Alcingeria Volume Two Chapter Eighteen: A Short Respite

Two of Redmond's friends are on death's doorstep. They've had luck on their side for a while now. Has it finally run out?

Chapter Eighteen A Short Respite:

Saturday July 24^th 1690

            “No!” Robert shouted again.

He, Macalister and I ran to Don’s side. Stella, Erin and Walden ran to help Tabatha.

            “Don! Can you hear me?” Robert shouted at Don.

His eyes were dull, yet so full of fear. His breathing came in short, quick gasps as his face contorted in pain. He reached up and touched his neck, finding that his hand was slick with blood.

            “I hear you.” He groaned, sitting up.

Macalister picked him up and set him on his feet. He looked around dazed, his eyes fell on Tabatha.

            “Tabatha!” He shouted, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground again.

He found his way to her side, taking her hand in his. She had passed out soon after being shot, the wound in her chest was bleeding at an alarming rate.

            “Don! Are you okay?” Erin asked.

            “You were bitten!” Stella exclaimed.

            “I’ll be fine for a while, but after that…” He trailed off grimly.

            “Is there any way to prevent you from turning into a vampire?” Erin asked him.

Don thought for a second.

            “I have to drink that vampire’s blood, but I don’t see how I’ll be able to do that now!” Don shouted in dismay.

Just then a thought hit me, an idea. I knew how to save Don. I ran back and scooped up the dagger that Don had used. It was still coated in Omar’s blood!

            “Drink this!” I ordered.

Don’s eyes went wide as he quickly snatched the dagger from me and ran his tongue along the metal, getting as much blood into his mouth as possible. After a minute, he had liked the blade clean.

            “How do you feel?” Robert asked.

            “Better, lot’s better thanks to Redmond.” He replied.

Erin turned around.

            “We have to move Tabatha, before more vampires come!” Erin shouted.

Macalister carefully took Tabatha’s body in both hands and carried her into a nearby house. Even while unconscious, she still clutched her staff in her right hand. I remembered the night when we rescued her, Don mentioned something about how she was still holding her staff even though she was unconscious. I’d forgotten that fact up until now, and it piqued my curiosity.

Macalister set her down on a table while Robert went to barricade the doors and windows. Erin began to pull Tabatha’s tunic off, but stopped quickly.

            “Um… a little privacy please, boys?” She asked.

            “Right, sorry.” I said, leaving the room.

Macalister and Walden left with me, however Don stayed.

            “The bullet is still in there. We have to get it out.” I heard Erin say.

            “How do we do that? We don’t have the tools!” Stella said, beginning to panic.

            “No, but we have the next best thing.” Don said, getting an idea.

            “What are you saying?” Stella asked.

            “Walden! Get in here!” Don shouted.

            “M-me!?” The fairy asked in disbelief.

He flew into the room.

            “You’re small, you can get in close and pull the bullet out yourself!” Don said.

I heard Walden clear his throat, clap and rub his hands together.

            “Right! Heh, a fairy saving a witch. I’ll have to tell Tabatha about this when she wakes up.” He chuckled.

            “Walden, get serious. Also, Stella? Take Redmond with you and gather some calendula. Do you know it?” Erin asked.

            “I know what it looks like, but what the heck do you need it for?” Stella asked.

            “I need it for its antibacterial properties, it’ll clean the wound so it’s not infected.” Erin replied.

            “I’m coming with her.” Don announced.

            “No, stay here. I’m going to need your help.” She told him.

I heard the flapping of his wings as he flew to Tabatha. Stella walked out of the room.

            “Redmond, did you get that?” She asked.

            “Yes, let’s go.” I said firmly.

Stella and I unblocked the door and walked outside. The vampire attacks had died down a little, but we could still hear the fighting going on. All over the place, we saw corpses.

            “The vampires…” Stella gasped.

            “They’ve killed almost everyone!” I said in terror, looking around.

A scream echoed in the distance, it was sharply cut off. A shiver went down my spine.

            “Let’s just go get the plant.” I told Stella.

We moved through the village, hearing the vampire attacks, but never seeing them.

            “I can’t believe that went so wrong.” Stella shivered.

            “That thing, the IG-90, it’s gone. It didn’t seem to care about us.” I said in confusion.

Stella looked back, we could see it in the distance.

            “Wait… Isn’t that the way we came?” She asked.

My eyes widened and my stomach dropped as I registered what she said.

            “That thing… It’s going for Semera!” I shouted.

            “We have to warn the others!” Stella told me.

            “No, we need to help Tabatha first. Besides, what would we all do once we told them? There’s no way we could possibly fight it!” I told her.

            “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She apologized, moving on.

We came to the ruined fence and stepped over whatever was left of it. We walked across the grassy plain until we came to the rocky forest that we rode through when we first came here. I saw Stella looking around.

            “This is where I was rescued by the scouts. Artemis Blaine and some other vampire chased me down here.” She said.

            “What does this plant look like?” I asked.

            “It’s a dark orangey yellow flower.” She explained.

I looked around for it, not seeing it anywhere. We spread out, but kept within earshot. I saw all kinds of plants, but it was dark, so I couldn’t make out their colors very well. I had to bend down and look closely just to distinguish colors. I had a stake ready at all times, just in case of a vampire ambush.

I was still reeling from our defeat at Stavon. How many had died? I guessed over three hundred. What was the IG-90? Why was it heading to Stavon? I knew the answers to both questions, and they weren’t good.

I looked around some more, not finding anything. My mind drifted to other questions; how does the IG-90 work? It must be magic. What is it capable of? It, along with a small group of vampires, were on their way to Semera.

Just then, I found something. It was a cluster of flowers, a type I hadn’t seen yet! I bent down to inspect the colors. They were all orangey yellow! I picked them all.

            “Stella! I got it!” I shouted.

I heard her running through the bush towards me.

            “Okay, let’s head back and-“ I was tackled from behind.

I let out a scream as I struggled to get out from under the vampire. I was trapped! I then heard a few quick footsteps, and the weight on top of me vanished, replaced by ash. I looked up to se Stella standing over me. My eyes were wide, I got my breathing back under control.

            “Thanks Stella.” I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.

            “Come on, let’s get back.” She said, helping me up.

We backtracked out of the forest and onto the grassy plains. We found our way back to the house we had Tabatha in.

            “We’re back!” I announced.

We heard someone unblocking the door for us. It was Robert. He let us in and we went back to the room Erin had Tabatha in. Don was sitting in a chair next to her, and Walden was covered in blood. A blood caked flintlock bullet lay on the table next to him. I glanced at Tabatha’s body. She was still unconscious, the bullet wound in her chest was freshly bandaged with some spare cloth they probably found around the house. It seemed to have stopped bleeding a little.

            “Great, the calendula.” Erin said, taking it from me.

Erin explained that she needed to make an infusion, and asked me to leave the room. I obeyed and joined Macalister and Robert in the hall.

            “Shouldn’t be long now.” I said, remaining hopeful.

 

***

 

And in fact it wasn’t. An hour later, Erin excitedly called us all in.

            “She’s awake!” She said with immeasurable joy.

We rushed into the room, crowding around her. She had her tunic on, and I could see that Erin had re-bandaged her. She sat up, but gasped in pain and layed back down.

            “W-what happened?” She asked, wincing.

            “You were shot by a mafia operative named Omar White. I tried to kill him, but…” He trailed off.

            “He was bit.” Macalister finished.

Tabatha recoiled in shock and concern.

            “What!? Don, are you okay? How long do you have? Wh-“ She started.

            “It’s fine! It’s fine. Thanks to Redmond’s quick thinking, I was cured in time.” Don said hurriedly, shooting Macalister a look.

Erin cleared her throat nervously.

            “Tabatha? You might want to, you know, heal yourself before you pass out.” She advised.

            “Oh, right.” She said.

She took her staff, which she was still holding, and placed it over her wound while she concentrated.

            “Healing Current!” She cried.

A warm glow emanated from within her wound. I could hear it being magically stitched shut beneath the bandage. She took it off and frowned at the hole in her tunic. She used Seamstress to repair it.

            “How long have I been out?” She asked when she was done.

            “Over an hour. How’re you feeling?” Don asked, leaning in and giving her a kiss.

Tabatha smiled as they pulled apart.

            “A lot better now.” She answered.

Stella cleared her throat.

            “You’ll have time for that later, we have to get back to Semera!” She urged.

            “She’s right. Don, get your head in the game.” Robert ordered with a grin.

Don looked at him with an embarrassed smile and scratched the back of his head.

Author's Note

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