“Sa-Sabrina, listen to me,” Thana said to her. Sabrina felt as if she was watching herself behind her own eyelids. She felt strange, drunk almost. Her anxiety was all but gone, and the people around her weren’t people at all, but things—objects that acted and moved in predictable ways. Sabrina turned to the sound of several whimpering women, the same women she had come here to protect. They shrieked as Sabrina unconsciously cast them a look of utter desire, a look that would have been almost identical to the men she had just killed. She wanted to pounce them, tear at them, hear them scream, and feel their hot blood on her face.

“SABRINA!” Thana shouted. Sabrina’s urge suddenly hit a stone wall, interrupted by the sudden shout, it sobered her up a moment, made her vision clear, but with every fleeting heartbeat, she began to see her vision cloud red again as if a fine pink mist were forming around her. She needed to feed; her body needed that insatiable craving for human meat.

Sabrina couldn’t take it anymore; the smell and sight of fresh flesh was intoxicating. She lunged at the cowering women in the corner, her arms outstretched, eagerly awaiting to rip apart their soft skin. But something collided with her mid-leap—hard.

The women covered their faces and screamed at what they believed to be their last seconds in this world, when Thana came at her with a hard shoulder, pushing her off-target. Thana had not held back, and Sabrina felt one of her rib’s cracks from the impact. She went cascading through the air as if smacked by a giant’s club, but Sabrina landed on her feet, despite her feet being glued to the side of a wall. She looked up growling, about to rip apart the thing that had just interrupted her ascension into absolute bliss.

Thana stood shielding the women, her posture as stoic as one could be. Thana’s face however was a turmoil of anger and determination, topped conflictingly with regret at what she had just done.

“This is not what you want Sabrina!” Thana thundered; her claws still sharpened into miniature stakes. “Control yourself!”

Sabrina felt the hot knife of a girl being told what to do by her parent and roared defiantly at her aunt. Why was she stopping her from getting what she needed, what she deserved? The city was hers was it not? Her father had said as much, and its people were hers too, to do with whatever she damn well pleased. Sabrina sprang forward from the wall like a frog making its most ambitious leap, and Thana braced herself. The two of them went over and down in a tangle of flailing fury. Thana attained top mount in the exchange, successfully pinning Sabrina under her weight.

“Enough Sabrina.” Her aunt cursed, slamming Sabrina’s head to the ground with enough force to crack a skull. The blow knocked all sense from Sabrina, and she now saw not one, but three Thana’s on top of her. The world seemed to shift and swim in a mirage of colour that all unified for a moment, then divide again. Sabrina felt a weight lift from her chest, allowing her to roll over in dizzy confusion. She could just about hear muffled words being exchanged to her left, and then saw a passing troop of young women flee-past her. When her vision only split the world into two and not three, she tried to rise, only to fall sideways as if gravity had shifted suddenly to one side of the room.

“I’m sorry Sabrina.” A voice called out to her. Sabrina felt a presence as something drew close. Kneeling beside her she recognized it was Thana, her red eyes burning like pools of molten lava.

“I am assisting in the re-capture of Leeside,” she said. “The siege will begin at the break of dawn.” There was a pause as ice touched Sabrina’s chin, pulling it upwards to meet the pits of swirling lava. “You’re either with me or against me, Sabrina.”

Sabrina saw what could have been sorrow stretch across her aunt’s face, but her vision was still in the realm of betrayal; Thana let her chin fall.

She didn’t hear Thana leave, but when the door to the chamber opened again a few moments later, it was Skinner that arrived, pacing protectively to Sabrina when he saw her. He was out of breath and panting by the time he reached her, more steps were trailing close behind him.

“Princess,” he said rescuing her up in his arms. “Are you okay?”

Sabrina looked up at him, her mind only now returning to her. Emotions began to flood back into her, human emotions, emotions that were locked away mere heartbeats ago.

“Th-thana,” she whispered, focusing on the moving Adam’s apple in Skinner’s throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Captain, these are WC?” A voice yelled out of Sabrina’s eyesight. Sabrina saw Skinner look around in horror, connecting the display about him. Fear overshadowed his face, but fear of what exactly, Sabrina could not say.

“Inform the Spider King,” Skinner ordered. “Tell him…” He looked into Sabrina’s vacant eyes. “Tell him his daughter was attacked. Inform him she’s safe, and it was Thana that attacked our boys.”

The men did not move at first, each man without a doubt fearing to bring news to the Spider King alone, especially in the event of relaying any bad news.

“Is there a problem here?” Skinner warned, tilting his head.

“No, Captain.” One man mumbled, and all five of the men left together.

When Sabrina was fully aware that the men had left the two of them alone, she sat up tentatively, her head still awash with dizzying thoughts.

“Skinner,” she said, using him as leverage to raise to her feet. Blood was still on her chin and she wiped it away frantically. “Thana…she’s attacking the city tomorrow morning.”

Skinner looked shocked but did not probe any questions. He gripped her arms tightly and pulled her in close for a whisper.

“Is the poison ready?” he asked.

Sabrina pulled out the veil of Sabrina’s blood, its inky black abyss caused the room to filter a few shades lower.

“Pretty much.” She answered. The Goldrush poison would be brewing into its final stage by now she knew, and once she added Thana’s blood to the mix…

“Take me to my lab, Skinner,” Sabrina ordered.

“No.” Objected Skinner. “Your father will want to know what happened. Best get a coherent story.”

He looked around at the mangled display again, observing the fleshless arm of a man, then sent Sabrina a harrowing look.