Vander pointed at Falcon and Scout, straightened his four fingers with his thumb curled into his palm and gestured right. He made another quick signal to Ghost. I was still learning the hand signals, but I knew a closed fist with the thumb pointing toward himself meant “with me”.
Falcon and Scout along with their apprentices took off at a jog right, disappearing into the thicket.
That’s when an old, run-down hovel came into view. The wood was half-rotted, and the dark ratty blankets that covered the broken-out windows had a few holes in them. My body tensed as I followed Vander toward it. Scout and Taewyn swung around back, disappearing from view. Falcon leapt up into a tree with Celine right behind her. A moment later, they were perched several branches up with arrow tips pointed at the shack.
Vander held up a fist, thumb curled around his fingers.Stop. Ghost, Pyro, and I didn’t move, barely breathed. A quick point to the left and Ghost and Pyro moved to a thicket at the base of the broken window. Ghost pulled a wickedly curved sword from herback. The metal glinted in the light filtering in from the breaks in trees.
With a dagger in each hand, Vander walked straight for the front door. My heart skipped a beat. It went against every instinct in me, but here I was, the loyal dog following right behind him. My heart rammed against my ribs. My breaths came faster but controlled and quiet. The scrape of my knife pulling free from the sheath might as well have been a rumble of thunder.
His boot slammed into the center of the door, wood splintered with a loudcrack.I flinched and readied myself, expecting screeches and wails. Dust billowed up in a cloud, but silence followed. Vander slowly stepped forward into the shadowy doorway, head swiveling one way then the other. “Clear.”
A soft breath pushed between my lips. It was my job to kill vampires now, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved. I didn’t feel ready yet. I didn’t have confidence in my abilities other than to run.
Falcon dropped from the tree, landing half crouched. Celine climbed down a few branches before swinging to the ground. “Damn it, I thought I was about to kill my first vamp,” Celine complained.
“Your time will come. Trust me,” Falcon said.
Taewyn’s trainer, Scout, peeked around from the back of the building. “Come look at this.”
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the stench hit me before I saw it. The sound of flies buzzing came next. At the base of a slope, half covered in shrubbery, a cloud of insects hovered over a pile of rotting bodies. Most of them were decayed beyond the point of recognition, but I caught a drape of long, dirty blonde hair at the top. The woman’s dress was half hanging offher shoulder. Her neck was torn open, but there was no blood, just muscle, sinew, and bone.
The horrible smell hit me again. Heat crept up my body, nausea burned at the back of my throat.Shit. I whipped around, jerked down my mask and retched. Pyro and Taewyn puked soon after I did.
I dry-heaved, then straightened my spine and pressed a hand to my stomach. It wasn’t just the smell, it was the sight of so many dead people. People likely from Lothleton with families who missed them, who would always wonder where they were. Disappearances happened all the time in the forgotten lands.
Scout crouched and pulled a leaf between his fingertips. He pointed at a clear footprint in the dirt. “These tracks are different sizes. I’d guess two males and a female. They’ll likely be back to this shack.”
“Theyalwayscome back to what is familiar, and they’ve clearly been here for a while.” Vander glanced at me. There was determination in those wondrous eyes, and also pause, as if he was contemplating something. I gave the briefest shake of my head. He couldn’t think we were going to stay out here... He shifted his weight from foot to foot, and I already knew what he was going to say. “We’ll wait until they return.”
“Shit,” Scout muttered and rubbed the back of his head.
Wait until...night? My mouth went dry. My heart started to pound.
Falcon put a hand on her hip and gave a quick nod. Celine and Taewyn gave each other a quick knuckle bump, and the skin around their eyes crinkled with smiles. I was going to be sick again. They didn’t understand, they didn’t know what it was like out here once the sun went down. Pyro put a hand over her belly and started pacing. At least she had some sense.
Ghost tugged down her mask and folded her arms. “It will be dark before they return. There could be many more than three.The apprentices aren’t ready for this. Commander Ace doesn’t approve of night vampire hunts until months into training, not weeks. You would have to get approval for a mission like this.”
Vander leaned his back against the tree, tossed his dagger up and caught it, then repeated the motion. “We had direct intel on this and Commander Locke said to take care of it. That pile will get higher if we don’t do it today. If you don’t believe your apprentice is ready, head back now. You won’t get any judgment from me.”
As much as I agreed, as much as I wanted to protect the people out here, that voice in my head whispered,This is too dangerous. Go back. Run. Running is what you’re good at.
Falcon stepped up to Ghost and Vander, forming a small circle. “He’s right. We need to stop this pack before it grows. When the wildlings band together it’s never good. This village they’re terrorizing is the city’s main supplier of wheat. We can’t lose the harvest.”
Celine nodded beside Taewyn. I didn’t think she was truly prepared for what would come out in the dark.
Ghost scoffed. “It’s against the rules, Falcon. And those two have never even been outside the wall until today.” She tossed a hand at Celine and Taewyn.
“I’m fine with staying,” Taewyn added. “Uh, if anyone cared to know.”
I quietly laughed to myself. Clearly his opinion didn’t matter, none of us lowly apprentices did. It felt like we were children listening to our parents talk. I hated it, but I also didn’t feel it was my place to speak up.
Scout stood from analyzing the footprints and joined the other trainers. “In one way I agree with Ghost, the apprentices aren’t ready, but we need to complete the mission.”
Ghost scowled. “Commander Ace?—”
“Commander Ace isn’t here, is she?” Viper purred, a darkness laced in his tone. “So that leaveswhoin command?”
“You.” She sounded bitter admitting it.
