Chapter 23: Retaliation

-10 MONTHS REMAIN-

Lilith chomped down onto Aurora’s arm. Immediately the blood flowed into her mouth. It tasted a tad sweet and had a little spicy kick. Lilith didn’t know why people’s blood tasted different. Maybe it was how they lived their lives or who they are as a person. It didn’t really matter, not in this moment. Strength returned to her. Her aches and pains cleared, at least for now. Only one half of her body was free, but that was enough. She rolled over to her still restrained side and continued until she fell off the table. Then in one swift motion, she planted her foot and flung the table off of her body at the zombie. The remaining straps ripped in an instant and the table soared through the air. It connected with its target and shattered into a shower of splinters. The beast was hit so hard it was practically ripped out of Ursa’s grip. Lilith huffed and the other girls gleefully handed her back her equipment. Noah tried to give the beast a command but was stopped by a bolt entering his knee.

“That’s for my dad!” Aurora shouted, lowering her crossbow. Now that she was unrestrained, Lilith could feel her power flowing through her again. She raised her hand and pointed it at the monster. The air in the basement shifted. Aurora could feel a pressure in her chest. Then, as the magic released from Lilith’s fingers, the pressure lifted. The shadows themselves suddenly began to attack. They wrapped themselves around the creature and held it in place, attempting to twist it into an uncomfortable position. Unfortunately, its body was so malleable that no position was truly uncomfortable. More importantly, however, it was restrained. Vampires are all naturally gifted in the art of dark magic. It’s one of the key differences between vampires and humans. Even a half-vampire like Lilith is born with an innate ability to wield dark magic. Consequently, when humans discovered this innate feature in vampires, they developed the art of light magic and chose to become proficient with it. They formed entire religions, cultures, and kingdoms around it. When it was discovered that light magic was inherently damaging to vampires and other nocturnals, they only doubled down.

“Ulric! Do you not see reason?!” Noah screamed. He was hunched over clutching his knee and barely standing. “They’re fueled by bloodshed! Their strength does not come from any sort of pure source! It’s not through hard work or dedication! It’s not through their heart, mind, body, or soul! It’s through senseless violence!” Noah was going to continue but another bolt pierced his other knee. Lilith sprinted towards her prey. She jumped forward and raised her mace high above her head, swinging it down and striking the monster with tremendous force. Aurora and Miryam followed behind her, not to help with the fight but to catch Ulric has he stumbled back.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us.” Aurora smiled. “You’ve got a lot of wounds to treat.” Ulric smiled back, but it faded as he looked at her arm.

“You’ve got a lot of wounds too.” He pointed out. Aurora’s eyes went wide and her face paled. She quickly threw her glove back on and pretended like nothing happened. “Aurora. What are you hiding?” Just as Ulric finished his thought, Aurora let go of him and let him drop to the ground.

“Oh oops! You talking so much caused me to drop you!” She said with her usual bad acting. “Better keep your mouth shut while I help heal you.” The beast struggled to find its footing. Lilith continued to strike it, tearing away flesh and keeping it off balance. In a desperate move, the monster bit Lilith’s shoulder to get her to stop attacking. Lilith grunted at the pain, but tried to remain steady. The beast attempted to put its whole weight onto Lilith. Despite it looking relatively scrawny, it was hefty. In response Lilith put her palm against its chest. Dark energy swirled and her hand, eventually spreading out as cracks all over the creature’s body.

“Inflict wounds!” Lilith grunted. Suddenly, the dark cracks exploded into massive lesions. The creature roared out in pain, letting go of Lilith. The teeth marks sealed and healed almost instantly. Heightened regeneration, another quirk of vampire biology. The monster stumbled back, dazed and in shock. It was clearly at its limit already. It tried to conjure its spiritual horns, but the manifestation failed and the horns spiraled into its skull. It called for help that didn’t come. The powers granted to it were now failing. It didn’t know what to do. It had no orders to follow. It acted on what little instinct it had. It acted on the only emotion it was allowed to feel. Fear. Lilith swung her mace around to build momentum before striking the beast one final time. Aurora swore she could see a glimmer of red aura surrounding Lilith, but by the time she finished her swing it was gone. The zombie was shoved back and collapsed. Its cobbled together body could no longer keep up and support itself. Bones were broken beyond repair. Muscles were torn to shreds. What was apparently Noah’s greatest work had fallen in mere moments to Lilith’s might. To him, she really was a monster, one worth studying. Lilith waited for the beast to get back up, but it never did. Feeling somewhat satisfied, she dropped her weapon and fell to her knees.

“Ulric!” Noah shouted. “Look at what your disobedience has enabled! My work is ruined and that thing is able to walk freely!” Ulric picked himself up and began shambling towards Noah. “I had important research to do and you ruined everything! You forgot who you are! You forgot your place! You are my puppet! You are on my string, to do my bidding, at my whim! I made you! I made you who you are! I gave you that power! I embedded that stupid soul stone into your neck! You wouldn’t be here without me! You wouldn’t have them without me! You are nothing without me!” Noah huffed. Ulric didn’t respond. He just stood over him, glaring.

“As much as I’d love to be the one to kill him, he’s put you through much worse.” Aurora said. Ulric again didn’t respond. He put on his bear claws and grabbed Noah by the collar. He looked him dead in the eye. He thought about everything he had done to him. He thought about all the pain. He thought about all the suffering. He thought about all the death and destruction. He thought about Helson and Eliza. And he thought about Miryam. He sighed.

“I can’t do it. I can’t kill him.”

“What?!” Aurora shouted. “Seriously?! Ulric, come on! Think about everything he’s done! Not just to you, and not just to us!”

“I know.” He said sheepishly. “I just… can I really take another life?” Aurora groaned.

“Why does he have to be so moral?” Ulric looked back at Ursa. Usually by now he would’ve dismissed the animal. But he left his rage linger for so long. It stayed as long as his primal desires did. He wanted to kill Noah. He wanted to desperately. It’s all he ever thought about at times. But could he really bring himself to take another man’s life, after all this time? The thought of killing another man disturbed him, especially in front of a child. To give in to that primeval rage once more, was it justified? “Eye for an eye, Ulric, come on!” Aurora shouted. Ulric looked down at Noah. That rage returned. The bear was still out. He made up his mind.

“Fine.” He said sternly. Suddenly he plunged his bear claws into the side of Noah’s face. He screamed as Ulric dug out one of his eyes. “An eye for an eye.”