Free The Vampire's Heart by Cochin Breaker Page A

for eternity in Hell. Calcia will see it true.”
    A man, dressed all in black amongst the crowd holds aloft a piece of wood, its end wrapped in cloth. Hands come up and tinderboxes reflect the bright winter sun in all directions. The wood is ignited easily and the cloth begins to burn brightly.
    The black-clad figure walks forward, moving slowly through the crowd. He bends and puts the light to my pyre. The mass of wood beneath me quickly catches, and the flames begin to rise. I have to think of some way out of this predicament, and I have to think quickly.
    Smoke rises up around me, choking me. Already the heat is unbearable. I drag in magic, hoping it will be enough, knowing it needs to be. I spend as long as I can drawing it in. No more time.
    The flames lick at my feet. All I can hear is my own screaming. All I can feel is pain. All I can think of is vengeance.
     
    - Holste -
     
    The city of Nuima is surrounded by mountains, so we’ve had to fly above Vadaj’s Pass, which leads directly to the city.
    We approach under the cover of darkness and heavy cloud, even though the few lanterns burning in the city’s streets will provide far too little illumination to give us away to the drunken citizens on its meandering roads.
    The light spewed forth by the Lighthouse is, rather perversely, our only enemy at the moment; it threatens to expose us while we fly. There are only the five of us going in, the Lead Squad. Iniar has put aside his grievances with me, while we are in the field, at least.
    In the distance, dead ahead along our trajectory, I can see the burning bright lights of the western walled city, Enlil. In a few moments we’ll be coming over our drop area, the first risk to the men under my guidance.
    We pass quickly over the Macenial House; Hier-Mehhok will be sleeping in his bed, unaware of what’s happening under his very nose. I glance down again and see the market area below me. I sweep my wings back hard, angling myself down, knowing that the other four are doing exactly the same. I’m falling hard, the cobbled ground rushing toward me, dropping like a stone to my death. I only hope that our drop is too quick to have been noticed by the drunken revellers and the night workers.
    A little before I need to, I spread my wings, catching the air, and slowing myself dramatically. Penk falls furthest, braking his fall at the last possible moment to avoid impact. I flap lazily and drop to the ground, Sin, Iniar, and Lorien following me.
    Penk has already cast a Sanctuary, creating us a magical safe haven from prying eyes, completely unnoticeable to all but the extremely gifted, and then only those extremely well trained.
    “ Iniar, Lorien,” I have their attention immediately, “I want this area searched. Penk, Sin, I want you two searching the northern residential sector.”
    The two men nod and vanish into the night, leaving me alone within the sanctuary. I sit down, taking a thick stick of white chalk, imported from Dawn View, out of my pack, and mark a large Sircless onto the floor around me. I begin to raise power within the circle once it is complete.
    Penk or Iniar will send a magical signal to me when either finds the girl, so that I’ll know when to cast. Within the Sircless I draw magical power directly from Calcia, and that power is held within the boundaries of the Sircless, unable to escape, charging the small space around me with phenomenal magical power. I find it constantly amazing how much magic can be manipulated. Never before have Calcians been able to BodyShift, but now we can grow wings, thanks to our observation and study of other magical practices.
    Something itches at my senses, something pressing against the edges of the Sircless, trying to get in; it is Penk’s signal. I siphon a small amount of power off to Iniar, letting him know the situation and where he should go to lend support. Gathering all of the power within the Sircless, I cast and my vision shifts until I get a birds-eye