Silvia opened her eyes to a tan ceiling that looked to be made of stone, but before she could turn her head someone grabbed her face on either side. Terror seized her as she tried to make sense of where she was, and she punched the man straight in the throat. He went down much too easily and gasped for air on the ground as she sat up and looked down to figure out who he was.

Dim grey eyes met her, shaped by almost crimson hair that had a deep streak of grey down one side, and the man waved his hand as if to get her to give him a second. Struggling to get back to his feet, the man pulled his chair back over and sat so heavily into it that she felt bad about hitting him. Moving for this man seemed painful. And he was a mage, or at least she thought he was.

"Are you okay?" Silvia asked, and the man rubbed his throat with a frown. "Your energy is so weak that I'm worried you're going to pass out."

"I'm... fine." The man scratched out in a soft voice. It was hoarse as if he didn't use it frequently, and kinder, as if he didn't raise it either. "I used what energy I had to heal you, and I was already weak beforehand. I could use a nap." The man chuckled weakly.

"S-sorry. You touched me right when I woke up, so I was frightened."

"I know." The man's grey eyes softened. "I just wanted to tell you that you're safe and that no one here can hurt you anymore, before you turned around."

"Turned around?" Silvia looked to the other side, and immediately froze.

Sitting in a chair on the other side of her bed, not more than a foot away, Talamayas Sol met her gaze with shadowed crimson eyes, and she clutched the bed sheets to herself. Tears lined her eyes and she couldn't look at him, instead dropping her eyes to her hands. Lifting them, she touched her stomach and it was covered in a hospital shirt instead of her normal blood slave clothes, but it made her feel less covered.

"Are you not done with me?" Silvia choked out, and the mage at her side stood and sat on the bed next to her.

"You are safe," he said, and she wanted to punch him again, but he looked so weak. "I was a prisoner in his dungeons, and he had no other healing mages. I healed you in exchange for my freedom and safety, but demanded yours as well. I would heal you no other way, and the agreement was a blood pact. The seal will cripple him if he raises a hand to you."

"You were a prisoner?" Silvia felt really bad now for punching him in the throat.

"Yes, I'm Wren, nice to meet you." The man smiled so pleasantly at her, and she sighed before glancing at Talamayas Sol.

The man was silent, which was extremely odd considering her was the house head here. Why hadn't he said anything? What did he want with her? She didn't have it in her to try and figure out some pyromaniac's inner workings. The man has signed some sort of blood pact promising to not hurt her though. That made her feel significantly safer, but why had he signed it? What did he get out of this?

"Did you... read my letter," Silvia rasped, unable to look back at him.

"Yes." Talamayas' voice was much quieter than the commanding tone he'd used before, and she dared a glance over at him from the side of her eyes. His eyebrows were lowered in what seemed like pain, his normal deranged smile turned down into a frown of despair, and his hands were tense on his lap.

"Can I return now," Silvia asked, her voice quiet but impatient to be away from him.

"I'm sorry," Talamayas said as barely a whisper.

"Piss off, you deranged piece of shit!" Silvia couldn't stop herself from raising her voice.

When she snapped her eyes up to him, the tears slipped out. It frustrated her that she'd cried in front of him, and she shoved the hospital bed pillow into her face and growled into the fabric. After a moment of composing herself, she raised her swollen eyes back up to him with as much strength as she was able to manage.

"I suppose vampires don't use the phrase, 'don't shoot the messenger.' If you read the letter from Master Neil, I would like to return to Angelus as quickly as possible. I don't want to be here anywhere near you." Silvia had to remind herself that she was playing a part here, but she'd snapped at him and wasn't sure if she hadn't ruined that.

"Do you know what the letter said?" Talamayas asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It's not for me to know, Master Talamayas."

Talamayas chucked, and Silvia narrowed her eyes angrily.

"You are good at your act, Silvia Copse. Neil told me everything I need to know. You needn't force formalities. I know you're not sincere in your service to Angelus. Had I known that when you showed up, I would have listened to you. Anything related to Vincent makes my blood boil."

"It wasn't your blood boiling," Silvia hissed, and it drew a small smile up Talamayas lips. What the hell about that was amusing?

"I suppose not. No one in my service would dare go near Angelus, so you are safe to speak freely here." Talamayas paused with a tentative breath. "Lift your shirt."

"Over my dead and rotting corpse." Silvia leaned away from him, pulling the small shift they'd put on her down further, and he groaned.

"Just your navel. I need to see how bad it looks." Talamayas' insisted.

"Looks? Heaven forbid it looks bad," Silvia spat, but curiosity got the best of her.

Her hands trembled as she lifted the fabric to see how horrible the wound was. Wren had done a good job of healing it, but the marks would never fade and they were unmistakable on either side of her abdomen. Worse, they were clearly defined hand prints burned into her flesh. The skin was smooth again, not marred by normal burn-scarred skin, but the color differentiation wouldn't fade. It was darker where he'd touched her.

Neil and her father were going to freak out when they saw them.

Talamayas whined, drawing Silvia's attention, and he dropped his face into his hands, breathing tightly into his fingers before running his hand up into his hair.

"Please forgive me," Talamayas gasped as he slid from his chair to the floor. The vampire knelt at her bedside, his face almost scraping the tile as he begged for her forgiveness.

"Give me one good reason," Silvia said, pissed at him for not waiting so much as a sentence before he'd boiled her insides, but she could also see that he was desperate to make amends.

"I love Neil," Talamayas said to the floor, and Silvia lost her breath.

Those were not the words she'd expected from a warped man like Talamayas Sol.

"Vincent brought him here almost immediately after he was changed," Talamayas continued. "The man wanted to teach him what it was to be a vampire, and to... remove his softness. I taught Neil things, but only so that he had something to tell his father when he returned.

"Since that first day that I'd met him, Neil and I became fast friends. Vincent often left him with me, because he liked how little I cared for human kind, but he had no idea that behind closed doors, I cared for his son. Neil liked it here, spending time with me. I told him it didn't matter how he acted as a vampire. If he wanted to be soft, that was okay, and if he wanted to be fierce, that didn't mean he had to abandon his kinder side.

"As Neil grew though, and my hatred for Vincent and his cruelty became more apparent, Vincent pulled his son back from me. I haven't seen Neil in a few decades, as our houses are considered enemies, but we are the closest of friends. Neil trusted me with you, with the woman most precious to him, and I..." Talamayas lifted his crimson eyes to her, and his hand trembled as he lifted them to the bed. It looked like he's wanted to touch her, but he gripped the sheets instead.

"So, you really are Neil's closest ally. I wasn't sure if he was just saying that for Angelus' hearing." Silvia sighed, flopping back on her hospital bed. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

"Neil will never forgive me for what I've done to you. I let my hatred of Vincent and his corrupt legacy cloud my better judgement. I know it's not looked well upon by my kind, but Neil is fragile. His trust in people is so heavy that when it's betrayed, it is not so easily mended. I should have never touched you, should have never harmed anything Neil holds so precious."

"What you're saying, is that Neil's closest friend is a psycho that likes to burn people alive," Silvia said as a jab, turning on the bed to leer at him.

"Yes, sorry." Talamayas tried smiling at her again, and she grumbled in frustration.

"Neil has few friends, so I don't want to drive a wedge between you two, but I'm likely going to have nightmares about you for a while."

Talamayas whined again. It was such a high-pitched ring, like a dog who'd been kicked. "Please, I will never harm you again. In fact, I can't, not with the blood pact. That aside, Neil spoke quite... fondly of you in his letter. I could never knowingly harm someone he cares so deeply for."

"That letter didn't have a lot of space. What the hell did he say? Did he even include the mission details?" Silvia sat back up, and Talamayas smiled. Why did he keep doing that? It was so out of place when she knew what his face really looked like.

"Neil said little about your mission. Most of it was about you, but I know what he needs of me. We understand each other with few words needed when it comes to Angelus. You, however, I have never heard Neil talk so in depth about a woman. You two must be very close, which is why he will likely never talk to me again. Please tell him how sorry I am, though I know it will mean little."

"I'm expected back at the complex or it will blow both of our covers," Silvia said, unsure of how much time had passed. "Hopefully, I wasn't out for too long?"

"No," Talamayas said to the floor. "Only a short while. You were too injured to leave for longer."

"Well, isn't that lovely. Can I have my clothes back? Or at least similar attire? I need to return to Neil as a loyal blood slave. Will you support him?"

Silvia hadn't treated the man very well for how much Neil was depending on him, but neither had he to her. Every time she was naked in the future, she would be forced to think of the way he'd grabbed her sides and almost killed her. There were a lot of things she could brush over, but screaming in agony with that much pain was going to take some time to get over. If she ever did.

"I will give Neil any support he asks for, Silvia Copse, but he will not accept it directly from me after finding out what I've done to you." Talamayas lifted his eyes, and the Silvia huffed with annoyance.

"Why are all you vampires so two-faced? You can't tell me you want to hear me scream and burn me near to deathand then grovel on the floor the next moment."

"You are Neil's. I assure you, if you belonged to anyone else, you would be dead. I have a soft spot for him. I will be sending you back to him with my general, Vice Sol. He should be enough to lay waste to the remains of Angelus. Vice is adept at sewing discord and executing threats. He will tear them apart from the inside and slaughter anyone who thinks they can escape."

"One guy? Neil asks for help to destroy several house heads, and you are sending one vampire?"

"Internal Strife will tear apart their organization. You'll find Vice more than adequate. Most vampire houses don't even know I have a general, so it won't lead back to me."

"How would they not notice?"

"Vice is standing right next to you." Talamayas smiled, and Silvia looked around the room. There was no one in sight, and she couldn't even sense any dark magic from a vampire.

"Is this a joke?" Silvia said, skeptically looking around again.

"No. Vice's ability makes him completely invisible to both mages and vampires. The ability is quite unique, and it terrifies vampires when their own just start falling like flies. Something interesting happened when he was changed, and he is able to completely hide himself. Vice, introduce yourself, so she believes I'm not making this up."

"As you command," a voice came from nowhere, and she swallowed as her vision blurred directly ahead of her.

A man came into view, much like an image on an old fuzzy tv screen, and her jaw dropped as she met his slate eyes. Like Talamayas, the man was tanned with dark hair, but his was cut at his chin, long in front of one eye with the rest was pinned on the side of his head. Whatever he was wearing was skin tight, likely so it made no noise when he moved, and she had to avert her eyes from his tight pants that hugged his front more than she wanted to see.

With a chuckle, the man faded, and she was amazed at how his aura disappeared into nothing with him. It was near impossible for a vampire to completely mask its presence, and this guy just melted from existence.

"You're one of very few people who has seen my general and lived. I keep his existence a complete secret and he fights by my side in anonymity. Only you, Wren Song, and Neil have ever seen his visage. Please travel with him back to Angelus, and he and Neil will put an end to them once and for all."

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Word Count: 2448