Orion

"Do not leave Orion's side!" Cosmas orders Athos before getting her sword and facing her pale white enemy. The vampires are outnumbered, but with Orion's injury, it will be a one-on-one battle.

The tall thin vampire seems to be their leader. Mircea goes for him when he vanishes behind the black veil of the trees that the forest has created. Just as she thought about going after him, he pounces on her from the left, catching her by surprise.

He goes for her neck; Mircea tries to hold him off while she gets a good grip to swing her sword at him. Lilith is the only one to have an upper hand. She is mercilessly swinging her small knives at the scrawny pale vampire, cutting him at various places.

"You bastard!" Chiron screams when the vampire breaks two of his fingers. The beast only smiles in return before sniffing him.

"Maybe you can be dinner for tonight?" He drawls out in his velvety smooth voice. The vampire snarls, ready to bite Chiron when a small knife punches his throat. Fast blood starts oozing from his throat.

"Hurry, slice his head off!" Athos shouts at Chiron. Chiron looks perplexed at Athos.

"Kill him," he screams again.

Chiron lifts his sword, flinching with the pain that is surging through his body. The vampire staggers as he draws out the steel knife from his throat.

It is now or never; the vampire's wound starts healing.

Chiron peeps at Athos before swinging the sword fast. The headless vampire's body slumps down lifelessly.

Chiron bends down in pain, inspecting his broken fingers, but from the side of his eye, he smiles at Athos, silently thanking him.

Mircea has several cuts on her arms. The vampire is swift with his actions. Every attack is different from the last one, making it harder to predict his techniques.

"Where is Cosmas?" Lilith screams while trying to hold off the bloody vampire that is trying to bit her.

Athos looks away from Orion. Even Chiron is nowhere to be found.

"Chiron and Cosmas are both gone?" Athos is frantic.

"The vampire she was fighting is nowhere to be seen!" Lilith looks around.

The vampire in front of her sneers and uses one of her knives to gash her right thigh. She looks at the cut on her thigh in horror before striking her opponent with two knives at once.

"Lilith, here!" Athos throws a sword, but the vampire jumps in to snatch it. She gets the advantage of time.

Lilith drives a wooden stake right through his heart. The vampire gasps, stunned. She then swiftly dodges his last attempt at killing her before his body dries up in the wake of death.

Mircea sighs, looking at the dead body lying in front of her. Third down, she whispers to herself. Fat beads of sweat have pooled near her neck, indicating her fatigue.

"I think Cosmas and Chiron went after that vampire," Lilith concludes, gathering their goods. Orion is still resting on Athos's thigh, quivering in pain. Mircea glances at his wounded shoulder.

"Can you aid him?" She asks Athos.

"Yes. I will try to," he replies, taking supplies from Lilith, who has already managed to bandage her bleeding temporarily.

"Do you think if you were left alone with Orion, you'll manage to protect yourselves?" Mircea queries once again. They must find Cosmas and Chiron.

How could they be so foolish to fall right into the beast's trap?

"I don't see why not," Athos replies.

"Not to sound negative, but you did not even get up while we were being ambushed," Lilith murmurs under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" Athos calls out.

"Nothing, thank you for saving my life earlier." She smiles at him oddly; Athos returns the smile after assessing her body posture, which does not indicate her being thankful at all.

"Okay then, Lilith and I will split and try to find Cosmas and Chiron while you stay here and look out if the enemy comes back for its friends." Mircea lights up another lantern and hands it over to Lilith.

Hues of light pink are diffused with blue; the sun is still hiding over the horizon, not ready to bless creatures of the day.

Cold sweat is painted on Mircea's body like a second skin. She ignores the hot and cold feeling, the dizziness and walks further into the woods. She finds nothing.

The forest is quiet; however, it is not an eerie silence that has developed. The trees are breathing evenly in a lull of the rising sun.

A thick fog is fabricating the vicinity, clouding Mircea's eyesight. She looks back, contemplating if she is going the right or if there is another way. She left her fur behind; the cold is getting to her.

Now is not the time to think about such trivial things. She must find Chiron and Cosmas because they might be in Gyyza, but East of Gyyza is still far.

Mircea steps in thick mud, she looks down at her feet. Her black shoes covered in reddish-brown soil. The red is quite a contrast, it is shining brightly. She lowers the lantern to take a good look.

Cosmas's body is lying cold on the ground. There is no life in her eyes. Mircea inhales sharply, noticing the little pool of blood around her. The vampire played a petty trick.

A trick that cost a life.

There is a long gnash around her lower belly and bite marks on her neck. The vampire took his sweet time with her. Mircea cannot stomach the sight. Cosmas was her soldier, and she will be remembered for her sacrifice. Mircea will make sure of that.

"May you find the light. May you find the peace," Mircea whispers stroking her hair from her lifeless face. She then looks for Chiron, but there is not one clue that leads to him.

She inspects the forest further till the sun fully shines its first rays. When she doesn't find aught, she returns to their campsite.

"What happened here?" Mircea demands after she takes in the scene.

Orion's body covered by a white cloth that is stained with blood. It is likely to be his blood. A sharp pain goes through her heart when Lilith and Athos look down in shame.

First Cosmas and then Orion and Chiron.

NO! Mircea will not accept Chiron's death until she finds his body.

"The vampire came back, looking for his friends. When he saw their dead bodies, I… he went for Orion. It did not leave me enough time to save him," Athos reveals gazing into oblivion.

They all were her responsibility. She should have… She knew this was going to be hard, but she did not think it would cost lives.

"What has been done, cannot be undone. We will avenge their deaths, and foremost we will not let their sacrifice go to waste. We must move on, find the Witcher and heal his royal highness." Lilith states not looking anyone in the eye, her attention solely on the map.

Trying to memorize the route, and at the same time shunning off the heaviness present in the air.

***

The East of Gyyza is covered in thick white snow. The wind, just like the people of Gyyza, is harsh and frigid. The trine left the forest a little while ago. Now the land is only filled with a thick coat of snow.

"Where are we right now?" Mircea breathes through the icy wind. The temperature has gone down with the sun. This time the darkness did not stop them. It rather scorched them up.

"We are almost here, I think." Lilith looks at the map. They are here, at least according to the map.

"Maybe we are lost. I cannot see one Witch here." Athos huffs, glancing at Lilith's map. Lilith has lost too much blood to walk straight. She is leaning on her horse, it is only worsening the situation.

The cloth she wrapped around her wound has changed its religion to her blood.

Mircea hasn't said much after they left their last campsite. She did not understand what the vampires were doing in Gyyza in the first place. She was grateful they did not run into a witch after that.

If the guards of Gyyza grasp the knowledge that they have entered Gyyza without the king's permission, they would have been slaughtered on sight.

The palpitation never left Mircea's body. She did not as much hint at Lilith or Athos about it. She knew a sickness or perhaps a horrible infection was getting to her after the fight with the vampire. She hunched it was not only the vampire but the sleepless nights and the frost.

Mircea looked at the figure ahead, blending too much into shadows, or maybe it was just a shadow, who knew?

"I don't think you are a good map reader." Athos comments.

"Oh, and your judgement matters because?" Lilith retorts.

Exciting darkness subtly creeps into Mircea's mind. Lethargy washes over her body. It is hopeless to fight it. She can hear Lilith and Athos arguing over something insignificant, but she doesn't care anymore.

All she can do is submit to it.

"Mir, what do…" Lilith diverts her glare to ask Mircea about something when she spots Mircea lying unconscious on her horse.

"Mir!" Lilith jumps off her horse in a hurry, but her stinging wound stops her.

"Ahh!" She holds her throbbing leg.

"Wait, let me," Athos sprints towards Mircea's horse.

"You are already injured, don't pull any stunts!" He warns Lilith, taking Mircea off her horse.

"It looks like you guys need shelter and some potions to heal your friend." A deep voice calls out from the shadow.

Lilith glances at the stranger, his features are soft as if he is here to help them.

"No, thank you. We need to find the Witcher." She kindly declines his offer, still clutching her leg. She wonders if Mircea would accept help from a stranger in a foreign land.

"And who might that Witcher be?" He drawls out, his eyes on Mircea the whole time. He watches Athos trying to make her drink water. The urgency in his actions tells him she is someone special.

"I can't promise if the tactics your friend there is using will help much." The mysterious guy continues, advancing towards Mircea.

"We will take her to Urban Waldwick. He will help," Lilith states firmly, which makes the stranger halt.

"Do you know him personally?" He asks.

Lilith does not answer his question. "I cannot see that lady like that," He stares at Mircea, who is lying pale in Athos's hands.

"But…" Lilith tries to stop him. He is already in front of Athos "It's too late we should go inside." He murmurs something underneath his breath.

Athos' and Lilith's eyes tingle, "What- what have you done?" Athos demands rubbing his eyes.

"You can now see Urban Waldwick's house." The strange Witcher answers.

"Wait, so we are not lost?" Lilith looks at her now changed surroundings.

The Witcher only shrugs, "Oh, holy heaven! You are the Witcher, Urban Waldwick!" Athos proclaims. Again, the Witcher only shrugs staring intently at Mircea.