To save the world takes more than a change of heart. It takes a change of action.

Dwarven Proverb

"Cass?" Shaking her unconscious twin, Sheala pleaded for some sign, any at all, that her sister heard her. "Cass, please wake up. Please?"

Brentai cleared his throat before adding his objection. "I honestly do not see the wisdom in this."

He'd already disarmed the woman he now saw as their prisoner, leaving the general without her swords or her pistol. The latter especially so and after seeing what the unusual and unique weapon had done to Korg. Discarded, they rested at a safe distance and clear on the other side of the room beneath one of the otaur statues.

"She's my sister," Sheala reminded him. As though it wasn't obvious just from the identical redness of their hair and facial features.

"Yes, and right now she's your unconscious sister." Brentai folded his arms across his chest. "Which, if you ask me, is the way I prefer to keep it."

"Well, I didn't ask you," Sheala snapped.

"Her head wound is completely healed." The Oracle's first mate called attention to the conspicuous fact that everyone was well aware of. Even though it had been discussed several times already, he felt compelled to bring it up once more. Seeing the troublesome matter as important. "That's not natural. Other than clerics, the only creatures I've heard of that can heal like that are Blood Lords. Did you forget about that dwarf? The one tainted with the Crimson Plague that attacked us in the mountains?"

"I remember what Gregory did in sacrificing himself for us, if that's what you mean." The roll to Sheala's eyes, while unseen, could be heard through her tone. "And my sister's not a vampire."

"She serves one." Determined to not give up, Brentai pressed his argument, wishing someone would side with him. "How can we be certain he hasn't turned her into what he is? I mean, I'm no expert, I admit. However, like I said, I've never heard of any other creature that can do what she just did. I say, let her lay nice and peaceful like until we get our hands on the Tear. Then we can sort all this out and you and her can reconcile your differences."

"Sayra, please tell Brentai he's being foolish." When there was no reply, the former thief eyed the silver-haired elf with a frozen stare.

The First Mother stood there, regarding the fallen general in silence and despite being urged to intervene.

"Sayra? Tell Brentai." A flick of her eyes towards him added emphasis to Sheala's deepest desire for such words to be spoken in her sister's defense.

Instead, Sayra disappointed the former thief with a shake of her head. "There is something about your sister. While it is true that the fairies do not sense the curse of the Crimson Plague upon her, her aura is linked to Lord Hedric."

"Linked? What do you mean, linked?"

"I mean exactly what I said." She made circles with her thumb and forefinger on each hand and bound them together like a chain. "Linked. As in joined. Power flows from her to him, and him to her. I thought I sensed it back in Koroth Ulin. Now I'm certain of it."

"But, like you said, she's not a vampire."

Cassandra groaned, interrupting the crucial discussion, her head drifting in a lazy rocking back and forth. It was the first sign of life she'd given them other than shallow breathing and a faint pulse.

"Cass!" The excitement in Sheala's voice was unable to be masked. "Cass, are you all right? Say something, please?"

Brentai drew two of his daggers and braced for the worst possible outcome to the rapidly changing situation.

Sheala's sister took several moments to open her eyes. "Sheala?" She gripped her throbbing head upon seeing a blurred image of hair that was red like hers. "Where? Wait—never mind. We're in the shrine atop the Mount of Carnak, right?"

"Yes."

"I remember." Gone was any hint of the dire and menacing ring Cass's speech had recently possessed.

The white auras Cassandra had seen around the living and the spirits of her deceased parents were no more. And the orange halos on the otaur statues had returned to the flames within the urns as they once more burned with the glow of fire.

Sheala couldn't help but smile at the unbridled joy of being with her sister seeping out of her. Even if what she said next spoke to her hesitation of such. "Cass, please tell me you're not going to try and kill us again? I just want to talk. That's all I'm asking. Just to talk."

With a grunt of pain, Cassandra lifted her head off the foot of the otaur statue where she had come to a painful rest and left a stain of her blood behind.

Squinting one eye, trying to focus, she stared down Brentai in his aggressive posture and flashing of steel. "Please put those away, Pelsan. I'm done fighting."

"Brentai." Sheala shooed him when he didn't respond accordingly at first. He backed up, but did not soften his posture entirely. "Cass, can you please tell him you're not a vampire?"

A groan from another splitting pain in her side ripped out of Cassandra. As she moved, her only mission was trying to find a comfortable position for her aching body. "I'm not a vampire. So he can relax."

Brentai flicked his chin towards the general. "How'd that wound heal so fast then? Only creature I know of that heals like that are vampires."

"Blood Bond." One more painful sigh accompanied the reply. "I have a Blood Bond with Lord Hedric."

"And how's that different from you being a vampire?"

"I don't know. It just is." Cassandra stretched out her back, stiff as though she hadn't moved it in a lifetime, and the pain eased. "I don't need blood to live. If you want the details, Lady Noranda can tell you all about the process."

"If I may?" Sayra spoke up. "What I have read is that, before what we know today as Blood Lords, or vampires, there was a cult of Black Wizards who cast spells using the blood of other living creatures. They didn't drink it, per se. Only collected it for use as a component in their magic. Magic some say was very powerful and capable of not simply hiding mountains, as my ancestors had, but actually moving them entirely."

Sheala scrunched her nose up at the thought. "Why would anyone just give their blood to a wizard? I always heard you don't give them anything personal. Because if you did, they would gain control over you."

"It is said, in return for allowing the use of their blood, once the spell was cast, the one who donated it obtained power in return. An equitable exchange, some might call it. The universe balancing itself out, perhaps."

"Still doesn't sound like a good idea."

"It is said the first of the Blood Lords was a Black Wizard," Sayra continued. "One who believe that physically drinking the blood of others was a gateway to more power than his brothers and sisters had previously tapped into. He learned through experiment, however, that such only worked when blood was drank directly from the living pulse of a donor. In doing so, the might he garnered was immense, but short-lived if he killed the victim in the process. However, if he allowed even one drop of blood to remain, his victim would rise and crave blood as well. And thus would be created a servant who would continue to sustain the master through its own insatiable desire to feed. Seems, however, what Lord Hedric and your sister have is more akin to the old ways than the new."

"All very fascinating." Sheala gave a faux yawn. "If not boring."

"The elf's right." Able to sit, Cass imparted what she knew from her own experiences. "I give him blood through a ceremony and that's what creates the Blood Bond we share."

"You've given Lord Hedric your blood?"

"Yes. I even asked once if he'd share his curse and turn me into what he is. So I could have the power he has."

Sheala gasped. "Cass?"

"Relax. He told me no. Sort of glad now that he did."

Observing the exchange, Brentai huffed. "Somehow, I don't think he was being altruistic. Doesn't want any competition, most likely."

Walking away from the discussion, Sayra returned her attention to the stones of the floor within the circles. "It is possible," she said, "he doesn't wish to create unholy abominations like himself." She pressed down with her foot on one of the pieces of floor inside the ring that seemed particularly loose. It budged slightly under the hesitant weight she placed on it.

"Are you suggesting that monster actually has some sort of conscience?"

Sayra shrugged. "There have been no records of other Blood Lords plaguing the lands since Lord Hedric defeated Lord Dagarth and unified the Crimson Thrones of Srabeth. After he fell Hitithe, it is said Lord Hedric destroyed all that he created in that pursuit. But he does still need power from blood to survive."

"As I said, a monster."

"Perhaps." The elven First Mother continued to examine what she had just caused to happen with the stone. "There have always been whispers that Lord Hedric was once a Priest of Earoni, betrayed by them in an hour of his darkest need. And because of that, he sought to fell an Empire to claim the Tear and undo his curse by its power. But it was taken from him and hidden here instead." She pressed down on the stone again, and a little harder than the last time. That commenced a chain-reaction of blocks sliding downwards as she stepped back. "Who is to say that there doesn't remain some of that former life and nobility within him?"

A tightly spiraled stone staircase formed downward in the ring, leading further into darkness. Each block slid stone on stone, acting like a wedge, and holding the block before it and the one after it snugly in place.

"Great," Sheala complained, helping her sister to her feet with one arm of Cass's draped across her shoulder. "More fucking steps! This just gets better and better."

Sayra smiled, finding humor in the remark. "Come. The final leg of our path to the Tear is now shown."

"Thank you so much for showing the way, First Mother." The new and unfamiliar voice boomed with centuries of pent up waiting laced with a ring of twilight.

Brentai tensed, while both Sheala and Sayra gave a horrified look at who now joined them in the shrine.

Cass also turned towards Lord Hedric as his red tinted eyes, burning with a bloody fire, descended the steps to join them with a cloak of shadows hanging around him.

In a quick thinking reaction to the appearance of the Blood Lord before them, Sayra kneeled at the entrance leading deeper into the mountain. With a few words of elvish, hurriedly spoken, the opening flashed like a silver disk and then faded.

Lord Hedric shook his head as he sensed the spell working to repel him from approaching. Its force was weak, but effective.

"Futile," he said of her efforts. "Lady Noranda will be here shortly to dispel that pathetic attempt at keeping me from my prize." He then regarded his general with a quizzical look, as though not exactly sure what he had stumbled upon. The smile he had upon reaching the mountain was now a deepening frown. "What a lovely sight. A family reunion? Long lost sisters bonding after so many years?" It was obvious to the Blood Lord that the woman his general leaned on was her twin. "Cassandra?"

Him referring to her by name, rather than General, was a shock. Cass could only recall a limited number of instances where he'd ever referred to her by her first name. She'd always assumed those few times had been on accident.

Before joining the military and earning a rank, 'child' or 'girl' had always been his preferred way to reference her. Once in the military, it had almost been rank followed by her chosen alias surname of Nightwing; the name she had taken upon deciding to run away from her past and her family's murder.

"General Nightwing?" he asked again, as everyone remained in a silent standoff and tried to figure out how to react with a Blood Lord in their midsts. "Seems we have a little problem. There are more people here than are necessary. Shall we eliminate some of them?"

"No." Her reply came upon a pained force of words. But that suffering was subsiding as her wounds healed. "And stop calling me that."

"Excuse me?"

"Nightwing." Cassandra clarified her meaning. "My name's Stormband—Cassandra Stormband."

The air around Lord Hedric darkened visibly. "I suppose your usefulness is at an end then, child. If you've made the decision that I am assuming you have?"

Cassandra felt at her waist for a sword, but neither sheaths hung there. Nor was her pistol. "Great."

She glowered at the Pelsan, realizing he'd been the one responsible for this debacle. The three weapons about twenty feet away on the ground were something she was sorely missing at the moment. And she was well aware there was no way she would be able to reach them before Lord Hedric cut her down.

Pushing off from Sheala, Cass issued her older sister a request that was more of an order. "Go get the Tear. I'll take care of him."

To that statement, Lord Hedric only issued an amused laugh that haunted the chamber.

"Cass, no." Sheala pleaded. "We'll take him together." She drew her gleaming silversteel blade.

"Don't be a fool," Cassandra chided her. "You're no match for him. And you'll just get in my way."

"Cass, I—"

"Sheala, do not argue with me about this. You, the elf, and the Pelsan have got to go. If you stay? You will die." Within her eyes was an echo of how seriously Cass believed such would be the outcome. "I can use the strength of my Blood Bond I have with him to buy you time."

"And does this plan involve you in any way living?" With a grimace, Sheala expressed her deepest concern over where this plan was headed.

"I don't plan on dying," Cass said. "But I can't make any promises. Would help if I had a weapon, though."

Sheala glanced at her sword. "Here." She thrust it into her sister's hand, as though the sword itself compelled her to do so. "It's magic. Does wonders against demons. Maybe Blood Lords too?"

"I know," Cass replied.

"You know?"

"Don't ask me how." With a firm shove, Cass accepted the weapon and urged her sister away while entering a battle stance and preparing for what she assumed was to come. "I'll tell you later."

"You'd better!"

Brentai's hand on Sheala's arm yanked her towards the steps. "We've got to go," he informed her.

Lord Hedric lunged for the former thief, planning perhaps to use her as leverage with Cassandra.

But even as he moved like a dark wind to intercept her, Cassandra called on the strength of the Blood Bond they shared to ambush him. Slashing down with the edge of her sister's sword, Lord Hedric reeled back to just barely avoid being struck, all while the spirit of her father within the blade spoke to Cassandra—instructing her actions in a voice only she could hear. His knowledge of tactics was far advanced of what she had acquired through her own training in the Imperial military.

As his thoughts merged with her own, Cass marveled at what she might have learned under her father's tutelage had events of the past not unfolded as tragically as they had. She knew she'd need his assistance if she had any hope of coming out of this alive.

"Let her go." Cass then took up a firm position to shield her sister's escape. "We have unfinished business. Now that I know you had our parents killed."

"So, you've learned the truth?" Lars tried to shift, using the flickering darkness cast by magical flames to reach the older sister just as she stood at the top of the steps in hesitation of leaving.

Cassandra listened to her father's instructions, moving strategically to stop him once more. Although she was slower, and did not move as he did, she moved fast enough. The light within the chamber slowed the Blood Lord's movements beyond what was possible had it been completely dark.

"Cassandra, tell me you wouldn't have done the same?" Lars barked at her with annoyance. "That you haven't done the same? Destroyed those who would stand in your way?"

"Only because you and Lady Noranda lied to me." Cass threw her sister another glance. Her twin still wasn't down the steps and beyond the protective barrier cast by the elf. "Sheala, you need to go now. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him."

Sheala was caught between understanding she had to leave and not wanting to. "Don't you dare die!" she called from below the level of the enchanted threshold, Brentai dragging her away step by step while other unseen forces prompted her to obey.

Her sister safe, Cassandra placed her anger squarely on Lord Hedric. "I said, I don't plan on it," she seethed, hand tightening on the hilt of the sword containing the spirits of her mother and father.

With her defiance of him drawn like a bold and clear line, the Blood Lord bared his fangs and lunged, grappling for her throat like a storm of blackness upon a sea of midnight. And with that, Cassandra was forced to fend off a foe whose power was beyond any she had ever faced.