Chapter 110 - A New Path part 2

I woke at twilight to the sound and smell of a terrified human being. Rising from my bedding, I pushed aside the branches covering the opening of Ilio's lean-to and stepped out into the thicket. The rain had moved on and the crickets in the woodland were buzzing merrily. I was still wet and there was no fire to warm my flesh and dry my clothing, but I paid little attention to my discomfort. My attention was riveted instead by the sight that greeted me upon rising.

Ilio had ventured out while I slept and returned now with a human captive. It was one of the Oombai warriors who had pursued us across the plains. Ilio dragged the man—who was at least two heads taller than the boy-- behind him by the ankles. The warrior was bound with leather cords, and lashed and twisted his body as the boy dragged him across the ground.

I walked out into the grass to meet them, the hunger inside me leaping at the sight of the trussed human.

"You need to eat," Ilio said, then dropped the man's legs. I could tell by the pink warmth of the boy's flesh that he had already fed.

The human was bruised and bleeding. When my gleaming eyes turned to him, the warrior began to yammer hysterically in his native tongue, his eyes wide with terror. I understood Oombai well enough by now, but I ignored his cries for mercy.

I lowered myself to my knees beside the flopping warrior. Pulling the man into my lap a little, I pushed his chin to the side and lowered my mouth to his plump, blood-filled flesh. As the warrior began to sob, despairing of his life, I sank my fangs into his neck. He stiffened and bucked, but I held him firmly and drained him as quickly as possible. I did not wish to make him suffer. I'd caused enough suffering of late.

When the man was dead and my appetite was sated, I rolled his carcass away and rose.

Ilio watched me with a faint smile, hoping perhaps for some word of praise.

"You took care?" I asked.

He nodded. "This one was walking alone across the grassland. He didn't see me. I struck him down from behind and bound him with his own laces."

I could feel the warrior's blood inside me, the heat threading itself through my veins. The last few aches and pains from the previous night's battle throbbed and faded. I smiled at the boy, touched by his care. His love—perhaps even more than the blood—strengthened me.

"Where do we go now?" I asked.

"When I was hunting, I saw a group of humans traveling east," Ilio replied. "I think it was some of the slaves the Oombai kept. The Neirie. There was a column of smoke rising from the village of the Ground Scratchers, too. Perhaps the slaves rose up and won their freedom."

"Should we follow them?"

Ilio shrugged. "Maybe we should seek the other Blood Drinkers, the ones the Elders spoke of. I would like to know what they are like."

We returned to the lean-to and I fetched my cloak. It was still wet and stank of blood, but I was reluctant to discard such a fine piece of clothing. I threw it over my shoulders and tied the laces, grimacing a little at the smell… and at my own ripe stench. I would have to bathe and wash my soiled garments before the odor drove me to distraction.

"And what if these Blood Drinkers are the ones who attacked your village, Ilio?" I questioned him. "What if they're the ones who massacred the Denghoi?"

Ilio sighed. "I don't know. I know now the hunger that presses our kind to violence. Perhaps… if they are kind like you… and not cruel and wanton… I can forgive them their trespasses." He looked up at me as we started across the grassland. "It would be nice to live among our own kind, don't you think?"

Thinking of the destroyed Denghoi camp, I was not overly enamored with the thought… or the prospect of their kindness. I remembered my terrible excitement when I first caught their spore, but now…

"Perhaps," I said. "Let us follow the humans for a little while, first. But we must be careful to stay at a safe distance from them, so that we are not tempted to harm them. It would not do to free them from one set of masters, only to give in to our own base desires."

I surveyed the plains as we walked, the rolling hills, retreating in all directions.

"These lands are still unfamiliar to me. We may come across those other Blood Drinkers by chance, or choose to seek them out later, but for now, let us watch over and protect the humans who escaped those greedy Oombai. We can be their guardian spirits for a little while. Is that agreeable to your thinking?"

Ilio considered the idea. His smile flashed out at me, white and pointed. "Yes, that would be a good thing!" he said.