Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Espha covered her eyes with a sharp squeak. "I should probably leave!" She cried, peeking through a crack in her fingers. "Just tell him man! Is loosing your manhood really worth it?"

[Soran Nightblade]

The wizard shuddered with the fierce pressure on his neck, losing oxygen quickly. "Els niphot ler gotholiu," he whispered. A ring of flames burst up around Espha, climbing in on her fast.

[Emora Deen]

Espha screamed, jumping and skipping back and forth to try and avoid the flames. She beat the fire out as it caught on her clothing. "Make him stop his witchcraft!" She stumbled out of the circle, beating at her clothes until the fire went out. She scurried into the corner of the room, eyeing the door. She flexed her fingertips to cool them.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Interrogate me, and she'll run out of oxygen," the wizard rasped with a smirk.

"Fool," Vlad growled. "I don't even know her." He pretended not to notice the flames pin her into the back of the shed, beyond access to the window or door.

"Perhaps I'll take them one at a time," he smiled cruelly, slashing a hole through his pants and the flesh behind them. He reached through the hole, ignoring the man's shriek, and made true on his promise. The wizard burst out with a ragged scream and sank limply in Vlad's grip.

"Ready for the other?" Vlad showed him a bored smile.

"Wait... Wait!" the man screamed, barely able to speak through the tears. "In the library...the idol...in the circle...innocent blood..."

"What about the idol?" Vlad demanded, jerking the man to keep him from losing consciousness.

"Destroyed...must be...innocent blood..."

[Emora Deen]

Espha cringed away from the fire. "Ambassador Dracul!" she called, drawing her knees up to her chest. "Make him stop!" She coughed as the smoke billowed up around her, and covered her mouth with her hands.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad spared a glance at the girl in the corner. Crap, there was no time left. He punched the mage across the jaw, dropping him outcold, and ran into the flames. He reached the girl quickly, drew her into his arms, and teleported her outside the cabin. The expense nearly cost him his footing as he appeared with her on the street and immediately burst into a run. "Breathe deep," he encouraged as he sprinted toward the library. Her strong, panicked heartbeat was maddening.

[Emora Deen]

Espha did as he said, taking in deep gulping breaths of fresh air. "Are we going to save the city now?" she asked him, coughing out the words to clear her throat. "I miss my father."

[Soran Nightblade]

"We'll do what we can," he breathed without breaking pace. "Are you burned?"

[Emora Deen]

Espha shook her head. "My clothes are ruined, but I got the fire out before it hurt me... and then you got me out. I'm very lucky."

[Soran Nightblade]

"Good," Vlad said, holding her a bit tighter as he concentrated on running. They made it quickly to the library building, hopefully unnoticed. Vlad pulled the door open, set Espha on her feet inside, and padlocked the heavy barricade behind him. He leaned his forehead against the wood for a moment, legs resisting his weight more than he wanted to admit.

He indulged the weakness briefly, the pushed upright and turned toward the main corridor. "This way," he said, setting a brisk pace for the wizard's hiding hole.

[Emora Deen]

"Is everything alright?" Espha asked as she followed Vlad without question. "Have you eaten recently? You've been using a lot of that... magic. I'm guessing that takes a lot of energy."

[Soran Nightblade]

"I'm fine," Vlad muttered as he walked.

He honestly didn't even care about his body right now. He'd abused it enough in the last few days to be at war with it, and it had failed him when Tenele needed him. It was just a resource to be used.

"There," he said, reaching down and grabbing the obsidian totem from the floor. "Destroy it with innocent blood, he said. In the circle, presumably." His gaze went to Espha. "What are you willing to do to help the city?"

[Emora Deen]

Espha blinked. "I'll do anything. What is it you need me to do?" she asked him eagerly, eyeing the totem in his hand.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad handed her the stone. "You need to bleed. On the stone. In that ring." He led her toward the circle of runes. "I don't know how much is necessary." He stopped beside her and met her eyes. "Do you want help?" he said gently.

[Emora Deen]

Espha nodded. "I do," she told him, holding the stone in her hands. "I don't have anything to cut myself with..." She held out her arm to him, rolling up her sleeve. "Will you?"

* * *

A slender figure stepped through the gate, wrapped in a cloak with the hood pulled far over her head. Her bandaged feet padded across the dirty earth. She'd discarded her shoes a long time ago when they proved too uncomfortable to wear.

"Tenele," Talon cursed. "What are you doing? Get back outside the city." He reached a hand out for her, tilting his head up to the sky. "You could still get sick." Tenele jerked away from him, taking a step back.

Atul motioned for the guards to follow him. "At least stay on the horse," he muttered to her.

"I'm fine walking," Tenele told him.

"Let me take a look at your face," Atul said softly. He knew it wasn't bad. The fire that had burned her arm had only left a red mark of heat, like a sunburn across her neck and right cheek. Still, he wanted to look at her eyes more than anything. He wanted to see if they still held such darkness. It unnerved him, and saddened him to see those beautiful eyes so full of hate. He reached up to push the hood off her head and Tenele stepped away from him too.

Atul's hand fisted in the air before dropping forcefully down at his side. "Let's move," he ordered the soldiers, turning to head into the city.