Chapter 7
After a couple minutes of walking, Erik and Serana finally found the end of the blood trail. The trail ended in front of a dark, secluded cave. Both stood silently as they observed the blood that was splattered on the cave's front entrance, the bright sun illuminating the crimson liquid.
Huffing out a sigh, Serana said, "I guess, we should go see what's inside. Hopefully, it's not...what I think it is." She started to walk into the cave, but halted when she heard Erik's voice echo from behind her.
"Stop." Erik said deeply, causing Serana to stop continuing into the cave.
Peering at him, Serana asked, "What is it?"
Without saying anything, Erik placed his hand on the cave's cold rocky stone. His eyebrows knitted in concentration, and it only left Serana more confused than she already was.
"What are you doing?" Serana asked in a quiet voice.
Erik lifted up his head, a little bit of agitation resting in his eyes. "I'm trying to read what's inside."
"What do you mean?"
Erik squinted his eyes at Serana and said deeply, "It doesn't matter." He turned his head towards the cave's entrance and continued to say, "There's some type of magical barrier that's interfering with my magic. I can't tell what's inside."
Serana lingered on Erik's face a moment longer, before saying, "Then we do this the old fashion way. Stay vigilant." Not waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and entered the cave.
Looking down at Frost, Erik sighed. "Let's go, boy. Before she does something stupid." Frost huffed in agreement, and both followed Serana into the cave.
Walking into the narrow entryway, Erik quickly inspected every crevice of the cave he could. A large river ran through the middle of the cave, causing the sound of water to echo loudly against the cave's walls. Across a bridge, large dark gothic walls erected proudly in front of them. Erik could just see a blue grow emitting from the middle of the walls.
That must be the barrier.
"Hey, Erik." Turning towards the sound of Serana's voice, Erik could see that she was leaning on a railing, looking around curiously. Without looking back, Serana continued to say, "No one's here. From what I can tell, it's empty."
Walking closer to her, Erik said, "Unlikely. They went through great lengths to capture this Moth Priest. Someone must be here. Be on your guard."
Nodding her head, she followed cautiously behind Erik. Making their way towards the middle of the cave, a man's voice rang in both of their ears. Walking closer to where they heard the noise, Erik motioned for Serana to crouch down and stay quiet. Peeking through a crack on the wall, Serana could see two men talking.
"No way, man. I heard he was killed."
"He was killed, you moron. Why do you think Harkon wanted us to find this Moth Priest?"
"I dunno, man. Harkon doesn't pay me to ask questions."
"O' my God, you're so infuriating. Did you even listen during the meeting with Malkus? Harkon needs the Moth Priest to read the Elder Scroll, which in return, will tell him how to open the coffin."
Serana heard the second man laugh, before saying, "Ohhhh, I get it now."
The first man huffed loudly in annoyance and said, "Instead of being annoying, how about you make yourself useful and go check the front entrance? The last thing we need is someone coming in here and messing everything up."
The man began to walk closer to where Erik and Serana were hiding, but stopped and once again spoke to the other man.
"Hey, when is everyone going to be back? I'm starving."
The first man scoffed and said, "Just shut up. O' my God. I swear, you never shut up."
The second man shrugged his shoulders and smirked, as he continued to walk closer to Serana and Erik. But before he could make it far, Erik stepped from the shadows and made himself known to the second man.
The man's eyes widened in surprise, and he ran back to the first man quickly, and once the first man turned around, they both readied their weapons.
"Who the hell are you?" asked the first man, demand clear in his voice.
The second man clutched his sword tightly, and spoke up in a nervous voice.
"Did Harkon send you?" asked the second man, a small sweat breaking from his brow.
The first man turned to look down at the other and said in a sarcastic voice, "You fucking moron. Does he look like a guy Harkon usually sends?"
The man shrugged and nervously chuckled, "I dunno, man. He's scary enough."
Erik stepped up further, causing both of the men to take a step back in worry.
"You're human." Erik said, his voice monotone in nature.
The first man stood up straight and said, "Yeah, so what of it?"
Erik glanced over the man's shoulder, and looked at the barrier behind him. Inside, Erik could see the Moth Priest laying down inside. He was alive but hurt.
"Harkon wouldn't allow just two human men guard the Moth Priest." Erik took a step closer, before continuing to say, "You spoke of a man named Malkus. Where is he?"
Both men backed up closer to the barrier, both tightly clutching their weapon.
"I won't tell you. You'll have to kill us!" The first man shouted.
The second man looked up worriedly at Erik and said in a nervous tone, "What!? Don't kill me. Kill him! I don't want to die, Josiah!"
"Shut up, Velan! You're such a big baby!"
Both men began to bicker like children, almost seamlessly forgetting that Erik was slowly making his way closer to them. Erik spoke up, causing both men to become quiet.
"I'm not going to kill you. We're just here for the Moth Priest."
Both men looked towards Erik and asked in unison, "'We?'"
Serana felt like that was her cue to finally come out, so she stood up and made her way towards Erik's side; Frost following closely behind her.
Both men's eyes widened, as Josiah said, "You're Harkon's daughter." He turned towards Erik and continued to say, "So you must be Erik, the vampire hunter."
Erik squinted his eyes curiously at the man, and once Josiah noticed Erik's confusion, he began to speak.
"Word travels fast. You're the guy who stood up Harkon in his own home. We heard all about you."
Erik took a step closer and said in a deep but non-threatening voice, "If you know all about me, then you'll know that I'm here for the Moth Priest. Give him to us, and no one has to get hurt."
When Erik finished talking, something changed in both the men's faces. Silence filled the air, and Serana watched as both men looked at each other in contemplation. Josiah nodded at Velan, and they both lowered their weapons slowly.
Josiah looked back at Erik and after a soft sigh he said, "Look, man. We're not the bad guys...I mean we do work for the vampires-but, it's involuntary. We've been under Harkon's thumb for years." He lowered his shoulders and glanced back at Velan. He sighed, as he sheathed his sword.
"We're dead either way...so we'll help you. But Malkus is the only one that can open the barrier. He has a focusing crystal that-" Josiah was cut off by a voice that echoed loudly above their heads, and it caused everyone to look up in the direction of the noise.
"I always told Harkon you two would betray us. I just never knew when."
Behind the barrier, there were stairs that led up the side of the cave's walls. Just above the first step, stood a man. He wore a long dark cape, and his eyes gleamed a bright yellow.
"Malkus! We, um-!" Velan shouted in surprise, his words fumbling incoherently out of his mouth.
Malkus ignored him and slowly started to make his way down the crumbled steps. Erik turned his attention to Malkus, and it caused him to stop. He looked at Erik, and after a moment, his eyes drifted over to Serana. A large smile crept on his face, and he clapped his hands in glee.
"Today must be my lucky day. Before me stands, the prized vampire hunter and Lord Harkon's daughter." His eyes overlooked the entire group, as he continued to say, "With the Moth Priest in my possession, bringing the two of you back to Lord Harkon will only further grant me his favor."
Without allowing anyone to reply back, Malkus pulled out a bow from behind his back and said with a wicked smile, "Josiah. Velan. It's been a pleasure...but I'm afraid you're just filthy traitors, and who would I be if I just let you continue to live?"
Malkus readied his bow quickly, and before anyone could react, he shot towards Josiah and Velan. Serana's eyes widened, when she saw Erik step in front of the two men. The arrow almost seemed to fly in slow motion, as the tip of the arrow pierce through Erik's chest.
"Erik!" Serana shouted, her voice riddled with concern.
Erik groaned lightly in pain, as he gripped the arrow that was stuck in his skin. His eyebrows knitted in irritation, as he broke the arrow in half. Tossing it down on the ground, he had almost no time to react, when Malkus darted in front of him.
Serana watched with uneasiness, as Erik lifted up his hand in front of himself quickly. A strong pulse emitted from his palm, and it sent Malkus flying across the room. He hit a wall opposite of them, and when he did, the wall crumbled. Rock and smoke fell on Malkus, as Serana rushed to Erik's side.
"Erik!" Serana ran in front of him quickly, and she reached for the broken arrow still lodged in his chest. "O' my God. Let me see."
Her slender fingers wrapped tightly around the splintered wood, as she looked up at Erik's face. He tried to stop her, but she cut him off quickly.
"Just shut up, and let me help you." She gripped the arrow tighter, as she continued to say, "We don't have time. I'm going to pull it out."
She counted to three, and when she did, she pulled out the arrow as fast and as hard as she could. Erik gritted his teeth, as blood poured from his wound. The smell entered Serana's nose, and it made her head woozy.
She lifted the tip of the arrow to her face, and she watched as his blood slowly dripped to the floor. For a split second, she was totally entranced. Something about his blood was so enticing and...mysterious, and she couldn't quite figure out why.
However, a second after she pulled the arrow out of Erik, Serana heard the rubble of the wall move. Malkus slowly stood up with a grin, his clothes and hair covered in ash and smoke.
Erik turned his head back to Serana quickly, his hand resting on his wound.
"Take Frost and get everyone out. I can deal with him." Erik said in a low voice.
Serana furiously shook her head and said, "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving."
Velan butted in and said hurriedly, "It seems like you guys got this. We'll just hide, while you umm...take care of him. Yeah! We'll just be behind this wall. Good luck!"
Velan and Josiah ran where Serana and Erik once hid and stayed. They both peeked their heads around the corner with an encouraging smile, while giving Erik a thumbs up.
Erik turned back to where Malkus was standing, and he watched as Malkus shook the ash off of himself.
"You know? I've heard a great deal about you. How you're able to wipe out a whole group of vampires in the blink of an eye, and I have to say….I'm impressed." Malkus said, with a toothy grin.
Erik let go of his wound and glared at Malkus, his eyes glowing in impatience. "Let go of the Moth Priest."
"Ohhhh, Erik. Erik, Erik, Erik… Now why would I do that?" Malkus asked, with a sinister chuckle.
Erik dug one of his feet into the ground and stood in a guarded stance. He looked at Malkus and said firmly, "Because your life depends on it."
Malkus's face grew into a wicked smile as he laughed hysterically. He walked towards Erik and Serana as he said, "That's funny coming from someone who's already dead."
Without warning, Malkus flung his arm down and a large ice spike flew towards Erik. Erik quickly threw up his arm, and a large magical shield covered both him and Serana. The spike crumbled against the ward, as Erik turned to Serana and said, "See if you can break the barrier without using the focusing crystal. I'll deal with Malkus."
She looked at him, as she tried to refuse his demand. "No, I-" Erik cut her off quickly by saying, "Just do it."
She wanted to help, but knew that she'd just be a nuisance, if she continued to fight with him. She ran towards the barrier, and tried to find out how to break it apart. She started throwing magic at it, hoping that would help weaken the barrier.
Erik let down his shield, and when he did, Malkus pulled his arm back. He pushed his arm out far in front of him, and a loud crackling noise echoed throughout the cave. In the corner of her eye, Serana saw Malkus shoot a bright bolt of lightning at Erik.
But instead of raising up another shield, Erik held out his hand with two of his fingers pointed out. He let the lightning hit his hand, and Serana watched with worry and wonder, as the lightning enveloped around his arm.
What the hell is he doing!?
Erik pulled his elbow back and quickly pushed his arm back out. When he did, Malkus's lightning shot back out from Erik's fingers.
Malkus's eyes widened in surprise, as his own lightning hit him in his abdomen, causing him to once again fling back against the broken wall. Serana felt wind brush against her face, as the lightning dissipated in the air.
Did he-did he….just redirect the lightning?
The room became silent for a second, before clapping and shouting rang out loudly behind them. Serena turned her head to see Velan and Josiah celebrating in their hiding spot.
"Dude, that was so awesome." Velan said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, dude. I'm glad that wasn't me." Josiah said with a chuckle.
Their celebratory words became muffed, as Serana glanced at Erik and said, "Erik, nothing's working. I can't break the barrier."
Before Erik could say anything back, Malkus stood up once again. He was still smiling, but his face was twisted in pain. A line of blood started to drip from his mouth, as he weakly pushed himself to start walking. He groaned and gripped his stomach in pain, as he used his free hand to reach behind his back.
He mumbled some words that Serana couldn't make out, before he collapsed on the ground. When he did, he dropped a medium-sized black gem that slid across the floor. It glowed in a subtle blue, and it had small inscriptions engraved on it.
That must be the focusing crystal…
Erik whistled at Frost and told him to go pick up the stone. On cue, Frost ran across the room and picked up the crystal in his mouth. He turned around quickly and returned it to Serana. As Serana started to put the crystal into the mechanism controlling the barrier, she watched as Erik made his way towards Malkus.
When he made it by Malkus's side, Erik kicked away his sword. He turned over Malkus's still moving body. Once on his back, Malkus laughed in pain and coughed up vast amounts of blood. His breathing was coarse and ragged, as he began to speak.
"Ah-hh, it's fun-funny really." Malkus chuckled with great pain on his face.
Eyeing the decaying man below him, Erik asked, "How so?"
"It's funny ho-how I'm the one dying on this...cold ground, when it should be you." Malkus looked at Erik curiously and continued to say, "That arrow had enough poison on it to kill 20 grown men, but yet...here you are; still standing. Not a scratch on you."
Erik stayed silent, as Malkus's head turned to look at Serana. Josiah and Velan had come out of hiding, and they were trying to help Serana open the barrier. Erik followed Malkus's gaze, and he looked at Serana; who didn't even seem to notice the two pairs of eyes that rested on her. Erik watched as she smiled and laughed with the two men.
"How long do you think it'll take for her to figure out what you are?" Malkus asked, his voice becoming weaker with every word.
Without moving, Erik said, "I'm not anything. I'm just like everyone else." Malkus started to laugh, causing more blood to drip out of his mouth and onto the floor.
"At-at least you're a convincing liar." Malkus's hand fell to the floor, as his breathing slowed to almost a halt. "S-sa…" Erik stared at Malkus with a hard expression.
Erik's eyes lingered on Malkus's face, as he coughed up more blood. His gurgling came to an abrupt stop, as he drew his last painful breath. The glow in his eyes died and so did he.
He pondered on Malkus's words, but was quickly brought back to reality, when he heard Serana's voice.
"Hey, Erik! I think we got it!" The barrier hummed and whistled, as the color slowly began to fade from it. The Moth Priest stood up slowly, but Erik could tell something was off about his demeanor. Everyone silently watched, as the barrier disappeared completely.
But once the barrier was down, the Moth Priest immediately began to attack Serana and the others. Erik watched, as the Moth Priest threw balls of fire in their direction.
"Get down." Erik said loud enough for them to hear. Josiah, Velan and Serana were quick to dodge his flames, but the Moth Priest was persistent in his assault.
Erik glanced towards Josiah and Velan, and he noticed that they had combined a ward spell that was large enough to cover both them and Serana.
"We got it covered! But if you could...like do your thing quickly, that would be happily obliged." Josiah said, struggle wearing down on his face.
Erik removed the glove from his right hand, as he walked up right behind the Moth Priest. Without alerting him, Erik reached his arm around the Moth Priest's head, and he laid his hand flat on the man's forehead. The Moth Priest began to struggle, but Erik easily overpowered the frail man.
"Sleep." Erik said in a calming voice.
The man began to lose his balance, and Erik could feel the energy leaving his body. Before he fell against the floor, Erik caught the man in his arms and he softly placed the Moth Priest on the ground.
He was completely sedated, when Serana ran up to the both of them.
"Are you okay?" Serana asked, relief in her voice.
"Fine." Erik said deeply, while crouching down to the sleeping man's body.
Serana curiously looked at him and asked, "Why did he attack us?"
"Malkus indoctrinated him."
Velan and Josiah walked up to them, and both sighed in relief.
"Damn, man. That was some serious shit. I've never seen anyone fight like that." Josiah said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah, man. That was insane." Velan paused and looked down at the Moth Priest with a questioning eye. "Is he...going to be okay?"
Erik seemed like he was going to ignore the question, but he eventually said, "He'll be fine."
Both men nodded their head, as Velan looked at Malkus's dead body. "We should-we should leave. The others will be back soon, and I'd like to not die today if that's cool with you."
Serana cleared her throat and asked, "The others...are they vampires?" Both men shook their heads.
"Yeah, we're the only humans here and believe me, bunking up with a bunch of vampires is not fun." Josiah said. "We should really go."
Josiah grabbed Velan's arm and he began to walk away from Erik and Serana.
Serana sighed as she said, "I like them." She smiled.
Erik ignored her, and he turned around to face Malkus's body once more. There was a small moment of silence as he stared at his body. Serana looked at Erik's pondering face, as he snapped his fingers. Malkus's body lit up with blue flames, and Erik turned away and started walking towards the entrance; the Moth Priest dangling on his shoulder.
Serana looked at his back, as he started to make his way down the stairs.
Is he really okay?
Serana sighed, as she slowly began to walk away from Malkus's burning body. She silently followed behind Erik, as they made their way out of the cave. Erik was always quiet and reserved, but Serana felt like something was even more off with him than usual.
The sun burned brightly in Serana's eyes, as they both slipped out of the cold hollow hole. Josiah and Velan were sitting on a large rock just outside of the cave. They looked relieved, but weary at the same time.
Josiah stood, once he saw them coming out of the cave. Erik laid the Moth Priest's body down on the grass, as Josiah walked closer to them.
"I know you were just here to retrieve the Moth Priest, but you saved us regardless. We're no longer under Malkus's command, and for that, we both thank you."
Serana smiled, as she said, "You're welcome." Erik only nodded slightly.
Josiah turned to Erik and asked awkwardly but sincerely, "When Malkus shot at us-at Velan, why did you let the arrow hit you? We're nothing to you. He's nothing to you. Why save him?"
Erik stayed silent for a moment before saying, "You shouldn't have to watch your brother die."
Josiah's eyes widened in surprise. His voice was riddled with amazement as he said, "My brother? You-you knew?"
Erik only nodded, as he turned to pick up the Moth Priest's body once more. Serana turned to him and curiously watched as he started to make his way away from the cave. Frost picked up his head, and he quickly made his way to Erik's side.
How did he know?
Josiah walked closer to Serana and asked, "Hey. Would you mind if we tag along? Um...just until we reach the next city. We're vulnerable out here, and we could use the help."
Serana softly smiled and said, "Of course. I'm sure Erik wouldn't mind."
"Are you sure?" Josiah stopped and looked at Erik, who was continuing to walk down the street. "He's a little….scary."
Serana softly shrugged as she reassured Josiah. "It's fine. Promise." Josiah nodded his head, and he waved over his brother, Velan.
"Okay. Let's go." Serana said with a smile.