Chapter 12: Chapter Chapter Eleven

“If we install augments, we can save her life.”

“No, she must remain pure.”

“She won’t survive if we don’t do something, Steiner!”

“Then let her die.”

“I-“

“That is an order.”

Sabine felt like she was floating in darkness, her body slowly filling up with warm liquid. She was naked. Steiner was lying next to her; the cold chill of her pale skin gave Sabine goosebumps. Steiner ran her fingers up the length of Sabine’s body, ending with her face. She caressed her cheek as she spoke.

“You won.”

“I… I don’t care…”

“This is what you wanted, is it not?”

“No!” Sabine shouted and pushed Steiner away. She fizzled into nothingness. “It cost me everything! What’s the point if I have nothing… I have no one…”

“You have me. Am I not enough for you?” Steiner pouted as she reappeared on the other side, wrapping her limbs around Sabine.

“I want Sebille… I want Wolf…”

“I can grant wishes, you know,” Steiner whispered into Sabine’s ear. “You can have anything your heart desires. You just need to do something for me.”

“I can… see Wolf again?”

“Yes, of course. You just need to accept my gift.”

“I… okay.”

“Good,” Steiner’s lips parted into a devious smile as she lay on top of Sabine. She slowly pressed their lips together, gently pricking the inside of Sabine’s lower lip with her fang. She licked the blood that poured forth before sliding down to her neck. Sabine gasped sharply as Steiner ravenously tore into her throat. She could feel the warmth being drained from her body until nothing remained and the darkness enveloped her.

Sabine awoke on the couch in Steiner’s office. The lights were off and the room was lit by the flickering flames of the fireplace. Her head felt as though it had been split open with an ax. She lifted her shirt to check her chiseled abs, but the wounds were gone. Steiner was casually sipping tea at her desk. Just as she was beginning to rise, a man stepped through the doorway.

“I like what you’ve done with the city, Stein.” It was the man that had assaulted Sebille. “But I think it’s time I take back what’s mine.”

Steiner placed the teacup on her desk and met the man in front of her desk. “It has been a long time, Bartz.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me back my city,” Bartz spat as he grabbed the teapot and dumped the contents into his gaping maw.

“I am afraid you do not belong here any more, my love.”

“Oh?” Bartz chuckled. “Then where?”

Steiner pricked her finger on her fang, then leaned in and pressed her lips against his, locking him into a deep kiss. She plunged her hand into his chest, causing him to inhale sharply. She tapped his heart with the bloodied finger, then pulled herself away. “You belong in hell.”

Bartz reeled back, clutching his chest as his skin began to blister and peel away. His flesh began to turn to ash and fall off his bones as his existence came to an end. “I-impossible… I’m supposed to be… Immortal…”

Steiner shook her hand briefly, then scowled as she opened the empty teapot. “Come, Sabine. I will brew you some tea.”

“I...” Sabine stood and grabbed her head. To her surprise, two large horns were protruding from the front of her skull. They curved upward to form a broken oval. “What happened? What… am I?”

“You perished,” Steiner bluntly stated as she scattered various herbs into the teapot. She bent over and pursed her lips, allowing a steady stream of water to spill forth into the receptacle. With a wave of her fingers, the pot instantly started boiling and she poured the tea into the cups. “You made a bargain with me, as I believe you will recall. You will help me with something, and I will grant you a wish.”

“There’s nothing you can do that will bring back Wolf…” Sabine sat at the desk and looked into the cup. The dark fluid seemed to swirl on its own.

“I brought you back, did I not?”

“I… yes.”

“Do not doubt the power of a dragon.”

“Dragons… exist?”

“Of course,” Steiner’s lips parted into a devious grin. “Where do you think vampires came from?”

“What?! Does that mean…”

“Yes, Sabine, you are a vampire. Can you not feel it? The unquenchable thirst?” Steiner inquired. Sabine ran her tongue along her lips, realizing that they were dry and cracked. She greedily drank the tea, but it did nothing. “Do not worry, I have just what you need.”

Steiner snapped her fingers and the plain wall slid open, revealing Nyx, who had been tied to a chair and gagged. “Nyx?”

“The person responsible for Wolfgang’s betrayal.”

“What?!” Sabine shot up, knocking back her chair. She ran over to Nyx and tore the gag out of his mouth, tossing it on the ground.

“Now hold on, let me-“

“How much?!” Sabine screamed furiously as tears formed in her eyes.

“What?”

“The only thing you care about is money, how much was his life worth?!”

“Ten thousand creds…” Nyx replied quietly.

“Ten th- I pay you more than that in a single day!”

“It was less than an hour’s work. That’s a good rate, how could I turn that down?” Nyx hastily explained. Sabine grit her teeth so hard her gums began to bleed.

“You see it, do you not? The heat radiating from him. The blood pumping through his veins,” Steiner smirked. Sabine approached Nyx’s helpless body; her eyes fixed on his throat. She lunged at him, viciously tearing into his neck. Nyx cried out in pain as Sabine slurped and sucked the life from his body. After a few minutes, she was finished. She had gotten blood all over her clothes.

“My, so thirsty,” Steiner lasciviously commented. “Do you feel better now?”

“No!” Sabine cried out as she sat down again and put her head in her hands. “I’m a monster…”

“But you will be reunited with Wolfgang once my task is completed. Is that not what you wanted?”

“I… I don’t know…” Sabine sighed deeply. “What do I have to do…?”

“I want you to do what Liet could not. I want you to kill all of the vampires. After that, you’ll need to kill the dragons as well.”

“Are you not a dragon? Why would you want them dead?”

“They are the source of vampirism. If they are eliminated, no more vampires can be created.”

“How am I supposed to kill them?” Sabine looked up from her palms. Steiner stood and walked over to the fireplace. She grabbed the silver sword that was mounted above it.

“Do you recognize this blade?”

“No.”

“Its name is Sverker, the sword used by Bastien, the Demon of the Aether.”

“Bastien…?”

“Yes, the very same. A lot of your bloodline are vampires. Perhaps you are cursed,” Steiner smiled. “As you just saw, the blood of a dragon applied to the heart of a vampire will lead to death. I have embedded a small mechanism in the sheathe of this sword. When it is drawn, it will coat the blade in my blood. Do not waste a drop. My blood is too valuable to be squandered.”

“Where am I supposed to find them?”

“Hmm…” Steiner thought for a moment. “I believe Gaius resides in the Arraken Desert, to the South. Shund spends his time in the sewers of Asnea. You will find Colbrandt at the Heart of the Ocean, to the North. Yus can be found in the Obsidian Plains, to the West. Ignus, the strongest of the dragons, will be found in Mt. Violens.”

“And the vampires?”

“They should be near their masters,” Steiner handed Sverker to Sabine. She could feel a slight warmth radiating from the silver blade, which had the words ‘Fit for a princess’ engraved on it. “Except perhaps Bastien. I believe he has made himself a grove near a small village to the East.”

“Who should I start with first?”

“It matters not to me. That is all, you may leave now,” Steiner answered as she sat down. Steiner called out as Sabine left the office. “You know, your natural hair color really does suit you.”

The streets were empty as Sabine made her way to the hangar. Bastien had been completely repaired and was ready for departure. Sabine climbed up to the catwalk and entered Bastien, bumping her horns on the top of the cockpit as she did. She started his engine and made her way out of the city. She left Bastien’s floodlights off, as she no longer needed them to see in the utter darkness. It took her a little over a day to make it to the small village. It was little more than ruined buildings next to a dried-up lake. She decided to depart from Bastien and proceed on foot. While she was wandering around the village, she noticed that the plant life was shriveled and dying on one side. Sabine decided to proceed in that direction. Eventually she came to an enclosure of dead trees. The field was filled with rotting corpses that provided nourishment for the countless vampire orchids. There was one massive oak in the center that had pulsating purple veins, providing a dim glow to the area. Sitting against the tree was a young man, his face was covered in a web of cracks that were more prevalent on his forehead. The cracks were emitting the same bright purple glow of his arm, which was a gnarled mass of some sort of metal that flattened at the wrist into a hand with pointed fingers. A long, jagged horn was protruding from the right portion of his forehead like a lightning bolt. A smaller horn had breached the surface of his skin on the other side of his face. A phantasmal wing that appeared to be made of bone was attached to his back. The rest of his skin was cracked as well, but did not emit the same purple glow of his face. A thick, pitch-black broadsword was plunged into the ground beside him. It seemed as though it was absorbing what little light surrounded it.

“You have come to my sanctuary,” the man called out to Sabine. “I can only assume you desire the same fate as these blessed souls.”

“You must be Bastien,” Sabine approached the man.

“You know my name,” Bastien remarked. Upon approach, Sabine realized that his eyes were closed. “It seems I was right after all. You did come here to be saved.”

“Saved?”

“From the burden of life!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Life is suffering. I have been chosen by Gaius to save humanity from its own existence. I give them what I myself cannot have. Death!” Bastien shouted as he rose and opened his eyes to look at Sabine. His sclera were black and his pupils were glowing the same dark purple as his cracked skin. “Oh, you look… familiar.”

“My name is Sabine Randgris.”

“I see… you look so much like my daughter…” Bastien slowly approached Sabine. “Funny. A thousand years later she still finds a way to torment me.”

“I’m here to kill you.”

“You and I share the same curse,” Bastien smirked, baring his rotten fangs. “You should know that I can’t die.”

“I know a way.”

“You’re welcome to try, but if you fail, I’m going to rip you to pieces a hundred times over. I do have one small request, however.”

“What is it?”

“I wish to taste your blood,” Bastien licked his lips and gestured to his wrist. “I’ll bleed you dry anyways if you disagree, so why go through the trouble?”

“Fine,” Sabine pricked her finger on her fangs and presented it to Bastien. He greedily sucked the blood from her fingertip.

“I knew it… You taste just like her…” Bastien remarked as he wiped a tear from his eye. “Go ahead. Kill me. Save me from this miserable existence.”

Sabine removed Sverker from his sheathe, coating him in Steiner’s blood. The droplets that dripped onto the earth hissed and sizzled as they burned into the fetid soil. She positioned the blade in front of Bastien’s chest. As she was about to thrust, he smiled a huge grin, grabbing the blade and thrusting it into his chest. His skin began to peel away and dissolve into ash. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he began to die.

“Oh… this feeling… It’s… divine…”