FSE

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His steed trotted easily down the dark trail. The animal had been trained since it had been but a foal to have no fear of the unknown and had no hesitation in its step.

Growling bitterly under his breath, Roan drew the reins to make the animal pause with a snort. He was the one who was too distracted to travel. It would not be safe for him to continue in this state.

That damned elf. What had she done to him? Perhaps it was a spell that his eye could not counter. He still tingled all over.

Setting up a small camp, he built a fire and plopped cross legged before it. Staring into the dancing flame, he breathed deeply as he struggled with his urges. He could not afford to be so distracted right now. This mission had not required his partner so he had no one to watch his back right now.

Well, not no one.

His horse snorted and whinnied.

A rustle. Off to his left. He continued to stare off to the side of the fire so his normal eye could adjust to the darkness while pretending not to hear. The rustle again. Casually stretching, he got to his feet as though he intended to take a piss, keeping his back to the rustle.

Reaching for his sword, it hissed from its scabbard as he spun about, but it would do him no good against the beast that reared up from the brush behind him, its red eyes glowing of unnatural power.

He cursed himself. The vampire's familiar! How could he have forgotten? Older vampires often conjured up powerful demonic beasts to protect them. Without its master, it was now rogue, its only thought to avenge its master, and then it would only think of filling its need for souls. No normal sword could cut this demon.

Damn that elf! It would have been better if he had forgotten her.

A spell on his lips, Roan was stopped short by a blood-chilling chuckle in the trees above him.

"Tsk, tsk, you didn't think it'd be that easy, did you, my dear Seeker?" The voice was deep, raspy, evil.

Then Roan knew. He really hadn't thought much of it at first, thinking he had caught the vampire by surprise. Had that elf not distracted him, he might have figured it out in the silence of the aftermath. But, now he knew– it had been a particularly good decoy, a conjured being of intense concentration. Now, he would face the real vampire.

Dropping heavily before the fire, its thick wings blew the flames out entirely, plunging them into the darkness of the night. All Roan could see now was the devilish glow of the vampire's eyes and its inhuman grin as it stood, towering over him.

Roan was the first to move, tossing another of the magical nimbus stakes with enough force to pierce through a tree. The vampire swept it aside with a wing. It laughed, a horrible sound that Roan had never gotten used to.

The familiar growled and oozed towards him, taking on a terrifying and hulking form akin to a rotting bear. It swiped at him, at the same time its master lunged at Roan with unnatural speed, its talons catching the Seeker along his side as he attempted to dodge, cleanly cutting through his leather armor and flesh.

Spinning to the side, he spoke a word of magic that made his curved sword glow before he swung hard against the vampire's ribs. Coated with silver, the scimitar cut deeply. Black, foul blood exploded from the wound. The vampire screeched in pain, twisting unexpectedly. Its massive talons snagged Roan by the arm. Its grip was crushing, the points digging into his flesh. The pain of his snapping bone was intense, but he pushed it aside, his other arm coming down with the sword. It bit into the vampire's forearm, causing it to screech again.

But, that was not what caused it to release him.

It gave another cry and tossed him aside like a toy. He hit the ground hard, sliding through the soft dirt. He looked up as the vampire turned from him and noticed in the faint moonlight that an arrow stuck out of its back.

The vampire leapt at some unseen foe. The familiar turned to follow its master when a flash of magical blue light streaked through the night with a snarl, an immense shadow slamming heavily against it, and the two went tumbling into the brush.

While he heard the fights out in the darkness, he quickly sat up, his lips moving in a spell. Running his good hand over his broken arm, the healing warmth of the spell mended the bone back together. He quickly ran his hands over the deep gashes in his side as well, the wounds closing up.

His healing done, he turned his attention back to the battle he could hear in the darkness beyond his sight. His horse whinnied, but stood still as he rushed over and grabbed his crossbow. He cocked it, speaking another word of magic. The tip of the silver coated bolt burst into a magical silvery flame.

The wing beats of the vampire made him whip around. It landed heavily. He recognized the short white hair. The elf had her teeth bared and was kicking the vampire's broad chest for it had her wrists together in its large talons. Its gruesome face was twisted in an evil grin.

“Feisty little bitch. You smell awfully sweet. I'm going to have fun with you after I finish with the Seeker."

“Grusik!" she snarled, her boot catching him across the face.

Just as the vampire snarled in fury, it was knocked forward by something heavy slamming into its back. With a flick of its wrist, the vampire sent the elf flying through the air, vanishing into the bushes.

It spun about, trying to dislodge the giant panther that clung to it. Massive fangs almost as long as Roan's scimitar sank deep into the undead flesh. Its claws rent through the soft flesh again and again until it had cut so deep that the vampire's wings hung limp with barely enough flesh to still be attached. It screamed and kept twisting in pain. Its long arms reached over its head and grabbed the panther, dragging it off and bringing it to the front where it could bite the offending creature.

Roan lifted his crossbow, aiming for the back of the head. The bolt struck true. The vampire slumped forward, falling on top of the panther. At last, the night went silent. The only sound was that of Roan's panting and his horse snorting.

Cocking his crossbow again, Roan cautiously approached the vampire's body. It suddenly moved. He leapt back, but held his finger. The panther's head twisted out from under the immense corpse. It gave a rumble that sounded neither like a purr nor a growl, looking up at him as if in request.

"A fair job you did," Roan stated to the giant cat while he examined the mangled corpse.

Using a foot, he shoved the vampire's body. At the same time the panther heaved up and rolled the corpse off him. It quickly bounded past him into the darkness. Then he heard the low bellow of the panther as if it were calling to him.

Cautiously, Roan followed the sound. He saw the darker form of the panther, its eyes glowing slightly in the thick blanket of the night. He remembered how the beast's eyes had burned with icy fire when it had attacked the vampire's familiar. Was the panther actually sentient? Made by magic, or in full control of it?

The strange panther was nudging a crumpled form at its massive paws. Shouldering his crossbow, Roan reached down and found the elf's slender throat, feeling for a pulse. She was definitely alive.

Lifting her carefully under the narrow scrutiny of the cat, not sure if any of her bones were broken, he carried her back to the fire. Laying her out on his bedroll, he turned to get the fire going again so he could check her over when the feline's eyes glowed again and the pile of smoldering wood caught, roaring to life.

Staring at the panther for a hard moment, it stared back with lidded eyes, flicking its tail back and forth in expectation. Pressing his lips together, he turned back to the elf, unhooking her cloak to see her body better.

The moment he had the thought to touch her more intimately to check her over, the giant cat's head appeared over his shoulder, its lips drawn back in a silent snarl. Roan knew this to be a warning. Turning his head slightly, he was careful not to meet the panther's fearsome gaze. "You have my word I will not harm her."

As if this satisfied him, the panther eased back, giving the Seeker room to check his mistress.

The vampire had tossed the elf into a tree. A broken branch had impaled her in the back, under her ribs. Other than that, a few minor scratches, and a large, swollen bump on her head, having struck a rock when she fell from the tree, he saw no other wounds on her. He spoke softly, a warm light moving from his hand onto the wound on her back, then he moved to her head.

After he had healed her, he moved back with a sigh. Now he was exhausted. The swirling motion of his silver eye had slowed considerably, the luster fading. He prayed that nothing else would bother him tonight.

Quietly, he got to making some tea, all the while glancing at the panther. The beast laid next to his elf. It gently worked one of its massive paws under her head to act as a pillow and made a low moaning sound as if trying to wake her.

Sitting back with a steaming cup, Roan continued to watch curiously as the panther finally gave up and laid its head next to hers, purring quietly.

"Don't worry, dark one. She'll be fine after a bit of rest."

It simply flicked a large, knicked ear to indicate it had even heard him.

Shrugging, he decided the warmth of the tea must be making him really feel his exhaustion. Figuring it was safe enough, and he needed to wait for the elf to wake up to ask her questions, he wrapped himself into his thick cloak, his sword in hand. Sleep washed over him quickly. Too quickly.

The bright sunlight told Roan he'd slept much too deeply to be normal. Even before his eyes fluttered open, he remembered the hypnotic purr of the panther.

Rousing himself from magical sleep, he sat up and looked around. Immediately, he noted that the panther and elf were gone... as were his horse and his things!

That bitch!