Mature: Desert Moon

[Soran Nightblade]

"He's changed the circle," Merida gasped. "Oh, my lady, there was nothing I could do! I tried to stop him, but Lord Dracul shielded me." Tears rolled down the woman's face now that she'd finally reached Tenele. "By now, he's surely... oh gods, it can't kill him right away, right?" she sobbed incoherently.

Stalker was up on his feet, every strand of fur on his huge body standing up stiff.

* * *

Vlad's thoughts swam in and out of his head while the priest continued with the final part of the incantation. The vampire was trying to think of a way out, but he'd lost the clarity he needed. He'd been in the circle too long. His mind was like his body, limp and ragged. He clawed at the floor with fingers that were already bloody, and he didn't remember making them that way.

He kept his eyes open, determined not to flinch when the spell charred him to dust. He'd greet death with a glare.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele's eyes widened, her gut flipped, and panic seized her. "No," she muttered, twisting to look back up the steps where Atul stood. He couldn't teleport them in to save Vlad. She couldn't run there in time. Seconds. She had only seconds. All she needed was a way to rip Vlad from where he was...

Her gaze hardened on Atul with realization. "I'm sorry," she told the King, not sure what would happen to his body after this. "Sagra ne reon, Knight."

[Soran Nightblade]

A bright flash outside the window filled the entire room with blinding light, like a star had crashed to earth. Tenele and Atul would know the light, because they'd seen it once before. There was no explosion, just a crackling sound as the holy magic ran its course and finally faded back to the normal darkness of dusk.

It took Merida several seconds to blink her eyes back into focus. Green spots danced in her vision as she tried to understand why Atul looked so different, and why he was kneeling before Tenele. The handsome man had long, silken black hair, and when he raised his gaze to them, His eyes were unmatched and unfocused.

"My lady," Knight murmured and then paused as if confused. He held very still, as if he were taking mental inventory of each of his internal organs. Finally, he met Tenele's eyes and said "You have saved him."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele dropped to her knees in front of knight and took his face in her hands. Her eyes welled with tears. "You have saved him." Those words twisted her, bringing full awareness to the fact that had she hesitated even for a second she would have lost her husband forever.

She couldn't even speak, relief stole her voice. She just drew Knight into her arms tightly. It took her a moment to realize other things about her surroundings, and to notice the sharp shrill crying of their child upstairs.

[Soran Nightblade]

Knight rose up on his knees and drew Tenele warmly into his arms. His fingers curled along the back of her head, secure and firm. "They're alright. They're both alright," he reassured her.

He slowly raised his gaze to the ceiling, where the child's voice was strong as a beacon. Pride and desperate need glittered in his unmatched eyes as he knew that voice for what it was. "They cannot sustain me for long," he forced himself to say.

To see her. To touch her, know her, even just for a second...

"The circle must be destroyed, and the priest removed," he went on. The soft melody of his voice was calm and practical. "Only then can he be returned and survive. Their powers are beyond my access right now. I will go on foot."

The child's cry rose sharper. His heart swelled to bursting.

"Someone should escort me, so I'm not mistaken for an intruder at the gate," he continued.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked to Merida, her child's crying made her want to run back up the steps for her, but securing Tenara's father was more important than a mother's instinct. "Merida... please see to Tenara," she told the wet nurse. "I'll escort him to the palace."

Confusion washed Merida's features as she stared blankly at Knight, unable to discern what was happening.

"Merida," Tenele repeated as she wrapped her arm around Knight's waste to help him out the door. "Please. I'll explain when I return. This is for the safety of Lord Dracul and your King. Please, look after my daughter."

Merida nodded, backing away slowly. She turned and skipped up the steps.

Tenele led Knight out into the streets and back towards the palace. "Will going inside hurt you?" Tenele asked him as they neared the gates.

[Soran Nightblade]

Knight managed to follow her outside and not run up the stairs. There was no time. Atul and Vlad were both at their limits. He could feel each step like a slight numbness in his bones as he crossed the city with Tenele. "There will be some residual aura, but nothing that can kill me," he said. "Within the hour, it should disperse. But I'm afraid this can't wait."

"And you?" he asked her, slowing slightly in his graceful stride. "Are you well enough to walk to far? I can carry you."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele nodded. "I am well," she confirmed. "You should save your strength. Atul isn't in good shape, and Vlad probably wasn't either when he was pulled from that circle. I can manage this."

She looked up at the palace. "I am sorry to call you under these circumstances. I wanted to call you soon, so you could see your daughter... and when Atul was stronger so it wouldn't be stressful on his body... I can find the priest and destroy the rune if you want to wait where its safest and less taxing. I won't think any less of you, Knight. In fact, I would rather you wait in safety...

[Soran Nightblade]

Knight's boots padded a little slower on the cobblestone street. "I should be at your side. If the priest is there and confronts you when it's time to change the circle, you might not overpower him."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele narrowed her eyes on the palace. "I should be able to manage the priest," Tenele told him confidently. If he was anything like the priests she was used to he would be simple enough to deal with, especially given her position in Sinead's court and with the King of Hajara. "You are made of two unnatural creatures and I care for you too much to risk what his magic would do to you."

Tenele paused at the gateway where the guards greeted her. "This man is given a pass into the palace when he pleases to enter, under orders of the king and the Ighten am assadors." Then, when she was sure the guards understood her, she turned back to Knight to see if he would stay behind or accompany her.

[Soran Nightblade]

Knight looked a little thrown off by her words. He hesitated at the gates, while the guards peered at the perfectly-built man curiously. The residual magic of a simple holy ward would hardly be enough to hurt him.

On the other hand, his other two halves would feel the energy he'd expend ignoring it.

It wasn't a difficult decision. Make Tenele just a little safer, or make Vlad and Atul, and himself, just a little safer. He eased forward into a graceful stride next to her. "We are strong enough to protect you," he said, his tone forbidding any argument.

[Emora Deen]

"I do not doubt your strength," Tenele told him as they entered the palace and headed for the dungeon. "I worry about putting unnecessary strain on their bodies."

When they reached the door to the room where Vlad had prepared the spell Tenele paused. "I will feel better if you wait here. You will still be able to hear what is going on."

[Soran Nightblade]

Knight halted, his expression like a plate of steel. "As you ask," he assented quietly. He met her eyes, but the gaze was shallow. He took a step to the side, against the stone wall of the dungeon entrance. "When you are done, please dismiss me from there. It will save them a little time."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele couldn't help but feel that maybe she'd hurt him or that he was angry with her decision, but she wanted to ensure that the men she got back were whole and at least somewhat able to survive. He didn't even want her near him when she sent him away... She wasn't sure what a priests magic would do to them through Knight. Tenele wanted to explain that to him, to make sure he wasn't angry with her, but she hadn't the time for that either.

Tenele gave him one last soft look before tugging the iron door open and letting herself in. She didn't close it behind her, so that Knight wouldn't feel cut off from her.

As Tenele strolled in she took up a broom that was resting in the corner near the door and headed for the priest. "You have committed treason," she spat to him, murderous rage brimming the surface. This man had nearly killed her husband, and still could kill him. "You have attacked an ambassador of Ighten, and shall be punished. But, not today. I will give you a head start on leaving this city if you destroy this thing this very instant and leave. If you do not heed my warning, I will destroy the rune, and then I will have you executed."

[Soran Nightblade]

The priest looked up at her in confusion at first. Then, her words slowly led him to recognize her. "You only say such things because you have been led astray by that creature. It is for the best and for your own good that I destroyed him. As for the circle, it has served its role now. Do with it as you wish. Personally, I think it would serve as a good reminder for the people of this land to know well who judges them."