A Friend In Need

Panic. Shear, complete, over powering panic. I quickly sat up and pulled away from the hands that were trying to keep me from moving.

"Easy there, Easy!" A man's voice said as her tried to grab my arm.

I instantly pulled away in fear. The man did not waste any time, he grabbed me and pushed me down onto the bed.

"Calm down!" He commanded in a hard voice. I struggled against his grip.

"Let me go!" I growled. Everything in my whole body told me that there was something not right about this man. I did not trust him at all, my mind screamed at me to get away from him, even if that meant that I needed to fight. The only problem was my body felt as though it was at its weakest state; I didn't stand a chance, not at all.

In the midst of the struggle he called out someone who was outside the room. Because of the commotion I did not catch who he was going to but whoever it was made it to the room in record time. As a good multi together I looked over at the door way to see my friend, Serana rush through the door.

"Get away from her!" She demanded as she quickly made her way over the bedside. Her head was up revealing her piercing red eyes. The man took 3 quick steps back as his eyes met hers.

"You're..." The man started but he shook his head. "Your friend is fine now, I gave her a special potion that stopped the poison dead in its tracks. The rest is up to her, now get out!" He said as he pointed to the door.

I took a deep painful breath as she still leaned over me. I lay on my back on the bed as I watched Serana's furious gaze burn into the man.

He hesitated for a moment before he cleared his throat. "I will give you a moment to ready yourselves for the road ahead, but that's it, not one second longer. You will leave my home or I will have you both killed, do you understand what I am saying?"

Serana opened her mouth to say something but from where I was laying beneath her body that was leaning over my own in a protective gesture I reached for her wrist and I gently wrapped my fingers around it. She quickly looked down at me with worry fresh in her red eyes. "Skylar?" She asked me quietly.

"It's ok." I said taking a breath. "We will leave without a struggle." I finished. Serana's brow furrowed as the man nodded.

"One moment, and that's it." He reminded us before he left the room. He looked back at us one last time, as his eyes fell on us his nose wrinkled in disgust. He then turned on his heel and slammed the door shut after he walked out.

Serana took a breath and closed her eyes as she stood up straight. She rubbed her fingers against her temples and began to pace the floor. I watched her for a couple of seconds as I suddenly felt very uncomfortable with my position. I slowly sat up at the edge of the bed. My body cried out in agony but I stayed strong.

I bit my bottom lip as I watched her pace the floor in a frustrated manor. Every now and then she would stop and stare into a blank spot on the wall as if it had a very important purpose. She would then turn and continue to pace with me eyes following her curiously.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but it looked as if she needed a little time to think. I kept tabs on the door out of the corner of my eye. I expected the man to walk into the room any second now and demand us to leave. I knew our moment was up, maybe he grew a sense of pity and desired to give us a little more time. I blinked when I realized I had turned to the door. I gave my head a shake and turned back to Serana to find her leaning against the wall that was right across from me. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she wore a blank expression. I watched her as she just simply looked at me.

When I began to think that maybe it was time to go I slowly stood with shaky legs and sighed. "We should go." I said. My voice sounded as if I had not used it in a long time. I was about to make my way towards the door but just as I took my first step I felt a gentle hand wrap around my wrist and pulled me back to the bed. I was guided back to sitting at the edge of the bed. I looked beside me to find Serana was sitting beside me. She still held my wrist very gently, but it was also firm enough that I would have to pull hard to get away, not that I wanted to.

"You were nearly gone." She said looking down at my hand. Her own hand slowly pulled away from me and was now resting on her lap. I wanted to take it and hold it but I restrained myself from doing so. I didn't know why I wanted to take her hand, and I didn't know why I didn't do it. Whatever was going on inside me was starting to scare me.

I gave my head a gentle shake. "I'm right here." I said quietly. I paused for a second before I continued. "And I know that is because of you, you saved me." As I finished my sentence as light blush invaded my face. I turned my head away and scratched the back of my neck in an attempt to hide it.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see that she raise her head and was looking at me. I was almost certain that I saw a small smile, but it was gone almost as soon as it arrived. She sighed and slowly stood.

"It was too close." She said quietly as she made her way over to the dresser that had my armour on top of its wooden surface. She then handed it to me and I took it from her. I quickly slipped it on as I blushed. The life of being a werewolf does not make a girl any less shy about walking around topless. The thought of being in this room with that man without my armour own sent chills down my spine.

Serana made her way to the door with me close behind. My legs felt weak but I knew that moving around would help them. I did however accept Serana placing her hand on my shoulder to steady me as my first few steps were a little wobbly.

I smiled and chuckled. "I'm ok." I said as she cautiously pulled her hand away from me.

"Why don't I believe you?" Serana said with a slightly amused look on her face. I scrunched up my nose and I stuck out my tongue at her causing her to chuckle softly as she began to push the door open, but she stopped almost instantly. She blinked a few times before she turned to me. "Something is wrong..." She said quietly.

I looked at her confused. I opened my mouth to speak but I stopped as she pressed a finger to her lips. She placed the side of her head against the door and closed her glowing red eyes for a moment. I held my breath as I waited for her to explain to me what was going on. I looked down at me feet and then around the room. As I eyes scanned numerous shelved, books, and dressers my eye caught something at the far end of the room. I cocked my head to the side slightly and furrowed my brow as my mouth fell open slightly.

I curiously began to make my way across the room and to a bookshelf that was completely full of books. My legs were still slightly wobbly. I stopped walking and turned to find Serana watching me now as her on hand rested against the door.

"What are you doing?" She mouthed to me. I shrugged and pointed to the bookshelf before I continued towards it.

As I stood in front of it I began to scan its shelves. It's wasn't that my eye caught something in particular, it was that my eye caught something that not seem right. I rubbed my chin as I began to think that maybe I was still suffering from blood loss. Something was missing from this shelf... Or something was here that was not right but I just could not point it out.

"Well, well, well." Serana said from beside me. She must have very light feet because I did not even hear her approach me. I looked at her confused to find an amused look on her face as she picked up a book and began to scan its pages.

"What?" I asked confused as I watched her flip through the pages of an old looking book. She took a second before she placed it back on the shelf.

"Our grumpy man is not the grumpy man that you and I think he is." She began to explain. I looked at her with my insanely confused face. She shook her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "This man has meddled in dark magic." She said looking back at the shelf. "And judging by the amount research notes he has made so far he has meddled quite a bit during his life." She finished as she looked back at me.

I shook my head and shrugged. "What exactly does that mean?" I asked her confused. A dark look came across her face as she looked at me again.

"It means that it was a good thing that you woke up when you did, because if you didn't you may have become one of his experiments..."

My eyes went wide at her words, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Serana rubbed her hands over her face and shook her head. "We have to get out of here and now. We have wasted enough time, let's go." She said as she quickly made her way over to the door. She waited until I was standing beside her before she fully opened it.

My mouth fell open when my eyes found what was waiting for us outside of the room. Chills ran down my spine. Complete blackness, there was absolutely no sign of light anywhere. "Serana..." I whispered quietly as I subconsciously stepped closer to her. I was not one who liked the dark much. Ever since I was captured by the bandits it has been a fear of mine. They used to keep me in cages that were kept in complete darkness. It was a cruel strategy that they used to rid us of our hope of freedom.

Serana seemed to understand, she gently took my hand. "Stay behind me." She said as she began to lead me through the darkness. "I am able to see in the dark... So far I don't see any threats..." She said quietly as we made our way through the dark house.

I was completely blind, I had to put my complete trust in Serena. Not that it was hard to do, she did save my life once already. I gasped as the sound of wood creaking found my ears. Serena stopped moving and her hand tightened slightly around mine. "Are you ok?" She asked concerned thought the darkness I could see her glowing red eyes staring at me. They held the look of worry deep within them. I couldn't blame her after the day we had. I wondered how much she worried about me, and how long she had to wait for me to regain conscious. I swallowed when I realized that I probably could not even begin to imagine what she was feeling exactly.

"I'm fine I said with a small smile." I looked around for a moment, it didn't take long for me to remember that I couldn't actually see anything at the moment, but my ears however, they were very in tuned. One of the advantages to being a werewolf, super hearing.

I turned my head again but I still couldn't hear anything. The floor must be old I thought, it must have creaked under our weight. Serena began to pull me along with her again. By the way she kept turning corners I could tell that she was leading be around obstacles. I couldn't tell if they were either furniture or maybe we were walking through more rooms. Either way I just hoped that the doorway out of this place was nearby.

I froze, forcing Serana to stop moving again. The sound of the wood moaning again found me ears, but this time it was loud, I was certain that Serana could hear it as well. "Did you?..." I didn't have to Finnish my sentence.

"Yes..." She answered quietly. "Quite strange... Let's hurry and get out of-"

Just as Serena took a step the floor that was beneath us completely caved in. The sound of wood shattering filled my ears. Her hand slipped from mine and I lost her. All I could do was cover my head as I fell into the darkness below and pray that Serena would be ok. Through all the commotion I swear that I could hear her scream my name. But it was cut short as I felt my body hit the ground.

I was still for a second. "Serana..." I whispered as I rolled myself onto my back. I could feel dirt fall onto my face. I didn't even have to guess at it was what was left of the debris that were falling from the house that was now far above me. I opened my eyes to see that I was not in what looked like a dimly lit cave. I blinked a couple of times when my vision began to grow blurry. I must have it my head when I found the ground.

I tried to sit up but as soon as I lifted my head a sharp pain surged though my body causing my mouth to open as if I released a silent moan. I closed my eyes tightly and arched my back as the pain would not let up. After a few moments I reopened my eyes to see a figure in the distance make it's way towards me. It was the man. He was humming a very disturbing tune and wiping his hands with an old rag. His hands were covered with a dark liquid, I did not even want to guess what it was.

I tried to drag myself backwards away from him as he drew close.

"Tisk, tisk." He said as he threw his rag aside and take a few quick steps to me. He placed his boot on my front, in-between my stomach region and my chest, right were the diaphragm would be. He caused all of the air that was left in my lungs out. I struggled to breath as he leaned more of his weight onto me.

"You see..." He started as he looked down at me. I looked up at him with my teeth tight together as I struggled to push his boot off me, but I had absolutely no strength left at all. "I was in need if a test subject... And it looks like it was my lucky day! You literally came to me!" He chuckled as he lifted his boot off me in one swift motion. I placed my hands on the spot where his boot had been as I began to gasp for glorious air.

"Now don't get me wrong..." He said as he wiggled a finger at me. "There was some work involved." I wanted to just take you and begin with my work... But your friend there..." He sighed and clapped his hands together. "She was... Well, she was just an interference. I could tell from the moment I opened my door that she was a vampire... A strong one at that..." He chuckled as he spoke. "Believe me I was hesitant to let her into my house, but when my eyes fell on you, half dead in her arms... I knew I had to have you..." He ran his hands through his rave black hair. I watched him as the fear within me began to grow. "Can't you just imagine it? A necromancer, and his werewolf minion..." My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open as his words processed in my brain. He chuckled again as he leaned beside me. "That's right my dear servant... I knew the entire time, the only thing I could not figure out was why a werewolf and a vampire would travel together." He stood up straight and shrugged. "But it does not matter anymore, it's all over now." He snapped his fingers and two skeletons rose up from the ground. I drew shaky horrified breaths as they marched over to me and each of them grabbed one of my arms and pulled me to my feet. I moaned in pain as the half dragged me towards an opening in a stone wall of the cave. "Be gentle with this one." The necromancer said as he led the way. "She is one hell of a catch..." The path in the cave seemed to lead somewhere, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before I found out where it lead exactly.

I ran my hands over my face from where I lay on the cold ground. "Skylar?" I called as I sat up and looked around. My undead body seemed to not have taken much damage from that fall. I could feel just minor cuts and bruises, nothing that won't heal quickly. I looked around to find wooden planks shattered about. I stood and walked around for a moment in high hopes that my eye would land on Skylar... I prayed that she was alright. Her body has yet to heal… A fall like this... I shook my head and covered my face with my hands. When I slowly pulled my hands away from my face my nose caught the familiar smell of blood. I looked around and not too far from where I was standing was a small amount of blood on the ground.

I bent down and allowed my fingertips to touch it. It was fresh. I blinked confused. I just had to be Skylar's, but why would she wonder off? Was she disorientated?

I looked around for any clues as to why she would just get up and walk away, or anything that would suggest where she had wondered off to. I didn't have to look too far to find what would lead me to her. There was a faint trail of blood. Every couple of feet was a small droplet of the rich red liquid. Benefits to being a vampire, you can find blood easily. I thought to myself as I quickly followed the tail.

It was not a lot of blood but I was still worried. She had lost a lot before all of this, even the smallest amount lost could be bad for her at this point. I rounded a corner but just as I stepped out I instantly recoiled back. I covered my mouth with my hands to quiet my breathing before I peeked my head around the corner to see The man wearing dark robes with a red skull on the front of it. I didn't even have to guess that it was not red paint but instead blood.

"Necromancer." I whispered as I smiled. I looked around to see 4 skeletons marching around an open area. "Amateur..." I mumbled. My eyes trailed up the steps to a ledge that the Necromancer was standing in, he had his hands over his head and was mumbling something. He moved and walked over to a table. When he did I could see that he had been standing in front of a large stone slab. I gasped and my heart filled with fear, anger, and something else as my eyes found Skylar laying on the stone slap unconscious. Even from where I was standing I could see where she had been bleeding, the whole side of her face was covered with blood, she must have hit her head on the way down.

I looked back over at the Necromancer as he began to move. My eyes widened as I saw that he was holding a sacrificial dagger. Time was up. I ran out from we're I had been hiding and made my way towards the steps. As I charged I threw ice spikes at the skeletons. It didn't take much, as soon as the spike his each bone bag they crumbled.

"Let her go!" I screamed as I reached the top of the steps just in time to see the man standing over Skylar with is dagger high in the air ready to plunge it into Skylar's heart.

"She's mine!" He wailed as he brought the down.

It was as if everything slowed down. I lunged at the man and tackled him to the ground just as the dagger was an inch away from ending my friend's life. The way I hit the man caused his dagger to miss Skylar completely and embed itself into the surface of the stone slab.

The man pushed me off him and jumped to his feet. He tried to reach for his dagger but I jumped to my feet as well. I grabbed him by his upper arms and lifted him clean off his feet. He struggled against me, but I only tightened my grip. I was certain that his bones were beginning to crumble from under my grip. But it didn't matter. I threw him down the flight of stairs and I watched him tumble. When he reached the bottom I was certain he was dead just judging by the way his neck was angled.

I shook my head and looked away. I quickly made my way to Skylar's side. "Skylar wake up!" I begged as I touched her shoulder. No response. "Please!" I said louder as I gave her shoulders a shake. But still her blue eyes did mine meet mine. I took a deep breath and shook my head. I bit my lower lip as I leaned over her and placed my ear against her chest. I had to stop my own breathing in order to hear her heartbeat. It was there but it was very faint. I opened my eyes but I did not pull away from her. Instead I positioned myself so that my head was on her shoulder. "Please wake up." I said gently as I pulled her close to me.