The Real Gray

The targets moved through the alley, stalking through the shadows. The necessary conditions were met and the figures acted as needed to make it feel authentic. Not that any of the others needed much of a nudge. Some of the actions that were put into play were repulsive and utterly barbaric. If there had been any other way, we would have fulfilled those conditions despite them being harder.

Why did a bloodline need to be born through violation? What cruel quirk of fate required a man to feel anger at the injustice? So many tragedies played out, as we mixed the targets to fulfill all that we could with their various objectives. It didn't make the actions any less terrible. How it only took a few whispers in the back of their minds to make them kill one of the expendables. Too many of them believed the voice to be one of their gods.

They unquestioningly obeyed, acting out their darkest desires. Even now, as I held the youth called Belts, I felt a certain sense of relief. This part of the play was almost over, we wouldn't need to condone such actions for much longer. "Tell me, Belts. What is it like in the Kingdom of Fire?"

My ward wiggled in their binds, restrained as they were. "It's a great place for monsters like yourself. You should really go there after this is all over."

It was comforting that they weren't afraid of me. "You are lying. Belts, can you see the future?" They went silent at this, another bout brought on by my question. I grabbed their cheek, making them look at me. "Why are you so defiant? What makes you reluctant to work with us?"

Belts glared at me, "You're using me as a hostage to get what you want! Why wouldn't I hate you!?"

Those piercing eyes, the same ones that woman gave the original. Demanding that the one they cared for was spared, even in such an impossible situation. The same eyes our Queen held as she looked at the world, defiant and unwilling to give up what was theirs. Who would have thought a youth as trampled down as this one was would hold such ambition? I met their gaze, relenting as I looked away first, "If you do not do as required, the one you care for shall die."

A part of me wanted to keep them asleep, only letting them wake up when needed. This final part needed them to be cognizant of the world around them. Aware of what was happening, even though they continued to glare without blinking. "I hope you die, no matter what happens. I hope you suffer until you can bear it no more."

"Right, I deserve nothing less." I nodded curtly, taking the youth by surprise. "My sins are too great, for wanting to live in this city. To serve and protect those I care for. I am a monster, nothing more. Yet, I am also nothing less than a monster. In the experiences I have lived through, in the tales I have heard, it all comes down to power. Belts, why is it that none of you give yourselves a name? What force keeps you from acquiring such? Even in your most private moments."

"Not having a name protects us from demons at the very least, those of us too blinded by anger to contribute. Monsters should just die." He spat at me.

I stepped aside, dodging the projectile. "What happens after all the monsters are dead? This is something I have seen for so many of your kind. You look at what is right in front of you. The now of things, while few look towards the past. None of you seem to acknowledge the future as a potential. My understanding is that a famine makes you all unlikely to survive the season. It hurts more, that you can see the future. Even if it is only a day ahead, why not hone that skill?"

Belts continued to glare, "After the monsters are dead, the world will start to heal. The church teaches everyone that. The elves pervert nature, it's why they can breed with anything. The dwarves are greedy, but they can be left alone. Talk to one of the deacons or inquisitors, they'll happily explain it all to you. Preferably with you on the receiving end of fire or whatever hurts your kind."

"Yes, there are many things that can hurt us." We were making slow progress, but we had time. This wasn't needed, but it was a way to pass said time. "It must be so odd, to be unable to see the future." The interference coming from the seers prevented the weaker ones from seeing even glimpses. All that was happening, all that could happen, it was too chaotic for proper soothsayers to foresee. Young Belts started to say something, but I could sense his magic failing to grab hold of anything. I gagged him, before carrying him on the path we needed to take. It was time for the confrontation.

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Guy'Spears

My vision was swimming as I led the way. Patches had the only dagger between the three of us. I knew I was at the end of my rope, every step harder than the last. We heard shouting a few streets down, those bastards were no longer afraid of the thralls. I rounded a corner and stumbled, falling to one knee. "Go..."

Patches came behind me, trying to pick me up. I tried to push her off, my strength waning more and more. "Just leave me. Get her to safety, please. I'm just slowing you both down." My body felt as though it was on fire, dark tendrils were giving me tunnel vision. My head felt swollen, and I felt as though I was tasting blood with every word.

Ink said something, then Patches did as well. Their voices distorted as I covered my eyes, my breathing labored and heavy. I started to cough up blood, "Please, don't forget the promise."

Then I felt nothing, as I fell forward. My body felt as though it were seizing, my bones creaking, and everything hurt. Was I falling? Was this what it felt like to die? I couldn't hear anything, even as I cried out. If nothing else, I'd be able to act as a distraction. Someone would kill me, giving the two a chance to escape. They might be able to save Belts, they might be able to make it out alive. Anything, anything was better than letting them die or suffer in this hell.

|"Are you giving up?"| Came a smooth unknown voice. |"You haven't died yet."|

I tried to move my mouth, but it felt as though it was sealed shut. My jaw too heavy to move, I tried reaching out to the voice. Was it one of the angels? Could it be a demon? I had no idea, with a gentle hand it was guiding my thoughts. A soothing melody played, the same my mother played whenever we got home. |"Who are you?"| I finally managed to respond.

Then I could see through the eyes of others. The thralls that were gathered nearby, I felt their pain as Straps ran one through with a spear. I saw Patches dragging me, her arm cut and bleeding heavily. What was this? Wheels kicked Hammer into a group of ghouls as he scrambled towards Ink and Patches. His sword drawn to end the three of us. |"Disgusting, isn't it?"|

|"Why did they chase us so far?"| Oddly enough, I felt Hammer was safe, the one behind the voice was instructing the thralls to pin the older man and carry him away. The thralls even moved to block Wheels without hurting him. I had no idea why I knew what I did. Only, that the knowledge was coming to me. Every ounce of pain shared from the thralls straight to me, all while I couldn't even whimper or speak.

|"Who knows? Perhaps they thought you were stealing from them? Maybe, they saw this as a perfect chance to get rid of potential problems. Burning the seeds of weeds as it were. I cannot tell you what they are thinking, but I can offer you power. You will die here, but death does not have to be the end. If you seek power, you merely need to grasp it with your hands."|

Wheels was getting closer, Patches had my head on her lap as she cried. Ink was too terrified to move. Then I saw him, that creepy fucker. Only, he didn't have a mask this time. He was holding a claw to Belts' neck. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I will kindly ask you to turn your attention towards myself and the sacrifice I am holding. You are all about to die."

Straps screamed, pointing at the one holding Belts, "If we kill the vampire, the ghouls will die with him!"

It felt wrong, as though the center of my being found the idea absurd. Ink was holding her tongue from fear, as she utterly surrendered. Patches stared at him, pleading. She... she wanted me to become one of those monsters. Patches wanted me to live on, even as a monster. What the voice said clicked to me. Vampires were undead, death wasn't the end... it was truly a beginning. |"WHO ARE YOU!?"| I put everything I had into trying to force that voice to answer.

|"I am the first of our kind, born from the gods themselves. The first king of man, witness to the darkest night. Should you accept me, I will become your father. This kingdom will be your home. Your friends will die if you refuse, as the other child holding your friend hostage has done so under my orders. Such dire straights are required for your curse to truly manifest, for that I am sorry. My name is Vladimir, and the child you see before us is simply known as Gray."|

Half the group split off to kill Gray with Straps, while the other half were still going after us. |"What kind of a question is that, you bastard!? Fine! I'll take your curse, any curse. Just let me save them! After I'm done with them, you better start explaining, or I will kill you the second I see you!"|

|"Very well, reach out and take what is yours. It will hurt, but you will find the strength you need. I look forward to seeing you, and the friends you bring along."|

How was I supposed to reach out and grab what he was telling me to? I couldn't feel anything, only the pain, that burning pain that didn't stop. Huh... I reached for the thralls, feeling the pain spike as they spasmed and frothed. Their bones changed as my own body spasmed. White-hot pain that was always on the verge of being too much to handle. It was strange seeing the creature shift its form to something with bone quills jutting out of its back. Its mouth became filled with serrated teeth, while its hands were turned into sharp serrated swords. Its power grew as another thrall touched it, the two of them merging into a beast of death.

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I opened my eyes, feeling more hungry than I ever had before. The thrall, my thrall, roared with an ear-splitting screech that made everyone hold their heads. They were moving much slower now, even as I sat up to look around. Patches reached for me, but I stood up and moved towards Wheels. I broke the bastard's wrist, before running to Straps and knocking him out from behind. It was all so strange, I could feel Gray fighting me for control over the thralls. They were supposed to be his, but somehow I felt they wanted to serve me.

A part of who they were before they were thralls was still there. I could feel it, I was able to help them break free from the monster's control. I blinked and felt very tired for some reason. The world sped back to normal speed, as I fell to my knee again. The hunger was gnawing at me from every angle, even with Straps laying down on the ground in front of me. I reached for him to find a clawed hand appearing in front of me. "You are a dangerous newborn, I see." He grabbed one of the spears coming for us and broke it.

I glared at him, while Belts was laying on the ground. "Fuck you."

He gave me a reluctant smile, "Call your thralls back, you need to control them. Otherwise, I'll need to slay them so you don't kill anyone."

"What are you..." He made me look at my big thrall, slicing through the small ones with ease while they pushed the others out of the way. The ones I freed from his control were joining the big one to make a huge monster. Ten looked like the limit, but the others were clamoring for me to give them the same power. They weren't listening to me, their pleas made my head spin, not helping me at all.

"Retreat! Let them kill each other!" Wheels shouted, that was all the others needed to start running away. Patches looked at me with teary eyes, slowly getting off her knees to approach me. Ink was already running away from everyone, while Belts struggled in his bindings. The big guy noticed Patches coming towards me. Either they saw her as a threat or knew that I had to give more power I didn't have to make the others stronger. That massive sword of bone and meat was heading straight for her.

Only, she was picked up by Gray's twin and moved outside the attack's range. A thrall that Gray controlled moved Straps away from me, as he gently squeezed my shoulder. "You're hungry, you're tired, you don't understand a single thing you're doing. Yet, to think you are capable of so much despite finally becoming a vampire mere minutes ago! Astounding, my good man!" He was smiling, even as I felt the pain of a thrall dying.

My focus snapped to see another twin, a triplet severing the heads of my thralls from their bodies. I held my neck, feeling every bit of it. "STOP!" I demanded, as all their attention turned to the third Gray. He was killing them! He was hurting my brothers and sisters! The thralls knew he needed to die.

"Oh?" Gray tilted his head, while a fourth appeared from an alley carrying Ink. How many identical siblings did this guy have? "While not the size of a fiend, your big thrall certainly is faster and more deadly. Tell me, is thirty your limit, or can you fuse them all?"

"Fuck you, I can't even count that high." I retorted, "Make them stop, it hurts." I winced as a few more were killed, even while the big guy was carefully angling his attacks to avoid hurting the small ones.

"Believe it or not, this isn't the hardest time we've recently had with someone becoming a vampire. Order them to stand down and I'll pull back. Are you capable of controlling them?"

I grabbed the monster's wrist and bit into his arm. I was too hungry to think straight. His blood made me vomit as I held my stomach, dry heaving on the ground. "Ah, you need to feed before you control them. Your blood isn't used for magic, but for strengthening those around you. Specifically, freeing thralls and possibly ghouls from their masters to serve you. Though it isn't a fair trade, judging from the looks of it. We are very interested in what you are capable of. According to the notes, you should want to share this power. Let's get you some fresh blood and have your instincts guide you."

"FUCK YOU!" I cried out, losing all control. I wasn't sure what happened, but I ended up on the ground with my limbs hacked off. Forced to feel the pain of my thralls dying around me. The others were too far away for me to free. I could feel them there, shambling listening to the bastard that tortured me. I could see Patches struggling to get to me, even while one of the Grays held her in place.

It sucked, five whole minutes and all of those I freed were gone. I thought I was supposed to have power now. Why was I still losing? At least the big guy put up a good fight. He cut one of the Grays in half, only that wasn't enough to stop them. Two more took his place, after tying Patches to a building. All three of them were bound, unable to do anything while this lunatic grabbed the other half of his severed body and the two fused back together.

Then all four of them made short work of my big guy, leaving us defenseless. I looked at Patches, crying blood. "I'm sorry, I tried." Some clarity came back after everything was done, but it was fleeting. My hunger was still there, only it wasn't as bad with all the thralls gone. I blacked out when Gray put some naked guy in front of me. Instincts took over as I bit into them and drank until they were a husk. Then another, who I was sure was the same guy, then a third. Eclipse had something fucky going on, to have so many identical people here.

I woke up unable to move. A rope made out of hair tied all around me, my strength sapped. It made no sense, then I saw Gray there sitting in a nice chair. "The notes said, that the hair of thralls you lost could be woven into the best material to bind you. It is a pleasure to welcome the first Thal'Zar into this world." He bowed a little. I looked around seeing the other three nearby. I relaxed a bit.

"You aren't going to hurt them?" I smiled a bit, not sure when I ever stopped. That whole thing was intense, but here we were.

He shrugged, "No worse than you have been hurt. Believe me, if I had a choice I would not be participating in this." Somehow, I felt the truth in his words. A heartfelt response to my question. He chuckled, "Ah yes, you might have felt something just now. Your curse allows you to tell when someone is being honest with you. Though you can't lie, according to the notes."

"What notes? How do you know all this?" I felt annoyed having to look up at him. At least he wasn't sneering down at me.

Gray sighed, "I'll be taking you to the Count after we're done. To summarize, you are a target. Just as Ink is. Patches and Belts are lynchpins in your bloodline becoming whole. Now that you are what you are, they are no longer needed." Before I could say anything, he raised his hands. "Fret not, I am not callous enough to dispose of them. If you want them to stay alive, I will personally escort them to a place where they will be safe. Ideally, you will turn Belts into a member of your bloodline. That is your choice, however."

I struggled to look at Belts, "I don't understand, can't you just make a different kind of vampire for them? I mean, it sounds like you did for me. You're still a bastard, just so you know."

"Yes, I don't know whom my father is. Petty remarks aside, it is a bit more complicated. The targets, such as yourself, need certain conditions to be met. They need to be in a proper state of mind, they need to contemplate certain deeds they have done, they need to be a certain generation removed from the initial elven curse, there are many things to consider. You met those requirements and now you are the sole member of a new bloodline. Only Ink meets the requirements, while Patches' requirements are too abstract to guarantee. Such demoted her to a simple lynchpin, though I am trying to fulfill her requirements as we speak."

"That sounds like a lot of work, why are you doing all this?" I squinted at him.

"I don't want to, but it's the best way to ensure a clean victory. At least, as clean as it could be when the conditions for victory means wiping out thousands of lives. I assure you, there is no satisfaction in the work we do. Only that it is a chore that must be done." I felt that same genuine feeling as before, it was pretty much there the entire time he talked to me.

"Can't say I like it, or even agree with it. What do you even need my help for? You seem to have a good handle on things so far." I watched as he got up and slowly started to undo the bindings.

"You will be a lynchpin in Wheels' bloodline manifesting. As much as I hate it, he will be allowed to live. If he tries to kill you, then I will have permission to hack off his limbs and force him to make another into his kin. Then in the dark acts that helped to manifest his bloodline, he will be devoured by his younger member. We are forced to condone the actions that have been taken, simply for the potential of others manifesting. Some deeds inspire fear, making us wonder if our Queen might reject us for allowing them to happen."

I was free, slowly flexing my fingers. "Your queen?"

He smiled, "Yes, our Queen. The one that made us. I could go on for hours about how glorious she is, all of us could. We love her because she was the one that accepted us. We do these things so that we may return to her. Just as you want nothing more than to protect those close to you, we want nothing more than to return to her and aid her in whatever is needed. She is grieving the loss of one of our fallen, yet we cannot hear her voice." He clenched his claws, before slowly coughing into his fist. "My apologies, I tend to get quite enthusiastic when talking about her."

"I noticed," I nodded back. Looking at Belts, I did kind of feel a compulsion to share this power I felt. "So, you promise to keep the others safe? What will you do, if I don't turn Belts or any of them?"

Gray wagged his finger, "You will only be allowed to turn Belts and any other fellows you make friends with that are not lynchpins or targets. Expendables as they are referred to, though we'll use the notes to tell you what the chances might be. Some bloodlines require betrayal to spread, while others only require a certain level of intimacy. Yours spreads through mutual desire, both of you seeing each other as siblings in arms. The desire for both of you to share power instead of taking it for yourself. Your bloodline will not rob Belts of their magic. They have been awake, listening in to this conversation."

I turned to Belts to see him still laying on the ground. He did the fake snore he always did when he pretended to sleep. Caught red-handed! With a sigh, I walked over to him, then kneeled. "Belts, I know you're up."

He looked over at me, the gag keeping him from saying anything. I went to undo it, giving Gray a quick glance. He affirmed my actions, "I will take my leave for the moment. I'll come back when I believe you two are done. We'll continue talking afterward.

True to his word, Gray carried Patches and Ink out of the room. Belts teared up once we were alone. "Why did you come for me?"

I pulled my oldest friend into a hug, "Why did you think I'd leave you to die? Belts... how much of that did you hear?"

"Enough... how did it feel? I mean, how do you feel right now?" His voice cracked.

"It fucking sucked, the worst pain I ever felt. Did, did he do anything to hurt you?" I looked Belts over, trying to check for myself.

Belts shook his head, "No, I was knocked out after being captured. I thought I was going to die that day..." He teared up again, "Then I woke up and saw you dying right in front of me. I know that monster is telling us the truth, but I won't admit it to him. He'll keep us safe until tomorrow. Then I don't know what happens, you know I can only see so far. Spears, if I ask you to turn me... I can help you."

I swallowed hard, looking him in the eyes. "I trust you, but are you sure? I don't want you to feel forced, shit, I don't even know what you might have to do. It really fucking hurts to have a thrall get hurt. You feel what they feel, you can hear them talking to you. Before I woke up, I was able to see through their eyes. Like, I don't think they have a soul, but a part of them is still there. Kind of like getting hit in the head too hard makes people dumber or completely different."

"Yeah, I can already feel that pain. Just looking down that path hurts like walking through molten glass. I also know that if I don't accept it from you now, I'll never be able to get over the regret. We're friends, right? I can't let you do this alone." He was choking up, I was choking up. I undid the rest of his bindings and we embraced.

A minute passed before I finally gathered the courage to sink my teeth into his neck. We were more than friends by this point, we were brothers in arms.