The Vampire & Her Witch

”I will accept your challenge, but do you dare to accept my terms?”

Thane’s taunt dug under Savis’s skin like barbed needles, tearing at his already tattered pride and provoking the beast that lurked behind his normally impassive golden gaze. During the battle of the Tangled Tower, Savis fought Zedya to what could charitably be called a draw. In reality, only Nyrielle’s prompt arrival had rescued her prized maidservant from the powerful vampire’s claws.

Now that he was being asked to simply submit to another of Nyrielle’s young progeny, it was all Savis could do to keep himself from erupting in fury in the middle of the war council.

”If you wish to settle this as a contest between men, I won’t refuse,” Savis growled, standing up from his chair. ”Little Brother Tausau can stand as my second and as my witness. Name your second, and we can take this outside to resolve without spoiling the mood here.”

From his seat beside Savis, Tausau gave Nyrielle a complicated and helpless look before the Clanless vampire stood at Savis’s side. He’d shared his concerns about his ’older brother’s wounded pride and questionable loyalty on more than one occasion since coming under her banner. Savis had once been hailed as the White Fang of the Tangled Wood, renown for defeating two Eldritch Lords in single combat to expand High Lord Hamdi’s territory and the sudden fall in status had shaken Tausau’s older brother more than the proud vampire might admit.

In the High Pass, while they were recovering from the battle and making arrangements for their dead, Tausau had even gone so far as to plead with Nyrielle for her to bestow the same gift of reawakening the heart that she’d given him. He’d hoped, perhaps naively, that a return of the emotions he’d lost centuries ago would fill Savis with the same gratitude and loyalty that he felt after experiencing a rebirth at her hands.

Nyrielle had rejected him instantly, saying that Savis had yet to earn such a favor and that there were others who were still waiting for that gift who had contributed far more to the Vale’s cause over decades of war than Savis had by contributing in a few minor battles while they traveled the Eldritch nations. Now that things had come to a head, part of Tausau’s complicated glance at Nyrielle seemed to say ’I warned you, grand-niece,’ even as another part seemed to say ’Now that it’s come this far, I’m helpless to stop him.’

”I have no need of a second,” Thane said, smiling lazily as he stood from his own chair, spinning it effortlessly as though it were a dance partner before he tucked it out of the way. ”My terms are very simple and advantageous to you,” Thane continued as he adjusted the laces at the cuffs of his white tunic, as well as the laces across his pale, muscular chest that he normally allowed to hang loose.

”I’ve worn my best white tunic for tonight’s gathering,” the Lord General continued, holding his arms out wide in a grand gesture and taking a slow turn as if to show off the way the garment strained across his broad shoulders while falling loose around his trim waist before vanishing beneath his wide sash. ”If you can stain it with so much as a single drop of my blood, I will count it as your victory and submit to your rule as Lord General of the Vale of Mists.”

”You think that your sword will give you an advantage against my claws, boy?” Savis jeered. ”I thought that you knights had honor and fought for your virtues. But I’m not a petty man. If you want to match your sword against my claws, I’ll allow it. And if you can stain my fur with a single drop of my blood, we’ll count it as your victory.”

”Sir Thane wouldn’t resort to such low tricks,” Ollie objected fiercely. Thane was the man who had taught him more about what it meant to be a knight than anyone else, and seeing him insulted like this struck Ollie in a particularly sensitive spot after completing his own vigil to become a knight.

”It’s fine, Sir Ollie,” Thane said, untying the knots that bound his darksteel arming sword to his sash and removing the weapon, sheath and all, before passing it across the table to a surprised-looking Ollie. ”I said that I wouldn’t need a second, but since you want to make this a matter of the honor of knights, then Sir Ollie can stand as my second and hold my blade. I won’t be needing it anyway.”

”Arrogant boy,” Savis growled, moving to one end of the room and taking a fighting position with his knees bent, ready to pounce and his claws extended as though he was preparing to tear Thane’s flesh from his body.

”Give us the side,” Thane said calmly to the people on Nyrielle’s side of the table. ”This room is a bit narrow for a duel but if you clear this side and stand behind Lady Ashlynn’s coven, there should be enough space. It won’t take long anyway,” he said confidently.

Thane’s words weren’t a request and everyone on Nyrielle’s side of the table acquiesced immediately to his spoken command, deferring to the newly promoted Lord General without the slightest word of complaint.

”Don’t worry, Ollie,” Ashlynn said softly when she noticed the young knight’s hands tightly gripping Thane’s sword. ”Lord Thane has nothing to fear from Sir Savis. You’re about to witness something very important so watch closely.”

”What do you mean?” Ollie asked, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the two vampires as if he was afraid he would miss their duel in the blink of an eye. Given the speed with which he’d seen Thane move during their lessons, it was possible that thing truly would begin and end in the blink of an eye.

”Sir Savis is one of High Lord Hamdi’s progeny,” Ashlynn explained. ”High Lord Hamdi inherited the Blood of the Pack from Bardas, the Jaws of Death. He’s passed a trace of that power on to Savis.”

”Savis is the most dangerous when he’s surrounded by other members of his clan,” Virve added, having seen Savis fight first hand during the battle of the Tangled Tower. She’d felt helpless then to help Zedya in her battle against the fearsome vampire and even now that she’d received the seed of the Ancient Oak, she knew she was far from becoming the Golden Eyed Vampire’s match.

”He doesn’t have any progeny of his own,” Virve explained. ”But he shares the blood of the Golden Eyed Clan, so as long as he’s among other members of his clan, he can use their strength to supplement his own.”

”But, he’s alone here,” Ollie pointed out the obvious as the people from the other side of the table shuffled in behind them. ”So is that why Sir Thane thinks he has an advantage?”

”No,” Ashlynn said, sharing a knowing look with Nyrielle. ”Watch, see for yourself,” she said as the air began to crackle with intense energy.

Even though Savis couldn’t draw on the strength of a ’pack’ he was still a vampire who had lived centuries longer than even Nyrielle had. He knew the limits of his powers well so when he summoned the power of his blood, he focused all of that energy into the speed of his limbs and the strength of his claws. The battle would begin and end in a single strike, and the young pup before him would learn that there was more to being a vampire than having the fortune to be the progeny of the Harbinger of Death!

Thane, on the other hand, made no movements and summoned no power. He seemed content to stand facing Savis with a calm expression on his face and his empty hands at his sides, as if he couldn’t be bothered to defend himself from Savis’s attack.

”Begin!” Nyrielle said, giving the table a sharp tap with a pointed nail to signal the start of the duel that would determine once and for all which of these powerful vampires had the right to command the armies of the Vale of Mists.