Despite the whispered complaints amongst the men about my new training regimen, we still made good time. I thought I was able to keep up a decent enough pace that our steady progress wasn’t much different from when I was on horseback, and we only added a day to our original weeklong excursion. With some grit and determination, along with a lot of sweat, subtle changes emerged in my energy levels, and the last day was nowhere near as challenging as the first. I was still a bit slower than Ash during our sparring, but only just barely. Perhaps Obarith hadn’t thought the Goddess’ blessings went further than skin deep and his changes hadn’t wiped my slate completely clean.

Finally, we arrived at Fort Brakkash, affectionately known as Blackwall. The fort city was a decent size, meant to act more as a garrison for those stationed there than for civilians to live in. There was an actual city not far to the southwest from the stronghold for replenishing necessary supplies and where soldiers could visit while on leave. Blackwall was made of gray stone and looked like any other fortress I had seen in pictures or movies, with tall walls and sturdy gates. Further north was a chaotic layout of unforgiving rocky, hilly terrain, combined with a sea of black pines. It was this impenetrable looking forest of pine trees that gave the Black Hills their name, and Fort Brakkash was the wall protecting Monera from the dangers that lay beyond.

I had noticed in our last day of travel that it was getting colder, despite being on the cusp of summer. The days were still fairly warm and pleasant, but I was glad for my hoodie by the midafternoons. This struck me as odd, as I didn’t feel we’d traveled far north enough for it to feel like winter was still hanging around. I asked Duncan about my suspicions, which he confirmed.

“It’s the Black Hills, lass.” Duncan had explained. “There is an eerie magic that seeps through that land and affects the weather, making it more hospitable for the undead. The land of the far north used to be choked in the clutches of the vampires. It has been a dangerous place to live in or near for as long as mankind has known of it.”

After entering the fort, our group had quickly dispersed. I wanted to see a clear view of our destination and was looking out at the Black Hills from the top of a fortress wall when Duncan found me.

“Why am I not surprised to find you up here?” He asked.

“After all I had heard about where we were going, I had to see it for myself.” I replied.

He turned and observed the Hills with me. “It feels as if I’d only just left this place, and yet returned far too soon for my liking. In all my travels, I’d never been to a place where you can feel the evil in the land itself.”

I nodded. Something felt… wrong… about where we were. Everything had an unnatural aura to it, as if the beauty of nature had a black stain on it that you couldn’t scrub away.

“So, got any history lessons for me about this place? Any time I asked one of the boys about it, I just got some shudders and a supreme disinterest in sharing.”

Duncan grunted in acknowledgement. “Indeed. The Black Hills are a hard place to stomach. Of those that have accompanied us, only a handful had even been to Blackwall before. Of that lot, only I myself have ever breached the Black Hills, though that was decades ago.”

How old was Duncan anyway? He didn’t appear older than 50, but he always spoke with a wisdom and experience of someone much older.

Duncan continued, “As far back as the history books tell, the Black Hills have been home to the vampires. No other race has dared encroach on their territory. Throughout the millennia, they choked the land with evil and transformed the north into a very unfriendly place. Only when the war between the Gods was over, did the Vampires’ strangle hold on their domain start to loosen. Their connection to their creator, Oryx, was lost when the Gods of Darkness were sealed away. Over time, their numbers slowly ebbed and their presence in the Hills waned, but the evil aura remains.” He rubbed a hand over his tired face, almost as if he had experienced the events firsthand. “Over the last couple hundred years, the Crown made a concerted effort to hunt down any who still roamed these lands, with the goal of further human expansion. It would be harsh living, but at least the land could be useful again.”

I looked out across the sea of rock and pine. The fort was positioned within an hour’s ride of the border line of the forest. Harsh living didn’t even begin to describe how tough the land looked up there. I could feel a chilly breeze blowing down from the north, forcing me to clutch my hood close around my face and wish for my sweatpants again.

Duncan stood next to me, unflinching in the cold breeze. “The Zannisters and soldiers positioned at Blackwall caution all who come this far north with intent to settle. As undead, the vampires still fear the sunlight, but are unaffected by the cold. They are infamous for their ability to cheat death and have crafted a deep cave system tunneled into the Hills.” He grimaced, “They’re like cockroaches. There’s no way to ensure they had been completely wiped out, even after the last reported sighting of any true vampire was over a few hundred years ago. Only rabid and feral thralls have persisted to hunt in the north.”

He grunted again heavily, “And no army contingent has braved enough of those nightmarish lands to penetrate deep enough to sack Castle Black Rose.

How ominous! Was the land really so dangerous that the Crown hadn’t been able to breach the vampires lair? I decided to inquire about the castle another time and returned to the purpose of our visit.

“So, what makes the Zannisters certain vampires have returned, and that the reports of missing people are not something else?” I asked.

Duncan merely pointed, “The weather.”

I looked back out at the Black Hills. I hadn’t been able to put my finger on it, but something else had felt odd about them. It wasn’t until Duncan pointed it out that I noticed it wasn’t just a feeling of cold in the air, rolling in from the ominous forest, the sky above looked different as well. Thick, blood red, rolling clouds were encroaching from the northern horizon, cloaking the land below in shadow and giving the forest a blood red hue. I shuddered again, but this time not from the cold.

Duncan saw that I had connected the dots, “The weather is brought about by a foul magic. It gives the vampires more control of their environment, making even daytime excursions into the Hills treacherous.” He stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “A foul magic indeed. I didn’t believe the reports were true when I came here last, in response to the Zannister’s missive to the king. These nefarious clouds had not been seen since their empire fell nearly a thousand years ago.”

He crossed his arms defiantly at the mass of evil brewing in front of us.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, now that we have been ordered to investigate the status of the Black Hills themselves. I hope you are ready, Amelia.”

I gulped and turned from him to look back at our goal ahead of us. I had been so excited to get here but now I found myself in a rush to leave as quickly as possible.

“Would it matter if I wasn’t?”

A sad smile turned at the corners of his mouth.

“No. It would not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite hearing some of my mother’s stories, I had never been personally involved in a military operation before, but everything operated like a well-oiled machine at Blackwall. Adjustments to the barracks had already been made for our impending arrival, and we were able to quickly unload and settle in to get some rest before our first reconnaissance mission in the morning. Duncan wanted to start early to maximize our daylight hours, as he wanted us back behind the walls of the fort before sunset.

Based on the whispers of the danger that awaited us once we crossed the tree line, I couldn’t blame him. In the short time spent among the men stationed at the fort, I learned the vampires were a kind of bogeyman to them. The main purpose of the fort was to prevent a returned threat to the kingdom, but for a few generations, the fort had been lightly manned as there was barely a whisper from any dangers of the North. They had gotten complacent.

But now that the enemy’s return seemed imminent, there was unrest in the air. No human alive had seen a real vampire, and the rumors about what we might encounter tomorrow were everywhere around the dining hall.

“Some have two heads!”

“Oi! I hear they can turn invisible!”

“You’re so daft, mate! They don’t turn invisible! They just move faster than you can see!”

“I hear they feast on fear as much as your blood! They’ll start devouring you while you’re still alive, savoring your terror as long as possible before ending it all!”

None of the rumors sounded good, and I found myself gripping the hilt of Lily for comfort on more than one occasion. Was it too much to hope the vampires were just sparkly, brooding, gorgeous teenagers?

I had wandered out of the dining hall into the peaceful evening to get some fresh air away from all the buzzing when a voice suddenly whispered in my ear.

“I like the way you grip that shaft there.”

I jumped and screeched as I drew Lily and held her between me and the voice.

There, skulking in the shadows of the encroaching night, was Kit. “She’s so jumpy!” He leaned back and grinned, hands on his hips. It took a minute for me to steady my breathing.

Who sneaks up on someone like that at night?

I sheathed my dagger and tried to look composed by stuffing my hands in my hoodie pocket. “What do you want? You’ve made it clear you aren’t interested in tutoring me any further.”

“I can’t figure you out, Amy.” he responded, as he began circling me like a shark, eyeing me up and down hungrily. “You seem to know what you’re doing, and yet at the same time manage to do it as piss poorly as I have ever seen.”

As he passed by me, his voice somehow echoed around me, “I’m sure you have heard about me from Dorian. What kind of dangerous man I am?”

I swiveled my head, following his voice and struggling to keep him in my sight, “Is what he said not true?”

He chuckled, “I’ll leave that for you to decide.” Suddenly, his voice was in my ear again, “You know, I’ve heard things about you, too.”

I had expected him to attempt to rattle me again, and yet I still flinched. My hands were starting to sweat profusely. I was perfectly fine with both him and Julius heeding Chad’s advice and not bothering with me. What was he getting at? Why now? I was already nervous about tomorrow’s mission.

He finished circling, leaning near me with his face close enough I could feel his unsettling, hot breath. His blazing red eyes were fixed on mine, as if he was waiting for a sudden flicker in them to betray me and tell him everything he wished to know.

“Word is you are Chadwick’s Star. It’s why he is so protective of you.”

I tried not to show any emotion on my face, but I couldn’t help it and my eyes widened a bit for just a split second.

It was all the confirmation Kit needed.

“So, it is true! The entire kingdom saw the star when it lit up the night sky months ago. When I saw it, I immediately thought of the prince and his ludicrous claims we’ve heard him preach on about for years. I can’t imagine how elated he must have felt to potentially be proven right!” He finally leaned away from me, hands still on his hips. “Only for him to discover the results of his prophecy turned out to be such an unremarkable girl. He seems to hold you with some sort of disdain I have yet to figure out,” he waved at me, “beyond the obvious of course.”

He started tapping his foot in thought. “And yet, he isn’t keen on Julius or me finding out more about you or permitting us any interactions with you. So full of mystery, aren’t you?”

He lunged at me in a blur but stopped mere inches from my face. His huge grin shone white in the reflection of the moonlight, so primal and hungry, I could have sworn he had pointed teeth.

“Good. Very good.”

I didn’t understand what he was getting at, until I realized I had instinctively raised one hand to defend myself, while the other had swiftly moved to Lily again. I was gripping her so tightly, I was sure my knuckles were as white as the bone hilt.

He leaned away again. “Very curious. Your instincts are honed enough to defend yourself from threats, you just lack the capability to do anything about it.” I noticed he had one of his throwing knives palmed in one of his hands, as if implying that, had I failed his test so miserably, he might have actually stabbed me. He noticed my eyes on his hand and, with a twirl of his fingers, the weapon was gone in a flash.

“What are you?” he asked himself.

I could ask the same of you.

A frown finally creased his forehead, but he quickly waved it off and decided he was done toying with me. “I’ve got a lot on my mind today. Please do me the favor of not dying before I can solve your riddle, hmm?”

I watched him walk away, only to glimpse that Julius had been observing our interaction from around a nearby corner. We made eye contact, and he merely gave me an abrupt nod, and disappeared.

How did I continue to attract attention when I didn’t want any?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day after our arrival, it was time. All 19 of us stood at attention in a line as Duncan paced in front, barking out orders. The soldiers were geared up, covered in metal from head to toe as best they could, attempting to cover any exposed flesh. The heavier equipment would slow us down, but it seemed Duncan was taking no risks here.

“Alright men! This task will be like none you have ever experienced before! Not even I know what to expect once we breach the tree line of the north. Our destination is a village known as Rosethorne, nearly a two-hour ride into the dense forest of the Black Hills. It is a small settlement that normally has contact with Blackwall for provisions and basic trade.”

Duncan stopped pacing in front of me. He remained facing forward but looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “The town went silent several months ago. We are to investigate any possible cause of the broken line of communication, as well as look for any other proof of the resurgence of vampires in the area.”

He spun and paced back along the line. “Our aim today is to contact Rosethorne and conclude our findings in time to return to Blackwall before sunset. I have no wish to be caught outside the walls after dark.” He turned and faced Kit specifically, “And neither should you.”

I kept my face forward like the rest but saw a flicker of movement from Kit that indicated he merely shrugged in response.

“If contact is made with our enemy, you are to act in defense only. This is a reconnaissance mission, not an extermination. Do not run off and abandon the group. Do not engage hostiles on your own. And most importantly, do NOT pursue anything underground.”

I heard snickering somewhere along the line. These troops were handpicked by Duncan and were supposed to be some of the best. During our trip, I had gotten the same vibe from some of them that Julius had expressed: they thought this was a waste of their time. They felt they were chasing ghosts, and nothing more.

They weren’t afraid, and Duncan was not amused.

“I understand some of you think this task beneath you. I chose each of you based on my confidence in your abilities. But make no mistake, in this environment, fear will be your ally. It will keep you alive more assuredly than your skill with a blade.”

A darkness set across his face.

“If the rumors are true regarding the suspected reason Rosethorne has gone quiet, this foe is like nothing any of us has ever faced. Our only information regarding contact with such a supernatural threat is hundreds of years old. Decapitation and sunlight are the only constants throughout the texts of how to kill such an animal. Show no mercy.”

He turned, his back to us as he faced the northern gate and the Black Hills beyond.

“And may the Gods have mercy on our souls.”