Within These Tangled Tales

Chapter Twenty-One

—Valyra Ihrin'am, Shadowlands—

They had been warned to not leave the grounds of Valyra Ihrin'am at any point during their stay. Their safety could not be guaranteed outside the walls of the coven. Idelle had no desire to do so and had spent the better part of the day exploring the estate, first with Sian and later with Lulu once her lover had roused herself from bed.

But now, night was falling and the coven, which had remained mostly quiet throughout the day, was beginning to awaken. They had been invited to dine with Taras, and so, they had all gathered in the, admittedly, rather small dining room. No expense had been spared in its design to be certain, but it looked far smaller than Idelle would have expected in an estate this size. But her perusal of the dining room had been shortened by the sound of a bell outside. She had made her way to one of the balconies, watching the people down below. The sun was slipping toward the horizon and then, as the bell's chimes faded away, marking the hour, everyone seemed to come to a standstill.

"Ah, I see you've come out to watch," Sian smiled as he joined her on the balcony.

"Watch what?" Lulu slipped in beside her to glance down in the street. "That's creepy. What're they doing?"

The sun faded behind the mountains, the last of its rays dulled as it cast a dark red hue into the sky that reminded her faintly of Medyulana. The moment the sun was gone, the coven filled with ear-splitting shrieks that echoed over Valyra Ihrin'am. Idelle grimaced but withstood the discomfort, watching with widening eyes as suddenly an eruption of winged creatures transformed from the crowd below and ascended into the sky, twirling and diving through the air. They were all varying sizes and shapes, the poor light making it impossible for Idelle to clearly see any features. Some had fur. Some were small. Small seemed almost made of light. But they were all calling to each other in some way or another. They circled the coven, gliding effortlessly overhead as they seemed to rejoice in the freedom. It was only a few moments before several broke off and soared out into the Shadowlands that was beginning to fill with a thick, impenetrable fog.

"What the fuck was that?!" Lulu shivered, shaking her head adamantly. "That's fucking terrifying. No wonder no one ever comes in here. This place is a fucking nightmare."

"I thought it was nice," Idelle shrugged awkwardly, continuing to watch a few of the clusters sailing nearby.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out Lulu's horrified expression. "How was that nice?"

"What? They're happy to be flying around. They all seemed...free."

"Yeah, free to go suck an entire village dry, you mean."

Sian shook his head, a deep frown on his face. "Those human deaths that do occur from vampires must indeed look like quite the horrifying occurrence, Lady Lulu, but I assure you it is no different than your killing of a cow, chicken, fish, whatever you may be eating in order to survive."

Lulu raised both eyebrows in disbelief. "It is entirely different. When I eat beef, I didn't latch onto its neck and suck the blood out of it."

"No, you merely pulled out its muscles to ingest."

The dead stare Lulu gave was accompanied by her mouth dropping open, perhaps in an effort to offer a retort, but she found none. A few seconds later, her nose wrinkled, and she looked a little pale. "Oh that...I think that ruined all meat for me, thanks."

Lulu turned away to head back inside. Idelle apologized quietly, hoping her lover had not upset Sian. He had been pleasant company throughout the day, answering her every question. Though he was not their host, she was still fond of him. Sian seemed somewhat upset by Lulu's comments but shook off Idelle's concern as he, too, went back inside. Idelle followed.