LORE: Training a Hell Hound (MATURE)

[Emora Deen]

Tenele listened to his words, her face showing visible signs of being unable to choose between staying hard or bursting into tears. Tenele couldn’t take his words. She was trying so hard to hold in her feelings, there wasn’t any time to sit and hold each other and cry. She could feel her blood bleeding down her back and into her pants. She had to get Vlad trapped in that little ball so Sinead could help him. And maybe it wasn't just that. Maybe it was the fact she didn't know what to do or think of his words. How was she to react to something like that, when he had said what he said so convincingly. What was she meant to believe? What if he was telling her these things now so she wouldn't kill him? Tenele kneeled down and grabbed the dagger from him, pulling it to her chest. “I wasn’t sent here to kill you,” she said, her voice quivering. “I was sent here to save you.”

She stood up, turning her back on him without thinking of the fact he’d be able to see the wound Verin had given her, or just how much blood she’d lost. She grabbed up the pouch and pulled the ball from it. “I’d explain… but there isn’t any time for that.” She rushed back to him, earning a bit of dizziness for her effort. Her eyes found his the moment before she touched the ball to his skin. “We’ll fix this.” She told him, and then watched as Vlad turned to into small pieces of ruby glitter that floated into the crevices of the sphere.

She knew what Sinead had said, and she’d know when it had been done… But, she wasn’t about to let her Queen teleport into the center of a heavily armed Arken and Outerland camp with Verin wondering about. She needed to get someplace else. So, rising to her feet Tenele slipped the dagger into her boot again and grabbed up her sword. So not to lose the orb that carried Vlad, she pressed it into her pocket.

Standing just inside the tent she didn’t know how long it would be before Sinead got the signal and came, but she had one more duty to perform for her Queen, and that was insuring she didn’t arrive in a hostile situation. This could very well get her killed, and possibly lure Sinead into a trap, but it was better than leading her there to begin with.

So Tenele rushed from the tent, startling the guards to the point they didn’t know what to do, or expect. They waited mostly because they expected the vampire to chase after her, but her was with her already. She ran to the nearest horse and nearly through herself on top of it, kicking and galloping off almost in one motion.

She knew that her time was even more limited, and her vision blurred a bit, but there was no time for weakness. She charged, dodging soldiers as she broke from the camp heading towards the nearly abandoned city. She could hear people calling behind her, ordering someone to stop her escape.

In the distance she saw Atul and his men coming down the hill, and she knew he had seen her. How could you miss her? She was riding in the sun, her silver hair flowing like a shimmering beacon begging to be noticed. She rode through town, leaping turned over carts and barrels of a fire. That was one good thing about a war horse, fearless and unfailing. She rode through the center of town to the large spiraling tower. A library.

When she was close enough she leaped from the horse and ran up the good number of steps to the very top. She shoved with all her might the doors and they groaned for her to make her entrance into the abandoned round room. When she turned to close the doors she saw Verin’s men rushing the city, as if they knew exactly what was going on… And there was Atul, his men fighting them off. He was trying to make his way to her, and she wanted him to make it. But, in the end she knew what she needed to do. Tenele closed the library doors and took her sword, running it through the handles to pin it shut. She ran and grabbed chalk from a table, going back to the door and quickly trying to scribble a ruin in before Sinead arrived, in the hopes that maybe she could keep Verin away from her Queen, her mother. He’d taken so much from her, she wasn’t about to let him take that.

She almost had it finished too, when her knees buckled. She looked down and saw the pool of blood she was standing in. She reached out for support, grabbing her sword by accident, and knocking it loose to the point she almost pulled it out. What good was she? Tenele twisted so her back was against one of the doors, reaching deep into her pocket with a bloody hand she held the silver ball, waiting for the one person she expected to ruin this.

The door next to her groaned open slowly, and she glanced up expecting to see that arrogant smiling face. Instead she found the blue fury filled eyes of Atul. “Tenele,” he breathed, rushing in and closing the door behind him. He slid her sword through the door. “Did you get him?”

Tenele held the ball in her hurt hand, but her fingers didn’t work correctly anymore and it slid from her grasp to go rolling to the center of the room. “Got him…”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Just tired.” She looked down and noted how her coat hid the blood she’d been standing in. “Plans didn’t go like I wanted.” Atul slid down to sit next to her as the sounds outside the library rose and fell with each climatic moment. "I'm bleeding all over the damn place," she muttered as she looked at her wrist, felt at her neck, and could feel the warm blood pooling out around her. "Wouldn't happen to have any of that stitching thread in your back pocket, would you?"

Atul glanced at Tenele's paling face, and he could see the redness in her eyes. She had the look as if she was going to be sick. "How bad is it?" His face was concerned, but calm.

Tenele smirked as she watched the little ball, waiting for Sinead to appear. "Bad enough," she told him, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm going to ask you a favor..."

"Tenele..."

"No, listen, really... If Verin decides to come for Vlad before Sinead can help him, or before she can get away with him, I want you to do something for me. I'll distract him... But, I need you to stay with her. You'll be her last line of defense. I need you to make sure that if I can't distract him long enough, you'll be here to stall him until she can get away." Tenele tilted her head back.

"What makes you think you can distract him at the moment. Look at you," Atul hissed.

"I'm pretty good at rambling to the point of driving dangerous people insane," Tenele breathed. "Even Vlad called me wordy."

"He'll have them kill you," he told her truthfully.

Tenele sighed. "Unless you got a trick up your sleeve, or manage to scrounge up some healing powers in the next thirty minutes, I'm dead already."

"Your Queen can heal you, can she not?"

"Atul, you don't understand. I'm not her actual daughter. I'm her bodyguard. My job is to protect the Queen at all costs. Don't you get it?"

"How do you know Verin will even try anyhting?" Atul turned his head to her as his hand slipped from hsi lap to the ground. It fell in something warm and wet, and it was coming from behind her.

"I don't.... but get this incling from past experience that Verin hates to lose."

Atul was suddenly on his feet, lifting the chalk with him. He turned to face the door, pulling her sword out just enough to where he could crack it open. He saw the battle insueing outside. "How do you finish this?" he asked, jabbing the door with his finger. He didn't know much about Ighten holy markings, but he knew if it was finished, then he shouldn't have been able to enter. If he could finish this for her, he could close the door and seal him and all the other demons out, including Verin. It would also seal Vladimir in, that we if something when wrong, he couldn't escape.

Tenele's eyes found him, and she gave him a half smile. "It needs a double circle around it... and a line stretching from the mid-point through the circle. Atul..."

"I'm not going to let you do something so foolish. Screw your duty and screw your job," he hissed at her, quickly drawing the ruin. The door burned his hand instantly. "This will keep things like me out, but human's you'll have to worry about. When I leave, push this back through, and don't you dare come out!" He opened the door, his hand sizzling against the iron handle. He gave her one last look, his eyes a glow with blue flames and his black hair falling messily around his handsome face. Then, he closed the door with a loud ringing thud, and the room was sealed. Tenele reached up and slid the sword through the other handle.

[Soran Nightblade]

A few moments later, A blue beam of light formed at the center of the room, stretching in a cylinder from floor to ceiling. It glowed paler and paler until it was bright white, and in the center, the form of Queen Sinead appeared as a silhouette. Then her clothes took substance, an elegant blue dress surrounding her figure. Her hair was pulled up in an elaborately braided bun behind her head, and she was holding a large carved staff, assumably for self defense if she needed it. Her eyes were shut in an expression of deep focus.

When she was fully formed, the light faded into wisps and dispersed through the room until it was only her standing there. She opened her blue eyes and took in the room around her, the sounds of battle outside, and finally Tenele sitting next to the door. "You caught him quickly," she said, clearly a bit surprised to be able to come this soon. It had taken her some time to prepare what she needed to bring. "Have you waited long? What is happening outside?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenele glanced up at the bright light and watched as Sinead appeared. She shifted into a more comfortable position against the wall. "Atul is keeping the Outerlanders back. I took something I think Verin finds very important," she said softly as she nodded to the small ball at Sinead's feet. "The ruin on the door should keep Verin out, but as for his human minions... Well, my Queen, you might want to hurry."

Tenele contemplated telling Sinead she needed healing, but something was stopping her. It was a pathetic thought, that she could just lie back and fall a sleep forever. But, what was the reason for that besides the fact she was tired of living this constant dangerous lifestyle. Tenele sighed, reaching up to her swords hilt above her she pulled herself to her feet. She looked down and stepped forward. "Do you need any help?" There was no telling whether Vlad was going to come out of that prison more himself or more like that beast who'd attacked her.

[Soran Nightblade]

Sinead had turned to look at the ball as Tenele spoke of it. Had she faced Tenele a bit longer, she might have seen the blood under her maiden's feet, but she was picking up the ball from the floor. She straightened and looked at it seriously. "I should be able to manage," she said, sounding like she was beefing up to give the vampire a real tongue lashing, if not a physical lashing. She traced a symbol on the outside of the sphere, and in a jarring flash of red light, Vlad was standing in front of her, still in the same bloodied state from which he'd gone into the ball.

The vampire looked disoriented, his eyes racing around the room to see where he was. The moment they fixed on Sinead's stern figure in front of him, his first reaction was to step back. That led to his injured leg folding like a limp read under him as it tried to take his weight. He winced and fell diagonally to land on his side on the stone floor. An thick, sweet scent was all around him. Somewhere between falling and landing, he identified it.

Sinead took in his appearance and looked at him firmly. "You've made a fine mess this time, Dracul," she said. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Tenele is hurt," he said dizzily, shaking his head to try to clear it.

"Do you think I haven't noticed that? Really, Dracul, women are not dogs. You can't just say whatever you want to them and expect them to keep following you around!"

"No," he said more firmly, alarm beginning to push into his voice. He struggled up onto an elbow and tried to see Tenele past Sinead's legs and his blurred vision. "Tenele is bleeding. She's bleeding a lot," his fingers touched under his nose to illustrate his point.

Sinead stared at him for a long second. Then her eyes lit with alarm and she spun to look at Tenele. How could she not have noticed? Her wrist, her neck, the floor beneath her boots. "Tenele," she breathed, rushing to her side. "Sit down, quickly!"

[Emora Deen]

Tenele sighed as Sinead suddenly seemed worried about her, though she knew the Queen was probably very concerned. Tenele didn’t want her concern at the moment, as much as she knew she needed it. There were far more important things besides the fact she was yet again… mortally wounded. She was so angry with herself, and angry with the fact that yet again she was in need of saving. She plopped back with her back against the wall, sitting in her own blood. What a mess, she thought darkly. Her eyes found Vlad. Her sigh was heavy, almost exasperated, as if she were a bit annoyed that Vlad had turned the Queen's attention to her. "My Queen," Tenele said as she turned her pale gaze to her. "These wooden doors will not hold the soldiers long... and you must help Vlad before his darker self returns. I'll be here for you to help when your done. I'm not going anywhere."

The blood from her neck had trickled down, following the curve of her collarbone and chest, to glide between her breasts and disappear beneath her once white shirt. She glanced down at her wrist as she moved to set it in her lap. Vlad had done a wonderful job getting her hand untied… The sight of it made her thankful he’d managed to keep his control enough to not actually whip her. She could have come out a lot worst. “Please,” Tenele told her, glancing up with wild green eyes. “I’m fine.”

Those two words she said more often than anything, even if she wasn’t fine. They were the word she used when she wanted someone to pay more attention to something else than her. She hated attention drawn to her in any situation, especially one like this.

It was a constant battle for her to stay strong. She knew it wasn’t a competition between she and Vlad, but sometimes she treated it like that. Tenele was very much a human, this had been covered and brought into light many times. As such she tried with every fiber of her being to keep up, to be strong enough to keep up with him. Maybe it was because he could heal, and she could not, that every time she was wounded such as this she became so undeniably angry with herself. It was a deep anger that she hid well. Its why she loathed that hospital wing back in Ighten. She’d rather sit and die in a pool of her own blood than recover in that place for the hundredth time. Now, that might have been a bit childish, yes… But, Tenele had her reasons.

She was tired of fighting. She was tired of risking her neck for causes that were not her own. She was tired of being pit against people she loved, and tired of losing them. If one word could describe Tenele it would be the word exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. She needed a vacation, or a break of some sort, but she knew she was unlikely to receive such a thing until the war was over. Maybe then she could lie on a beach with…

Tenele’s eyes flashed to Vlad as she was thinking all this. A course of a second after speaking to Sinead. What would happen between them once he was fixed. He’d said he was sorry, but could she possibly forgive him? He hadn’t believed her when she told him she could never sleep with any man but him. He’d said impossibly cruel things with undeniable clarity. She suddenly remembered Atul’s gentle kiss, and his promise to never use her, his promise to wait until she was healed. But, she didn’t love Atul… No, as much as she wished she could get rid of this wretched feeling known as love, she couldn’t. Vlad held her heart in the palm of his hand, and she felt that if he wanted too, no matter how many times he crushed it, she’d probably always let him keep it.

* * *

He watched as men fell. He watched as they roared screaming into battle. He watched alert even as he fought himself. Bodies fell like rain around him. They were trapped like rats in the city streets, but no matter how he’d warned for his men to stay back, they’d followed him in anyway. He’d have considered it a trap if Tenele hadn’t been the one escaping to lead them here. Though, he had meant for only him to follow her. His men’s loyalty was becoming their undoing.

They were dying, and it was his fault.

No… it was Verin’s fault.

He chose to willingly interfere with human’s lives. To start wars and conquer nations in his name. And where was that tall dark porcelain figure of destruction? That perfect embodiment of hatred and malice? No where to be seen. Watching from the heavens as his people slaughtered each other.

When he’d cut down another of his father’s followers, and the wake of death he’d wrought was enough that he had his own empty space to contend with, Atul turned his head to the heaven’s and opened his arms wide. “Father!!” he called, his deep voice a melody of rage. “Will you not punish your son for his defiance?! Have I not angered you so?!” The sky was slowly darkening with clouds, it had been since morning, but now the clouds were a deep blue gray. Thunderheads rolled across the sky, promising rain that usually never fell.

The blood Atul wanted to shed, the blood that he wanted to see pooling on the ground was that of his father. And even if God’s did bleed, Atul would never receive the satisfaction of killing him, not unless he could find a weapon that could kill a God.

[Soran Nightblade]

Sinead frowned at her, still deeply worried. "Don't be ridiculous, you're losing too much blood," she said sternly, kneeling beside her maiden without care for her clothes.

Vlad watched numbly as Sinead held a hand to Tenele's forehead and closed her eyes. Blue light glowed beneath her hand and surrounded Tenele in a warm silhouette. The vampire watched them with a deep, penetrating sense of loss. They were helping each other because he had failed them both. Why had they brought him here? Why hadn't they killed him? What relationship could he possibly build now with these two women who had become his entire life?

He could feel Verin's will rampaging against his mind. The god's thoughts were rabid and angry, and Vlad wasn't interested in feeling them. This time, he was determined to die of a stroke before giving in to his control. He was too angry and too hurt to care what Verin thought he should do with himself right now. Even the smell of Tenele's blood in the room managed little other than to make him faintly nauseated.

He rolled onto his back, getting his weight off his leg, and stared up at the ceiling. He was reliving what he had said to Tenele in Verin's realm, and what she'd said to him a few minutes before in the Tent. She really believed he could kill her. Why did he have to make it look so real? Couldn't he have picked something different to say?

No. He'd been terrified it wouldn't work. He couldn't imagine at the time anything that would make Tenele truly believe him, and he'd overcompensated. Words like those stuck. Even if they were lies. Even if he'd felt only love when he'd said them. But she was alive, wasn't she? For that, he thought, he could live with the consequences. The thought didn't make him feel better.

Sinead's healing spell lasted several minutes, while the roar of battle raged outside. She didn't take any chances; she closed all of Tenele's wounds. When she was done, she stroked the silver hair back from her maiden's face. "Now," she said, we will finish this."

She stood up and faced Vlad, who didn't seem willing to look at her. "Vladimir, stand up and face me."

The vampire glanced at her. He made no comment about his leg; he just sat up and instinctively followed her command to get to his feet. By the time he managed to make his leg support him, he was panting and looking paler than usual. His red eyes met hers with a dull glow.

Sinead took up her staff and looked at him distantly. "You have broken your oath to me," she said sternly.

"Yes," Vlad acknowledged. "Your bond over me was dissolved."

"You served my enemy," she said coldly.

"He mastered me, I was unable to-" The vampire's voice came off in a gasp as Sinead came down hard on his wounded thigh with her staff. He sank backwards for a second before catching his balance and staying breathlessly upright. He didn't attempt to strike her, nor did he try to apologize. He couldn't think of any apology that could mean anything in light of what had happened, so he just stared at her.

Sinead apparently thought this was the correct reaction. "Are you prepared to serve your queen properly?"

He could have screamed. At the moment, he didn't want to serve anyone. He was tired of being hauled back and forth by gods and monarchs, and he could only imagine what slavish rank the queen might appoint him to after this most recent career blunder. Most of all, he wanted to know why. "Why are you taking me back?" he breathed, all light leaving his eyes until they were dull and humanly expressive.

"Because you are useful, and you are my responsibility. And because my maiden has a crush on you, god help her," she said, the coldness leaving her eyes just slightly.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was sitting in her own blood, healed, but exhausted. Sinead's power could close the wounds, but replacing the blood was something she'd have to do. Poor little Verin, he must be angry that she wouldn't be dying any time soon. He desprately wanted her out of the way so he could sink his grasp into Vlad tighter... and now he was losing that too.

At Sinead's words Tenele glanced up, though her head was still downcast. She was still very pale, and had slightly dark circles around her eyes. The purple tent set off the feirce green, and for a moment her expression faultered. A crush? That wasn't right. What she felt was far more than a crush, but maybe Sinead, being very much like a mother, didn't want to think of her Maiden being in love with a monster.

Tenele tilted her head back and closed her eyes, concentrating on conserving her energy. She knew that getting out of this building wasn't going to be fun for anyone. She still had a mission to accomplish, and a Prince's kingdom to recover.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad turned his eyes downward. Even as Tenele's expression faltered at the queen's words, so did his. A crush? No, that was broken now. Did she even know what had passed between them in Verin's realm? Maybe Tenele hadn't explained it to her. He made his way onto one knee, kneeling before her.

"Sinead," he said, not caring that he was using her first name, "I would serve you if I could, but I can not control myself. I will be a hazard to you. I will hurt Tenele. I could hurt this whole world. Frankly, it would be better to simply-" a harsh cry snagged away the rest of his words as Sinead jabbed the butt of her staff against his bad leg again.

"Don't say stupid things," the queen snapped, but it was clear from her tense tone that part of her was unable to listen to him finish that sentence. She reached into the folds of her dress and removed a pouch that was there at her side. From it she removed what appeared to be a cloth band made of liquid metal. "The most obvious answer would be to control you with some form of holy magic. If we had more time, perhaps we could devise something. But of all the things that were attempted during your creation, your body tolerated that the worst. We had to stop that line of experimentation entirely. There's no good solution there that wouldn't eventually kill you. So, you will wear this," she said.

She leaned down and pressed the band to his neck. It magically bonded to his skin, wrapping around his neck and sealing closed into a solid, flexible collar.

But the collar wasn't the bad part. Vlad immediately felt a power wash through his mind, breaking and entering and uncovering everything in its path. Something was looking into his mind, hearing his thoughts. He tried to block it off, but it was too late. Sinead had access to everything.

The queen's eyes suddenly went glassy and she took a step back from Vlad. She had been expecting a lot to be going through the vampire's head, but nothing quite like this. She was expecting some physical pain and some anger. She wasn't prepared for the self loathing and guilt, but more than that, the utter hopelessness. She didn't think Vlad was capable of such thoughts.

Vlad wasn't looking at her. "I don't like this," he said tensely, even as the thoughts registered clearly in the queen's mind.

"This is necessary," she forced herself to say. "This gives me equal footing with Verin. I will know what is going on with you at all times, and if you lose control to Verin, I can shut your powers down. When you manage to grow beyond the scope of his power, the collar's strength will fade."

"Verin is too strong," Vlad said seriously, "This is not a real solution. This is just something else vying for power in my mind."

"Then I guess you and this Atul character had better hope you win. When Verin's power here is crushed, his strength should no longer rival yours," Sinead said with a faint smile.

"Is that supposed to motivate me?" Vlad said flatly, although he actually smirked.

At that moment, a crashing sounded at the door. There was the sound of metal clashing in battle, and then a voice called through the door. "Lady Tenele, are you ready? Lord Atul says the escape path is 'as ready as it's going to be'!"

[Emora Deen]

“Tell Lady Tenele we can make our escape,” he muttered to one of his men as the battle seemed for the most part controlled enough… for the moment.

The wind tossed his shoulder length midnight hair as he watched for the moment the clouds as they rolled by. He wanted his father to appear more than anything. He wanted to settle this issue between them, but even he knew that would never happen. He could fight this battle with his father for eternity, and it would never be settled just between them. He would drag humanity into it time and time again. Whether it was because he found it amusing, or he just hated them that damn much, Atul didn’t know.

He knew one thing, that he wasn’t going to let him win. He’d find a way to end his existence, or trap him. Even if it bought the world a few centuries of peace, he’d do it. Even if it cost him his life, he’d do it. Good people, good people like Tenele, didn’t deserve the horrible destiny that was placed on them.

“Coward,” he spat, turning back to the battle.

“Is that anyway to speak to your father?” Verin’s dark voice said from behind him. He stood, a triumphant dark presence on the steps to the library. “After all that I’ve given you? Or… all that I could give you.”

Atul fought the urge to lung at him, and he suddenly realized that as much as he wanted to fight his father, it would only bring the bastard joy. He wanted Atul to feel hatred and rage and to give into it, because when Atul did… he was most like him. Atul’s dark eyes, suddenly swirling again with a deep ocean blue, gazed at the dark god with every bit of loathing he could possibly feel, and then he turned away.

Verin’s face dropped. “Don’t you walk away from me,” he hissed.

Atul lifted a hand as he kept walking, waving it at him as he passed into the lines of battle.

“Atul!” Verin called again.

And he kept walking…

“You’ll regret this your ungrateful little monster,” Verin hissed. “There is more than one way to tame a demon, you know.”

Atul locked his mind, as he had been practicing since the night Verin had controlled him and told Tenele such horrible things. He wasn’t terribly great at it, but he could keep his control until he was as far away from his father as possible. Verin was stepping down the steps, a hurried pace compared to his usually eerily graceful movements. He moved across the sand, trying to catch up to Atul. But, then, out of no where a holy priest with something to prove rushed up and through holy magic right at him. It was like powder in the and, but it burned his skin like acid. Another appeared, out of no where, almost too good to be true. Almost as if it had been planned. It appeared as if his skin was literally pealing off, and before they could do much more damage Verin chose to leave. It wasn’t like he couldn’t finish this talk with his son some other time… And besides… There were other battles raging in places like Ighten. With a rather hideous growl the God of Darkness was gone, but the black clouds in the sky remained.

“Tell them to hurry!” Atul called, noting that the military was gaining back what they had lost.

* * *

Tenele almost jumped out of her skin as the door behind her vibrated hard with a loud ‘blam’. She slid away from the door, listening to the words. With a soft sigh she pushed herself to her feet, a bit unstable at first. “My queen,” she said, tilting her head in Sinead’s direction. “Before this door is open, it would be best if you left.” She pulled her sword from the handle, holding it in a trembling hand. She stood straighter, wanting to look more alive and awake at the moment so no one would doubt her ability to continue the mission.

She’d rather die than go back to that hospital wing. That was one thing she wouldn’t do. She held the sword out to her side, her silver hair looking bloody and matted around where it had hung close to her neck. It was shorter, so it had done nothing but become a makeshift paintbrush to swish blood about everywhere. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword, forcing her hand to stop its idle tremble.

[Soran Nightblade]

Sinead frowned. "You are in no shape to be in the middle of a war," she said.

"My Queen," Vlad interrupted, quietly, "Let her stay."

Sinead threw a glare at him before looking back at Tenele. "I had hoped to meet this prince of yours in person to cement our alliance," she said seriously, looking at her Maiden. "You will have hard work laid out for you, Tenele," she said, gesturing silently toward the vampire still kneeling behind her. "You will need to convince them to work with him. And though it may not be fair of me, I must ask you to work with him as well."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele gave her a brilliant smile, thought most of it was forced. Her bright green eyes were dull and tired, despite how she was making herself appear. She moved her sword to where it rested on her shoulder, half her body facing the queen and the other half the door, as if she expected someone to kick it down and attack. "That's my job," she said, her eyes lingering on Sinead before falling on Vlad. "We need to leave." But, Tenele refused to open that door until Sinead was gone.

She wasn't quite sure how she was going to get Vlad out and back to the camp without her own people attacking him, but maybe they would think him a prisoner of her because of the thing he wore around his neck.

[Soran Nightblade]

Sinead nodded to Tenele, toning Vlad's thoughts to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on her own. "I will leave it to you, then," she told her maiden with a touch of pride, stepping back and disappearing in a flicker of light.

That left only Vlad and Tenele in the room. The vampire rose forcefully to his feet and paused there for a moment. He was having trouble imagining how to do much other than stand on his leg. More importantly, he had no idea what to say to Tenele. Sinead had asked them to work together, but that wasn't enough to fix things. He made his legs move forward and walked to meet Tenele at the door, his eyes half-shut in concentration as he fiercely avoided limping. Other than the fact that he looked ridiculously serious, his efforts paid off fairly well. The only way he could see surviving Atul's allies outside was to act like a prisoner, and prisoners didn't teleport around. "Shall we?" he said to her without much enthusiasm as he reached her side. There were a lot of steps to descend to the bottom of the tower.

[Emora Deen]

“Fall back!” Atul called to the ranks as he saw Tenele and Vlad emerge from the library. While his men were escaping, Atul turned back towards the library. He caught hold of the nearest abandoned horse and climbed atop, galloping back towards where they were. He looped around them, and came long side Tenele. “Come on, you will not walk this desert in your condition,” he told her as he held down his hand. “I don’t care how bloody stubborn you are.”

“You got bloody right,” she murmured as she looked up at him. “What about Vlad?”

Atul’s jaw line tensed visibly, and his dark eyes flashed to the vampire. “Can you keep up?” he meant to ask nicely, but it came out more like a hiss.

He reached and grabbed Tenele’s arm, pulling her easily up into the saddle with him to where she sat in front. “Grab a horse,” he told Vlad. “We need to leave before your men overrun us.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad met Atul's eyes with a completely unreadable expression that was made easier to pull off by the fact that he was too uncomfortable to think. "I'll keep up," he said proudly, walking to the horse Atul had indicated and mounting from the wrong side, swinging his bad leg over like dead weight. He grabbed the reins and jerked the horse toward Atul's.

[Emora Deen]

It didn’t take then long to outrun Verin’s men when the sandstorm sprung up. By the time they had made it back to the encampment it had been packed up and the wounded would have to wait a bit longer before getting attention. Tenele offered to try healing, but Atul had refused. She was weak, and needed to regain her strength.

It was difficult not to want to talk badly with Vlad about what had happened, and where they should go with there partnership. There were too many things that needed to be discussed before the tension and uncomfortable feeling between them would end.

They kept riding through the burning desert, Tenele sleeping most of the way. By the time dusk had arrived they’d reached an oasis, and apparently they weren’t the first rebels to take refuge there. Atul set Tenele down in the sand between two palm trees as he went and made sure everything got set up correctly. A fire was built, and food started cooking. The oasis was large enough for the whole party to camp there. It had a huge pond fed by a deep cavernous underground spring. Atul whispered to one of his men to keep an eye on Vlad, who obliged with a rather cut throat smile.

Tenele's eyes fluttered open about dark, and she didn't move. She just stared at the unfamiliar palm leaves. It had gotten cold, but she could feel the idle heat of the fires.