Lena was galloping towards Bruma not giving her horse any rest. She got ambushed by assassins a few times along the way, but she just sped past them without stopping – she had no time for such nonsense. Lucien was in mortal danger, and all she could do was hope and pray that she wasn’t already too late.

When she got close to Bruma, she let her horse go and continued to Applewatch on foot. There again she got ambushed, she knocked out the assassin without killing him, he was just a young recruit, probably trying to prove himself with such an impossible contract. She carefully approached Applewatch and looked through the window. Three people in black robes stood in the room, looking around. Two more people were on the floor. Blood was everywhere. Was Lucien already dead? Then why were the assassins just standing around? No, they were looking for him… He must have hid away, she realised, he must be wounded… he could well be already dead.

“What we need is a diversion,” she thought. “They won’t stop until they kill him… or someone like him, at least…”

She returned to the assassin she had just knocked out, removed his armour and dressed him in a black robe that she used to carry in her pack – a simple black robe without any enchantments. She pulled a hood over his face, too. She brought him to the door, revived him and quickly pushed him inside, shutting the door again. “Forgive me, Brother,” she said under her breath.

…

Lena saw members of the Black Hand leave the Applewatch cottage one by one, five of them, wounded but alive. They mounted their horses and slowly rode South. Lena waited until they were well out of sight, then carefully opened the door to the cottage and peered in. A mutilated corpse was hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. It could have been Lucien, but she knew that it wasn’t. Rats were nibbling on the pieces of flesh strewn around. She entered, trying not to step into too much blood. Lucien had to be there somewhere.

She watched the rats and wondered where they were coming from, there seemed to be too many of them to have been allowed to infest a house. “There must be a cave underground, a basement or something like that,” she thought trying to find a trapdoor. She found it, descended into the cellar, there were many rats there and a passage into a cave, but there was no blood on the floor, and she realised that Lucien wasn’t there. She returned to the house and resumed her search.

And then she saw it – a sliding door behind a cupboard, well hidden from view. A shaft led into a small, dark chamber, she saw blood catching the light below – that was it. She moved the cupboard and descended.

Lucien was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, pale and unconscious, still breathing but only just. It seemed he had tried to bandage some of the worst cuts, but didn’t get very far. His wounds were deep, but his heart was still beating. Lena tried to stop the bleeding as best she could, then pulled him out of that chamber and out of the house. She called her horse, put Lucien across the saddle and hoped they would not get attacked. They didn’t have far to go – she had a plan.

…

The sewers of Bruma had many exits, and some people even claimed that they extended all the way to Chorrol. Lena wasn’t sure about that last claim, but she knew of one particular exit just outside the city wall, and that was where she was leading her horse with Lucien across the saddle. They stopped behind some rocks and bushes and Lena pulled Lucien off the saddle and sat him up against the wall – she had to leave him there for a short while and she hoped he would be safe.

Descending into the sewers, she prepared to clear the way. A few rats and mudcrabs were rustling in the corners, but they weren’t her main concern, she needed to prepare the way to the room that she intended to use. She cast invisibility and moved silently along the corridor – she knew what to expect and it wasn’t mudcrabs.

She saw a person kneeling over something on the ground, the person seemed to be feeding. A vampire? No, he wasn’t drinking blood, he was eating flesh… Lena attacked him from behind, she surprised him and managed to land a few hits before he got up, seemingly completely unharmed, and tried to grab her the way zombies do. His movements were sluggish but much more agile than those of zombies. Lena jumped back and shot a fireball, cursing the pain in her fingers. She vanished again, circled the creature and sliced him a few more times… This went on for a while, but finally she got him, and he moved no more. She burned his corpse, just to be sure. One down. But there would be more. The corridor led to a coven of necromancers, and these half-zombies half-men often escaped from there, or possibly even were purposefully released, it was hard to tell. Yet it was that coven that Lena intended for Lucien. She opened a door barely visible in the dark and entered.

The space inside was darker than most of the sewers, with black and red candles illuminating some skulls and bones for a dramatic effect. Lena smirked at that and pushed another door – she knew her way around.

“Welcome, Sister!” A cheerful Breton in a heavy black robe greeted her, then seeing who it was, his face fell. “Oh, it’s you,” he sounded disappointed. “What brings you here, Sister?”

“I don’t need cattle, I’ve got one of my own, so relax,” Lena smiled at him. “I shall be using your Blood Room for a while.”

“You’ll need to speak to Brother Sergius about that, you know the rules!” The Breton exclaimed defensively. “No exceptions!”

“I thought we had an understanding…” Lena came close to him, baring her fangs. “No flesh-eating half-zombies outside of the coven. And what do I find as I come in?” She pressed a bloody decomposing hand against the man’s chest and he jumped back in disgust. “That’s your handywork!” She glared at him, throwing the hand at his feet. “That vermin will rise as zombies too! The sewers are not safe with them around!”

“That was an accident, I swear!” The man was shaking slightly. “Jules forgot to lock them up! They were never supposed to get out!”

“Well, I killed them now, so tell Jules to check his locks next time,” Lena scowled. “Or else I’ll have to mention this to the others… If we can’t use the sewers, we won’t have a choice.”

“The Blood Room is at your disposal,” the man said in a small voice, backing off. “I’ll tell Sergius, do not worry… Have a pleasant stay!” He turned around and almost ran to another door in the darkness, then shut it firmly behind him.

“Necromancers,” Lena glared after him. “But safer than vampires.”

She walked to another door in the darkness, opened it and looked inside. It was a typical sewer alcove dimly lit with red candles. There was a bed inside, a table, a few chairs, but also a small fountain, an alchemy station and a drain in the middle. A large table stood next to the drain with grooves running down. This was the Blood Room – bodies were drained of blood there, and necromancers were making a pretty penny selling bottled blood. It was perfect for what she was planning.

Lena quickly ran back out of the sewers finding Lucien still sitting where she left him, undisturbed. Her horse was munching on milk thistle nearby. She lifted Lucien and carried him to the coven, he was heavy, she wasn’t accustomed to carrying people, but she hadn’t fed in days and her strength was at its peak. She brought him in and put him on the table. Thin lines of blood coloured the grooves red – he was still bleeding. She took off his robe and examined the cuts.

“Not too bad,” she decided. “He lost a lot of blood but if everything goes well, he should make it.” She proceeded removing his bandages, they were soaked through anyway.

The smell of fresh blood hit her nostrils. Yes, she hadn’t fed in days… she wasn’t yet famished exactly, but that smell did drive up her hunger. But no, she would control it. She could control it. She must. She bent over a deep cut that was still bleeding and licked off fresh blood. She only took what seeped out already, she covered the cut with her mouth making a seal with her lips, pressed her tongue against the flesh and licked off the blood. She licked it again and again. The taste of it was making her dizzy with the want for more, but she refrained from pulling at the wound, only taking what Lucien’s heart pushed out already…

Suddenly the door flung open and a tall man in a heavy black robe stood in the opening looking angry.

“You can’t just come in here demanding the use of the Blood Room, Sister!” He almost shouted. “You are not one of us!”

Lena looked up. It was only then that the man realised what he was seeing. A vampire with a gaunt face and feverish eyes was foaming at the mouth, blood dripping off her lips, her victim unconscious on the draining table, deep cuts all over his body oozing fresh, warm blood… It was a feast, and he just barged in.

“Sergius!” Lena hissed. “Care to join me for supper? You can take the bed, if you like,” she glared at him, a dagger in her hand. “I’ll give you a common bite.” She leapt and stood nose to nose with him before he could move. “I hope you are not full of nightshade again – you know I hate that flavour!” She squeezed his neck with one hand bringing the dagger to his throat with the other. “Step this way, it only hurts the first time.” She pushed him towards the bed.

“You have all you need, I can see it now,” Sergius hissed with difficulty. “I was wrong to intrude, Sister. Stay as long as you like!”

Lena nicked his skin with her dagger and he visibly paled. She sucked at his wound and grimaced. “Nightshade!” She licked his blood off her lips and spit it out. “Come back when you are clean!” She scowled, releasing his neck.

Sergius didn’t need to be asked twice. He backed off and left, and Lena shut the door after him, bolting it from inside.

“What..?” Lucien seemed to have regained consciousness. “Who was that?”

“Our host,” Lena shrugged, returning to the table. “You lost a lot of blood, Speaker,” she said, her face close to his. “It’s better you don’t witness this…” And before he could say anything else, she bit his neck.

…

It took a long time to stop the bleeding, Lucien had so many deep cuts. But a vampire could seal a wound as well as make it, it was a technique Lena practiced for years, it was that which allowed her to stop feeding at will. When the grooves on the draining table ran dry, Lena was satisfied. Lucien was still sleeping, sleep induced with Lena’s bite, and she could now take the time to prepare a healing mixture for the dressings. She bandaged him up and moved him to the bed. Her hunger was stilled with all the blood she ingested, she was tired but she wasn’t yet done: her next task was to brew a restorative potion for when Lucien would wake up.

Vampires had long perfected ways to keep their cattle alive and well and producing blood. Besides food and rest, they were also given herbal mixtures to stimulate regeneration. Necromancers of this particular coven used a similar technique to get several batches of blood from a victim before it was drained completely and ready for their rituals. The extra blood brought coin, and no one would say no to that. Lena found all the ingredients ready and waiting on the alchemy station; she brewed enough for a day or two and finally allowed herself to rest, stretching on the rug by the bed. It had been quite a day. She wondered whether the Wrath of Sithis would still greet her in her sleep.