Stone-ruined buildings stood thirty feet into the sky. Moss and jungle vines hung from the corners of the bulging’s. A massive tree had grown in the middle of one of the houses that had its roof fall in. The sun was shining on the small Kapok tree. Its foliage was swaying in the breeze. John and Ayla had set up camp near the tree inside the building. Ayla was sleeping on a pile of soft leaves she had set down for herself. John was watching the fire, which was glowing with a dim light. He didn’t want to bring anything close to them. The night chatter was quiet; usually the sound of crickets and night crawlers could be heard. He had noticed that the deeper they went in the wet, humid forest, life seemed to stop coming any deeper than the five hundred feet of their current location. He didn’t want to give the slightest opportunity for whatever lived in this section of the jungle to attack them. He stood up from the boulder he was meditating on, grabbed a dead piece of wood, and carved his own staff. He didn’t have a crystal, so he put a point on the tip of the staff. He thought that allowing the tipped point was better than focusing his magic on the crystal and releasing it.
Walking to the stone door frame, he looked around the corner. He saw more buildings that had trees and nothing more. Walking through the door, he turned to the right. Along the overgrown path, flowers with purple petals and blue bioluminescence were lighting the former pathway. The cracked stone had puddles of water. He walked to the center of the former town. The twelve-foot-wide water fountain was filled with still water. Bugs and plants, along with moss and algae, were prevalent in the main bowl. The second level was now filled with soil that had more of the bio-illuminated flowers. The top was broken, and fragments had been scattered around. John walked carefully through the debris, looking for a spot to pee. He walked to a tree with a line of sight to the door of the house. He began to relieve himself when he heard a low growl in the trees. With instinct, he took his staff and pointed at the thing in the tree, and a huge light was beaming on the point. The intense blue light exposed the surrounding leaves to what looked like a black, eight-foot-long panther. Not just any panther, a stone-rock panther. It’s green, red eyes saw into John's eyes, and his eyes began to glow red. The spell ball shrank to the size of a baseball, then a golf ball, and then flashed into oblivion.
“John, close your eyes!” Ayla shouted, “Put that staff down, or I’ll make you wish you weren’t immortal.”
She changed into her werecat form, and the panther caught the transformation. John quickly fell into unconsciousness, and his body was dropped, making an audible thud. Bones could be heard snapping, and blood was pouring out of wounds that had ruptured open. John’s body was lifeless and twitching. The stone panther walked carefully back into the dense jungle and disappeared from sight.
“Seriously, I’m not going to drag that lifeless body back in.” Ayla said to the body, “You can sleep outside when you heal yourself.”
Ayla walked back to the stone house and used her cat's strength to close the door. The heavy wooden door was painted red and yellow. The door slammed with a thud, and the jungle was once again silent. In the darkness, John’s body was starting to restitch itself back together. He regained consciousness and was lying on his back. The stars gleamed with fantastic clarity that left one’s mind in awe. He sat up and saw that the stone guardian was keeping a watchful eye on him. Getting up, he went over to the door and tried to open it. The door was secured in place.
“You get to sleep outside; I am already undressed and lying down.” She shouted back at him.
He let in a breath and then let it out. Looking around the place, he saw another abandoned building. Walking up to the stone house, the guardian quickly ran in front of John to block his advance into the building. Letting out a low rumble from its stone body, John decided to walk to the tree that was just outside of the abandoned city. He sat down and rested his body against the trunk of the tree. He flipped his hat forward and crossed his arms. Letting the sands of dreams take hold of his body.
“John, this is Buddy.” Loren's harmonic voice said, "Here, take him.”
“What am I supposed to do?” John said.
“Just hold him silly; you see, he loves you.” Loren said it with laughter.
John was sitting in a wooden chair. The small kitchen was warm. The kitten was small and black. She had a small white patch on her heart. The kitten was curled in John’s arms like it was his favorite spot to lay. John held the small animal, and his wife began to cook their favorite meal. The smell of the food wafted through the small cottage. Spices hung from rafters and dried meats could be found drying next to the wall. The floor was covered with hay. The bed was big enough for the two of them. The cold, bitter air was howling outside. The snow was falling from the dark gray skies, along with demons roaming the countryside. Knights did all they could to protect human civilization from the demonic threat. John held the cat in his arms as he slept. A light knock on the door sounded faintly.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Loren was five feet nine inches tall, with curly red hair that she kept under a brown cloth that was kept in place. Her green dress hung off her slender body. Her small hands grabbed the wooden latch that kept the door in place. Her green eyes turned into the brown eyes of a man dressed in old rags.
"Hello, what do you need?” Loren asked, “We are busy, sir. I beg you to please come in the morning.”
“Please help me, my family; they’ve taken my family away.” Than said.
“Who is Loren? Tell them to come in; it’s cold.” John yelled at her, “Just let him in; it’s cold out.”
“Fine, come in, but mind your manners.” Loren said it with a rueful voice.
“I’m sorry to bother you both at this late hour. My name is Henry, and my family was taken away from me two nights ago by a demon. Henry said, with tears streaming down his eyes, “People around town have told me that you possess magical abilities.”
"Yes, this is true, but my magic abilities are nothing compared to those of high-ranking demons.” John replied with a sad statement: “If you're looking for someone to help, talk to the local militia.”
“I have; they were the ones who told me about you.” Henry said, “Please help me; I need your help.”
John looked at his wife and then at the new kitten. He sighed softly and relaxed his body. Leaning back in the chair, he placed the kitten in his new bed. The kitten moved a little bit and fell to sleep. John stood up, walked to the man, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked him in the eyes as he spoke with him.
“Tell me who it was that told you about me.” John said as he summoned his staff to him.
“It was one of the former guards, the one who lost his leg.” Henry explained, “He said that he saw you cast an explosive spell.”
“So Marcus was the one who spilled the beans.” He let out a breath, then stood up.
“Yes, please; you have to save them.” He said he was crying.
“Don’t worry, stay here with my wife.” John said, “She will take care of you; now where did they take your family?”
“They took them to the caves north of West End, near Nailsea.” Henry said, “Please hurry.”
John walked to his wig and kissed her on her right cheek. Then he looked at his new cat and cast a protective spell barrier around the cottage. The room began to glow, and then the spell was expanded to add five feet of protection from the house.
"There, this should keep you guys safe until I come back.” John said, then kissed his wife one last time, "Henry, stay here, have something to eat, and find something to wear.”
"John, please take care of yourself.” Loren said as she kissed him back.
John walked to the door, opened it, and walked out. He walked to the end of the property. He held his staff in his right hand and placed it in front of him. The crystal began to glow, and an enochian circle appeared. Glowing with the crystal, John’s body disappeared. The ground was left untouched, and the cold winter night kept blowing.
On a green grass hill overlooking the sea, a glowing circle appeared. The bright red seal magically materialized a human body. John saw the sea and heard the rolling waves of the ocean crashing against the boulders at the bottom. The sweet smell of salt water hung in the air, and John looked around for signs of demonic activity. Finding none, he lifted his staff in the air and cast a spell. The spell launched a ball of light into the air and dispersed itself into small, shimmering balls. The glittering light illuminated the presence of many demon foot prints. The purple trail led into a red cave entrance. The musty smell violated his senses of smell. Death was hanging in the air. John knew what creatures had made this cave their home. The smell of blood, the attacks at night, the kidnapping of humans—it all screamed vampires. John made an audible, disgusted sound. He pulled a flask of holy water from a three-dimensional space. The flask was silver with a holy cross on the front. The lettering was engraved on it, reading: In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Latin for, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
"Well, I guess that I have to enter now.” John said to himself,.
The cold, dark cave was musty, with the foul odor of human waste creeping to the front. John made a retching sound that echoed through the cave. John cursed himself for it. He actively used his enhanced hearing to determine if any creatures were coming in his direction. When he didn’t hear a thing, he relaxed and kept entering the cave. John walked over the cave wall and inspected it. He saw blood and writing he couldn’t identify. He kept his mind on the goal, as he came closest to the main chamber of the cave. A faint light was visible from around the corner. He grabbed his staff tight and pressed his body to the left side of the wall to poke his head around the corner. He saw that two vampires had been feeding on two young women who had been completely drained of blood. The vampire creatures looked more like abominations than humans. The flesh was white, and the hair was patchy. The red eyes completely dominated the iris and whites of the eyes. Fangs dripped with blood and venom. The venom is what helped them paralyze their victims and drain them fully. Their hunched backs made them shorter than they actually were. Skinny arms and legs looked too weak to support their bodies. Rags had coved their manhood and nothing more. One of them looked up and sniffed the air. John pulled his head back and prayed he didn’t get found out.
A loud female scream echoed through the cave. John’s heart dropped; he knew she was about to be next. He poked his head around the corner again and saw a female standing about four feet, six inches tall. She had blond hair that came to her shoulders. Tears streamed down from blue eyes. Her once-nice dress was dirty and ripped. A more human-like vampire that was taller than seven feet looked to be the master. He had priest clothes on him, and his white hair was slicked back. His black, solid eyes looked directly at John.
“Bring me the one who is behind the wall.” The elder vampire said, “But don’t kill him.”
A huge screeching sound was heard from outside the cave and then faded. John ran into the direct path of the dozens of vampires running toward him. He pulled the staff in front of him and chanted a prayer, and with a burst of mana, the crystal glowed brighter than the sun. Half of the rhetorical charging formation was quickly turned to ash. The remaining slowed down, then ran again. John tried the prayer one more time, but the crystal shattered. Letting out a small curse, he grabbed the silver flask, and with a flick of the wrist, the holy water poured from the flask like a fountain. This caused half of the now-charging vampires to die, and the rest ran in separate directions. The Lord was extremely angry. His once-smoking face is now a rage of emotions. The little girl continued to cry. The lord grabbed the girl by her ponytail and lifted her in front of himself. He challenged John to come and get her.