The vampire moved quickly, taking the chair, and motioned his companion over. The other undead, also tall and thin, with long black hair, wore a fishnet shirt and designer sunglasses. As they whispered to the woman, her eyes began to glaze, falling victim to the charms of the undead. Her friends simply watched, attempting to crack jokes that the trolls wouldn’t hear, to get her attention. The farmwife slumped in her armchair, head lolling back, smiling and returning her whispers to the vampires who hovered over her.
A bright slash of light appeared, near the door, a gateway. The room cooled, and the fire seemed dull. A pale mist swept over the floor, from the portal, and a dark-cloaked figure strode through the opening before it vanished. Blazing red eyes peered from beneath the hood. A longsword hung from a gilded scabbard at the figure’s hip, and a small leather pouch, more likely spell components, also dangled from the swordbelt. Gold-skinned hands, little more than a skeleton wrapped in flesh, pulled back the hood. White hair tumbled down, barely over the creature’s shoulders, and withered golden skin clung to his skull. The lich surveyed the room, searching for something.
The vampires launched to their feet, staring. The farmwife still slumped in her chair, a small trickle of blood on the side of her neck. The coat-wearing vampire grinned, a trace of blood showing on one fang.
The lich cleared his throat, a sound like steel scraping steel, then spoke in a carrying hiss “I have returned, and bring the Void with me. This will end. No more ignoring right, no more enforcing wrong.” He whispered nearly-forgotten arcane syllables, and pointed at the knot of trolls. An amber spark streaked toward them, and exploded in a searing ball of fire, charring the trolls to bone where they huddled. They didn’t even have time to scream.
The vampires hissed, fangs bare. The coat-wearing creature screamed, fury controlling his voice, “Who are you? Who tells us where to hunt, or who we can or can’t kill?” He and his companion moved to either side of the robed intruder.
“I am Darkness. I am the Destroyer, the leader of the Void clan. Leave now, and live.” He pushed back his cloak, baring the sword hilt, then yanked it free. The blade glowed black, partially transparent. He twirled it in a circle, the firelight winking off the silver, but there was a blur around it, like another plane had been torn and mended where the blade had passed.
The coat-clad vampire rushed in, from the left, away from the sword. Darkness turned, swinging, and sliced off the undead’s ear. The creature howled in pain, expecting the blade to do no harm, but the vorpal weapon dripped blood onto the floor. “I said, leave now, or die,” Darkness hissed.
Pulling a trembling hand from the side of his face, the vampire pulled two long daggers from inside the trench coat. He spun them, a practiced motion, then lunged in again. Darkness stabbed at the creature, but his blade was blocked, though the vampire’s knife hissed before being sliced in half. Darkness pulled the blade up, shredding the vampire’s thigh before it could jump back. “This is your last chance, vampire,” he whispered through a grin. The other vampire melted into the shadows, then fled through the open doorway. The other hefted his remaining knife, and glanced at the ear on the floor. He drew a ragged breath between clenched teeth, then shook his head.
The lich blurred into motion, a whirlwind of flashing silver, rending his blade through planes unseen. One of the vampire’s hands fell to the floor, splattering gore, and still twitching. Another shriek, and the creature stumbled into the wall, the flesh of his cheek hanging open. The remaining dagger clattered to the floor. “You can’t kill me!” it screamed, “I belong here! This is my bar!” Darkness grinned, and the monster continued “And I won’t die! You aren’t able, it’s night… you can’t kill a vampire at night!” The thing started to cackle, the insanity of lasting death taking hold. Darkness stepped into the center of the room, and chanted in a whisper. A ball of yellow light drifted upward, like a soap bubble, hovering ten feet off the floor, well below the rafters. The lich pulled the hood of his cloak up, obscuring his face, only the blazing eyes discernable in the shadow.
The globe expanded, twitching for a second before exploding in blinding rays. The force of a noon-time sun flooded the room, searing the vampire into powered ash. The room fell into purple blackness as the light winked out, eyes slowly adjusting to the firelight. The table near the trolls still burned, and a pile of black ash was heaped near the wall, on top of a dagger. The twitching hand stopped moving. Darkness strode silently to the farmwife, and gently shook her shoulder. “Be careful who you let whisper into you ear, miss… not all here have the best of intentions.” He twisted a silver ring on his finger, and disappeared. The group of women sat gaping, alone in the room.
