Heirot

Tenele followed his finger to the hut. "Thank you," Tenele breathed. She patted him gently on the back before running towards the hut. She went from bridge to bridge, until she reached it. She circled the hut for the door.

The door Tenele approached glowed bright red when she touched it and sent what felt like tingling down her body. Eram scrambled up behind her and stared. "Didn't that hurt?" he murmured, shocked she was still able to stand.

"No..." she whispered, staring at her finger tips. "It felt strange, but didn't hurt." Tenele took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. She followed the short hall towards the glint of fire, turning towards that room. Her gaze lifted to Vlad, suspended by chains, his flesh charred and burning away little by little.

The sight ripped a scream from her before she could control herself. Tears welled in her eyes, and she rushed forward. She reached for him through the fire, but the flames were to hot. She drew back with a gasp, trying with her other arm. The tried again, with the first hand, holding it through the flames longer until she drew back with heat-blistered skin.

"Oh, gods... oh gods..." She circled him, frantic for a way to get him out. Tenele removed her cloak and dropped to her knees, trying to smother the flame.

Erom stepped in cautiously behind Tenele. The red forcefield allowed him to pass, which he knew wasn't normal. What was goign on with this strange Leyap? He ran up to the burning figure, too far past fear to hesitate now that he'd gone this far. "The circle...you have to break it," he offered weakly, caught like a deer in headlights as he noticed the dull hue of the vampire's slackened gaze.

Tenele saw what he meant. She wrapped her cloak around her hands and shoved through the fire, raking the fabric across the floor. The powder used to create the circle scattered and the fire snuffed out, like blowing the flame from a candle. She scrambled to her feet, stepping through the circle and around to face her husband. Her hands trembled as she reached towards his blistered face, having not the heart to touch him.

"Vlad?" she asked, choking on his name and silently praying for him to answer her with some show of life.

Tenele left him before he could, following the chain to a wench. She lowered it slowly, so not to drop his ruined body to fast to the scorched floor. She went back to him, kneeling. Her hands hovered over his form, wanting to hold him and afraid to hurt him all at once. She cried without even realizing the tears were there.

Vlad's eyes were lifeless for several minutes, his body still smoking from the char of the fire. When his heart finally cooled off enough to shudder back into action, his nerves gradually came back online. He took a slow breath and blinked, color returning to his gaze. He turned his head, skin crackling grotesquely as his neck shifted, and looked up at the figure holding him. "Tenele," he murmured, his ruined throat destroying most of the word as he pushed it out. He swallowed impatiently and closed his eyes, focusing on drawing himself back together. The charred flesh of his legs and body knitted themselves back together slowly, shedding the charred skin and returning to smooth, pale surface. It took him a minute to get his senses back online, and a teardrop splashing onto his healed cheek made him finally realize she was crying. "Tenele," he said again, his voice already close to normal. His protective tone made Erom crouch a bit closer, staring at him in fascination.

Tenele choked on a sob, hunching over and gathering him more tightly to her, forgetting it might cause him discomfort. She was just thankful he was alive. She'd probably have nightmares about his burned corpse for the rest of her life, but she was thankful he was alive. "You need blood," she whispered to him.

Tenele was seething angry. She wanted to go back up to Hakom and beat him within an inch of his elf life. She was a torrent of emotions to the point her whole body shook as she held him.

Vlad experimented with moving his arm. The healed flesh responded stiffly as he reached up to cup the side of her face. This thumb brushed tears from beneath her eye before sliding back and clutching the hair behind her neck. The familiar feel of her was reassuring. "It can't kill me. You know it can't kill me," he breathed softly, comfortingly. He repeated it in his head like a mantra. He'd felt much worse, he told himself. His body continued to complete the healing process, until he looked as if he'd never been burnt at all.

Tenele nodded, sniffling. She smoothed her singed cloak over his naked form. "That doesn't make it any less horrific," she replied in a hoarse breath. "How would you feel if you rounded the corner to see me dangling, charred, and burning alive?" She leaned down, pressing her lips to his forehead, stroking her fingers through his hair.

"I couldn't say, because I never will," he said firmly, mentally backing away from the image. His adrenaline was gradually fading as he focused on her gentle fingertips. His body felt uncooperative, and he decided to let himself stay this way for a bit. It would normally be far beneath him to babied this way, but he trusted her. She was the only person he trusted enough to seem him weakened. "Make any friends up here?" he asked ironically.

Tenele reached up to wipe her cheeks. Her tears slowly dried now that he was safe and whole near her. She let out a heavy shuddering breath. "No, just the boy," she whispered. "I think I nearly choked their leader to death when I heard what he'd done. He doesn't want the daughter of Attara to be with a monster." She stroked the tips of her fingers across his smooth cheek. "You're not a monster, what they did was monstrous. Can you walk? We should get you out of here quickly. They'll be here soon, and I don't think they'll be keen to let us go unharmed."

"God I love you," Krad gasped as he struggled upright and made it unsteadily to his feet. Crisp shards of what had been his clothing crumbled away from his healed skin and fell to the floor around him. He glanced over at the boy, whose frantic heartbeat he could now hear in the corner. His scarlet eyes took him in curiously. "Erom," he recognized the boy, raising an eyebrow. A grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.

The boy's curious stare changed to wary fear as he found himself under the full attention of the naked Athraka. "T....Tenele," he said tensely.

"He's safe," Tenele told Erom. "He won't hurt you, I promise." Tenele held up her cloak to Vlad, or rather what was left of it after putting out the fire. She took the fabric and wrapped it around his waist, tying it like a towel.

She then turned to the boy, stepping towards them. "Can you get us to the forest floor? When you've dropped us off you can tell them that I put you under some sort of Leyap spell, and that's why you disobeyed them."

The boy shook his head. "I...I don't know," he murmured. He tried not to look terrified, but he'd never been to the forest floor before. He'd never levitated that far alone, let alone with others.

"My powers aren't working," Vlad said, feeling in the back of his mind for his magic and finding nothing. "There was something in those darts." And he wanted to know what, but that would have to wait for another day.

Outside, a voice shouted out. "Eram! Get out here right now!" It was Ilthe. Next to her, Hakom added "It's not safe, Eram!"

Tenele frowned at him. "Go on... remember, I made you." Tenele moved away from him, slinking back towards Vlad. No doubt they were surrounded. She lifted her eyes to her husband, reaching forward to hold his hand. Tenele wasn't sure what either of them were going to do, or how they'd get out of this, but she was glad to face it with him.