PreCursive

  Baldric of House Florens, third son of a first son, was no fool.

  Although his body was locked in furious bat with an actual fool, senses captured by a relic of the past and raging about, at his core he kept cool. Like the tless, impossibly deep roots of a flower, his mind stretched into winding fibers beyond number.

  All of them told him that this euation had been carefully curated by the beast holding Liora and the other kids hostage. Oh, they may have only been hobbled with and shackle, but at the level he and the beast were operating at, he khat was just show. With how close the childreo it, it would only take a few moments thought to tear out their throats.

  He k, the creature k, and even this damn fool of a Loyalist General would have probably known it.

  If he was anything more than a blusteri right now, that was.

  Still, there was a reason the civilized people of Vereden people were cautious of beasts.

  Just because they were feral, didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous.

  Baldric had always assumed he would be the ohat ended up dealing with Longstripe, when this campaigo a close. From st reports, the two of them were fairly close in level, with him only being around fifty or so higher than the Herztalian man. On a good day, he would have said that a match-up between them would e down to a test of pure martial skill, a veritable toss. That was one of the areas he specialized in, of course, but the fact remained. However…

  This wasn’t a good day.

  For the General, that is.

  Longstripe wasn’t demonstrating any of his normally reported skill. He was swinging and g like a wild animal, ung about colteral damage. At the very least, Baldric roud that his Agents had the idea to keep the civilians out of the line of fire, after those first few moments when he eared out of the air.

  Enough i blood had been spilled this day.

  Baldric hesitated to call Longstripe ‘i’ though, after the man had massacred so many of his people st night, but…

  At the very least, he deserved to die with his mind clear.

  After all, Baldric could have ehis anytime i few minutes of battle. He had just been sidering all angles, while the mind-trolled human raged at him.

  It hadn’t escaped his notice that the entire damned pace courtyard had been turned into a ritual site at a gesture from the bloodsug monster. It sure as hells hadn’t when it seemed to grow stronger with every drop of blood that staihe bedrock.

  It didn’t take a damned genius to see what that thing wanted, from his battle with Longstripe. If it had carefully orchestrated this entire sario, Baldric would guess that the she-beast didn’t even care which of them actually shed blood. Only that one of them did.

  You…picked up a thing or two about forbidden Magi his profession.

  Well, if the bitch wanted blood, then obviously she couldn’t get it.

  Mind made up, Baldric rapidly crafted a simple battle pn while his body dodged Longstripe’s wild swings oside. Normally, he wouldn’t have expected a y warrior like the General to fall for something as simple as this. But, well.

  He didn’t have his wits about him.

  The ime Longstripe swung at him, Baldric activated the higher tier of his physical enha Skill.

  Corrente D’Acciaio.

  And…

  Ducked.

  Well, it was really more like he slid through the open legs of the taller human man, and then used his right hooked dagger as a pivot point to pop up behind the General. But ducked worked just as well. Now behind Longstripe, and moving much quicker now, all Baldric had to do was sh out with nearly his entire power with the butt of his dagger. The pommel impacted the back of the human’s head with enough strength behind it to utterly crush the skull of most people. Hell, it could probably do the same to even someoh an equivalent to his level.

  But no. Instead, the ursine man just staggered from the blow. While he was reeling, Baldric hit him a few more times, until the General had fallen face first into the blood-soaked courtyard, beaten unscious.

  Baldric stared down at the prone form of Longstripe for a moment, disappointed for a few reasons. Ohat had been one of the most fccid duels he’d had in decades, especially sidering their heightened levels. He’d almost been anticipating a real fight with the human, when he nning this campaign.

  Two?

  Well, he had really wao kill the man, after his little twed ambush on both the SED meeting, and the warehouse.

  There were a lot of good Agents that o be avenged, after all.

  It seemed he was going to have to wait another day, however.

  The courtyard had stilled at his easy victory over the puppet General. By this point, his Agents and the Loyalist soldiers had cottoned on to the fact that something else was going on. They were w together to corral and guard the remaining civilians on the far end of the courtyard. The fightiween their respective fas had pletely died down, and all eyes were either on him and Longstripe’s prone form.

  Or the creature at his back, up on the baly.

  Speaking of…

  Balric raised his head to look up at the thing, standing above him.

  At his stare, ‘Rhiannon’ heaved a great, put-upon sigh and id the back of oaloned hand on her forehead. “Why oh why do the cattle never do what I want?” She moaned exaggeratedly. She lowered her hand and shrugged. “Oh well. I’ll just have to do the dirty work myself.” Barely sparing a g the still ed and bound forms of the four youths she had been guarding, the Vampire abahem to hop down into the courtyard with a flex of her four wings.

  She nded with a slight spsh on the blood-soaked bedroot far from Baldric. The only thiweewo of them was the atose, twitg form of the mind-trolled General.

  The Vampiress spared her defeated pawn a disgusted gnce. “You had one job, fool,” She said, sounding like a disappointed sarm. She actually wagged a taloned fi the man, even though he could her hear her words or see her gesture. “Naughty naughty. I’ll have to punish you ter.” In trast to her tone, she nontly kicked the spasmodic body of Longstripe out of her way.

  It hadn’t looked like the blow had much power behind it, but the form of Longstripe sailed through the air heless. It impacted the far wall of the courtyard, crag the immacutely carved limestone. Several Loyalist soldiers hurried to attend to the man, but her Baldrior ‘Rhiannon’ paid them any mind.

  Instead, they started cirg each other on the gore-spttered stone, as if they were hounds fighting over the st scrap of meat.

  Baldric broke the stalemate first. “You know,” He said casually, twisting his bdes into different angles and approaches as he spoke. He was trying to gauge the skill level of the creature apart from him, as how she reacted to his movements would tell him plenty. At the level they were operating at, fights could be decided in a single exge, so it was often necessary.

  This wasn’t a spell battle, after all. This would be decided by bde and cw.

  Unfortunately, she met and tered them each time, unfazed by his maneuvering. “We haven’t had to deal with one of your kind in a long, long time. I think the st Vampire hunt happened when I was still a boy. My father told me about it, sihe bloodsucker was found in Principality nds. I think their name was…Valstrix?” He said promptingly.

  To his very slight surprise, the beast perked up slightly at that. “That blooked his head out of a hole and got it chopped off? Good!” She ughed delightedly, rubbialons together. They grated on each other with the sound of steel on steel. She leaned forward spiratorially. “I never liked him, you know. Always boasting, always sant. I don’t even think my mistress liked him very much, to tell you the truth,” She said with a wink.

  Baldric took it in stride, as he saw movement behind the creature up on the baly. He had long since mastered all of his tells, so he gave absolutely nothing away as he saw Crook creeping along the roof above the baly. He made sure to stop the cirg, though, so the beast couldn’t see her as well. “And what’s your name, creature?” He said promptingly. “Or are you going to tinue pretending it's ‘Rhiannon’? I wonder…does the awr Archmage even know you’re puppeting around his dead daughter's corpse, and funting her name as you do so?”

  Normally, he wouldn’t expect this kind of dialogue to work on an actually rational oppo. But one of the well-doted, few weaknesses of the Vampyr was their tendency to…talk.

  And talk and talk and talk.

  Better for him. That just gave one of his few surviving senients time to rescue the kids.

  ‘Rhiannon’ shrugged delicately. “I don’t actually know,” She said, audibly amused. “I’ve seen the man a few times now, and you would expeeone of his power to be able to sus me out. But…I think he doesn’t even care,” She gasped, almost as if she was sdalized, before tittering. “All that matters to him is that his dear, sweet daughter will hug and call him papa. I think he’s really quite broken inside, if you ask me.” She winked. “Something to do with his dead wife, I’m guessing.”

  Baldric didn’t let the disgust her words caused in him to show on his face, even as he felt an ued surge of pity for Daffyd of the Thunderhearts.

  He…knew what it was like, to lose the love of his life.

  “But…as for my name,” ‘Rhiannon’ said, tapping oaloned finger against her lips, before shrugging. “I suppose it doesn’t matter at this point. You’re all going to be dead soon, anyway.” She said casually. Taking a small step backward, the monster who had been masquerading as a woma out into a curtsey, grasping the hem of her ghastly dress. “I…am Nerexxa, fourth daughter of the Goddess of Rot. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Baldric of House Florens.”

  “I’m not,” Baldric said bluntly. Behind ‘Nerexxa’, he saw Crook had bodily picked up all four of the relut-to-leave children and thrown them over her broad shoulders. He was grateful that he’d gotten past his misgivings, those years ago, when he had accepted the Strength ied Magi into the Noe Division. It had paid off time and again.

  Most importantly now, when she was retreating with who he thought were four of the most important youths ial.

  He could breathe easier, and finally get to the business of monster sying.

  He angled himself into position for a lunge.

  Nerexxa noticed but didn’t seem to care. “Oh?” She said mildly. “Is it finally time to stop stalling, now that the children are safely out of my grasp?”

  Baldriorted. “Guess you ’t put one over a demon,” He said, coating his daggers in razor-sharp winds. “Did you ever even care about holding them?”

  The Vampire shrugged. “No, not really,” She admitted freely, before smiling sharply at him. “They were only ever bait, after all. And the baited came wherap was set. Thank you for attending this grand occasion, oh disgraced lord of House Florens.”

  Baldric paused, startled a little despite himself. “What?” He asked, baffled despite himself. “Are you saying…all of this was just to bait out me?”

  What the hell could this thing have wanted with him?

  “Well,” Nerexxa drawled. “Not just you. After all, I would have takeon, or even that woman Honoka. I only he blood of someorong, spilled in pitched battle. It didn’t matter who came, only that someone did.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “If only Longstripe hadn’t failed, I wouldn’t have had to sully my hands like this.”

  The master of the Noe Division took a deep breath at that. “Liora for me, Nathan or Sylvia frey and Honoka,” He said quietly in realization. “But…why take Thirty-Two as well?”

  Nerexxa wi him. “Well, I needed an after-party snaow didn’t I?” She said mischievously. “After all, it’s not every day you get to dine on the blood of one of the old royal lines.”

  Ah…so she did know who the girl was.

  Shit.

  Baldric shook it off, though, and refocused on the fight to e. He didn’t know if he could take this creature, but he sure as hell was going to try. It didn’t matter if this erap had been about drawing him out so she could drain his blood for some ritual.

  The only thing that mattered…was that Liora had gotten away.

  Gods, he hoped that fool girl didn’t e back for him.

  Baldric raised his bdes again, possibly for the st time, and blurred into a lu the wide-open neck of the Vampire.

  She blocked his razor-sharp, wind-coated dagger with oaloned finger, entirely unfazed. Meeting his eyes, the creature smiled slightly, exposing her fangs.

  Baldric set his features in a grim cast.

  And tried again.