When morning came, it found Iago already up. He was reading through the pages written in Scorpius’ neat handwriting and frowning at what he found. There was no accurate information to find in those papers. No wonder the nosferatu laughed so often while reading those books about his kind.
This was a waste of time. Iago returned the pages to their pile in the corner of the desk and stared through the window at the raising sun. Another victim this morning. It was an elderly woman who had woken up in the middle of the night after a nightmare and wanted fresh air to cool her head. When she didn’t return for a few hours, her friends went in search and found the drained corpse not a street away from their resting place.
The survivors banged on his door, waking him in the middle of the night with faces twisted with anger and despair but what was he to do? He couldn’t raise the dead, nor would the nosferatu drop dead just because he wanted it to. He had to see it to work his shaping. Until then, he was as powerless to stop the killer as everyone else.
But the people didn’t want to believe that. They came to live by his side expecting that it would protect them from all disasters. And now they were furious about the false advertisement. None bothered to care that he didn’t have a word in their decision to come here.
Stupid. Stupid and pathetic. What did they think he was?
He shifted in his seat, knowing he needed to get going soon. Urri would be waiting for him in the storehouse, buckets of spoiled food ready to be shaped by her feet.
A small bat dashed through the window. Iago turned to face it but Scorpius already stood behind him. The speed of the transformation was just too astounding.
“Shea and Tyr are planning against you. They swore to take you down no matter what.”
“Did they?” Iago mused with a shadow of a smile. He’d heard they were getting close on account that he was suspicious but were yet to make anything of their conviction. Will they actively get in his way now? Try to make him look the bad guy?
It wouldn’t be hard now, he thought with disdain. That nosferatu had done a better job of discrediting him than the two and Commander combined. Just his luck something like that found its way to the city he was in.
“Anything else?”
“Commander sobered out but hasn’t dared to approach the Mistress. He might do it today, now that she’ll be having a banquet for her ‘friends’,” Scorpius replied.
Iago thought about it. Two days had passed. It was already more than he had expected. Plenty of time to come up with a fighting strategy. Not that he had bothered. This was Mistress’ time to move. He wanted to see what she’ll do and then react. Jumping the gun before danger even arrived wouldn’t solve any of his problems.
As he considered that, and what to do with the two kids playing heroes, he noticed Scorpius still standing before him. The young man was shuffling in place, clutching his hands nervously.
“Is something the matter?”
“No!” the nosferatu instantly replied, then his wide-eyed stare shifted to the corner of the room. “Yes.. I.. I’m… I… “ The words choked in his throat and it was awhile before he confessed red faced. “I’m… hungry.”
Instant recognition lit up in Iago’s eyes. He knew what this was about. A problem he could solve for once. He chuckled to himself and waved for Scorpius to come closer. “It’s fine, come.”
Fangs penetrated his wrist and he winced. It wasn’t a minor pain. Soon, though, the hand went numb from the toxin in nosferatu’s teeth, a relaxant of sorts. Couple moments more and he dragged the nosferatu by its hair from his hand.
Scorpius growled, licking his lips to devour the last traces of blood but in a flash the daze cleared from his eyes. He blinked, looked at his own hands as if seeing something unrecognisable and then his face twisted with worry.
Before he could launch into an apologetic tirade, Iago spoke up. “I’m fine. Go rest now while I go about my business. Take care not to get noticed if the two come snooping again.” He stood up and walked past the nosferatu who watched him with worry-filled eyes. “Goddess protect,” he muttered under his breath. “Go, follow me around if you don’t believe my word!”
“Yes!” Scorpius shouted out in an eager voice, shifting right away. Iago grumbled some more under his breath but his companion didn’t seem to pay attention. He left the tower alone, knowing that there was a careful tail following his every move from the shadows. What a nanny. He was fine!
Nothing of note happened through the day. Iago went and shaped food, then helped collect wooden furniture for burning and searched for healing supplies. It took a lot of time and by the evening he was bored to death with little to show for his work. Throughout the whole day he found one ointment for bruises and a dozen dried tea leaves, all aromatic.
When he was reaching home, a stranger strode to his tower. The person was middle aged with an air of superiority around him. He watched the passing survivors with a disdainful look, his face not much changing upon noticing Iago.
Just as well. Iago went past him, noting the puzzled expression, but not caring enough. He was past the door when his guest remembered himself.
“Wait! I have orders for you!” The man’s voice was made squeaky by his hurry to catch Iago before he left. When he spoke next, the stranger calmed himself and spoke in a more dignified manner. “You’ve been summoned by the Mistress.”
So, Commander hadn’t wasted time. “And when is that?”
The man puffed up his chest before speaking. “Right away. You’re to come to her immediately.”
“My invitation?”
“What?” the servant asked in a squeak, his carefully built air of superiority escaping in a rush.
“Who do you think I am?” Iago asked with a glare, employing his best scowl. “Don’t return without a formal letter of invitation.” He turned and shut the door in the man’s face. The servant tried to regain his attention, bellowing and throwing a fit outside but Iago didn’t pay him any attention.
Upstairs he sat down on his bed and looked through his abysmal findings. Well, he’ll have sweet smelling tea to drink.
Not long after, Scorpius appeared with a worried expression. He took out a chair and sat down at the desk, half-turned towards Iago. “What are you going to do?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“Go, of course. This was just to get myself time to prepare.”
“Won’t she be even more furious?”
Iago shook his head. “Furious?” He carried the herbs to put them in a corner. Tomorrow he’ll have to give the healing salve to Alec. “She’s not furious, amused probably. This won’t change it.”
“You’re certain?”
“As certain as one can be with her. But that’s no matter. I have a task for you, something very important.”
“What is it?” Scorpius asked with eagerness. It’s been awhile since he did anything of worth. All his scouting and listening didn’t bring any results and he was growing desperate for something to do. His current actions weren’t worth the price the shaper was paying.
Iago smiled, returning to his seat on the bed. He then focused on his companion. “Do you know where the Scavengers that you left off that time went?”
The question took Scorpius by surprise but he answered in a instant. “I followed their trail for a bit once. If there was a need, I’m certain I could find their hideout.” He hesitated for a breath. “Is there a need?”
It had been some time since the last Scavenger attack and since then they’ve been quiet. No one had seen or heard them. Once Scorpius had noticed tracks in parts of the city far from the survivors’ camp but hadn’t encountered their makers.
Had Scavengers made a move he wasn’t aware of? It was unlikely. He learnt everything that was going on in the camp much earlier than Iago.
“Yes. I want you to go and bring them here. Can you do it?”
“Bring them? Why?” Scorpius asked, frowning. “Did they do something?”
“They exist?” Iago with a soft laugh, hardly more than a deeper exhale. His eyes moved past the nosferatu and stared into the distance. “I need allies, Scorpius. She’s so much more powerful than me, and has servants, loyal hanger-ons. I can’t face all of them with just the two of us. Not even the combined strength of the whole camp and Scavengers may be enough…” His voice quieted as he finished. Then as if waking from a reverie, he tried for a brighter tone. “But it’ll have to be enough, won’t it?”
Scorpius nodded when a thought occurred to him. “Won’t they hate you for what you’ve done?”
The shaper shrugged. “I don’t care if they’re here for me, or for you as long as they do what’s necessary. So, will you do it?”
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Uncertainty boiled within Scorpius. He didn’t know whether he could do that, but more than that, he wasn’t certain he wanted to. Risking his life was one thing, but those people had no reason to fight Iago’s fight. If he brought them here, they would be in danger’s way and it would be his fault.
How could he take on such responsibility? It wasn’t right for him to take it on. Especially when he couldn’t tell them the truth about what’s happening or they would never come.
Iago didn’t say anything. When Scorpius raised his pleading eyes, the shaper continued with his silence. His request was said and he wasn’t going to push any more. Scorpius had to make a decision on his own.
It was cruel. He had no right to ask something like that. And yet Scorpius could almost understand his logic, the way everyone was just a pawn in Iago’s eyes. Even himself. In his mind, as long as Mistress was destroyed, any sacrifice was acceptable.
“What have you planned for them?” Scorpius asked finally.
“To increase the population, nothing more. I want her to be aware that the masses are on my side. If she wants to create an empire, she needs me.”
That didn’t sound too bad. Was he over thinking it? Scorpius desperately wanted that to be true. “Is that it?”
“Yeah.”
The answer was short and crisp, simple in nature. Did that make it the truth? Or a lie? Would Iago lie to him? He hadn’t done that before, had he? So many questions without a single answer. Scorpius was drowning in them, and his own inability to make a choice. He didn’t want to choose either way!
As if sensing the turmoil in his mind Iago spoke up again. “Try going to them and then think about it. Maybe it’ll help you make your decision.”
“All right,” Scorpius agreed with a nod. That was something he could do. It wouldn’t take him more than half a day to find their hideout and then he could scout for a bit, then report something. The decision would get postponed and maybe lose its value altogether, other things becoming more important.
He could hope for it, could he not?
“I’m off then!” he shouted out and shifting flapped his wings and caught himself before reaching the ground. Another flap and he was aloft, through the window and into the wide expanse outside. No one was looking up so he could fly high over the city but just in case he went lower and manoeuvred through the streets.
His flight took him to the eastern edge of the city where he’d seen tracks of Scavengers before. The signs were still there and he followed the occasional footsteps, some drag signs until reaching a crack in the wall. From there he would have to trust his instinct to find the right way.
For a couple moments he circled by the wall, wandering which direction would lead him to his destination. Then he recalled where the Scavengers he had sent away went. There was a chance they would have zig zagged to confuse him or anyone else who might follow, but he doubted it. They were in too much of a hurry to waste time hiding their trail.
No one would come after them anyway. It was an unwritten rule between the Scavengers and Survivors in the city that neither interfered with the other in their base. Or, well, it had been until Scavengers went and broke it. And were punished for it severely.
It was doubtful any of them harboured any more thoughts of invading the camp. They were much more militaristic than the survivors but against shapers that meant nothing. King or slave, warrior or scholar, against those with power, none could stand a chance. All of them were but moving toys in the eyes of shapers.
He flew forward, not hiding since there was nothing to hide behind as he wondered. Was Iago like that? It seemed that way, the ease with which he killed those Scavengers. And yet he saved Scorpius’ life at the expense of his own blood, and even kept on donating it. What did that make him? A hero, or a monster?
His help to the survivors was invaluable, they would be starving without him. More than that, he repaired their temple, helped with redecorating it and healed the injured. He was like a living saint.
All for the sake of taking revenge over acts done years ago by the Mistress. Scorpius had no idea what Iago had suffered but it had to be indescribable horrors. Why else would he go to such great lengths to be who he wasn’t?
And that was it, wasn’t it? He knew nothing about the real Iago. What he saw was a different person than everyone else in the camp, but it wasn’t the real person either. It was the shadow of one. Something left behind when the real person died, broke into so many pieces that the only thought he recalled was that of revenge.
Nothing else held any meaning.
It was a scary though but Scorpius remembered the pain he suffered in the darkness when he thought he was going to die. He was hungry, so very hungry but there was no blood he could reach. It was to the point where he would have attacked to kill if that was what it took. His mind had receded as shards of agony drove into his body again and again.
A somewhat familiar feeling. Long ago, when he was but seventeen, his clan had left him to die. Hunters attacked their sleeping place, shooting arrows from a nearby hill. The clan scattered like a pack of disturbed chicken. He was sleepy upon waking up, slower and a chance arrow grazed his wing. Falling to the ground, he shifted shouting for help but no one bothered to even glance back. It was as if he didn’t make a sound.
No more than ten breaths later, he was alone, holding his arms to himself while hunters hooted and laughed on the nearby hill. It would be some time before they would make their way here, plenty of time for someone to help him escape. But there was no one. All his friends and companions, teachers and caretakers were gone. Not a single soul had hesitated when leaving him behind.
It was the life of the hunted but rage boiled in his heart. This was not right. Those arrows barely reached this place, the hunters were too far! There was no reason to leave him behind like this! They could have saved him with ease while alone, wounded he had little chance of survival.
Another barrage of arrows flew down. None of them even reached him.
He turned and ran.
For days the hunters chased after him, following his trail or ranging far and wide until they spotted his hideout. They were professionals and he just a youngster. As time went by the distance between him and them grew smaller and smaller. Just as his hunger grew stronger and stronger.
After two weeks of chasing, he started losing focus. His mind wandered and he often found himself considering attacking them. It would relieve his hunger. What did it matter even if he died? At least the chase would be over. And the hunger… He’d eaten fruits and hunted a number of animals he ate raw but it wasn’t enough.
His body craved blood. Human blood. If he didn’t get it soon, he would die. His mind was already receding, giving way to animal instincts. It was getting harder and harder to keep himself on track, escaping, hiding his trail as best he could.
Then the breaking moment came.
He stumbled upon his kind, his clan even. They were surprised, shocked and then they roared at him, furious. He had brought trouble to the clan. Before the shouting was over, he was alone again and wounded. Most of the older generation nosferatu slashed at him so that he would have less of a chance of escaping and won’t drag them with him.
The hunters would have fun dissecting him, bringing his corpse to the nearby town to boast and earn their reward. This knowledge, that he was the sacrifice, stung him more than the off-hand attacks. No one cared if he lived on died.
So many times when they were the hunters, he saw humans defending their own, saving the young and protecting those wounded. Family relations, friendship, or whatever else kept them together brought out the defensive emotions in them. They tried to save those unable to save themselves even if the action was futile, or they had to risk their lives for it.
In contrast, his kind weakened him so the enemies would be more likely to catch him. Tears streaked down his face as he watched the direction they left in. He didn’t want to have anything to do with them. From this moment, he renounced any relation to those people he might ever had. The clan’s saying was right, ‘No one can be trusted. Everyone is an enemy’. He just never understood it included his clan too.
Hunger pains mixed with emotional turmoil and he lost his control. When next he found himself, he was covered in blood and a dead body lay nearby. Somehow he’d found and killed a villager, satisfying his aching hunger. Now full of energy it wasn’t hard to escape his hunters and leave to make his own life.
But he never forgot that lesson. No one would come to save you. All everyone cared were themselves.
That’s why when he found himself pushed off a bloody hand, he could not grasp what was happening. A human half-sat, half-lay before him. One of his hands was torn open with blood gushing out. The man used it to prop himself up, then after a moment stared at it disbelief. Shaping it closed, he said he was tired and went to sleep.
Right in front of Scorpius, a hungry, barely rational nosferatu.
He saved the starving monster and then went to rest by its side. In moments his breathing evened out and he was asleep. Defenceless.
It was unbelievable. Illogical. Wrong. It made no sense whatsoever. What was this human thinking? Was he mad? Scorpius’ mind rattled through all the possible explanations but none of them came close to resolving this mystery.
Still tired, it would take time for his body to fully absorb the blood and restore him to his prime, he sat down and watched the resting human. After hours the man woke up and smiled at him before suggesting he left quickly, else his companion might try to do something stupid. She was young and naive, Scorpius would have to forgive her.
As he continued to stare, the man added that if he felt like he owed him something, then Scorpius should scout ahead a bit. It would be very helpful. Then he gave the final warning and removed the strange wind shield that had surrounded them.
Later on, if he had wanted, Scorpius could have left at any point. The man had asked nothing of Scorpius. Even suggested he left since it would be safer for him outside the city but at the same time welcomed him to travel along if he felt like it.
All of it came down to one single fact - the shaper had saved his life and didn’t ask for anything in exchange.
It was unnatural, it went against everything Scorpius had learnt in his life. Not even humans went that far. They needed a reason to help each other; family, friendship, work, there had to be something! And they especially didn’t go saving monsters that slaughtered them in the night to live another day.
But the shaper had done it and didn’t care for any possible repercussions. The fact that his female companion was furious at him only lowered his opinion of her instead of making him regret his decision. It was as if saving Scorpius had been the only right choice in that situation, instead of the only wrong one.
This was something neither a normal nosferatu nor a normal human would have thought. This shaper was something unique, a different being altogether. It was an existence that might be worth putting all the prejudices away for.
And then the man called him friend. They talked, spent time together and he was given blood not out of any obligation or fear but just because it was the right thing to do. The man had it in abundance so why should he deny some of it to Scorpius who needed it to survive?
When Iago said it like that, it did seem like it; so simple, so understandable, so perfectly sensible. It felt like this was the way it should be.
The way it should be…
It wasn’t so in the natural world but the thought sped Scorpius forward. His friend needed help so why was he having second-thoughts? Everyone else were nice and honourable on the outside, but how many of them would risk their lives to save someone like him?
Not a single soul, his experience answered him. Even his own kind didn’t want to take the risk.
Then Iago was something abnormal. He deserved all the help Scorpius could give him. The man had saved his life and brought light into it, taught him that life wasn’t all about being alone. There were people that one could believe in, those that wouldn’t betray you no matter what.
It was only right for Scorpius to return the trust he was given. There would be no repercussions if he failed his mission, decided against fulfilling it, but suddenly he couldn’t stomach the thought of disappointing Iago. It would be too selfish of him. How could he live with himself afterwards? Face Iago again?
Nor was his task that despicable. All he had to do was bring those people to the city. They weren’t children, they could take care of themselves. If anything, they were the dangerous ones. What was he hesitating for then?
His mind made up, he veered a bit to the right and flew as fast as his wings would carry him. He would find the Scavengers and bring them over to their cause. The Mistress had to go for bringing sorrow to Iago, and that was what mattered. He didn’t need to concern himself with anything else but ensuring she went down for what she had done.
Whatever it was.