The First Vampire Beast Tamer

Paws floated near me, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "Alright, nya, here's how this is gonna go. You march up to them, look them right in the eyes, and say: 'The snake has evaporated. Poof! Couldn't handle my overwhelming power.' Simple, nya!"

He said it with such a straight face that for a moment, I genuinely questioned whether he was messing with me. Of course, with Paws, there was no question.

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "That's it? No explanation? You just want me to sound like a lunatic?"

Paws stretched lazily, his smug grin returning. "I'm not nuts; you are, nya. And it's not sounding like a lunatic—it's being one, nya! Makes it more entertaining for me, nya."

I regretted every decision that had led me to this point. "Why do I even… never mind. Fine. But you owe me for this." Resigning myself to my fate, I turned to face the chief inside the tent while Captain and Grams stood firmly by the exit, their eyes locked on me.

Awkwardly scratching the back of my neck, I stammered, "Uh… so… funny thing about that… You're not gonna find the body because… it, uh, kind of… evaporated."

The chief frowned, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. "Evaporated?"

I nodded nervously, my voice rising an octave. "Yeah, um, poof! Vanished into thin air. Couldn't handle the, uh… my overwhelming power, you know."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Paws perched nearby, his tail flicking happily as he silently laughed at my misery.

"Nailed it, nya! Look at their faces! Priceless!" Paws' voice rang in my mind, cackling with glee.

"Shut up," I hissed mentally. "You are the worst."

The chief stared at me, utterly baffled. "Are you feeling alright, child? Evaporated? Overwhelming power? What are you even talking about?"

Behind me, Grams snickered, muttering just loud enough for me to hear, "Did he hit his head or something?"

I muttered under my breath, "I wish I had…"

It was, without a doubt, the most awkward moment of my life. And all because someone got selfish and decided to buy that egg. My eyes flicked toward Paws, who was practically glowing with amusement, thoroughly enjoying my embarrassment.

Desperate to salvage the situation, I cleared my throat, trying to sound confident. "Look, the important thing is, uh… the snake's gone! Definitely gone. No need to worry about it coming back."

The chief narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. Grams' snickering grew louder, and Captain looked like he was trying very hard not to smack both of us—me for talking nonsense and Grams for laughing at it.

Paws, meanwhile, leaned closer, whispering gleefully in my mind. "This is even better than I imagined, nya. Keep going, nya!"

I groaned internally. "I swear, one day, I'm feeding you to a dog."

The chief's sharp eyes bore into me, his tone firm. "And what exactly happened to the Guardian Serpent?"

Before I could even think, Paws floated close to my ear, whispering hurriedly, "Alright, nya, here's what you do—walk three steps toward the chief, spin three times, then pull a Michael Jackson 'oohhhh yah' and tell them it's a magic dance. A powerful dance, nya! So powerful it can evaporate anything if done correctly, nya!"

My brain was too frazzled to process his idiocy. Somehow, my mouth and body obeyed, moving as if possessed.

I took three awkward steps forward, spun clumsily three times, and let out the most embarrassing "Oohhhh yah!" imaginable. The words tumbled out of my mouth in a rush. "It's, uh… a magic dance! Yeah! Super powerful—if done correctly, it can make anything evaporate!"

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Paws floated nearby, clutching his stomach, laughing so hard he started rolling midair. "Don't forget the egg, nya! Tell them about the egg! Oh, wait—you can't, nya!"

I clenched my fists, my baby body trembling with suppressed rage. "I will strangle you one day," I muttered under my breath.

Turning back to the chief and his stunned entourage, I scrambled to salvage the situation. "It, um, dissolved? Kind of… imploded into nothingness. Let's just say it's a long story."

Grams snorted loudly, unable to contain himself. "Let me guess—it couldn't handle your 'overwhelming power' or your magically overwhelming dance, huh?"

Paws was now floating in circles above us, still snickering. "They get it, nya!" he said, delighted. Then, in a mocking tone, he added, "Or you could've just told them to check the nest. It's still there. Haha, too good, nya! Way too good!"

I felt the heat of embarrassment rise to my face as I glared at Paws. My patience snapped, and I pointed at him, yelling in frustration. "You mean I did all of that for nothing?! You could've told me before I made a complete idiot out of myself!"

Paws shrugged nonchalantly, his grin as wide as ever. "What can I say, nya? It was entertaining. You looked like a chicken trying to do ballet, nya!"

He paused dramatically, floating closer and patting me on the head with his paw. "Calm down, boy. A little humiliation is good for character development, nya!"

I stared at him, contemplating every possible way I could enact my revenge. "Oh, you are so dead," I muttered under my breath.

Finally, after all the theatrics and nonsense, Captain sighed and spoke, looking down, "I'm sorry, Chief. We wasted your time with this mad child. Let me take him, and we won't disturb you again."

He said it like the whole situation was some elaborate ruse, and honestly, who could blame him? Who in their right mind would believe me—a child no more than 2 feet tall—could take down that goliath of a snake? If the people of Earth had seen it, they'd be kneeling, worshiping it as their god. That serpent was massive, majestic… and terrifying.

But this wasn't the time for Captain to write me off as some delusional brat. If I didn't act now, they'd treat me like a chunk of meat tossed onto a grill. Desperation overtook me, and I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Hyyy! If you don't believe me, go ahead and check for yourself! It's his nest, right? Even if he disappeared, you can find something there! Check it yourself and see if I'm lying or not!"

I yapped with everything I had, my chest heaving as I caught my breath. Captain hesitated for a moment, looking toward the chief as if waiting for instructions.

The chief stared at me for a moment, then finally spoke, his tone thoughtful. "Kael, gather some of the fastest boys from the village and go. Check the nest. If what he's saying is true…" His voice trailed off, but his expression softened slightly. "Then he may be our savior."

He paused, and his face darkened as he added, "But if he's lying…"

The chief's sharp, predatory gaze locked onto me. His teeth glinted as he bared them, fangs prominent and threatening. The way he looked at me, it was like he could swallow me in one bite.

And like any normal person in my position, I did what any logical being would do.

Yep. I peed myself. No shame. Fear does that to you.

The next thing I knew, the world tilted, and I fell backward to the ground, my vision going black as I passed out cold.