They reach for each other's hands.
"Mother Goddess, hear us," says Selene.
She nods to Vicky who begins chanting in time with Selene.
Eyes closed now, Selene grounds herself, letting the elements of the earth surround her. The soil is soft beneath her toes. She can feel the tickle of the air around them. The heat emitting off the lit candles warm her skyclad body. There is little moisture in the air but her body is mostly of water. She lets everything else fall away; anything that would cause a distraction; opening her spirit so that she might aid Vicky tonight with this spell.
The mountain air has gone chill. A strong gust of wind blows out the candles.
That's when she hears Vicky's shrieking scream.
Selene's eyes pop open to see Vicky in the grasp of a man with his teeth sinking into her friend's neck.
Momentarily frozen in place, her mind goes blank. She does nothing as blood persists to ooze from Vicky's neck as her attacking continues to tear at her flesh with his lengthened incisors.
The gruesome scene before her bring terrible memories from her past to the forefront of her mind, seizing her from taking action in the present. She wills those debilitating and horrific memories away. When Selene finally snaps back to reality she is about to cast a spell when she catches sight of a hawk in the corner of her eye as it swoops towards her friend. She is stunned further when the hawk transforms into a man right before her eyes.
The newcomer wrenches Vicky's attacker off of her, tossing him several feet away and Vicky collapses to the ground in a bloody mess, reaching for her neck to stop the blood flow from her torn carotid artery.
Selene can now see Vicky's attacker in perfect clarity as Vicky's rescuer attempts to subdue him. Vicky's attacker is dressed like a hobo, his clothes unkempt. There is a terrible stench coming off him that smells unpure. She gets a good look at his face; a decaying mess of flesh. The skin on his face seems too tight for his skull and his hair is thinning. The only comparison Selene can make to Vicky's attacker is to a zombie from a television program. Never in her wildest imagination did she think that zombies could exist. But then again zombies are not so different from ghouls.
Just then, the zombie-like figure springs to attack Vicky's rescuer. It seems for the moment that his attentions are off of Vicky. That seems to snap Selene out of it and she goes to Vicky, reaching for the nearest piece of clothing, Vicky's shirt, and holding it to her friend's neck. She looks pale. Whatever her attacker did, he took a lot of blood from her and more continues to pour out from her.
Looking around for anything else that can help stop the flow of blood, Selene catches a glance at the two men, one decaying and the other a glorious hero, all muscles and speed. Although from the looks of it, Vicky's rescuer seems to be having trouble subduing the other who has now developed nasty looking claws and razor sharp teeth.
"Vic, can you hold it there?"
Vicky blinks and Selene takes that as a yes.
Hands covered in her friend's blood, Selene stands, resigned to cast a spell to aid Vicky's rescuer. The words she utters are barely audible but they are enough. The decaying man freezes in place. The other man looks over his shoulder at her and nods. He has a predatory look on his face just before he turns back to the decaying man, his prey.
"You should go. Take your friend and go." The man says without turning back to her. She watches from behind as his hand balls into a fist.
But she doesn't move. Not frozen in place as before. This time her stillness is voluntary.
Time seems to slow as the man punches through the decaying man's chest. He wrenches his arm back, only now he has something in his grasp. With horror, Selene realizes that it is the decaying man's still beating heart.
From the clear night sky suddenly appears a bolt of lightening that strikes the heart in the man's hand, incinerating it. Though the man seems unscathed. The decaying man erupts into flames before her eyes. Only then does time seem to return to normal speed.
Her knees go weak and she can feel herself falling. Strong hands catch her shoulder and set her upright.
"Are you alright?" says the man before her.
His question doesn't fully register. She's too preoccupied with his face; sharp planes and strong jaw. His eyes are green and when she looks at them she can almost see into his soul. Her attention draws to his mouth. His mouth is positively the most sensual thing she's ever seen; as if it's daring to kiss her and daring her to kiss him in return. But this is no time for kissing. She reads his lips as he asks her her question for the second time.
"I—I. Vicky! She's—"
He let's go of her shoulders then and turns his attention on Vicky. Her eyelids are droopy. She's fading fast.
Crouching down to Vicky's level, he inspects her. "Your friend has lost a lot of blood." He states matter-of-factly.
This night has been a whirlwind for Selene. She spent years putting the tragedies that occurred in her past behind her. She doesn't trust what she's seen tonight. But this is not about her now. Vicky is in mortal danger. Selene resigns to put her fear on the mental back-burner. It's the least she can do for Vicky. "We have to get her to the hospital. My car is at least an hour hike down the mountain."
"There's no time."
He brings his forearm to his mouth and sinks his teeth into his flesh.
"What are you doing?" With horror she wonders if she just helped one bad guy get rid of another and that this one will finish them both off. But then again, why did he care if she was alright?
With his wrist torn and bloody, he brings it to Vicky's mouth. "Drink." She does so without argument and she doesn't appear to dislike the taste either—instead her reaction seems to be just the opposite as her tongue laps any stray droplets of blood.
"My blood will heal her."
"What?"
"I'm answering your question."
Selene's eyebrows knit together at his smart remark. Before she can come up with a remark of her own she realizes she's still skyclad, naked to the moon.
He realizes it too, his gaze lingering appreciatively. She never looks away though. Nudity has never been an issue for her and she refuses to let this man intimidate her. When it appears he's finished appreciating her, he tears his gaze away to tell Vicky that she has taken enough. Selene watches as he licks the wound on his forearm and that it comes away without any evidence that it was just torn open and bleeding.
Looking over him she sees the color in Vicky's pallor seems to have returned. Selene reaches for her black lace robe, dons it and then retrieves Vicky's. Moving between them to afford Vicky some modesty she directs her attention to the man still crouching before her. "Are you a familiar?"
He regards her as if she has ten heads.
"I saw you in the form of a hawk."
"I can take the form of many things."
"What are you? What was that thing that attacked her?"
He stands. "Why don't I escort you both home?"
Selene tilts her head back to look up at him. "Why don't you answer my questions?"
"Although I've given her my blood, your friend is still very weak. She may not need medical attention but she will need rest. If it will satisfy you, I will answer your questions then."
Every fiber in Selene's being is telling her to fight him on this but the rational part of her brain reminds her that Vicky remains in a terrible state. Without another word to the man, she turns to her friend. Vicky is now covered in her own robe but her legs are still too weak to stand on. Selene offers to help her up. She's barely gotten her hands on her when the man appears on the other side of Vicky, lifting her into his arms. Selene's chest tightens at the sight in an unpleasant way that she decides to let go for the moment.
The man holds Vicky in his arms as he would a child. "You said you had a car down the mountain."
"I did," says Selene, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'll retrieve it for you later. It's in your best interest to get you two home."
"I'm not leaving my car in the Carpathian Mountains."
"Better the car than you. Now, climb onto my back."
"I'll do no such thing!"
He sighs. Still Selene doesn't feel as though she's won.
"No, you haven't."
Selene's eyes widen. "Did you just read my mind?"
By way of response, she hears the hum of his male humor in her head. It is going to be a long night if you fight me on this. We have much to discuss. Climb onto my back so that I may take you home and give you the answers you so crave.
"I live a good days drive from the Carpathian Mountains. We've been staying at a local inn."
"Then I shall take you to the inn."
"I don't even know your name. Nor have I told you mine."
His gaze skims up and down the length of her. She doesn't know how he is able to read her mind but she in that moment she wishes she did so that she might read his to know what he's thinking when he looks at her. His expression gives nothing away. And then there's that male humor echoing in her head. "Stop that!" she snaps.
He does his best attempt at a smile that does not make him look predatory. "My name is Damian Von Shreider."
She doesn't offer her own name. Instead she takes a deep breath. Selene knows that she must stay strong for Vicky, at least until they're both safe. "Well, Damian, if you follow through with answering all my questions, I may just tell you mine in return."
Silence stretches between them.
Selene eyes him warily. "Don't forget that I helped you destroy whatever that thing was that attacked Vicky. I can stop you if I need to."
He met her gaze straight on. "I have no doubt you can."
"You're not going to turn back into a hawk are you?"
Damian shakes his head. "But I am still going to fly."
Against her better judgment she climbs onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. She can feel the heat radiating off of him.
She can tell that this night is far from over.