Free The Champions by Jeremy Laszlo

leapt upon the healers,
driving them to the ground. Only one exit existed in the tent; all the other
sides of the thick canvas were staked deep into the earth.
    None of the clerics reacted immediately, so completely
overcome by the attack. For a second an unnatural hush fell over the tent as
the first wave of victims were bled, completing the transformation of the
re-risen soldiers. The silence did not last long. A moment later one of the
clerics shrieked as others began to yell and run for the exit. Discarding their
current victims the newly revived soldiers moved with inhuman speed and agility
to cut off those who attempted to retreat.
    Bashing heads and backhanding those clerics who remained,
within seconds the screams ceased. Each of the thirteen fed upon one victim
after another, tasting each new flesh for a moment before moving on. So new and
wondrous was the world with their new bodies and senses, that less than two
minutes after the attack had started the infected soldiers fled the tent,
leaving all but one cleric alive. Spreading out in all directions the infected
searched for new sources of blood within Sigrant’s giant encampment. Every
feeding made them stronger. Every experience made them crave the next that much
more.
    Just five hours later, still a full two hours before
daybreak, the clerics began to awake for the fourth time, as did random others
throughout the camp.
    *****
    Edward reveled in the changes that had overcome his body. It
was as if each experience was a new one, a better one. He moved from tent to
tent with astonishing speed, silencing quickly any who thought to raise an
alarm. He fed time and time again, each time growing stronger, each time luxuriating
in the pleasure it brought him.
    Occasionally he heard a scream and knew that one of his
brethren had found another victim. Still no alarm had been raised. He was
secure in the fact as he followed the scent he had picked up only moments ago.
It hinted of women and girls, flowers and honey. To Edward it was almost as if
someone had designed a meal just for him. He could not resist it.
    Circuitously he followed the scent, imagining he would come
to the encampment of whores the king brought to reward his men after a
victorious battle. Here would be near half a thousand women of varying age and
proportions to choose from. An endless supply of pleasure. Edward smiled a
wicked grin and rounded the corner. The scent of perfume hit him like a brick
wall, only there were not lines of guarded whores. A single crimson tent stood
before Edward reeking of sex and perfume. He could hear the hearts beating
within and lustily his mouth began to water.
    Looking around to be sure none would notice, Edward scaled
the outside wall of the tent, bunching the thick canvas in his fists to get
hand holds. Reaching the seam where the top of the tent met the wall he forced
his fingers between the stitching and began to pull slowly. Quietly He opened a
hole large enough to pass through and carefully he pulled himself the remaining
distance up to it. Using his arms to open the gap he had created, Edward
dropped through the hole to land upon a padded cushion.
    More than two dozen women lay randomly about the room, each
and every one of them nude. Garments lay about the floor seemingly discarded
without a care. Edward had found that which he sought. Naught but a single male
inhabited the room, though just outside the canvas walls were several more. He
would have to be exceedingly careful not to wake anyone.
    Carefully Edward positioned himself over his first victim.
Looking upon her small body he imagined her barely old enough to wed. She was
developed enough physically to be called a woman he supposed, not that it
mattered. Clamping her small mouth shut with one hand, her eyes popped open the
same second he wrenched back her head. Edward pushed himself inside her at the
same time that he bit into her flesh. Ecstasy.
    *****
    Sara paced just outside the firelight that Seth