I opened my eyes with a long yawn. My body still ached, but at least I wasn't as exhausted as before. I pushed myself up only to hit my head on the cave ceiling.
"Ouch!" I rubbed my scalp. "Right… tiny cave. Forgot."
I pulled my cloak around my shoulders in case daylight was already out. Crawling forward, I quickly ran into another problem.
The tunnel split into two paths.
"Just my luck. How am I supposed to know which one leads to the kingdom?" I sat there, frustrated, until I finally sighed. "Straight. I'm going straight. They both have to lead somewhere."
I crawled again, my knees throbbing from the rocks, blisters burning on my hands.
"Please tell me this is the entrance…" I panted.
And then I slid out into open space.
A den.
"I'm inside the wolves' homes," I whispered.
Dusting dirt off myself, I looked around. It looked like any ordinary house bed, furniture, kitchen. I'd only been in Lunaris once before, and back then it was a lot noisier.
It's too quiet now.
"Maybe the shadows got everyone… I don't see any survivors."
I searched the kitchen, hoping for a weapon.
"Where are the knives?"
I finally found them but they were dull, practically useless.
"There's gotta be something."
After rummaging through cabinets, something caught my eye: a dagger, and a bow with a full quiver. I strapped the dagger on my leg and put the bow and arrows across my back.
"Perfect."
"Where are those idiots?"
A voice outside.
I froze.
Shadows.
I ducked low and tiptoed around the kitchen, careful not to make a sound.
"Scatter! Everyone, see if you can find them!"
I groaned quietly. "Ugh… of course there are survivors out there. I need to get out before they spot me."
The front door was too obvious. I peeked out the window shadows drifted everywhere.
I hurried upstairs. A bedroom door creaked open as I checked inside and stopped cold. A motionless body laid on the bed.
A soulless Wolf. Pale skin. Eyes dull and empty. The shadows worked fast.
Red hair. Brown eyes. A woman. I felt… nothing. Just a faint, cold numbness. I stepped away, giving her one last glance before leaving.
The upstairs window gave a wider view. If I wanted to escape without alerting the shadows, I needed a distraction.
I cracked the window open. Cool air rushed in surprisingly. I tightened my grip on the bow, drew an arrow, and amined at a silver smoke bomb on the street below.
Please don't miss.
I released.
The bomb exploded into a thick wave of fog.
I pulled my mask up and lept out the window. The mist blocked everything good. If I couldn't see neither, could they.
I sprinted, half-blind, until-
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Another voice. "What'd you find?"
"A girl with mint-green hair."
"Hey isn't she the one we're supposed to capture?"
"Of course, you idiot!"
I groaned. "You followed me?"
"Oh, darling, no," a shadow purred. "It's our first time meeting you. But our friends warned us to look out for a cute little vampire girl with mint-green hair."
"You're a lot smaller than we expected," another added.
"Yeah. You're cute."
I gave them a disgusted look. "Ew. Gross."
"Stop flirting with the capture!"
"I wasn't!"
I crossed my arms. These guys are idiots… A smirk crept across my face.
"Say… if you think I'm cute, why don't we make a little exchange?"
"I'm listening," the flirty one said quickly.
"No, don't!" Another hissed.
"I'll give you my soul," I said sweetly, "if you tell me something important. Like how to defeat you." I even gave them a puppy-eyed look.
One shadow facepalmed. "How stupid are you?"
I gasped dramatically. "That's so mean! I'm not stupid! How could you hurt this poor girl's feelings?" I fake-sobbed into my hands.
The annoyed shadow groaned. "Fine. I'll tell you, as long as you give me your soul."
"Of course." I forced a bright smile.
"The way to defeat us is-"
"Now!"
My smile dropped. "Huh?"
The mist had cleared and the shadows around me vanished.
"Ugh! Come on! I was seconds away from finding the answer!"
"Look over there!"
Someone pointed.
"Well, well… the werewolf prince. Took you long enough," a shadow snarled.
"Ooh, this is going to be fun."
"Let's go!" The prince shouted.
Survivors rushed forward. Shadows blinked in and out of visibility, dodging attacks. A wolf on the left snarled and leapt only to swipe at empty air.
"Payton! Faster!"
"I'm trying! I can't work under pressure!"
"I told you I should've done it!"
I snickered. "This is the best."
I sat down. "Yep. Much better."
"Yeah, yeah just hurry!" A wolf snapped.
A wolf to my right began to spin in circles like a maniac.
"You're making me dizzy!"
"That's the whole point!"
What kind of battle strategy is this?
"Okay! I got it!" A white-haired girl… Payton shouted.
"Now go!"
She inhaled deeply, then blew into a strange metal tube.
A horrific, deafening screech tore through the air.
I slapped my hands over my ears. "Make it stop!"
"Shut it off!"
"Go after her!"
"We would, but the noise makes me want to die!"
"Wait until she's done!"
The screech finally cut off. Shadows staggered, dizzy.
"Payton, watch out!"
"Huh?"
She tossed the noise machine upward and ducked. The shadows shot right past her and crashed into a wall. The machine, however, shattered as it hit the ground.
"Aww… it broke again…" she mumbled, picking up the pieces. "It's okay. I can fix it."
"No time! A boy yelled, grabbing her wrist. "Retreat!"
Survivors ran into another den.
I glanced back as some shadows slowly recovered.
"Yeah, time to go."
I sprinted toward the exit but shadows blocked it. Looking around panicking, I spotted a narrow crack in the wall.
"Bingo!"
I slipped through it, squeezing until I reached open space. A larger cave. Safe for now.
I leaned against the Rocky wall then froze at the sound of footsteps and voices.
"I told you I should've done it," a girl complained.
"Enough, Sabrina," someone snapped.
"S-sorry your brother is in a bad mood," another voice, Payton said.
"Why should I be in a good mood?" A boy grumbled.
"Did anyone see that mint-haired girl? Who was she?"
"They said vampire."
"Yes. I saw her."
"Great," the boy growled. "Just what I need. My enemy."
My fists clenched. "These little spineless monsters.."
I stepped closer to hear better, my foot slipped on loose stones.
The chatter stopped.
"What was that?"
"Crap," I whispered.
"I'll check."
I stumbled backwards straight into a dead end.
A hand grabbed my arm.
"How ironic," a cold voice said. "The vampire girl we were just talking about."
He threw me forward. I hit the ground hard. The intimidating man crouched, gripping my chin so I had to look at him.
"What are you doing here, vampire?"
I glared. "Who are you?"
He smirked.
"The name's Zac… Prince Zac."