Young Writers Society

Acarto made sure his hood was completely hiding his face as the dragon flew over the heads of the spectators. The Carnival of Monsters was in town, and like many taverns, this one had offered them free lodgings in exchange for a performance.

The dragon was only an illusion, one of the many the Monster Carnies created to entertain people.

“And the terror of the night - the vampire,” said the commentator in a dramatic whisper. He looked like the son of a Sultan from a distant land, Acarto thought, commanding attention from the tavern's small stage.

The dragon burst, and turned into a large bat-like monster.

Acarto smirked, and once again made sure his face was hidden. He doubted anyone around here would care about what he was, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

As he wasn't human, Acarto could clearly see the illusions for what they were. He could also see the crouching pixie who was casting them. Her blonde hair didn't quite hide her pointy ears, and her pupil-less green eyes were squinting with concentration. She made the vampire turn into a sea serpent.

“And finally,” said the commentator, “the now extinct scourge of the land – the orcs!”

Although nearly everyone in the room was too young to have ever seen a real orc, they still shuddered as the large goblin-like things marched by.

The orcs all disappeared, but a goblin pounced from behind the stage onto the commentator's back. Everyone screamed in surprise, before they realise it was part of the show.

The commentator, goblin and pixie linked hands and bowed, getting rapturous applause.

As the crowd thinned, Acarto sidled over to the commentator, and whispered “I must speak with you.”

*

“My name is Acarto,” he said, when they were in the Carnies' lodgings. He pulled his hood back, revealing his bat shaped face. “I am a Loogaroo.”

“Aren't they a kind of servant for vampires?” said Trimble the pixie.

“Yes, slaves of vampires, created by them feeding their blood to a bat,” said Acarto.

“I hope our vampire monster didn't offend you?” said Trimble.

“It's fine, everyone knows vampires only turn like that when they kill for fun,” said Acarto. “I came to this tavern because I heard you were in town.”

“He's a fan!” said Kobalt the goblin.

“No, I think he wants help,” said Runewiz the commentator with a frown.

“That I do,” agreed Acarto. “I come from community of vampires, a village called Ardeal. The vampires there have all sworn themselves off human blood, instead using the herd of cows we have. But they're all in danger, as the shadows are leaving.”

“What'd you mean?” Kobalt asked.

“Ardeal is permanently covered in shadow,” Acarto explained, “so the vampires are always safe. But just before sundown today, the shadows started to fly away. If they're not returned before the morning, the vampires will all die.”

“What do you think caused it?” Runewiz asked. “Magic?”

“I think it's a witch,” said Acarto. “Do you know anything about them?”

“I know they trade their emotions and memories for magic powers,” said Trimble. “Usually because they want revenge for something.”

“Are there any shadows still in Ardeal?” Runewiz asked. “If they're still flowing, we could follow them to the witch.”

*

Ardeal was in a steep-sloped crater, surrounded on all sides by tall trees. And by a stroke of luck there was still a small trickle of darkness flowing from the cow enclosure in the centre.

It was heading to a wide gap in the trees almost directly opposite them, so they ran along the edge of the forest, just in time to see it flit through the gap.

“Look,” pointed Trimble.

Just within the forest, easily standing out among the normal duskiness, was a pulsating blob of pure black shadow, which was joined by the trickle they were following.

“The witch must be nearby,” said Trimble.

“Is there anyone there?” said Runewiz loudly. “Hello?”

“Hello,” returned a curt female voice. The shadow parted, and a woman stepped from within. She looked completely normal, apart from her pure black eyes. “My name is Witch Eva. I assume you're here to ask me what I'm doing with the shadows?”

“Well?” said Runewiz impatiently.

“I'm going to form an army of shadows,” she said coldly, and the writhing mass of darkness split into about thirty demonic shapes just for a second, before merging together again. “When the sun rises, we will raid the village. Tear the vampires apart in their homes, or drive them out into the sunlight to perish.”

“But why?” said Trimble. “They're no harm to anyone now!”

Witch Eva simply sneered, and disappeared back into her darkness.

“We should warn everyone in Ardeal to hide,” said Trimble.

“Has anything changed there recently?” Runewiz asked. “Have any of the vampires attacked a person, or anything?”

“No!” said Acarto. But he realised he denied it much too quickly, and in a resigned voice said, “you'd better come with me.”

*

The largest building in Ardeal was a small village hall of sorts, which had a couple of small jail cells. In one of those cells was a vampire, whose hands and feet were heavily cuffed, his face full of regret.

“His name is Poldori,” whispered Acarto.

“He sent you here to kill me, didn't he,” Poldori said sadly, looking at them through the bars. “I didn't mean to do it. The boy got separated from his mother, and I could smell...”

His voice broke off, and he looked away.

“What could you smell?” Trimble asked softly.

“He was dying,” said Poldori in a quiet voice. “Before I came to Ardeal, I would offer to save people from fatal illnesses or mortal wounds by giving them a life of vampirism... The boy didn't know he was dying, and the habit just kicked in.”

“His mother!” said Kobalt. “Witch Eva must be his mother, wanting revenge for her son!”

“What happened to the boy?” Runewiz asked.

“He was allowed to live in Ardeal,” said Acarto. “He had nowhere else to go.”

“Would seeing her son break the spell?” Runewiz asked.

“Well, kind of, maybe,” said Trimble awkwardly. “The way to beat a witch is to make her cry. Seeing her son may break the memory barriers and bring tears, but it would also break her powers and almost certainly kill her.”

“Rather than dying, maybe she could become a vampire too?” suggested Kobalt, looking at Poldori.

“I'll find the boy,” said Acarto, “and then let's find Witch Eva.”

*

He was called Fred. He wasn't too happy about being used as a pawn to defeat his own mother. But he also didn't want her to be a witch, so he agreed to join them when they went back to the forest.

“There she is,” said Trimble. Witch Eva was threading the shadows of nearby trees into the darkness she'd already collected.

Fred took a deep breath, and went over to his mother, who was facing away fro them. He cleared his throat.

“Who are you?” she sneered, glancing over her shoulder.

“Don't you remember me, mama?” asked Fred, in a sad voice.

“Mama... You were my son,” said Witch Eva indifferently. “Well, what do you want?”

“Is it true I was dying, mama?” Fred asked. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I didn't want... I just thought...” she spluttered. Then she gulped, and tears seeped from her eyes. “I'm so sorry, Freddy!” she shouted.

The ball of darkness behind her burst, and flowed back to the village. She collapsed, and Fred managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

“I'm so sorry,” she said again, her eyes now the exact same shade of blue as Fred's. “I didn't want the rest of your life to be marred by knowing it would be so short. I'm sorry for stealing the shadows,” she said, turning to Acarto. “I was just so angry. Will I die?”

“You might,” said Acarto wretchedly, before he said, “but you could become a vampire.”

“I can't bite my own mother!” shouted Fred.

“Maybe Poldori can be forgiven if he bites Eva,” said Acarto, and sighed. “Not the ideal situation, but there it is.”

“Why would it be for you to decide?” asked Kobalt, as Runewiz picked Eva up gently. “You're just a Loogaroo.”

“Are you in charge of Ardeal?” asked Trimble curiously, as they started to walk back to the village hall.

“Yes, well spotted,” smiled Acarto, his eyes glistening. “My old master was killed for being a vampire. Usually a Loogaroo will disappear when their master dies, but for some reason I didn't. So I decided to make something of my life, and I built Ardeal as a place for vampires to live without seeking human blood. I was surprised by how many were up for it.”

“Fred, I'd like you to wait outside,” said Eva, when they reached the village hall. “I don't want you to see me getting bitten. And I want to talk to Poldori and Acarto about something.”

Fred nodded sadly.

“We could show you the Carnival while you wait,” said Trimble.

*

So Fred sat on a bench outside the village hall, a smile slowly working its way across his face as all manners of monsters flew around him. Before long, other vampires from Ardeal sat with him, and for the first time the Monster Carnies were having requests shouted at them.

At first they didn't know how to react - Trimble was clumsily creating whichever creatures were being shouted the loudest. But before long they found their groove, and Runewiz was giving improvised introductions to the various requested animals, with Trimble following his lead.

The show was running much longer than usual. Kobalt had done his “goblin surprise” moment long ago, so he was now being chased by the monsters.

Fred was enjoying himself so much he forgot he was a vampire now, and thought nothing of it when his mother sat beside him, with her collar turned up.

*

As the show had finished very late, the Monster Carnies spent the night in the village hall. In the morning they found Ardeal was once more completely shaded from the bright sun. They left as quietly as possible, because most vampires slept during the day.

“Hey!” shouted a voice, just before they started to climb out of the crater.

Eva, Fred and Poldori caught up with them.

“Last night I spoke with Poldori and Acarto,” said Eva. “Poldori, Fred and I are going to travel around the country, and offer people who are dying the chance to come and live in Ardeal as a vampire.”

“Well, as long as you never force anyone,” said Trimble.

“So you've forgiven Poldori for biting Fred?” said Kobalt. “No more witching for you?”

“I'm grateful, now I've had a chance to think it over,” said Eva. “I think it's a great idea, and the more vampires who join Ardeal, the more likely vampires are to see how much better it is, and give up human blood.”

“Good idea,” smiled Trimble. “Do you want a ride? The back of our cart doesn't let any light in. We're going to a castle a long way away to entertain at a prince's birthday party. Plenty of places between here and there you could visit.”

“That would be great, thanks” smiled Eva.

From that day, the Carnival of Monsters stopped doing the vampire monster during their show, and vampires would travel for miles to live in Ardeal.