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By Root 697 0

blood-stained teeth. “One day of rest and I'll heal. Then I'll get another elf-maybe that little wench you're so fond of.” Not Rhynn. Never Rhynn. Jander would never permit another one of the People to be corrupted by Cassiar. His rage channeled the strength for one last attack, but Cassiar outweighed him. Laughing, the vampire lord opened his mouth, and his fangs drew nearer. Abruptly Cassiar jerked upward, snarling. He spun around, clawing blindly at his shoulder. Jander could see that someone had fired an arrow at the vampire lord, but he didn't bother to seek out his would-be savior. Instead, he grabbed a stake and shoved it into Cassiar's breast. Driven by Jander's hatred and his vampiric strength, the wooden weapon all but disappeared in the sudden redness that was the vampire lord's chest. Cassiar clawed ineffectually at Jander's face, then collapsed on top of the elf. Jander scrambled free, then looked up to see who his unexpected ally might be. He wasn't really surprised to find a beautiful young woman wearing night- black leather armor leaning against the closed front door. Rhynn clutched her spent bow, but did not meet his eyes. She was staring over Jander's shoulder, her lip curled in a grimace of disgust. The elf followed her gaze. Cassiar's body was beginning to decay with astonishing speed. The two elves watched in horrified fascination. The corpse rotted, then dried, then even the bones crumbled into fine dust. Jander looked up at Rhynn. “The Riders?” “Outside. With Theorn dead, I'm in charge.” She hesitated, then continued. “I told them to wait.” Jander was puzzled, but did not press the point. Weakly he pointed toward the one remaining makeshift stake. He'd made five stakes; five stakes for five vampires. “Finish it.”

Microsoft Word - Realms of Valor.rtf

Rhynn shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his pale face. “You saved lives tonight. You've earned another chance.” He laughed harshly. “At what? What's left for me?” “Evermeet.” “Don't mock me, Rhynn, not now.” “I'm not. You're free from him, Jander. You can travel anywhere you want now,” she said, speaking with increasing urgency. She moved closer to him, hesitated, then stroked his cheek. “Maybe you can find someone who can cure you.” He smiled weakly, without humor. “Cure a vampire?” “You haven't looked, so you don't know. Anyway, you don't deserve to die like they did.” After a pause, she said, “You're hungry, so you'll need this.” Rhynn rose, went unsteadily toward the door, and returned carrying a pail half full of deep wine-red fluid. Jander shook his head. “I won't drink human blood.” “It's not. It's from-” her voice caught a little “-from my mare.” The elf's eyes widened. Now he saw her reddened eyes, the tracks of tears down her flushed cheeks. “You're a Rider and you-” “When a mount grows old, it's the Rider's duty to kill it. Moonmaid's time was here. One more day, maybe two, and I'd have had to ...” She fixed Jander's silver eyes with her own. “Take it. Heal. Travel through the world and then back home to Evermeet. Fair's fair, Jander. You saved my life. Let me return the favor.” She held out the pail and smiled weakly. “This time, the drink's on me.” The elven vampire hesitated. Only an elf could have understood how precious a place Evermeet was. Rhynn had seen past the monster to the elven part of him, had slain her beloved Moonmaid to help him return to what he had been. Was there really & chance for one as bloodied as he? Might there truly be, somewhere in the world, a wise man or woman who knew how to cure vampirism? Slowly Jander sat up. Rhynn's strong arms reached to steady him as he carefully stretched out a hand for a discarded goblet. “What is the year?” he asked suddenly. When Rhynn frowned at the curious question, he explained with a smile, “I forget, you know. It's been so long___” “As we reckon the year here in the Dales, eight hundred and ninety-two,” Rhynn replied gently. “Eight hundred and ninety-two,” Jander repeated. “The year of my freedom.” He nodded slightly. “One last drink.” Then the cursed elf dipped