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Something was chasing him, something fast. He ran blindly as fast as his vampiric speed could carry him, but the creature kept gaining on him until it leapt and pinned him to the snow-covered ground.
The vampire screamed, trying to fight the creature off by turning around but it went for the throat.
The sharp canines dug into his throat and tore his windpipe out, splaying blood on the white snow below him like a splash of molten lava.
Life left the vampire’s eyes as he ceased to breathe.
The wolf victoriously snarled and shifted back to Siroos. With disdain and disgust, he watched the dead vampire and spat on him before walking back towards the village.
He wiped his face removing the filthy blood of the vampire using his arm.
"Disgusting creatures," he mumbled to himself.
"Did you get him?" Faris asked, seeing his brother approach. He had shifted back to his human form.
"Yes, dispose of all the bodies. I don’t want any traces of them here. No one will hurt or take anyone from this village anymore," Siroos announced, the rage fully consuming him. He gave them the location of the last vampire he had killed.
Razial and Faris nodded and began to drag the bodies out of the village, towards the forest so they could burn them.
Cassandra rushed towards him, seeing blood on his hand and arm. She had understood that he had chased and killed the vampire who had tried to escape.
"Are you hurt?" She grabbed his large hand.
"It’s not mine. Malakti, I want you to put a boundary spell around this village keeping all kinds of malicious people out of this place, especially vampires."
Cassandra began to wipe off the blood with a handkerchief and meanwhile assured her mate.
"Don’t worry, I just know the right kind of spell. We will not be leaving here until these people are safe."
Halri and the few Elders rushed outside again, now that the threat had been dealt with.
Lotus and Aiko remained inside with the kids and younger girls.
Shocked to hear bones, Halri’s eyes held disbelief but also reverence for these people who had acted as their messiahs.
She asked in befuddlement. "Are you people all right? What happened?"
"We took care of them, they will never hurt your girls again," Siroos spat out in rage. The very thought that they took away innocent girls and were here for the very purpose had him seething like a volcano about to burst.
The colour returned to the faces of the villagers as people began to come out of their houses, beaming and smiling.
"All of them? They won’t return?" Halri asked, bewildered.
The old man with the stick had a kind but knowing smile on his wise face.
He knew Siroos and his mate were special, they had just proved that.
"They will not but their companions might once they won’t return to the capital. For that, we will place some reinforcements and spells around the village. Don’t worry, no one unwanted will ever enter your sanctuary now. All of you are safe and always will be."
Cassandra turned to Halri and the villagers. Her demeanour was calm, her words soothing, carrying the love she had been bestowed with. She spread it among the people, to ignite hope in their hearts and keep them going.
Cheers rang out at her words. The lifeless eyes began to sparkle again. The smiles returned as people rejoiced that vampires would no longer bother them.
Halri stepped forward and grabbed Cassandra’s hands. Her face flushed with excitement and gratitude.
"Thank you! You people have been such a blessing for us." Her thankful eyes wavered to Siroos as well, she understood he was their Alpha. He only nodded and said.
"It’s our honour to be able to help."
"We can always help you people relocate as well," Cassandra offered but the old man understood that this girl was special and powerful. He would trust the help she was offering.
"It has been our home for centuries, we would like to stay and weather the storm. We trust you and your companions."
The old man then addressed Siroos.
"If there is anything, just anything you people will need. Please, let us know."
Something clicked in Siroos’s mind. This place was closest to the Grimhollows and the man appeared knowledgeable. Maybe he knew something about the ’Tree Of Hope.’
"There is something I would like to discuss. Can we speak in private?" Siroos asked, running his hand down his stubbled chin.
"Of course! Join me in my home." The man with the cane turned away and began to walk back.
Siroos turned to his mate and pulled her closer before whispering in her ear.
"Why don’t you and Lotus cast your spell and I will talk to the man. Maybe he knows something about the Tree of Hope."
Siroos wasn’t going to reveal who he and Cassandra were. He would just ask that they were intrigued after having it seen in a vision and were now on a quest to find it.
"All right. I will catch up with you soon." Cassandra gently rubbed his arm, hoping he would remain calm. Siroos flared easily and he didn’t forgive his enemies, especially because he hated vampires with a passion now.
Halri took Cassandra to where Lotus was so they could head towards the edge of the village while Siroos followed the old man.
The girls desirably ogled at him from their windows, they knew he and his companions had saved them from a horrendous fate.
Every time vampires came, they would drag one or two of them along.
Once Siroos had settled down with the wise man in his small home the Alpha discreetly said.
"I would like this to remain between us. What I am about to show you is not known to many and I wish to keep it that way."
The man took a small bow with his hand on his chest.
"I know you are an Alpha, a special kind and very powerful one. The fear I saw in the eyes of the vampires confirmed what I already believed. Speak freely; you have been our saviour; I will die before I will reveal your or your family’s secrets to anyone."
Siroos nodded and took out the drawing of the tree he kept in the folds of his coat.
Spreading it in front of the man, he explained little about the tree and how his mother had seen it in a vision and now they sought it.
The experienced man picked his monocle, which hung by a chain and placed it on his right eye before fully focusing it on the black cloth on which Siroos had drawn the tree.
For a second, he was astonished, and then there was a realisation that sparked in his eyes, and he lifted his gaze towards an expectant Siroos.
"This is a "Tree of Hope ". I have heard many stories about it from my grandfather. He was a seer too, just like your mother."
Siroos astoundedly blinked at the man with white hair in front of him but didn’t interrupt, letting him continue.
"According to him and our ancestors, it grows when we lose hope or the evils of the men and gods alike exceed a certain limit. A balance is needed. To ignite that light which we lose to our fears, jealousy and anger. It grows in the very heart of the Grimhollow. Right above where the underworld lies, the place where souls are sucked in or so they say. It grows from the souls of the good people, the ones who wished for this world to be better. And only a chosen few can see it while only one special soul can unlock its powers. A special goddess is its guardian, and with only her permission, one could have access to it."
Siroos was stunned; for a few seconds, he couldn’t speak.
"How do you know all this?" Even Cassandra, who was a goddess, didn’t possess this knowledge so how did the old man know about that?
The man in question smiled, it made his eyes crinkle even more at the sides.
"Well, I thought these were all fables he made up to entertain us while we were kids. He believed that one of our ancestors had an affair with a goddess. One of the Goddesses of the Underworld. Sahli, to be precise, the goddess of oaths. They chose this place for their abode, but her husband found out about her affair, and she left him, never to return. But she left him with a lot of knowledge and the story about this tree was one of them."
This was an intriguing piece of tale for Siroos but it did make him wonder if Erinyes (the creatures he had met when he was bringing Cassandra from her kingdom for the first time) belonged to Arkiam or this goddess of the underworld and if she was in some kind of understanding with the god of thunder.