Cover Art by Alison Hunt

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As you may have heard or realized, War of Nytefall: Loyalty is now available.  The teasers shall continue for a little bit longer though, but spoilers are becoming an issue.  I don’t think that will be a problem here.  Just a friendly introduction to the vampires you’ll meet this and next Thursday.  Meet the rest of the Vengeance Hunters.

The dish shatters against the wall as the two vampires continue fighting, neither one showing concern for their injuries. Wearing the brown and green uniform of an old-fashioned woodsman, Luther Grathan uses his superior fighting skills to avoid most of his opponent’s wild swings. The lean and toned warrior shows no emotion beyond a faint glint of joy in his green eyes, which are repeatedly blocked by his mangy, red hair. Catching the other vampire by the wrist, he attempts to flip the elf into a chair and put an end to the scuffle. While sticking out his tongue, Robert lands on the cushions and remains upside down until Luther turns around. The lanky vampire takes a second to tighten a strap on his dusty leather armor before pushing off with all of his strength. His polished riding boots slam into the back of his friend’s head and sends the warrior crashing into a table covered in medical supplies. Neither of them listen to Titus clearing his throat from his chair and they charge to deliver simultaneous punches. They are inches from each other when Luther’s side splits open and Robert’s legs snap, their aggravated injuries causing them to collapse in a bleeding heap. Rolling onto their backs, the tired vampires stretch to shake hands and pull out canteens of blood, which they discover had been broken in the fight.

“I have a few questions,” Clyde says from the doorway. He leans to the side to let Mab in with a platter of blood bags that have been enchanted to increase their friends’ healing. “First, I want to know why there’s a horse without skin eating that potted plant and how you even got it in here. Second, is there a reason for the yellow on the left and black on the right hairstyle, Robert? Third, why are you two-”

“I demand to be called Bob!” the elf loudly declares, leaping to his feet. Due to his useless legs, he falls face first into a pillow that Titus kicks into his path. “Calling me Robert takes too long. Bob is shorter, which means it saves us time when in danger. Say both names and you’ll see I’m right. I got the idea when I noticed that my horses responded faster to simpler names than the long ones I used to give them. Why can’t it be the same for us? Anyway, Luther refused to listen to my explanation, so I had to defeat him to earn his respect.”

“No, we were fighting because you told me this story five times while we were being healed,” the vampiric forest tracker states while squeezing his flesh together. After willing the ugly gash to close, he crawls over to Bob and puts his friend’s arm over his shoulders. “You take most of the blood because your injuries are worse. I can make due with two bags and a day of rest. That is unless we’ve been reunited for something urgent. By the way, it’s good to see you’re alive, so to speak, Clyde. I find your timing curious since we could really use your help, but I assume Mab finally wore Xavier down.”

“Actually, I heard she went with Nadia’s blessing,” Bob interjects as he is helped to a small couch. Clicking his tongue, he gets the horse to come over and casually strokes the skinless animal’s head. “Fran here heard about it from Constance who listened to Nadia and Kai discussing their decision. She couldn’t understand most of what they said because they moved a barrel of apples close to her. In their defense, I had put an invisibility spell on the old girl and forgot to take it off before I left the stables. So, are we all in agreement that you’ll be calling me Bob? If so then thank you for visiting and you’re all dismissed.”