Belly Full of Blood - Chapters 1-4 (not for sharing - Copyright Protected 2020 )

beneath a layer of black mulch, sat outside it, the mud
around their base a deep and stagnant scarlet.
Looking to the black and volcanic, solid pile of
something that lay next to it, with a wooden torch stuck
into its centre, Lyre nodded in understanding with a face of
unease.
‘That will be the excommunicated vampire then, I take
it, Cuthbert?’ asked Lyre.
‘I suppose it will,’ nodded Cuthbert.
Cuthbert, carefully making his way down from the
carriage, dropped with a squelch and made his way over
to the tavern door, his boots slipping inwards and
outwards as he tried to navigate the unforgiving ground.
He approached with a hand extended, his exquisitely
crafted leather glove unmarred by blood or scuffs.
‘Brother Cuthbert,’ introduced Cuthbert, with a smile
and an expectant hand.
‘Cuthbert?’ sighed Wren, ‘what kind of fucking name
is that?’ he mocked, then looked to Brother Lyre has he too
hopped down from the carriage.