Quest of the Vampire Lords part 2

There was a devil in the details somewhere. I sat on a small bed in the corner, aghast at the thought of trying to sleep on what, for lack of a better term, I will call a mattress. It was harder than the floor, but I didn't feel like dogging it up over on the carpet, either. Instead, I yawned silently and wondered just how the hell Uldin and Zelina managed to get us a room on an airship, pay the fees, smuggle us aboard, and do it all without being outed as undead. Part of me felt like it had a lot to do with the extravagance of Ursgelda, who would probably tell me where she had gotten all that gold, if I could ask. It is my unfortunate lot in life to be one of nature's good listeners, because being mute really pushes one into that study hall.

Forgive me my mixed metaphors, but I'm quite the mix myself. It's only to be expected.

As I've mentioned, I'm a siren. Base stats, as one of my cousins might have said during one of their weird, dungeony-gamey things. That's how I was born. The vampire, the werewolf, the robot arm, and all the ghosts trapped in my head, that all came later. But I want to make it clear just how hopeless things were for me, as concerns communication. I can read fluently, even remarkably, and had done so from a young age. I had not done very well in school, because somewhere between my brain and my hand, my ability to write dwindles. I don't know what the deal is with that, but it's a siren thing. I can write musical notes without a problem – almost entirely useless. I can even draw a little. Can't write to save my life, or my grades. And don't get me started about the ghosts. I can hear them, all day, every day. Do you think they can hear my thoughts? I'm dead silent to the ghosts in my own head. Even more ridiculous is this: I can channel my ghosts into other objects, sleeping people, and they have no trouble using those bodies to speak. If I let them take possession of myself, they find using my tongue an impossible calculus, which unnerves them.

So I pretty much sat here while Ursgelda and the others made plans. Ursgelda and Lord Tanz listened to the best information Zelina had about the missing Lord Marask's whereabouts. She was difficult to understand at times, due to a slightly thick accent, for Zelina came from another clan that had been hunted to near extinction. Ursgelda nodded patiently, trying to understand the places and things about this world with which we had no familiarity. Ursgelda was more accustomed to getting her information third hand, and had not often spoken directly with scouting vampires like Zelina, but the circumstances didn't give her much choice.

“Zey vent about looking for as much help as zey could find, because Lord Marask, in all his great glory, did not have ze number of vampires needed to thwart ze new huntairs. Ze new huntairs, zey vere so bold! Only ze council of our Lord had ze cunning to trip zem up and keep zem away from our caves and our hideavays. Vhat a mess everysing vas becoming! Ve vere afraid to go out at night and hunt! Vell, zere had always been rumors of zese strange vampire clanz near ze Norseast. Lord Marask vanted to appeal to zem for eizer a retinue of soldiers, or migration assistance. Ze borders along ze ocean vere ze – Vhat is it called? – Ze prime real estate! But ze huntairs were very daring, very daring.”

Ursgelda was feverishly scribbling some notes. “Right. Right. Okay. What's a hunt-air? Some kind of werewolf?”

Zelina shook her head. “No. Ze huntairs. Zey are~”

Uldin stepped in front of Zelina and held up a hand. She stood to attention quite smartly, and allowed him to fill in.

“Hunters. She means hunters. They became...pesky. Started slaughtering every vampire the minute we lowered our guard. Have you ever been surrounded by ten or twenty men, ready to stake you through the heart if you let up for an instant?”

Ursgelda listened politely. Ten or twenty men would be nothing to her but a banquet. She held her blood feelings back remarkably, for she probably wanted to burst out in laughter or in scolding these vampires for being so weak.

“So he came here,” Ursgelda asked, “and that's it? No one knows what happened?”

“Nobody.” said Uldin. “Some scouts followed him in, and they never returned, either. It was myself and Zelina who carried the news back to the clan. That was when Lord Tanz was appointed the new Lord. You may think little of him from where you stand, Lord Ursgelda, but compared to him, we two are but inconsequential outliers.”

Lord Tanz, towering over all of us, stepped back from Ursgelda, turning to face me.

“And that is a large problem, for it seems even Lord Ursgelda's sister vampire is far more worthy of my post than I, yet she also declines the job. I suppose it would be best to find Marask, but what if the truth is worse than we can imagine, and this other clan murdered our former leader?”

I met eyes with Tanz, and noted that he was thoroughly examining me, as if trying to work out how all the different parts fit together. I didn't like it. I remembered living under the hungry gazes of the vampires, and eyes like that once froze me with fear.

“Then we unify the clans, and choose a new leader from their ranks, assuming they have anyone worthy.” Ursgelda tipped her hat up with the end of her cane. “Simple enough. It may take a little convincing, but I think I can manage that on your behalf.”

“Manage? You would risk your life on behalf of a clan you do not know?”

Ursgelda held out her hands, tilting her head and shrugging. Again, she was being too theatrical. Perhaps she was just bored, and this whole savior act was her passing time.

“It would be no trouble at all. I'll be glad to demonstrate, but there is something I would like to clear up first.”

Ursgelda rounded on Zelina, who bared her fangs, but leaned back defensively as Ursgelda approached. “Well, girl? Made up your mind yet?”

Ursgelda wasn't being pushy about it, but she didn't have to. She may as well be the temporary Lord of this clan.

Zelina had not yet allowed Ursgelda to give her the sunlight bite. Uldin had needed no convincing, loyal to Tanz as he was. Zelina was in a tough spot, because she was not disloyal herself, but she probably felt it was not vampire-like to undertake a coexistence with the sun. When she finally relented, I could see that she wasn't wholly sold on the idea, but she sagged, sighed, and shook her head.

“Vell, if zis is vhat my Lord Tanz desires, then it is my duty. “I shall accept your bite, Lord of ze outlander clan.”

Outlanders, indeed! Zelina was not coming to terms very well with the idea that we were from another world entirely.

“Very good, very good. Lord Tanz, if you would hold my cane. Thank you. Now...”

Ursgelda wiggled her fingers and took the girl's arm, rolling up the sleeve. She held Zelina's forearm like a corn cob. Ursgelda's eyes gazed hungrily as Zelina turned away. She probably thought it would hurt, and she closed her eyes as Ursgelda's fangs poked through undead flesh. I'm glad Ursgelda did not ask me to do it. Vampire blood did nothing for my appetite, and I had no idea how the wolf toxins in my body would affect the poor girl. Besides, Ursgelda would soon have another use for me.

Wiping her mouth, Ursgelda said, “All right. Now we five of the sunlight are ready to begin.” She looked over her shoulder at Tanz. “You want to see how I intend to handle this other clan, if they oppose us?”

“Highly interested.”

Ursgelda slowly took hold of Zelina's forearm. She stood, looking up into Zelina's eyes, and Zelina's face contorted into a sudden, frozen shock.

“Sleep, girl.”

I could hear the sudden rush of pumping blood within Zelina's veins. She collapsed, sinking slowly in Ursgelda's arms, and with the help of Uldin, they placed Zelina's snoring form upon the carpet.

After a moment of examining the peaceful, sleeping vampire, Uldin said, kneeling at his friend's side, “What was that?”

Ursgelda snickered. She snorted a little, too. “I did mention that I was part succubus. At the time, I didn't know what this power was, but it made me the Lord of my clan, completely unopposed.” Ursgelda stood and turned to Tanz. “If we meet opposition, they will find that Silence and I are more trouble than it is worth.”

“Very well.” said Tanz. “Then let us rouse my scout and consider our course of action.”

Ursgelda shook a finger at him. “Not yet. Remember, we have a long journey, and I have much to teach. I could use help in that regard. Silence? I believe I could use one of my unfortunate servants to assist me.”

Did she really want me to do that? I shuddered at the thought. There was still enough human in me, or so I would like to believe, that the thought of summoning him was chilling. Yet how could I protest? If I shook my head, Ursgelda would certainly hound me, prod, poke, plead, and keep me awake. She was still a Lord, after all, and used to getting her way with anyone who wasn't Ray Peril. Why fight her on it?

I stood up and crossed over to the prone Zelina, pulled up the sleeve of my non-artifical arm, and placed a hand on the vampire's shoulder. There was a jolt as I opened the channel for a spirit to pass through my arm and into the unresisting body on the ground. I thought about those words, and realized how ghastly this power of mine truly was, but everything that had happened to me was pretty ghastly, and it was the fault of vampires, mostly, so...

The body jerked slightly, and Zelina's head lifted slowly. But it was not Zelina who spoke, and her voice sounded a little off, as if she wasn't quite used to the throat.

“Ah, it seems it has been a while. The air feels strange here.”

Zelina blinked, and stood. Uldin looked bewildered by the voice, and Lord Tanz, astonished, took a step towards Ursgelda's side.

“What have you done to her?”

“Her?” Zelina looked down, and then around one way, and then the other. “Oh, well, I must say that I would protest most strongly, Lord Ursgelda, except it feels great to be in the prison of vampire flesh once more. I taste blood upon the tongue! It has been a very long time, yes. Ah, and if it isn't the terrified little girl herself! How have you been? We can't hear your thoughts at all.”

Ursgelda jerked a thumb at the possessed Zelina. “That's my former butler, Laves McCobb. Interestingly enough, he's the one who bit dear Silence. He's kind of her vampire dad.”

Lord Tanz took a bow. Uldin did likewise. I looked away, sheepishly.

“If you've summoned me into the body of a very puny female, my dearest Lord Ursgelda, you must be in a rough spot. I fear your lowest vampires would have tossed this one into the slave pits of old.”

Ursgelda chuckled again. “Yes, yes, but let us get to it. McCobb, this is Lord Tanz. It seems the vampires of this world did not share our struggles, and it has left them a little...diminished. We must make a Lord of this one, at least for a while. We are trying to track down the former Lord, but if he cannot be found, I would like this world to have a leader of some merit.”

If it sounded like she was insulting Lord Tanz...Well, she was. But those without vampire blood running through their veins – or at least, congealing, for the blood only runs with conscious effort – have no idea how the power of blood connects us. Lord Tanz was not offended because, in his own eyes, Ursgelda is the rightful leader of his clan. The difficult part for him was accepting that she would not take the post.

As for Laves McCobb, he was a powerful vampire, but ghosts can't really possess anyone who is conscious, for the slightest willpower would force him back into my head, no matter how strong he had been in life. Still, in the body of Zelina, he could express his shadow magic as much as he liked, and thus Ursgelda had called upon him to give our tentative Lord a little shaping up.

I was slowly slinking back to my seat upon the bed. The face might be different, but I remember that haughty attitude, that cool smile, and those dastardly eyes, calculating the worth of anyone caught in their gaze. He was the one who had slipped into darkness, taken me by the throat, and plunged the venom of my undeath deep into my neck. The only reason I am not today a terrible monster (I am) is because half a second after I was bitten, Ray Peril, my hero, my protector, and sure, my master, turned Laves McCobb into a stain on the wall.

With McCobb now occupying a body, I was the third highest-ranked vampire in the room now, although Ursgelda admitted that McCobb was no match for me any more, especially with my siren song. I wasn't sure. Once McCobb had a body, he had some of his power, and both he and Ursgelda could manipulate me in subtle ways through their blood control.

I guessed I would always be afraid of McCobb, or at least regard him as my superior on the vampire hierarchy.

As Ursgelda went over the details in brief with her resurrected right-hand, I folded my arms behind my head and lay back, crossing my legs and staring at the ceiling. I wasn't tired yet, but the trip was going to take about two weeks, for the airships were fighting the winds. I wanted to kick back a bit, as I hadn't done for ages. I listened with mild interest to a few hours of McCobb going over the biggest issues a weak Lord might confront. Lord Tanz was not too lacking in confidence, but he had let the humans walk all over him, merely because they could have killed him. Well! Imagine that! I recalled sleeping under the covers every night when the vampires took over my town, hoping like hell they didn't storm into my home and carry me off. They had done so with most of my family.

Uldin, who was absorbing a little of that education from McCobb, came over and sat on the end of the bed. I hoped to hell he wasn't going to court me. I was too young a vampire to cope with it yet.

Come to think of it, and I hadn't thought of it...I had hundreds of years ahead of me...how was the whole boyfriend thing going to even work? Ugh...well, at least my human youth died after my own technical death.

Fortunately, the admittedly handsome vampire was not getting cozy. “I heard your song. You stopped a murderous crowd cold. Even Zelina and I were stunned for a while. You and your Lord are amazing. It seems you can't talk, but I would love to know how a vampire can also be part werewolf. The toxins in werewolf saliva are deadly to vampires after only a few bites. It would be interesting to know how you lived through it.”

I couldn't explain, of course. The truth was pretty simple. Ray Peril was some kind of mad scientist. I was injected with something moments after becoming a vampire. It allowed me to keep a clear head and absorb sunlight, rather than burn away. Somehow, it had also allowed me to become a wolf as well, when fate thought it would be amusing to also place me in the path of a desperate werewolf. I cringed again, remembering that crushing pain.

“You're very strange. Ursgelda says you two have traveled together some time, but I sense you have hanged on to your humanity far longer than other vampires. You shudder when you look into our eyes. You fear your past, though I sense power in your blood that I could not oppose. You trail Lord Ursgelda like a puppy dog, and you sit up at her command, yet there is resentment.”

Resentment? I...chose to forgive Ursgelda's terrible transgressions. She was the only family I had now, even if the blood of my former family was on her hands. It was difficult to think of Ray as family, because how did one relate to a pure force of nature? The man was like a combination of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. I guess, though, I couldn't shake blaming Ursgelda a little. There were reasons to let her off the hook. She had saved the world, which I guess means I did, too. And now she seemed eager to convert the vampires of this world to a force for good, or at least something a little more goodish.

Following like a puppy, though? I mean, I was part werewolf. I was never going to escape those instincts, either. I'd tried.

I heard, clearly, the sound of a body slumping to the carpet, and I felt the ghost of McCobb slip back into my head. Looks like time was up, and Zelina was finally awake.

“Vat in ze unfazomable hells vas all of zat? Ze little pigtailed Lord! Vat did she do to me to put me in zis state?”

Zelina was on her knees, shaking her hands a staring frantically around the room. Ursgelda was not as delicate with her powers as a true succubus would have been. Zelina's heart was pounding, and vampire hearts do not pound. They don't even beat.”

“Seems I overdid things. I had to use your body, you see.”

Zelina looked up at Ursgelda with horror in her eyes. “You did vat!?”

Lord Tanz held out his hand. “We placed the ghost of a dead vampire in your sleeping body, so that I may receive his wisdom. You were most helpful, my dear. Now, come. On your feet.”

Zelina obeyed. The way Lord Tanz handled the situation was impressive, and very authoritative. Perhaps Ursgelda really had seen something in him.

And then, Ursgelda waved me over. I hopped to, realizing that I had just played the puppy dog again. I grit my teeth, but pressed on. I swore that I would either get it under control or get used to it.

Swore that some time ago, now I think about it.

“We can do better than McCobb's stories and lessons. Silence, let's do a little speed test. Uldin and Zelina were able to secure this sword. Why don't you get all wolfy on us and let him use you as target practice.”

I leaned back, a little concern washing over me. Ursgelda saw it in my face, and in my posture, and in the way I tilted my head, and in my blood, which was screaming at her for suggesting I let a vampire attack me with a sword.

“My dear sister, what is the matter? It's not a silver blade, and you battled dozens of men all by yourself in the Grand Holy of Galenia. Don't tell me you're afraid.”

Zelina stood beside her Lord and gave me a suspicious look. “You vould fight my dear Lord Tanz? You foreign vampires are so cruel! Ve cannot stand against you, you know. Oh, I do apologize, my Lord Tanz, but zis is true, no?”

Tanz shook his head, and I took a step back as he took the sword in his hand. “It was all explained to me by Lord Ursgelda. My magic, I can improve. There is little I can do about my physical prowess, but Lord Ursgelda has no idea what my limits are. By attempting to land a blow on the marvelous Silence, she can determine my strong points.”

“Exactly!” Ursgelda blurted, giving me an encouraging look. “So you see, you just gotta stand there and block his sword. We have to determine the strong point. Mine is being a half-breed. Even with my incredible speed, it might not have been enough for me to be Lord. So what is Lord Tanz the best at? Let's see how he tackles a werewolf's reflexes.”

She...actually wanted to let a vampire attack me with a blade. Sure, as a werewolf, it wouldn't even hurt much if he succeeded. More to the point, or at least to stave off the point, was my robot arm. Even Ursgelda couldn't outflank me if I let the arm do the thinking. My werewolf instincts weren't half as fast as the metallic abomination that could catch bullets.

I sighed. Ursgelda may as well get her way with this, too. I transformed in an instant, completely forgetting that I wasn't wearing my loose clothes. Ursgelda was going to have to buy me another dress. I saw Uldin and Zelina both put their head in their hands when they saw my ripped seams. Lord Tanz played it cool, but I could tell he thought I lacked a little finesse. Ursgelda chuckled. Come on! I'm obviously the most feral one here, for crying out loud! Whatever...

The tiny clink clink of my metal arm transforming into its massive werewolf claw shape bounced around the airship's suite, almost interminably. It died out to my sensitive ears at last, and I stood, ready for Lord Tanz to make his best advance.

“Okay, try to strike my sister. Don't hesitate. You don't stand a chance. All four of us wouldn't.”

That was a brazen lie. Ursgelda would have found a way, and she was very good at blending into shadows, even in a brightly lit room. But the others didn't have to know that.

Lord Tanz took a bow. “Very well. Forgive me this intrusion.”

He darted forward. I didn't even have to think about it. The blade glanced off my arm with a piercing squeal of metal on metal. Lord Tanz had some strength to his attack, but it wasn't enough to budge the muscles in my legs, let alone my metal arm. He came at me from every direction, a blur moving around me in darting motions. The others stepped back to give him room. He was no Ursgelda, and there was simply no way he could escape my hunting eyes without finding some way to distract me. Perhaps he could throw a stick...but even then, my arm would react on its own, or I could summon a ghost with good reflexes to take over. I found myself amazed that the whirlwind surrounding me was unimpressive, for this terrifying speed had left me wetting the bed with fear of being spirited away in the night, not so long ago. Now I was half-heartedly holding back armed vampires like I was watching television on a rainy afternoon.

Vampires have much more stamina than the living, so we killed three hours in this manner. Lord Tanz finished the session without breaking a sweat. I had broken a little bit of sweat, since my heart did beat when I became a wolf. There was no question of being tired, though. Wolves could hunt through the night.

“There's good strength there. Not enough speed to put you above most vampires, but you're stronger than these two by far. Very good attitude. You have more patience than do I, and did not allow yourself to get frustrated. It's very important to hold yourself together in a crisis, if you're a Lord. The clan will sense your blood's uncertainty. I'm not sure we've hit anything yet. We shall have to conduct more tests during this trip.”

I raised a hand and waved, and the vampires took to their chairs at a card table. I quickly changed back and sat by one of the heating stones, facing away from the door and covering my arm. We were not making much noise in our suite, and even the worst vampire can step almost soundlessly. The sword against my arm had been a slight din, though, and now someone was approaching the room. They didn't stand a chance at catching us, so long as my ears were on the alert.

A knock. Zelina stood and answered the door. We had prepared by caking her vampire skin with enough makeup that she might be mistaken for a stage actress, or at least someone important enough not to be seen without makeup. By comparison, I...looked like a farm girl. One that had died and been left in the barn a few days, probably.

“Yes, vhat is it? No, ve are only playing a game of cards. I do not know, but I heard some veird sounds like metal from above. I vas sinking zat vas ze ventilation or somesing zat was creaking in ze ship. Oh, no sank you. Zere is nosing zat ve need at ze moment.”

I swear, she was doing the accent heavier on purpose. The visitor left, and we all returned to the center carpet in such silent quickness that it was as if we were never seated.

We resumed Ursgelda's test for several hours, and slept during the day, mostly out of habit. I did have one benefit of living with ghosts in my head. They told stories as I slept, and gave me the strangest, most colorful dreams.

The time on the ship passed. We came to the cold, polar region of this world, sliding slowly into a strange dock that was merely a tangle of rope bridges that descended in a spiral to the ground. Each of us bundled up in thick pants, thick fur jackets, and big hats, all of which were unnecessary. The cold did not bother our undead bodies until insanely low temperatures. There was likely no place on this world that was too cold for the five of us. The clothes were just to help hide our true nature from the other travelers. Ursgelda always kept herself full of sunlight, and could give her cheeks a rosy complexion in a pinch. One of my ghosts was a makeup artist, and I left the other vampires to her care. She wasn't as masterful as the succubus that had hidden Ursgelda and myself in the very heart of Galenia for a whole year, but the job was good enough to get us through this trip. Hopefully, they weren't suspicious of how little luggage we all carried. I was the closest to human out of all of us, and the rest had not considered that, nor could I really communicate the problem. Just had to roll with that one.

We arrived in the evening and came into the little harbor town, built of imported wood and consisting of a few dozen shacks at the edge of the ocean, planted on the thick ice below the airship. The ship hovered above on great, flaming engines of coal, belching smoke like a mighty, metal cigar meant for a titan. The image against the bay as the sunlight played over the snow covered mountains to the east was absolutely serene.

We took our little shack, slipping inside and tossing down the few sacks we carried. The work would be swift. We were not tired from the trip, and Ursgelda considered that trying to find Marask immediately was our best plan. If he was in any danger, we should get to him sooner rather than later. Ursgelda did not want to stumble upon the corpse of a Vampire Lord. It would feel too ominous.

Ursgelda and I needed little but our clothing. Lord Tanz, Zelina, and Uldin each carried a bag. Tanz and Zelina tied theirs to belts hidden in their furs. Uldin had a large bag, more than half his size, and he carried it by the cord, draping it over his shoulder. I couldn't smell the contents of the bag, so they must have wrapped the contents to keep from getting wet. Maybe blood? Who knew. I couldn't ask, and Ursgelda didn't.

Night fell, and we crept from our shack, unnoticed. I could tell by nose and ears that everyone around us had fallen asleep. The door might have at least creaked, but it didn't, and the vampires drifted into the moonlit night, darker than the shadows, and so soundless they might have escaped even my ears. Our goal was the outpost town beyond the mountains. There was a road that wound round, through the massive snow embankments that settled at the foot of the mountains when the winds picked up. We chose to pass over the mountains and enter the outpost from the hills, giving us an unseen entry in the night. According to Uldin, Lord Marask would have brought his followers to their destination with a slow path, first scouting for sanctuary during the daylight. Caves in the mountains would have been ideal. We made a quick and steady climb, with little trouble. The heavy winds cautioned us about using our wings, in case we found ourselves blown into the open view of the double moons above, alarming any would-be vampire hunters. As the youngest of the vampires present, I was the most obnoxiously loud, but they were born into stealth, and I was part wolf, so I scrabbled my way up noisily, but with ease, barely thinking about the next handhold. I had to slow down for the others, and I tried to stay behind Ursgelda,so the lesser vampires wouldn't get any ideas about who was in charge.

We started to move around the mountain as we came closer to the peak. Our inhuman strength made the climb swift, and even slowed down by caution we were coming down the other side within the hour. I sniffed the air, trying to pick up any trace of passing vampires. They have little scent, but the same can't be said of the clothes they wear, or any wounds they suffer. I couldn't detect much travel this high up, but most of the smells were mixed with human. Seasoned climbers were probably up here recently, though I can't imagine what they were doing. At any rate, I couldn't be sure any vampires had passed this way.

I caught wind of something fresh. It stuck out like a beacon in the wind-blasted peaks that poured steady torrents of snow over our faces. If I may make a little aside here, this was the first time I'd really felt something like this; my face did not produce heat as it did when I was alive, and the snow struck me everywhere, from the tip of my nose to edge of my cheeks. It did not catch and melt, but rolled right off, the same way the flakes rolled over the rocky outcrops without wetting the surface. It was eerie, but I decided to enjoy the new sensation and move on.

This smell that I had picked up couldn't be more powerful, since it was mostly blood. If there's one thing that will make me perk right up at a whiff, there it is. I could tell not only that it was fresh, but the owner was covered in it, and – let's see...yes, he – was still alive. I motioned to Ursgelda and pointed urgently, and everyone gathered alongside me as I followed the trail.

There really was a cave up here. I smelled the gathered condensation deep inside. The entrance was below. We could not yet see it from where we stood, but I slid down and over a ledge, gripping the rock with one cold, metal arm and swinging ape-like into the darkness of the mountain. The vampires slipped in behind me, blending to the shadows far better than I had attempted.

Yep. Pile of food, right there. Oh, Tammy, you've gone native. You really are more vampire than ever...

But I wasn't going to eat him. I was a sunlight vampire from the moment I changed, and whatever Ray Peril did to us, I wasn't slave to my hungers. Honestly, having never been part of the Ursgeldan old-school, I had no idea if the bloodlust was uncontrollable. For all I know, it was fear of Ray Peril that completely converted Ursgelda from her monstrous tendencies. Whatever the case, I did not feel the need to pounce on this wounded man and take advantage of this potential feast.

Not much.

Ursgelda approached the man and knelt beside him. She took his chin in her hands and brought his eyes to hers. He was too weak to lift his own head. Cuts ran from the top and back of his head, and over his shoulders, down the front of his chest, and his legs seemed pulverized, though I suspect this was from his climb up to this cave.

“Vampires...” he said, weakly. He did not seem to be afraid of Ursgelda, so much as resigned to his fate.

“Have no fear, human. We did not hunt you up this mountain. What happened to you? Where are you from?”

If Ursgelda's reassurances surprised him, he did not let it show. The man merely turned his head a little, giving a small, pained nod.

“So you're from the town? But why did you come up this mountain with nothing but a jacket? You have no fire, you have no food...What happened? Did vampires do this to you?”

He stared at Ursgelda, questioning her motives with a dull look, but he answered. “Yes. Not...like vampires, but...not vampires...”

Pretty much described me. But what mystery was this? Rather, what new mystery, added to the disappearance of Marask?

“...killed...vampires...changed them...”

Ursgelda frowned. She looked sympathetic, and I felt this in her blood as well. It felt strange, coming from her, because she still referred to humans as meat, quite often.

“I cannot save you, human. But I can make this painless. We can help you pass, or make you one of us. Or, we can leave you as you are. What is your final request?”

“...no change...just...end the pain...”

He was too weak to go on, and he slumped. Ursgelda gently lay him back, and she stood.

“Who hasn't fed lately?”

The other vampires stared dumbly. Zelina stepped forward. “I have not eaten ze whole week, for I have been in such a tizzy ovair Lord Marask and ze struggles of Lord Tanz.”

“Then take your supper, and put this man to rest as comfortably as possible.”

Zelina sank next to the dying man. She was confused at this new expectation, but she leaned in and gently took the man in her arms. She did not claw, nor did she tear him apart and feast as she might have done. She just opened her mouth and sank two skinny fangs into the man's neck. Instantly, he ceased his shaking, and the pained expression disappeared. Zelina was almost frozen in place, quietly drinking the lifeblood in a macabre thanks-giving. When she was finished, she stood and wiped her mouth. The scent of the blood tickled my nostrils no end, but I ignored it.

“Now,” said Ursgelda, “I want to know what happened to this man. Vampires disappearing, men escaping to the mountains to die...Something's going on here. Something's come to this land, and it isn't pleasant. We're getting to the bottom of this.”

The vampires grabbed their bags. Uldin slung his large pack over one shoulder, and we slipped into the night once more.