Five hours had passed until the survivors calmed a notch and agreed to return to their sleeping quarters. The boy’s body was taken to a separate house where his mother swore to stand watch over him for the night. Jistas and Evic with four other men volunteered to keep her safe if the monster showed up again.

Alec thanked them all and after making sure everyone else had went back, turned towards his squad. They stood nearby with their heads down. It was their task to protect but since the very beginning none of them were capable of it. Dead bodies just kept on showing up. This was what, the fifth victim?

“We should go to rest too. It has been a long day. Let’s discuss this tomorrow.”

The group stared at him - lost, uncertain. Then Denni took charge by nodding, more vigorously than was necessary and turned on her heel to leave. “Let’s do it. I want to sleep,” she said before marching off.

Others hesitated but soon followed after. Alec sighed with relief. It was over. For now. Tomorrow the questions will be raised again, new arguments that followed the same thought process. What was Iago doing? Why didn’t he stop the leech from killing them?

Logic did not work on them. In general population’s eyes, the shapers were omniscient. They could do whatever they wanted. If they wished someone dead, the person - or monster - would just fall dead the same moment.

But that was not the case. Alec had paid attention and seen that Iago most of the time shaped with physical contact. He changed only what he could touch. Or what he could see as it was done in the Scavenger attack. And Alec could also remember the fallen shape by the stairway, unable to bring itself to the second floor.

The shaper simply had no way of catching the leech. It was beyond his powers.

On the way to the new barracks, Alec passed by the tower. He heard voices coming from the bottom floor and slowly moved closer to listen. It wouldn’t hurt anyone to know what the two were talking about.

“- is here. I can feel its presence.”

“I know,” Scorpius hissed back. “But why would he start targeting you? Why now?”

There was silence for a time. Then Iago replied loftily, “I don’t know. But he’s here. Waiting.”

“You must run! I need to get you out of here. We nee-”

“Scorpius…” Iago cut him off with a sigh. “Where would I run, even if we had a chance? This place is all we have. I’d rather face him here than get caught unprepared somewhere in the desert. And don’t scowl like that.” He laughed. “We’re not dead yet.”

“Soon will be.”

“You just love burying people before their last breath, don’t you?”

It was too much for Alec. He didn’t understand what was happening but he knew it was important. He burst through the doors and stared at the two conspirators. Scorpius didn’t look surprised whatsoever, but Iago eyebrows went up a fraction. He then turned to give Scorpius an accusing look.

His assistant didn’t look apologetic in the least. “If you’re not leaving, we might as well use their help.”

“You know, I don’-”

“What is going on here?” Alec asked, ignoring the flicker of doubt in his heart. Iago would never kill him for such disrespect, would he?

Before the shaper had time to reply Scorpius was already speaking. “The monster that’s been hunting your kind has targeted Iago. It’s going to attack in a few hours.”

“What? How do you know that?” Alec asked, not trying to make sense of the information yet. It was too shocking. Better make sure the facts were right.

“He recently fed. It’ll be a few more hours until he finishes digesting and can start the hunt at full power. That’s why he looked for a victim in broad daylight to begin with.”

“You mean..?” he didn’t dare to utter the full question.

Scorpius nodded. “Yes. He wanted to regain his strength for the real battle. One or two hours and he’ll be ready for it.”

“Why have I not heard of this before? I think I would have noticed if there was a recuperating time necessary after a meal,” Iago said, leaning against the wall. His hands were clasped behind his back and his cowl was down, revealing his greying hair.

“It’s different,” Scorpius answered with a dismissive wave. “I don’t know why. But it’s different.”

“Won’t it be..?”

“No.”

“All right then. What is your plan after dragging our friend into this mess?”

Alec was lost in the quick exchange. Their conversation was too quick and with knowledge they shouldn’t possess. How did they know the leech was around? What about its eating habits? Its targets and reasoning?

They couldn’t! Even the hunters had a hard time tracking the leeches down. It took years to catch them after finding their hideouts and pinpointing their paths.

Wait, did that mean Scorpius was a hunter? He took a better look at the young man. He was young, no more than twenty. Wasn’t that too young? But there was a certain air of coldness and detachment about him. He rarely interacted with people of his own accord, and watched the others as if expecting danger to strike at any moment.

“Who are you?” he asked quietly but the shaper’s assistant heard him.

There was a sneer on his face when he answered. “You’ll find out soon enough. Now go and find a couple more people you trust. I’ll need you to hold back the monster for a time, until I can find a good way to approach him.”

What did that mean? For some reason Alec was certain he would not like the revelation. But it came second to a chance of destroying the leech. If it was possible… It didn’t matter whatever the price, he was ready to pay it.

“Can we really do it? I mean can we really kill it?”

“Either that or we’ll die trying. He’s coming for Iago whether we want it or not.”

If that was the case, they really had no choice. Alec nodded in acknowledgement and turned towards the doors. “I’ll be back with Lyra and Denni. They’re the oldest and would understand best.” Accept the reason that they might die for the sake of this.

He had no illusions as to their chances of survival. A leech was a superior existence in a sense of base strength. They might be cruel, vicious and rejoiced in bloodshed, but it didn’t reduce the truth that they had the power to. No humans could face them one on one. Trained groups of hunters - twenty to thirty people - did not always return home victorious. Knowing this, how likely was their ragtag bunch of people to succeed?

Their only trump card was Iago. He might be able to kill the monster before it was able to slaughter them all. If they were lucky.

In the barracks Lyra and Denni were sitting by the table. They looked up when he entered, their faces haggard. “You okay?” Lyra asked, motioning for him to sit.

“Yes,” he said, entering the room but not sitting down. In a quiet voice he asked, “How are the others taking it?”

“We prodded and pushed them into going to sleep, but I doubt any will find rest tonight. Aris’ death hit them hard.”

“It hurt all of us,” Alec said, watching the closed doors. Could those inside hear them? Probably. None would be asleep.

He put a finger to his lips and pointed backwards to the doors. Denni opened her mouth to ask but Lyra was quick enough to cover it. “Shh,” she hissed at her and after making sure Denni understood, released her.

They stood up in unison, not moving the chairs as not to make a sound. Together, the three of them went outside.

It was dark already, closing in on midnight. The chill gnawed at Alec and he wrapped his arms around himself. He should have taken his cloak from the chest, probably. But the others were sleeping there. They would have questioned where he was going at such a time of night. No, it was better to be colder than bring them to this kind of danger.

“What is it?” Lyra asked when they were far enough away from the barracks. “Has something happened?”

“In a sense. Iago is being targeted. We’re to go and help Scorpius keep him alive from the leech.”

“Really? We can finally fight it?” Denni asked with eagerness, her hand moving to her hip and onto the sword pommel. Her smile sent a chill down Alec’s back.

Lyra ignored her outburst and focused on a more important matter. “Can we really fight it? It is a leech, after all.”

“Scorpius says it’ll come for Iago no matter what. And he’s our only chance of taking it down. Without Iago we’ll never stop that disgusting creature.”

“He’s got a point,” Lyra had to admit. “Let’s do it!”

“Right! I want to kick that leech’s ass for what he’s done to our people!” Denni echoed her sentiment and ran off first towards the tower. Alec and Lyra followed after, slower.

They soon reached the open doors of the tower, where a faint light spilled from within. Inside Iago had retrieved a chair from somewhere and was sitting near a wall. A wooden stick he used to discipline his students by his side.

There was no sign of Scorpius.

A drop of red caught Alec’s attention. He rushed to Iago and raised his thin pale arm. The left wrist was newly bandaged, the blood still seeping through. The wound must have been just incurred. Could it be? Were they too late?

“Were you attacked? Is this..?”

“No, I’m fine,” Iago said, retracting his hand. He examined it for a moment with a frown, then tightened the bandage and hid it in the folds of his wide sleeves. “Forget about it. An old wound reopened, that’s it. We still have a mad nosferatu to deal with.”

‘Nosf- what? You mean the leech?” Alec asked, hearing the name for the first time. Was it what this particular leech was called? But how would Iago know his name?

“Sorry, I forgot you don’t know the other names. Leeches also have a name for their own kind. Like we call ourselves humans, they name themselves nosferatu.”

Denni sneered at that. “Who cares what he calls himself? He’s a leech and we’re going to kill him tonight!” She drew out her blade and sliced the air in front of herself with a distinct whoosh. “Ha, he has no chance against my sword!”

Alec wasn’t so certain but he didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm. They were going to need all the power they could muster to succeed this time. If it was possible, at all.

It wasn’t long until Scorpius returned, descending from the upper floor in a quick jog. “He’s waiting a hundred paces to our left without any hostages. It seems he’s very certain of his victory.”

“He’s got reason to. You mentioned he’s an elder,” Iago said standing up. Scorpius nodded in acquiescence, and moved to stand by Iago’s side. “Come. Let’s meet him.”

“He’s going to come out, just like that?” Denni asked in disbelief.

Iago inclined his head. “The man wants my head. He wouldn’t pass the chance to attack us.”

It was a logical conclusion. If the leech did want his head. But what for? The question puzzled Alec as he made his way alongside the shaper to where Scorpius had located the leech somehow.

Why would the monster suddenly decide to focus solely on Iago? If he wanted to remove its biggest threat, then he should come for the Mistress. Else he should start with Shea, she was the weakest of the three shapers. With her the leech could test its abilities with the smallest risk. It was stupid to go straight for Iago.

His appearance might look greatly weakened but the leech must know that if threatened with death, he’ll still show his unbelievable prowess. There was a reason why the camp ate like kings and the Mistress was surviving on old findings, and quickly running out of those too. From what Alec understood, her power was like an ocean compared to a drop but Iago’s control was unparalleled.

But here they were, preparing to face the leech on Iago’s behalf. Five steps later they heard the sound of running footsteps and a form emerged from the darkness. It dashed straight towards the shaper at a speed hard to follow with the eye.

Scorpius was the first to react and stepped in front of Iago, catching the stranger’s hand and punching with the other. The leech showed surprised but did not slow down. He twisted his body so the punch caught him on the side and used his free hand to hit Scorpius in the face.

It stunned him for a precious second, and his grasp loosened. The leech freed his hand and was about to reach for Iago again, but by this time the rest of the group regained their senses. With a battle cry to reach the heavens Denni descended on the creature with a great down swing of her blade.

The leech cocked his head at that, then punched towards her, ignoring the blade whatsoever. Surprised, Denni tried to defend herself with a small round shield on her left hand. Upon contact it got smashed to pieces and the girl was forced three steps back.

She might have died too but the next moment the leech disappeared from sight. His movements were so quick, Alec had no idea in which direction he left. Uncaring of that for the moment he rushed to Denni. “Are you all right?” he asked, shaking her gently. Her face was frozen in shock and she stood staring at the remnants of the shield on her hand. “He.. he..” she whispered without finishing.

“Don’t get distracted, he’ll be back soon!” Iago cautioned them, scanning the darkness around them.

Alec took a step back, searching the night too but seeing nothing. “What happened?” he asked quietly.

“He sensed me reaching for the currents,” Iago answered. “He knows if I lock onto him with my powers, he’s dead.”

“So what’s the problem then?” Lyra asked with a shiver to her voice. Instead of following the darkness, she was still staring at her friend’s shield. Or what had once been it.

Alec tried not to think about the power required to shatter it to such an extent. He was afraid that if he did, he might turn into a whimpering mess. It was inhuman. And unfair. Commander was strong but at least his power came from understandable sources. He was big and trained. It was natural that he was much more powerful than the rest of them.

But this creature was wiry and without any obvious muscle. Yet it moved like a ghost and held power incomparable to any human’s. He could shatter a wooden shield strengthened with iron with one strike. That was just too wrong! How could they fight something like that?

“He’s coming back,” Scorpius warned. He stood before Iago, muscles tensed. Now that Alec thought, how did he stop the leech’s attack? It must have been just as strong as the one aimed at Denni. Yet Scorpius caught it with his bare hand and received a punch to the face without much damage.

There were no time to voice the questions, though. The leech jumped on them from above. Scorpius pushed Iago out of the way, sending the man flying and kicked the leech who was on all fours. There was a loud sound of something breaking and the leech howled in pain. He rushed to his feet and fell upon Scorpius in a frenzy of attacks; right hook, left uppercut, side kick. The shaper’s assistant did not have a moment to take a breath.

Alec, Denni and Lyra postured around them, wishing to join in but not finding a moment. The two’s fighting speed was too quick for them to interfere. They were afraid they’d hit Scorpius with their blades rather than the leech.

“Scorpius!” Iago shouted out in a firm voice. “Disentangle yourself!”

The group did not see what he did, but the next moment the leech was standing alone. He breathed hard, his jaw set in a tight line. Then, without a sound, he rushed towards the three. They were late in noticing the upcoming danger but their weapons were already in hand, held before themselves in indecision.

It wasn’t hard now to shift their position in a defensive stance. But as easy as it was, Alec staggered back from the blow to his shield. It shattered like Denni’s had and he could no longer feel his arm. It was numb to the elbow.

“Lyra! Third stance! Don’t block the full force! Remember what I taught you about facing enemies capable of shattering your weapons!” Iago shouted. The command reminded Alec of their training and he slid into the familiar pose, ignoring the limp hand.

The leech did not give them time, aiming to kill Lyra who stepped forward now but this time it wasn’t so easy. She let the punch slide off her shield, reducing the impact on it while using that moment to counter-attack. Her opponent flicked the blade with the back of his hand but his tempo was slowed.

Denni and Alec moved in on his sides and used their swords to cut at him when they saw an opening. It was nowhere near perfect, he could see their weapons straining harder and harder against the leech’s relentless blows but for now they kept him contained. He could not show his full power when he had to defend from three sides.

Howling in anger, the beast ignored Alec and Lyra’s attack, letting them slice into his body and jumped on Denni. She tried to back away, but her speed was no match for the leech’s. In half a heartbeat he was within her guard and reaching with his hand to strike at her heart.

Alec screamed, lunging forward. His sword slid easily into the warm flesh but he instantly knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. Denni! She..!

A shape fell from the sky. It smashed into the unsuspecting leech and slammed him to the ground. Scorpius’ hand struck into his victim’s chest, passing through the thin layer of skin and crushing the heart inside.

The leech gurgled, coughed. Scorpius waved for the others to move away and stood up himself. But he didn’t move, ready to pounce and finish of the enemy in case it tried anything.

But the leech didn’t have the energy for escape. It coughed, drew in a shuddering breath, and shifted his gaze towards Iago, who stood a considerable distance away. He hadn’t taken a step from where Scorpius had thrown him to protect from the attack.

“I should’ve known…” the leech wheezed out, his words barely discernible. “By his side… No victims apparent…” He tried to laugh but it came out as a haggard cough. It lasted so long Alec was certain the man would die before stopping. But no, the fit was past and he was still breathing. “My fault… She said… said… defenceless… Draining him so… Hahah… Too smart… Way too smart.” With that quiet lament the last breath left the leech’s body and his head rolled sideways, glassy eyes seeing nothing.

Scorpius crouched beside him, closing his eyes . “I’m sorry,” he whispered and opening the mouth broke off the two, larger than normal, fangs. He brought them to Alec, opened his numb hand and closed the fingers around it. “Keep your proof, but I won’t let your people desecrate him.”

He returned to the body and picked it up like it weighed nothing and walked away, deeper into the city. Presumably to bury it.

Denni was the first to snap out of her shock and was ready to shout her discontent. She wanted to present this creature to everyone so they could vent their anger. With her at the forefront. It was too easy for it to just die quickly like this.

“Don’t,” Iago called in a chilling voice. He walked over with a look so cold it froze all thoughts of resistance in the girl’s mind. “Come. Let’s leave this place. I’m certain you have a lot of questions.”

That was an understatement. Alec had so many unsolved thoughts in his mind, he didn’t know where to start with them. Nothing what happened here made any sense, and he was too shocked to bother trying to find some. He nodded like a mindless puppy and went in the direction of the tower. Its slanted top was high enough to raise above all other buildings, showing the path towards it.

When he reached the doors, he passed through them and sat by the wall, staring at the other side. There was a slight weight in his left grip but he did not want to see what was there. Somehow that would make what happened real. What he saw with his own eyes.

“I guess you want to know more about him,” Iago said once everyone was inside. None of them had said anything but Iago took that as a confirmation. “As you guessed, he is a Nosferatu. There’s no denying that.”

Denni stepped forward. Anger brimmed in her eyes. “You lied to us! You kept us in the dark while a monster was living right under our noses!” she exclaimed, waving her arm in a general direction of where Scorpius left. “How could you?”

And here was the real question. The main accusation. How could Iago do it? He brought a monster into their midst and did not tell anyone. As far as they knew, Scorpius was just another harmless refugee. They did not know to be wary of him. Careful that an attack might come at any moment.

“Why should I have?” Iago asked in turn, not an ounce of regret in his voice. He crossed his arms and looked at each of them. “Who are you to demand explanation of me? I deemed it safe and that was enough for me.”

“Safe?” Denni shouted out, fisting her arms by her side. “He’s a cursed leech! They’re monsters without a shred of conscience!”

Iago focused on her, his gaze cold as ice. “That’s exactly why I did not say anything. You see only what you want to see. How often did I tell you to treat me as a normal person, believe in me for once? You never did that. The few times you followed me like today was simply because you know you can’t survive without me. It doesn’t matter how much I’ve helped you, or how much it cost me. As long as I’m a shaper, I’m not human. I cannot be trusted.” He followed his words with a sneer. “Is it really that surprising then, that I kept my friend’s identity to myself?”

There was no reply from the girl. She was hot-headed and impulsive but she knew truth and shame when she was faced with them. What Iago had said, it was a heavy stone in their garden. They blamed him for keeping secrets, but when had they fully trusted him themselves?

It was only right for someone to keep a few tricks to defend himself with.

“It’s enough, Denni,” Alec said when the girl was about to find her words again, and stood up. “It’s been a long time. We all need a little rest.”

“But -”

“Enough.” She did not seem convinced. Alec understood her all too well. It was too important of a matter and she did not want to let it go. They needed answers. What else was the shaper hiding? How was Scorpius not a threat? And how did he walk around in day time?

Yet from Iago’s freezing glare it was clear they’d get no answers today. With their indignation and shock, obvious distaste, they had confirmed Iago’s worst expectations. He’d hoped to see them more accepting. Understanding even.

Alec found it laughable. Who would expect anyone to be welcoming to learning one of their comrades was a leech? But Iago was a shaper. Their minds worked in different ways.

And here he caught himself again. Different ways. It was exactly as Iago had said. He did not see him as a human. Rather a shaper was as mutant, an existence above normal people. Something they should always be wary of. Even now, after knowing Iago all this time, he could not get rid of the innate fear of his kind.

They were too powerful. It wasn’t right for anyone to have this strong. Especially since it was gained by luck. You either were born with it, or not. Completely unfair.

But then, who ever said that life was fair?