"I'll go," you shout, drawing all eyes to your corner of the field. Several of the wolves look on with slack jaws and wide eyes. Others watch you with apprehension darkening their gaze. The rest just turn to the alpha, eager to hear his take.
As for Gianette, she is caught somewhere between a smile and a frown, her eyes both wary and proud.
"What's this?" cries the wolf who first volunteered himself for the duty. "Is there another initiate? Will we even have time to battle?"
"I'm not an initiate," you answer, keeping your eyes on Colin as he takes measure of you. "I'm Gianette's sibling and as such I'm a friend of the pack. If you need someone to do a job that doesn't require me to be a wolf, then let me do it so that your plans are not delayed and no wolf is missing from the battlefield."
"I suppose there is no reason for it to be a wolf," the alpha answers, his hand massaging his scruffy chin. "We were going to infiltrate the ball through the people they plan to have for dinner."
"The herd?"
"Yes, those people. The ones they plan to turn to drones." Disdain drips through his words and he cringes at the thought. "Once inside we were going to cause a distraction..."
"A distraction that involved turning into a wolf and racing out to the street," cries Velt.
"Do you dare interrupt your alpha?" growls Colin, pushing his way out of the ring and drawing up to the meeker man. "Have you forgotten your place, Velt?"
"No my alpha," he whimpers, curling up and exposing his neck. "I wish only to do what's best for the pack and so I wish to move quickly."
"I make the call on what's best for us and so it is my desire that you remain close to my side during the battle. We'll need all wolves ready to tear out those bloodsuckers' throats. And that includes Gianette, once she passes the trial."
Velt does not contradict Colin and remains shuddering on the ground. Once satisfied with the wolf's submission, the alpha turns to you.
"The herd is entering through the east wing near the back of the hall. Slip in through there and get those vamps out on to the street."
"Yes, sir," you answer, giving him a nod before turning to face Gianette. Your sister's lips are firm and her eyes wet, but she gives you a nod as well. Without looking back, you run towards town and down the street towards the great hall.
After slipping through some alleys, you eventually find yourself on the less grandiose side of the stone crafted structure. The east wing door is buried down, burrowed into the earth with towering walls topped with ornate gardens to shield it from view. You look down at the entrance before descending the slope, but you find the herd missing and the doors guarded by drones.
You curse beneath your breath, accepting that the herd must have already been brought in for preparation of the drone ritual. You make your way back to the street, uncertain where to go from here. You glance at the entrance where guards still usher in a few late arrivals to the party. You could slip in, but you worry your rustic clothing may keep you out on the stoop, invitation or not.
You then glance over and notice the tavern lively with activity as breeders and laborers not meant for the ball enjoy a raucous night of forgetting they weren't included. However, beneath them, buried in the cellar, you recall Ferris's invitation to join him and his coven to take on the vamps. Without further hesitation, you sprint towards the alleys and slip in through the tavern's cellar door.
When you find an empty silence waiting you, you again curse your luck and kick the dirt covered floor. You think you might just end up joining the party upstairs and drowning yourself in drink when you hear a startled yelp from across the room.
"Micah? You came?"
You turn a few times, searching for the voice and discover Ferris is peeping out at you from behind a tapestry on the wall. A tapestry that just so happened to be guarding a tunnel.
"Ferris, I need your help." You run over to him as he slips back into the cellar.
"My help?" he asks with a laugh. "I thought it was I who had been seeking your assistance this night."
"Yes, I know. But I'm no good with magic, Ferris. I'd just be in the way."
He shrugs away your comment, but listens on with a smile.
"It's Gianette, she is with a pack of werewolves and they also hope to kill the vampires tonight."
"Werewolves," he says, a hesitant grimace distorting the word.
"Please, Ferris, I need to get in and get the vamps out onto the street so they can battle the vamps on a field to their advantage."
"But we need the vampires inside the hall," he says with a shake of his head.
"Well, then it won't matter if I'm in there or not if you kill them off, but it will matter if you fail."
"Look," he says with a sigh, "I need to get going, I've delayed them long enough. I won't stop you from using our tunnel and sneaking inside, but I'm not going to actively help you. I have my coven to think of."
"That's fine," you say, taking his hand and giving it a shake. "That's all I need. Thank you, Ferris."
"Sure, Micah." He says no more and without giving you another thought, he turns and launches himself through the tunnel.
Before following him, you take a quick look around. You think it might be advantageous to have a weapon if things go sideways. Unfortunately the closest thing you can find is an ice pick. However, it will do if you find yourself in a pinch, so you tuck it in your satchel and head through the tunnel.
You wiggle and crawl your way through the tight space. Once you reach the end, you emerge from a fireplace in one of the hall's many lounges. You pull yourself out, covering yourself in ash in the process. With a stumble you step out into the room while the coven watches you with suspicious eyes. Ferris, however, just sighs.
"You should stay," he says, with a lazy drawl. "There's no point going out there. We'll handle it."
"We've been over this. If you handle it, then what's it matter if I'm out there or not."
"Because a vamp could still kill you before we finish the chant and if you succeed at drawing vampires out, they'll be out of the spell's range and..."
"They'll get slaughtered by the wolves," you answer as you head for the lounge door. "It's a surprise pincer attack, we'll surely win out this night."
"Fine. Be safe, Micah."
"Good luck, Ferris."
You reach for the door knob as he turns to the coven. They were already in a circle and starting their spell before you closed the door behind you. You take a deep breath and look around. You've never been in the great hall as it is solely intended to be used by the town's proprietor, Duke Gagnier. He's run the town as a farm for centuries and has profited heavily from it. The only time a human is allowed inside is when they are invited to the ball or part of the herd. One way or another, all members of the town enter the hall to join immortality, either as a feeder or a drone.
"Micah! I found you!"
You're shaken from your thoughts and you turn to see Ailisa dashing towards you the best she can given how tight her blood red dress hugs her legs.
"Ailisa," you say with a forced smile, stepping away from the door and sprinting forward to meet her so she doesn't draw closer to where Ferris calls out to the spirits to answer his spell. "You look lovely!"
"You look...like you aren't wearing your outfit. Why are your wearing your laborer clothes?" she asks with a pout.
"I... spilled some ink on it and Gianette said she'd clean it for me. However, she suggested I still hurry over anyway wearing at least something." You give her a shaky smile and she returns it with a few blinks of her large, heavily painted eyes.
"And this is the best you could find in your wardrobe?"
"Well..."
"It's fine," she says with a smile and shake of her head. "Hopefully Gianette can slip you your dress soon. As for me, I must get over there." A smile dimples her cheeks and you can see each one of her teeth as she points to the door you just left from.
"Why?" you ask, the word a lump in your throat.
"Get this, a vamp... I should say the vamp," her voice drops as if she has a juicy secret only for your ears, " as in the Duke Gagnier, has asked me to the lounge." Her eyebrows raise and she bites back her lip to keep her smile from tearing her face open.
"To the lounge? Has he given you a mask?" you ask, darting your gaze back to the door.
"Well, no," she answers, her voice dropping and her face relaxing with a sigh. "He said he just needed to attend to a few things and for me to wait in the lounge so he can give me his mask in private."
As Ailisa's excitement dampens, you sense your chance to turn this around. You need to get her away from the door and you may be able to do so by convincing her that if the vampire really desired her affections, he would have given her a mask right away. That maybe he's just storing her in the lounge so she's not snatched up by someone else while he hunts for other options.
But you also know Ailisa may not be willing to take a chance on losing out on being with such an influential member of vamp society. You could, instead, ask for her help and see if she can lead you to where the herd is being kept. Then you can draw her from the door and return to the wolves' original plan.
However, neither of these plans warns Ferris about the fact that the duke could very well be coming to sweep Ailisa off her feet, whether she's in the lounge or not. If you let Ailisa be and allow her to enter the door, you can follow behind her and warn Ferris of what may be coming.
Which shall you choose?
- Dissuade Ailisa: ch 184
- Ask for her Help: ch 185
- Follow her to the Lounge: ch 186