“Goodbye old friend,” mumbled Joey.

A slender hand rested on his shoulder, offering unspoken words of comfort.

Joey's shaking hand held those pale fingers in gratitude. “He's gone. The last of the warriors that protected our town. We're in big trouble now.”

I bit my lip as I watched my best friend comfort my cousin. He still believed in those warriors. Fairy folk or super-powered beings who looked human, but were not like us. He was so sure old Brun was one of those mythical heroes. The way he lapped up the old man's stories was shocking. It was hard to accept that a sensible guy regarded fairy tales as facts. Sure, old Brun was the best story teller in town, but I would think only kids believed such creatures exist.

Lily waved at me. “Sarah! Joey and I are going for some drinks. Care to join us?”

My cue. I was her chaperone. Not that she needed one. She was unsure about her feelings for Joey. Both of them confided in me. I felt like a lamp post at times, but I guess that was what friends, and cousins were for.

**

“Soda for me, coffee for him and apple juice for her,” said Lily to the waitress that sauntered past our table.

Joey finally spoke up. He hadn't said a word since we left the graveyard. “He was murdered. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Look Joey. Brun was ninety-thee. He died of old age,” I said.

“Warriors can live up to a hundred. Brun was still very strong... like all retired warriors,” said Joey resolutely.

“Joey, you are three years older than me but no wiser. All those stories about warriors are just that. Stories. They do NOT exist. Brun was getting senile. Just because he believed he was a warrior didn't mean he was one.” I regretted those words as they came out of my mouth.

Joey's face was red. He was visibly shaking.

“Calm down. Sarah didn't mean it,” said Lily, resting her porcelain hand on his shoulder. Lily looked exactly the way her name suggested. Lily-white skin and as slender as a reed. Deceptively so. Sweet looking Lily threw a mean punch. As for her kicks, you wouldn't want to know what they were like. She put the town bully in hospital for months a few years back.

“He was murdered. Poisoned, most likely, with black venom,” muttered Joey. His eyes had that all to familiar vacant look, as if he were lost in another world.

I opened my mouth to speak when Lily placed her finger on my lips. “Enough already. An old friend just passed away. Let's not fight over this.”

Days turned to weeks. Life in our town went on as usual. Then it began. A woman wandered off into the woods and never returned. A man found dead in his sleep, with dried black blood on his neck.

The only beneficiaries of these changes were the reporters. Sensational headlines splashed the front pages of our town's newspapers every week.

**

Lily and I were going through our latest book on Kodokan Judo. We'd gotten it from a second hand bookstore and wanted to try some of the more interesting throws.

Joey strode into the room waving the afternoon edition of Central Times. “This is proof Brun was murdered,” he said as he tossed the paper at me. I caught it. The headlines were more fitting for a tabloid than a respectable newspaper.

“Man-Snake Mutation Spotted In The Swamp.”

The story featured an interview with a six-year old girl who said she'd witnessed a half man, half snake creature strangle a young man.

“Here's another,” said Joey flashing a newspaper cutting at me. “Man found dead in a swamp. Police believe he was strangled by a python..”

I looked straight into Joey's eyes. “So?”

“That wasn't a python. He was killed by a Ven'eelg. One of those dark beasts Brun told us about. They're here. They know Brun's dead and there are no warriors left to defend us. This town is doomed. Let's warn our folks and get out of here,” said Joey.

Joey was really trying my patience. “Based on a story by a six year old kid you expect the entire community to leave this town? What does a little girl know? Besides, that guy was strangled by a python in the swamp and everyone knows there are pythons in the woods.”

Lily put down her book. “All these things are happening in the swamp. You say that snake-like creatures from the swamp poisoned Brun and are going to kill us all. A visit to the swamp should settle matters once and for all. Let's visit that swamp first thing tomorrow morning.”

I shouldn't have been shocked by her suggestion, having known her so well, yet this suggestion took me by surprise. “There are pythons there. We might not meet a Ven'eelg, but we could get killed by pythons for goodness sake.”

“If you're too scared to come with us, Joey and I can go alone. I want to prove to him there are no such things as Ven'eelgs,” chortled Lily.

The stage was set. Joey, Lily and I were to meet in our secret cave, a stone's throw away from the wretched swamp.

**

“Thought you weren't coming,” said Joey as he glanced at me.

I was soaked in sweat. Ran all the way to the cave as I'd forgotten the time. From the look on his face, I could tell he hoped I wouldn't show up. He and Lily were making gooey eyes at each other. Lily's cheeks were pink. “And miss the ghost hunt? You've got to be joking,” I retorted.

Armed with daggers, we left the cave. No guns were allowed in our town, so daggers and our knife throwing skills were our best bet against lurking pythons, should they attack.

The cloying smell of serpents made my hair bristle. I hated that place. Joey laughed at my expression. “Hey kid, if you can't handle it, you can go home.” I knew he was trying to get rid of me, which made me more determined to stick to them. Lily had asked me to chaperone her as she wanted to go slow with Joey.

I could hear the serpents hiss. Leave them alone and they wouldn't bother you, my papa used to say. I plodded on, trailing behind Joey and Lily. Maybe I shouldn't have come. It would have been their first real date if I'd taken the hint.

I tripped. Something bound my legs together. My heart jolted. A python. I could barely breathe as it constricted its tail around my body.

Four daggers hit the python. The serpent went limp as it released me. Joey and Lily used that thing for target practice. I felt like the kid in that William Tell story. Boy was I glad those two were the best marksmen in town. They never miss.

“You okay?” asked Lily as she stretched out her hand.

I took her hand gratefully. “Yeah. Thanks to you two.”

Joey insisted on covering the entire swamp. Lily and I tagged along. “See. There aren't any Ven'eelgs. That man was killed by a python. Like the one that almost had me for lunch.”

A hideous scream pierced my ears. Joey was off, with Lily hot on his heels. I followed them around the corner and to my horror, I saw a young man on the ground, writhing in pain, his face contorting in a ghastly expression.

Joey's face was grim as he examined the man. “He's been bitten by a Bate'evon.”

There he went, ranting about the dark beasts in old Brun's stories. “You mean he'll turn into a vampire soon?”

“Yes, unless a warrior gets to him with a cure.”

Warriors again. Won't Joey ever grow up? “So where do you think we can find these magical warriors,” I said, playing along.

“Brun had some warrior friends still on active duty. A visit to his home might uncover some clues to their whereabouts,” Joey replied.

I put down my dagger and examined the poor guy. There were two pin pricks on his neck. Blood trickled from them.

It happened so quickly. The man grabbed my dagger and stabbed it through his heart. “Let me die or I'd turn,” were his last words.

My heart almost leaped out of my chest.

Swiftly, Joey picked up the dying man and whisked him out of the swamp, to the winding road. Lily and I rushed ahead to hail a cab.

We got to the hospital with the dying man. By then, it was too late. He was gone. None of us knew CPR. A fact all three of us sorely regretted. The poor soul would be the sensational headline of the week. I could imagine the ravenous reporters all over us, digging information they could use for a special edition of Central Times.

**

“We've got to tell the mayor to evacuate the entire town. The Bate'evons are here. An invasion is looming,” ranted Joey.

“What Bate'evons?” I asked.

“Vampire bats.”

“So? Vampire bats are so named because they feed on the blood of mammals but they rarely bite humans. People bitten by these bats might develop rabies but they don't become vampires themselves,” I rattled on.

“The vampire bats you are talking about attack at night. This man was attacked in broad daylight by a dark beast. A real vampire that is half human, half bat,” explained Joey.

“You really believe those fairy tales?” I said, when Lily tapped my shoulder.

“I think he has a point. Things happening here seem to fit in with Brun's tales. Maybe Joey and I should investigate again,” she said. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.

I don't think she really believed him but something was going on between them. It sounded like a real date in the making, initiated by Lily. I got the hint. “You guys go ahead. I've got better things to do than hunt for Ven'eelgs whatever.”

**

I was in the cafe, sipping a glass of apple juice as I watched the world go by. Joey and Lily were on their ghost hunting date. Good for them.

The door swung open. In strode that gorgeous gothic hunk, Johnny. Black hair slicked artistically, that eternally broody, pale expression and a dangerously sexy piercing on his tongue. He wore more eyeliner than all the girls in the room put together.

His tatooed bicep flexed as he opened the door again. A stilettoed boot emerged with a leg that seemed endlessly long. Leather-clad Diane, his latest squeeze sashayed into the room.

“Hey Freckles, get me and Diane some beer,” said Johnny as he flashed that irresistable smile.

Light-headed, I went straight for the bar. Lily would have frowned on me being a door mat, but that Diane was a man eater -- known to go through guys like a pile of used underwear. If I played my cards right, I might get her cast-offs... Broken hearted Johnny might need Freckles to cheer him up once that man eater was done with him.

“Here you go,” I said, smiling as sweetly as I could while I placed both mugs of beer in front of them.

“Thanks Freckles. You're sweet,” he said as he pecked my cheek. My heart danced. If Lily were to see this, she'd give me a long lecture about self respect. It was different for her. I didn't have her assets, so I had to work a lot harder to compensate.

I sat at my table, sipping my juice, watching Johnny and Diane twine themselves around each other. It hurt but I couldn't tear my eyes away. Finally, they left the cafe.

Minutes later, I heard a scream. I dashed out of the cafe to take a look. Diane was on the ground, gasping for breath. My former crush, Johnny leaned against the wall as pale as a ghost, unable to lift a finger to help. Instead, I saw Joey bent over Diane. Drops of black liquid formed a trail between Diane and the woods.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Just got back from the swamp. I drove away the Ven'eelg that attacked Diane. Wounded it and it ran off into the woods,” said Joey. The dagger in his hand was covered with that black liquid.

I looked at Johnny still cowering against the wall. The sight of his cowardice disgusted me. That was the end of my short-lived crush. “Did you see a Ven'eelg?”

Johnny did not say a word. He was still quaking as if he had a nervous breakdown or something. Diane was unconscious, so I couldn't get anything out of her either. We sent the gothic pair to the hospital and prepared ourselves for the onslaught of reporters that would follow.

**

I was out berry picking with my sister. Ever since Lily and Joey hooked up, I was on my own, bored to death. Rather than feel sorry for myself, I kept busy with chores around the farm. I heard a grating sound coming from above. Looking up, I saw, to my horror, a black hole growing in the clear blue sky. Through that hole came what looked like a fire breathing dragon, except that the fire that came out wasn't yellow or orange, but black. Its flames hit Brun's home, setting the entire place on fire.

As I looked on, more dragons emerged.

My cheeks felt like ice. Joey was right.

-- The End --

A Warrior's Death continues from where this story ends. You can get the full trilogy at http://www.lulu.com/content/273211

Read the preview of A Warrior's Death at http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=273211

More about the warriors at http://www.sfxfantasy.com

Read the full story at Warrior Girl, Lost In Another Realm and The Dark Warriors

Book 3 : Dark Warriors

Divide and conquer. The enemy's strategy appears to work when the four most powerful elite warriors are trapped separately in different worlds, each oblivious to his or her past. Sarah alone, being the newest and presumably weakest of the elites was ignored by the dark warriors.

The Academy, barely having recovered from the recent massacre is forced to fend off an invasion without their elite warriors. Evan is forced to make a decision that would change his life forever.

A final confrontation between the warriors and the mastermind behind the dark beasts. The final book in the trilogy.

This third book contains a bonus chapter (9 years later) not found in the original A Warrior's Death Trilogy

Buy The Dark Warriors at Amazon.

Cover art for all these books was done by Laura Diehl