This was written with the permission of the author of Stalkers. It is told by Dura Rivaina, a young fire demon and friend of Lai. Please don't use these characters without asking first.
Lai's victims are rarely in shape to ever find information from. We were lucky she left one alive in the group of almost ten vamps who attacked us that evening. It's fighting that's her specialty. She was born for it. Her mother was bitten in 37 AD just before she gave birth, so Lai is kinda half vamp herself. She is a weapons master with an attitude, so don't cross her if you want to live. I guess that would make me the interrogator, but that's not all. I had been Lai's weapon smith and confidant for about 1700 years as of that day. From before the fall of Rome we'd been together, the half vamp and the fire demon, a very unlikely pair. Back to the story, it was about 1347 and the vampire flux had taken us to what is now the UK. Now that was the place, everyone trying to lord over everyone else. They had knights and kings and ladies fair, all they were missing were the dragons. But then again dragons were a blight on the earth and had died out before man came onto the scene.
The little vamp Lai left me with was the one whose arrow I had taken in the shoulder. I had wanted to kill him for that alone right then and there, but we needed the information. Grabbing his arms, I pulled him up off his knees to look me in the eyes at my formidable five foot height. "Where is your Master?" It's at that point that the big man thought he can intimidate little old me and pulled himself up strait so he could look down at me grinning. Now I'll admit, it takes alot to piss me off, but the man had pushed all the wrong buttons all at once and I had had enough. Casually I gripped the front of his tunic with my left hand and, floating, I pulled his sorry ass off the ground. I maybe a woman, but I am a full fire demon and be damned if I was going to take his shit anymore. I wanted to laugh when his eyes grew round with shock, not from the floating mind you, but because of the flame ball that sat in the cupped palm of my right hand. Shaking him once I icily asked, "Want to feel this my young friend? You've pissed off the wrong Child of Rivaina. Now as I was asking, where is your Master?" I realized I had gotten to hot to fast when his only response was some random babbling. I knew the cause was lost when I saw that his eyes had glazed over.
"Dura..." there was pause in Lai's voice. I always have known that she hates to see me use my more aggressive side. "I think you scared him too much, he's useless now." I shook my head and tossed him to the ground, dropped my flame on him, and laughed as he went to met his maker. Having seen to my problem I turned to my best friend, my only friend, Lai. Her hair gleamed a deep red in contrast to my flame red locks. Her eyes showed only disappointment in my short temper, it was hard enough for her to let one vamp live in combat and it was unusual for my temper to get the best of me when we really needed the information. She quickly scaled the nearest tree and looked level with me saying, "We can try again tomorrow." That's all that I needed to know, that she can forgive me my nature, it wasn't the first time and certainly wouldn't be the last. I'd would have left if she had asked me too, again that was part of the odd nature of our friendship. She faced the sun soaking up it's last rays. In the few moments it took to set, I could see the gift she inherited from her vamp 'father'. Wings, the purest white flecked in gold, adorn her shoulders, their massive expanse would have allowed her to join me in the air if only she knew how to use them; but, I had long ago decided it wasn't my place to teach her anymore. Our silence as the moon rises is companionable, but something has nagged me for awhile and I need to ask her.
"Lai," I started staring intently at the full moon, it rose in color akin to blood that night. "Tonight is different, I think you can feel it too." She nodded looking at me questioningly. She sometimes overwhelmed me. I had been there from the start, first as a savior, later as a teacher, and finally and most importantly as a friend. Lai looked often to me for knowledge, and more often then not, I was a disappointment. But then there were moments like these, when the faith was so strong between the two of us, those were the fabled golden moments you always hear your elders speak of. She respected that I really didn't care for all the fighting and that I didn't have all the answers despite my age; but most importantly, Lai had my faith that she can stop the madness caused by my unearthly kin the vampires.
"Tonight is a blood moon," I started again, drew my gaze from her and gestured to the rising moon. "They are very rare and far in-between. Lai, you are the best friend I have ever had, not many people have a chance to live as long as I will. Under this blood moon I want to pledge to you as my blood brother. I know that like all people we need space at times, but I want to be there for you should you ever have need and I am not there."
"How?" came her quite response.
"Between demons, it is sharing of psyche. With the exchange of blood there is a connection forged. It is a link you could call me on, anytime, anywhere." I paused, looked at her bowed head and continued quietly, "I don't know for certain what will happen though. It's different from demon to demon and I don't know that anyone has tried it with a mortal or a half vamp before." Seconds stretched on as I waited to hear what she thought, slowly I floated towards a tree on the other side of the glade, "It was a stupid idea, I'm sorry."
"So you could tell if I'm ok and if I need help right?"
"Yeah."
"Then I can do the same to you?"
"That's the way it's supposed to work."
"What's involved again?" she asked me, the started her slow decent to the ground.
"Um, everyone's favorites, blade, blood, and fire."
Lai paused in her climbing at that point and asked, "It won't kill me will it."
"I don't think so." I smiled although my eyes did not hold any mirth. With all seriousness I added, "I wouldn't risk this if I didn't think that it would be important to the future." My heart jumped a little. The sharing of psyche was a way to keep in touch through trials and tribulations. It meant always being there for your friend, it also meant always being painfully aware of her death. But Lai was next to destructible and as long as I didn't piss off any of the more powerful demons we would be fine. The silent acceptance in her eyes mirrored the happiness in mine, Lai quickly resumed her downward journey.
We met halfway across the glade. The wind had removed the ashes of our earlier victims, fire renewing again. I set a small column of flame to burn between us and passing my hand through it, I pulled two daggers with etched flames from the demon plane to this mortal one. Lai took one and mirrored my actions, pulling the blade from wrist to elbow on the side of her fore arm. I cut to the bone, but then again I can't bleed to death, Lai cut only deep enough to draw blood and leave a scar to remember it by. Lai and I then clasped hands in a warriors clasp over the flames. I watched for a moment as our mingling blood hissed and vaporized as it hit the flames. When the fire column went out and daggers disappeared, my inner flames cauterized and healed the wounds as we stood across from each other.
I felt so much more aware of Lai at that moment, nothing would change that through out more than a thousand years. Some things didn't work out the way that I had hoped on that blood moon night. Both of could find each other instinctively and unerringly, but the call was less of a comfort. In fact to tell the down right truth it hurt, alot. As far as Lai, I haven't ever asked her what the call is like for her, but perhaps someday I will.
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