City of Fenira, Ninth Moon of Summer, Year 7894, Imperial calendar

The midnight breeze swept the city with ice and snow, sprinkling the dusty streets with soft fuzz. In a city so far north such occurrence was met by a shrug of arms and swearing from the night watch. It sometimes happened. Not often, true, but often enough for the townsfolk to put no second guess as to why it happened. A minor inconvenience. At least for someone who didn’t have to relay on sun’s warmth to keep the ones blood flowing.

Nahira coiled herself ever tighter, trying to sink deeper into her winter coat. Unfortunately, the thick, padded fur did nothing more than prolong her suffering. With each passing moment, the cold air drained her body of the precious warmth.

Her heart ached, unsure. Had the visions failed her? No. Her gift shared the nature of both curse and a blessing but one she was sure, it never deceived her. The interpretations could vary but what she saw, sooner or later always became reality. The lessons of that came to her early in her life and ever since she put the burden of world over herself to atone the sin she could not escape.

For the past moon, she knew fate required her presence in the inner garden during the night of full moon, when the ice glazed over her favorite pink roses. And that night arrived today. She felt the tingling of her senses, so common when her vision turned into reality.

The frozen flowers swayed before her yet the purpose of this premonition did not reveal itself. Not yet. Sudden gust ruffled her hood, biting her face with frost, signifying the start of her act.

Just like in her dream, she peeled off her arm-long leather gloves and let them drop beside her. Undoing the buckles, she let the coat open, reviling her naked body. She paused. Her body did not tremble but the wind quickly robbed her of whatever warmth she had left. That was to be so.

Her body stiffened, her heart rate slowed, her senses dimmed. The end of her vision grew near. Now her own future shall become clear.

“What an unusual sight to behold.”

Somewhere far away a whisper rustled in the night.

“The grate sear, added one more statue to her garden. Or perhaps had she turned into one herself? “

The lock on the gate to her private garden clacked and the ground vibrated as the stranger drew near.

“What do we have here…”

The human finger burned her cold skin like a coal pulled from the fire. It explored her chest, drawing shapes on her breast, then slid down towards her belly where her similarity to a human woman ended in a line of scales.

“Have I not warn you that my temple is no place for a pity thief?”

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

She found her voice crooked and tired.

“So you have. What of it?”

The woman’s hand further along the seer's torso to a peculiar patch of skin on her tail. The thief’s burning hand kept on stroking it back and forth.

“In your case, little to naught. Try not to bleed too much on my tapestry if one of those days you’ll find yourself skewed by a guard’s blade.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A warning.”

“Then I don’t care.”

Nahira hissed as the burning heat entered her. For all she was, for all the time she lived, she had trouble deciding whether the nights spent with this human were more pleasurable then the blood she drank from her on many occasions. Perhaps she enjoyed a mixture of both?

“You are frozen.”

Tilla withdrawn her fingers. The seer’s heart made a sleepy wobble about once every ten times a human heart beat.

“I don’t feel like humping a corpse. The ice you sit on has more life in it.”

She undid her own robes and pressed bare body against her lover setting Nahira's flesh on fire. With warmth, life returned into her.

“Shaaa…”

She seethed.

“Not here, not now.”

“Right here, right now!”

The human wrapped her legs around the seer’s torso.

“I have not seen you in months, time I spent doing your bidding with only a soggy, uncivilized Haggu for my company. You shall not decline me my rightful reward.

“Tilla, please…”

Her words were snuffed by hot burning lips. Oh, how she wanted to return that favor. Her own flesh yearned for attention and… Blood.

Blood was everywhere. The grass was soaked in it turning into scarlet mud. The Altar dripped of it. The stairs had a river of blood cascading down of it and on the throne… One clad in blood. Eyes darker than night. And a face…

Their eyes met as if one was aware of the other. The specter lift her arm, contorted, bloodied fingers aiming at the seer’s chest.

Slowly it squeezed it’s fist shut and with it, the seer’s heart stopped.

***

Tilla von Quar

Again, what in all burning hells did that priest said…. The chest! Massage the chest, over the heart. Fast and precise pressure over the heart… One, two, three… Let rot to all those dam haggu!

“Don’t you dare to pull that number on me you lizard whore! You hear me!”

Again and again she compressed the seer’s chest. She was forgetting something. She needed to calm herself, take a deep breath… Breath!

She pressed her lips against the woman sprawled on the floor and pushed two deep breaths into her, then a third one for good measure and returned to massaging her heart.

What else did that mongrel said?! To continue until the heart restarts or for as long as one can. Curse it! Let his cook rot, wasn’t there really anything else in it? Rot it. Rot it all.

“Guards! Guards! Help! The Sear has fallen!”

She screamed at the top of her lungs then again breathe the air into her lover and continued to pummel her heart with a fist, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Please don’t do this to me, please…”

“You! What are you doing! Move away from her holiness!”

Talia ignored the screams and continued, that was the only way.

Someone grabbed her from behind and pulled away. She rammed her arm into the side of whoever caught her. Twisted the arm that held her until she felt the satisfying crunch then pushing the attacker away, dropped to her knees and once again blown air into her lover’s mouth. That's when five more knights barged in and flatten her on the ground.

“Stop, all of you!”

Seanni pushed through the crowd, towards her master.

“When did this happen?!”

“A moment ago, she fell into a trance, then her body collapsed…”

The Acolyte planted her palms over the seer’s heart.

“Oh, mother of light, show mercy to those who call upon thy name, Awake the heart of thy servant!”

Nahira’s body arched and tense. Her tail flailed and twisted. She sucked the air in and screamed.

Screamed as if death tore her soul out of her body.

Gasping, she coiled her tail around herself and shivered.

“She is coming, she is coming….”