Cassandra Pendragon

“Once or twice,” Mephisto answered, his eyes losing their apathetic sheen for the first time since I had entered. “But they can’t be real, can they? They’re just a myth, something to scare the gullible and entice the stupid. Undead, but yet alive through the blood of others? An undying body with the power to take in someone else’s essence? They would rule the world by now, if they existed.”

“What makes you think they aren’t,” Tharos replied sagely. “I’m not saying they are, but you wouldn’t know about it, if they were, would you? I can assure you, they exist. Like the traces of a nightmare after the sun has risen, they prowl this city, out of sight but their presence can be felt almost everywhere, even in this very room. Why do you think this town puts so much emphasis on slavery? We all know that it’s not truly efficient, but somehow, we have to satiate the thirst for fresh blood that’s so deeply ingrained in… our community. We aren’t vile, we just do what we have to, to stay alive and gather a few creature comforts. That’s as much true for the lowliest street rat as it is for the captains and the Lords of Shadows at the very top.”

“You seem to know an awful lot. And you’re telling us that one of them was spying on us, because…” I didn’t finish my sentence, staring at him inquisitively.

“I can’t say for sure, but I imagine he was there to figure out how many of Tom’s claims were actually true, like me. Now, much of what I’m going to tell you is pure speculation, but here is what I think is going on. The Mask, Nero, he’s been here for a while and one of the reasons why nobody truly challenged him was his association with the Cabal. That’s what they call themselves. From the very beginning, he secured their support, rising through the ranks, bolstered by the Night Lord’s influence. In exchange for their backing, he offered them the one thing they truly crave: indulgence. Fresh blood and luxuries without lifting a finger. I imagine he even became an aspirant, ready to one day join them, but luckily, you put an end to this particular venture.”

“And you think Tom is trying to sell us out to forge an allegiance? How would that work?” While his story made some sense, it would explain, for example, how Nero had been able to easily subdue my friends, I still remained sceptical. How much bad luck could we actually have?

“Usually it wouldn’t,” he replied. “What are a few more bodies to bleed, after all? But you aren’t the garden variety that can be picked up on the markets, now, are you? I don’t pretend to understand who you are yet, but I’m certain that they became interested in you, at the very latest, when you turned the Mask into ash. Incidentally, would you tell me which one of you did that?”

Nobody answered and most of my friends had the presence of mind to remain nonchalantly still, but when Pete’s and Etosh’s eyes swivelled in my direction, I could just as well have held up a sign with my name on it. Tharos didn’t miss the nonverbal clue either and I couldn’t help but groan. The dwarf, fine, I hadn’t expected him to be anything but straightforward. The former pirate and street rat, though, didn’t have much of an excuse. He should’ve known better.

“That would be me,” I spoke into the lingering silence. Since the obese kitsune was going to start dissecting the dynamics between us anyways, I might just as well try to control what he came up with. “I know I don’t look the part, but I’m quite skilled when push comes to shove. Even though I never intended for him to go out like that. I got… carried away. I don’t know if you’ve ever met the Mask… Nero in person, but he was quite the handful. I don’t react well to either threats or subterfuge and he tried both.” Tharos squinted his eyes at me and nodded thoughtfully.

“Duly noted. I’ll always put my best foot forward, then. You don’t have to look so grim, though. I already figured that there’s more to the two of you,” he included Ahri with a swipe of his still smouldering pipe, “than meets the eye. Not that you aren’t the epitome of eye candy, I can assure you,” he added with a wink, “but you don’t normally wait for the princess to discuss a peace treaty.” I frowned, unsure whether he was simply speaking in metaphors or if he actually already knew who we were, or rather, who we had been, back on Boseiju. “Anyways,” he continued, “you did well in concealing that particular tidbit, but I imagine Tom knows, doesn’t he?”

I shrugged and look at the others who had been there. After a moment Ahri replied: “if he isn’t dumber than a stump, he must know. Does it make a difference?” It was the fox’s turn to shrug.

“Probably. That was quite the exceptional piece of magic you performed there, Cassandra. Knowing it was you would add to your allure and make for a better bargaining position, if he decided to sell you out. I don’t doubt he already has, but since even I don’t have friends in the Cabal, I, of course, can’t say for sure.” He clapped his hands, his eyes roaming along the table.

“Well then, let’s get down to business. The way I see it, you only have three options: run and forget about whatever it was you wanted to accomplish and on top of that, still remain on the most wanted dinner list for a group of ancient, bored and powerful undead. Or, you can help us get rid of them, save your own neck in the process and ensure that the captains of Free Land are in you debt. Or three, you can ignore what I’ve said completely, write me off as a raving lunatic and continue on your merry way. Since I don’t think I’ve fallen off my rocker and I expect you would already be gone if you thought it feasible, there isn’t much of a choice, now, is there?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Mephisto slowly replied, “but couldn’t we also, say, subdue you and bring you to the vampires as a peace offering, nicely wrapped, of course? If even half of the legends are true, they can easily turn you into a puppet. Without many difficulties. Who knows, maybe they’d even let us off the hook, for a spy, perfectly placed at the side of one of the captains?”

Folding his hand across his belly, Tharos turned towards him with an indulgent smile. “So you’re the voice of reason around here? Could have guessed as much. Only a great intellect could kid himself into believing that robe is sophisticated instead of gaudy. Sure, go ahead. You’re genius has caught me completely off guard. Had I only thought of such an outcome…” I could see his sarcasm irked Mephisto and before I could intervene, the demon replied haughtily:

“You know, Nero said pretty much the same thing before we scattered his essence across town.”

“We? I thought it was her. Now, now, my grumpy, badly dressed friend, of course I’m quivering in my satin socks, faced with your unsurmountable wit and dastardly plans, but I think you’re forgetting one little detail.” Suddenly his amicable habit vanished. A red spark entered his purple eyes and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise, while his presence became suffocating, like a blanket of fear. Shadows seemed to crawl towards him from every corner and the temperature in the room dropped noticeably, as if death incarnate walked among us. Chairs creaked and muted curses rang out, as nearly everyone jumped to their feet, either reaching for the door or their weapons. The girls to my left and right, though, didn’t move, their magic slowly rising in their veins.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Tharos’ smile turned predatory and I could see overly long canines poking out from behind his lips. “You’re already a little late to the party.” His voice had changed as well, a soothing cadence that pulled at my mind, like whispered promises in the dark. Two opposing impulses flashed through me, momentarily rooting me in my seat. My instincts screamed at me to run and hide, to get away from the unleashed beast in our midst, but the stronger, older part of me felt… challenged, challenged and amused. In my weakened state, a confrontation would surely be interesting. But then again, I wasn’t alone. My gaze darted form left to right and I realised that Tharos would turn into a pile of ash, if I didn’t intervene immediately. Neither Ahri nor Viyara seemed to be willing to listen to him any longer and they slowly got to their feet.

“Enough,” I spat, a thrum of transcendent power echoing in my voice, easily overpowering Tharos’ presence. “I’m tired and close to the end of my patience. Sit. Down.” Even this much, the minuscule trickle of energy I had used, elicited a prompt reply from my throat. Wherever my power flowed through my body, my muscles and nerves protest in pain, searing flames burning away the last bits of unchanged flesh. It took all my self restraint to hide my discomfort and keep from crying out. I felt like I had just swallowed a glowing rod of iron.

“Please,” I whispered hoarsely when the rising tide of power within Ahri didn’t diminish and she took a step towards the vampire. “You’re better than me, you don’t have to give in. He’s not threatening us.” When my tails brushed along her legs and tightened around her middle, she blinked, the raging fires in her eyes slowly receding. She shook her beautiful head, as if to clear her thoughts, the flames in her hair petering out, and gave me a pinched smile while her gaze finally left Tharos. She looked up and down the table before she allowed me to pull her back and settled onto my lap. “If he makes one wrong move, he’ll burn,” she murmured.

I wrapped my arms around her and breathed: “of course. Thank you, thank you for listening.”

While we had been stuck in our own, little world, the room had changed, significantly. The vampire hadn’t moved a muscle and my command had been strong enough to tie Pete, the dwarfs and my brother to their chairs, Mephisto hadn’t bothered to lift a finger, anyways. The rest though… green bands of magic slithered around Erya’s horns and while she had to struggle to remain standing, the anger, pain and humiliation she had suffered, had finally found an outlet. If it hadn’t been for me, she would have already thrown herself at the smiling fox. Viyara wasn’t encumbered by my command, our connection had protect her, but she hadn’t attacked yet, either. She stood there, golden light radiating from her eyes, which had turned into two miniature suns. Her hands, or rather claws, were extended, pointing at Tharos and thin rays of power circled around her transformed arms. And my mum… she was gone.

Instead, I saw a shimmer of silvery sparks dancing around the wide eyed servant girl, who had collapsed onto the floor. From time to time, the sparks coalesced into the faint outline of a nine tailed fox, a visible reassurance that I wouldn’t have to worry about the girl in case things turned ugly.

Shaking myself loose from the scene, I slapped the table, strongly enough to make everybody jump. “What are you doing,” I hissed. “He hasn’t even moved. If anything, I appreciate the honesty. He didn’t have to reveal himself, but I’m still curious, why did you,” I added and turned towards Tharos. “I can’t imagine you’re mindless enough to simply show off. You had to know what would happen.” He shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the murderous stares that were thrown his way.

“Credibility. You wouldn’t have taken me seriously if you hadn’t known who I was. And since I still think we can work together, I thought it was as good a way as any to speed things up. I’m really tame, you know, and I wouldn’t have come here alone, if I had been set on causing trouble. Now, do you want to hear what I’ve got to say, or should we continue trying to kill each other with dirty looks? As you might have guessed by now, I know a wee bit more about the mechanisations in the city than you thought and more than mostly anyone else you might stumble into.”

“I have one question beforehand,” I replied quietly. “Did you know about the abduction?”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t confess to it, going by your sudden tension. But alas, no, I did not. Neither me, nor my master, would ever have allowed for it to happen, had we been in the loop. We stayed well away from your… brother? Cousin? When he wreaked havoc on this world a few hundred years ago and we won’t get in your way either. But… before I’m going to spill any more secrets, I think it’s your turn. I’ve shown and hinted at more than I intended to and as you so aptly put it: quid pro quo. If you want to know more, you’ll have to give me something in return. And trust me, I can make it worth your while. Our family isn’t confined to this island, after all… not even to this continent, in case you were wondering.”

I turned away and tried to catch the eye of everyone else. They grudgingly settled back down and extinguished their magic. When I felt sure that they wouldn’t immediately erupt again, I asked: “what do you say? Benefit of the doubt or should we throw him out on the street?”

“We need him,” to my surprise, Mordred was the first to speak up, his voice flat. “If he’s one of them, it stands to reason that he’s also right about Tom and the Cabal. There’s too much… we have too much to lose. If they were to come for us right now, it would result in a bloodbath. Not many of us can hold their ground against a vampire, if our guest is an indication of how strong they truly are. And I don’t want to run away with my tails between my legs, I want… no, I need to make sure that they’re dealt with, permanently. No one should have to go through… it doesn’t matter. I’m done dancing to a tune, someone else is playing. If it’s up to me, we’ll stay and make sure that every last one of those fucks, who helped catch us, rues the day he was born. If that means jumping into bed with him and his ilk,” he pointed at Tharos, “then, so be it.”

“Lad,” Xorlosh said, “I’m not sayin’ you’re wrong, but I think that’s your pride speaking, not your brain. I, for one, am not eager to even stay in the same room as one of those bloodsuckers.” He looked Tharos dead in the eye and added: “I won’t go against the wishes of me friends, but I know that you shouldn’t be…none of you. In case you and I ever meet in a dark alley, you better run. Undead or not, I can’t imagine you’ll keep on walking when your head is no longer attached to your body.” The vampire chuckled and replied calmly:

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. The living axe of Angram, wasn’t that your monicker, back in the day? I’m glad to see exile hasn’t dulled your edge. By the way, how’s the family? Still save and sound, I hope? It’s been years since I’ve heard the Wardens move, after all, but I expect that’s just because there was no reason and not because they hide in shame.” I didn’t understand half of what he had said and judging from the confused expressions around the table, I wasn’t the only one. The dwarfs, though, they got the gist of it. The muscles along Xorlosh’s jaw stood out when he ground his teeth and Etosh was livid. His hand flew to his axe but before he could pull it out, Xorlosh gestured for him to stand down.

“You’re well informed,” he replied icily. “Not many people know of me origins. But at least you know that I’m not making idle threats. Me oath still holds, despite me exile, and you’d do well to remember that.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it, but it never even crossed my mind to take you lightly. When everything is said and done, I throughly hope that we won’t cross paths, ever again. Believe it or not, I would hate tearing your throat out nearly as much as being decapitated. I already told you, we aren’t vile, well, at least not all of us.”

“Liar,” Mephisto spoke with barely more than a whisper but I didn’t have any trouble hearing him, and neither did anybody else. “You asked what I know of vampires? I’ve hunted them, bled them dry and returned them screaming to the sea. I’ve torched and slaughtered more of your kind than you’ve ever met and you know what I’ve learned? You’re nothing but a shell, a shell filled with lust and dark desires, created in the image of your pathetic progenitor. You’re not vile? Tell me Tharos, how many innocents have you killed to satiate your thirst, when was the last time you drank?”