Chapter Five: Blood

They had half an hour, at the most.

So here they were, seated around the round table they normally ate around, all eyes on Cassie.

"I owe you all an explanation." She said quietly.

There was no response- none verbal, anyway.

"I ran away from home. There is more than one reason for that…the first is my impending marriage. I want to marry because I want to, not because my family expect me to. The second is because my sister, who is married, had an affair and got pregnant and my father and my two eldest brothers killed her.

"I would rather not go back there, you understand. I am not allowed to study magic to further my skills, I can barely read and my Ethglin is slightly antiquated, so I find it difficult to understand people who are not Elean. I know I seem rather timid to you…but I want to get out of that cycle."

Tawni leaned back in her chair. "Having been a celebrity at one point," she said quietly, "I know where you're coming from. People maul you if you make a step wrong."

"That isn't fair. It's the right of every being to make their own choices, even if they are silly ones." Narin pointed out. Lanai gave him a strange look. Despite being both biologically and mentally aged eighteen, Narin was distinctly naïve in behaviour. Perhaps he was like Simai and used a goofy front to hide great internal cunning? Lanai got headaches just thinking about it.

He was interrupted by a loud hammering on the door. The group congregated at the doorway, which was shaking. After a few seconds of deliberation, Silana wrenched the door open.

The person on the other side wasn't expected and promptly fell forwards, sprawling on the floor. He picked himself up promptly, glaring. The intruder was slightly taller than Silana, and took the opportunity to loom threateningly.

She was unfazed. "So, what brings you do our humble abode?" she asked, shifting her weight so it was evenly distributed from left to right and flashing him a dazzling smile.

The stranger was flabberghasted. "This is a mansion, you- You cannot sidetrack me that easily! Where are you holding my sister, whore?"

Lanai elbowed her out of the way. "I don't know where you come from, mate, but getting mouthy isn't going to get you far." He growled.

"I think you're mistaken, there are no prostitutes here." Narin looked even more puzzled than usual. Akai hit him.

"He was insulting her, moron. 'Whore' is used to imply a woman has loose morals and will sleep with anyone, no matter if that's their occupation." She hissed, standing on her toes so she was almost at his eye level.

"My sister- Then what is this place you have spirited her away to? Not a factory, not a brothel…I know. You are a cult. You are brainwashing her." The boy spluttered, obviously unsure what was really going on.

"No, I have a duty to be here. A duty to the world, not to my father. Or to you, Colin." Cassie sidled through the gap between Tawni and Aoi to stand between Lanai and Silana.

Colin grabbed her arm. "The whole settlement went crazy after you left. I hope you are duly ashamed of yourself, running off like that. You're lucky it was me and not Father who went to fetch you! No matter what duty you have deluded yourself into believing you have here, you still have the duty to the family honour-"

He cut himself off. "I'm glowing." He said blankly. Lanai smirked. "You can't shoot down your sisters duty, now that you'll have to share it."

Colin opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out.

--

"'The Knight.' How ironic."

--

"Those two."

Narin, Tawni, Akai and Aoi sat on the couch idly. It was Tawni who had spoken, sitting on the arm, a good distance away.

"Who?" Aoi asked, looking up from a magazine. "Cassandra and the Cactus?"

Narin gave him a bewildered look. "I thought his name was Colin. And he is a person, not a spiny plant."

Akai rolled her eyes. "Because he's all prickly, like a cactus." She informed roughly, fixing the unfortunate demigod with a death glare. (Narin, meanwhile, was somewhat sidetracked by the fact she was somewhat pretty and had to restrain himself from blurting the fact out for self-preservation's sake.)

"You're wrong, sis. It because he behaves like there's a cactus shoved up his ass." Aoi corrected, pulling his sisters long blonde ponytail playfully. She turned and snarled at him.

"Oh, someone's got PMS." He mocked, patting Akai on the head. "Don't mind her, she gets really irritable if she has no idea what's going on. So, Tawni, what were you saying?"

Tawni started, having resigned herself to not saying her piece. "A-ah, sorry. Yes. Lanai and Silana. They're just kids, but there's something kind of eerie about them. Especially Silana. They just don't behave their age. I mean, talking to Lanai, you'd think he was an adult, not thirteen. And Silana…I look at her sometimes, and she looks kind of out-of-it for a few seconds, then she says something really perceptive."

Narin nodded slowly. "And these cards. When I touch it, it's kind of like a current, and there's a voice, but I can't understand what it's saying, it's too quiet."

"I think that's happening to all of us." Silana was standing in the door, looking pensive. "I hear it too, and so does Lanai. And I'm wondering…"

Lanai, behind her, finished her sentence. "…What we've got ourselves into."

Akai shrugged. "The fate of the world, something trivial like that." She said sardonically. "Why don't we ask Fate…um, Lyrra?"

The other inhabitants of the room gave her awed looks. "None of us would have thought of that. Maybe our brains think too complex. Either way, sis, there's an idea. All in favour? We'll assume Cassandra and Colin vote yes."

The vote was unanimous.

--

"Hey…Lyrra…" Narin started halfway through dinner, giving her a curious look. The pale woman put her knife and fork down, finished chewing her mouthful.

"What do you want to ask? I understand that you all may want answers. I'm surprised you haven't asked me already."

They looked around at each other, taken aback. At last Colin ventured a question. "What exactly is going on with the whole 'cards' thing? What are we supposed to do?"

Lyrra sighed. "Listen up," she ordered. "It's a long story, but I owe you to tell you what I know at least…"

--

Meanwhile, Ailee leaned against a wall, watching Simai draw a complex diagram on the floor in red chalk. They'd received information on a series of vampire attacks just south of Mertisal. Mainly trampers, hale and hearty people who had simply disappeared into the bush. It wasn't particularly dangerous in there, but there had also been reports of creepy, pasty people lurking around downtown.

Simai stood up, his left arm bleeding silver. The red chalk lines had been traced with the shining liquid, forming an intricate pentacle. He handed the knife to Ailee, who cleaned it with a cloth (which promptly disintegrated) and then used it to cut a slash in her arm. Covering one finger with her liquid, she drew a circle around the pentacle, then wrote a name in the centre.

"CHLOE"

The cut on Ailee's arm healed over- Simai's had closed long ago- as the two gods stepped back, keeping their eyes on the pentacle.

"Oy, Chloe. Wakey Wakey." Simai grinned.

Ailee shook her head at her comrade's antics. "Chloe Nightstalker, Goddess of the Blood-drinkers, I call on you, binding you here with my summons. ARISE!"

The Pentacle glowed dazzlingly white, and when it faded, a young woman was standing in the centre. She had long blond hair ending at her waist, and wore a simple black-and-red dress.

She opened her eyes, fixing the other two with a steely indigo gaze, which softened for an instant before she bowed in a gesture of deference to the two more powerful gods.

"You called me?" she asked, straightening.

Simai grinned. "Sorry to arouse you at this hour. Should have informed you beforehand."

Ailee whacked him with her staff. "Stop flirting, blockhead. She's here on business. Use bad pick-up lines on her later."

Simai winced. "Anyway, we have a bit of a bloodsucker problem. Care to help?"

Chloe, who had turned to look out the window, turned back to look at them. "Oh, I think I shall." she smirked menacingly.

Ailee really pitied those vampires.