Chapter 21: Specimens

-10 MONTHS REMAIN-

"They aren't like us, Ulric." Noah started again. Ulric rubbed his head. Another conversation switch? He was so dumbfounded that he couldn't find a way to respond. That was fine though because Noah didn't need him too. He liked hearing himself talk. "They're inherently different from us. That's just a fact of life. We shouldn't be expected to treat them like us just because they somewhat look like us. You'd love a dog, but you'd treat any fox, wolf, or coyote differently. They're threats and pests. It's the same here with us." 

"I'm sorry." Ulric cautiously apologized. "I feel as if I'm missing some context. What are we talking about again?" Ulric was confused on what was happening, but he did believe in the back of his mind he knew what was going on. He knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. 

"Some differences are subtle, but others are undeniable. Their skin color is different. Their ears are different. Their teeth are different. That much was obvious from the samples you collected for me." Ulric frowned. He already regretted what he had done back then, but this made his stomach twist. "But I had always heard that they possessed something greater. Their minds, their bodies, their hearts and souls. They processed things differently than ours. They could feel things we couldn't. They could see things we couldn't. They understood the arcane in way we couldn't. They possessed power and potential unknown to man. That's something you can't study on a deceased specimen. No, you would need a live one for that." Ulric grew more frustrated with every word. He hated this kind of talk. He would be subject to listen to it day in and day out. Constantly. Never ending. Idiot theories on superiority. Ulric bit his tongue and listened further. He should show some level of respect, even though Noah didn't deserve it. But with each passing moment, Ulric's confusion turned to anger.

At the same time, Aurora experienced something similar. Her grief quickly turned to rage. She didn't tremble in fear, she shook with hatred. That man. That gross, disgusting, weasel of a man. It's his fault. All his fault. His and the King's. They did this to him. They took him away. And now they display him like some prized catch. Aurora clutched her fists. Her nails dug into her skin so hard she drew a little blood. 

"Aurora?" Miryam reached out in an attempt to console her. 

"I'm going to kill him." Aurora hissed. "I'm going to kill him and anyone else in this kingdom remotely responsible. I will tear down my own bloodline. I will bring ruin to the King and the entire Solstyan nobility. I don't care anymore." Miryam pulled back. She flinched sightly.

"You're not gonna give up on our quest, are you?" She asked carefully. Aurora paused. She'd be lying if she said she didn't consider it. Letting the world burn. It wouldn't be her fault. It's not necessarily her responsibility. And if the people wanted to sit back and blissfully ignore their own impending doom that was their problem. Influenced by Rattus or not it was still their choice. 

"No." Aurora sighed. "No, I'm not giving up." Miryam perked up slightly. The hint that Aurora would do the right thing eased her worries a little. "Because I don't want anyone else to get the credit for their destruction. I want them to know it was me." Even if it was for the wrong reasons. 

"Let's check out that humming." Miryam said softly. She tugged on Aurora's clothing to get her to move away from the freezer. Aurora nodded. She started to follow Miryam but stopped for a moment to look back at her father. She frowned and turned back to continue with Miryam. Together they moved to the other end of the basement. There they found another door. It was clear the humming was coming from there. It was at its strongest. A hauntingly sweet melody that echoed all throughout the basement. It was loudest and clearest here. Miryam swallowed her fear and pushed open the door. The room was more of the same; dark and repulsive. There were a few differences that made this room stand out from the rest of the basement. Work benches were replaced with full sized tables, complete with straps, strings, and chains. The walls were also notably unfinished. Planks of wood made a crude frame but there were still big gaps between them and the underground stone. Miryam thought that they were big enough for a person to squeeze through. But none of that really caught the duo's attention. No, what really drew them in further was the source of the humming. 

"You again?" Lilith stopped her humming. She was strapped down to one of the tables in the room; her arms and legs stretched out. She wasn't able to move aside from turn her head, wiggle her feet, and make rude gestures with her hands. There was a small tray next to her that held her armor and mace.

"The vampire lady?" Miryam exclaimed. Aurora rushed over to her and Miryam followed behind.

"What are you doing here?" Aurora asked, now at Lilith's side. 

"Oh, you know. I thought it'd be fun to be strapped down to a table and poked with sharp needles and knives! Obviously, I got captured." Lilith answered sarcastically. She scowled and Aurora couldn't help but feel ashamed for asking a dumb question. She wasn't in the mindset to be the rational one at the moment, but she felt she should've been able to piece that one together. 

"Ah! Your arms!" Miryam shouted, noticing the numerous cuts across Lilith's arms. Miryam instinctively brought up her hands to cast a spell. "Did he do this to you?" Her fingertips started to glow, and she reached out to touch Lilith.

"Miryam wait!" Aurora tried to grab Miryam, but it was too late. The girl placed her hands upon Lilith's arm to try and heal her. Instead, the vampire's skin started to sizzle, and she cried out in pain. Miryam recoiled in horror. "She's a vampire Miryam. Her anatomy rejects light magic." Aurora explained. 

"Half-vampire but yeah. Same concept applies. These are old wounds anyway. The creep didn't do this." 

"Judging based on the placement and orientation, they aren't the cuts of a suicide attempt. You wanted to make yourself bleed but you were avoiding major arteries so you wouldn't bleed out." Aurora said, analyzing Lilith's arms. 

"Yeah..." She said slightly taken aback. "I did cut myself deliberately, but I wasn't trying to die. Although I wouldn't complain if that was the outcome." 

"Aurora, how do you know so much about self-harm wounds?" Miryam asked. Aurora's face turned red and she became flustered. 

"Oh! No reason in particular! Let's change the subject and, more importantly, never mention this conversation to Ulric! Ever!" Aurora answered in a panic. Lilith raised an eyebrow. Was this girl so analytical she needed to do research for her own suicide, she thought. 

"So, you know why I'm down here, but why are you both down here?" Lilith asked. 

"Well, I guess now it's to rescue you." Aurora said, shrugging her shoulders. She began undoing the straps around Lilith's wrists.

"Why?" She asked bluntly. 

"I don't know." Aurora sighed. "Because it's the right thing to do. And if I don't, little miss pure of heart is going to tattle to mister goody two shoes and I'm going to get another lecture." She gestured with her head towards Miryam who has started to undo the straps around Lilith's ankles. 

"But I'm a vampire?" Lilith continued to protest.

"Does that matter?"

"How does it not?" Aurora let the question linger in the air as she continued to undo the straps. She noted how secure they were and the sigils engraved around them. Noah took every precaution; making sure Lilith had no chance of escaping on her own. They canceled out any magic she possessed and were durable enough to withstand her physical strength. This brief moment of silence was interrupted by some dirt falling between the gaps in the wall. 

Ulric continued to sit through Noah’s speech. It wasn’t much of a conversation at this point, and by no means was Ulric really listening to anything Noah was saying. He might as well be monologuing to Ulric. It certainly felt like he had been. Noah was always the dramatic type and Ulric was always his unwilling audience. He didn’t know how much more he could take. He droned on and on about the superiority of man, the weakness of the flesh and how it could be improved. By now Ulric felt as if he’d been on some grand emotional journey. Panic to confusion to anger and now to simply boredom. Was Noah’s plan really just to emotionally exhaust Ulric? 

“Do you know why I made you, Ulric?” His head perked back up. “Or rather, do you know why I started the zoonic division?” 

“I don’t believe I’ve given it much thought, no.” Ulric answered honestly. 

“Channeling a spirit animal takes a lot of hard work. Everyone has one, but only those with strong enough wills can actually bring them out. In humans, the odds of being able to do so is low, but for vampires it’s actually even lower. Another reason why we’re the superior species I suppose.” Ulric frowned. Noah smiled at the sight of his discomfort and continued. “Once spirit animals were discovered it didn’t take long to realize that those able to summon spirit animals were quite powerful individuals. Battles quickly became decided based on who had more spirit summoners. And when you’re in a war you want to win as many battles as you can, no?” 

“So you forceable gave people like me a spirit animal so you could more easily win the war.” Ulric concluded. Noah giggled. 

“More or less. We started the program when we heard reports that the vampires were trying to force their troops into having spirit animals.” 

“But I never saw any enemy spirit summoners?” Noah shrugged his shoulders.

“Bad intel or we beat them to the punch. Either way we got the leg up that truly proved how superior we are! You were a big help in that, with how effective you were. So thanks for that, Ulric.” A devious smile crept across Noah’s face. Ulric was about to fire back but he was interrupted. Several screams coming from downstairs. Immediately Ulric jumped up and rushed to leave the room. Seeing this, Noah scrambled to chase after him. “Ulric? Ulric! Where do you think you’re going?!” He grabbed ahold of his arm in an attempt to stop him, but Ulric effortlessly shrugged him off. 

“Damnit Aurora, you better be alright.” He whispered to himself as he hurried through the house.