Heirot

Tenele rested on her good leg. "Its not going to work," she muttered, her hand running over the cold glass. They had yet to betray eachother, and so the mirror was not going to work.

"Guess we do get to stay together," she told him, her green eyes returning to him. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad, because that meant they were both prisoners of Verin. Her hand reached out and squeezed his gently as it pressed against the glass.

Vlad smiled, but his veins were tugging at him. It had been easy enough to hide, since Tenele was forced to walk at a slow pace, no sudden movements, nothing to trigger his instincts. But he'd crossed over the line between hunger and danger some time earlier, and maintaining control with her was becoming a delicate balancing act.

He could not stay with her here much longer and still keep her safe.

"What are you waiting for?" Verin asked, appearing opposite them. "Vladimir Dracul, your moment of freedom stands before you. Take this woman's life. She is an obstacle. If you wish to be free of me, do it now, and seize your freedom." His words seemed made of cruel laughter as he looked at them. Tenele was an obstacle, all right. If Vlad killed her, it would leave his mind open and vulnerable. Verin would finally control him, Queen Sinead's bishop piece, a priceless weapon and spy.

Vlad narrowed his eyes. He was sorely tempted to attack the god, fists flying. "How do you expect us to separate, with this chain in place?" he asked tactically.

Verin smirked. "You are cunning, of course," he smiled. "Very well." With a wave of his hand, the chain between their arms disappeared. "And now," he said darkly, you will finish her, Vladimir Dracul. Take the blood that is your right."

Vlad looked at Tenele reassuringly. "I'm not leaving," he said, wrapping his hand around hers. "She is."

Tenele's hand wrapped like a vice about Vlad's. Her eyes flickered between Vladimir and Verin. "Vlad..." she argued. "No..." Her green eyes flashed to Vlad. "No, you said we'd leave together. I'm not leaving without you." Tenele felt so helpless. She felt like the rope between a super tug-of-war. One pulling her to her death, one pushing her from it. Nothing seemed to involve her staying with Vlad. There was absolutely nothing she could do and now she was completely thrown about her purpose in all this.

What was the point in impregnating her if she was to be drained dry by Vlad. What was the point in any of the horrible things that had happened to her.

Tenele glared at Verin, she let go of Vlad's hand and stepped towards him. She ignored the pain in her leg to walk up to him, and when she was close enough, her teeth clenched, she swung her hand out to slap the god's face as hard as her hand would let her. She wanted to hit him over and over, until there was nothing left of him.

Verin actually wheeled back from the impact of Tenele's hand, but the proud glare that he shot back at her when he regained his stance, told Vlad that she was in trouble. The god drew a hand back, a spearpoint forming out of thin air in his palm, as if he were going to pull an entire pole from some alternate reality inside his hand. "Now that wasn't smart, pretty girl," he said darkly, and suddenly the spear was shooting toward her.

Vlad didn't even feel himself move. His legs vaulted him forward at the same time that his magic teleported him between Tenele and the blow. The spear caught him in the abdomen and spun him sideways, splitting straight through him so that it stuck out front and back.

"Do not get cocky, Dracul!" Verin snarled, turning his anger toward him. "Your little stunt is not going to deliver her to safety, nor will it bring you anything. I warn you now, do not defy me!"

Vlad stabilized himself, brought up his fist and punched the god in a clean hook across the face. Verin took the hit, but immediately grabbed the vampire by both shoulders and hurled him around into a wall. Vlad hit the hard surface in a very unnatural looking way, staggered from the impact, and shifted forward, but somehow managed to keep his feet. "Cocky again," Verin chided, growing two more black spears and thrusting them one by one into Vlad's stomach like he was a dartboard. "Let's see how far you can take this. In the end, it will be her blood you turn to, and all the more viciously," he hissed in the vampire's face.

Tenele watched in horror, unable to bare seeing Vlad hurt. She just wanted to end his pain, make Verin leave him alone. "Stop it!" Tenele screamed at him, standing her ground and clenching her fists. "STOP IT!" she screamed again, her voice ripped with emotion. "Leave him alone!"

Tenele rushed the God, beating at his chest with her fists. She was tiny compared to him, but she beat at him anyway. She had no weapon, nothing that she could use to attack this God. "Don't do this. Don't hurt him anymore. I'll do whatever you want. I'll sing you praises, just leave him alone. Just stop hurting him." Her tearfilled eyes looked up at Verin in petridied fear, unable to hide the fact that she feared whatever it might be that would come from this. She swallowed hard, trying to swallow her fear as she stopped her attack on his chest, bringing her hands back to hug them close to her body. Her eyes found his black orbs, her beautiful face a mixture of grave sadness, and strong determination. If it meant Vlad would be okay, and that he would not be hurt anymore, she'd do it. "I'll do anything." Her teeth clenched hard as the words slipped from her mouth in a hollow whisper.

“Anything?” he asked with a dark smile.

“Anything,” Tenele agreed, though she knew it was wrong and she should have done the opposite. Vlad would murder her, but then again he probably would literally if she didn’t do something to stop Verin from ripping him to shreds.

It had to eat Verin alive to know that Tenele, a mere human, had captured Vlad and wrapped him so tight that not even the black call of his power could draw the vampire in. It had to rip his insides into dust to know that a human had done what a God could not. Maybe that is why he loathed Tenele so much. Maybe that is why he’d cursed her to a painful death no matter what. No matter if Vlad killed her, or the child did. Verin would be rid of her eventually.

“Just like your mother,” he muttered. Tenele couldn’t fathom he he’d known her mother, and part of her feared to know. He leaned forward, a wicked smile growing. “I’m about to take from you what I want. Snatch him from your grasp.”

He reached out, his long arm able to clear the distance she had put between them easily. He grabbed her arm, and then her hair, tugging her forward. He forced both her hands behind her back, pulling her even closer to him. She didn’t struggle, though her mind raged that she should. What was the point? She hadn’t the strength to fight him off, it would be futile to try. A complete waste of what little energy she had left.

He held her arms behind her back with one large hand, which was big enough to completely encompass both her wrists. His other hand came up and ripped the sleeve of her dress from her shoulder, exposing her neck, her shoulder, and a good portion of her chest to the point of indecency. Tenele swallowed, averting her gaze to the wall as his hand glided the length of her neck, across her collar bone, and her shoulder, then down the front. “I think all he really needs is a good strong scent to take hold on,” he mused. “Don’t you?”

His nails grew long and he drove them deeply into her shoulder, close to her neck. Tenele cried out in a gasping scream as she felt them pierce deeply. She clenched her eyes, forcing her mouth closed, because she knew that he had to be enjoying this. His bloody hand and fingers knotted in her hair, tilting her head off to the side, leaving her bare slender neck and shoulder exposed.

“Take her blood, Vlad. I know the need must be consuming you.”

Vlad watched the scene unfolding in front of him through a blood-red haze, his hunger and pain mingling into a maddening thirst beyond his control. He could smell her, more alluring than anything had been to him before. He wanted fiercely to reach out to her torn neck and add his own wounds to its flesh, to tear at her like a ravenous wolf while he drained her of every drop of life.

“Useless girl,” he said coldly, his eyes flashing to hers with an expression of utter disdain. “You are tainting my battle with him. What makes you think this girlish stunt will please or assist me?” He scowled, his red eyes aglow with barely restrained fury.

“I’ve played your lover, as you wished. It was amusing enough, for a time. I babysat you through this infernal maze, I even endured your pathetic whining about the disaster you’ve brought upon your womb. I’d say I’ve been quite accommodating. But a guest should know how to tell when it’s time to relieve their host of his duty. Now, be a good human, and get the hell out of my way. The charade has grown dull for me.” Through all his words, Vlad’s eyes held Tenele’s with a look of most solemn and unmitigated impatience, as if he were speaking to a lingering child who would not cease tagging along.

Verin laughed as he watched the determined look on Tenele's face wash away and go slack. He released her, for Vlad had just done more damage than he could ever dream. She wasn't prepared to be put on her feet to stand on her own, and her wounded ankle refused to support all her weight. She slowly sank to the floor, looking up at Vlad with the most unreadable expression.

Her head tilted, her eyes staring at him questioningly. She wasn't sure what to think of what he had just said, besides the fact she felt like someone had ripped her stomach up through her throat. He couldn't mean it, could he? Yet his expression conveyed his words even more thuroughly.

She couldn't bring herself to believe that Vlad had been toying with her all along. How long? She clenched her teeth too keep the steam of pleading words that wanted to come billowing out from leaving her lips. What good what it do to make herself seem even more uselessly pathetic. She'd given her hole heart to a monster, and he had shreaded it as a monster should. She averted her eyes from him. No, she avered her hole face as the wave of emotions from this sudden and feirce rejection threatened to consume her.

She sat on the cold dirty stone, her hand holding the ruined front of her dress to give herself some dignity back. It was only to the point of mild indecency, but even that was too much at the moment. Nadia's dress left her legs easily exposed. Her silver hair fell down before her face, concealing the empty expression from them. Scraped, battered, and bleeding, she'd gone through all of this because of Vlad's fight with Verin. Both of them had used her, it churned her stomach. She felt hurt, this was true. She wanted to leave now, more than ever, but there was no escape for her. No way to leave or run from either of them.

So she sat there on that dirty ground, her arms wrapped about herself. One holding the dress, the other the wound at her neck. And she never looked at Vlad again. Despite how much she wanted to scream at him for being such a bastard, she couldn't bring herself to even glance his way. Her heart ached too much for that.

He watched her sink to the floor, looking broken and alone. Behind her, the mirror flashed to life with a pang of blue-white light that shimmered like living marble over the glass pane.

Vlad gave her an exasperated glare. "Yes, that's very useful. I hardly would have tolerated you so well had I known you would be this flaccid. I didn't ask you to sit there and pout. I said to get out," he snarled. "I had planned to spare your life, since we have spent quite a bit of time together, after all, but I promise you that I will not regret draining you here and now if you fail to know your place."

Tenele glanced to the light that she felt so warmly on her skin. A light that glowed with every bit of promise of freedom. Her bright green gaze returned to Vlad so filled with unhindered emotion that it looked as if Tenele would shatter any second. She clenched her eyes as well as her teeth, leaning forward to place her hands flat on the ground. She pushed herself to her feet, leaving a bloody smear across the ground where her hand had been. She almost fell down again, and it made her feel even more humilated that she couldn't even stand straight.

She turned towards the light. Not willing to say anything to him, not yet. She couldn't think of a single thing she wanted to say. There would be no 'I love you's. No pleasant and hopeful good byes. Her entire relationship with him had been nothing but a lie. She couldn't walk with the grace she would have liked to, the cracked ankle wouldn't allow for such. So she limped towards it, but did not enter. She paused, staring into that beautiful light that was her escape. But, what if he lied about that? What if it didn't take her home? What if it took her to some place worst.

What was worst than being lied too?

Her mind flashed with fond memories. Even in the worst of situations. She remembered passionate embraces. Sweet whispers. And all of that had been nothing but a man placating himself with her.

Vlad watched her solemnly from his place impaled against the wall. She was hesitating. He knew well that he had the power to rip free of Verin's spears and destroy her even now, before she made it through the portal. "That's the last of my patience," he growled, throwing his arms wide. A hideous red portal formed above his head, a gate that revealed a narrow glimpse of hell itself, and from it leaped the enormous hellhound that was his to control. The monstrous black wolf landed with glowing eyes in the space between he and Tenele. Vlad's voice and body were shaking as the beast turned for its orders. "Get her out of my sight," he commanded the hound aloud.

'Stay with her,' he added the psychic command quietly into the beast's mind.

The beast turned on Tenele, monstrous teeth bared, and pounced at her with its full weight, making to hurl her the rest of the way through the portal..

Tenele stumbled back, eyes wide in fear. She had no time to dodge the beast, and its weight struck her, knocking her clean off her feet and sending her clean through the portal. She felt the light wrap about her, and the next thing she knew she was falling through the air and landing hard on Sinead's conference table to the point it snapped in half. She stayed motionless at the heavy weight of the hell-hound pressing down on her. She was bleeding, and knew well not to make sudden moves around it.

She wouldn't even take the time to realize where she was, or in what company she had landed. She just stared at it, almost tempted to attack it, almost tempted to release her frustration at Vlad out on the beast that served him. "Go back to your master," she hissed to him. "I'm out of his way."

Tenele couldn’t really describe what she was feeling at the moment. It was a mixture of too many emotions. Sadness. Disbelief. She couldn’t tell whether she believed him or not. But, his tone of voice… His expression. It cut a jagged mark through her, one that she was having trouble ignoring. How could he say such cruel things if he didn’t mean them? They had been cruel, far beyond that of just wanting to push someone away. They had been degrading, to the point of being humiliating. Purposely hurtful. Purely and undeniably cruel.

As soon as Tenele had gone through the portal, the light around it heightened and then vanished. Only the mirror was left again, casting its pale light over the dark room.

Vlad's expression of stern impatience immediately collapsed into an empty, slack-jawed stare. He knew exactly what he'd just done. He would never be able to undo it. He could no longer feel feel the spears that were driven through his stomach. What was stranger was that he couldn't stop breathing. Though he knew he didn't require it, he couldn't make himself stop. First it was a deep, uncertain sucking of air, but within a few moments, it had progressed into voiceless hyperventilated gasps. He couldn't stop staring at the mirror, and the air he drew did nothing to cool the fire burning in his chest.

He felt them now, cold drops streaking down his face, blending to pink as they cut through the blood on his skin. His eyes widened as if he were in shock. "No...I lied," he pleaded softly, tasting salt. His hands curled to fists, slick with blood. "I lied, Tenele." Hating his useless words, he winced his eyes shut.

"That's about all I can stomach," Verin's laughter-filled voice came from in front of him. "I'll commend you for getting the lady friend out of the way. And with such style, too! She's sure to remember you dearly for that one," he chided.

Vlad looked at him, seeming barely able to draw focus for his much-needed anger. The god registered his expression and appeared to deem it of no threat. "But now, to our business. You will require blood. I require your loyalty. I believe we can come to an arrangement," he smiled, lifting his wrist up just beneath Vlad's nostrils. A hairline cut appeared in the flesh, leaking a budding drop of crimson liquid.

Vlad's stomach turned at the immensity of the need that suddenly poured through him. The pain came back to him then, with a sweeping wave of dizziness. He blinked and saw Verin through a blood-red haze. He felt absurdly weak, so far past the point of exhaustion that he had to wonder what more he could achieve if he were to command his muscles to move. He didn't need to give it much thought, really, because his pain and loathing and misery reached a unanimous verdict to send his fist into the God's face.

And he succeeded. Verin actually knocked a step back, completely unprepared for the vampire's attack. He scowled at Vlad with a very dangerous look and came back toward him, gripping the vampire's neck under the chin very firmly. "You will drink, and you will know my power over you," he hissed into vlad's ear, pressing his open wrist toward Vlad's mouth.

The vampire grit his teeth and summoned a blood shield just around the outside of his skin, repelling Verin's touch. But the power to sustain such a taxing spell was long gone. He let the shield shatter almost immediately and kicked the God soundly in the knee. Verin snarled loudly, sounding more like a demon than any kind of man, and threw his wrist against Vlad's mouth hard enough to rip against the vampire's fangs. He tasted Verin's potent blood spilling into his mouth, his head and neck pinned immovably to the stone wall behind him. His strength and reserve far overtaxed, he glared at the god and drank.

* * * * *

Queen Sinead and her advisors had been sitting in the conference hall for nearly six hours, seeking to reach a conclusion on the issue of the Outerlands. No survivors had returned from their convoy there, and one spy who had been provided with a communication stone had reports that Tenele and Vlad were missing or dead, and the rest of the crew murdered. There was very little way to avoid the fact that this called for war, but Ighten's military was overtaxed as it is. Not to mention the fact that this particular fiasco had a rather...personal effect on the queen. More than once an advisor had had to call her attention back to their discussion as Sinead, who had slept little in the past few days, for once seemed less than fully attentive to their longwinded debates.

She was just about to call a mandatory two-hour adjournment when a flash of light appeared above the table. Her personal guards leapt immediately in front of her as something large and heavy appeared in the room and cracked their table in half. Within seconds, the advisors had fallen or skidded away from their seats, and six guards had drawn close with swords at the ready to greet whatever threat had just befallen them.

A wolf the size of a bear was crouched on the floor over the smaller form of what appeared to be a human girl.

"Go back to your master," a female voice hissed, "I'm out of his way."

The wolf straightened its legs, drawing its weight off of her and taking a step back from her body, but it did not leave. Its movement was enough to make the guards take a wary step back.

"There is a demon wolf with a girl," reported a guard that was standing intentionally between Sinead and the obstruction.

The queen raised her hand, and the guard reluctantly stood down to allow her to see. The rest of the room might not have recognized her for all the blood and bruises, but within an instant, Sinead knew exactly who she was staring at. "It is my maiden, summon a team of medics," she ordered distractedly, unable to take her eyes off the girl. Immediately, two men ran from the room to heed her order. She stepped forward to get closer.

"My queen, the wolf," warned her guard. The beast raised its ruby eyes warily, its movements sharp and aggressive as it studied the men around the room, yet its body remained planted firmly next to Tenele.

"I can handle a hellhound, Sinead barked impatiently, knowing that she wasn't quite telling the truth. No one could handle a hellhound in close combat, not even her, but this one was not here to attack them. That much she was sure of.

"Tenele, dear," she called to the girl, moving slowly toward her while keeping a close watch on the hellhound. Her guards looked on anxiously, seeming ready to risk their jobs by forcibly dragging their queen away from the dangerous situation.

Tenele’s green eyes flashed to Sinead, peering through silver hair and a dirty face. Now that the heavy weight was off of her, Tenele pulled herself away from the wreckage of the conference table, using one of her arms to drag her, her good leg to push, and the other arm held her clothing together. Though, it would have been considered horribly indecent compared to Ighten’s style of clothing, with the long slits up the side.

It had been nearly a month, if not over, since she’d seen Sinead. The ship had sailed so long ago, and the time it had taken to travel to the Outerlands had been a good portion of their journey. The sight of the one woman she could call a mother was enough to bring the young woman to tears, especially after what had just taken place.

Tenele finally let her weary body relax against the cold clean marble flooring. Such a change from the dirty rough cut stone of the last place she’d been. She brought her hands to her face, shielding the torn sorrowful expression that suddenly took her over. She sobbed into her hands, not caring who witnessed. She was home. So many things were coming too her. She couldn’t bottle it up for long. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. So for the moment she allowed herself to break, in front of generals, in front of advisors, in front of soldiers, and in front of her queen. All the people she’d worked so hard to prove herself to most of her life, she broke in front of them, and could have cared less what they thought.

Sinead knew Tenele since she was a girl, and knew her well enough not to let the present company watch her in whatever pain she was enduring. "Everybody out!" she commanded, shooing the guards and advisors.

"But the wolf!" protested the ruffled guard insistently.

"Out!" she reiterated forcefully. "The next person who pops a head in here had better be a medic."

The group shuffled quickly toward the door, closing it behind them. Sinead turned her eyes toward the surrogate daughter who, up until a moment ago, she'd been certain she'd lost. "My darling girl, what has happened?" she asked, drawing her head gently into her lap. Her left hand moved over the ragged flesh of her torn shoulder and unobtrusively began a spell of healing, but her attention stayed fixed on her crying maiden. She kept a cautious eye on the wolf, which seemed to be glaring directly at her, just shy of a snarl. "Is this Vladimir's hound?"

Tenele rolled until her arms could wrap about Sinead's waist. Resting her head in the Queen's lap, Tenele cried softly against her, unable to stop herself. She knew that Sinead had asked her a question, but for the moment she was completely unable to answer. After a while, she forced herself to calm enough to catch her breath. She didn't hold Sinead quite so tightly, and she lifted her head enough to look back at the black wolf that was still standing there. "Yes," she whispered, reaching up to wipe her eyes, though she still hadn't fully stopped crying. "Vlad... is trapped with Verin."

She wasn't sure if she was ready to admit what betrayel had happened. She wasn't going to tell Sinead about the child, not yet... Probably wouldn't until it was impossible to hide. She couldn't stand to think of what Sinead would say. She wasn't sure how she'd even explain it. And, she wasn't ready to paint Vlad as a bad guy, despite how angry she was with him.