They made it to the North gate without much trouble. The city guards at first were not going to let them leave, but Esie bribed them well. Her brother's men were stationed along the pass. Making the destination harder to get to. The land here was far more barren, trees had been replaced by scrub. Their attackers had to hide behind rocks. Yet, they did seem unprepared. Kain and his group got the upper hand quickly.
They stopped at a cave entrance. It had been carved into the rock face of the mountain. Esie explained it was the old mine. It was only used for traveling now. As they got closer Kain saw a familiar green glow. Something he had not seen for centuries. He grabbed Turel's arm to stop him.
"That will hurt you." Kain said dryly.
"What is it?" Esie asked.
"A Glyph gate. I have not seen one since I woke up in Meridian." Kain said. "Vampires can not cross them. Is there any other way?"
"Not unless you want a month more of travel." Esie said.
"There must be a control lever near by." Kain said. "Esie go inside and shut it down."
"Are you sure? It harms only vampires?" Esie asked.
Kain nodded. Esie walked towards it unsure. Then crossed the barrier. She walked out of the vampires sight. There was a long pause. Then Esie screamed. She had shouting match with someone, but the words were hard to make out. Then silence.
Turel snorted. "I smell blood."
The glyph gate was shut off. Kain entered the cave, with the Reaver drawn. Esie lay across the path. Her arms had fallen limply to the sides. Above her was a switch with a bloody hand print on it. Turel ran over and rolled her over.
"She lives, barely." He told Kain.
"It was Lowell." Esie whispered. "Kain, I cannot fulfill my promise now."
"That is certain." Kain said quietly.
"I do not ask you for any requests." Esie forced herself to say. Her breath was labored. "The hag you seek, the one we discussed is close. Follow the path, until."
Esie's breath rattled. She was dead.
Raziel looked at Kain, who was showing no emotion. "She never had a chance to tell me." Kain said.
"Who were we suppose to find?" Raziel asked.
The cave around them seemed to melt away. They were now standing in a small cottage. An ancient woman sat in a rocking chair. She pointed her bony fingers at the vampires.
"You were looking for me. What is your question?" The old woman said in a harsh voice.
"I was told you know the history of these people." Kain said. He stepped over Esie's body to get closer to the old woman.
"I do. They have forgotten it. Not surprising, their ancestors erased their history to protect themselves from the Seripham." The old woman said. She pointed to Turel. "Put her on my cot."
"She's dead." Turel informed the old woman.
"I can see that. I don't want a corpse on my floor." The old woman scolded Turel. Then she pointed to Raziel. "Make me some tea."
"We don't have time for this old woman." Kain said.
"You will make the time, vampire." The old woman reached for her walking stick. "If the Mighty Kain cannot wait for an old woman, then he does not deserve to hear what she has to say. It's not like I can live forever."
The old woman pushed herself up on the walking stick and walked over to the cot. She sat down next to Esie's body.
"Now these people are interesting. No, I am not one of them. But I have lived in the mountains for a very long time. I have learned all about them. You may have noticed that these mountains are not the most hospitable of places. In fact its nearly impossible to survive here, unless you have help. Her ancestors were given the help they needed. For payment of their work."
The water began to boil. Raziel did not move to take it off the fire. "Are your ears plugged, boy. Make me the tea. Its already in the cup."
Raziel grungy poured the water over the dried herbs in the cup. The old woman looked pleased then continued.
"The metal in these mountains is very precious, some more than others. One particular vein of ore interested a certain person. He had been given a prophecy and wanted to make sure it came true. And he needed the metal. But no one could survive here long enough to mine it. So he found himself some willing workers. They would mine the ore, he would make it possible for them to survive. So what was so special about that metal? Just look at your sword."
Kain looked at the Reaver. "Janos Audron had this made. He changed Esie's people?" Kain asked.
The old woman nodded. "But they were different then they are now. Closer to your kind then. Through the centuries, the gifts Janos Audron gave them, watered down. But it shows up now and again. The Anthrophagites are a bastardization of those gifts. Once in awhile, a vampire will appear among the people. Damn it, boy you can hand me that cup now." The old woman barked.
Raziel shoved the cup into the old woman's hands. She did not drink it. She turned to look at Esie. "Now take this woman here. She is a noble woman. Or what passes for a noble woman in these parts. You thought she was just a human, no. Look closer. She is already changing." The old woman lifted Esie's hand. Her fingers were now looking like claws. "She will change soon. Especially because you three are here."
The old woman put the cup down on a table. "Give that to her when she awakes. It will hold off the hunger for a short time." The old woman got up with the help of her walking stick and began to walk outside.
"Where are you going?" Kain asked.
"I've told you enough." The old woman replied. "But I think it was stupid. There should be a more pressing question in your mind. Or have you forgotten the last time you dealt with the Hylden."
Before Kain could press the old woman for any more questions, he felt a tug. Something was pulling a part of his spirit away. Raziel and Turel felt it too. Kain turned to look at Esie, her body was beginning to glow slightly. The pull became very strong, her body glowed more brightly, then faded. The pull stopped as well. Esie opened her eyes.
"What happened?" She asked. She noticed how her hands had changed. "What did you do?" She asked all the vampires at once.
"We did nothing." Kain told her.
"Then the legends are true. Kill me now. I won't be any use to you like this." Esie sobbed. "I never thought I would be an Anthrophagite."
"It had nothing to do with the Anthrophagites." Raziel said suddenly.