The moon settled sweetly in the sky, bathing the pool in a soft light. It was shallow, the green-cloaked water that bogged the ground by thickets of pine trees, concealing the pockets that were drowned burrows, dangerous as bear traps in the dark night. The doors to those intricate, underground systems had caught a number of unaware humans, leaving their legs trapped beneath water until found or passed away.
It was in that watery graveyard in the middle of the deep forest, that Simran chose to remain. The vampires had traced her for miles like the predators they were, and Simran could go no further. It would be a mere half hour until they finally were upon her, and she could run no more.
Rippling against her skin in waves made by wind, the water pooled around her waist. The black layers of worn material clung to her body, submerged in the mossy liquid. If she tuned her ears clearly enough, Simran could hear that rhythmic sound of the splashing pond, mirroring the feeling that rolled over her legs.
It felt so natural, to sink below the bog, hands clutching the bronze pendant that lifted from her breast, skin tingling with life. But nothing about the woman could be called natural. Not by the beasts that followed her, lusting over the violet blood that coursed through her veins. Not by the humans that warned her away with their false symbols and cruel prayers and towers of fire, as if her blood didn't sing at the very thought of such crimson flames.
In one sudden dash, the air stilled around her. It was silent then, the quietness fuelling the energy that filled her body, only furthering the innate power that festered there, waiting ever so desperately. Only the distant sound of crazed and taunting laughs penetrated the air. They were almost upon her, the red-eyed vampires that seemed as ancient as the trees that became motionless, awaiting their arrival, and the forest seemed to accept her protection, letting its potential flow through her in one voltaic shock.
Simran would not be able to stop so many of them. She could only hope to hold them long enough for her trail to be hidden, letting her disappear as she normally would have. It was clumsiness and arrogance that'd let the coven of vampires find her this time, a mistake she would not make again.
There was a rumble, the earth clawing to get a taste of the power that was surging around her in waves. Like the moon to the sea, waves of the marsh pond lapsed around her, only making the oncoming battle field more tumultuous. But as the vampires drew close enough to be caught in her sight, that power dipped, like a candle being whipped dim by the wind, as fear straightened her spine for the first time in many years.
