A great pain woke Mason up from his sleep. He lurched up and quickly reached for his leg to yank off the insect biting hard on his foot. He glanced up; it was early morning, and the darkness was already receding. Sunrise would not be far away.
An odour wafted toward him, a stench so intense that Mason grabbed his nose and switched to breathing through his mouth. The fire he had started the previous night had long died out. Mason glanced around in the hope of seeing whatever was causing such a stench.
You are in danger, my love…
Even before the voice in his head finished speaking, Mason spotted a pair of red glows approaching. A movement behind him, and he glanced. More red eyes! He was surrounded! At this point, Mason needed no one to tell him before he unsheathed his sword.
The drawing sound of the blade must have alerted his enemies, because Mason could hear their collective growls. It was already morning, but still too foggy to make out the complete details of the red-eyed creatures.
"Show yourselves!" Mason shouted, as if the creatures needed his advice. Finally, the creatures were in sight, at least for Mason to make out some of their features. Their eyes were not glowing at all as he'd imagined. In fact, that was naturally how they looked; blood red. The creatures didn't have ears, only holes as small as a nostril. Their mouths and noses were elongated, and they had scales for skin. They wagged their spiked tails about as they walked on their hind legs. Their looks reminded Mason of a lizard walking like a man. One lurched at Mason, its four-inch razor-sharp claws outstretched.
Mason staggered in fright, but he had expected something like this. He brandished his weapon blindly and wildly at the creature. Luckily, his sword nicked the beast on the face, at least what must be its cheek, considering the shape of the creature's head.
The creature halted its attack and squealed, dropping down its massive jaw to reveal two long and sharp fangs and tiny other teeth. Now, Mason realized what must have been the source of the stench he had perceived earlier. He grabbed his nose with his free hand, and he prayed the monster could just close that damn mouth and attack him rather than bathing him in a suffocating odour.
His prayer was answered, but in the wrong way. The entire horde, about ten in number, charged, all at once. The first one to reach Mason received a slice on the shoulder, and even as purple blood seeped down from the cut, the creature showed no sign of pain.
Mason recognized something in their eyes as he dodged their wide swings, a feeling he thought he'd encountered before. Wasthat Bloodthirsty? He wondered. But the creature's fangs confirmed his curiosity. Beasts of this manner, unlike the werewolves, have little or no desires in flesh. What they wanted was obvious; Nana had mentioned their name two nights ago.
The Guinqs, as they are called, only needed blood. They would drain every last drop from their prey's body. A guinq's bite was a twisted kiss, delivering a narcotic rush that wrapped its victims in a haze of pleasure and pain. As the prey succumbed to the intoxicating sensation, basked in the false euphoria, the creature drained their life force, feasting on their blood with ruthless efficiency.
There was even a tale that there was a clan of them, so intelligent that they captured their prey alive and drained them little by little while preserving them for future meals.
Mason managed to get to where he tied his horse, alas, the creature had succumbed to countless bites on its body. It must have neighed to him for help, but Mason was a deep sleeper. He was soon overwhelmed and one of the guinqs grabbed him and slammed him against a tree nearby. Mason winced in pain as he let go of his sword. Another beast opened its wide mouth, bathing him again in an odour that nearly severed all his breath, except that he could breathe through his mouth.
As one of the beasts sank its fangs into him, Mason struggled for a moment before giving in to the euphoric toxins from the creature's fangs. Joy engulfed him. He felt intense and inexplicable pleasure and soft tingling throughout his body. He hoped this feeling would last forever. Mason felt like he was on top of the world, like a prince in a castle filled with treasures and pretty women.
Standing in front of him, about a meter away, were Nana and Raymond, smiling lovingly at him. His parents also flanked him, patting him gently on the shoulders.
"Mason! Mason!!"
He heard his name, but it was distant. Whoever it was should not disturb his peace. This pleasure he had never felt before must not be taken from him. He tried to ignore the voice, but it kept growing, persistent. He managed to raise his head, and standing in front of him was his secretary, Vivian. She was dashing in her short skirt and revealing clothes.
Mason had never thought of her as a woman, not once not ever. But seeing her pretty smile now, he decided he was going to give it another thought when he returned to his world. However, she was right in front of him now. Why wait until he returns to his world when he could shoot his shot now?
"Mason!!!" Vivian called out to him, more like yelling.
"I'm right in front of you, silly. You don't have to shout, my dear," Mason chuckled. "Come here and have fun with me. I promise to go easy on you."
Mason doubted his world for a moment when a slap landed on his face. Vivian might be a little bit strict whenever she was annoyed, but she would never lay her hand on him. Something must be wrong somewhere. It definitely was. But whatever it was, Mason decided he was going to let it slide, since he couldn't feel anything more or less than pleasure at the moment. Why waste it?
He was on the verge of returning to his fantasies when another slap struck him like a battering ram. Finally, he snapped out of his reverie. His vision was blurry at first, and then a moment later, it began to clear.
"Seems he is back to his senses."
"Mason, are you okay?"
"Amie?" Mason gasped as he beheld who he had assumed was Vivian. "How did you…"
"Is that what is important right now?" Amie snapped, tears falling freely from her eyes. "You almost died! I thought I was going to lose you!"
"I can't believe this!" Mason heard a voice beside him. He glanced and saw a lady in a blue furry robe. The lady was staring at him in what must be a mix of surprise or shock. "You were being drained by a gang of guinqs and yet you survived!?"
"Who… might you be?" Mason stammered. He turned to his other side and saw another lady in a red cloak. Her face was hidden deep within her cowl. "Who are you people?"
"Your saviors," Amie replied. "They saved your life."
The two ladies introduced themselves as Sibyl and Isolde, but it seemed there was a third of them that was yet to be revealed.
"Kiya!" Sibyl called to a lady about four meters away. The lady swiveled around for a moment before she began to approach. When she emerged she looked around again. "I think some guinqs are still lurking about here. We need to move," she said to her companions.
"Not until…" Isolde began to speak, and everyone waited for her to finish her sentence, but she didn't. The next thing to be seen was her, cutting off something in the mouths of the corpses lying about. "A guinq's fang is worth seven copper coins in Vin Town," she whispered.
"You will always satisfy your greed, won't you?" Sibyl scoffed. "At this rate, I wager anyone would believe you're one of the sisters of Everl—"
"Watch your mouth, Sibyl!" Kiya hissed. She pulled her away from Mason and Amie and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I did not bring you with me so you can reveal our identity to the world. Watch your words if you do not want to have to silence these people forever."
"My apologies," Sibyl said, her face down.
Mason struggled to get up from the ground and Amie assisted him. His head rang, as though the weight of a building was on his head. The pain he had not felt before began to emerge, like a thousand pins poking him. He would survive, he continued to whisper that to himself even as he felt too weak to stand on his own feet.
"Are you okay?" Amie asked, looking over him worriedly. The last look he ever wanted to receive from the girl he had abandoned. It would pass, everything would pass, he told himself again and after.
"I'll be fine," he said out loud, biting back a scream as Amie held his shoulder where he'd sustained a bite from the bloodsuckers.
I wanted to help, but you didn't call for me. Mason heard the voice in his head. I warned you, but…
"What do you expect me to have done in that situation?" Mason grumbled out loud, startling everyone. "You left me when I needed help!"
"What?" Amie exclaimed. "When did I leave you?"
Kiya raised an eyebrow in confusion as she began to approach. She must have suspected something, because her gaze never left Mason. Even Isolde paused what she was doing and focused on Mason and Amie.