“Did they follow you, Roman?” he asked.
“Don’t worry, we lost them,” Roman replied.
“Who were we running from?” Eva finally mustered the courage to ask. “I didn’t see anyone.”
“You don’t see them, until it’s too late,” Sorwyce warned her. “The Hellhounds.”
“Hellhounds?” Eva repeated.
“Yes, Xol’gorog has called for two of them to come to earth, to guard him. They are fierce and bloodthirsty, and if they see their prey, it’s almost impossible to escape.”
“You wonder how we escaped?” her father asked gently.
Eva just managed to nod. She was too scared trying to envision what would have happened if two Hellhounds caught up with them. She had never seen one. She had only seen pictures of them in ancient books. They were ugly and frightening, the stuff one’s worst nightmares were made of, and now, she found out they were real.
“They can’t see very well,” Sorwyce explained, “because their eyes are adjusted to the burning lights of Hell. They are so bright that a mortal’s eyes would immediately become blind. So, their eyes aren’t of much use here on Earth. But, their sense of smell is unparalleled. It is said that no living creature can hide from them.”
Sorwyce then stood up and walked slowly over to a small spice rack on the side of the walls. Eva was amazed how her dad and he managed to make this small hole in a hill livable and even comfortable. Sorwyce got a small bag of some dry, once green plant. Now, it was brown. When he opened it, he let her smell it. The potent fragrance made her cough immediately.
“Strong, isn’t it?” Sorwyce grinned, baring his teeth in the bush of his white beard. “It’s because this plant has taken into itself all the smells it was surrounded with. In this case, the spices. So, what you just smelled is a mixture of all the spices I have on the spice rack. Now, if we put it on someone, and that person passes through a forest, for example, he will smell like the forest. He will smell of trees, and dirt, and dry flowers, and grass. The smell of his own skin will be lost, for as long as the plant is on him.”
At this point, Roman reached out into the pocket of his pants, and extracted a small bundle of dried plants, carefully tied together with red ribbon. He smiled at Eva.
“But, couldn’t they smell me?” she wondered, only now realizing how close to certain death they both were.
“Check in your left pocket,” her dad told her.
She did as she was told, and extracted the same little bundle, with the same red ribbon. The surprised look on her face made her dad and Sorwyce smile.
“I put it in your pocket while we were hugging,” her dad explained, “I knew it was just a matter of time before they would smell us. Well actually, before they smelled you. I suspected that Rannulf would have you followed, in case you could lead him to me, or even worse, to Sorwyce.”
“Why Sorwyce?” Eva faltered. “Aren’t you his dad?”
“Didn’t Amelie tell you the story?” Sorwyce wondered. “He tried to kill me, because I am the only one with knowledge to stop Xol’gorog. If I die, he is free to pursue his plan, and kill as many humans and Halflings as he needs for his evil plan.”
“That sounds awful!” Eva shuddered at the thought.
“We lived in peace with the humans, without their knowledge of us for centuries. Of course, rotten apples always exist. Some vampires tried to cross the line we vowed we would never cross, and of course, humans got scared. But, we wish them no harm. Now, Xol’gorog has threatened the survival of everyone. Humans and vampires.”
“Doesn’t he want an evil vampire army to conquer the world?” Eva wondered.
“Do you think many vampires will agree?” Sorwyce asked. “I think not. Despite what many think, we are honorable creatures. We respect the earth and all creatures on it. We only wish for a place of our own. To live and let live, if you wish.”
They all smiled at his sentence.
“But now, we know that Rannulf has been following Eva,” Roman fretted. “That means he also knows that Eva’s been to see Amelie.”
“He won’t try and hurt her, will he?” Eva quavered. “I mean, she is his mother.”
“She has managed to stay away from him long enough, but I doubt he thinks her completely clueless as to what is going on,” Sorwyce voiced his concerns. “That is why we must act, now.”
“Now?” Eva repeated.
“Yes,” her father nodded. “We have to, otherwise, we will miss our moment, and Xol’gorog will be too powerful. He is already so strong, he’s got Rannulf fully under his influence. We’re not even sure that by exorcising Xol’gorog, we can have the old Rannulf back, after he’s been under his influence for so long.”
Eva could see sadness on Sorwyce’s face. She couldn’t even imagine how he must be feeling. His own son tried to kill him. He was forced into hiding for almost five centuries. How patient and kind this man must be to still try and save his son, after everything.
“What can we do?” Eva asked.