Fire and ash

The back-and-forth between Vladimir and Sirius raged on. The more seasoned entity could not believe what his eyes were bearing witness to. For a young fledgling vampire to heal as much as they did, as quickly as she did, a substantial amount of blood was required.

Even if she took a sip from every foe she came across within this hotel to reach him, it did not make up for how her regenerating ability rivaled his own. This was a battle of attrition, and Vladimir, for the first time in a long time, drew a breath of short patience.

“For you to still be alive…” Vladimir spoke sharply. The girl was not his only problem as the eruption from before came again and again. The hotel itself was on fire, falling apart at every seam. It resisted collapse, exceeding its fragility, though the flames still consumed it, transforming the scene into a personal hell.

“Do you believe this fire will stop me?”

“If you have nowhere else to hide when the sun comes up…” Sirius said with a smile.

“Are you truly that mad?” Vladimir asked seriously. “You would kill us both?”

“The rumor goes that I am crazy. Have not heard?”

“For you to go to such lengths…”

“Yeah, what about it?”

The closest piece of furniture caught Vladimir’s eye. It would prove to be a useful tool. His body, still incredibly fast and nimble despite his rigid stature and long, fragile limbs, moved with a subtle flick. A force so great it sent a single piece flying before plunging deep into Sirius’s shoulder, suspending her in the air.

“ARGHHHHH!”

Vlad’s gaze locked with Sirius’s, who was filled with contempt. This was the first a vampiric child had ever fought so viciously and feral against their maker. A true one-of-a-kind that left him curious to have a bite.

His fangs pierced her arm. The taste was exquisite, but the bite invoked something within Vladimir to peer into something more. It felt as if he was staring into an ocean, and it was staring back at him with a cold, condescending gaze.

Before he could even understand the dive, he felt his heart wrench for the first time in decades with a pulse of irrevocable pain. A sensation all too familiar and vexing that rocked his entire being. The blood he drank sickened him as it filled him with a series of memories he had thought long buried.

“Ahhh, I see now. So you’re her daughter. Not just hers, but the vial whore daughter of a witch as well. This explains it all.”

“…” Sirius’s silence and sharp glare were entirely off-putting for Vladimir. The two snarled, their noses flaring as the burning ash stench coated their lungs.

“Nothin’ to say, young child?”

For a long moment, Sirius just stared at him in silence. Her lips finally moved as the ensuing smoke closed in. “You’re going to die here. Today, tonight, for what you did. I promise you that.”

“Is that right? By whose hand exactly? Yours?”

“Hers.”

Confused, Vladimir turned, his gaze barely tracing over his shoulder to a shadow that lingered one with the darkness of his cloak. With a stake plunging deep into his back, his sunken eyes wide.

Sirius was behind him, her hands tightening with a grip so fierce that the force pushed Vladimir to stumble a few steps forward. The momentum carried him into the hands of the hanging to plunge their fangs deep into his neck.

Vlad was petrified, unable to move. He struggled to find words as he tried to piece together what had happened and who was who.

“Y-You…”

“Me! A wonderful actress through and through,” Evelyn smiled, prying herself free from the stake. Her shoulder was healing at a blinding rate.

“When…”

“A magician never reveals her tricks.”

At the mention of Evelyn’s words, Sirius bit into her own arm. Puncturing a vital artery that bled heavily. Enough for her to cup some and force-feed the kneeling vampire that sat between them.

Tainted by some unknown malevolence, her blood was like poison to him, causing each cell in his body to recall a moment in time that spurred such a similar feeling.

A violent cough took over, shaking him to the core. His veins ignited, blackening just below his pale white sickly skin. It didn’t take much longer for the strength within him to flee.

“Keh-keh keh,” Vladimir spat. “Well played, Lady Eve. Well played.”

Sirius shattered the legs of several chairs, savoring the sight of Vlad’s stubborn pride as he endured his pain. Despite the stakes plunged deep into his chest, he remained defiant. The slow burn of his body turning to ash only fueled his maniacal laughter. His end was near, yet he was determined to deny these women even the satisfaction of his surrender.

“My, even to the very last breath, you still hold out on just being gone,” Evelyn chimed with a smirk. “You going to watch all this?”

“Yeah,” Sirius replied.

“Does it make you feel better knowing he won’t make it until sunrise?”

“Much.”

“Well, alright then.” Evelyn paused, dusting off her clothes. “You ready then?”

“I am not sure. Not yet…” Sirius answered hesitantly. A part of her felt like she already knew, yet a lingering sense held her withdrawn. “What if…”

“There is no need for what-ifs, child,” Evelyn replied confidently. “He shall be gone, I assure you. But if you don’t believe me, then...”

Sirius then felt a nudge on her shoulder. The surprise seized her as her feet found no floor to stand on. She had nothing to grab. The sight of Evelyn smiling before a plummeting despair filled her view.