The Tales of Ethlana: Shadows

3

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At the faint light of dawn, Ally stuffed her blanket back in her backpack and descended the tree, eyelids still heavy. Before her feet could reach the bottom, a voice behind her startled her.

"Good morning."

She fell the last few feet, landing hard on her backside. Shock gave way to anger when she heard the burst of laughter that followed.

"Oh wonderful," she grumbled as she got to her feet.

"Good morning," the vampire repeated when his laughter subsided.

"Well it was!" Ally snapped back, ignoring Velkan's delighted smile. She stomped right past him, which only amused Velkan further. Trailing after her, he sped up to fall into step beside her.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" she asked as the sun illuminated the forest in a soft, yellow hue. "Not that I care if you get yourself burnt to a crisp."

"You tell me, Princess."

Although the sun had fully risen, Velkan seemed unaffected by its light. Ally was initially confused and responded with nothing but a quizzical look. Then, Velkan began transforming. His jaw relaxed as his fangs shrank and his pale skin gained a healthier hue. The red in his eyes faded to small speckles in his now icy blue irises.

"What exactly just happened?" Ally asked, stopping to study him a little closer.

"Half vampire, half shifter Fanga," Velkan answered, giving a slight shrug.

"Oh."

Unsettled by her lack of response, the vampire began to watch her closely in confusion as she walked away.

"So, where are we going?" he asked after hurrying to catch up with her.

"What, she didn't tell you that too?" Ally asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nope. Didn't say much past introductions," the vampire-turned-Fanga said nonchalantly.

"And striking up a deal."

Velkan laughed under his breath. "That, too, Princess."

Ally scowled before answering his question. "Nowhere in particular, actually."

"Oh really... Thought you'd try your hand at camping, then?" Velkan snickered.

"I got lost out here escaping from an angry mob. Anymore questions?"

"Sarcasm or not?" he asked after a moment, both perplexed and intrigued.

Ally didn't reply.

They continued walking in silence until Ally's stomach lurched with an audible gurgle. She had grown so hungry it was almost too painful to continue walking. Velkan failed at ignoring Ally's stomach by the third gurgle, which was louder than the others.

"You could ask me to hunt," he offered. He laughed as she glared uncertainly at him.

"Fine," Ally said between gritted teeth. "But only because I'm not willing to starve to death for my pride."

Ally watched him go and debated with the Voice about whether or not she should try to make a run for it while he was gone. The Voice laughed at the idea, knowing Ally wouldn't even make it a mile before she collapsed. And even if she did make it that far, Velkan was sure to find her just as easily as he had the last time. Although Ally was fairly certain that the Voice had had something to do with that.

Realizing a second escape attempt would be pointless, she settled down beneath a tree instead and started a fire, thinking about her weeks in the forest in an attempt to stay awake until Velkan returned.