Eternal

A few days later, I was well enough to be walking. That whole vampire-blood-cures-all thing really did work! Austin stuck with me as I took my first steps out of bed. His cold hand grasped mine as he helped me stand. I wobbled and achy legs.

So for the first time since I had gotten here, I was allowed to roam the castle aboveground.

“You can do this, little one.” He whispered soothingly in my ear. I smiled a little as his strong arm wrapped around to help guide me. We traveled slowly across his tiled floor until he pushed open the door for us.

In the hallway stood a dark wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes. Its coat was like that of wispy night, not solid, but yet a physical form. It was as if the thought of fear and combination of rage and grace was melded together and made a form that was sculpted of an endless abyss. The rolls of black rolled off its coat and disappeared as it touched the floor. A cloud of darkness seemed to surround it and dim all lights it walked by.

I must’ve gasped because Austin looked down to me.

“Don’t be afraid. They feed off of it.” He whispered. The night hound slowly approached. All noise was sucked into the emotionless eyes and absorbed back into its being.

“What’s his name?” I asked. He smiled a little.

“Al’Wy’En.”

“Al-we-eth?” I tried to pronounce. These names were certainly difficult to master!

“Close, but it’s pronounced All-why-en. It’s like ‘All Why End’, but without the ‘d’.” He told me. I nodded. The night hound came up, barely a breath away from my chest. The beast didn’t growl, didn’t bare its sharp fangs, and didn’t flinch. All it did was stare at me and keep the red eyes pointed at my blue eyes.

“His name means Sacrifice-The-Void. He’s a sweet puppy, really.” Austin chuckled. The dog almost…rolled its eyes?

“Hey, you are!” Austin stroked the night hound’s head, ruffling the misty coat that swirled around his hand. There seemed to be something physical under the black swirls.

“I guess he is.” I whispered, trying to reassure myself. The beast nudged up against my legs and I kept from whimpering and jumping back.

“Come on, he’s friendly.” Aus chuckled. I reached out a hand. The night hound gently rubbed against it.

Um, was it just me or was it that the night hounds weren’t as vicious as first explained?

“Al’Wy’En isn’t the normal night hound. He doesn’t have a thirst for blood, like the other do. He’s special, I guess.” Austin shrugged. I smiled a little. The night hound might be different, twice as big as a wolf, as high as my shoulder, and look like it could bite your head off in one attempt, but this one was as sweet as a little puppy!

“Aw, you’re not so bad.” I laughed a little. The night hound panted and woofed softly. It was deep, almost vicious, but the night hound was so adorable!

I followed Austin as he started to walk away. Al’Wy’En trailed at my side, easily keeping pace. He allowed me to put my other free hand on his back to steady myself.

“So how old is he?” I asked. It seemed strange, asking a vampire for a night hound’s age. I shouldn’t be here right now. I should be tending the fields. I should’ve be with a night hound, I should be with the horses!

Well, I guess my life was just a little mixed up right now.

“Only forty years old. He’s a pup.” Austin smiled as we walked, err, hobbled, down the stairs. My eyes widened at the number. That was old for a dog!

When we got downstairs, I froze on the spot. The air seemed to get colder around me as my brain stopped functioning. There were many night hounds, all looking more vicious than the last, and the rest of the vampires.

Of course, Alex was sitting at the table with Jack.

Notes

Hello, wolves! I'm back again! Sorry it took a litte while! I was pretty busy with homework and couldn't type yesterday! But wow am I shocked! We're already at 20 votes, 24 subscribers, and it's back up to a perfect 10.00 rate!!! Thank you for loving this story and being so generous in giving this a great score!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter with our intro to another big character, Al'Wy'En!! I mean, even vampires have to have pets, right?

Well, thanks for reading and stay beautiful! I hope you'll keep on going until my next update!