Heirot

Tenele cocked her head. "Do you have many women other than me?" she asked him curiously. She seemed to have an assortment of men... maybe he had other women. Tenele pursed her lips together, unsure how she felt about it. But, what did it matter at this point? Maybe it was a good thing for him to have other women since she was so uncertain.

Vlad paled a little at her casual tone. The grin went stale. "If I do?"

Tenele frowned. "I don't know," she replied, not sure what answer he was looking for. What if he didn't want her to be upset at him for having other women? What if he hoped she accepted it? "If that is what you enjoy... I suppose I wouldn't deny you that." Tenele blinked. Why did her heart hurt? She shouldn't be upset about that! This stupid body. Stupid mind.

Vlad's heart calmed a little. For a moment, he'd wondered if the intimacy they just shared meant nothing.

"There is no one else I would look to. There is only you. There will be no one but you as long as I exist," he said firmly.

Tenele's eyes flickered up from the fire at him. Only her. The phantom pain in her heart ebbed just as quickly as it arrived. The emotional up and down of her life lately made her entirely too exhausted.

"So, how long will that amount of blood sustain you until we should go to plan be?" she asked him softly.

"I should be fine tonight, and tomorrow," Vlad said. "Thanks to you."

He looked into the fire thoughtfully. "I've been thinking more, about Knight."

Tenele nodded. "I hope you know how to summon him, I don't remember how," she muttered.

Vlad nodded. "Yeah, you just say the incantation...." He peered into the fire. "Sara no reeyon? No. Soggy na ronin?"

Tenele scowled at him. "If you don't know it, and I don't know it, we have a very big problem." She scratched the back of her head.

Vlad waved his hand. "If we try enough, we'll get it eventually. More importantly, there's something I didn't mention about him. Sustaining his form requires a large amount of energy. Once you summon him, time will be very short. It will be worth it if he can tell you something I don't know. It's even possible that Atul will not know you're in trouble unless Knight is summoned. I believe if he knows you're in danger, he'll find a way to locate you."



"

Tenele nodded. She pursed her lips together and glowered into the fire. "If only he could teleport like you can... Maybe he could go farther. He could tell them what island we are on... and someone could come get us. But... if it can only sustain you a little while, won't you be even more ravenous and hungry when it reverts back to being you?"

Vlad looked at her meaningfully. "Tenele, this is important. There is a way to place the burden of the spell on Atul, rather than me. It's a little hokey, though."

Tenele nodded. "Okay, how do we do that?" She remembered how he said the spell was originally created. She wandered if it involved the same sort of alterations.

Vlad grinned. "I'll tell you in the morning. You can use your imagination until then. We should get some sleep now that the rain's finally let up."

Tenele eyed him suspiciously, but nodded and slipped down along the leaves. She curled into her usual ball and closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall a sleep. But, Tenele didn't sleep as soundly as she had the first few nights. She tossed and turned and made frightened noises. But, she didn't snap awake, and eventually her breathing evened out and she grew quiet.