Embers
Through the thick, billowing smoke that hangs heavy in the air, Mido searches across the stony commons to the shrine where Lumi had just finished screaming some form of nonsensical gibberish. The vampire’s laughter echoes through the eerie silence, sending shivers down Mido’s spine.
Grimacing, Mido presses himself against the cool marble of the fountain, looking for any possible escape route. But as he watches, Lumi continues to thrash, while the vampire laughs maniacally. He knows there is no way he can help him. I’ll just get myself killed, he thinks, fear clawing at his chest.
A bright flash of red lightning tears through the gray clouds above, casting an otherworldly glow over everything. With his gaze fixed upwards, Mido cannot tear his eyes away from the dazzling display. The sky is now painted with a deep, glossy crimson hue — reminiscent of fresh spilled blood.
As if responding to the burst of lightning, the gray clouds begin to expand and darken with angry streaks of red, crackling with energy. Mido feels a sense of foreboding wash over him as he watches this ominous scene unfold before him.
With a quick turn, he checks behind him once again. Suddenly, a horrifying crack echoes from the shrine. Lumi’s foot connects with the vampire’s head, sending blood and bone fragments flying through the air in a crimson mist. But it’s not just his physical assault that catches Mido’s attention — it’s the look in Lumi’s eyes. They blaze like an inferno, his pupils consumed by an intense fire. Deep lines etched around his eyes give him the appearance of being physically exhausted, even though he stands before them with unwavering determination.
The decapitated vampire falls to the ground at Lumi’s feet, lifeless. Whispering a language that Mido can not understand, Lumi raises his hand into the air. A halo of pure light appears above his palm, brightening and expanding until it engulfs everything around them. The sudden burst of light is blinding, causing Mido to instinctively cover his eyes. But even through his closed eyelids, he can still see the brilliant white glow.
As the light intensifies, he can feel the ground beneath him shaking and rumbling. The sound of ringing fills his ears, and it grows louder and louder until it becomes a deafening screech. He covers his ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise, blood begins to drip from his ear canals. The word of the gods is not meant for any other than the chosen — Mido remembers being told this countless times before.
Desperate to escape the unbearable noise and light, he tucks his head between his knees and tries to shut everything out. But even in this position, the piercing whistle continues to resonate through every fiber of his being.
What is he doing?
The rumble beneath his feet rises, and the white behind his eyelids slowly fades. Opening his eyes, he turns back to the shrine.
Lumi…
Where the shrine had been is rubble, only bits of stonework and a few columns remain of what was once a solidly constructed shrine. He brings his collar over his lips and stares at the destruction. The plumes of smoke rise into the bloody sky along with embers.
“Lumi!” the words leave his lips without thought.
He couldn’t have survived.
Bodies of vampires and thralls alike are strewn around the commons, all around him on either side of the fountain is rubble and gore. Mido rises from his crouch and stands at the back of the fountain. Strange dancing lights fill the sky, a handful at first, which becomes a hundred and a hundred more.
Every tall tale that Mido had heard about the saints throughout his life is no longer drawn in question. Every wild story and legend suddenly seems possible.
“LUMI!” Mido calls through the commons, his hands wrapped around his lips. The sound of his own voice does not reach his ears. “LUMI!” He calls again, unsure if his words are even making a sound.
Along the central aisle of the shrine, through the plumes of smoke, Lumi seems to materialize. The bits of clothing he wears are tattered, the bright woolen parka is blackened, one of the sleeves burning away. Yet, despite the damage to his clothing, Lumi appears unharmed. His lips move to words unheard, the ringing grows louder in Mido’s ears. Unsure of what to do, he claps his hands over his ears and continues to call out to Lumi.
Lumi ignores his calls with an aloof expression before he tilts his head to the heavens. His lengthy whip-like tail swings with a measured sway behind him. The whirling lights in the sky descend in quick streaks. Bursts of light obfuscate Mido’s vision. He shields his eyes from the light, opening them to witness stony rubble and wooden splinters hail down around him.
The blood from his ears drips down his scalp and over his brow. He presses his hands back over his ears, whispering an inaudible incantation. Warmth flows from his hands, and rushes through his ears. A sizzling sound begins to form until suddenly his hearing is restored. The sounds around him are equally violent as the sights. Explosions in the distance ring out. The ships he can see from the commons buckle, rupturing with the impact of the light smashing into them.
Mido hurries from behind the fountain, he crosses the distance between them, nearly smashing into Lumi. Lumi’s eyes are still turned to the sky, his eyes wide. A rage burns pure and deep in his eyes, a look of elation gradually creeping across his features. His lips begin to move, the ringing continues to reverberate through Mido’s ears. A god is trying to talk to me.
Throughout the history of Talmus, the chosen had always been known to act as vessels of the gods. The duration these chosen could maintain their form while harboring these deities had never been long. Even a moment could be enough to render the strongest chosen incapacitated or worse. He’s going to die…
“Just listen!” Mido says, shaking Lumi’s shoulders. Lumi is hot to the touch, even through the parka he can feel the heat. “You’re going to kill him!”
Lumi’s lips begin to move again, and Mido falls to his knees, folding his ears down. Lumi steps past him, steam rising from his form. The rubble slips beneath his boots while he climbs the broken bits of the shrine. Atop the stony structure, Lumi turns his eyes back to the blood-red sky. Why did I come without Ennui?
The ringing lessens in his ears, the tremendous booms continue in the distance. There were people here.
“Lumi! Not everyone here is under their control! There are people hiding! You can’t just blindly kill everyone!”
The sky wrinkles with displeasure, the lights continue to take shape among the crimson clouds. Lumi ignores his words and turns his nose higher into the air. Mido forces himself up the mound of rubble. Along the smooth stones, he slips several times before he grabs Lumi’s calf. Pleading eyes look up at the figure.
“Whoever you are, please let Lumi go,” Mido whispers, “he has so much hope. His journey doesn’t end in Cochon. He’s more than a vessel. You know that! You have to see that!”
His words once again fall upon deaf ears. From the pile of rubble, Mido can see the fires raging in the distance, half of the city is engulfed in fire. The snowdrifts that had wanted to pile on the earth melt away. The heat from the fires rushes through the wind against his race.
In the distance along the docks, there is movement. A crowd begins to rush over the wooden pier, drawing Lumi’s gaze. The wooden pier beneath their feet explodes into splinters, a thundering roar booms across the city.
My family could be here.
“How can you just kill so indiscriminately?!” Mido shouts, his eyes shaking with rage. “Lumi wouldn’t, Lumi would never!”
Once more he gazes about the destruction, buildings in the far distance, along the outskirts of Cochon are ablaze. Fires as far as his vision allows release billowing black smoke into the sky. Screeches sound through the fire, monstrous sounds that send a shiver along Mido’s spine. Within mere moments, the entity inside Lumi had unmade hundreds of years of labor, lifetimes of work. There had to be a better way.
Lumi turns to Mido, his eyes roll into the back of his head. “Mido,” he rasps.
Mido barely has time to act, he catches Lumi in his arms, stumbling down the mound of rubble with him. The final thunderous explosions sound throughout the city, and within seconds the crimson sky fades back to the gray hue. Lumi lays limp against Mido at the base of the rubble, his body feels heavy. Scratches from the fall adorn their bodies, Mido’s leg is wracked with pain; a dull ache just above his ankle.
Heat lightning rips through the clouds, thunder rumbles overhead. Mido pushes Lumi to the side and forces himself to his feet, a yelp sounds without him even thinking. He pulls up the fabric to reveal the shard of glass penetrating his leg. The yellowed stained-glass drips with lines of his blood. A pained shout escapes his lips when he pulls at the glass. The shard is embedded much deeper than he hopes.
“Heavens,” He groans, his fingers shaking over the glass. Even subtle movements bring a gush of crimson surging over his leg.
Mido sighs then bites down on the collar of his woolen garb, his teeth grit hard enough against the wool that he can feel the fibers tearing. The pain is excruciating, but he forces himself to rip the shard from his leg. A squeal of pain echoes around them, the shard breaks over the rubble beneath him. The blood runs down his leg, flowing into his boot. Eustes had only taught him a few spells here and there. The healing methods he had learned were rudimentary at best. His eyelids flutter closed, his hand presses against the warm blood. He mutters a prayer and hopes his incantation works. Healing requires focus and passion, at this moment, Mido is unsure if he can focus.
“Auxilium,” Mido mutters, warmth flows from his hands and wraps around him like a fleece. The wound stitches closed, the blood stops running down his leg. He sighs and leans back against the rubble, rubbing the area where the wound had been. “What did you do?” He asks, glancing at Lumi from the corner of his eyes.
The fires reach for the heavens, their flames lick at the sky and illuminate the streets of the city. Despite Lumi’s small size, every attempt Mido makes at carrying him ends in failure. Lumi’s feet slip from his arms, and Mido lays back into the rubble with a sigh. The exhaustive effects of healing make him feel like he is melting. His eyelids grow heavy, the labors of the entire evening seem to suddenly weigh on him at once.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done… ? Cochon is part of the Empire i-if they find out what you did, they’ll hunt you down. But I guess that doesn’t matter to you, does it?” He questions under his breath. “Only one thing really matters to you.”
After some time, the snowdrifts begin to fall once again, melting once they touch their skin. Mido turns his gaze to the direction of the manor. There is no movement or light, only the stars in the heavens and the burning city around them.
“When we met, I never would have expected you to be the Saint of Flames. You’re nothing like any of the chosen. I grew up reading about them, you know? In Loria with Augustus. He’d take me to the archives, and we would read for hours and hours. Almost all the saints that have much written about them are described as being stoic. Thoughtful,” he laughs softly to himself. “Then there is you. You’re nothing like them, are you? You have such an optimistic personality, always smiling and filled with hope.”
Mido forces himself to stand. With a loud grunt, he stumbles further down the pile of rubble.
“When I was younger, I used to imagine what it would be like if I had been one of the chosen. How everyone would look up to me, how I could rise above my status. Maybe my family would have shown up, been proud of the person I could have become. I-I am not envious. I realize now that had I been in your position, I don’t think I ever could have been up to the task. There is a reason the gods chose you.”
Thunder rumbles overhead, the snowdrifts fall more densely. The mixture of the wet cold touching his cheek with the warmth of the fires nearby is comforting.
“You’re brave, Lumi. You ran into a city filled with monsters to save Khimi. If the roles were reversed… if I had to save Augustus. I-I would like to think I could have done it. I want to think that I could be that brave. But the truth is, I would have stayed by his side, too afraid to face these creatures. Ennui was right when she called me egg.”
Mido grunts as he places his arms beneath Lumi’s legs and the center of his back to lift him. Using what little remaining strength he has, he pulls Lumi up against his chest and turns back to the hill, ascending back to the forest. The dull ache in his leg remains, each step proves more difficult than the last.
“I don’t like to think of myself as an egg. I am j-just not like you guys. Ennui is terrifying, Khimi is scary… you can be scary. Hells, you kicked off that vampire’s head,” he says, struggling with Lumi’s weight. On the opposite side of the fountain, he raises Lumi up against his body. “And I saw you kill that one, I watched the whole thing from up the hill.”
Mido carries Lumi up the base of the hill, his breathing quickly becoming more labored with every step he takes. “I can’t e-even tell you,” he grunts. “When we first met, how enamored I was with you… but I realized that whatever you felt for Khimi, you could never feel for me. I-I was upset at first, I just couldn’t understand is al—”
Mido dips Lumi onto the ground before him, his body is gently cradled by the soft blanket of snow. Three pairs of crimson eyes stare down at him from the top of the hill. Instinctively, he reaches for the shotel, only to remember its location on the bottom of the Lorian sea. His breathing is unsteady from carrying Lumi, his body is sore from training, and his mind is numb from the exhaustive healing magick.
Raising his hand before him, he shouts the incantation most familiar to him. Ventus. It had been the first spell he learned and was the easiest for him to master. Wind encompasses the area around him and blows at his back. The first set of eyes is met with the howling winds which rip through the snow-covered hill. The snow lifts in a flurry while the crimson eyes rush down the hill to meet him. The direction the wind travels is clear through the snow. It smashes into the one furthest ahead of the others, his body tumbles towards them, crumpling over the icy cobblestones. He begins to rise, only to fall back onto his knees. The remaining assailants hurry through the snow, undeterred by Mido’s display.
The night creatures glide down the snow with ease. Mido’s attempts to catch them off guard with the same trick fails. The winds criss-cross through the snow and finally meet their target. The creature stumbles, then regains their footing. There is no time for Mido to defend himself. The creature falls upon him with such speed and ferocity that they both hurl back into the snow. He calls out to Lumi, reaching through the snow. The pale figure snarls atop him, spittle drips down its cheek. He does everything within his power to keep his savage attacker at bay. Kicking does little to deter him, the creature bites at him, detached from whatever humanity had been there before. From the corner of his eyes, Mido watches the other creature stand over Lumi.
Mido closes his eyes and focuses his energies on his hand. There is no joy in ending a life, but there is no time to think. The shotel appears, the hilt pressed against his palm. The blade swings in a short, decisive movement. Blood splatters across his cheeks, the creature’s throat is split before his eyes. Back on his feet, Mido dashes to Lumi’s aid. The creature before him snarls and looks up from Lumi, blood drips from the crimson lips. Lumi.
“Ossa Terra!”
The words leave his lips without thought. The earth shakes around him, spiny growths of stone curve from the ground, attempting to pierce the creature. The beast leaps back, evading the moving earth. Mido huffs, his stamina depleted. The heavy use of magick had already left him drained. The shotel in his hand vanishes, and he falls to his knees. His vision blurs with tears, he has no strength in him to stand. The creature bounds at him through the snow, running on all fours like a beast.
“I’m sorry, Augustus,” He whispers. The creature falls upon him, sharp nails scratch through the woolen jacket. “I wish I was stronger.”
Fists pummel against his face, constant pain fills him. Every effort he makes to shield himself fails, his hands lie in the snow beside him. The words for various incantations run through his head. Help me. He looks at Lumi, his body still limp in the snow.
A silver light flies across his blurred vision in a flash. A thump in the snow. He turns his head to the side and opens his eye as wide as he can muster. The eyes of the creature stare back at him through its severed head. Mido gradually turns his head to look up, the pain in his neck is so severe it hurts to move. A woman stands above him, her silvery braid hangs behind her. The blade in her hand is thin like a needle. It reflects the light in such a way, the steel appears almost as white as the surrounding snow. The blade returns to its sheathe with a flick of her wrist. The woman looks down at him, her eyelids still closed. There is a cold air about her, her skin is white as milk, her expression is unmoving.
“W-who are you?” Mido asks, pushing himself up by his elbows.
Initially, the woman does not respond. She stands in silence, surveying her surroundings, her eyes still closed. “It doesn’t matter,” she replies in a curt whisper.
It takes every bit of effort for Mido to stand up on his feet. “We need help,” he whispers. “I need to get him back. I-I don’t think I can carry him.”
His words do not seem to touch her. She looks about thoughtfully, “This Saint of Flames is different from the others,” she whispers to herself.
Fear grips Mido, “Leave him alone,” he whispers, repeating the words again in a shout while the woman takes a step towards him.
The woman glances back at Mido, a flash of her teeth reveals her monstrous nature. “Why should I?”
“He’s a good person.”
“Is he?” The woman asks, a laugh leaving her lips. “I don’t believe that this is the work of a good person.”
Mido’s head pounds, his thoughts are a jumbled mess. “He did it for the person he loves. Because if he didn’t, they’d die.” The shotel forms in Mido’s hand, only to vanish within seconds.
“Spare me your reasons. I have no intention of harming him,” she says with a surety. “Why would I have saved you otherwise?”
Mido eyes the dead bodies around him. “Then what do you want from us?”
“I’m simply repaying a debt.”
Mido massages his temples, the pain from the attack courses through him. “A debt? To Lumi?” He asks, unsure of the words leaving his lips. He stumbles forward, dragging his feet through the snow.
“Doggy, sit still. You’re going to make those injuries worse. If you spread your blood through the snow, you’ll just draw more of them to you.”
“Why did you kill them?” Mido questions, forcing himself forward. His leg drags behind him, growling while he inches closer. “You’re one of them!”
The woman laughs, a shrill and harsh sound. “Don’t compare me with those beasts. I am far above anything they could ever hope to be.”
“And what of us? If you’re so superior to them, what are we to you?” Mido questions, his voice shaking at his own words. “Why would you even save us?”
She sighs, then takes a knee beside Lumi. “It has been ages since I required the need for blood. As we age, our hunger diminishes. I must force myself to remember that I am still hungry, even. All the same, to my kind. To me. You are nothing more than food,” she pauses, brushing Lumi’s hair from his eyes. “But it has been ages since I could repay this debt. There have been others that came before. Those influenced by the sun priests, sent to the north on holy missions.”
“What are you saying?” Mido whispers. Sinking into the snow beside the woman, he looks Lumi over.
“My debt is ancient, but it will be paid tonight.”
“What is this debt?”
“But first, a taste,” she says, bringing Lumi up in her arms slightly. Her cold pale lips brush along Lumi’s cheek before they press against the softness of his lips.
Mido gasps audibly, “Don’t!” He shouts.
She does not heed his call, the paleness of her lips move against Lumi’s pink lips, forcing his mouth open in a thirsty kiss.
Paralyzed, Mido can only whisper, “Please. Stop.”
She pulls back from her kiss, the expression on her face had changed. With her head tilted back to the sky, tears glisten along the lines of her closed eyes. “Sun and summer, no one tastes like this,” she murmurs, tilting her head to Mido, panting erratically. “I can see it, you want a taste of him, don’t you?”
No matter how hard he fights against it, there is something alluring about her words that draw him in. Like a moth to a flame, he takes his first steps.
Mido’s chin trembles, unsure of how to answer. “I-I don’t.”
His heart thumps faster in his chest, betraying him.
“Your heart says otherwise, puppy. Come, come, he’s perfect,” she whispers, each word echoing like a song in his mind. Soft and soothing, like warm milk on a cold night.
Mido takes unwanted step after unwanted step, then drops to his knees opposite the pale figure. Lumi is limp in her arms, weak but breathing, a red line drips from his lips.
“Come, puppy,” she encourages, lifting Lumi’s head towards Mido. “Just a quick taste.”
Mido watches Lumi’s chest rise and fall, the red line drips slow down his chin. He brings his lips near to Lumi’s, they are plump and soft against his own. The taste of blood is present in his mouth. Unsure of why, he presses his mouth harder against Lumi’s wanting more. It is just as she said, Lumi’s mouth is like the warmth against his skin on a sunny day. His breath is soft and fragrant, inviting. And for just a moment, Mido is filled with disappointment in himself, filled with envy that he has tasted something he could never have, filled with anger because he wishes he could. His fingers move across Lumi’s body, wanting to take him from the pale figure, his lips still connected and moving against Lumi’s.
“Enough,” she whispers, knocking Mido back. His eyes still linger on Lumi’s lips. “Greedy puppy.”
“Wh-why does he taste so good?” Mido whispers, wiping his lips while he stares down at Lumi.
Filled with frustration, he wants to cry. The pale figure’s words are barely audible while she whispers to him. His eyes are still focused on Lumi, his shallow breaths, the plump pink lips, smeared red with blood.
Mido interrupts her suddenly, no longer paying attention to what she had been saying, “W-what is this debt, what did you do?” he asks, forcing his gaze back to her.
She clicks her tongue, her lips begin to move, only to stop. Her tongue rolls against her lips, painting the pale lines with a stroke of blood. The line of her jaw clenches, “When I was first changed, the Saint of Flames spared my life. The others had been vanquished. Routed within minutes by the sun priests. I waited for her to kill me, but she chose to spare me, leaving me with a bit of wisdom. She told me that I was not the monster that the world believed me to be. That there is always a choice, and that she hoped I would help others see that truth. Those words meant more to me than any ever spoken to me. They are always in the back of my mind.”
“Really?” Mido asks, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. “Have you lived by those words?”
Her lips twitch into a smile. “You don’t believe me? Can’t say I blame you. It is within our nature to deceive others. I don’t need to lie to you. If I wanted to make you believe me, I could do that too. So how about you trust me? Just a hint will be enough.”
Mido breathes through his mouth, the fog from the cold forms before him. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Bring him somewhere safe. I doubt he will live either way, though. He invoked the power of a god, his body may not have been strong enough to host it,” she mutters and begins to lift him. His body rests limp in her arms, his clothing ripped and torn. She turns to climb the hill. “Are you coming, dog?”
“Where are we going?” Mido questions while he takes his first steps forward. The weight of his body proves to be too much, his knees crumble beneath him.
She stops and turns back. Without making a sound in the snow, she approaches him. Treating him like a porcelain doll, she places Lumi back in the snow. “You exhausted your strength. Overexerted yourself performing spells and magick beyond your scope,” she states. Her closed eyes seem to take all of Mido in.
Mido shivers, shifting his gaze to the side. “I had to do something.”
“I can’t fault you for wanting to save your friend, but you should understand the importance of self-preservation,” she whispers. The wind blows her braid behind her, the platinum hair sweeps against her shoulder. “Canis, can you trust me?”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Mido whispers, his fingers clench into the snow.
No part of Mido wants to trust the woman, nor does he understand her. Her scent is unlike anything he has experienced. Beneath the scent of death is something fragrant, calming. Chrysanthemums. The flower, often grown throughout Lorian gardens, could be found in sun-filled valleys and among fertile soil. The scent brings credence to her story.
“Do you miss it, being alive?” Mido asks, breaking the silence.
Her eyes still closed, her lips twist back into a smirk. “You’re smart for a dog,” she whispers. She reaches for a bottle at her hip, then shoves it against his lips. “Drink,” she insists. “You’ll feel revitalized.”
Mido closes his mouth, his lips pucker against the glass lip. The rust scent closes off his senses, and without hesitation his tongue laps at the thick liquid. The taste is strong, the liquid is thick. His legs kick through the snow, wanting to resist. Unable to stop himself, he clings onto her arm, drinking deep until he forces himself to stop for breath. With a loud gasp, he breathes as if taking his first breath. His eyes open wide, the sounds of the crackling flames, the impossibly soft sound of the falling snow. It all sounds crisp, clear. From behind his eyes, down to the tips of his toes, a prickling touch courses through him.
Her smile startles him. “How do you feel?” She asks softly.
“Fine,” Mido admits, squeezing his palm, the strange tingle flowing through him.
“Good, I was reserving the tincture for him,” she says, ripping the bottle out of his grip. “Now come on,” she says, lifting Lumi.
“We’re staying at the manor on top of the hill,” Mido says, wanting to trust.
“I know.”
Mido follows close behind her. They pause at the top of the hill before turning to the forest. The fires within the city still run wild, occasional explosions ring out in the city. Oil or spirits ignited by the fires. Great plumes of smoke rise over the landscape. The starry night sky, obscured by the destruction.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” She questions in awe.
Mido bites his lip, “How can you see it?”
“Same as you. Smell, taste, touch. The rumble beneath your feet, the sound of the magick weaving through the air,” she begins pensively. Her brow pinches, “If you listen hard enough, you can hear it.”
Mido steps close behind her while she turns to the forest path. “I’ve never heard magick.”
“Song is the first form of magick that was discovered on Talmus. The incantations that are spoken, they too are a form of song. A quicker weave of magick. Magick such as yours comes from the power of faith. The faith the people have in their gods.”
“How do you know so much?” Mido questions quietly, rushing to keep up with her stride.
The woman stops at the start of the forest, a look of contemplation clear on her face. “When you live as long as I have, you grow more knowledgeable. In things you want to know about and things you have no desire to know, all the same. I was never gifted in magick, but I sought it out all the same.”
Curious, Mido continues his questioning. “You said you were above them, the ones you killed?”
She sighs and rushes ahead. “It doesn’t matter. We won’t know each other long enough to tell you this story. Besides, I don’t want to feed you some story so you can look at me with pity in your heart.”
“I-I don’t pity you, I just want to know. What would make someone like you so much different than the others.”
“There are others like me, that much I can assure you. I’ve met several and have taken many of their lives. My loyalty is to my maker and my own sense of self-preservation. Something that you yourself should learn.”
The freezing air hits Mido, he swiftly bundles his arms into his jacket. “And if he found out that you are helping the Saint of Flames?”
An airy chuckle passes through her lips, and she twists her head from side to side. “I would surely be brought into question, but that is why there will be no witnesses left in Cochon. There are only a handful remaining. I do not intend for there to be any before the sun rises today.”
Mido’s teeth clatter together from the cold. The wind picks through a clearing in the forest. The conifer’s pointy branches hang overhead like jagged nails. “You’re so sure of yourself, what if any of them live?”
“They won’t.”
Mido scoffs, glancing up while the remaining parts of the manor slowly come into view. “There aren’t too many hours left before dawn.”
“There are enough.”
Mido remains quiet for the remainder of the journey. They arrive just outside the iron gates of the burnt-out building. The woman turns to Mido and holds Lumi out for him. An air of uncertainty hangs over him while he looks up at her, studying her features in the dark of night. Even through the shades of gray, Mido can tell that she must have been quite young before her untimely death. Perhaps even the same age as himself. Lumi’s body slides into his arms, the impossible warmth is nearly scalding against his bare flesh. Never could he imagine being in the company of two opposites. The woman’s touch had been frigid, her fingers colder than the snow.
“We’re done,” she says softly and glances up at the manor. “Never speak of this again. If we cross paths again, we may not be on the same side.”
“She was right,” Mido whispers. Lumi’s body shuffles awkwardly in his arms. “You can show the world that you’re different.”
“No, I cannot. I have the blood of thousands on my hands. I am no different from a warlord. No different from a devil. Emil ordered that Cochon be overtaken, and I ensured that it was. I killed the Lorian Consul. He groveled at my feet when I broke his neck open to feed the young ones. I wanted to urge Loria to wage war on our kind. I thought surely the empire will not sit by while their newest possession is overcome with evil?”
Mido places a hand on the gate and shoves against it. The loud creaking echoes through the empty, snow-covered yard. “If you want to die so badly… why don’t you kill yourself?”
She scoffs, “Just because I miss my humanity does not mean I wish to suffer mortality. There is greatness in being undead. Yet, there is suffering too. Never knowing the touch of the sun. The taste of the meals or drink you once indulged upon. Where beastkin’s senses and desires are heightened, ours are only dulled. Our emotions border apathetic. The more we age, the further we get from feeling anything.”
“It’s never too late to change,” Mido whispers, the gate closes behind him with a bang.
The woman turns away and tosses her braid over her shoulder. “Never speak a word of this. Not. A. Word.”
“I promise.”