Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 24: Sanguine

Jade smoke crawled within the centre of the diamond-shaped clock above the mantlepiece, pointed hands striving through the dewy light to chart the passing seconds. One low tick. Then another. Rotating time while outside, clouds of blue hazed fog pressed wisps and dewy droplets against the window.

The shadows of smog created a captivating spectacle on the chiselled walls as shaded oval beads raced down the unfurling petals. Oscar could almost hear the rhythmic knock of the slender tool on the wood in the pulses of rain, each discrete bump in the patterns revealing the craftsmanship that forged the magnificent design.

"Why is it that historians have to disagree so much?" Demetrius commented with a grumbled sigh as he flipped the page of the musty text in his lap. "This one is convinced it is purified necromancy that sustains the gateways, and the one over there believes it is the power of an outer-world being. And don't even bother with this gibberish." He picked up the hefty tome in question and flung it over his shoulder, the sofa exhaling a displeased huff as it landed on the plush fabric. "I swear he must have been drinking concoctions aplenty when he wrote that."

"There has to be something that links them all," Lysander reasoned.

"Professor Spark told me that the gateways on Solgarde use Eventide crystals to power them," Oscar explained, rolling up the cuff of his shirt to reveal the silver bracelet and the accompanying suspended crystal. "Many other places do too, but Lucarian definitely doesn't. I tried to charge the one in the demon stronghold, but it wouldn't respond. The magic here is different. I can feel it."

"So," the Phoenix guard mulled, clicking his tongue in thought, "that rules out the practice Eventide magic and necromancy since that has not been common in Lucarian for some time, and Oscar was able to travel through an active gateway." Pen in hand, he scratched out a couple of items in the notebook beside him. "Discount everything that has not been around for the past three hundred years." More ideas met with a scribbled line. "Whatever we are looking for, it has to hold a substantial power. Perhaps something waning?"

"Could be anything," Demetrius shrugged. "Magic here dwindles and rises all the time. It is going to be a tricky task figuring out which is linked to the gateways."

"No," Lysander said, "the solution is here, we just need to figure it out." His eyebrows knitted, and he quietly murmured to himself as he reorganised the volumes until he had a specific selection in front of him.

"Maybe it isn't magic that powers it," Demetrius aired. Stretching out his long, slender legs, he propped his elbows on the sofa behind him.

"Which would make our endeavour more difficult."

As Lysander shifted to trace a line of text, Oscar glimpsed the golden etchings encircling his bicep. The candelabra glare drenched the metallic lines and seeped warmth into the ring of alternating symbols. "The tattoo on your arm," he said, unable to squash his curiosity, "what is it? I saw a woman with something similar at dinner, but she didn't look like a vampyre."

"Adelaide?" Demetrius replied. "She isn't, she's an Attendant of Sanguine."

"Most beings of Lucarian have lived in relative peace for centuries and are understanding of each other's conditions," Lysander quickly explained. "Vampyres can feed off of energy, but sometimes they need blood. They refuse to take it unwillingly, so they have attendants, people brought into the clan who allow their lord or lady to drink from them. They are held in high regard, and once their five years of service are completed, they are granted land and a generous sum of money. Some chose to remain within their clan to help where they can."

"You serve one of the nobles here?" Oscar asked.

Lysander's gaze slipped along the towering stacks of books with their dusty smells until it settled on the vampiric lord seated by his side, fingertip ghosting his smooth cheek. "Not just any." Demetrius pushed into his touch, relishing the sensation and brushing a gentle kiss to his palm. "Our situation is unique. My body is different to a typical human attendant, and I plan to serve Demetrius for life." Bound in blood, they had vowed after countless arguments about the agreement with both his guardian and Demetrius's father.