The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

25 | Water City - II

From the shadows of the snow, bellowed a creature, 'Nobody leaves the Water City alive.'

They smelled the creature first – a pungent mixture of rotten blood and decay so strong that even Taeyong wanted to turn away. They heard footsteps next – heavy and imposing, growing louder in the snow. And not long before they saw it. From the mist emerged the most terrifying pair of glowering yellow eyes as the creature stepped into the faint light of the moon. The group of rescued humans burst into shrieks. They had seen him only once before when they were brought here. He was the Patriarch of the Water City.

He was a vampire, yes, but far too gone to be recognized as one. Creature is what they called him outside of the Water City. His skin was hard and grey like stone and his face has protruding veins like that of a tree bark. His mouth was covered in dried blood and his long, yellowed fangs hung dreadfully in it. He was dressed in clothing made of flesh and his head was covered in thin black hair which fell till his feet.

The creature stopped a few metres away from the boat in the snow. 'Greetings to you,' he spoke in the same ghastly voice and they saw the inside of his mouth glowing red.

'Greetings,' Taeyong replied, standing tall at the prow. Silently, Dal-ae put his cloak over his shoulders. 'I understand this is your territory. We mean no harm and wish to pass without trouble.'

The yellow eyes of the creature thinned into a smile and behind all the blood, Taeyong saw a slight curve of his lips. 'I have no business keeping you here. Of course, you can pass,' the creature said, 'but only you and the girl in white. Leave the humans behind.'

Taeyong's skin was already pink from the heat he had generated earlier which had not gone unnoticed by the creature. A vampire who had just used as much power as Taeyong cannot stand for long.

'We have been sent by the Vampire Lord.' It was Dal-ae who spoke. 'These humans were asked to be escorted to his residence for his pleasure,' she said, stepping next to Taeyong thinking she had helped but felt him stiffen beside her.

The creature scoffed, 'I do not like to be lied to, little one.'

'I would not dare,' Dal-ae said, despite her thumping heart.

'Dal-ae,' she heard Taeyong's voice in her ears through the Silver Medium. 'Do not say anything.'

'I apologise for my companion here,' Taeyong said to the creature. 'She knows not who the actual Vampire Lord is and is confused. I know of the agreement between the Water City and the Lord. Surely, he would not disturb your peace as long as you stay within the city's confines.'

The creature seemed satisfied with this as he lapped up his unusually long tongue across his face to lick the blood. 'I will accept your apology,' he said to Taeyong. 'But the girl needs to be punished. She spoke out of turn and that's not very respectful, is it? Let me make you a deal. You leave her and the group behind and I will let you go completely unscathed.'

At this, whatever remaining pretence of politeness Taeyong was under, dropped. He met the creature's eyes, which were now glowing red, and in the tone he uses as a Vampire Lord, he said but one word, 'No.'

For a few seconds, nobody spoke. The two stood as silent as the expanse of white around them. Then, in a low groan, the creature said, 'You leave me no choice then,' and raised his grey arms into the air. From within the hidden crevices, crept out a thousand like him, shuffling through the water, the snow, the trees and the sky as though they had been there all along waiting to feed on their prey. They were all covered in the same decay as their Patriarch, only instead of hair on their head, they were covered in yellow slime frozen stuck to their bodies. Howling and wailing, they crawled towards the boat but stopped a few feet away from it, waiting for the order.