Heirot

"Okay," he said quietly. He stepped toward her in the circle and reached for her arm, drawing her down to crouch over the center of the ring. "Place your hand here," he guided her palm with the obsidian stone to the centerpoint. Then he extended a clawed finger and drew a thin, deep line along the side of her arm. Blood ran freely from the wound, down her wrist and over the stone. Vlad stepped outside the ring and frowned at the sight of her blood. The scent was enough to burn at his nose, in the state he was in. He ignored his body and stared at her, but he was seeing Tenele.

If she was gone...what would he do? Where would he even start?

"What do I do after this?" she asked as her palm filled with blood and circled around the stone. Espha glanced back to Vlad. "I don't know what I'm doing." Outside the birds began to fly erratic. They broke their strict formation and began to circle, and then collide into one another.

As Espha's palm filled with more blood the obsidian stone started to crack. Splinters swept across the surface, allowing blood to seep into the cracks. The cracks grew until the stone shattered in her hand. Espha yelped, dropping the pieces of obsidian. The birds outside began falling from the sky.

* * *

"Look out!" a guard called. The large black birds dropped, exploding into black dust upon impact. Atul drew Tenele in against him despite her resistance, and covered her head with his arm, doubling his tall form over hers until it stopped raining vultures.

"Good. That's enough!" Vlad burst forward to cover her arm with his hand, squeezing down. He ripped his shirt off with his other hand and bundled the fabric tightly against her arm. Her scent was making him dizzy. "I'll find something clean. Stay still," he murmured to her. "You're doing well."

He was back as quickly as he'd gone from her side, carrying clean fabric from a shawl he'd found in one of the inner rooms.

Espha watched him leave, and then watched him as he started wrapping the wound with the shawl. "It shattered, do you think the plague is gone?" She pushed slowly to her feet, feeling a bit dizzy at first.

"Yes," Vlad said. "He was in too much pain to be lying." He tied off the bandage firmly, but kept the pressure of his hand around it, making sure the bleeding stopped. She hadn't lost too too much, but for a young girl it had to be a shock. "You've saved them."

Espha smiled down at his hand around her arm. "We saved them!" she told him with a confident smile. Her smile softened and she lifted her eyes to his. "Your wife is very lucky to have someone brave like you."

Vlad's calm composure flinched at the mention of Tenele. He really didn't feel he could take any more. After all they had done...everything they had defeated to be together. He took a faltering breath and looked away from the girl, salt stinging in his eyes. "Arken will know what has been done. We should move you to safety," he said through a knotted throat.

Espha wondered what that look was in his eyes. It wrenched her heart, even if she didn't know what it meant. "Okay," she whispered to him, walking quickly with him out of the library.

Arken guards came running... and completely passed them by. They were followed closely behind by Hajarian military, and behind them rode Atul atop his horse.

* * *

Talon walked quietly with Tenele, neither one speaking to the other. Tenele's cloak swished around her bandaged feet, her arm safely hidden away beneath the fabric.

"Tenele," Talon whispered. "We need to talk this out. You aren't acting yourself."

"I'm fine," Tenele replied softly, listening to the sounds of battle all around them. "I promise."

Vlad kept a tight grip on the child's hand, readying himself for a fight as the militia spread past him. Then he recognized Atul's men. When he finally saw Atul riding alone at the back of the crowd, relief and misery swept over him in equal parts. He waved the King down as he approached.

"Vlad!" Atul called, jumping off his horse and running to the man. "You look like shit." He through his arms around Vlad and drew him into a tight hug. Espha stepped out of the way to give the two of them room. "I'm assuming the two of you are behind the lack of birds?"

Vlad released Espha's hand to return Atul's embrace almost desperately. The words were on the tip of his lips. Why are you alone? Why isn't she here? He knew he had to ask, but his throat closed and it was all he could do to keep himself from breaking down right in the middle of the street.

Atul patted the vampire's back. "Vlad?" he asked softly. He wasn't sure what was wrong with Vlad, but he felt he needed to warn him before she showed up. "Vlad... Its Tenele. There's something you need to know. Something happened."

Something inside the vampire twisted and rotted away. The words numbed him, an impossible fulfillment of he deepest fears. No. NO.

"Yes?" he whispered.

Atul was about to open his mouth, the words on the tip of his tongue when he heard Talon call out. "Tenele! Look out."

Atul whirled around, spotting Tenele stumbling away from an straggler Arken soldier who pounced down from an eve. She stumbled into the wall, while her brother quickly grabbed up the man and ripped his head off.

Vlad's head jerked toward Talon's voice, the pleasant ring of Tenele's name. He spotted her then, realizing the scene in front of him. "Tenele," he realized out loud, not even noticing that the tears fell down his cheeks. They cut tracks through the char on his skin. He took a few jogging steps, then burst into a full run toward her.