Heirot

The punch almost knocked Tenele out. Her world went black, and it came back in spots. She moved sluggish, trying to crawl up the steps behind the man taking Vlad away. She stumbled to her feet and towards the man holding Vlad, tasting blood in her mouth.

Tenara cried on the bed. She threw her pillow off hoping to step on it, but that didn't work. It just hurt. "Mommy! Daddy! It hurts!" Her eyes lit up when she saw her new friend. "Matthew!" She reached out for him.

Matthew reached out and drew the girl into his arms, away from the circle. "Tenara,"
he said in a panic, crouching to set her on the ground. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt, kiddo?"

Tenara huffed, feeling relief wash through her. She choked on her sobs as she felt along her feet for the fire that wasn't there. "Mommy," she cried. "Mommy!" She was in too much hysterics to answer her friend. She just wanted her parents. When she was on her feet she took off out of the room. "Mommy!"

"Let go of him!" Tenele seethed. She picked up an empty wooden bucket and smashed it across the back of the man's head as he made it to the railing. She took the rope and jumped at him from behind, pulling it tight around his neck.

Sam dropped the vampire as he was forced to turn and deal with Tenele's attack He reached back and grabbed at her hair, then hurled his weight sideways, flipping her over his back and landing on her.

Vlad's eyes barely flared with red energy at the sight of his wife being struck. He dug his hand into the deck, long claws slowly driving down into the wood. "Get....the fuck....off..." he snarled, shaking too badly to move. He was lying right at the edge of the deck, too low for the railing to stop him.

Sam backed away from Tenele, scrambling from the girl who was stronger than he'd expected. He also didn't quite trust the vampire to be as incapable of using those claws as he looked. He ran up to Vlad's side and kicked him full force in the chest. The impact cast the vampire backward and sent him tumbling down into the water below.

Tenele would have screamed had the hit not taken all of her air. She dragged herself up, wiping the blood from her mouth and launched herself at the man. She punched him as hard as she could and then clamored over the railing, hoping she remembered how to swim as the cold water washed over her.

Tenara tripped when she reached the top of the steps. Still in a fit of tears she lifted her head from the deck, red eyes glowering at the man. She collected herself, and the world around her seemed to go deafeningly quiet. Even the sound of the waves hushed in her presence. The only real noise was her sniffling.

Little Tenara slipped back in her mind, while the other Tenara, the much more wrathful one, took a firm hold. The man lifted off his feet. He didn't even have time to scream before every bone inside his body crushed. As the body fell, it caught the railing and tipped overboard.

Tenara blinked the red from her eyes, her knees buckled, and she collapsed.

Vlad felt the pressure building in his skull as he sank. The salt water soaked into his wounds and made him scream, but no sound came out in the depths of the ocean. The only good thing was that the metal was sinking faster than him, dragging him down yes, but at least not touching his chest. His thoughts crashed like angry waves as he tried to think about what to do. He breathed salt water and gagged on the sensation of having his lungs full of something other than air.

Tenele looked under the water for Vlad when she couldn't spot him on the surface. The salt water burned her eyes and she barely spotted him in the darkness, a pale figure disappearing down.

She swam, luckily her body seemed to remember how to do that, or maybe desperation taught her. When she reached him she tugged the necklace off and hooked an arm around his. She started swimming to the surface.

Her lungs burned. She kicked harder, but he was heavier than she thought. She struggled to hold her breath and not breathe in the water.

Just a little further.

A little further.

When she crested the surface she choked on water, gagging, and sucking in a whistling breath.

The salt air on his face made the vampire more alert. He tried to cough, and it felt more like throwing up. He blinked the woman beside him into focus. She was holding him up above the waves, protecting him. Tenele. He had to get her to safety. He had to get them back to the ship. He concentrated as hard as he could, but his powers wouldn't work. He couldn't tell if it was the burn in his chest, or if it was the sands below, thwarting his magic like the sands in Hajara always did.

He coughed again, his chest raging with pain as he tried to get enough air inside him to speak. "Tenele," he breathed, He stopped hanging on her in horror and supported his own weight in the water.

"Vlad," she sputtered back, kicking her legs. She still felt so dizzy from that hit that the stars in the sky just seemed to swirl around. The waves made her feel drunk. She tried to look for the ship.

"Hey!" She screamed, or at least she tried. Her voice just came out raspy. She coughed more water up and tried again.

Vlad stared at the disappearing ship, and called out into the night as loud as he could. His waterlogged lungs didn't meet his hopes. No one would notice a few overboard in the evening light. They wouldn't know they were gone until morning, unless someone on board turned them around. He wondered if Matthew had made it. If Tenara was okay.

*Talon!* he shouted. He could feel the lack of connection. His abilities didn't work out here.

*Queeny!*

No use. He swam after the ship a few strokes, aching with every movement, and stopped, shivering with pain. The vampire glanced around for land, and couldn't make out anything. He tried to remember what he'd seen out over the water while he and Tenele were fighting. Was there a small island to the West? He kind of thought so, but he hadn't been paying his best attention.

There wasn't much choice but to hope something was out there, though it had to be at least a dozen miles away if it was.

"Are you hurt? Can you swim?" Vlad asked her, peering into her eyes to see if they were dilated from that hit to the head.

"I can swim," she said, not quite focusing on him. "But, where?" She treaded water, spinning in circles to look for something, anything. There was nothing. They were going to die. Drown. Her daughter...

Tenele took a deep calming breath. "What are we going to do?"

"Find a place to not drown," Vlad said. "You came in after me." He stared at her.

"You would have done the same for me," she whispered to him, starting to swim and waiting for him to take the lead. She didn't know where they were going, but she hoped against hope that it was somewhere with solid earth. But, she knew she had to accept the fact that it was highly unlikely. Vlad could probably live, even walking at the bottom of the ocean... But, she couldn't survive with water in her lungs. If they didn't find land or another ship, she couldn't swim forever.

Vlad took the lead, clamping down his emotion. How could he be so happy about her risking her life? He pushed the selfish thought away and swam toward the west. He didn't make the fastest progress. His chest hurt mercilessly, and every stroke made it feel worse. He kept a dizzy record of where Tenele was behind him, checking back on her every couple of yards.

Tenele grew tired, but she struggled to keep going. Her brain ached, her body hurt from being crushed against the deck. She couldn't imagine what Vlad was feeling with the holy wound.

Her dizzy gaze fluttered out around them. No land. Not that she could see.

Eventually she was barely swimming, her head slipping deeper into the water. She sputtered, and struggled to keep going. But, her limbs just seemed to drag her down.