Drakengrim

But they're worse than I am. One of them caused an iceberg to run over a goblin village at the height of summer; another one demolished half the king's palace in Cherdon'datar over a piece of pie; then there was the one who squashed a demon-eater with a tree for frightening her; and what about the time… no that one is just too horrible to think of.

My thoughts sheered away into another direction as a surge of terror seized my stomach.

"Don't be a Nym. Don't be a Nym."

I knelt beside the child and peeked under his hat. A large pointed ear appeared and I nearly fainted in fright. I eased the hat back down and retreated rapidly. Laughter sounded all around me.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Children's – no, Badree Nym voices chanted all around me.

"Come play with us! Come play with us!"

I fled into the fog, all the way back to the sepulcher, and sat down on the door step and listening to my stomach rumble. If this kept up, I would have to either go home and beg scraps from Lord Brandrahoon's table or get a job to earn the money to purchase victims from the necromancers.

My pride hurt almost as much as my tummy. "Great and holy, lord of Darkness, Bellocar… why can't I eat just one child?"

And get away with it.

I despaired as I watched the fog thin with the approach of daylight. If I did not find something to eat soon, my body would start to dry out and I would fall into a torpor from hunger. Then I would be at the mercy of those little buggers without borders for certain.

Deciding to strike out in a new direction, I walked briskly until I felt certain that I had outdistanced them. The outlines of a farmhouse came into view. The farmwife was already up and I smelled fresh baked pies. I hate to admit it, but one of the things I have missed most since becoming one of the undead is the taste of fresh baked pie.

Maybe I could trade the farmwife these few measly coins for a small sip from her neck? Yes, that seemed like a plan with potential. So, I headed for the front door. As I came around the side of the house, I saw the pies cooling on the windowsill and licked my lips at the smell, and sighed.

Pie!

But I knew I could not keep a pie down. My body reacted to solid food as if it were poison and even a small taste would soon have me on the ground puking it up. I hesitated, gazing at the pies in a fantasy of wish fulfillment in which I could eat all I wanted of them. I shook myself loose from my daydream and had just started on when I saw a small form emerge from the back door wrapped in a heavy black cloak. It had to be a child. I licked my fangs in anticipation as the child snatched a pie and ran off with it.

"Ha! A sneak thief! No one's going to miss that one."

I set off in pursuit, dreaming now of the child's blood sliding pleasantly down my throat, of the feel of my fangs in the soft neck, of the way the child would shudder as it died.

The sound of eating drew the vampire to a clump of sweet pepper bushes beside a large willow tree. I crouched down and stole closer. The little boy, noisily eating the pie, had curly black hair, olive-skin, and wonder of wonder (or was that relief?) rounded ears. It was a real child.

"Look into my eyes!" I commanded.

The boy dropped a slice of pie in his lap and stared into my eyes with a look of stunned shock. I knew I had him under his power, and licked my fangs happily. My tummy rumbled again, reminding me of how hungry I was. So I grabbed the little boy and sank my fangs eagerly into his neck, slurping and sucking with joyous abandon, taking the blood in huge pulls, gluttoning, and generally feeling quite pleased with myself.

The small heart stopped beating as I drained him to the last drop and settled back on my haunches, wishing there had been more blood in it. I was still considering whether to go looking for dessert, when the dead child�s eyes snapped open.

Startled, I fell on my butt.

"Gotcha!" the child shouted, its own fangs glinting in the moonlight.

Before I could react to this unpleasant surprise, the child buried its fangs in my throat and I had only one second to realize just what I had bitten into before spiraling into darkness, certain that I was finally dying the true death: "Nym."

I woke to the sound of a small voice saying, "I'm gonna call you Frozbie."

I opened my eyes, having no idea how long I had been unconscious, and gazed up into the face of the curly haired little boy, who now had huge pointed ears and a grin on his face.

"H – How?"

"I'm Drakengrim. Transmogrification's the game."

I swallowed nervously, feeling burning bile rising from my stomach into my throat. "Trans – transmogrification?"

"Yup. You and me."

"I – I think I'm going to be sick."

Drakengrim shook his head. "Nah. Just relax and go with the flow."

"Of what?"

"Put your fingers on your fangs, old boy, and you tell me."

I let my fangs down from their sheaths, touching them gingerly, and almost fainted again. My big, wonderful fangs had shrunk. No, worse than that even. The tiny hooks on the ends that distinguished vampire fangs from those of other hemovores – I gasped and tears ran down my face. The hooks were gone. "What have you done to me?"

Drakengrim shrugged. "Wrong question. You mean, what have I done to us?"

I swallowed again and nodded vigorously, my eyes saucering in fright.

"We're nympires."

"What?" My voice squeaked and I covered my mouth in embarrassment.

"Yeah. Like the great Dracdoodla on a distant world called… hmmn." Drakengrim scratched his cheek. "Can't remember the name now. I think Pieface called it Yurthropa? Yurpterrora? Hmmn. Well you get the idea."

I shook my head slowly back and forth several times, not knowing what else to do.

"Well, don't sweat it. Here, have some pie."

"But – but, I'm undead! I can't eat pie."

"That's what you think." Drakengrim winked at me.

Before I could recover enough to flee, five Badree Nym had grabbed me, forced my jaws open, and shoved a slice of pie down my throat.

I wept, expecting imminent doom from swallowing the pie. They crammed a second slice past my fangs as soon as the first one vanished into me.

I blinked.

My tummy felt pleasantly and happily full.

"Pie." I sighed in pleasure and opened my mouth wide as they came at me with a third slice. "Sweet Potato. My favorite."

GODWAR CENTRAL

Drakengrim