“DON'T WORRY ELOIM; I HAVE FACED THESE KNIGHTS BEFORE.” Alexia said encouragingly.
“Really?” Eloim asked out loud and as the old woman looked at him strangely, he pointed to his head and the old woman nodded in understanding.
“YES THE WITCH IS RIGHT; THEY ARE AN ANCIENT ORDER, FAR OLDER THAN THIS CHURCH THEY ARE NOW WORKING FOR.” Alexia added.
“So you know how to defeat them?” Eloim asked brightly.
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“WELL IN THEORY YES, YOU KILL THEM WITH SWORDS AND STUFF.” Alexia answered defensively.
“Why only in theory, what happened?” Eloim asked knowing Alexia was trying to hide something.
“WELL THEY CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, THERE WERE SPELLS CAST LIMITING MY POWERS. I KILLED A FEW OF THEM; THEY USED TO NUMBER TEN KNIGHTS.” Alexia paused. “THEY ARE A DESPISED RACE WHO CAPTURE CREATURES OF POWER AND IMPRISON THEM IN TALISMANS TO BE SOLD TO OTHERS WHO SEEK GREAT POWER. IT WAS THE KNIGHTS WHO SUCKED ME INTO THE ALEXIA RING.”
“Oh this just gets better, so let me see if I’ve got this right, you two. I need to rescue a human girl from the Knights of Blood, an ancient order who trapped the defeated demon empress and locked her away in the Alexia ring. Then I bring the girl back to a witch who doesn’t even know if there is a spell she can use to send me home. Did I miss anything out, such as slaying dragons or giants?” Eloim said in disbelief.
The old woman shrugged her shoulders. “I think that about covers it, vampire.”
“THEY DIDN'T DEFEAT ME; I WASN'T READY WHEN THEY ATTACKED.” Alexia’s voice was sullen inside his head.
“I can be of aid to you vampire.” The old woman said.
“How? Are you going to come along flying on your broomstick?” Eloim snapped back at her.
“Unfortunately my broomstick is broken; I damaged the bristles when I swept the pig shit up last week.” The old woman replied sarcastically. “Below Hartest hill is an ancient temple. In there, I can take you by the witches’ pathway to Baugh Park Manor. All you do is snatch the girl and return by the same way.”
“Well why didn’t you tell me this to start with instead of scaring me half to death making me think I have to fight those Knights?” Eloim said; his relief evident.
“Because you never gave me a chance,” the old woman said. “Now, the sun will be up soon, there’s my root cellar by that oak tree. It’s a bit cramped but no sunlight gets into the hole, so you’ll be safe to sleep there during the day.”
Eloim looked over at the oak tree she had indicated and at the wooden trapdoor at its base.
“Thank you.” He mumbled.
“I will spend the day in the temple preparing things for your journey tonight.” The old woman said and stood up.
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Eloim settled into the root cellar, moving carrots and turnips around as he tried to get comfortable. The hole was cold and damp but the trap door ensured no light leaked into it. Finally giving up on finding any sort of comfort, he spoke.
“Have you finished sulking yet Alexia?”
“I’M NOT SULKING. I AM THE EMPRESS OF THE FIFTH CIRCLE AND ONE OF THE MOST FEARED DEMONS EVER KNOWN TO MY KIND. I DO NOT SULK.” Alexia replied angrily from within Eloim’s head.
“Yes you do. I can feel it when you sulk; my head feels all sulky.” Eloim replied.
For a while there was silence and then Alexia again spoke. “YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF THE WITCH. THE KNIGHTS OF BLOOD NEVER DEFEATED ME; THEY TRAPPED AND IMPRISONED ME BEFORE I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING.”
Eloim chose his words carefully, the last time he had upset Alexia she had thrown a massive tantrum. The problem with that was her essence was residing inside his mind, attached to him through the Ring of Helen of Troy. Her essence had entered it upon their return from purgatory. It was a powerful love ring that had been crafted by the Faye and which he had stolen from the vampire witch, Lynne. The result of her last tantrum had left Eloim with a splitting headache for six months and partial memory loss for almost five years. Not being able to recall each individual boot in his extensive boot collection had sent Eloim into a deep depression that he had only recovered from when his memory returned.
“Alexia, my beloved; I’m sorry but I was scared, I’m not a great warrior like you and the thought of hurting your feelings is enough to break my heart.” Eloim said with as much feeling as he could muster. Instantly, he felt the change in Alexia’s mood.
“ELOIM, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY ANGRY WITH YOU. WHEN WE GET BACK AND I FIND A NEW BODY, THE FIRST THING I'M GOING TO DO TO YOU IS GIVE YOU SUCH A BIG CUDDLE. THEN I'M GOING TO RIP THAT RING FROM YOUR FINGER AND DESTROY IT, IF YOU EVER TRY A LINE LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'LL NOT STOP MY PLANNED DESTRUCTION WITH JUST THE RING.”
“OK Alexia,” Eloim murmured and quickly changed the subject. “Can I ask a question?”
“That depends on what it is about.” Alexia said.
“It’s about this witches’ pathway, what is it?” Eloim asked.
“IT IS A MYSTICAL PATHWAY THE WITCHES USE TO TRAVEL GREAT DISTANCES IN MINUTES, A PORTAL OF SORTS, CREATED BY THEIR MAGIC. IT'S VERY PRIMITIVE BY DEMON STANDARDS BUT IT WORKS. NOW GO TO SLEEP, WE HAVE A BIG NIGHT AHEAD AND WE NEED OUR WITS ABOUT US TO SAVE THIS GIRL AND AVOID WHATEVER DOUBLE-CROSS THE WITCH HAS PLANNED.” Alexia said.
So ends part 5, thanks for reading.
All images are mine.
Part 1 is here:
https://steemit.com/writing/@alienbutt/the-knights-of-blood-vampire-eloim-book-4-part-1
Part 2:
https://steemit.com/writing/@alienbutt/the-knights-of-blood-vampire-eloim-book-4-part-2
Part 3.
https://steemit.com/writing/@alienbutt/the-knights-of-blood-vampire-eloim-book-4-part-3
Part 4.
https://steemit.com/writing/@alienbutt/the-knights-of-blood-vampire-eloim-book-4-part-4