Fangs of Desire (Book II) (Completed)

Chapter X

The tattoos lost their glow as Jes took care of the last feral kin in the building, feeling tired after having used so much of her magic.

"Resilient bastards..."

She leaned on a nearby wall, taking a minute to fix her posture and look down at the bodies next to her feet. Being feral had made them considerably stronger, wearing down even a necromancer at her level. She exhaled, looking back at the only room she hadn't explored with a magical energy stronger than the other ones. Careful to walk around the bodies, Jes walked into the chamber with the broken doors and a single figure laying down on the ground. Being the only kin she hadn't fought she realized it was most likely Emma that had killed him, feeling impressed yet confused as to how she did it. Walking closer, she kneeled next to the figure and checked the wounds on his chest, the diagonal cuts all too familiar from a certain kin she knew.

"Huh..."

Jes stood up, furrowing her brows. Her thoughts about that night surfaced again, how her spiritual presence was forcefully pushed out of Emma's body. A regular kin shouldn't have been able to do that. She looked around the room to see the bloody signs and markings, getting closer to inspect them. Most were written in an ancient language that she recognized. There weren't many supernaturals left that could use spells like that, and it definitely couldn't have been made by the kindred, confirming her suspicion that another type of supernatural was involved in this.

She took some colorful chalk from her pocket, looking at the body behind her. She looked for a clean enough spot to draw a big symbol with verses written inside and then went to pick up the dead body of the kin and put him in the middle, starting to chant. The lines on the ground started glowing and came to life, the verses moving and starting to cover the body that laid over them. She took her decorated knife to make a cut on her palm and watched black blood trickle down on the kin, putting her hand on his chest and completing her ritual. With the glow taking over his body, the kin opened his eyes with a shocked expression, a look of disbelief stuck on his face as he took in his surroundings.

"Where..."

He looked at his chest, staring at the wounds and starting to panic.

"Look at me." Jes held his chin and turned his head towards herself, "Answer my questions."

He stalled, seeming to hesitate before falling into a trance like state.

"How did you get in here?"

The guy took a second to answer, almost as if he was looking for an answer in his head.

"The Crusader covered our scent and hid us here, gave us a second chance."

"Who is 'the crusader'?"

He stood quiet, not giving an answer after a minute which meant he either didn't know, or his memory was interfered with. Jes changed the direction of her questions to see if she could get another answer.

"What is your goal?"

"To bring the day of reckoning."

She creased her brows, confused at the answer.

"How will you accomplish that?"

"The Crusader will use the heir against our enemies."

"Your enemies?"

"The ancient ones, those who look down on us."

She stopped for a second, a part of her suspecting that she knew who that heir was. Curious, she decided to ask another question.

"How did you die?"

The guy blinked and panic seemed to fill his eyes, but with a soft chanting his focus came back.