Heirot

Talon slipped down from his room. He wanted to check on Vlad, but he needed information. He headed straight to see Sho. The heat of the room would have been very comforting to his human form, but it was just a temperature. Nothing special to him.

"Sho?" he called as he descended the staircase.

* * *

Tenele stared down the cliff and to the valley below and to the walled off mansion. She wanted to rush down and in and hold her husband... But, it was still a little ways off, and there was the matter of finding a safe way down the cliff.

"We found it," she breathed, turning her gaze to Atul as he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"We found it," he agreed.

Sho poked her head from the darkness of the warm room and studied him curiously. "You come too early," she scolded. "We are busy."

* * * *

"Vladimir. Vladimir!" Maxwell snapped, jostling his masterpiece's arm impatiently with his boot. The vampire ignored him, taking slow, dragging breaths that clouded the air beyond his lips.

"Get on the table," the man growled. Vlad just closed his eyes. Maxwell glared. His prized specimen couldn't get obstinate now. They were so close to a breakthrough. He set his jaw and leaned over to haul the vampire up.

As soon as his hands closed over Vlad's scalding flesh, the vampire tried to tug away with a strangled groan. Maxwell lifted him anyway, and earned a harsh scream laced with madness from the vampire. Every muscle was on fire. Even a caress would be unbearable. Vlad shivered uncontrollably as the offending hands finally let go. "Can't. Today." Each word was a battle against his clattering teeth.

"Can I watch?" Talon asked curiously. "I'll stay out of the way, I promise." Talon moved to brush past her. "I want to see how you keep your master warm. Maybe it will help me understand how I can better serve mine."

Sho appraised him. "You should learn," she muttered. You don't seem to understand at all. The warm place is no good for you. Your master is cold. Come."

She turned from him matter-of-factly and proceeded down a long corridor. The heat grew more and more intense, like a baking oven. Eventually they reached an intersecting hall. Sho stopped and waited for several to pass. The other reptilians were carrying baskets down the hall, where the firelight was almost blue and flickered off the stone walls.

"I must work," she explained to Talon, her casual gesture implying he could follow if he could keep up in the heat.

Talon followed her despite the heat. He wasn't too concerned yet, and he didn't have the luxury of being concerned with what would happen if he got too close to that heat. He was going to put a stop to this today, even if it meant sacrificing poor Sho and the others. They were collateral damage.

The end of the tunnel led into a mine. Others were gathering piles of crumbled white stone into baskets and carrying them back toward the fire. "Males gather. Women feed," she recited to Talon as she took a basket and began filling it. "We keep the males warm."

Talon looked at the men, and then at her. "What happens if the fire goes out?" he asked softly. "Why do the women keep the males warm? Doesn't seem very chivalrous."

She chuckled at him condescendingly. "Men have no heat of their own," she said like it was the simplest fact in the world. She shouldered the basket against her other arm and poked his stomach. "Just like you. Women warm, men bicker and plan."

Talon finally got it, and it made him chuckle. "That's why you think I can't keep my master warm! Because I'm a man." He scowled at her. "That's sexist, Sho..." But, his lips tugged into a pleasant smile. He really would like to spare her from death... But, he couldn't think about that. He had to focus on saving Vlad. "My sister would like you a lot."

"So you don't need the fire to live, but the men do?" he glanced at all the men so hard at work. "How long can men live without fire?"

"In land like this? Maybe a few hours. Women, some time more. It is not worth thinking about," she said, waving her hand. "You think strange things. Better not to think." They headed further and further down the molten corridor, until even the granite beneath their feet glowed with the heat. The fire was too big to see the edges. It was at least the size of the house. "Strong heat," she bragged as she dumped the stone dust into the fire. The flames sparked blue where it touched. "Enough for a hundred."

Talon was very impressed with the fire, and a little bit anxious. It was huge. Far bigger than he expected it to be when he started this endeavour, and it completely escaped him on how he could extinguish it. These people didn't seem as deranged or malevolent as Maxwell, in fact... Sho's common tongue wasn't even that great. He could probably sweep through and kill them all and the fire would eventually burn itself out.

He looked at Sho's proud face and for the first time was pleased that his vampiric side stole his conscience.

"Sho," he murmured before sparing a glance at his feet. They were smoking. "Eh, guess I should move." He shrugged his shoulders and continued. "I have to ask you something. Its very important. You are right that only women can keep men warm. That is why I am failing at serving my master. It is because I am not the one who keeps him warm, I am not his fire. My sister is. Like you build this fire and keep it going to keep your men warm, my sister is my master's fire... and she is trapped outside the wall. You master doesn't understand this, because he is a man, but we are all the same. You have helped me see this. My master needs this woman, his wife, to be warm. Is there a way I can let her in to show your Master that he is wrong, and that only she can keep him warm? I have not seen a door."

Sho narrowed her eyes at him. "You must think Sho is stupid," she said disapprovingly. "The pale one does not need heat. Needs cold. Why do you lie? Why do you really need this person?"

Talon frowned, looking back at his smoking feet. While he thought of his explanation he wondered if he would have to worry about his pants catching fire. Her clothing seemed alright...

"I don't think you are stupid," Talon admitted. "I'm sorry it seems that I do. I only meant to use fire as a metaphor for need and warmth as a metaphor for life..." He was going to be nice. He wasn't going to down Maxwell. He wasn't sure what her allegiances were to the man. But, it all rolled off his tongue before he could stop himself. "Look, I don't know how much you know about what your master is doing. He's torturing my master, and filling his body with poison that he cannot tolerate. That is why he needs the cold, but its no longer enough. He's dying, and his wife could keep him from fading into the underworld. He needs her. He needs to see her, if only to motivate him to live. Maxwell needs my master to focus and the only thing that is going to make him focus is Tenele. If you have ever loved anyone, you know that there are two fires... That is what I meant."

Sho stared at him. The silence stretched while the fire blazed behind them. "I do not believe you. Our master is kind. He gives us heat. Prove this to me."

Outside, Maxwell stripped Vlad of his shirt and drew a blood sample from his arm. The vampire sucked in rapid, uncontrolled breaths. He was too delirious to think straight. It hurt too much. It wasn't possible to be in this much pain. It had to be a nightmare. As soon as the idea crossed his mind, he knew for sure it was real. He was going to die alone, right on this table. And Maxwell was right there. So close, and he couldn't even strike him. He wanted to hurt the man, and the only approach within his power right now was to drop dead on him. That presented a conflict of interest.

After running some tests on Vlad's blood, the man grimaced. "This doesn't make sense," he muttered. "The level multiplied..."

Talon frowned, he reached down and took Sho by the hand. "Follow me," he told her, but he had no intention of letting her have a choice. Talon led her to the place where she could see without actually being noticed by Maxwell, his bedroom.

The young vampire pointed out the window. "That's the table Maxwell's been torturing him on. Vampire is allergic to holy magic, and Maxwell has been injecting him with holy water. He has upped the dosage whenever Vlad doesn't cooperate, and when he tried to seek out the comfort of his wife's voice. Have a look for yourself. I picked here so you could look on anonymity... but if you desire to see his pain up close I can arrange that for you."