Chapter Twenty Four: A Battle of Blood

The Red Citadel.

The jewel of the Vampire nation, a city hidden from the world.

It took it's name from the large ruby palace that stood at it's centre, atop a large hill, built a thousand years ago. The city sprung up around it over time, expanding ever outwards. A large metropolis and a testament to the building skill of the vampires.

The city was segmented into seven districts, each walled off from the others with only one entrance between each. All these exits were heavily guarded and the only way to get to the Red Citadel itself was through five large gates that were nearly always sealed through the noble district. It was designed this way in case of a siege. To be able to get to the castle you must pass through all seven districts and break through all eight doors before you could get to the palace, something that had never been achieved since it's creation.

As I passed through the entrance into the paupers district, the first of the seven, I was immediately made aware of the stink in the air, the shit that lined the streets and the many vagabonds that begged for copper at the sides of the road.

I walked into this mess, my eyes and ears open, my grip around Xolumbrandir tight as I examined the streets ahead while Bell talked with one of the guards at the entrance.

“Gods, this place smells like shit... to the think this is the entrance to the greatest city in Scarl Forest, it's fucking horrible.” Ada said, her hands clamped over her mouth.

I couldn't help but agree with her. The last time I had been here the pauper district hadn't been this bad, in fact, it had been on the rise. The Queen at the time might have been a supporter of the church but she cared about the people under her rule. It seems that Cinder didn't share her interests.

After a few minutes of waiting, Bell approached us from behind, a troubled look on her face.

“The Hunts taking place in the noble district, about an hours walk from here without magic. The guard says that it's already been underway for three hours, so I reckon Cin's just finishing up, taking her time with the remaining survivors.”

My teeth gritted and my grip around my sword tightened. “Alright, I'm going to go ahead of you all. Meet me there. But.” I turned and faced the girls, looking them in the eyes “Do not interfere. This something that I must do alone and none of you would be any help to me against Cinder, merely get in the way.”

“But-!” The outcry came from Bell.

I glared at her “No. I'll talk her down myself. I know you want to help her Bell, but she is in the throes right now, as you well know. You may be safe, but your companions would not be.”

The Vampire looked like she wanted to complain for a moment before she bit her lip and nodded. Even she could see the reasoning behind that. If she went to Cinder the others would follow her, without a doubt, even if she told them not too. It would only end with their blood on her hands. Something that she would never be able to forgive herself for.

“Out of curiosity, Corus... em... how do you plan to stop her?” Leigh asked, her voice quiet. She was getting better being around me, but her eyes often found the ground whenever we spoke.

I felt the book underneath my tunic, the copy of Lily the Rabbit that I had taken from the tower. Hopefully it would be enough to slow her down and listen to what I have to say, but even then I'm doubtful.

“I've got a few things I can tell her, might be enough to make her listen. If she doesn't, then she'll attack and I'll have to fight her.” I replied with a troubled tone. I had sparred with Cinder before and I have had to restrain her numerous times when she had attempted to leave the tower to go hunting in the city. But this was different. It had been four hundred years and I was going in with the assumption that Cin had kept practising her magic and fighting skills. If that was the case, then the Cinder I would be fighting would be a different monster all together. Who knows how many tricks she's picked up.

“You're going to fight her?” Bell asked, worried.

I shook my head “Only if she's so far gone that she doesn't listen. Even then it won't be a proper fight, I just need to restrain her long enough make her realise who I am.”

I gave a nod to each of the girls, took the mask from my belt and placed it onto my head, feeling it conform and change to fit me, even as it clouded my eyes in shadow. The mask was more familiar than my new face, perhaps it would make her hesitate... or it could just piss her off.

I turned and began to make my way down the road, drawing in mana as I prepared to activate Aspect of Air.

“Corus!” I turned and saw Bell waving at me, her expression frantic. “Watch out for the blood, Cin can control it!”

I nodded at the vampire and took off. The streets bending around me as I exploded forwards, creating a whirlwind in my wake.

* * *

Merrick had tried his hardest to escape, but to no avail, he could hear the laughter echoing behind him, it never changed, it was always closer than before. It was like he was running towards his death, not away from it.

He had just done his second lap of the district and had wandered into the central plaza, weary and broken. He had lost his spear quite a ways back, it had snagged on the ground and fallen from his hands as he abandoned it to escape.

'Not that it would have helped me much' He thought to himself bitterly as he stumbled towards the large, luxurious fountain that sat at it's centre.

He fell at the base of the fountain, his breathing heavy and laboured as he lay his back against the cool marble. His eyes closed as he cried silently to himself.

'Why did I do this? Timar... Kani.... forgive me.'

“There you are!”

Merrick didn't move, he just hung his head as his cries became louder, his eyes scrunched shut, unwilling to look at the devil who would take his life.

“Why are you crying? Oh! You're afraid... That's ok, I tend to make people do that.” She said, a smile in her voice as he heard her footsteps continue to get louder “But you should run, you know? I like it when my lunch runs, it's funny. I like your little screams of terror when I'm getting closer and closer and... closer.” The final word was said directly in front of his face.

Merrick trembled, his whole body shaking as cries of sorrow rippled through his body. He would never see his wife again, never see his son become a man. All for the sake of a pile of gold coins.

He heard the woman in front of him give a dissatisfied sigh “You people! Don't just sit there, do something!”

There was silence for a second and then he felt cool hands touch his skin, stroking his arms as he flinched away, pulling them closer to his chest and keeping his eyes tightly shut.

“Fine” She said with a soft sigh “Suppose I can enjoy this as well. Now, feel free to struggle as much as you want, gets the blood pumping.” He heard the sound of her tongue licking her lips as she laughed and wrapped one hand around his neck with an iron grip, pulling him up into the air like he weighed nothing at all. She began to hum that same song as she brought him closer towards her, so close that he could feel her breath upon his cheek.

“CINDER!”

* * *

I arrived at the entrance to the Noble District moments after I had left the girls.

Thankfully, I was able to use my full speed to get there so fast although I might've destroyed a few stalls and such with the wind I was displacing, but needs must, especially in a situation like this.

The large gates to the Noble district were sealed shut and several guards stood in front of it, they seemed rather alarmed when I just seemed to appear out of thin air. There stances dropped and their grips on their shields and spears tightening as the wind buffeted them.

“What the fuck is that!” Came a shout from inside a small building to the right of the gate. A large man walked out, a vampire, wearing a different uniform compared to his fellows. Must be some kind of officer.

“You in the mask! What the fuck do you think you're doing? No one uses magic inside city limits.” The large man walked towards me, drawing his sword as he went. “In the name of Queen Cinder, you are under arrest-”

I drew Xolumbrandir faster than his eyes could follow and severed his sword at where the hilt met the blade. The man stumbled backwards, shock etched onto his face as he attempted to make sense out of what just happened.

“Let me through the gates... or you all die.” My words swept over the guards as Xolumbrandir added sound magic to my words, causing them to shake and convulse, their pale faces evident as their eyes became fixed on my masked face.

The officer got the worst of it and he fell to his knee's, shaking uncontrollably.

“But- but the Hunt...” He stuttered. It appeared that he was more terrified of Cin than he was of me.

“Sword, destroy the gates.” I whispered.

Xolumbrandir hissed in delight at my directive and great tendrils of darkness left the blade, whipping back and forth, knocking the guards aside as if they were dust.

The giant tendrils smashed into the gates with a crash, eviscerating the hard wood and turning it into splinters, revealing the empty streets of the noble district beyond.

The officer and his cohorts could only stare at the display of power as I took off again, Aspect of Air in full effect. I powered through the gates and searched for Cinder's aura.

It didn't take me long to locate it.

It was different to the aura's of others. Hers was a writhing thing, it kind of reminded me of Xolumbrandir in a way. The darkness contained within it wasn't as great as the blade, but it was close enough for me to worry. Her aura was tainted, clear evidence of her becoming worse since I had been gone.

I could also sense something else, something much smaller, almost dwarfed by her powerful aura. It must be one of her 'volunteers'.Whoever it was they didn't have much magical talent, but enough to let me see them from this far away.

“Shit!” I cursed as I pushed myself forwards faster.

I couldn't sense anyone else in the district, which meant Cinder was near the end of her hunt. Perhaps this was her last meal before it ended. I would make sure it was one she would never have.

I drew in mana with all I was worth, the stone streets churning up under my steps as I activated Aspect of Earth and jumped, throwing myself high into the air, well above even the tallest buildings in this district.

For but a single moment I manipulated my personal gravity to keep myself stable, searching the streets below.

There.

A woman stood holding a man high up into the air, the man didn't even struggle, only twitched with involuntary motion. Even from here I could see the fear in his eyes as he struggled to breath.

“CINDER!”

I sent myself down with terrific force, manipulating my gravity to make me drop like a boulder, my skin turning to steel as I activated Aspect of Metal.

I smashed into the ground near her location, a great cloud of crushed stone rose into the air as I dashed forwards, grabbing the man from her grasp.

I felt something rake against my shoulder, faster than I could avoid. Cin's favourite weapon, her fingernails, augmented with Ice, tore into my flesh. I didn't even gasp as I pulled the man away, covering his body with my own as her lightning fast attacks caught me three more times before I managed to retreat.

I dashed away to the other side of the plaza, throwing the man through an open doorway. He was unconscious but I could tell he was alright. At the very least, I could save him from my daughters madness.

I turned and stared across the plaza, my senses on high alert as I watched and waited. Cin was there, standing in the cloud, I could see her outline, but she hadn't moved, she merely stood and watched. I couldn't even really see her that well and I felt my heart start thumping within my chest.

I wanted to run over and hug her, hold her, let her know that I was back and she would be ok. But I couldn't. I knew Cinder's power far too well, if I let my guard down for a second, she would kill me.

After a few moments of our silent stand-off, the smoke gradually began to clear, whisked away on a swift wind.

I saw my daughter for the first time in four hundred years.

The first surprise was how old she looked. I mean, I had first met her when she was in her twenties, about nine years old in terms of vampire ageing. Now she was a... well... woman.

She was beautiful. Her skin was like porcelain, her hair as white as snow, hanging down past her waist. She wore some kind of light red dress that matched her eyes, one that left her arms bare and... dipped into her neckline a little more than I would've liked. Her feet were bare, seems she still preferred to go without shoes and her hands were daintily held by her side.

Honestly, it would have been the perfect image, if it wasn't for the hatred, the pain and the promise of a savage death that she all but exuded. Her light coloured dress was dyed darker in some places by the blood she had spilled during her Hunt. Her lips a ruby colour and her lower jaw covered in crimson as I could see her gritted teeth and slightly shaking head.

My blood dripped out from her fingers, each of which was tipped with some kind of red crystal. Even from here I could see they were razor sharp.

Blood manipulation.

A school of magic that Cinder had been working on when I had died. As far as I knew she was the first to experiment with such a thing, but to someone like her, who was always surrounded by the substance, it made sense to learn how to control it. Looks like she had perfected it since I've been gone.

“Little one... please just listen-”

The vampire took off from her place like a catapult, the ground exploding underneath her as she shot forwards. Cuts appeared on her skin and blood rose from the wounds, following behind her like tendrils, as she closed in on me at speed.

I moved as well, drawing Xolumbrandir and managing to catch the attack from her claws a split second before they connected. I commanded the sword not to cut through the crystals, instead commanding it to stay out of what was to come.

The many tendrils that had trailed behind Cinder suddenly shot forwards, too many of me to block, so I sent fire out from my body, causing the blood to evaporate before it connected.

But Cin wasn't deterred. She spun through the air like an acrobat, slamming both feet into my mask before I could evade and sending me tumbling backwards.

Luckily the mask had held but I was in a precarious position. This position was made apparent as I felt a kick connect with my ribs, shattering each and every one of them, causing fragments of bone to shoot out and pierce several of my internal organs. The force behind the kick was such that I was sent flying through the air, going through several walls of several buildings before I finally came to a stop, gasping for air, in a pile of rubble.

Fuck, she's gotten a lot stronger.

I pulled myself to my feet and activated Aspect of Healing. The massive amount of mana that it needed was a risk, but one I would need to take if I wanted to get out of this alive.

Cinder was walking her way after me, firmly and silently. I could see her out in the plaza, her hands curled into fists now as I saw a sneer on her face, her hair hiding her eyes.

I pushed myself to my feet and swung Xolumbrandir a couple of times, the majority of the damage from her attack being healed.

“Cinder, listen to me! I know what this looks like, but you must find control!”

She opened her mouth and screamed, revealing her half crazed eyes as the very ground began to tremble and vibrate in her fury. All she saw right now was someone wearing her father's mask, holding her father's sword and the hunger drove her on, igniting the emotions she was feeling and pushing them to new levels.

She rushed towards me as the streets burst apart and water rose from within, swirling around her and mixing with the blood as her pale skin was covered in a layer of frost.

“ENOUGH!” I roared, unleashing the full power of my aura, the raw and destructive power of mana rushing from within me, and turning everything around me into dust.

The wave caught Cinder off balance and a look of coherent surprise was visible on her face before she was blasted backwards, pieces of dagger like debris opening multiple wounds on her flesh as she collided with the ground of the plaza with a smash, her control over her element broken by my overwhelming strength.

For a moment there was silence but for my heavy breathing as I released control over my mana and let it return to the air. Handling mana in it's raw form was when it was at it's most destructive, but it was also at it's most draining. If I had kept that up any longer I would've been out for the count.

The sound of shifting rocks brought my attention back to the hole where Cinder had disappeared into. She crawled out, the look on her face still without thought or reason, probably even more so now that she was in so much pain from the many wounds I had given her. Her white hair fell in front of her face as I looked between the strands, her red eyes almost glowing with hatred.

Then I did perhaps the stupidest fucking thing I had ever done.

I plunged Xolumbrandir into the ground and walked up to her, not too close, taking a seat a few meters away. The confusion was evident on her face now, she thought I was going to continue to fight, but I couldn't, not now. The fact that she was covered in fresh blood, her own, and that I had caused it was almost too much for me. I don't want to hurt her.

“Who are you.... filthy, piece of shit. Using The Sword.... Wearing The Mask. Who the fuck do you think you are?! I'll tear apart your flesh and guzzle your blood until there's nothing left!” She hissed as she pulled herself to her feet, the blood from her various wounds becoming weapons as more tendrils appeared behind her, I felt her draw in mana and form more blood claws at the tip of each of her fingers, ready to rip me apart.

I reached into my tunic and brought out the book, laying it down in front of me, the cover facing her.

She gasped, her control over the mana breaking and the claws and tendrils faded away into nothingness. Her eyes were transfixed, she was unable to move nor speak, her aura died away, as did her control over mana, as she stared at the ancient book.

I pointed at the cover “Do you remember this, little Cin? Do you remember when we first found you, unable to talk? Do you remember Marwenna and I reading this to you?”

Cinder didn't speak, she fell to her knee's, her eyes still fixed on the book. The hunger was being pushed back, I needed to remind her who she was, needed her to know that I was here.

“I'm so sorry, Cin. I should've been here, but I wasn't... I'm here now.”

Cinder was crying, her eyes still on the book as the colour of them dimmed to that of a normal vampire, but the shaking still commanded her body.

“I'm right here, little one. Look at me.”

Her head rose as her eyes looked into the darkness of my mask.

“You're not alone any more.”

Her eyes held my own. “How.... Father?”

I jumped to my feet and sprinted towards her. I swept the crying girl into my arms as she continued to weep. I held her close to my chest as she buried her face into my tunic and sobbed, her arms wrapped around me and squeezing me tight, as if she were afraid that I would disappear if she let go.