by Unknown
As Irenae moved to continue the onslaught, Lev dropped and avoided all the attacks completely, ramming her blade home through Irenae’s side. My sister-in-law’s howl of agony was, I’ll admit, music to my ears, and I noticed Corvi’s satisfaction as well.
Lev wasn’t finished however. She tore the blade free roughly, spinning on her heel and slicing Irenae’s stomach open, then in the same breath turned the blade backhanded and reversed the strike, laying Irenae’s chest open.
The dark-haired fighter was clearly unused to being bested so thoroughly, but her pride wouldn’t let her give in. Despite bleeding from her severe wounds, she raised her blade to attack again.
This time the clash was much quicker, with Irenae aiming for a sideways slash that Lev once again blocked easily, pivoting on the ball of her foot to drive her elbow into Irenae’s face. While I recognised the move as one I performed during my spar with Lev, the reverse thrust straight through Irri’s gut was a new addition. Lev twisted the blade, slowly, eliciting a shriek of agony from Irenae, and in a truly contemptuous move Lev ripped blade free in an outward motion, tearing her opponent open in a spray of blood. Lev spun one last time, slamming her foot into Irenae’s knee with a sickening crunch, and she dropped to floor as the joint buckled beneath her.
“Mercy!” Irenae cried out, dropping her blade on the grass, the blade that never once touched Lev’s skin. “I yield! Mercy, I beg you!”
There was a cold contempt in Lev’s eyes as she looked to Corvi, who walked out into the circle and stood before her sister.
“’I yield,’ she says. ‘Mercy,’ she begs. What right have you got? Why should I not let Levaertes take your head right now? When Deimos yielded to you, you didn’t attack him fairly. He dropped his blade, and you simply took him apart. You broke him, Irenae, right before you ripped his eye out. His blood stains this very field, because of your own blind hatred.”
Irenae was a pitiful figure, bleeding into the grass, entirely at another’s mercy, just like I had been. Her eyes were wide with fear, her blood was still flowing freely from her vicious wounds, and the acrid tang of urine hit me as she pissed herself.
Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
“I-I’m sorry, Corvi I’m so sorry, please, I beg you,” Irenae stammered, her eyes flicking between Corvi and Lev. “I beg you sister, I beg you, show mercy, please I’m so sorry...”
Corvi stood over her defeated sister, showing no sign of emotion.
“Yes, Irenae, I will show mercy,” she said flatly, and there was a sharp intake of breath from everyone present.
“The same mercy you would have shown my husband.”
Corvi formed a blade shape with her right hand, plunging it into the meat of Irenae’s throat. Blood erupted from the wound and Irenae’s mouth, as Corvi placed a hand against her sister’s shoulder and pulled with every ounce of her strength.
There was a strangle cry, mixed with the sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bone as Corvina tore her sister’s head from her neck, oblivious to the blood that soaked her arm and trousers.
“Never let it be said I am not fair,” she told the crowd casually, tossing the head to the ground. “Someone burn this trash. This matter is closed.”
I had to be physically restrained by Corvi to prevent me from gorging on Irenae’s blood - as a newly-fledged vampire, my self-control in that regard was virtually non-existent. Through a combination of simply holding me in place, softly-spoken advice and psychic calming, she helped me get my bloodlust under control, allowing me to finally walk from the field with her.
“That was...unexpected,” I told her, trying to ignore the scent of the blood that still coated Corvi’s forearm.
“But necessary,” she replied bluntly. “Irenae was no longer the sister I knew. She had become Sharriana’s creature, as arrogant and egotistical as the Countess herself.” She paused, and looked around the area as we walked. “Plus,” she continued in a quieter tone, “we need to step up our plan to move against the Countess. We can’t do that if we have someone reporting back to her every move we make.”
I nodded, seeing the tactical sense in removing the threat Irenae represented.
“Aside from that,” Corvi continued again, “she almost killed my husband. That alone demanded retribution.” She pulled me a little closer, and entwined her hand in mine.
“So what’s our next move?” I asked her, and she sighed heavily.
“That’s the hard part.” It was clear from her tone that what she was going to say next was something that saddened her immensely, and her thoughts reflected that.
“I’m going to have to send you to your own place now, Deimos. We have a lot of work to do - we need to find where Maria went, because she is the only other person who might know what the final part of the plan was as far as you’re concerned. You’ve seen how closely the Countess guards her plans, so no-one but her closest servants would know them - and for Maria to have been planted here, she would have to be trusted a great deal.”
“Do we know for sure Maria served the Countess?” I asked, and Corvi shook her head.
“Nothing definite. But Sharriana told you that everything that’s happened lately has happened according to her plan - it’s a safe bet that Maria served her.”
We finally go back to Corvi’s room, and as soon as the door was closed she began to peel off her blood-soaked clothes.
“Shit, I really liked that shirt as well,” she muttered to herself, dropping the ruined article on the floor.
“So when do you want me to leave?” I tried desperately to concentrate on the important matters, even as my wife got undressed in front of me.
It really didn’t work.
“I don’t want you to leave, but I get what you mean,” she told me, as her trousers joined the discarded shirt. “In a couple of hours. There’s an Osprey coming in around then, so you can take that to your little den, and I’ll be sending you off with a full staff.”
She finished undressing and fixed me with a wicked stare, something I was sure she’d learned from Lev.
“Now, are you going to continue ogling me, or are you going to join me for a shower and do something more constructive?”
She’d definitely been taking advice from Lev, but as usual I couldn’t refuse.
I highly doubt anyone could have.
CHAPTER 14
Leaving the nest
A couple of hours after that, as she had promised, I was on an Osprey heading to my own small base. At least I had a staff - Lev would be joining me, as well as a compliment of Omega Company soldiers, a couple of communications specialists, four technical support specialists and a handful of others to assist with the day-to-day running of the base.
As soon as we landed I made sure everyone knew where they would be sleeping, told the Omega Company officer - a Lieutenant by the name of James Tavoy - to arrange guard rotations, then got the rest of the staff into my Ops room to discuss plans.
“Ok people, we have one big problem, and we need a solution - what the fuck do we do now?” I asked, as we stood around my shiny new war table. “We need to find Maria, the traitor from the Home Base, and find out exactly how the Countess is planning to make me into this...psychic weapon. Failing that, or even alongside that, we need to find out what the hunters are planning, because they’ve been suspiciously silent lately-”
“I may be able to get some info on that,” Lev chimed in, with a shyness I wasn’t sure she even possessed. “I, um...I know...someone, a contact for The Order who works at a hunter’s bar. She picks up bits of info, and passes them to me when she can.”
“Sounds dangerous,” I told her, since I really didn’t want my friend to go walking into a bar full of people
who would want to kill her. “How would you get to talk to her?”
Lev cleared her throat, and then - I swear this is true - she blushed. Levaertes Grey, a woman so comfortable with her own body she once got changed in the middle of a meeting, actually blushed. I wished I had taken a picture.
“I’ve...been seeing her, lately. Like...kinda regularly.”
There was a moment of silence, in which I think everyone present was slightly stunned, and possibly pinched themselves to see if they were dreaming.
“Holy shit,” one of my tech staff, Lorelei, announced. She had been the relatively young redhead who had spoken to me at the wedding party, and offered to stand for me against Irenae. “Has Levaertes Grey gone and got herself a fucking girlfriend?”
Lev blushed again, and nodded sheepishly, at which point we all actually applauded her. It was no secret that Lev had been looking for a steady relationship, and it must have been difficult seeing me and Corvina together in such close proximity. To hear that she was finally finding what she wanted was a great thing.
“So, Lev will speak to her girlfriend, at length and in private I assume, meanwhile we’ll need to get a tap on hunter comms. I don’t know what technical wizardry you guys can come up with, but we need something workable fast. Have we got satellite feeds yet?”
“Yeah boss, we’re all up and running,” Lorelei answered, with the casual drawl of a permanently laid-back soul.
“Good, start pulling up the imagery of Home Base the day Maria escaped, see if you can pick up any tell-tale signs of where she went or who she might have met up with. If you think of something else that I haven’t thought of, don’t ask for permission, just do it - we have a lot of ground to cover and not much time, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Get to it, guys.”
As they all dispersed to go about their tasks, I caught hold of Lev before she left.
“What is it, D?”
“Be careful, alright?” I warned. “I know you’re skilled, but numbers can overwhelm any vampire. Stay safe, and come back in one piece, got it?”
Lev smiled at me with her usual self-assured confidence.
“No worries, big guy, I’ll come home safe - but thanks for the concern, D. Take it easy.”
With Lev off the base, I spent some time trying to get used to my enhanced senses and abilities. I found out that my psychic link with Corvi had become more potent, since I could sense her quite clearly even at that distance and could pick up more of what she felt.
That, in turn, led me to a sudden idea, which allowed me to gain information as well as giving me an excuse to talk to my beloved wife.
“An unexpected pleasure, my love,” Corvi said as soon as she answered the phone. “A little unnecessary, but given your condition I can understand. What did you need, dearest?”
“I had an idea,” I told her excitedly. “You were the one who turned Maria, right?”
“Correct, why?”
“I’m just noticing that our link is stronger since you turned me, I can still sense where you are, what’s happening to you...so couldn’t you use your own link with Maria to try and locate her?”
Corvi ‘hmm’ed softly, as she thought about the idea.
“You know, it may actually work,” she said eventually. “I mean, it’s not intended that way, but with a little meditation and focus I could probably do it. Give me a couple of days, maybe, to see what I can find out. Good thinking, Eyathehn.”
Eyathehn. Another Vampiric term, which roughly meant ‘cherished heart.’
“Thanks hon, I do my best,” I answered with a chuckle. “How are you keeping?”
“Forget how I am, how are you? You’ve...endured a lot, lately.” What she didn’t say, but definitely still thought, was that she was responsible for some of that. I praised our heightened link as I soothed her thoughts with my own.
“I’m keeping well enough, Eyathehn. I haven’t risked looking at my eye yet - not something I want to see, an eye-ball mid-regeneration - but generally I’m feeling pretty good.”
“I’m glad. But please, don’t forget to feed. I know you don’t like the taste, but it’s all that will sustain you now.”
“I know, my love, I will. I suppose I’d better get back to it, make sure these guys don’t destroy everything while my back is turned.”
“Okay dearest,” she replied sadly. “Oh, and remember to get some training in - you’ll need to get used to your new reflexes as well.”
I smiled at her fussing about me. It was actually rather sweet.
“Yes dear, I’ll make sure I do. Now stop fussing, will you?”
“I’m your wife, it’s my duty to fuss.” I could tell just by the sound of her voice she was grinning, and I was glad to leave her on a happy note.
We said our final good-byes, and the conversation had reminded me that I was feeling weary and light-headed. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I made a guess that I was due another feeding.
I dropped by my small canteen area, and checked in with the staff there to see if the facilities were adequate. Apparently all was in order, so I enquired about stocks of blood.
“Certainly sir, what flavour?”
I looked at the woman quizzically.
“Flavour? It’s blood, not sodding ice-cream.”
The woman chuckled at me.
“Apparently a lot of the vampires say there is a taste difference between blood types. I’m...not qualified to judge, I’m afraid.”
“Neither am I,” I answered with a shrug. “I’ll just take whatever you give me.”
That had been a mistake. What I ended up with was a blood type that had been more bitter, more metallic than whatever Lev had first given me, and it tasted foul - well, more so than blood usually did.
Despite the vile taste, it did have the desired effect - I felt better almost immediately, although my brain still felt like it was fogging up. I checked my watch and was surprised when I saw the time - it was nearly midnight, and I had started that day at nine in the morning.
Before I tried doing anything else, I was going to need some sleep.
I woke up screaming again, the nightmare fading fast as I scrubbed the sleep from my eye. I checked the clock in my small room, and swore vehemently - I’d only been sleeping for five hours, and now I felt worse than I had earlier.
I crawled out of bed anyway, and pulled my clothes on wearily. I left my socks off though - the cold concrete floor was actually quite refreshing as I walked out towards my Ops room.
The area was much quieter, with only Lorelei at the consoles, still searching for anything that could help us. She looked up as I entered the room and waved in greeting, before turning back to her work.
“Found anything?” I asked, stopping by her right shoulder.
“Nothing concrete,” the redhead replied, without looking away from the screen. “There’s a lot to get through, and the others didn’t have the endurance a vampire has.”
“How long have you been on your own?”
“Couple hours,” she said casually. Her tone suggested she quite liked the solitude. “Oh, and got a call from Lev ‘bout twenty minutes ago. Said her girlfriend was worried that the hunters were getting suspicious, wanted to bring her here. I told her to go ahead, since...you know, you were asleep and all.”
That concerned me a bit, bringing an unknown element to my base.
“Can we trust her?”
“No, but we can trust Lev’s judgement,” Lorelei replied matter-of-factly.
“Can’t argue there.” I scrubbed at my eye again, thinking maybe I needed to ‘feed’ again. “I’m heading to the canteen, you need anything?”
“Nah,
I just ate, thanks.”
I nodded, and padded off to the canteen to get a small cup of blood.
On my way back my phone rang again, and I checked the caller ID before answering.
“Hey Lev, what’s up?”
“Jeez, you sound like crap,” she told me, and I rolled my eye. I felt something move in my other socket as I made the motion, and resolved to check that as soon as I got off the phone.
“I’ve not long woken up. What did you want?”
“We’re on our way to you now. Libby said she’s worried that some hunters might know she’s working for us, so I thought it best.”
“Yeah, Lorelei told me. Make sure you aren’t being followed, okay? That’s the last thing we need right now.”
“You got it, killer. We’ll be there in about an hour.”
“Understood. See you when you get here, and drive safe.”
Lev’s scoff sounded quite clearly down the phone.
“Psh, as if. See you in a few.”
I finished the walk back to the Ops room in relative silence, although a few more of the mortal staff I’d been sent were stirring now. One or two were once again gathered at the consoles where Lorelei was working, giving her time for a rest of her own.
She must have noticed me fiddling with the dressing on my eye, because she made the ‘come here’ gesture with her hand and began to peel it off slowly.
“You didn’t need to, you know, I was just about to find the bathroom,” I told her, and she shrugged with one shoulder.
“I was here. Besides, you’re new to this - figured you could use a vampire’s opinion. On what was normal and what was- huh. That’s...rare.”
“What?” I asked, fighting the urge to panic. I was suddenly concerned my eye had regenerated into something grotesque, or was about to fall out or something.