its been a shile since uve read these books so forgive me if some shit is wrong. but hope you enjoy nonetheless.

/

"You've got to keep your eyes open."

Conor hadn't realized that that had been closed in the first place. He opened his eyes to see Abeke giving him a teasing look. A bow was clenched in his hands, aimed at a hanging target tied around a branch. His knuckles were white with how tight he was holding onto the weapon and they had a slight tremble to them.

"That's probably a good idea," Conor replied sheepishly.

Abeke helped steady his aim, "Just relax and breathe."

Conor nodded and took a deep breath, then released the arrow.

And it narrowly missed Rollan's head.

"Hey!" the boy exclaimed, ducking just before the arrow hit him and lodged itself into a nearby tree.

"Sorry," Conor called, cheeks going red from embarrassment.

Rollan shot him a sarcastic grin "If you wanted me dead, you could've just said so."

Conor got the arrow from its place in the tree then tossed it and the bow back to Abeke, "Maybe that's enough practice for today."

Abeke nodded, "Yeah maybe. Before you take off someone's head." She gave him a gentle affectionate punch, "you are getting better though last time you shot Rollan in the foot."

"Almost took off my pinkie toe with that one," the Amayan boy said.

Conor rolled his eyes and went to sit next to Briggan, the wolf lounging in a spot of open grass where the sun shone through the tree's dense foliage. He wagged his tail as the blonde haired boy approached.

"It's a nice day isn't it boy," Conor said as he rubbed Briggan's stomach, he let out a joyful bark in response.

The sun was high in the sky and there was a crisp breeze. The four fallen and their summoners had decided to take a 'rest' day to relax and play around in one of the forests of Eura.

Meilin practiced some sparring with Rollan unfortunately becoming her partner, though he did get some few good hits on her. Meanwhile, Conor and Abeke had spent most of the day helping Conor with his bow and arrow skills, which went well all things considered (besides almost killing Rollan).

Briggan spent the day lounging around in the sunlight or hunting with Uraza. Essix went off to do her own thing, but would leave some dead mice in her trail, and Jhi watched Meilin and Rollan all day - licking the wounds that Meilin, maybe had or had not intentionally caused.

Conor rubbed his hand through Briggan's pelt, as he gazed up at the sky. It felt nice to have a day off, stopping the devourer from freeing Kovo would take a toll on anyone, especially for a group of kids.

Just when Conor was about to doze off he felt Briggan tense up and a low growl rumbled in his throat. Uraza soon joined the wolf and growled, both of their eyes were trained in a single spot where the tree's foliage blocked out the sun's light.

Conor tried to soothe his spirit animal "What's wrong with yo-"

Before he could finish the question Briggan bolted away into the deeper forest, Uraza bolted a second later. Conor and Abeke looked towards each other with looks of confusion then bolted after their spirit animals.

Both quickly followed after their spirit animals, nimbly dodging roots and low hanging branches. The forest was getting darker and darker as the two greencloaks journeyed deeper, luckily the heightened abilities from their animals helped them see in the dark.

He could hear Meilin, Rollan, Essix, and Jhi following close behind them, sticks and leaves crunching underneath their footsteps.

Conor was just about to ask Abeke how long they'd been running for when he suddenly ran into a mountain of fur. Briggan and Uraza had stopped but their hackles were still raised and were still softly growling.

Before he could warn the others that they had stopped he was rammed into by a girl and a panda. And by the grunt to his right, Rollan must've ran into Abeke as well.

"Could've given us a heads up about stopping," Rollan grunted.

"Trust me, if we could've we would've," Abeke said, rubbing her shoulder from where Rollan had impacted her.

"What were they running to?" asked Meilin.

"I don't know," Conor replied. He shifted his gaze to where the wolf and leopard's eyes were trained in, "I just know that they're on edge."

He could feel the tension in every breath Briggan breathed, but also a bit of worry. Whatever had the two predators riled up also seemed to make them very protective of their human partners.

Suddenly a crash sounded through the trees and it was coming towards them. Briggan pounced on Conor, keeping the boy low to the ground as something sailed over his head and landed a few meters away from him with a thump.

Meilin let out a gasp and Conor quickly - and gently - pushed Briggan off of him to see what the object was.

And it was worse than he could've ever thought of.

It was a body.

Conor felt like throwing up. Sure he had seen dead bodies before but it was something about this body that made him cringe and gag. Maybe it was the way that his eyes seemed glazed over and mouth slightly open. Or how he seemed paler than any human should be, dead or alive. But what was the most unsettling thing was how the body was littered with bite marks, not of any animal but they also didn't look human either.

The four kids stared down at the body with looks ranging from shock to disgust to fear. Rollan was about to say something but was tackled to the ground by Abeke before he could get a word out.

"Hey, what was that f-"

Abeke put her finger to her lips and signaled the others to be quiet. Conor and Meilin crouch down to join them.

That's when he heard it.

It sounded like the flapping of wings. But Essix was already perched on a low hanging branch. Carefully Conor peeked his head over the bushes to see what had flown in. All he could see was the silhouette and whatever it was was tall, taller than any of them, and stood on two legs. Giant bat wings were mounted on its back and long hair flowed down in between them. But the most noticeable was the eyes, large amber iris shone through the dense darkness.

As his eyes became more adjusted to the dark, he could start to make out the figure better, it seemed very human-like besides the bat-like wings on its back. Almost as if it was a human with bat wings sewn in.

Almost as if it was a..

Conor's heart suddenly seized as he recognized the creature. He must've made some sort of noise because the creature turned its amber eyes towards Conor. He quickly picked behind the bush again.

"We need to get out of here!" he whispered, "Right now!"

He barely gets the message out when something slammed down next to the kids and a gust of wind knocked them off their feet. He heard Abeke wince as her hand scraped against a sharp rock and Rollan let out a grunt as the air was knocked out of him.

Conor raised his head to see a woman with amber eyes, long black hair, and giant bat wings staring at him and his friends. She licked her lips and flashed her sharp fangs, whether it was in a welcoming way or a threatening way he didn't know, but he didn't really want to find out. She also wore a necklace with an emerald stone in the middle.

The four greencloaks rose to their feet and their spirit animals "What the hell is that thing?" Rollan said.

The woman turned her eyes to him," that thing has a name." Rollan seemed to shrink under her stare then she looked at Conor, "You're Euran boy, inform you friends."

"Wait,you know what that thing…person is?" asked Rollan.

Conor nodded, keeping one eye trained on the woman. "All Euran children are aware of the myth."

"Myth?"

"Yeah, it was told of a woman with long black hair, sharp canine teeth, long deadly nails and bat wings that would prowl in the darkest parts of the forest," answered Conor, "she would…she would feed on any person she found in the forest, using dark powers to control her victims." his hand reached for his hand ax at his belt.

"They call her Vrykolakas the Vampire"

"Kind of a tongue twister don't you think," Rollan quipped, "think we could shorten it to something like 'crazy bat lady', or 'weird killer woman with bat wings'.

Vrykolakas let out a harsh laugh, a dangerous glint in her eyes, "You're a funny one."

"Well it's a talent really," Rollan smirked.

"The funny ones always scream the loudest."

The smirk instantly was wiped off of his face. Meilin put a protective hand over Rollan, "If you touch him, I will rip those bat wings off of you and hang them on my wall as a trophy."

"Oh, then how would you like it if I were to mount that panda of your's head on a wall," Vrykolakas challenged back.

A flicker of fear flashed through Meilin's eyes and she glanced over at Jhi.

Vrykolakas turned back to Rollan, "But if you must, you can call me Kas."

Rollan nodded, "Good to know." Unable to stop the slight voice crack.

Kas sniffed the air before snapping her gaze to Abeke, more specifically the cut on Abeke's hand and the steady trickle of blood that was coming out of it, which the girl quickly tried to cover.

But it was no use, with lighting speed Kas was upon the girl, tightly gripping her wrist and lifting her a few feet off the ground.

"You're a pretty one aren't you," Kas said, moving her other hand to trace Abeke's jaw line. She cringed and roughly turned away from the vampire but Kas grabbed her chin and forced the girl to look at her.

Kas then turned her attention to the small cut on Abeke's hand, she flashed her sharp fangs and licked her lips."You'll be a nice snack for me."

Uraza suddenly growled and leapt onto the bat woman's back, clawing and biting. Kas yelped in surprise and let go of Abeke's wrist then whirled around and tried to get the leopard off of her back.

Soon all of the kids and their spirit animals were attacking the vampire. Rollan tried to stab her but her skin was like leather and his dagger bounced harmlessly off. Meilin tried a different approach with hand to hand combat. She punched and kicked the woman, she was a blur of motion with Jhi helping her but it did little to faze Kas and her emerald necklace glowed brightly. The woman flung Uraza off of her like she was a harmless flea and threw the leopard hard into a nearby tree.

"Uraza!" Abeke cried out .

She raised her bow and aimed it at Kas, but like Rollan's dagger, the arrow bounced harmlessly off.

Briggan ran around her ankles biting and trying to throw the vampire off balance, while Essix swooped in from above trying to blind her. But their attacks were also in vain as she kicked Briggan away and plucked Essix out of the sky before throwing her to join the other two animals.

Meilin, sensing that she had no chance against the woman, quickly put Jhi into passive state.

Conor, Rollan, Meilin and Abeke all attacked at the same time. Conor threw his ax, Rollan tried again with his daggers, Meilin did a roundhouse kick and Abeke shot another arrow, aiming for her face.

But Kas just wrapped her wings around herself and deflected all the ways of attack. She then unwrapped them, and sent all the kids backwards with another massive gust of wind.

Meilin was the first one up but Kas delivered a blow to the gut that knocked the wind out of her and made her double over. Rollan was next up, reaching for his dagger but instead was kicked in the head, sending him back down. Conor tried and failed to stand, all of his muscles screaming in pain and his ax had been split in two.

Which only left Abeke. With cat-like agility she was up on her feet with her bow in her hand and an arrow ready to fire.

But Kas had vanished.

Abeke kept her head on a swivel, waiting to shoot anything that moved. Well, not anything but you get the point. She could hear something moving around in the bushes but there would be nothing there. It was like a ghost.

"Don't move."

Abeke's muscles locked up. She could feel Kas behind her, whispering in her eyes. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, but she couldn't move. No matter how much she tried she could move.

"Now, drop your weapon," Kas drawled.

Abeke's hands suddenly released their hold on the bow and it clattered to the ground.

Conor watched in horror as Kas appeared from the darkness with a villainous smirk on her face, her sharp teeth shining and long sharp nails gleaming. He staggered to his feet, Meilin, Rollan and their animals (besides Jhi) soon joined them, teeth bared.

"Take another step and I'll kill her before you can even blink," Kas said as she flexed her deadly claws.

Conor and the others came to an instant stop, though Uraza and Briggan still growled. Ready to pounce if need be.

Kas looked at Abeke hungrily, "I was hoping not to have to do this. That you would come to me easily, but unfortunately you've forced me to do this."

"To do wh-"

"Shh. Quiet sweet pet," Kas said gently. Abeke's words immediately halted, then died out, not able to make another word.

Abeke's heart quickened, she couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything. A fog started to enter her mind and she tried to fight it off. The only sign of her resisting whatever power Kas had over her was the slight tensing of her muscles.

Kas cocked her head, an amused look on her face,

"Relax."

And suddenly the tension in her muscles disappeared, her eyes went unfocused and face went slack as the infiltrating fog overwhelmed her mind.

"No!" Conor cried out.

"What's happening?" Meilin asked, "What did she do to her?"

"The Fanged Curse."

"So are all things around here named stupidly," quipped Rollan, trying and failing to lighten the mood.

He continued, "it's how she lures in her prey, she puts the victim into a trance, controls their every move and then…" his eyes glance over to the body and the others seemed to get what he's saying.

"We can't let that happen," Meilin said, determination present in her voice.

"But we can't do anything, if we try to attack, Kas will kill her," Rollan replied.

Conor sighed, they were truly screwed.

He could do nothing but watch as Kas reached out her hand and beckoned Abeke closer to her, like a fish on a hook. Conor's heart sank to his stomach as he watched as his friend sleepwalk toward the woman.

Meilin instinctively took a step forward but Kas whipped her head around and flexed her sharp nails once again, making Meilin step back into place.

Once Abeke was closer to Kas, ordered the girl on her knees which she numbly obeyed. The vampire stared at her with a look Conor could only describe as hunger.

He cried out, "No! Please don't-"

"hurt her?" Kas finished with a cruel smile, "I would never."

Rollan gave her a skeptical look.

"Ok. I would. But it's not like she would feel it. It feels good right, pet?"

Abeke nodded in response, causing Kas to grin, Uraza to growl and the others to stare in horror.

"Now, can you hold out your arm for me sweet pet" Kas practically sang, caressing the girl's check with her thumb, which made Conor clench his fists

Abeke obeyed but Conor could see the slight tensing up her muscles, the only sign that she was still in there somewhere, that she was fighting back against Kas's hypnotic control.

But the vampire must've noticed too, "Relax, sweet pet. Everything is going to be ok." She traced the lines of Abeke's palm and Conor could tell the girl had fallen back into the trance.

A satisfied grin dawned on Kas's face. She took hold of Abeke's wrist and before anyone could even blink she sank her fangs into it. Blood gushed from the wound, and the vampire lapped it up like a dog.

Conor gagged. And he could tell Rollan and Meilin were disgusted and horrified as well. But Abeke's face stayed unsettlingly calm and blank.

He wished he could say the same for Uraza, the leopard roared and lunged at Kas, claws racking across her giant wings, leaving large gashes.

Kas shrieked in pain and fell back. With her distracted Rollan, Meilin, Briggan and Essix lunged at the woman with weapons raised.

But Conor made a bolt for Abeke, tackling her away from Kas.

As soon as she hit the ground, Abeke's eyes focused again and she was back to normal.

"Abeke!" Conor cried, as he hugged her tightly, "are you ok?"

But the Niloan girl didn't respond and instead could only look on in horror at her wrist, which was covered with blood.

Conor ripped off a piece of his shirt and tied it tightly around the wound, tight enough to hopefully stop the bleeding.

"Thank you," Abeke said, voice barely a whisper.

There was a shriek and Essix was knocked out of the sky by Kas's giant wings.

"We have to find some way to kill her," Conor said, looking down at his broken ax.

He looked toward his friend but her face was lost in deep thought.

"I have an idea." Abeke said, grabbing her bow, "I think that necklace is making her skin nearly impossible to stab." She pointed to the emerald stone tied around the vampire's neck. It glowed as she deflected the group's attempts at attacks."If I can get a shot there we might have a chance to beat her."

"That's brilliant!"

Abeke readied an arrow as raised her bow up to get a clear shot but Kas must've sensed the move coming because she shrieked and abandoned the battle with the others, lunging straight for Abeke. She grabbed the girl by her throat and lifted her high off the ground, eyes full of fury.

Abeke was forced to drop her bow and tried to pry Kas's hand away from her throat. But they would just dig in sharper, nails so deep they drew blood. She coughed and gasped to try to get a sliver of air in her lungs but to no avail.

"You've been a naughty little pet," Kas growled.

"I-I'm not y-your pet," Abeke said, her air getting limited. Kas tightened her grip.

"I think it's time for you to relax again," she hissed.

Abeke abandoned trying to get the hand from around her throat and instead kicked and punched her attacker.

But Kas remained unfazed, though her anger rapidly grew. Her eyes flashed a bright amber. "Stop struggling."

Abeke's arms and legs immediately went limp and fear rippled through her. She looked towards Conor and the others.

"Don't look at them, look at me!

"Stop. Get out of my head!" Abeke yelled, fighting the returning fog clouding her mind as black spots dotted her vision, the lack of air catching up to her.

Conor could watch, couldn't stand by and watch as his friend was subjected to the vampire's control once again. Abeke was fighting it off but wouldn't be able to for long especially with her oxygen running out.

He grabbed the fallen bow and aimed for the emerald stone but his hand shook so violently that if he fired he'd probably hit Rollan again. He had to focus, but with the stakes so high Conor didn't know if he'd be able to.

"Look. At. Me." Kas commanded, eyes glowing so bright it illuminated the dark forest.

And at that moment Conor could tell that Abeke had lost the fight. Her eyes regained their glazed appearance and she turned her head to look at the vampire.

A smile appeared on Kas's face and she slightly released the pressure from Abeke's neck.

"That's a good pet." she cooed, "how able we finish what we started hmm?"

It was now or never. Conor remembered Abeke's words to him. He took a deep breath, readied the bow and fired.

The shot rang true and hit its mark.

The stone shattered into a million pieces. Conor knocked another arrow and shot it right in Kas's left eye. She collapsed to her knees back screaming and let go of Abeke, who regained control as soon as she hit the ground.

Kas roared and lunged for her fallen prey but Abeke could only see red. She punched the woman in the face, causing her to fall back, then Abeke didn't stop. She punched the woman in the face again and again and again, her knuckles slowly becoming crimson. The sound of flesh hitting flesh ran throughout the forest.

Only when her hand felt like it was going to break and the woman's face was a bloody pulp did Abeke stop.

Conor approached her and gently wrapped his arms around her. It was only then did she realize that she had been crying.

Uraza bounded over to her human partner and put her head under Abeke's arm, purring and trying to ease her.

Meilin and Rollan stood there trying to take in what had just happened. But after the initial wave of shock both ran over to their friend. Meilin summoned Jhi out of passive state and Essix and Briggan joined them.

Conor's heart panged as he hugged Abeke tighter. Her hand was a bloody mess, bruising line her neck from where Kas had her hands and the makeshift bandage on her wrist was soaked already. Jhi ambled over and began licking the wounds.

For a long time no one spoke, no one knew what to say. They were still processing what had just happened.

Rollan was the first to break the silence, "Kind of a shitty day off huh?"

His joke got a small laugh out of Abeke which made Conor's heart lighten up a bit.

"You could say that," she responded, eyes still red rimmed with tears but a small smile on her face.

But the moment didn't last long as the four kids lapsed back into silence.

"I'm sorry," Abeke said, voice almost a whisper. If it weren't for their spirit animals abilities, they doubt they would have heard her.

"Sorry about what?" Conor asked.

"I didn't mean to…" she looked over to the bloodied remains of Kas.

Meilin puts her hand on her best friend's shoulder, "Even if you didn't mean to, I'm glad it was you who did it. Especially after what she was about to do to you, that bitch had it coming."

Conor wrapped his cloak around Abeke, "If you think about it, you saved an innocent person who would be her next victim."

The others nod in agreement.

"And if anyone else tries to hurt you, we'll kick their ass." Rollan said. And the whole group chuckled.

A/N: comments are appreciated