The Bride and Her Bloodlust

I stood on the roof, ignoring the rain that fell in torrents. I was soaked and my hair was stuck to my face like a second skin, but the suit I wore kept the worst of the cold away. While I couldn’t use the suit full potential without Matter, it was far easier to run about on rooftops in it than my usual uniform. The blackness of it also kept me from sticking out like a sore thumb.

I wasn’t sure why I was out in the city, staring down at the house James’ friend lived. I just found myself intrigued. Al had wanted me to see something here and I had missed it. It had bothered me. So I put my witch-suit on and wondered back.

I hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary yet. A couple of people came and went, Lucy being one of them, but I saw no-one special. All had been human, utterly average and mundane humans at that. To be honest, the more I watched, the more it felt too human. I couldn’t place it. So I remained there for hours, spending my night on the roof opposite.

As the rain eased off, someone joined me. I had sensed his approach and curiosity before he had even reached me. A faint throb in my mind told me everything I need to know of what he was up to.

The Master slowly approached me. If I hadn’t felt him, I wouldn’t have known he was there. His steps were silent, even with the water covering the tiles, and his scent dulled in the cold damp air.

“So this is where you have been?” He said as he crouched beside me and peered at my pale face.

“I was curious.” I said without taking my eyes from the house.

“About what Alphonse used you for?”

“Yes. I hadn’t done what he had hoped, which isn’t common. He seemed disappointed.” I said softly, taking a glance at his face as he looked down. His mouth was smiling faintly but I saw darkness in his eyes. Something was bothering him. He came to me to speak, not to find out what I was doing.

“Have you discovered anything?”

“Other than this family is utterly boring, no.”

“Al may have just been curious to know what kind of family James was becoming involved with, you realise? He is overprotective. He probably wanted to make sure there was no threat.”

The Master had a point but I didn’t feel that was it. Al had wanted me to see something.

I tapped my nails against my teeth lightly. “What brought you here?” I asked.

The Master went quiet and his eyes became darker. I reached out and touched his roucgh cheek, letting my fingers stroke gently before he grasped them in his own.

“Eva contacted me. She said she is now certain the threat has returned.”

My heart sunk but I wasn’t surprised. “What’s convinced her?”

“She managed to find the child deep in the mountains. He’s alive but barely. He was drained of almost all his blood and there were five parasites in his prison.”

I was pleased to hear the Polish boy was alive but he’d been scarred. Mentally, I doubted he’d ever recover from that. “What does she plan to do?”

“To alert the Heads. They must be careful now, expecially over young Blue bloods.” He said heavily. “She will try to hunt them down with the Elders and deal with the situation. I know the Crone is helping her as much as she can.”

“If they’ve come back, they can only hide so long.”

“True but I am still not certain we will find them.” He said doubtfully. “They hide so well it’s ridiculous.”

“Eva won’t let this continue though. She knows the damage they intend to do.”

The Master nodded then smiled. “Let’s go back. Dawn will come soon.” He said.

When I nodded reluctantly in agreement, he kissed me fleetingly and stood. I followed him and dropped down to the alley below, keeping to his side as we walked through the dead streets.

As we continued, I began to fidget. I kept glancing over my shoulder and balling my fists. Something was watching us.

The Master didn’t seem to feel it. He was quite calm, walking with long strides and without any sense of anxiety. In fact he seemed quite deep in thought. After a while though, he did notice my distress.

He slowed and slipped his arm around my waist, tugging me to him tightly. “What is it?” He asked as he leaned his head near mine.

“I sense something watching us.” I said as I tried to look over my shoulder again but found I couldn’t. The Master was holding me firmly in place.

“I know you do. Just listen for anything.” He said softly.

I did as I was told and focused my attention solely on listening. I couldn’t hear anything odd. There was the distant roar of traffic, the spattering of rain, the voices of a drunk couple arguing, but nothing else. I persisted though, not paying much attention to wear I was going, not that I needed to. The Master guided me quietly, alerting me to steps and keeping me pressed to his side.

But he stopped when my legs froze. I heard it. Footsteps. And they were coming in fast.

I only had a moment to tear myself from the Master’s grasp and whirl around as someone came pelting from behind. Wearing a skin-tight suit like my own and a black scarf covering her face, the blatant witch struck out at me without a pause in her stride. I blocked it but found it difficult to keep my balance from the impact. She was strong, very strong, and fast I found. Her knee suddenly shot up into my stomach, winding me horribly, and then struck my with the back of her hand, knocking me aside.

My head smashed against the wall and I slid to my knees with pain thudding in my head and blood trickling down my face. For a moment everything was blurred but my ears picked up the sound of fighting. She had gone for the Master.

I stood, wobbling a little, and clenched my teeth, growling a little as rage flickered in my chest. She was on par with him, maybe better. She was striking out at his head, trying to stun him, but found his defence to strong. He would block the attack or swerve out of the way but only barely. She was getting too close to actually hitting him.

I did find out strange though that she had no weapon. There was no blade or pistol, she only used her fists. It meant she wasn’t here to kill us even though she was obviously hostile.

Just as I found my legs and focus, I dove forward. With my nails thickening, I took a swipe at her face, forcing her away from Lucius. Her backward leap took her some distance and she remained there, watching us warily. I hissed savagely, keeping myself in front of my Master even though I was the weaker out of us. I hated the fact she had gotten past me and so close to hurting him.

“What do you want?” I snapped.

The witch said nothing and I saw her take some from a tiny pocket on her leg. She seemed to weight it before she came charging again.I took a few steps forward, intending to meet her with my teeth and claws, but she completely ignored them. As my claws tore down her arm, not even tearing the material, her hand shot up and grabbed hold of my hair. She yanked down hard, pulling me to the floor as she leapt over me. My face hit the ground hard and a crack rattled though my skull, leaving me completely dazed.

Behind me, the Master snarled and caught hold of her wrist, stopping her hand from reaching his throat. That was what she intended, it seemed. Her hand twisted and grabbed his own wrist and she pulled forward, tugging him to his knees hard. For one moment, his defences were down and that was all she needed.

Her free hand arched down and hit his back. I felt his pain. It was like a slither of fire in our bond. It stirred me. I pushed myself to my knees, ignoring the pain in my nose and blood covering my face, and tried to get up onto my feet. The witch had done what she wanted though and before I had the chance to rip out her throat, she let go of the Master and ran down the alleyway.

I wanted to chase after her but stopped when I heard the Master hiss in pain. I watched the figure vanish into the darkness before I rushed to Lucius and knelt in front of him.

He was still on his knees and holding the back of his neck as his face was contorted in pain. I cupped his face, letting the pads of my thumbs brush his skin in comfort.

“This is why I want my Matter back.” I said mockingly stern but my eyes became worried when I saw him wince.

He squinted at me, his eyes becoming rage filled as he saw the blood on my face, but he quickly looked away as savage agony washed over him.

“What is it, Master? What did she do?”

“She injected me with something.” He snarled. “It burns.”

“What burns?”

“I don’t know. My neck at first but it’s spreading I think.” He paused as he took several breaths. “I can’t focus well.”

I didn’t want to show it but I was panicking a little. “Lucius, I’ll get you home, okay? Al and I will find out what it is. We’ll sort this out.”

He wasn’t listening though. His eyes were distant and black and growls constantly rumbled from his chest. I tried to talk to him via our bond but it was completely blocked off. I couldn’t get through or even sense his pain.

I grabbed Lucius’ arm and pulled it over my shoulder. With some effort, I lifted him onto his feet. He swayed violently but I managed to keep him steady. His breathing was laboured now and he could barely keep his eyes open. My worry was strengthening and twisting in my gut like a knife.

“Let’s get you home.” I said softly and trying to keep the urgency from my voice.

The Master didn’t say a word as I helped him through the alleyway. I knew I had to get moving quickly. Dawn was coming and I wasn’t sure what the hell was happening to Lucius.

I lugged him onwards with small heavy steps, constantly looking over my shoulder for the damned witch that had attacked us. She never came back but she didn’t need to. She had done more than enough damage. All she had to do was watch from a distance. Watch as my wonderful Master turned mad.