Chapter 36. Snitches

Rage quickened his steps as he went deeper into the depths of the underground creep. Deeper and deeper, still, he went, into the bowels of his kingdom, into the depths and the heart and darkness, a place, no one but him, and only a few others had dared venture. Only because he summoned them. 

Bats screeched, their echoes ricocheting through the tunnels, warning other animals of his approach. The creatures beneath the underground creep had been surrounded by darkness all their lives. They were pulled, as if by an invisible force, to the darkness of the place, to the things that dwelt within its walls, to the evil that lived there. To the magic of the place. 

Before him, torchlight sent a scurry of rats fleeing and squeaking as they hurried to flee from his quick steps. Behind him, failure nipped at his heels. There were too many to count. A thousand years of nitpicking and planning, and all for what?!

Gone were the days of old when the vampires ruled. They