Death, Loot & Vampires - Book 2: Chapter 41: The Long Escape
Chapter 41
The Long Escape
We only made one detour as we fled through South Murdell to the Bo Empire border and that was to visit the city of Draga, where Riza’s family lived. The city was five days from the North Murdell border, and two days out of our way, close to the capitol and the bulk of South Murdell’s strongest archsorcerers who had an understandable problem with Gorgath not only being in their nation but being so close to their capitol. If Kathrine hadn’t asked me to make sure Riza got home safely, I wouldn’t have risked agitate them.
News of the destruction of Darksmith reached Draga before we did and Riza turned up at her door just in time to attend the end of her funeral. No one was more surprised than her elderly great grandmother who suffered a catastrophic heart-attack. I heard the commotion from down the street in the ruins of Kathrine’s former home and sent one of my guards to get Davina to take care of the elderly woman.
I owed Riza that much.
Kathrine’s childhood home was nothing but a burnt husk. Polite questioning of the locals by my people informed us that the building had burnt down due to improperly stored potions. The magical fire occurred a month after Kathrine disappeared, killing everyone inside and leaving no bodies. A quick check of the building showed no trace of burnt human remains.
Not being able to experience the life Kathrine lived without me left me with a hallow feeling. I’d hoped that visiting here would give me a glimpse into the years I’d missed. Instead, I found ash and ruin. A history that I was completely separated from.
I didn’t know what to do. Between the exhaustion and thirst clawing at my throat time began to slip away. The Curse of Sloth took hold, and I just sat on my binding cushion letting the world roll by.
Riza came to find me after sunset in what had once been Kathrine’s bedroom.
Gregory and Helen leaned against the burnt stone walls acting as bodyguards. Gregory was still missing his arm, showing ugly twisted scar tissue, but he was no longer exhausted or pained from his ordeal.
Davina’s healing skills lay in repairing injuries and resurrection. Cleansing unholy injuries like those from hellfire was an entirely different branch of study that she’d chosen not to pursue because Mother had already mastered it. With Mother no longer around to help her, Davina had only been able to partially cleanse the hellfire wounds. Everyone except Angelica was given a choice, regain full functionality or live without pain.
Gregory like everyone else had chosen to live without pain.
Riza paused at the doorway, glancing over the blackened remains, smelling sad. “Kathrine’s going to be heartbroken. The Azurins were kind people.”
“They’re not dead.”
Riza’s frowned. “My parents believe their dead.”
“There are no traces of human remains.”
“They faked their deaths?”
I nodded.
Riza smiled. “They hid her escape.”
“Or ran away from the ramifications of losing your nations hero.”
“They aren’t that sort of people. They love Kathrine like a daughter. They were the ones who taught her magic, even though they weren’t supposed to.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Kathrine was afraid you’d go after them if she told you about them.”
I knew that and it wasn’t an unreasonable concern.
“It’s hard enough for me to focus of the things I care about in this state, and you don’t fit that definition Riza, so stop stalling. Say what you want to say.”
Riza sighed. “My family won’t leave.”
“I heard your conversation.”
Helen raised an eyebrow, wordless asking if he knew if I could hear conversations that far away.
Gregroy shook his head.
Riza paused, afraid of what would come next. “Do we still have to come with you?”
“I never said you had to come with me. I said your family will be safer if they do and that hasn’t changed. Blood can make my kind obsessive. They’ll go after your family to get to Kathrine if they think it’s the easiest way.”
Risa took a deep breath gathering her courage. “You once told me that if I ever needed anything, you would help me. Is that still true?”
“Yes.”
Riza dropped her gaze to the floor. “Please, take my family to safety,” she said in a small voice.
“Do you understand what you’re asking me to do?”
“I’m asking you to kidnap them.”
“Thank you for being clear.” I turned to Gregory. “Operation Relocation is now in play. Make sure your people have her family out of the city by dawn.”
Gregory pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against. “Yes, sir.”
***
Five days later, our convoy had to stop for the night outside the Bo Empire’s border fortress. Nighttime crossings weren’t permitted, but we were far enough from North Murdell that I didn’t feel we needed to force the matter. Throughout the evening, representatives of different groups that had taken my oath had stopped by to speak with me. There was never any doubt in their minds that a hero wouldn’t take care of them, but they wanted to know where we were going and what they would do when we arrived.
The conversations were so draining that Davina eventually moved Angelica to my wagon to get them to leave me alone. The sight of Angelica’s scarred and injured body made most realise that their questions weren’t that important, but the more persistent had only stopped approaching me after Davina called Gorgath over.
The kid lay beside our wagon with a large smile on his face, looking at the night sky. He was constantly mesmerised by everything he saw on the surface. He loved trees, mountains, lakes, but his favourite wonder was the sky. Its vast nature called to him and made him forget his problems.
Like the fact that the South Murdell government had repeatedly denied Arro’s request for him to visit her family. They considered him a national threat and if he didn’t leave the country immediately, they would kill him. It was a reasonable position to have. The kid was incredibly dangerous.
Their fear opened the door to me offering him the opportunity to visit Arcadia and finish his sorcerer studies. Most of the surviving faculty were coming with us, so his experiences at Darksmith wouldn’t change too much and I’d even agreed not to raise his tuition. It hadn’t taken much convincing. He was in love with the surface world and jumped at the opportunity to stay.
Davina broke the silence, by muttered to herself. Angelica was not like her other patients. Every inch of her body had been damaged by hellfire. Until a few days ago, stabilizing her was all Davina could do. But her experimentation on her other patients had finally bore fruit, teaching her how to cleanse the residual contamination more effectively.
Davina’s healing spells still only had one thousandth of their usual potency, but at least they now had an effect. Davina had spent the last two days healing Angelica enough to begin removing her armour. Each peace had to be cut away from her flesh. The flesh then had to be healed, while the armour was quickly scrubbed clean. Then the armour had to be put back in place. Even with her physical injuries gone, Angelica couldn’t survive without her armour. The lingering effects from the hellfire would leave her in constant pain.
Davina never stopped channelling mana into her healing spell or stroking Angelica’s warped wrinkled bald scalp, even when one of her surviving cleric’s returned with Angelica’s helmet. The scar tissue faded with each stroke of her hand, slowly returning Angelica’s skin to pale healthy flesh. Soon, she would put the helmet back on and wake her.
Davina looked over to me as the cleric walked away. “Can we talk about your wings now or are you still avoiding me?”
I slowly turned my head, barely finding the energy to reply. “I was never avoiding you. I was avoiding distracting you from your work.”
“I appreciate that, but can talk about it?”
“Will it change anything?”
“It might.”
“Fine but make it quick. What do think happen to me?”
“Your soul ascended.”
That meant nothing to me, which caught my attention, and pulled me into the world of the living. “I’ve read multiple libraries, everything Father had on strengthening and manipulating the soul, and hold Lusor’s memories from when he ransacked the Dancing Crane Sect three thousand years ago. None of that knowledge mentions ascension. How do you know about it?”
I smelled no grief from Davina as I mentioned Father, only a slight longing that she wouldn’t be seeing him for a while. Father was favoured by heaven and without the presence of soul reapers there was no doubt in her mind of where he now was.
Davina continued healing Angelica. “My knowledge of ascension doesn’t come from soul strengthening. It comes from church doctrine. Knowledge only saints, archbishops, holy paladins, and popes are privy to.”
“What’s the doctrine?”
“Souls of those favoured by heaven are not the same as those heaven shelters from hell. They can ascend to become angels.”
“How?”
“The church doesn’t know, but they believe there are three stages. The first is any mortal soul favoured by heaven. The second is a divine soul which looks as real as anyone else and can interact with the world as we do, who are substantially bigger than most people. The third stage is when a divine soul gains their wings and becomes an angel.”
That was awfully vague.
“Is there any evidence to backed up this doctrine?”
“The most compelling evidence was overheard during a battle between a demon and an angel. The angel told the demon to leave its descendants alone while fighting above a household. The family in the household were the only remaining descendants of a former archbishop known to be favoured by heaven and the angel’s likeness matched an old painting of her.”
“Do you believe them?”
Davina considered my question. “What happened to you proves the soul is able to ascend. Even everything you have done to your soul wouldn’t explain this transformation.”
“That might be true but doesn’t prove I’ve become an angel in a heavenly sense.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Angel blood is toxic to demons.”
Davina tilted her head to the side, looking at me like I was speaking a different language. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Only thirteen demonic parasites survived the explosion. That number hasn’t changed. If my soul had truly ascended and become an angel, its presence in my body would have destroyed them by now. Instead, they sit side by side without any issues.”
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Davina’s frowned. “That certainly complicates matters.”
“Not necessarily. Perhaps the term angel is a qualification for those from heaven, like how we use the term Old Monster. It’s not like this has ever been explained to humanity, beyond them occasional introducing themselves as angels while they’re hunting a demon. That is, unless you have church knowledge that contradicts my assumptions?”
“I don’t know anything that contradicts what you just said, but it feels wrong in here.” Davina touched her the part of her heart where she claimed the angel’s grace lived. “What I feel here says your soul is as worthy of walking into heaven as he was.”
“That could merely be because I’m favoured by heaven?”
Davina paused. “That’s true.”
“Then we agree I’m not an angel.”
“Not in the heavenly sense, but you likely have access to most of their abilities. You seem to be able to effortlessly repair souls now. Does your soul still require life force to sustain itself?”
“I’m not sure. My soul is currently feeding on my new soul energy reservoir. Once that’s depleted, it will likely draw on my life force, but that’s just an educated guess.”
“How high are the demands?”
“Less than before. The excess life force I consume also no longer strengthens my soul. Instead, it’s converted to soul energy and joins the soul energy in my reservoir.”
“If the demands are lower, why are you having Amelia hunt Unseen for you in every city we pass?”
I used my wing to emphasis my form, annoyed she had to ask.
Davina caught me meaning. “Oh, you can’t store much in your current form.”
“It’s one of the many issues I currently face.”
“Let me help with that.”
Davina didn’t give me a chance to reject her offer, reaching over and engulfed my head with her hand. With an effort of will, she manipulated my emotions and made the hunger, exhaustion, and pain disappear. The foul mood I’d been in since I attacked Kathrine went with it.
For a moment, I was able to accept I had no control over that situation and forgive myself for what I’d done. I knew it wouldn’t last. The monster in me wasn’t capable of forgiveness. He needed control and he wouldn’t have that until he could be certain that it wouldn’t happen again.
Davina moved her hand to my back, without releasing her hold over me. “Is that better?”
It was.
“Thank you.”
Davina smiled. “I have something to confess.”
I sighed. “What did you do?”
Davina turned to Angelica. “I gained the skill transfer skill while we were in the Abyss.”
Skill transfer was considered a deathbed skill. It allowed you to permanently transfer your skills to someone else so long as the skill was the same level or above skill transfer’s level. Occasionally, people would gift skills willingly, but that was rare. Unless you were as selfless as a saint.
“What skills did you transfer to Angelica?”
Davina was wise enough not to smile. “Willpower, emotional control, self-reflection, self-awareness, happiness, forgiveness, inner healing, and inner peace. They were all level 20.”
Emotional control, self-reflection, and self-awareness were all skills people only got after level 200. Happiness, forgiveness, inner healing, and inner peace were in the same level bracket but reserved for members of the church or monks. Willpower appeared randomly.
The skills she had transferred weren’t a bad combination, and they would do a lot of good for Angelica at level 20, but it did raise a question.
“Why are you helping Angelica so much?”
Davina gave Angelica a sad smile. “Kathrine explained how much you regret what you did to her. How hard you’re trying to undo your mistake. I wanted to help you.”
They must have talked about it while they were in town or while I was training behind the barrier in my training hall, because I had no memory of such a conversation taking place at Darksmith, and I remembered every conversation that took place at Darksmith.
Now that she explained her actions, I understood why she was manipulating my emotions. She wanted me to care about her as much as I cared about Angelica and thought this might be the key.
It wasn’t.
At best, she would make me care less about Angelica. None of these skills would immediately fix her, but they would equip her with what she needed to heal from her life of abuse, helping her control what I’d done to her. In time, this might be the solution and if it was my monster would no longer be someone I thought about.
“This won’t give you what you want. I’m still incapable of caring about you.”
Davina gave me the same sad smile as she lifted Angelica’s head and slid her helmet back on with the visor open. “Then I’ll keep trying.”
Angelica’s eyes flew open, as Davina tightened her helmet strap, and then her hand shot towards Davina’s throat. Davina leaned back and slapped her hand aside, causing Angelica to scream and pull her hand to her chest, cradling it like she had just been hit with a sledgehammer.
Anger replaced pain as Angelica got her bearings. “Did you have to hit me so fucking hard? You broke my wrist.”
“Language, Angelica.”
“Your wrist is fine,” Davina replied. “The pain’s coming from your hellfire injuries.”
Angelica scowled. “Hurry up and heal me then.”
“I can’t.”
“Then get me somewhere safe so you can. They need me out there. Wait…why are we in a wagon?”
Davina patted her armoured shoulder. “You’ve been unconscious for ten days.”
Angelica starred at Davina for two whole seconds. “We won!”
“We survived,” I corrected.
“It’s the same fucking thing. That shit was crazy.”
“Language, Angelica.”
She leaned forward to glare at me but ended up wincing in pain. “I should be able to say fuck when you make me fight ancient vampires.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
“Why are you a crow?”
“I’m injured.”
She paused. “How injured?”
“If I leave this binding circle for an extended period of time before we return to my grave, I’ll die.”
Angelica looked at me confused. “How are you that injured?”
“I was next to the explosion.”
Her eyes widened. “The big one?”
“The big one.”
“I can’t believe you survived that.”
“Barely survived.”
Angelica lowered her head with a loud groan. “Why does everything ache?”
Davina blushed. “I’m not skilled enough to fully cleanse hellfire injures. Your equipment is numbing the pain you’re feeling. Don’t take it off.”
“This is numbing the pain.”
“I’m working on it.”
Angelica groaned again. “At least tell me we got them all?”
“We did.”
Angelica gave a weak grin. “I don’t owe you any money now.”
“Your debt to me is cleared. You can collect your six sharn cores once you’ve recovered.”
“What about my share of the loot?”
“I didn’t get any loot.”
“You didn’t get any loot!”
“The risk was too great.”
“Wow, you are injured.”
I nodded.
“Does recovering count as my time off?”
“No.”
“Where’s your equipment?”
“Gregory has it in a crate. Interacting with it in my current state might kill me.”
“What happens now?”
“Now, we go home and train.”
Angelica groaned. “Just kill me.”
***
The Bo Empire is unimaginable vast. The southern tip is one of the smaller provinces, but it encompassed the entire mountain range that protects Arcadia and Vorm Republic’s northern borders. The provinces local army is more powerful than both countries armies combined, so the presences of so many high-level people traveling with Carolyn barely concerned the general in charge of the border crossing. He was more interested in building a positive relationship with the heir of Arcadia to further his career, waving us through the fortress with little trouble after they had breakfast together.
In my weakened state, traveling through the Bo Empire was safer than trying to move through Arcadia. Carolyn’s father would certainly try to take her back when he learned how weak I was, which would force me to put him in his place, so instead of heading for the western mountain crossing into Arcadia, we went north, following the mountain range around Arcadia to the Vorm Republic’s northwestern crossing. It added weeks to our journey, but it provided opportunities Arcadia didn’t.
Angelica’s injuries were more crippling than anyone expected. Even with her armour on, the pain was completely debilitating. She couldn’t take care of herself, needing help to do things as simple as eat. That left her bedbound in my wagon with a lot of time to think, reflect, and harness the skills Davina had given her.
Once we cross the border, Davina left to visit the local churches, searching for an archbishop with the skills to heal Angelica and the others. Despite being excommunicated by Arcadia’s pope, the Bo Empire’s church opened their doors to her, allowing Davina to speak with any archbishops and holy paladins she wanted to.
Davina quickly learned all the archbishops who could cleanse hellfire were in the far north dealing with a demon lord. It was months out of our way and an unnecessary detour since the Vorm Republic had several archbishops who could heal our injured once we reach them.
By the time she returned with the news, I was feeling the strain. She could sense that through our bond and arrived with a lead box. She barely had time to explain what she found, before I flew into the box carrying my cushion with me. She got the last words out as I magically levitated the lid into place and cut myself off from the world.
The silence was bliss.
Weeks turned into months and the fear of what we encountered in North Murdell faded from the front of everyone’s thoughts. News of their ongoing war was sporadic, but the Bo Empire was taking the threat seriously, repositioning the southern army along Murdell’s border and expanding their local training and recruitment. It was clear to everyone that they would invade the moment the darklord fell. They couldn’t allow a vampire nation to exist on their border.
In my exhausted opinion, it was a mistake to wait.
But the Bo Empire were not conquerors. They liked to be welcomed into the nations and kingdoms they took over. The vampires also weren’t the only catastrophic threat to the empire and their strongest people were tied up dealing with those problems. Holding off made tactical sense to them, but it gave the vampires more time to grow their numbers, allowing them to become a bigger problem.
The days blurred together, and my exhaustion and hunger continued to grow. Eventually, the lead box only opened when Amelia returned with Unseen. Her meals keep the worst of my hunger in check but didn’t stop my condition from deteriorating.
I only noticed we were in the Vorm Republic when I sensed my people being healed through our bond. Shortly after that, Davina and Angelica set off alone, carrying me to my grave as quickly as they could.
Within three days, we were close enough for me to sense my grave. The discomfort that had built inside me eased as my weariness grew. The closer we got, the weaker I became. My body was spent. And the dead in me needed to slumber in my grave to return to the land of the living.
I felt Davina carry me into the chamber where I’d been turned. The call of the grave was overwhelming by that point, and I smacked away the lid of my box with my wing. Angelica noticed what I’d done as the smell of her fear and excitement rushed inside.
She was planning something.
Before I could react, she dissolved the box with necrotic magic and wrapped her hand around my throat to cut off my ability to speak. At the same time, she delivered a powerful kick of Davina’s stomach, sending her flying out of the chamber.
My compulsions stopped her from harming me as she blurred forward and gently placed me inside my open sarcophagus. The world began to fade as my strength fled. My body was weak. My parasites were tired. It was time rest.
It was a struggle just to keep my eyes open.
“Release me from your service,” Angelica commanded.
Her words reverberated through my skull, pounding against my psyche, crushing my will with their weight. I was at my very weakest, utterly defenceless to her compulsion. The life was rushing out of me, and exhaustion was mounting. Yes, this world had skills, skill that would not allow me to fall below their level, but they could only do so much.
I let go of my power over her, releasing our bond, taking back everything I’d given her. Tears of blood poured from her eyes. With each tear our bond grew weaker, taking every compulsion I’d laid on her with it.
The fingers around me tightened as our bond vanished, breaking every bone in my body and turning my muscles to goo as Davina blurred into the room and kicked Angelica into a wall. My goo went with her, reforming in her grip.
Davina glared at Angelica from across the room, raising her staff. “Release him, Angelica!”
“Release Davina from your service,” Angelica commanded, no longer under a compulsion to listen to Davina.
The words reverberated through my skull and all I could do was obey. Tears of blood began to pour from Davina’s eyes as I released my hold over her and our bond grew weaker.
Davina wiped the blood away with her sleeve. “Put him down, Angelica. I’m not going to warn you again.”
“But we’re free!” The excitement and joy in her voice, would have broken my heart if I had one.
Davina gritted her teeth. “That doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything.”
“Does it? His Dark Eminence might not be able to kill you, but Luke can.”
Angelica began to hyperventilate as her heartrate sped up. She hadn’t thought this through at all.
Typical.
“I can take him.”
“He’s got more skills than both of us combined.”
“I can take him.”
This time it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. Angelica was incredibly powerful, but she wasn’t on my son’s level.
“You know you can’t,” Davina said.
Angelica’s bloody tears gave way to natural ones. “Then we can take him together.” There was a pleading tone this time.
Davina shook her head. “I can’t help you kill an innocent man, Angelica. That’s not who I am.”
“Who you are is going to make me a slave again.”
Shock registered on Davina’s face, and I watched her go through a range of emotions before she finally settled on who she was as apposed to who I made her be. I could see she was going to help Angelica.
Davina lowered her staff. “There’s a better way to do this.”
“Better than killing him?”
“That depends on if you want to kill him, or you want to get away.”
Angelica didn’t hesitate. “I want to get away,” she said.
“Put his Dark Eminence in his sarcophagus and command him not to speed up his recovery or wake up until he’s completely recovered.”
“Why?”
“It will give you months to disappear.”
Angelica frowned. “You’re sure he won’t wake up?”
Davina backed away from the sarcophagus. “In his condition, he’ll mindless attack anyone who tries to wake him and he has to be awake to fight your compulsion.”
Angelica bit her lip. “You promise?”
“I promise.”
Angelica slowly walked to the sarcophagus, watching Davina the entire time, and then placed me inside. “Don’t do anything to sped up your recovery and go to sleep until you’re completely recovered.”
Her compulsion slammed through my will.
Suddenly, nothing demanded my attention.
Nothing pulled from my grave.
The world faded.
A peaceful slumber took over.
And my monster was free.
The End
