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that he‘d been cursed. My mind was just playing tricks on me. With my fears
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Cynthia Vespia
firmly dissuaded, and Talisa safely in Paralay‘s capable hands, I turned my
attentions back to the innkeeper.
―Who are you?‖
―They call me Dragus.‖
―Well then Dragus, what evil has befallen this place?‖
He remained quiet, staring at me from under hooded eyes.
―I can sense something upon the air, now tell me what I want to know
before I pull you across this bar and throttle you.‖
My father‘s blood did indeed run through my veins. Even this man Dragus
knew it.
―They come in the dark of night, a plague upon our streets. No locked doors
or windows barred can keep them from obtaining what they seek.‖
―Who?‖
―Vampires. They drag the bodies still kicking and screaming back up to the
hills where they make their dwelling to dispatch them one by one. Sometimes in
mid-day I can still hear the screaming.‖
I shook my head in dismay. ―That is a wild tale.‖
―These abominations must have come back because of the resurgence of
hell‘s minions. If you are who you say you are, hunter, then you can stop this
corruption from returning to Calyx. We‘re on the verge of extinction.‖
―I owe nothing to you or your perverse little town,‖ I almost spat my words.
―I‘d be doing you a favor to let death sweep over this place and erase it from
any map.‖
Talisa and Paralay finally pulled me outside. I shook free of their grasp and
paced a frustrated line in the sand.
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Demon Hunter
―Is this what I‘m meant to become? A do-gooder for every despicable
miscreant within walking distance. No wonder my father went insane.‖
―Aye, it‘s a heavy burden to carry,‖ Paralay agreed. ―I say let them rot.‖
―Your father chose his path because he felt he had a duty to uphold,‖ Talisa
said. ―He held instinct and skill none had ever known before. Talos once told
me Coleridge thought it a disgrace not to use his gifts for something other than
himself. Perhaps that‘s why he faced these demons, because he knew no one
else could.‖
I took in her words and washed them away a second later. ―Coleridge was
ego driven. He went after these beasts to sate his own appetite for blood and to
quench the everlasting guilt he felt for destroying his own family.‖
―But I heard tell that he had no choice regarding the death of his father and
sister.‖
―I‘m not talking about his upbringing,‖ I said. ―I‘m talking about me! He left
me, left me to suffer at the hands of a tyrant with no real memory of the past.
That isn‘t easy to get over, and don‘t think that I haven‘t tried to.‖
―That may be true but couldn‘t you think for a moment that maybe all of
this isn‘t about you? We have a chance to do some real good here.‖
―Or make some profit,‖ Paralay added. ―Go back and tell those fools that
we‘ll save their stinkin‘ city...for a price.‖
I looked after both of them. Everyone had their own agenda... including
me. I held a foul taste inside my mouth. It was a combination of carrying out a
destiny that I‘d not asked for and a longing to become that special someone that
garnered respect and fear at every turn.
―We‘ll save their precious skins,‖ I said. ―But we‘ll do it my way.‖
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Cynthia Vespia
Now, more than ever, my anticipation was growing. There was something
to be said for the thrill of the hunt. If the innkeeper‘s tale had intended to scare,
it failed miserably. I‘d heard a similar fable before.
In my days tending Benton‘s bar I‘d heard many strange tales – mostly
fabricated nonsense spun by drunken bards. But these vampires were a devil
species I already knew well. The face of Lord Le Carde still burned in my
memory. His long dark hair against pale-sick skin, the blood-red eyes, and the
inch long fangs would be forever ingrained on my very soul.
Would he be amongst the lot of vampires if we found them? Doubtful. We
were many miles from Gryphant where I‘d first run into Le Carde. After
burning daylight in a mad, frenetic pace towards the hilltop where it was said to
have sightings of hell unleashed, the three of us sat around a campfire prepared
to rest. Talisa already set herself down for sleep, closing off the outside world
until the light of day returned and brought with it the promise of her sight.
Paralay and I had no words. We needn‘t speak any for me to know what
lurked behind those shifty eyes.
I kept to myself. The inner darkness I‘d once held at bay now creeping back
over me in a wash as I contemplated how future events would play out.
Now more than ever I understood my father‘s nature, how his mission to
seek and destroy became all consuming. Nothing and no one else mattered.
―Find one focus and do it well,‖ Paralay said. They were not the words I‘d
been expecting at all. Thus, I had to break my silence which had most likely
been his intent.
―What?‖
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Demon Hunter
―Your mind is torn between who you are and who you feel you need to be
to honor your father.‖
He set me off, a spark of fire igniting the tumultuous aggression I struggled
to keep at bay daily.
―Shut your mouth, Elf. You‘ve no idea what it‘s like to carry such a
name...it‘s a burden.‖
―No, but I do empathize with not fitting in, not knowing who you are or
where you truly belong.‖
I stood then. He‘d hit a nerve, though I would never admit it aloud. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
