Preternatural Prophecy Chapter 1

The sun had just started setting as Tatiana and Laurel walked into the clearing. Tall oak trees surrounded them providing only a glimpse of the setting sun. The wind gently whispered through the trees. Darkness was beginning to surround them. They set up a small wooden lean to shelter against the thickest tree and went into the woods to find fire wood. Tatiana came back out with a few logs and much kindling and made a fire circle with large stones. She placed tinder into the fire circle and then a large scrap of wool. Tatiana silently worked, pulling out her flint and steel. "Hurry up Laurel, darkness is setting in and this is vampire territory according to mom’s diary." Tatiana called from the fire circle. Tatiana scratched the steel against the flint quickly creating a sparks. The wool lit on fire. She threw a small piece of bark and watched it set ablaze slowly. Smoke slowly rose from under the bark as flames engulfed the bark. It burned slowly in the darkening forest.

Laurel stood in the darkness of the woods gathering logs for her sister. She heard faint breathing coming from deeper in but ignored it. Laurel brushed it off as her mind playing tricks on her. She heard similar sounds nights earlier when her sister but simply declared it was her nerves. Laurel and Tatiana had been on this adventure for three days now and she was a novice at adventuring. The only things that her mother had taught her were how to wield her blade, start a fire, create a lean-to, and to make a special poison that would paralyze any animal. She grabbed a few logs and scrambled out of the woods. Laurel shook the memory of her mother out of her head.

            “Please. You still believe those stories that the elders told to make children stay in at night?” Laurel yelled back at Tatiana laughing. Laurel had constantly made fun of her sister ever since they had read about vampires in her mother’s diary. There they learned about her travels as a sixteen year old. How she traveled to different places and encountered strange people and strange lands. One of the things talked about in the diary were vampires. Tatiana was a firm believer in them but Laurel thought nothing of it at first except that it was her mother’s imagination. Her mother liked to create stories and fantasize. When they were little her mother had told them stories to make them fall asleep. That had been long ago though and many memories ago. Laurel shook her mother from her mind again. Her parents had long been pushed from her mind.

Tatiana quickly added the wood making sure not to smother the small flame. She slowly added the larger logs; she had gathered herself, to the fire. Tatiana stared into the red hot flames thinking of the past and what had led her to this place. Laurel placed her hand on Tatiana’s shoulder. Tatiana jumped and swayed back and forth almost falling into the flames she was so enchanted by only moments ago.

            Laurel stood behind Tatiana with her hand on her twin’s shoulder. Laurel’s dark hair glowed in the firelight; her brown eyes alight with reflections. Compared to Tatiana she looked much older then their real age. They were both sixteen and had the looks to prove it. They were fraternal twins. Their mother always used to joke that they looked a lot like sisters. Laurel looks had matured faster then Tatiana’s and made them look like they were mother and daughter instead of twins. Tatiana had sharp blue eyes and even darker hair then her twin. Laurel grabbed for her short sword as she heard the breathing sound closer. A twig snapped close to the edge of the tree line.

It was about three feet in length and had no rust on it. It had a silver handle and was made personally by her mother just like her sister’s blade. It had her family marking up and down the blade with a strange metal her mother had used for the blade. She had gotten it for her birthday from her mother when she had turned twelve. The blade carried many memories, the most powerful a horrible one for Laurel. Tatiana had also gotten a strange blade from her mother but was of a different shape. She used it very little but her mother insisted that she brought it with her on her journey. At the age of sixteen their culture dictated that everyone went on a journey to find out what they will be.  Laurel and Tatiana had gone on their adventure together because they were twins.

            “What’s the matter Laurel? The stories have you scared?” Tatiana said chuckling to herself. Tatiana knew that Laurel had never believed in the stories before. Laurel turned toward the forest. Tatiana turned her head to see a bright pair of eyes watching them from the forest. Another set of eyes appeared. Soon dozens of eyes stared at them from the darkness. A man walked out of the darkness, his figure slowly being revealed by the dimming fire. He was tall with blond hair. He wore a deep purple cloak. The color of the cloak made his eyes seem brighter then they were. His red eyes stared into theirs. His facial features were immaculate. His blond hair dropped just above his eyes in a mysterious manner. His muscular chest was showing through his dark cape. He wore only the cape and a pair of leggings. His bare feet dug into the ground. His arms were long and muscular. A belt sat on his hips only holding a small pouch that held a dagger. A single scar led from his shoulder down to his hip. He spoke to them in a deep and calm voice, his figure transfixing them. Another man snuck out of the darkness. He retreated into the shadows when the first man looked back. The first man then turned his head back to Tatiana.

            “You two are in vampire territory. I suggest by this time tomorrow you leave or else you will die. You two look like smart girls. I think you will leave.” Laurel suddenly leapt and stabbed at him with her short sword. He deftly caught the blade between his bare hands and snapped the short sword in half. He moved his hands back to his sides. The blade of her sword dropped to the ground. Laurel held the hilt staring afraid at him. He moved close to her face inspecting her. He then breathed gently into Laurel’s face. She collapsed into a pile on the ground with a muted thud. The vampire then walked over to Tatiana, his teeth gleaming in the fire light. She stood there frozen in her place. He slowly drew her falchion from the sheath at her hip. He studied the unique design. It had a silver handle with an unidentifiable blade. The blade was light as a feather and maneuverable. Yet he had never seen this kind of craftsmanship before on an amateur traveler. He admired the craftsmanship that was present on the blade. He stood in awe for a second then gathered his wits and looked at Tatiana.

            “Nice weapon you have here. It looks the same as your sisters. Shame I had to break it. Though this will go great in my collection.” He laughed loudly as Tatiana stood frozen with fear. He slowly breathed the knock out gas into her lungs and watched as she fell down in a crumpled heap. Out of her closing eyes she saw him walk back into the darkness and the eyes slowly one by one disappear as quickly as they appeared.

            Laurel was the first to wake up. Dirt and twigs covered her whole body. Her cape was partially burned from the fire. Daylight shone through the treetops as she stood up. A slight feeling of vertigo overcame her as she looked around. The camp was destroyed. The broken short sword lay on the ground. The lean to she had set up was torn away from the trees breaking any rope they had used to make it. The food supplies had been ransacked and their packs were ripped to shreds. She bent down to pick up the journal that had been in her pack. That fortunately was unscathed. It was her mothers and it told of a better time when vampires had been only a myth. Laurel had thought it was just a book written by her mother to scare them as little girls. Laurel heard a moaning sound come from the other side of the fire. Tatiana lay face down in the dirt breathing shallowly. Laurel jumped over the fire circle and turned her twin over. Mud and ash covered her face. Both were left unmarked.

            Tatiana coughed then opened her eyes. She slowly sat up and blinked. She shook her head. Tatiana slowly lifted her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them gently. Laurel brushed off her twin’s face. Laurel went and grabbed her water sack and a cloth. She soaked the cloth in water and wiped some of the dirt off of Tatiana’s face.

Tatiana stood up slowly. Laurel helped her stand. Tatiana breathed for a second then walked over to their bags. “So everything that was useable they took and everything else they destroyed I’m guessing.” Tatiana said shifting through the remains of her pack. All that remained from it was a small knife, a scrap of parchment, and a cloak. She wrapped the only cloak they had left around her and walked toward the edge of the forest.

            “Laurel, we need to head out soon. They might be back tonight and it we might not be so lucky this time”

            “I know Tati. I’m gathering my stuff together,” Laurel took what remained from her pack and placed it in the pockets of the Tatiana’s cloak. All that remained from Laurel’s pack was a pencil, her own journal, and a small knife. Her scabbard lay next to the fire circle. Laurel picked it up and placed it around her waist. She wrapped her remnants of a sword in a small skin. “Come on Tati we need to get going.” Laurel walked toward the northern path. A path sat directly opposite. The path led southward into unexplored country which their mother had called vampire territory.

            “Laurel, there is a town to the south a day’s walk. If we can make it by sundown there is a high chance we will be able to get supplies and a new weapon for you. Or we can go straight through the north not encounter any living people for awhile and hope that we survive the wilderness. It would also be safer to go to the town closer to us in case those vampires attack again.” Tatiana said, trying to remember what her map had said.

Laurel sighed. Tatiana was smart but she was getting too into this whole vampire nonsense. Laurel knew that the town was there and also knew that to the south there were bears and wolves. Laurel chuckled at the thought of vampires attacking them.

            “Tatiana, you know there are bears and wolves to the south. We must go to the north or else we will not make it.” Laurel said.

            “I read about the town in mom’s journal. It was a town that is guarded by a spell that keeps the vampires away. There is no town to the north that we can get to within a day’s walk. It would be safest if we went to that town to the south.”

            “Fine, we shall go to this town. We will re-supply then head north. We will not stay more then a day.”  Laurel turned around and started to walk toward the south road. Tatiana let out a sigh of relief. She would not have to try to fight her sister on this one. She hated disagreeing with her twin but sometimes it was necessary. They would not have made it if they had kept going north. There were worse deaths then being mauled by a bear.

            “Laurel, if you don’t believe in vampires then who attacked us last night.” Tatiana said stopping to take a drink from the water sack. It was almost empty and would have to be refilled soon.

            Laurel let out a moan of disgust. “It was just some bandits Tatiana. We must have been so scared that we froze up and fainted when they attacked.” Tatiana shook her head and kept walking. She would never understand her sister.