| As they parted and turned to face this unseen threat, another vampire let out an unholy scream then dropped to the ground. The opening revealed a young attractive woman brandishing a crossbow and sword. She wore calf-high leather boots, a tunic and close-fitting breeches which did nothing to conceal her generous curves. On her soul, the bright glow of his people. She continued loading her weapon as they stalked towards her, their spidery clawed hands outstretched. Finishing her task, she let another arrow fly, this time in Stytentos� direction. The projectile whizzed by his ear, slamming into the chest of a vampire that had been standing behind him. Hey, watch it! He scolded. She grinned sheepishly. �Sorry.� As the vampires approached her, she dropped her crossbow, then unsheathed her sword. She brandished it at them then demonstrated her proficiency of the weapon by decapitating five of them with one stroke. Impressed, Stytentos leapt into the fray, attacking from behind while their attention was fixed on her. He made short work of them, reducing the mob of undead to a pile of splayed and bloodied corpses. Panting heavily, the werewolf went to the tavern�s doorstep and sat down. She joined him. The crowd of people inside had gathered in the doorway, staring at the large beast. For a long time, no one spoke. No one moved. �Did. . . did it save us?� The werewolf turned to look at the person speaking. To his surprise, it was the same woman that had been in the vampire leader�s clutches. She was standing in the tavern�s doorway, a crowd of onlookers behind her. They peered over her shoulder, their eyes bulging at the heroic creature. In reply to her question, the young woman answered. �Aye.� Cautiously, the woman stepped out of the doorway. She crept toward the wolf, stopped, and asked, �Can we thank him? Will he understand me? I mean. . . w-will he bite. . .?� The she-wolf giggled. �No, I think it�ll be alright.� She crept up behind the creature then placed a hand on his shoulder. She stroked his fur as she said, �I�m Amara. I just. . . we wanted. . . I wanted to say thank you for what you did in there.� She realized the wolf had placed it�s huge paw-like hand over hers and was patting it gently. It�s head nodded in understanding . Letting go of her caution, Amara wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the werewolf�s chest and began sobbing. The rest of those that had been in the tavern joined her in petting the enormous beast. Tears formed in Stytentos� eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had thanked him for anything . He felt appreciated again. Welcome. The tender moment was shattered by a harsh voice barking out, �Get away from him!� All heads turned to see a group of men standing in the street, weapons in their hands. �What�re you doing?� Amara cried in disbelief. A man holding a large dagger pointed to the werewolf who was now on his feet. �That thing must die, Amara. It�s evil. They�re all evil.� �Not this one, Myerlin. Leave him alone.� Myerlin shifted his weight, then said, �He probably lead those things here.� �No he didn�t,� she protested angrily, �if not for him, all of us would be dead.� �Nevertheless, he must be destroyed.� Amara folded her arms across her chest and said, �If you want him, you�ll have to go through me to do it,� she told him firmly. Myerlin stared in astonishment as the group stood in front of the wolf, protecting it. The werewolf grinned broadly, raising it�s brows at him in a smug manner. Unhappy with the turn of events, Myerlin snarled, �Very well, if I have to go through all of you to get to the monster, I will.� He stalked forward only to have an attractive young woman block his path. The she-wolf gave him an evil look. �Why do people like you always show up and ruin everything? Why don�t you go home?� |
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