《Ink Serpent》


 Chapter One

    You can hear a lot from underneath the floor. The village of Silverbrook, nestled in the foothills of the Silver Mountains, was prone to flooding and built on stilts. Ara lay in the mud underneath one of the huts, breathing quietly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do it, mama.¡±


    The speaker was Brynn. She was much liked, but new to her womanhood and expected to marry. The people of Silverbrook were as hard as the land they sprung from; but women were women, and men were men. Even a woman who could sling a sack of flour over her shoulder would be frightened by the prospect of marriage to a violent man.


    ¡°If you make me, mama, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll give myself to the vampires!¡±


    Ara flinched as the sounds of arguing above intensified. She herself was intimately familiar with the vampires that lived in the caves at the base of the mountains. To be fair, everyone in Silverbrook was familiar with the vampires. They came down at night to administer a tax, of sorts. A blood tax. In return for their cooperation in feeding the creatures, the vampires kept large predators away from the town. Nobody had ever been killed by a vampire, at least directly, but even so, the thought of Brynn walking into their lair was chilling. Ara was uniquely positioned to judge exactly how chilling. She still clearly recalled the night that she herself had ventured into their midst, thinking only of saving her sick mother, who had grown too frail for constant feedings. She closed her eyes and remembered the feel of their leader¡¯s papery skin on her face.


    Absently, she touched the marks under her arm where she¡¯d last been bitten. Normally, someone her age would be left out of the blood tax, but she¡¯d struck her own deal that night, what felt like long ago. The Master of the vampires fed from her directly and he never left marks where people might see. She really hoped that Brynn found a different way to escape her marriage. The Master had bound Ara to him, and his constant, insidious presence in the back of her mind rankled. Crawling on her belly, Ara pulled herself out form under the building and started back towards the hut her family shared. At least she¡¯d never have the problem Brynn was having. The older girl was beautiful, buxom, and blond. People loved her. It was different for Ara, who was dark, lanky, and pale. Women were expected to bear children in Silverbrook. It was necessary. Yet, no one was likely to look at Ara¡¯s thin hips and think that she might be a suitable mother. Her own mother¡¯s personal string of tragedies hardly helped the issue.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Her family¡¯s hut was built, protruding stubbornly from a sloped section of land. Her brother, Finn ¨C who would undoubtedly become another girl¡¯s source of well-placed anxiety soon ¨C was wrestling with another boy out front. The other boy, who was older, found himself pinned suddenly to the ground. Finn hit him in the face and bloodied his nose, ignoring his opponent¡¯s attempts to tap out. Entering the hut, she found her mother in the corner, weeping in to the blanket wrapped about her. She stopped and sniffled when she saw Ara. Going to her mother, she sat, and let the woman run too-thin, knobbled fingers through her hair.


    ¡°You¡¯re all dirty, Ara.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    ¡°You should go and clean up. How will I ever end up with grandchildren with you carrying on like this?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    Ara wasn¡¯t certain she wanted to be a mother. To be honest, the older she became, the more thankful she grew that boys were unlikely to want her. Her own mother never seemed to find much joy in her children, even those that were living. There was certainly little joy to be had from those who hadn¡¯t survived to draw their first breaths, the ones that were buried in the garden outside. There must have been something of her thoughts in her expression, because Ara¡¯s mother sighed.


    ¡°Motherhood is a gift, Ara. You¡¯ll understand one day.¡±


    Ara nodded again and her mother threw up her hands in exasperation.


    ¡°Go and clean up. If you are going to disregard the wisdom that I have to give you, you will at least do it with clean face.¡±


    Ara stood and scurried away; but not because of her mother¡¯s words. There was a much more insistent voice calling her from the inside of her own skull. When the Master called, she answered.

 Chapter Two

    Once, it had felt like it would never get easier to walk up to the vampires¡¯ lair. In many ways it hadn¡¯t but the terror of it had dulled over time. Fear, real primal fear, can¡¯t be sustained indefinitely. Ara knew that the Master might kill her at any time. The fact that it hadn¡¯t happened before was no real comfort. No one had ever made a deal to be tied to the Master before, either. Every time she stood before him, her lizard brain shrieked that he was a predator and she was prey, in immediate peril ¨C she just couldn¡¯t work up a panic about it anymore. The sun was still out when she entered the mouth of the cave. It was worse that way. At night, vampires might be anywhere. During the day, she knew that she was approaching a swarm of them. It was like the difference between finding a spider in the corner of a hut and knowing, intellectually, that there were other spiders about, and sticking her hand in a jar full of them.


    The caves were very close to total dark. She put her hands to the rough walls and fumbled blindly. As usual, she was soon met by one of the Master¡¯s underlings. She was led through the twists and turns of the cave system. She was quite aware that if she needed to find her way out alone, she would die in the caves before finding the exit. Eventually, they arrived in a brightly lit room, hewn into the stone. She blinked against the glare. Then, the Master was standing before her, smiling thinly.


    ¡°Ara, my dear. You¡¯ve been well, I trust?¡±


    She dropped her eyes. The Master wouldn¡¯t have been intimidating, as a human. He was short, and gaunt, with close-cropped hair. His eyes, though¡­ they were distinctly not human. When he looked at her, her bones thrummed with the power of his gaze. So, she kept her eyes fixed on the floor.


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    She obeyed. He pulled her into his lap and she grit her teeth his cool, dry skin brushed against hers. He drank from her, as always picking places she could easily conceal. Time stretched like tree sap. Her mind swam with strange, disturbing waking dreams. She¡¯d never heard anyone else she knew describe the same thing, when they spoke of feedings. She had tried to ask her brother once, but he¡¯d grown suspicious and she¡¯d dropped the line of questioning. Whatever the Master did to her seemed like more than just drinking her blood, though. After a while, the Master roused her. She scrambled back to her feet, wobbling. He chuckled as she fell to her hands and knees, all the while keeping her eyes down.


    ¡°Always lovely to see you, my dear.¡±


    She stumbled back into the dark, where her guide collected her once more. They had been walking for a while, so Ara figured they were close to the exit, when the vampire leading her stopped and hissed. Ara heard footsteps halt nearby.


    ¡°What is this?¡± asked her guide.


    ¡°I found her in here,¡± answered a gleeful male voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t she pretty?¡±


    ¡°Get rid of her,¡± snapped Ara¡¯s vampire.


    ¡°I want to be one of you,¡± Brynn¡¯s voice echoed from the dark.


    The vampire near Brynn giggled. Ara¡¯s vampire snarled.


    ¡°You know what the Master would say. I don¡¯t want to see her again.¡±


    Ara willed the darkness to part for her, as she tried desperately to see Brynn. Her guide jerked her hand, pulling her along. She heard the other vampire humming to himself. Ara remembered the night that she had come, alone, to the vampires¡¯ lair. She had been given the impression that night, that one of the vampires who had found her ¨C there had been three ¨C may have eaten her and been done with it, if not for the insistence of the other two to bring her to the Master. The agreements with the villagers only applied to humans in the village, the dissenting vampire had claimed. Humans in the cave got what they got. Ara hoped that Brynn would be escorted back outside. She hoped that she would be taken to the Master to strike a deal of her own. She hoped that a violent husband would be the least of the girl¡¯s worries; but she didn¡¯t truly believe Brynn would be so lucky.

 Chapter Three

    When Ara looked for Brynn the next morning, she couldn¡¯t find her. She did catch sight of Brynn¡¯s mother, Sylvie. Sylvie wasn¡¯t outwardly worried, but she wasn¡¯t stopping to chat with her neighbours as she usually did, either. She wouldn¡¯t know where Brynn had been last night, but after the girl¡¯s threats, the truth must have crossed her mind. That, and it was inconceivable that the girl had left Silverbrook. The paths in and out of the town were hard, impossible on foot. Byrnn had no means to purchase an escape and nowhere to go even if she¡¯d had the money. There were not many places she could be.


    There was nothing Ara could do besides wonder, though, so she went about her day as usual. She watched life unfold around her for a time, then retreated to help her own mother mend clothes, while her father and brother tried to coax life out of frozen fields. It was early afternoon when Finn burst inside, face scarlet and eyes wide.


    ¡°Mam, Grey Jon¡¯s called a town meeting.¡±


    Ara flinched as her mother got up, setting her sewing aside. She cast a look back kat Ara.


    ¡°Stay here and finish up, girl. This work needs to be done by morning.¡±


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    Her mother slapped her. Finn frowned and looked away, but said nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no time to argue with you, incorrigible child. Stay and do as you¡¯re told.¡±


    Ara watched the two of them leave. Then, the Master called. The timing of the call was highly suspicious to her. She bit into her cheek until she tasted blood. She¡¯d never failed to answer the Master¡¯s call, not when obedience to him was all that was keeping her mother alive and well. She took two steps towards the door, then jerked to a halt, shaking her head to try and clear it of the insidious presence of the Master. A significant part of her was tempted to go to the meeting. She tried to think, free of the vampire¡¯s influence but it was so hard. The summons grew more urgent and she hissed her best curse word, before giving in and leaving to make her way up the mountain.


    The cheerful humming of the vampire the night before hung in her mind as she moved. When she reached the mouth of the vampires¡¯ cave, it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. A vampire waited for her just inside the mouth of the cave, looking irate as he watched the warm sunlight encroaching on his shade.


    ¡°You,¡± said the vampire, ¡°Come.¡±


    She followed the vampire through the caves, trailing her fingers along the wall as she went. They hadn¡¯t moved that far when he stopped.


    ¡°Stay here,¡± he said.


    ¡°What? Where are we?¡±


    There was no answer. The creature had likely already moved on.


    After what felt like an age, a hand clasped her wrist and she yelped.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said a male voice, ¡°I¡¯m human.¡±


    She blinked in the direction of the sound but couldn¡¯t see through the inky black.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Gavyn,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m an Ink Serpent.¡±

 Chapter Four

    When Gavyn crested the mountain path into the village of Silverbrook, all he saw were flames. It was pretty from a distance, this giant bonfire that lit the night. The Guild rarely sent him so far away, though, and the view did little to mollify his ill temper. When the ravens had given him this destination, he had been sceptical about his mission¡¯s importance. How difficult could it be to retrieve a girl from a place in the middle of nowhere, small coven of vampires or not? He knew better than to challenge a raven about an instruction but really, couldn¡¯t they have sent one of the tigers? Why did this mission need him? Surveying what lay before him now, he understood. For all their strength, tigers were not immune to flame. The ravens would have known they needed a serpent; their visions were always true. Still, he found himself irritated by their typical lack of explanation or warning.


    He moved down the pass at a brisk pace. The village dipped back out of view, but the acrid scent of burning began to sting his nostrils. As the voices of the suffering grew too unpleasant for his tastes, he drew on his power. As he did, the serpent scrawled into the flesh of his lower back stirred, and moved to coil around his left forearm. He slipped into the In-Between. There, he could see the ghost of his world, and the village before him, overlayed by spectral images from places unknown. Now unrestrained by the obstacles created by his surroundings, he made quick progress. Slipping through the wall of the first building, he found nothing but charred corpses and continued on. He visited several more dwellings before coming upon a living person. He stepped out of the In-Between to find an old man slumped against a wall that was as yet untouched by flame. The man didn¡¯t stir as Gavyn appeared and his chest moved shallowly as he breathed. Assessing him, Gavyn identified a significant puncture above his hip. He knelt and applied pressure. The man¡¯s eyes flew open and he screamed.


    ¡°Hush,¡± said Gavyn, considering the state of the him.


    ¡°W-who¡¯re you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a girl,¡± Gavyn said, ignoring him, ¡°Ara. Where is she?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°She¡ª¡± the man was briefly overcome by coughing, ¡°Dunno. She lives north of here, but in all this¡­ am I going to die?¡±


    The serpent moved until its jaws covered Gavyn¡¯s fingers. He let it bite the man, whose eyes immediately unfocused.


    ¡°No,¡± Gavyn said soothingly, ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine.¡±


    The man smiled as he drew his next, and final breath. Gavyn stepped back into the In-Between. There were a number of buildings north, but many of them were no longer standing. He ignored those. If the girl was inside, she was already beyond rescue. He saw the outline of a figure dash towards the house, and moved to intercept. He stepped out of the In-Between once more, driving his open palm forward as he did. It connected, solidly, with the vampire, and it fell backwards with an ¡®oof.¡¯


    ¡°I am looking for a girl,¡± Gavyn said again.


    The vampire bared its teeth, ¡°She¡¯s ours,¡± it hissed.


    Gavan willed the serpent once more into his fingers, and slashed the air in front of the vampire¡¯s face. It hissed again.


    ¡°This is no business of yours, Ink Serpent.¡±


    Gavan yawned, ¡°The ravens tell me that it is. So, I¡¯ll ask you again. Where is the girl? Is she here?¡±


    He touched the vampire¡¯s face with the serpent¡¯s fangs when it failed to answer. The creature swore, and then spoke.


    ¡°She¡¯s not here. She¡¯s in our caves.¡±


    Gavan rolled his eyes. What a pain.


    ¡°Why are you here, then?¡±


    The vampire looked beyond Gavan, to where another, female vampire lay on the ground. A metal pickaxe had been driven through her chest and she wasn¡¯t moving. Not dead, he noted, just very damaged. He stepped back into the In-Between and left them to their business.


    It did not take him long to reach the vampires¡¯ caves. He knew that were he wholly in the physical plane, it would be pitch black. Caressed by the ethereal light of the In-Between, however, he could see just fine. Stepping through inconvenient walls, he located the girl. She was tiny. Beyond that, he could tell very little from the plane he was on. He stepped forward and appeared before her. As he¡¯d expected, it was too dark to see, but he knew where she was. He reached out and took her wrist, which made her yelp.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he told her, ¡°I¡¯m human.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked.


    Her voice trembled with fear, but she spoke clearly.


    ¡°My name is Gavyn,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m an Ink Serpent.¡±