As the horses sprung across the threshold of the stone circle, a shimmering barrier seemed to spring into existence behind them. The wolves slammed into it, snarling and snapping in frustration.
Blake dismounted, his legs shaky from the wild ride. "What... what just happened?" he panted.
Dumpheries slid from his horse, moving to examine the barrier. "A protection spell," he explained. "These standing stones must have been placed here long ago to guard the moonflowers,"
"But why did it open for us?" Dumphries muttered this part under his breath. The protection spell was something he had kept at the back of his mind and planned to tell the others once they arrived. It was a hole in the entire plot with which he simply had no answer for.
'Only the ones that set up the barrier or their descendants can enter here freely. We're all vampires, so why?..' Dumphries thought as he looked at the shimmering barrier.
"I'm guessing we found what we came for," Randal said.
As if on cue, Blake noticed a sweet, intoxicating scent filling the air. He turned, and his breath caught in his throat. In the center of the clearing, bathed in impossible moonlight despite the morning hour, grew a patch of the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen.
The moonflowers were unlike anything Blake had ever encountered. Their petals were a luminous silver-white, seeming to glow with an inner light. They swayed gently in a breeze that didn't touch the rest of the clearing, their delicate stems reaching towards the spectral moon hanging low in the sky.
"It's... incredible," Blake breathed, taking a step towards the flowers.
Dumpheries put a hand on his arm, stopping him. "Be careful," he warned. "Moonflowers are as dangerous as they are beautiful. Their pollen can induce powerful hallucinations."
Reggie and Randall had dismounted as well, their eyes wide as they took in the surreal scene before them.
"How is this possible?" Randall asked, gesturing to the moon hanging impossibly in the daylit sky. "It's near evening outside the grove but the sun's still out. However, in here it's the moon?!"
Dumpheries shook his head in wonder. "This place exists outside of normal time and space," he said. "Take it as a whole new dimension, that exists to preserve these rare flowers. Not very much is known about it but the history books claim the early originals stumbled upon it when they were first searching for a sunless region.
It's said that these grooves were maintained by the wielders of the dark arcane arts,"
"You mean...witches?" Blake asked. However, he Immediately got stares from all three vampires. Reggie and Randal appeared more shocked than anything hearing the words that left his mouth. Dumphries more or less shook his head before saying..."We're incredibly fortunate to have found it. For some reason, this was easier than even I imagined,"
'If I didn't become a vampire and got blood powers or even fell in love with a woman who is centuries old , none of these would make any sense to me. But then again, Rose has told me many stories of things I can only call...magical,' Blake thought as he heard Dumphries explaining where they were.
"Everything here seems magical so to speak. The air is... should I say sweet?" Reggie mentioned, taking in the surreal environment.
Blake nodded, still mesmerized by the ethereal beauty of the grove. "So, how do we harvest the petals?" he asked, forcing himself to focus on their mission.
One of the creatures had managed to sink its teeth into him.
With a groan filled with pain and fury, he kicked free, nearly losing his balance in the saddle. They galloped out of the clearing, the world around them blurring as they passed from the dimensional space back into the normal forest.
They didn't slow down until the howls of the shadow wolves had faded into the distance. After what seemed like an hour of riding, they finally came to a stop in a small glade, their horses panting heavily from the exertion.
Blake slid from his saddle, grimacing as his injured leg hit the ground. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, looking around at his companions.
Reggie and Randall nodded, though both bore scratches and tears in their clothing from the frantic escape. Dumpheries appeared unharmed, clutching the box of moonflower petals to his chest like a precious treasure.
"We did it," the vampire said, a note of awe in his voice. "We actually did it."
Blake managed a weak smile, the adrenaline of their escape beginning to fade. As it did, the pain in his leg flared, causing him to wince.
Dumpheries noticed immediately. "You're hurt," he said, moving to examine the wound.
As the vampire pulled back the torn fabric of Blake's trousers, they all gasped. The bite mark was an angry red, but more alarmingly, tendrils of inky blackness were spreading outward from the wound.
"What... what is that?" Blake asked, his voice shaking.
Dumpheries' face was grim. "The shadow wolves' bite carries a powerful venom," he said. "If left untreated, it will spread throughout your body, turning you into one of them."
Blake felt a chill run down his spine. "But you can treat it, right?" he asked, looking from Dumpheries to Reggie and Randall. The knights avoided his gaze, their expressions grave.
Dumpheries sighed heavily. "There is a cure," he said slowly. "But it requires ingredients we don't have. Ingredients that are just as rare and difficult to obtain as the moonflower petals."
Blake closed his eyes, fighting back a wave of despair. They had overcome so much, risked everything to get the moonflowers. And now, this.
"How long do I have?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain steady.
Dumpheries studied the wound, his brow furrowed in concentration. "A few days, perhaps a week at most," he said finally. "We'll need to move quickly if we're to save both you and Rose."
Blake nodded, his jaw set with determination despite the fear coursing through him. "Then we'd better get moving," he said. "We have a yew tree to find, and apparently, a cure for shadow wolf venom to track down as well."
As they prepared to set out once more, Blake couldn't help but wonder what other challenges lay ahead. They had secured one ingredient, but at a terrible cost. And with each passing moment, both his and Rose's fates hung in an increasingly precarious balance.
The Whispering Woods seemed to close in around them, its shadows deeper and more menacing than before. Whatever came next, Blake knew one thing for certain: their quest had just become exponentially more dangerous, and time was running out.