With your mind made up, you sprint past Ailisa and into the ballroom. There, just to your right, you see a long table where a few drones are serving drinks. Besides the bottles of luscious wine and heady ale, are festive decorations, including garland of leaves, apple bushels from the town orchard, and flickering candles set inside ornately carved gourds. You snag the first jack-o-lantern you see.
The drones don't bat an eye. They can only follow whatever instruction is left to them by their masters, and how could a vamp have foreseen a need to prevent humans from whisking away some decorations? However, the humans coming over for a fresh glass of spirits, watch you with a wary gaze and a few of their concerned whispers land upon your ear.
"Micah, what are you doing?" asks Ailisa, who, stunned by your strange behavior, still stands just outside the archway to the hall. "Why do you have a pumpkin?"
You don't have time to answer your friend. Instead you start chanting, casting one of the simple wards Ferris taught you. You imagine your performance is drawing some attention, but you can't mind that now. Since you can't see your target, you have to close your eyes and focus all your mental energy on conjuring up an image of Kinley. You don't know if it will work. Intention greatly affects how spells are cast and Ferris warned you that a harried mind or an improper item can have sometimes catastrophic consequences.
So you shut yourself off from all around you, centering all of your attention on your image of Kinley as you shout your chant. The ward can feel the strength in your voice and will use that power to fortify its protection. Then, you finish your spell, the magic bursting from the jack-o-lantern, the air shuttering as the ward flies off to its target.
You take a breath as you drink in the vampires still standing around you. You unleashed the ward in time, unfortunately, that also means the vampires have a chance to interrogate you about what you just did. You swallow hard as a burly vamp marches towards you. You see his lips peel open and you expect a question to follow, however, you are shaken when a blood curdling scream emanates from his straining throat. The hall fills with similar cries. You look around the expansive room and find the vampiric guests lit bright with glowing skin, their hands shaking as they burn from within. They howl towards the ceiling as their clothes and skin alight with flames. In the passage of a minute, half of the guests in attendance are now soft piles of ash.
You marvel at Ferris and the coven's work, but the others are less impressed. All the humans back away from you, forming a circle around you as they stare and whisper. They blame you and the strange chant you just shouted through the hall. Even worse, the drones no longer have a master. Without a master, a drone's sole purpose is to avenge their master. Once that is complete they can die.
Problem is, drones don't have much in way of brains so they may indiscriminately kill until they've succeeded in their revenge. Since you appear to be the most likely suspect at the moment, that means all of the drones in attendance are now completely focused on tearing you from limb to limb. And they're going to be quick and merciless about it.
You don't have the time to cast another ward to protect yourself. You'll need to act on your feet and hope that you can save yourself without the aid of magic. Being trapped in a thick wall of humans with drones rapidly approaching, you can only rely on what you have on you to keep the drones off of you. You have the silver pin you bought with Ailisa, clasped to your chest. Then there's the rope tied around your waist, and Ailisa's handkerchief in your pocket. Nothing that anyone would really consider a weapon, but that's what you have. How will you make it work?
- Silver Pin: ch 29
- Rope: ch 30
- Handkerchief: ch 31