Fuck.
Celeste wrenched the axe out of my hands and swung it towards my neck. I barely stumbled back in time, the blade whistling past my face.
Celeste raised the axe again, and it dissolved back into a puddle of blood, splashing at her feet.
"New trick?" I muttered. She smirked.
"You like it, Elara? New serum I made. Call it Fortis Reagent. Roughly translates to 'strong substance' in elven tongue."
"That's a stupid name. How long does it last?"
"Long enough."
Celeste lunged towards me. I caught her outstretched fist, flipping her over my shoulder. She laughed as she hit the stone floor, spinning around and wrapping her legs around me, slamming me to the ground instead, straddling my waist and bringing a knife from her belt towards my face.
The dagger sank into the stone where my head had just been, blood rushing beneath her and rising behind her, my body quickly solidifying again.
Celeste got up, smirking. "You know that's cheating, Elara."
Celeste batted the dagger I hurled at her aside, closing the distance quickly. I ducked her first fist, parried her second, and got in close, claws aimed at her stomach.
Celeste grabbed my wrist and pulled the same trick she did in the market, jabbing a syringe in my stomach, only this time she pushed the plunger in.
Bloodborn flooded my bloodstream, spreading throughout my stomach. I hissed as my blood boiled inside my veins, rupturing blood vessels, causing bubbling blood to bleed internally, charring muscle, and blistering my skin from the inside faster than I could heal.
The pain made it difficult to concentrate as I tried to manipulate Celeste's blood to kill her from the inside. I could hear her heart beating abnormally fast, her blood rushing through her veins, but I couldn't control it.
I rammed a knee between her legs.
Celeste doubled over, hissing in pain. "You dirty little bitch-" her head snapped back as I threw a punch to her face, crunching her nose.
Celeste caught my second fist and threw me across the room. The serum she'd taken seemed to have also dulled her pain sensors, as she was recovering much faster than usual. Her nose remained firmly broken, however. No regenerative abilities for her.
I leaped across the room, dodging the pew that Celeste hurled my way. I slashed at her stomach, following up with a hook when she stepped back. She deflected my outstretched arm, punching me square across the jaw, the tiny spikes lacing her gloves grazing my face and mixing more bloodburn with blood. I caught the dagger slashing at my stomach with my hand, wrenching it from her grip and twisting her arm at an unnatural angle. Celeste kicked out before I could do any real damage, twirling in the air, her boot finding my jaw. As I was spun around, she kicked me hard in the back, sending me flying down the nave and tumbling down the altar.
Celesta flung a syringe down the aisle directly towards my neck. I caught it, giving her a death stare.
She shrugged, smirking.
A vial flew through the air.
Fuck.
Just before I could hide behind the altar, Celeste drew a small crossbow from her cloak, nailing the sunburst midair.
There was a fiery explosion of heat and light, sending me slamming into the statue behind the altar, blistering my skin and burning the flesh underneath, blinding me. I was only half aware of my shirt being on fire as Celeste grabbed me by the hair. My jaw extended unnaturally as fangs burst through my gums, trying to bite her.
"Poor little Elara." She sneered. "If only your parents could see what a disappointment they raised."
She slammed my open jaw on the corner of the altar. I snarled as I tasted marble, and then blood as she stomped her boot on the back of my head.
Celeste grabbed me by the neck, slamming my back onto the altar and standing above me. I hit the marble, my head hanging off the edge. Celeste's boot came down. I caught it with a grunt, sweeping her other leg out from under her and sending her toppling on top of me. I rolled on top of her, swinging a blood dagger overhead. Celeste reached into her cloak, smashing another sunburst vial open. This time, I managed to cover my face with my arms, shielding myself from the worst of the heat. Celeste pressed her advantage, booting me in the chest off the altar, breaking several ribs. She wrenched the spear from the statue behind the altar, stalking towards me.
Celeste twirled the spear in the air, swinging it towards me. I ducked her swipe and teleported behind her, only for her to thrust the butt of the spear behind her, directly into my chest as I rematerialized.
I looked incredulously at the spear now protruding from my chest.
Celeste smirked. "Predictable," she mocked.
I grabbed the spear shaft, snapping it. I wrenched the spear out of my chest, tossing it aside. A fresh set of fangs broke my gums, replacing my shattered ones.
Celeste's heart was beating fast. Unusually fast. Probably a result of the serum she took. Her blood rushed through her veins.
Manipulating my own blood was easy. I could do it on a whim.
Manipulating others' blood required concentration. I couldn't just do it in the heat of the moment. I had to focus.
But even now, standing away from her, focusing, ignoring the pain of the bloodburn, I couldn't do it.
Despite her erratic heartbeat, her blood seemed thicker. Slower.
What had Celeste done to herself?
She lunged.
I caught Celeste's overhead, deflected her second punch, caught the syringe she'd dropped from above, and jammed it into her thigh.
She looked at me, wide-eyed.
I smirked. "Predicatable."
Celeste shoved my back, staggering as the bloodburn took effect. Her skin blistered and reddened, boiling from the inside.
Unfortunately, it would be nowhere as effective on her as on me. She wasn't a vampire.
But it would hurt, nonetheless.
Celeste ripped the syringe from her leg, tossing it aside, limping slightly, still holding the broken spear shaft.
A battleaxe of blood thunked to the floor.
I swung in a horizontal arc. Celeste jumped with unnatural speed, twisting over the blade and landing low, sweeping her leg. I stepped back, deflecting her spear thrust. Moving in close, Celeste tossed the spear aside and sliced a scalpel across my stomach, cutting deep and spilling blood. I slapped away her second hand before she could shove a sunburst into my open stomach, returning the favor with a vicious blow to her gut. The axe morphed into a dagger as Celeste coughed blood, but she recovered before I could drive it through her chest. She flipped me over her shoulder, slamming me to the ground. Her boot cracked stone as I rolled out of the way.
I rolled backward, creating space between us. Celeste kept coming. She took off her wide-brimmed cowboy hat, throwing it in my face. I batted it aside just in time to see her fist make contact with my face.
Blood splattered as my nose gave way beneath her fist. I stumbled back, then doubled over as she slammed her knee into my midsection, putting her hat back on before it touched the ground. She went to grab me by the hair, but I rammed a dagger through her hand, severing tendons. She hissed, wrenching it out and tossing it aside.
Just as I was fully standing up again, Celeste grabbed a pew from the aisle and swung it like a baseball bat, sending me crashing into the far wall, stone and ribs cracking. I bounced off, landing in front of the window. I ducked as she threw the pew, which shattered the glass and showered me with tiny shards, splitting open my skin. I punched the ground, embedding shards into my skin and meeting Celeste's charge with a second fist directly to her broken nose, snapping her head back and slicing open her face.
Furious, eyes filled with blood, Celeste staggered back, trying to wipe glass from her face. I booted her in the stomach, hearing the satisfying crack of ribs as she flew backward.
Celeste got to my feet, anger burning in her blood-filled eyes. She winced with each breath.
She flipped me off.
A small flash of red flew across the room.
Celeste, with eyes filled with blood, had no time to react.
Blood soaked into her glove before it slid to the ground.
Celeste looked at her severed digit and then back at me.
And then back at her digit.
The room fell silent.
Hands trembling, Celeste wiped her eyes of blood and secured her alchemy googles from her neck around her face.
She clenched her fist and spat.
I leaped across the room, slashing down with a blood sword. Celeste drew a long dagger, weilding it with her left hand and parrying my blow. She hooked me across the face, spiked gloves drawing blood and injecting neurotoxin, dampening my healing. I thrust the sword towards her stomach. She deflected, I dropped the blade and formed another, slicing. She stepped back, a thin red line soaking into her shirt. She batted my second thrust to the side, trying to slip a syringe into my neck. I slapped it aside, backhanding her across the face and sending her stumbling, spinning around with cracked goggles and dropping her knife.
I tried to press my advantage, but Celeste grabbed a pew and swung it wildly, clipping me. I felt some ribs break as the pew shattered on the wall.
Celeste stomped on my knee, caving it inwards and slamming her boot into my jaw, crushing my head between her foot and the stone wall.
I rolled away as my knee healed, narrowly missing her second stomp. Stone cracked. Pushing off my feet, I arieled over her sweep, forming a sword mid-air and slashing at her.
She ducked my blow, ramming her shoulder into my chest and pushing me back. I ducked her follow-up attack, and slammed my knee into my stomach, doubling her, grabbing her head and smashing it through a pew, wood splintering. I landed a soccer kick to her ribs and rolled her over with my foot, mounting her.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
My fist made contact with her face each time. Blood sprayed the floor, staining the stone red.
Celeste tried to raise her hands to protect herself, but I aimed lower, breaking ribs with a satisfying snap.
A tooth hit the ground.
Her jaw popped out of place.
Celeste tried to jam a vial of black liquid in my neck, but I slapped it away, nailing her hand into the stone with a spear of blood.
Thud.
Thud.
Crack.
Celeste's cheekbone gave way.
She reached into her jacket, scrabbling for a vial. A nailed a second blood spear, going through her hand and torso, burying deep into the floor.
Celeste's pierced hand clutched something inside her jacket, breaking the sunburst.
There was a flash of blinding light, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air. I staggered off, Celeste, blinded, skin blistered, muscle burnt. Celeste ripped her first hand of the blood stake and, with great difficulty, ripped out the blood spear that pierced her torso.
She screamed.
Celeste stood up, kicking me in the chest, breaking ribs on impact. I flew down the nave, head cracking on the altar.
Celeste staggered back.
I got to my feet, staring at her down the aisle.
Celeste's jacket was torn, ripped in multiple places. Her hat was discarded, and her goggles were shattered. I could see her dilated amber eyes, filled with blood and glass, staring at me with hate.
Blood soaked her shirt, pants, and gloves, still dripping from her severed digit. Her face was spattered red. Her jaw sat at an unnatural angle, cheekbone caved in. The holes in her palms and torso bleed profusely.
A large part of her jacket and shirt had been burned away, revealing charred flesh beneath. Sunburst had less effect on non-vampires, but at such a close range, Celeste was just as vulnerable.
The serum that Celeste had taken had made her more durable and dulled the pain. But she wasn't invincible.
She was still human.
My ribs had healed. My cuts were gone. Blood still stained my clothes, mine and Celeste's. My hands were stained red. Jacket ripped, shirt torn. Blood burn still boiled in my veins, but its effects were lessening, my healing slowly taking over. My face was still numb from the neurotoxin that was preventing my healing factor, but the graze was shallow.
Keeping eye contact with Celeste, I raised my hand to my mouth, talons glinting, fangs glimmering, and slowly licked a trail of blood off my hand.
Celeste's eyelid twitched.
I slowly stalked her down the aisle, the blood rising beside me. A sycthe formed, a mix of Celeste's blood and mine.
Celeste lunged for me, abandoning all reason.
I slammed the butt of the spear into her eye, crushing it. She reeled, and then I slammed it into her knee, returning the favor and breaking it at an unnatural angle. She fell to her other knee, then fell to the ground as I cracked the bottom of the spear into her temple.
She glared up at me, her body not responding. Her face was contorted into an expression of hate. Her eyes burned with it. She spat blood, trying to get up before I put my foot on her chest.
I raised the scythe overhead, and Celeste jammed a syringe into my calf.
A thick, black liquid rushed into my leg and started ripping me apart from the inside.
I screamed in shock at the agony, staggering off Clesete's bloodied form as my flesh dissolved, eaten away by the black acid. Blood spurted as it amputated my leg, making its way up my thigh, staining the carpet a deep red.
It didn't stop. Whatever it was, it was alive. And hungry.
Blood dissolved, consumed by the black liquid.
I held the scythe blade against my leg and cut it off.
What little remained of my leg fell to the floor. The parasite, with no more food available, screamed, crawling towards me, quickly absorbing away the remaining blood on the ground as it oozed towards me, before it dried up, evaporating into the air, the carpet now stained and pitched black, any traces of blood gone.
Celeste jammed a second vial into her own thigh, gasping as her eyes widened and pupils dilated, the adrenaline taking over as she surged off the ground and grabbed me by the neck, slamming me against the wall.
"FUCK. YOU. YOU STUPID FUCKING MONSTER!"
Her fist slammed into my face. My cheekbone caved.
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"
A fang flew out, Celeste having abandoned all reason. I tried to cover my face, but her fist slammed into my chest, breaking ribs.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Crack.
Blood splattered the wall.
The top of my eyesocket caved.
Celeste reached into her jacket and slammed a second black vial towards my eye. I saw it just in time, catching and stopping it inches away.
Whatever the fuck that stuff was, I didn't want to see what would happen if it entered my eye.
I tried to bring my remaining leg between us to push her away, but she released my neck, wrapping her arm around my leg and holding it under her armpit, holding me up that way instead. I tried to kick out, but it was no use. In my weakened state, I was no match for her adrenaline-induced serum-enhanced strength.
Blood continued to spurt out of the stump of my ruined leg, bone now pushing its way out as it healed. I tried to concentrate, to control the blood, but with Celeste so close, the bloodburn burning through my veins, I couldn't risk rematerializing.
"What- the fuck- is that-" I growled through gritted teeth.
Blood continued to pool on the floor.
The syringe inched closer. Celeste's damaged hand trembled from the effort of holding the syringe.
I had an idea. A bad one. An incredibly disgusting one.
Trembling, the syringe slowly inching closer to my eye, I brought my healing stump of a leg between us and pressed it against Celeste's chest.
Celeste's face contorted into a look of disgust, hate boiling in her fever-bright eyes, glassy and unfocused. Blood stained her already ruined clothes.
Bone continued to push its way out of my ruined leg.
Celeste stiffened.
The bone continued to push its way out, undeterred by the ribcage in its way.
Celeste grimaced, pushing on the syringe harder as the bone slowly bored into her chest.
She let out a sudden hiss, moving back slightly. In doing so, her pressure on the syringe faltered, allowing me to push it back.
There was a cracking sound as a rib gave way.
Celeste dropped the syringe.
I wrenched my half-healed thigh out of the way, the syringe clattering to the ground. I lurched forward, slamming my skull into Celeste's face and crushing her nose for a second time with a shower of blood.
Celeste howled and stumbled back.
I lunged off the wall, pushing myself off the stone and grabbing onto her, talons digging deep into her shoulders. Celeste tried to throw me off, but I clung on, tearing flesh and tendons.
Wrapping my remaining leg around her waist, I ripped off her blood-stained scarf, pushed aside her reinforced collar, and sank my fangs deep into her neck.
Celeste's eyes widened. She pulled a dagger from her belt, jamming it into my neck. I gurgled, blood rushing from my throat as I continued to drink.
Celeste grabbed my collar and hurled me off. My talons ripped from her shoulders, fangs from her throat, tearing open even larger wounds. She stumbled, panicking and fumbling for a syringe in her belt.
Before she could inject it into herself, a flash of red flew across the room, smashing it. Celeste's eyes widened as the antidote splashed to the floor.
She seized, venom coursing through her veins. She stumbled away from me, heading to the altar. I pulled myself after her, my throat knitting itself back together, half-grown fibula scraping along the ground.
She reached the altar, clutching her neck, and tapped a sigil carved into the base.
There was a flash, and she was gone.
Silence filled the room.
I gave up my crawling, pulling myself to slump against one of the few remaining intact pews in the chapel, watching raw flesh cover up the exposed bone in my healing leg, blood still oozing to the floor.
"Coward," I muttered.
Limping around the room, I picked up Celeste's discarded hat. I gazed at my reflection in the shattered glass.
"Looks better on me anyway," I muttered.
…
I hid in the bushes, panting, adrenaline coursing through me, eyes wide, dilated. I could hear the sounds of shouting, the sound of footsteps thudding on the soft ground as they searched for me.
They'd been liars. They were lying to me, even if they didn't know it. They were all lying to me, trying to get me to see a false truth, all thanks to mother.
I shrank a little further, blood trickling from my temple, hands shaking.
Someone grabbed me by the collar. They yanked me out, and I turned face-to-face just in time to see Faelar, face contorted in anger, hand pointing directly at my head and glowing violently. I shield my face before…
I woke up with a gasp, suddenly sitting upright. I was drenched in sweat.
I sat like that for a while, waiting for my breathing to return to normal.
The moon was shining brightly outside, peeking through a gap in the curtains. Other than that, the room was pitch black.
Elara wasn't in bed.
I carefully stood up, feeling my way through the dark. I fumbled around, searching for my discarded clothes.
After slipping them on, I padded my way down to the bar, my boots making little noise on the hardwood. I yawned, trying to shake off the remnants of my dream.
The bar was relatively empty. Only a few patrons were in at this time of night. A barkeeper was wiping down the bartop.
I approached one of them. A younger-looking man with dark hair. "Excuse me?"
He gave me a blank stare. "What?"
"Have you seen a woman come through here? Tall, dark hair, scary looking..?"
"...Yeah. She was sitting in my seat."
Do humans have arranged seating plans now? Weird.
"Do you know where she went?"
"She left."
"Where?"
"The door."
"Yes, but do you know where she went after that?"
"How should I know where she went?"
I huff, fed up. I turned on my heel and marched back up to our room. "Goddamnit, Elara," I muttered. "This is the last time you sneak off without me knowing."
I barged open the door and searched for something that belonged to Elara. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Elara kept virtually everything on her person at all times, not that she had many belongings to begin with. After several minutes of searching, I found nothing.
That was, until I finally had the bright idea to throw back the duvet on her bed, revealing her red leather jacket.
Where the fuck would Elara be going that she left her jacket behind?
I picked it up, careful not to dirty it. Elara would probably never forgive me.
Digging through my backpack, I managed to find a small knife designed for carving sigils. I also dug out several books, which floated through the air around me as I flipped through them, searching for the right spell. It had been a while since I'd cast it. I'd last used it to cheat in hide'n seek back when-
Nevermind.
The books fell back to the floor in a neat pile when I found the spell I was looking for. The book I needed remained in the air, slowly floating down to head height as I began to carefully carve the sigils on the floor around Elara's cloak.
When I had carved the last symbol, I discarded the knife and gently traced my finger over one of the lines.
The circle lit up, a bright, blinding blue. I shielded my eyes, hoping no one was in the alley outside.
The light died down, leaving me in the dim candlelight once again.
The floor broke open.
A hand emerged, pale fingers breaking through the floorboards. The inside of the circle shimmered slightly, as if liquid, a second hand grasping the edge. Slowly, a tall, pale form hauled itself out of the floor, the wooden boards solidifying beneath it.
In front of me stood Elara. Or a copy of her. It was identical to the original. Long, black hair, grey, dark eyes, high cheekbones, and even perfectly capturing her usual soul-piercing glare.
It was a perfect replica of her.
A perfect, very naked replica.
Elara's doppleganger didn't speak, just stared at me, waiting for instruction.
I realized that this was the first time I'd ever seen her naked. I poked my stomach self-consciously. Were Elara's abs really that defined?
I cleared my throat, realizing I was staring. "Uh… take me to Elara Darkthorne."
The replica turned and walked towards the door, and phasing through it, giving no acknowledgment that it had heard me. I followed quickly, hoping I'd done the spell right.
The replica walked down the stairs, not waiting for me to catch up. I hurried after it as it moved through the bar and headed outside.
I slammed into the kid I'd talked to before. "Sorry!" I quickly kept following the replica before it could get too far out of sight. One of the patrons near the door muttered something about "stupid fucking elves."
The copy of Elara kept up the pace, sticking true to the original and not bothering to wait for me.
It was dark outside. I could barely see the copy as it hurried through the night. I made sure that no one was around, then muttered a soft spell, my hands emitting a glow so I could see.
The copy led me on a hunt. Down back alleys, cutting across rooftops, following Elara's most recent path. How was she able to jump such high rooftops? I pushed that thought down, pushing off the ground and flying after it.
The doppleganger led me to the outskirts of town, to an old chapel, and it ran into the brass double doors and dissipated.
What. The Fuck.
Was Elara religious?
And why were the double doors barely hanging on their hinges?
A few windows were shattered, and multicolored glass littered the ground, allowing dim candlelight to shine through.
I approached the doors cautiously, slowly walking up the mossy stone stairs.
I carefully pushed a door open.
Holy fuck.
"Elara?"
…
I tensed as the door crept open, quickly rolling to hide behind one of the pews.
"Elara?"
You've got to be fucking with me.
Keira?
…
The chapel was a mess. Multiple pews were overturned, broken in half, or shattered. Blood stained the floor. And the walls. And the altar.
No one responded to my call.
But the spell had led me here.
An uncomfortable thought entered my mind. What if Elara were dead?
No, she couldn't be. Otherwise, the spell wouldn't have worked.
Would it?
What if she were injured?
I wrestled the thought down and carefully moved down the aisle, carefully stepping over wooden splinters and broken glass.
…
I slowly inched my way along behind the pew, trying to ignore the dull ache of the bloodburn still creeping through my veins. My leg was all but healed, skin slowly crawling over the raw flesh of my sole. Slower now, though. I would have to feed soon.
Keira's footsteps slowly got closer. I kept moving to the side, trying to get around before she got to me. I accidentally brushed some loose glass from the open window.
Chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around my limbs and sending chunks of stone flying everywhere. I struggled against them, but they tore through the ground and up the wall, pinning me there. I snarled, talons extending as I ripped the chains apart, freeing myself.
Keira stared at me, wide-eyed, ashen-faced.
Shit.
…
I quickly backed up, stumbling over broken debris. "Elara…" I stammered, "What the fuck is going on?"
"Uh…" Elara stared at me, unsure of what to say.
I stared at her, wide-eyed. Elara was a mess. Her shirt was torn in multiple places, revealing blood-stained skin beneath. Her hair was disheveled and slick with blood. Blood stained her lips. For some reason, her entire left trouser was just gone. She was also wearing a cowboy hat?
And she had fangs. Fucking fangs. Claws too.
I stumbled over a broken splinter, landing on my ass. "Elara." My voice trembled. "What the fuck are you?"
I caught a glimpse of a severed leg out of the corner of my eye. It had the left leg of Elara's trousers on it. And her boot.
I turned away, trying not to throw up. "Is that- is that your leg?"
"Uh…" Elara looked guilty. "Yes."
I stared at her, speechless.
She looked at me. "You probably want an explanation."
"No shit," I muttered, quickly scrambling to my feet.
Elara approached me slightly. I flinched, taking a step back.
"Uh…" Elara seemed to become conscious that her fangs were still on full display.
Her fangs retracted into her gums, talons back into fingers.
"I'll… wait outside." She turned and left the chapel, pushing open a door and carefully closing it behind her.
I immediately slumped onto one of the remaining pews, thankful she was gone.
Elara was a fucking vampire.
In all truth, I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Her constant disappearances, the fact that she never seemed to sleep, or rest-
God, I felt stupid.
I stood up on shaky legs. I surveyed the room.
It really was a mess.
And the amount of blood…
Unnatural. Even for a vampire.
I looked back, making sure Elara was still outside, and gently brushed my finger over a smear of blood.
I saw a flash– Elara, on top of me. I flinched as her fist slammed into my face, red obscuring my vision. Elara's face was crazed, her eyes were wide, fangs bared.
I stumbled as the moment passed.
Elara was still waiting outside.
I brushed my hand over another smear.
Crack.
A woman's fist made contact with my face.
She was screaming at me, her eyes covered in blood. Her fist made contact with my face again. And again. And again. I felt my eyeball droop as my socket gave way. She jammed a syringe towards my neck–
I gasped, stumbling back.
Without looking back, I run towards the doors, slamming through them. One of them groaned in protest, finally falling off its hinges.
"Elara." I gasped, breathing heavily. I could feel bile rising in my throat. "What. The Fuck. Happened."
She looked concerned. "Are you… okay..?"
"Of course I'm not fucking okay! You're a vampire! You've been lying to me for god knows how long! God, I'm such an idiot, the constant disappearances, the fact you don't sleep…"
"Keira just lis-"
"No." I snapped. "You listen. You're going to explain everything. Starting now."
Elara hesitated for a moment before her shoulders slumped. "Fine." She muttered. "My name is Elara Darkthonre."
"... Ok. Go on."
She arched an eyebrow. "That name doesn't mean anything to you?"
"Should it?"
"I– never mind. Look, I'm just trying to get home. What happened here was… a hunter found me. A vampire hunter. We had his-."
"Why don't you burn up in the sun?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Why don't you burn up in the sun?"
Elara glared at me. "Because that is a myth, originating from sunburst, something that actually does hurt vampires. And before you ask, the garlic is also a myth, just like lines of salt, needing permission to enter houses, and turning into bats. It's all bullshit. Although." She hesitated. "Some vampires who dabble in magic actually can turn into bats. But that's besides the point."
"Uh… sorry. You were saying something about history...?"
"She blames me for her father's death."
"You killed him?"
"No." Elara looked appalled. "Keira, I… I might start a lot of fights and enjoy them, but I don't kill people unless I have to. Or have a reason. That goes for feeding, too." She added hastily when I opened my mouth to speak. "And I don't turn people. Ever. Vampires aren't monsters."
"Her name was Celeste. Celeste Vael. She was the daughter of a famous and talented alchemist. He was killed a while ago, by some vampires stealing his recipes."
"What for?"
"To create me."
"Create you?"
"I'm… not exactly a normal vampire."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Most can't regrow their legs."
She sighed. "Look, I… promise not to freak out?"
"No."
Elara sat down on a stone step. I sat beside her.
She extended a talon slightly and cut open her wrist.
Blood flowed up her hand and into her palm, forming a levitating sphere of blood. The wound closed up.
"That's… not possible."
Elara looked at me funny. "What do you mean?"
I stood up, voice shaking. It's not possible. It's not.
"It's not. Ignoring the fact that blood magic was outlawed centuries ago, all knowledge of it was lost in the attacks on the elven kingdoms. All books and scriptures were burnt to the ground." I shivered, staring at the sphere in her hand. It shimmered angrily, as if being denied its prey. "Blood magic is ancient. And unpredictable. And corrupting."
"Oh." The sphere dissolved, and the blood absorbed back into her hand. "Well, in vampires, it's a very rare ability some are born with. Very, very rare. As in once every five centuries, rare. It's considered a blessing."
She looked at me. "Keira, the name Darkthorne is vampire royalty. I'm talking about the king and queen type of royalty. I wasn't born into the royal family; I was adopted." She looked back at her now empty hands. "Elara's not even my original name. I can't remember what was."
"Elara… that doesn't explain how you grew back a leg. Blood magic's powerful… but it destroys, not heals."
"Right," she muttered. "Back to Celeste. Her father, Aldric Vael, was mostly well known for his research in curing death. He created a serum that granted extreme cellular regeneration abilities, giving near immortality to the user. Combine that with blood magic… and you get me. Magic's biggest fuck up."
I watched her, silent. "Ok, so… you took the serum? Why are you here?"
"That is a much longer story." She muttered.
"Tell me."
She looked at me.
"Sit back down."