Cassandra Pendragon

30 minutes later, I was reclining in a more than luxurious armchair with a glass of whine in my hand, wearing a surprisingly comfortable and frill less dress while Layla snored astoundingly loudly on my lap. The little monster had woken only long enough to cling to me when I had visited her to make sure she was alright and every endeavour I had undertaken ever since to place her somewhere less cumbersome had resulted in her claws digging into my flesh. After the third try, I had gotten the message.

We were in a windowless room, close to the centre of Captain Dawn’s residence but despite the lack of natural light, it didn’t lack in atmosphere. A fire was burning merrily beneath a massive mantlepiece and every few steps, the walls were adorned with curtains and sills, which gave the impression of a cozy living room, windows tightly shut to keep the cold of the night at bay. Except, it was still the middle of the day, the heat was sweltering and the sun was shining brightly outside.

Captain Dawn himself, clad in a dark blue silk robe that reminded me more of a nightgown than anything else, had taken the seat on the opposite side of a small table, laden with snacks, drinks and decanters filled with blood, while Ahri was was pacing through the room, leisurely inspecting the paintings and carvings that covered most of the walls.

I was starting to get tremendously bored, my concentration wavering while the vampire answered another of Ahri’s questions in excruciating detail, this time going on a longwinded rant about another famous artist I had never heard of before. My fiancée, though, was lapping up his words as if he was divulging the secrets of the universe. She even edged him on with another question.

At least the wine was good but unfortunately, I had been right. I was well into my second glass but the expected buzz just didn’t come. I had a nagging suspicion that I might be able to mix a drop of my blood with the beverage to get the desired effect, but I imagined that slicing into my palm in the middle of a conversation might come across as rude. Or worse yet, considering we were in a vampire’s castle, me drinking my blood might have a completely different meaning.

Contenting myself with stroking Layla’s hair and focusing on the taste of wild berries, cinnamon, vanilla and age that filled my mouth every time I sipped on my glass, I allowed the superficial conversation to fade away. Considering where we had been half an hour ago, I could barely believe I felt like I was attending another noble tea party back on Boseiju. Well, the drinks were better and I would never have dared staring into the distance glassy eyed if my mum had been around, but aside from that, it was almost as bad. Where had I gone wrong?

I should have known that nothing good could come from following someone who was willing to kill his friends to keep a secret. Even though it had been somewhat reassuring in the heat of the moment since it had proven that not every hedge wizard knew about us and that it was going to stay that way, it still should have been a red flag. Fine, maybe Ahri and I were on the safe side since we belonged to the very species whose existence he had been trying to keep under wraps and we weren’t here to become his friends, but still… had it been utter madness to come?

After following Captain Dawn through the portal, I had been weary, but I had never expected the amount of depravity I had been subjected to. Looking back, maybe I should have killed the treacherous, underhanded vampire when it had been… appropriate. But alas, I had missed my chance and now, it would have been… petty. Damn it, that was pretty much the same thing Lilith had told me. I was even comparing boredom and dresses to murder. Was I turning into…

“… don’t you, Casandra?” When Ahri mentioned my name I snapped back to the present but I had completely missed the fist half of her sentence.

“Sure,” I readily agreed and took a sip of wine. Vixen and vampire stared at me blankly, their confused expressions more than enough for me to realise I had blundered.

“Uh, what did I just agree to?” Captain Dawn chuckled quietly in response.

“That you’re a drunkard in the making and that’s why you’re not able to concentrate on anything else?”

“Am not,” I protested resolutely, emphasising my point with another sip. “I’m perfectly in control. Besides, alcohol doesn’t affect me anyways. No, the explanation is much simpler. I don’t really care much for art and history. I’m just not that… sophisticated. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been forced to learn enough to tell that your collection is rather fabulous, but being able to discern a bad painting from a good one doesn’t mean I have to like either. Sorry for being blunt, but after the day I’ve had, I don’t find it in me to pretend.” I raised my glass. “But the wine is exquisite. So please, by all means, continue.”

“We were done,” Ahri replied while she rolled her eyes. “And I think you’d like to know as well why he killed the mage. Try to keep up, won’t you?”

“Fine,” I mumbled and put my glass down. “So, why did you?”

“Necessity,” Captain Dawn replied with a shrug. “He was a clever one. Given a few decades he’d have figured it all out from the few clues he got.”

“But I haven’t,” I interjected. “Figured out what, exactly? That you’re the pawn of an angel?” A bit of my irritation must have crept into my voice or my eyes had started glowing again because he immediately tried to placate me.

“Relax, I’m not. I’m not stupid enough to proclaim that I won’t ever be, but at least not without a fight. Being bound to a megalomaniac, or better nigh omnipotent asshole once, was enough.” He squinted at us through half closed lids before he quickly added. “Of course I’m not saying that you’re either, but the Lady in question… I wouldn’t want to be in a room with her.” I shrugged.

“I’m not offended, but how would you know? Have you met her? And why did you take her name? That doesn’t seem like the action of someone whose trying to get away from an oppressor.”

“I didn’t. Take the name, that is. My… progenitor did. And I can hardly cast the name aside without losing every shred of authority I still have in this family. Before I explain, what do you know about vampires, or rather, about our society, about how we live and how we govern ourselves?”

“Not too much,” Ahri answered him. “The very basics, I’d say,” she added with a glance in my direction. “How you’re… made. That’s about it. Oh, and the legends of course, but we don’t know how many of those actually are true. Since I’ve already seen Tharos walk under the sun, I assume you’re not all going to burn up the very moment you see its light. Considering the way you’re talking to us now and how the girl is sleeping in Cassy’s arms, you don’t seem to be enslaved by your thirst, either.” Well, she hadn’t been there when Layla had lost it. They definitely had some issues in that area.

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“That’s something, at least. But not what I had in mind. Like you said, vampires are made. In a way, we’re a disease, our existence bound to infecting another life. What’s less known is, that our blood carries our strength. This has several implications but first and foremost, whoever comes after you, your children, if you so will, they’re bound to you. My sister and I were bound to the monster that spawned us for a small but dark eternity. His will was our will, as his strength had become ours. I don’t know why fate had played that cruel joke on us, but we’re bound from brith.”

“What about her,” I immediately asked, pointing at the sleeping girl on my lap.

“I… I’m not completely sure, but I’d be willing to bet my left hand that Alassara freed her with her first meal.” “And how does that work,” Ahri inquired.

“Blood. If we feed our children our blood, they’ll be free from our influence. That’s what we did as well to our maker. We bled him like the pig he was and gorged ourselves on his life until there was nothing left. The first thing we did of our own volition and it was patricide, as it is for most of us.”

I had listened quietly, a cold shudder running down my spine. No wonder a life wasn’t worth much to them, their whole existence taught them that there were far worse fates than death. Which made me wonder…

“In all those years, have you never tried to break the cycle? Again, excuse my bluntness, but you make your condition sound like an illness. Have you never looked for a cure?” He laughed mirthlessly.

“Of course we have. And you’re completely right, it’s a disease, in a way. It can even be isolated in the blood of our victims, at least until a full night has passed. But it can’t be cured, at least by no means I know of. Come along, I want to show you something.” In a supernatural display of speed and grace he seemed to vanish from the cushions and reappeared in front of a life sized portrait, depicting a somewhat pudgy women in a dark dress, smiling mysteriously. I exchanged a quick glance with Ahri, both of us taking the small reminder of how fast he could be as what it was: a warning not to underestimate him, especially within the walls of his own home.

I rose slowly, taking care as to not wake Layla, but when I tried to place her in the chair, her fingers tightened around my arm and with a sigh I picked her up again, accepting my fate as a vampire princess’ mount. Well, it could be worse and if push came to shove, I already knew that she’d make for a surprisingly powerful projectile. Not that I intended to throw her again, but you never knew what might be waiting for us.

While we made our way across the room, the vampire’s fingers ran up and down the frame until I heard a quiet click and the whole painting swung forward on hidden hinges, revealing a dark tunnel that led into the bowls of the earth. Cold air brushed across my face and I had to push down the memories of the last time I had entered a rabbit’s hole. It hadn’t exactly been fun and following a murderer with, at best, questionable morales into the bowls of the earth wasn’t exactly on my bucket list. When Ahri felt my hesitation, she took my free hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “If there was anything down there that could threaten us, we’d know about it. I’m pretty sure the whole city would know about it by now and he surely wouldn’t have to struggle to reign in his sister. It’s going to be fine.”

Before I could reply, Captain Dawn added, while he vanished down the stairs: “plus, inviting you into my home only to try and harm you after you’ve put a dent into my collection of wines seems kind of pointless, won’t you agree?” Right, his hearing was probably even better or at least as good as our own. I still didn’t release Ahri’s hand and pulled her even closer when we entered.

A few steps further and the hidden door behind us closed again, plunging us into utter darkness. A second later, while the muffled footsteps of the vampire’s servants came through the portrait, crystals in the ceiling flickered to life, illuminating the narrow passage in front of us. Black, polished rock, put together expertly enough to appear seamless, gave me the impression of entering the gullet of some primordial monstrosity, an image that didn’t exactly help with my tension. And when faint, low murmurs reached my ears from the depths, I was ready to turn tails and run. Get a grip, I scolded myself. But that was easier said then done. Facing a foe was one thing, but venturing into the unknown, especially when you were already scared, was something else, for whether mortal or immortal, our fears were always fuelled by the things we didn’t understand. Steeling myself, I slung my tails around Layla and tightened my grip on Ahri’s hand. I couldn’t afford to act on my fear, I never had been able to, and this wasn’t any different.

The echoes of our steps haunted us while we carefully followed after Captain Dawn, the temperature declining with every passing second. Soon, our breath formed white clouds in front of us and my fur was standing on edge, a sure sign that we were approaching a powerful source of magic. I immediately pushed a trickle of power from my core into my eyes, allowing the world around me to light up in silver.

There was no energy in the stones around us, none at all. I had never seen anything similar before, traces of the people who had walked by or the smallest stirring of magic was always there, but aside from Ahri’s fiery figure and the signatures of the two vampires, there was nothing, nothing at all. That shouldn’t be possible. My own presence aside, the amount of power that was constantly coursing through the vixen I clung on to should have been reflected in our surroundings, her flame like magic imprinted onto the stones she had passed. But there was nothing but cold emptiness.

“What is this place,” I murmured and brushed along the walls with one of my tails, channeling a good amount of power through it. Even in direct contact with my body, nothing stuck. The stone itself felt smooth and surprisingly warm but it remained just as dark as before.

“A fortress, a place to hide and… a prison,” came Captain Dawn’s reply from further below. “Those aren’t stones, but bones. The bones of one the creatures that dwell in the ocean. They’re unbelievably durable and almost impervious to magic. It even rebuilds itself over time when there’s enough energy for it to devour. Go ahead, try it. I’m convinced you can use your wings to cut through or ignite them, but you’ll be surprised how much it’s going to take.”

“Are you sure,” I asked. “We might destroy a part of your home.”

“Well, l wouldn’t want you to rip this place to shreds but a small chunk shouldn’t matter. Besides, it’s easy to repair. If flooded with mana, the substance will regenerate, slowly, I admit, but a scratch won’t take long to heal.” I nodded and unfurled my wings. With a thought I pushed against the wall closest to us. I felt some kind of soft resistance, like rubber, maybe, and then my wings pierced the outer layer. “Cassy,” Ahri murmured but I didn’t hear her anymore. A faint tug on my awareness, a flashing light, bright enough to blind me and the wall exploded in a wave of black shrapnel and silvery fire.

I was thrown to the side like a lifeless doll, all I managed to do was shift my wings to stop most of the flying projectiles from reaching Ahri and wrap myself around Layla more tightly, protecting her as well as I could. My ears rang, silvery stars danced before my eyes and before I had even understood what was happening, I crashed into the opposite wall with bone breaking force. An instant later sharp, ragged splinters peppered me from all side, flaying the flesh off my bones. A wave of excruciating pain ravaged my body as I coughed up blood, several ribs had been pushed directly into my lungs. My vision dimmed and I felt like I was trapped under Shassa’s statue once more, darkness and agony encroaching from all sides.

But it wasn’t as helpless anymore and as much as it sucked too admit it, I had been through worse. I ground me teeth and opened the floodgates with a groan, allowing the soothing energies from my core to spread through my body like a thundering storm. My veins bulged and for a moment, silvery light turned the tunnel bright as day. My wounds closed and I felt every single bone mend in exquisite clarity, the rising darkness receding with every breath.

When my vision cleared, I saw Captain Dawn crouched down in the tunnel, his fingers elongated into claws, a curious expression on his face. Fearful and hopeful at the same time.