Blood Tribe: Anrea
By Darker

"Are you sure it's safe to be this close?"

The hunting party had stopped just outside the monsters lair. Reg, the one who had spoken, was already quivering. Grile wondered to himself why he had brought the young man along; Reg had been insistent that he came, but now they both were regretting the decision.

"Quiet," Grile snapped. "You wanted to come, and so you did. You can't turn back now."

"But -"

"Are you a man or not?" Grile's comment silenced the boy.

"Yes, sir," he mumbled.

Grile walked forward and surveyed the hunting party. There were several stocky men with large nets, spears and swords, their beards bristling and eyes sharp, Reg, in his late teens, and Grile's wife Perdita, who was a skilled archer.

Grile pushed his thick black hair out of his eyes and turned to stare at the cliff side in front of the group. At the bottom, a cave. Inside, a black dragon. It had been terrorising the city of Anrea for months now, and the mayor of the city had been forced to pay Grile and his men an extortionate sum of money to go and kill the dragon. Reg had come along because the boy, in a drunken stupor and devastated at the loss of his family to the dragon, overheard Grile and Perdita's plans in an alehouse.

Everything was perfect. It was midday, and black dragons were nocturnal. Perdita could hit a bull's-eye from fifty paces with her longbow, and Grile was an expert with his particular weapon of choice.

A scythe. Over the years, it had claimed the lives of many monsters and blood mutants, yet not a drop of their blood had touched Grile.

"Everybody ready?" Grile asked the group, to a chorus of shouts and a vomiting noise from Reg.

Grile lead the group silently up to the cliff and into the cave.

Ten years later…

"Are you sure it's safe to be this close?" Daniel asked, hovering next to Selks, peering at Anrea through the slowly diminishing sunlight.

"It's the only hiding spot that isn't a week from there, mate," Selks replied. "We're just gonna have to be real careful."

Daniel and Selks returned from the edge of the small wooded hill to the centre, where Angelina's tank was. Selks' invisible feet traced footprints in the wet mud and Daniel floated after him.

Daniel had spent two weeks being a beholder blood mutant, and he still hadn't figured out how to turn off the beholder's characteristic hovering. Never mind the giant eye in the middle of his face and the four smaller ones on stalks poking through his hair, the hovering was awkward.

Selks took his place next to his girlfriend Lacrimosa, a blind medusa mutant. Selks himself was a mutant caused be an invisible stalker, a dangerous cave beast with a chameleon's ability to render itself invisible. Parts of Selks could be seen, and the rest was as see through as the air around him. The invisibility didn't bother Lacrimosa, or Lacci, as she preferred to be called, because she formed pictures of things through touch, and because Selks couldn't be seen didn't mean he wasn't there.

Miguel snorted in his sleep. The alicorn mutant then rolled over, making whinnying noises. Miguel couldn't talk on account of having a horse's throat.

Angelina tapped the glass of her tank. Usually this would be a signal to Izabel to turn the page of the book she was reading, as being in a tank of water made the ink run, but this was a message.

NEED CLEAN WATER she tapped out in her special code.

"We know, Angelina, but there isn't a lake around here…" Lacci said, pressing her light green hand on the glass, and smiling when she felt the warmth of Angelina's own hand passing through.

The main problem Angelina encountered was basically being a sort of humanoid goldfish. When she was six, she had been blooded by a mermaid, and as such could only breathe water. The water in her tank needed changing every week, but Wazzer, with the arms of Goom and Tonks, was trying to build a filter device out of salvaged bits of metal to attach to the back of the tank.

The three headed salamander mutant entered the clearing, carrying the dryad Izabel in her pot. Izabel's legs were one solid lump of wood with roots instead of feet, as well has her right arm.

"It's a nice little place, is this," she said as Goom and Tonks set her down next to Angelina. "But the trees…"

"What?" Selks asked.

"They say something's wrong." Izabel had also picked up the dryad's ability to talk with plants. "The city we're close to… Anrea…"

"What's there?" Selks insisted. Izabel seemed reluctant to say.

"Danger."

James walked through the bustling streets of Anrea, with Jessica following close behind. James could walk freely, being human, but Jessica wore a baggy, hooded robe to hide her gargoyle wings, ears and tail. Thigh length boots covered her granite grey legs and long leather gloves hid her clawed arms. She nervously flicked her ginger hair out of her eyes.

"I don't like doing this, James," she whispered into his ear.

"I know, I know," he comforted her. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Jessica was the closest to human any of the Blood Tribe were, so she came, despite her fear of being found out, for the good of the Tribe. James could get into towns and cities like this for supplies, and sometimes information on any blood mutant in the area. No doubt about there being rumours in a city this size.

James couldn't help noticing that all the windows had bars and the roofs were either very steep or covered with spikes.

The general flow of people brought them into the city centre, where market tents covered wares, and the place bustled even though it was nearing sundown. There seemed to be a general rush to get what people needed and then get inside. Putting his hand in Jessica's they pushed through the crowds to get to the food stalls.

James bought with the money the Tribe had horded over their travels a sack of apples, a string of sausages and a large mackerel.

"Quite a lot you got there, mister," the stall owner said, arching her eyebrow.

"Yeah, me and a few friends are camping out." James said.

Something about the woman changed. Her expression stiffened and she stood to her full height, which was rather tall.

"You don't want to be doing that, young fellamelad. Not with the Gryle around."

"The… Gryle?" Jessica asked.

"You're safe now, but it comes out at night. A big winged thing. I ain't sayin' anymore, missus." And with that, the woman turned to other customers without so much as a backwards glance.

"What's a Gryle?" Jessica asked James.

"No idea. But I've got an idea where we can find out." He pointed over his shoulder to an ale house.

"Oh no, I don't like those places… I'm waiting outside," Jessica said, folding her hidden arms. When she did this, it was the final word on the subject. Kissing him on the lips, she whispered, "Be careful."

"I will." And with that, James stepped into the ale house.

Inside, every head turned to look at him, scoping James out for wealth, strength and mutations. They turned back when they decided he didn't have much or none of any trait. Smoke, thick and acrid, hung in the air. It smelled, no, it stink, no wait… it fugged of leather, horses, beer and tobacco. It was so thick you could have cut it out of the air to use as building material.

Shouldering his way over to the bar, James ordered a tankard of cider and sat on a slightly sticky stool, looking around the place for any who would likely be carrying information of any nearby blood mutants.

Instead, it was the bartender who approached him first.

"Not seen you here before, stranger," he said gruffly, wiping a glass with a rag, achieving only to move the grime around.

"No, I just came to this town." He leaned forward, beckoning the barman to come closer. "I'm looking for any blood mutants or monsters," he whispered.

The barman straightened up to his full height, an impressive eight foot, and fixed James with a steely glare. "Why would you be looking for them?" he asked suspiciously.

James played his trump card. "I'm a Hunter. Me and my team are in Anrea and I thought this would be a good place to look of any info?"

"You… don't look like much of a Hunter…"

"That's the idea, isn't it?"

"…Right. See, there is this one thing, it comes out at night. Flying around and making a most accursed noise. One of its arm, right, is long with a big hook on the end…"

As the barman continued to describe the "Gryle," he became more and more mystified. It didn't sound anything like any monsters or mutants he had encountered or heard of. One arm bigger than the other with a big claw, bat like wings, glowing red eyes… this creature sounded very dangerous.

The background pub bustle stopped as everyone turned towards the door again. Looking around to see who it was, James was both surprised and proud to see Jessica conquering her fear and walking calmly over to an empty table with another chair. Even though her hood was pulled over her head, he could still see Jessica's eyes darting about.

"Another drink please," James said to the barman.

"Do you even know her?" the barman asked, filling another tankard.

"Sure do, she's a fellow Hunter." The barman nodded understandingly.

When James looked back at Jessica, the other seat was occupied by a Currently Friendly Drunk. James recognised the type, and the operative word was "currently." Jessica was leaning back to avoid his attentions and more probably his breath.

James heard the familiar cry of the generously sloshed.

"What… right? What I'm saying is, right, what I'm saying, narhmean, why won't you gimme a kiss, right? All I'm saying is -"

"Go away please," Jessica said.

In the usual way of the CFD, he changed the subject. "What what what about, right? What do you think, right, of, right?"

Oh God, please don't say anything about us, James thought; the Tribe considering him an honorary blood mutant. He couldn't stand the injured look on Jessica's face when people did that.

"Blood mutants? Waddya think, hm? I say, right, I say, we, right, we go out, find one, and bring it back here, right?"

Jessica's face froze. Then her light ginger eyebrows slid down and her face became a scowl.

One of two things would happen now. Either the drunk would shift to stage four when James would come over to calm Jessica down, and stage four was Violent Undirected Madman, and they can be surprisingly accurate before they fall over.

The other thing was Jessica would start growling. This was inherently worse. One; Jessica's growl sounded just like a gargoyle, and that would give her away. Two; Jessica had a punch that was more akin to being hit by a sledgehammer.

Hurriedly tossing some random coins onto the greasy bar top, James rushed over as the drunk leaned forward and Jessica leaned back. Before James got there, one of Jessica's legs blurred and jabbed here and here. The drunk said something like 'Grrnk,' and toppled backwards, knocking another man's drink from his hand.

"I think we'd better go," Jessica said as the two men started trading punches.

Outside, the streets were deserted as twilight drew in. Aside from a mangy street dog and the growing sounds of a bar fight behind them, nothing stirred.

They were walking quickly along the street to the gale that was nearest to the Tribe's current hiding place, when a piercing shriek froze both of them to the spot.

Slowly, as if they were mounted on turnstiles, the lovers turned to face where the sound had come from. In front of them was a large clock tower.

"Can you see something on top of that?" James whispered.

"Yeah," Jessica whispered back, putting her gloved hand in his. "It kinda looks like a dragon. Can you see the wings?"

"Yeah, but that's just a broken turret making that effect. I mean -"

"James," Jessica whispered urgently.

"If you squint it sort of looks like an old lady with a wheelbarrow."

"Nope, still looks like a dragon, with its wings hunched up."

"That's a turret causing that effect."

The sound of falling masonry echoed down the street towards them.

"Then what's making the effect of a huge pair of wings unfolding?"

"I think that's caused by a huge pair of wings, Jess'."

"Right. Can we run now?"

They ran.

On the clock tower, the dragon dived off the parapet and swooped down the street. James thought he could feel the burning red eyes on his neck. Jessica had stopped running on two feet and started bounding along on all fours, the way a gargoyle would run. Each time she put a foot or fist down, it left a small crater in the cobblestones, cause by her stone like hands and feet.

But the dragon - James knew it must be the "Gryle" - easily drew closer.

It was right above them.

Reaching down quick and fast, it sliced at their heads with a massive shining talon. Jessica knocked James to the floor just in time to avoid the killer strike, but winding him.

Grabbing her spluttering boyfriend, she dragged him into an thin alley.

"What do we do?" James asked frantically when he had got his breath back, to the sound of leathery wings brushing the edges of the roofs above.

The Gryle landed just behind them. It was a good two foot taller than the bartender, and it had an elongated face with a beaklike nose. The irises were red, and the teeth sharp and pointed. It raised the bladed arm and the couple saw it wasn't its arm, but in fact it held a twisted scythe.

"Duck!" Jessica shrieked as the Gryle brought the cruel blade of the scythe around in a two handed swing. James ducked just in time, and the tip of the blade caught in the brickwork of the alley wall.

The Gryle growled some sort of curse, bringing back memories of James' father when James had told him he was running away with a blood mutant. This was not the time for recollections as James pushed the memory away from him and devoted his time to getting the hell away from this thing.

As the pair reached the end of the alley back onto the street, the wall next to James' head became splashed with a pale green, corrosive liquid. As fast as they could they ran to the city gates, while the monsters wails and curses echoed down the street after them.

"It sounds like you met a black dragon," Lacci said after Jessica had finished describing the scythe wielding beast. It had taken Jessica and James a mere five minutes to run from Anrea to the Tribe's current hiding place, which showed the wonder of adrenalin. Right now it was presenting its due to the pair, who lay on the ground panting. Miguel had fetched them some water, while Goom kept the fire burning. It was his job. He didn't know how to do anything else.

"No… too small to… be a dragon…" James said between getting his breath back.

"Maybe it's a mutant?" Daniel asked.

"Maybe… but why would it attack them?" Izabel pondered.

"I've known some mutants what lost their minds," Selks said grimly. "Some were little more than the creatures that blooded them…" he finished, trailing off.

"This guy was screeching an' everything," Jessica said, sitting up. "An' he spat this acid glop at us."

"Black dragons can shoot acid instead of fire," Lacci said. "It's all in Angelina's books, Selks reads them to me."

Intrigued, Daniel floated off to the back of the tank/cart and picked up one of Angelina's books from the packs hanging off the back.

"Hey, there's a whole section on mythical and extinct monsters…" he mumbled.

"Thing is, did it follow you?" Selks asked, concern easily detectable in his tone.

"Don't know… how good is a black dragon's smell?" Jessica said, the last part to herself.

"Cool, they had giant centipedes ages ago…" Daniel exclaimed from behind the cart in which the sleeping Angelina drifted. "And water elementals… I thought they were a myth…"

"Daniel, look up black dragons, please," Lacci said.

"Right. Anyone know what a… 'zombie' was?"

"Now, please."

"Okay, okay… It says they have a good sense of smell as any other dragon… who wrote this?" Daniel looked at the spine of the book.

"A missster Sssunday wrote it," hissed a hidden voice. "And hee was quite righ', black drag'ns have very good sssmell."

Slowly, everyone turned to face the dark shape at the top of a tree.

"Ge' meh one good ressson not to kill you all," the Gryle hissed from atop the branch it hung from with its clawed feet.

"You… you're a blood mutant… We… have to stick together…" Selks said slowly, out of fear.

Everyone's eyes followed the scythe blade as it came into view from behind the Gryle's large wings. Goom slowly raised his single hand to shoot fire at the Gryle, but Tonks put her hand on his wrist. "No," she mouthed.

"Blood mutant?" the Gryle sounded hesitant for a moment, and eh hiss disappeared. "There was a dragon… they all died. But not me…" The Gryle shook its head, sending its floppy ears and shaggy hair about. "I remember… pain as I changed… monsters have to die."

"But we're not monsters!" Lacrimosa said. "We still think like humans! We are humans! We just got unlucky…"

"You look like monstersss."

"But you're a mutant as well…" Daniel dropped the book as the Gryle turned its red glare at him. "You're like us."

The Gryle's eyes widened and the pupils shrank until they were pinholes. "I AM NOT LIKE YOU!" it shrieked, dropping off the branch and swooping at the terrified Daniel.

It death strike was stopped when Miguel leaped into its side, his horn piercing a leathery wing, and the scythe glancing one of Miguel's legs. The two winged mutants crashed down by the fire, the Gryle dropping its scythe.

Daniel hovered away to Izabel and tried to lift her pot, but it was too heavy for him. Jessica hurried up to help move it.

"I'll be fine, you go help Miguel!" Izabel ordered him. Selks was bringing Lacrimosa over to them while Wazzer stood up.

"I can't do it," Goom shouted. "I might hit Miguel!"

Miguel roared, lifting the struggling Gryle into the air and throwing it away from him. Now Goom could hit it. Waving his hand, Goom caused the Gryle to burst into flame. Daniel saw that there was a sizzling burn mark on Miguel's chest as James rushed over to him.

When it landed, it rolled over onto all fours and spat a wad of acid it Goom, hitting him in the face. All three conjoined salamanders screamed and fell over as the acid burned his red skin, and Daniel rushed over to help.

"Drag'nsss are fire proo'!" the Gryle screeched triumphantly, picking up its scythe. "Kill you all…"

The Gryle turned to see Izabel and Lacrimosa behind it. A deep, primal growl escaped its lips, and it raised is scythe above its head.

Just before it struck, the Gryle's face changed to an expression of shock as it looked at Izabel's young face. It seemed more human somehow, as if recognising something.

"Perdita…?" it whispered, dropping the scythe.

Thunk. The shock on the Gryle's face changed to a cross eyed 'ouch' face. Then he pitched forwards, landing silently on its front.

"Did I hit him?" Lacci asked, her seeing staff wobbling nervously in the air.

It was morning. Miguel and Goom both had bandages on their faces, their wounds rubbed with a healing salve made of herbs that Izabel discovered grew from her vine-like hair.

The vicious dragon blood mutant was roped to a tree, its hands and feet bound with its wings wrapped up behind it.

"What do we do with him?" Lacrimosa asked.

"Goom wants to kill him," Tonks said disapprovingly. Daniel had to agree. It seemed… wrong. Even though he was dangerous, the Gryle was a blood mutant, just as they were. But they couldn't bring him along with them if he was still psychotic.

"We might be able to help him think like a human again, if we're careful…" Selks pondered. Goom grunted angrily.

"Oh, come on, Goom!" Izabel snapped. "You heard him! He saw a load of people get eaten and then he got blooded! I'd imagine get dragon blooded hurts, and how would all that not make you crazy?"

"Uh, hello? Personally attached to these guys, like, forever?" Tonks butted in.

Everyone stopped starting to argue when the Gryle started to wake up, first by mumbling incoherently and then struggling weakly against the ropes.

"Where… where am I?" it said. It looked up, and its face looked more like a man's and less like a monster's.

It… no, he smiled at Lacrimosa. "You did it. You chased the dragon away. Thank you."