, seemed to be keeping their distance, at least for the time being.

“Stay close to the fire, and keep it burning,” Benjim said, his voice trembling with strain.

Apparently, whatever it was the old man had done had taken an even greater effort than Jak thought. The old man sat there shaking slightly and wobbling back and forth unsteadily.

Gin then made her way around the fire to sit next to the old man. She placed her small arm around him, saying, “It’s okay Ben, we are safe now.”

The old man smiled and allowed her to continue
comforting
him even though he knew Gin was gaining more comfort herself. Jak was still amazed at the strength and courage of the little girl.

“What were those things?” Gin asked after a few moments, “they were scary and … yucky! They looked like they were made from clotted milk or something, and just popped up from nowhere.”

Benjim sat there for several moments before answering. “I have heard tales of such creatures long ago. As is often the case with many old stories, people do not believe them just thinking they are myths or tales. I have to admit, I did not even think they existed, at least not any longer. I have never seen one myself…before tonight. I believe they are called graywraiths, or more commonly referred to as soul stealers.

The name made shivers run down Jak’s spine, he had never even heard of such a thing. “What are they?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

“They are creatures of dark, and cannot exist in light. No one knows for sure, but they seem to almost evaporate in the light, but only to materialize once again when darkness comes. There is no way to kill or destroy them, since they are not truly alive. But light will
stop
them.

They cannot enter the light, at least not without being
undone
. They are not living creatures, not really, but they feed on the living in a way. “Benjim said, shaking his head almost as if he didn’t believe it himself.

“There were tales long ago, of fiends coming at night when people would be asleep and unaware. The dark creatures would lull the unsuspecting, and suck the life from the unwary. The next morning, the unlucky people were just dead. There would be no marks on the body to indicate they had been injured. Hence, the tales spread of soul stealers, who would come in the night and steal your soul while you slept.

The graywraiths abhor the light, and usually stay as far from it as possible. They hate the light more than they hunger for the living. That is the reason they are not found near cities or towns. They prefer the blackness of night far from civilization. Only the unfortunate ones who wonder into the graywraith’s territory fall prey to them.

Rumor has it, that those killed by a graywraith, will eventually rise up to become one of them. Once a person has been slain by a graywraith, and their body has decomposed, they rise up as a graywraith themselves. Although that is only a rumor, and there is no proof to support it, but perhaps they do. No one really knows where they came from in the first place.

This I do know, that they are evil, and extremely dangerous. We will need to maintain the fire until daylight. The light from the fire should at least keep them at a safe distance, as long as we keep it burning brightly,” the old man said still breathing heavily.

A thought occurred to Jak, “Wait, if they supposedly just lull you, and then steal your soul, then why were they attacking us so fiercely? Why was that thing trying to tear me to shreds?”

“I do not know,” Benjim conceded. “I was not even sure they existed before now. I do not know if these have always been here in this valley, or if they are awakening as a product of the witch’s freeing. Perhaps they have lain dormant for so long they are starving in a way. Or perhaps, they have been corrupted even further over the long centuries. Who is to say? The stories themselves may be wrong, but that is the best explanation I can give, with the knowledge I have.”

The remaining hours before sunrise were tense and extraordinarily unsettling. No one slept a wink, unwilling to let the fire subside for even a moment. Jak could still hear the graywraiths, or whatever they were, in the darkness watching them, stalking them.

After what seemed an eternity, the sky started to lighten in anticipation of the coming sun. Jak had never been so glad for daybreak in all his life. The others seemed just as relieved, and even Nicoldani seemed to be comforted.

Once the sun started to peek over the horizon, they gathered camp quickly and got on their way without even eating breakfast. They wanted to be as far away from this place as they could possibly get before night fell again.

Chapter 11

Things were not progressing nearly as quickly in Yilavo City as Allysix had hoped. It had been nearly seven days since she had taken over the Black Brotherhood, as they called it.
Humph, that was a joke
. It was just a black mage and a bunch of mostly worthless fanatics. There was Baalnar, who had apparently been a captain in the City Watch at one time, and reputedly one of the finest swordsmen around. But some matter involving Magistrate Jaren’s daughter had gotten him into bad odor with the Magistrate. Baalnar had vehemently denied all the charges, and had even challenged the Magistrate to a duel to prove his innocence. Magistrate Jaren, who had touted his own prowess with the blade as having no equal, refused the duel. Instead, he had Baalnar relieved of command and cast out of the guard. Unable to find work anywhere else, Baalnar had taken up with Maggas as his personal bodyguard of sorts. Needless to say, there was no love lost between Baalnar and the Magistrate.

Allysix would have to do something about the pious name of Black Brotherhood. She suspected it was at least partly to blame for her having not gained any women followers in the city as of yet. What woman would want to be part of a Black Brotherhood?

With the revelation that the Blood Witch was free, along with the promise of rewards, Allysix had nearly doubled the number of devotees that she had started with. This meant she was now up to almost fifty followers now. Allysix scoffed at that, and the absence of women among the numbers troubled her as well.

Women in general were better than men, since in most cases they could go places that men could not go. Not to mention, women could be much more persuasive and compelling than men could be. Women, in truth were the real power, even though many men thought it the other way around. Even the strongest, most powerful man would fall to the temptations and charms of a pretty woman. A woman’s power was much more formidable than any man could hope for. Sure, there were men in positions of supposed power, but in Allysix’s experience, a woman with the right ….skills, could influence and guide any of the men. A woman’s power was born into her, whereas the power men thought they possessed was just an illusion.

The other troubling thing was that Yilavo City was far more …organized, than Allysix had first thought. There were guilds in the city for just about everything. There was a seamstress’ guild, an innkeeper’s guild; there were even guilds for the street sweepers and stable boys. If by chance, someone from the farrier’s guild at an inn tried to take your horse to the stables, they would be relieved of their duties and would have an extremely difficult time ever finding employment again anywhere in the city. According to the rules that governed the guilds, as well as the city for the most part, you simply did not cross guild boundaries.