Crimson 3
Rain, sh*t...
We left the morning following riding two sturdy horses and taking a further one for Jordan who weighed a lot more than me.
We rode for most of the morning until we halted at the bottom of a large hill and I ate lunch.
"Will you be all right for the next couple of days, you know blood wise?" I asked Jordan who was stretched out on his back thinking.
"Sorry?" he had been looking up at the skies and obviously hadn’t heard me I repeated myself.
"I should be all right, as long as we don’t run into any trouble." He sat up. "Are you finished?" I nodded and popped the last grape into my mouth getting up and shouldering my pack.
"How much longer do you want to go for?"
"Let’s get to the top of this rise." We mounted and kicked our horses forward. "We could probably get to the first shack.
"Okay." I worked out the route and followed him up the rise, something was sticking into my leg and I realized that Jordan had strapped a sword to my saddle.
"Jordan?"
"Ya?"
"What’s with the sword?"
"It’s just in case."
"In case of what? The land around here is patrolled."
"I know, but small things slip through patrols." I looked around and realized he was talking about shadows, small spirits that feed on your spirit while your sleeping.
"But shadows wouldn’t come near you."
We got to the top of the rise and I looked at him before looking into the distance.
"Sh*t."
"Ya." There were rain clouds on the horizon.
"How far away are they?"
"Two hours maybe less."
"We’ve got to get to shelter."
"I know." He suddenly jumped from one horse to the other. "When was the last time you rode?"
"About a year ago."
"We have to gallop to get there in time."
"Just go." I said getting a little panicked; if we didn’t reach the shack before it started to rain… the consequences were just too horrible.
Galloping down that hill was close to the scariest thing I’ve ever done, I screamed at the last bit ill admit but Jordan didn’t let up. Well I guess he was running for his life. I flattened myself to my horse, Arem, and rode as fast as I could.
The scarf came out of my hair and I could feel it flying behind me letting my hair fly free flapping behind. I forgot about the rain for a moment in the thrill of the speed.
After twenty minuets at this speed I could feel my horse starting to tire and Jordan seemed to know as well and dropped the pace to the canter.
We rode solidly and I made myself ignore the ache in my legs. When I saw the shack in the distance I thought we had made it but just that moment it started to spit with rain. Panic rose in me as Jordan urged his horse back into a gallop; I did the same feeling the rain on my face.
"Shit." I said over an over again. Within a meter of the shack it started to rain properly and Jordan threw himself into it.
I ran in to see him swaying with fatigue, the water took his strength.
"Take your clothes off!"
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"Just do it." I shouted at him stripping off my outer layer.
"All right." He started to undo the buttons on his wet shirt slowly his fingers steaming. I ran over and pulled it apart taking it off him and doing the same to his shirt. He just stood there. I pulled off my under stop which was dry and wiped his chest down. He started to steam and I pushed him onto the Hessian sacking that served as a bed undoing the belt on his trousers pulling them off him.
"This wasn’t the way I pictured it you know." He said in a faraway voice and I laughed in a strained way. His legs were reasonably dry and his underwear was also which was a blessing.
Pulling his pack towards me I searched through the contents until a found an empty vial and a few powders. It was a mixture of ingredients that you treat vampires with.
Gritting my teeth I opened up a large cut up my wrist and watched it dribble into the vial in which I had put a green powder that when it mixed with his saliva would multiply the blood by five. I still had to fill the vial though.
It seemed agonizingly slow and I wondered if I should just let him tap me like the workers at the palace but at last it was full. He was unconscious which wasn’t good but when I poured it down his throat he coughed before swallowing gratefully.
We rode for most of the morning until we halted at the bottom of a large hill and I ate lunch.
"Will you be all right for the next couple of days, you know blood wise?" I asked Jordan who was stretched out on his back thinking.
"Sorry?" he had been looking up at the skies and obviously hadn’t heard me I repeated myself.
"I should be all right, as long as we don’t run into any trouble." He sat up. "Are you finished?" I nodded and popped the last grape into my mouth getting up and shouldering my pack.
"How much longer do you want to go for?"
"Let’s get to the top of this rise." We mounted and kicked our horses forward. "We could probably get to the first shack.
"Okay." I worked out the route and followed him up the rise, something was sticking into my leg and I realized that Jordan had strapped a sword to my saddle.
"Jordan?"
"Ya?"
"What’s with the sword?"
"It’s just in case."
"In case of what? The land around here is patrolled."
"I know, but small things slip through patrols." I looked around and realized he was talking about shadows, small spirits that feed on your spirit while your sleeping.
"But shadows wouldn’t come near you."
We got to the top of the rise and I looked at him before looking into the distance.
"Sh*t."
"Ya." There were rain clouds on the horizon.
"How far away are they?"
"Two hours maybe less."
"We’ve got to get to shelter."
"I know." He suddenly jumped from one horse to the other. "When was the last time you rode?"
"About a year ago."
"We have to gallop to get there in time."
"Just go." I said getting a little panicked; if we didn’t reach the shack before it started to rain… the consequences were just too horrible.
Galloping down that hill was close to the scariest thing I’ve ever done, I screamed at the last bit ill admit but Jordan didn’t let up. Well I guess he was running for his life. I flattened myself to my horse, Arem, and rode as fast as I could.
The scarf came out of my hair and I could feel it flying behind me letting my hair fly free flapping behind. I forgot about the rain for a moment in the thrill of the speed.
After twenty minuets at this speed I could feel my horse starting to tire and Jordan seemed to know as well and dropped the pace to the canter.
We rode solidly and I made myself ignore the ache in my legs. When I saw the shack in the distance I thought we had made it but just that moment it started to spit with rain. Panic rose in me as Jordan urged his horse back into a gallop; I did the same feeling the rain on my face.
"Shit." I said over an over again. Within a meter of the shack it started to rain properly and Jordan threw himself into it.
I ran in to see him swaying with fatigue, the water took his strength.
"Take your clothes off!"
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"Just do it." I shouted at him stripping off my outer layer.
"All right." He started to undo the buttons on his wet shirt slowly his fingers steaming. I ran over and pulled it apart taking it off him and doing the same to his shirt. He just stood there. I pulled off my under stop which was dry and wiped his chest down. He started to steam and I pushed him onto the Hessian sacking that served as a bed undoing the belt on his trousers pulling them off him.
"This wasn’t the way I pictured it you know." He said in a faraway voice and I laughed in a strained way. His legs were reasonably dry and his underwear was also which was a blessing.
Pulling his pack towards me I searched through the contents until a found an empty vial and a few powders. It was a mixture of ingredients that you treat vampires with.
Gritting my teeth I opened up a large cut up my wrist and watched it dribble into the vial in which I had put a green powder that when it mixed with his saliva would multiply the blood by five. I still had to fill the vial though.
It seemed agonizingly slow and I wondered if I should just let him tap me like the workers at the palace but at last it was full. He was unconscious which wasn’t good but when I poured it down his throat he coughed before swallowing gratefully.
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