Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Tenele shifted in Atul's lap, lifting her head to Vlad. Even with all the blood, she stood up an went to him. She wrapped her arms around him, not even checking to make sure could be near him without him attacking her. She had no questions of Blood Lust at the moment, she just wanted to hold him. The blood soaked into her clothing and smeared across her skin, but she drew her arms tighter around him and finally let herself cry.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad put his arms around her tightly. "I'm okay," he said soothingly. "Just a bit shaky." His bond to them was gone, along with their blood in his veins. He was glad they hadn't had to feel all of that, but he liked her presence in his mind.

Atul saw their hug as something extremely personal, but he needed contact, so he lay his hand on Vlad's back and rubbed slow circles on his pale skin.

"It has to be now," Vlad said so quietly they almost couldn't hear him.

"What does?" Atul prodded.

Vlad's tone grew firmer with resolve. "Our fight with Verin. It has to be right now."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele drew back, her arms still looped around him. "You're joking, right?" Tenele asked him, fear lacing her voice. Her cheek was smeared with blood. "Vlad, you are in no condition to do this now."

She shook her head. "This isn't like going up against some annoying demon, this is Verin we are talking about. He nearly had you killed tonight!"

Tenele had to admit that the first thing she wanted to do when she thought Verin had attacked her husband was go down to his alter and spit on it, curse him, call him out...

[Soran Nightblade]

"I know," Vlad shook his head and held her a little tighter. "I know we've lost our best chance. But we need to take the chance we have while we still have it. I can't stand the possibility of leaving you without protecting you first."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele's breath began to hitch. His words made it sound like he knew he was still dying. "You're not going to leave me," Tenele told him, her voice cracking. "Don't say something like that. What am I going to do without you? You are going to watch me grow old remember?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"Only if Verin's dead." Vlad hated the harshness in his tone as he said it. He hated arguing when all he wanted was to curl himself around her so she wouldn't cry.

Atul's hand squeezed his shoulder lightly. "He's right, Tenele. We need to act now. Just in case."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele swallowed, looking like the two of them had slapped her. She took a step back from Vlad. "Fine," Tenele muttered to him, dragging her silk robe up to wipe the blood from her face. "Since the two of you seem so convinced, now, it is."

"If you want to fight Verin so damn bad, I'll make it happen," she muttered, skirting past them and stepping down the hall. She tried to walk with her back straight, to hide the fear that was raging in her veins. She knew that if she didn't go now, she wouldn't. If she didn't walk with the anger in her, the boiling rage, then she would have the sense to walk away from it later.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad watched emptily as she stormed away from her. "Tenele," he whispered. His throat squeezed tight. What if he never got to hold her again? Would those words be her last to him? Fear that had nothing to do with Verin throbbed up behind his eyes. Damn it he whispered inside his mind.

"Stay with her," he said quietly.

"I will," Atul answered behind his shoulder. "You'll be ready?"

"As ready as possible."

And Atul was gone, catching up behind Tenele in the long castle halls.

"Vlad. Vlad!" Maxwell's bland voice made him look back over his shoulder. His raw, exposed expression made the doctor blink, half puzzled and half disapproving. "Come on. Wipe that pointless look off your face. If your goal is to fight, I'll get you running as well as possible, under the circumstances."

The vampire's expression flatlined. He turned and followed the doctor back into the room alone.

[Emora Deen]

"I don't need you with me to pick a fight with Verin," Tenele told Atul a little colder than she intended. She tugged the silk robe around her form a little tighter and descended down the steps. "I'm half naked, covered in blood, and angry, I think I can manage to piss him off and get kidnapped all on my own." There was hurt in her voice, despite how she tried to hide it. "Then, you and Vlad get to have your epic battle, and everyone will be happy."

[Soran Nightblade]

"Is that what you think this is about to him?" Atul demanded, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. "Tenele, he loves you. We both do."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele glowered at him. "I know. But, you don't seem to see it from my point of view. He's not ready and he's weak and he wants to fight Verin. What happens when you lose, huh? There are no second chances, Atul. In my mind its more logical to gather your strength before a battle than to run head long into it out of vengeance. If you lose this battle I won't be just a widow sitting in a lonely house, I'll have Verin forcing me to do terrible things for the rest of my life. You and Vlad will get the sweet release of death, but that will never be an option for me."

Tenele jerked away from him. "I love you both, too. Its not even the fear of being left with Verin for eternity, its being cut off from the both of you. It hurts, worst than anything that will be done to me when you lose."

Tenele turned away from him and pushed open the door to the palace.

[Soran Nightblade]

"I'm sorry that the circumstances are so harsh. I'm not looking to die, and I'm not looking forward to dealing with Verin," he argued, following her out into the street. "If we don't fight now, and this poison kills Vlad, no one will be able to stop Verin from taking you. Not even me. That's why he has to go now, or the only legacy he'll leave his wife is an eternity with a sadistic monster."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele's jaw clenched tight. She couldn't answer Atul, because her answer would be nothing but a sobbing beg. She had to focus, or she wouldn't have the courage to do what they needed done. They wove through the dark streets until they came to a cave near the shore. Tenele appraised it thoughtfully, her chest heaving with emotion.

"I know why we're doing this," she muttered, turning to look at him. "I know... I trust you both... I need you to stay here now, or he may not come. Wait for me here, I'll be okay."

Tenele bit her bottom lip before reaching out and throwing her arms around his neck. She hugged him tight. "Thank you, Atul. Thank you for everything you have done for us." Tenele kissed his lips, thinking it was the only good gesture she could offer him. It was not a romantic kiss, but a loving, kind kiss. She drew away slowly and backed towards the dark entrance to the cave. "Good luck."

[Soran Nightblade]

Atul stood alone in the street as she left, his lips tingling with her touch. He touched them with careful fingers. There was only one reason he could think of that Tenele would kiss him like that.


She didn't think they would win.

[Emora Deen]

It was dark in the tunnel. The blackness made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She crept along, feeling her way until she spotted a faint glow at the end. Her fingers trembled as they slid along the wall, and she went deeper into the shrine. Soon the hall turned to a vast cavern. A rickety staircase led down to a dock that stretched into the center of a lagoon. Waves crashing against the rocky shore around it. It was quiet save for that constant crashing sound.

Tenele carefully descended the steps, glancing around the cavern. It was empty. There weren't any worshippers there. So why were all the torches lit?

It unsettled her.

"Alright you son of a bitch," she muttered once at the bottom of the staircase. "Come out where I can see your face, coward!"

There was groan, a low dark painful groan. It sent a chill down her spine. Her green eyes lifted to the alter, a large stake set in the center of platform. When she saw it last there were charred bodies strapped to the post, but there wasn't anything there now, not that she could see. The groan happened again, and a form on the other side of the massive stake moved.

Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw the hint of charred flesh. Tenele stepped out onto the dock, and the wood groaned under her light weight. She continued on, slowly circling the stake until she faced a body. For moment she thought her eyes had imagined the movement, and her ears had imagined the sound. It was mangled and charred and beyond living.

"Dear gods," she muttered, stepping towards it. Tenele covered her mouth.

"Do you hear me Verin?!" Tenele yelled.

The eyes of the charred body flashed open, blue and haunting and blood shot. It tore a gasp from her. "Atul!" Tenele called, rushing towards the body. "Someone is hurt!"

Tenele reached out with her hands slowly. "Don't worry, we'll get you down. I can heal you." She was unsure how much her power cold heal of him, but she couldn't let him suffer like this. She reached up for his hands, for the ropes...

There weren't any. His hands were locked at the wrist, just poised over his head. And then they moved. He launched at her, grabbed her around the waist, and leaped off the pier into the water, leaving only enough time for Tenele to scream.

The water was cold compared to the hot desert air. She struggled and fought against the grip around her waist as the creature drew her downwards. Hands stretched up from the blackness below and pulled on her legs and her arms. Tenele screamed into the water, bubbles and air escaping her lungs. And then the darkness swallowed her.