He searched frantically between the troops. His steps fastened, and his heart began to beat dreadfully. He looked past every soldier and scout, every single man that surveyed their supplies, every woman that oversaw a squad. In his fear, he even crossed the fields, to reach the forest where they were cutting logs to craft a catapult. She was not there either.

He snarled and clenched his teeth, angered. His eyes narrowed, targeting a soldier that was working calmly by some trees. The poor man was startled when he was grabbed and pulled, interrogated intensely.

“Have you seen Lyssa?”

The man shook his head, intimidated by the calm but piercing gaze of the old mage. Those hands on his shoulders were not smoking, but they could start to blaze, depending on his answer.

“N-no, sir. We have not seen the general since yesterday. Maybe she has gathered the other officials, to plan-“

“She is not discussing the assault with them, I’ve checked.” He let go, to glare back at the camp, pondering. “Where the hell is she? We must-“

He blinked, for a figure ran out of the shadows of the forest, headed for them and all the timber they had cut. It was her, and the fact shocked and confused him. She halted near them, panting, with a nervous and sheepish smile. It looked like if she had been through a lot.

Is there… dust on her cheek?

Sergius looked at Lyssa carefully, noting how she was not wearing her veil.

“Where have you been?” He leaned close to demand with that angry serenity of his, but she was unfazed. “You’ve been missing in action all morning. The officials have not seen you at all, and I found your tent empty. You weren’t anywhere.”

She smiled and looked at the distance, very subtly. It was bold of her to lie, but she could not say she had come out of a hidden passage in the woods.

“Ah, well, there is a reason for that.” He did not buy her next words, which she proclaimed with confidence as she stood tall with her hands on her hips, even if her breath was still shaky. “I was trying to find big trees in the woods!”

“…”

“…”

Even the men around them were giving her a baffled look. Her mentor leaned even closer, whispering in bewilderment.

“You what?”

She was a poised liar.

“Oh, Sergius, clueless as always…” All watched as she marched closer to the catapult they were building, barely put together at all. She slammed a hand onto one of the logs they had piled up, shaking her head with a frown. “We can’t use this lumber! It’s not sturdy enough! If we craft a catapult with it, the damn thing will break down as soon as we load a tiny pebble! Look at this frail log!”

She hit the wood strongly, as if to prove it was feeble and easy to break down. Her fist did not even make a dent on it, yet she still huffed and proclaimed.

“We need to cut down larger trees! Stouter, taller, able to provide great timber! Those huge walls won’t come down if the boulders are not hurled with great force!”

While she said those words, she threw an arm around the shoulders of a soldier, with a firm and intense look that indicated that she would not accept any disagreements. Due to her strong and eerie smile, all workers soon nodded to hint compliance, even if nervously.

“Good to see we all agree!” She let go and began to walk away towards her tent, showing vigor even if she had been up all night. “Get to work! Keep cutting! It’s an order!”

Sergius stared at Lyssa for a moment, but then he began to follow her. She tried to ignore him, focusing on crossing the fields to reach the camp and her tent. All the while, she felt his eyes on the back of her neck.

When she entered her tent, she was not surprised to see him step in as well, a minute after. Still, she pretended he was not there. She kept looking at her maps as if nothing. Meanwhile, he glared at her, and it did not take him long to whisper with an accusing tone.

“I don’t like the game you’re playing, Alyssa.”

She kept looking at her documents, but she did retort with a taunting lean of head, without looking back at him.

“I’ve told you many times not to voice my full name, it brings bitter memories. And I don’t know what game you are talking about. I’m deadly serious about that catapult; we need to take our time with it.”

That last part was no lie. He knew. She hinted no unrest or dread when he neared her darkly. His words were chosen carefully, menacing, yet still caring and empathic.

“Something lurks in that roguish mind of yours, related to a certain vampire, and his fate. You are trying to win time… Be careful, for you are stepping on thin ice.”

She kept faking obliviousness, even if she knew he was aware of most of her intentions.

“We still have time until winter hits. No freezing cold would deter us anyway.”

She did not flinch when he slammed a hand onto the table, at her side. At last, she met his stern gaze, calmly. He was losing his patience, out of worry.

“Lyssa, I know very well that you added something to the food you gave me. And I don’t appreciate it.” He asked, very slowly, dragging each word with an inquisitive tone. “You wouldn’t deter your comrades in favour of the enemy, would you?”

They glared at each other intensely, for a whole minute. She was more determined than him.

“You wouldn’t dare accuse a general such as myself of treason, right? I wonder what our troops would think of it; after all, I’ve led them to victory countless times. The rebellion has not had a leader as determined as me in years. I’ve always served our cause fervently, so how could I possibly commit such a crime? Your paranoia spreads as you grow older, Sergius.”

He took a deep breath, to try to contain his anger. Before leaving, he gave her one last warning, a reminder.

“That paranoia you mock… is what has kept me alive for so long.” She looked away, for he said the next words while he stepped out the tent strongly. “It also saved the three of you, in that bloody town you called home.”

With him gone, there was silence. Truly, she owed him a lot, far too much. But she was more loyal to her heart, which she had surrendered long ago.

Lyssa closed her eyes, still able to feel the soft touch of those sharp claws, which had held her gently. Nerys had grasped her hand, to lay it onto her cold chest, for her to feel her slow pulse. She whispered as the sun rose, reluctant to let go.

“It still beats for you.”

She did not try to lock her away, even if she could have, easily. Once she recovered from her shock, she only tried to make her keep her distance, begged her to leave. When she refused, she asked for death instead, an end. Of course, she was not the only one to admonish that appeal, for he bolstered her rebuttal. Their resolve struck her deeply. She cried and cursed, mourning their imprudence. Even as a vampire, she displayed every single emotion that she denied her kind could feel.

There was no difference in those green and silver eyes, other than their sharpness. She saw no hunger or malice; they showed nothing but care in their gazes towards her. The two were alive, and their souls had not changed.

Those facts were not the only ones that made her fiery conviction falter. As she intruded in her domain, she noticed that there were no slaves. Much like he saw, her rule was merciful and kind, even if vampiric. It was not easy to let go of her beliefs, but her care for them was much stronger than her hate and resent.

There were so many things she wanted to say, to ask… but she could not stay in the castle for long. The sun began to rise, and the time to leave arrived, even if it broke her heart. She needed to leave, for their sake.

Their reunion felt fleeting, cursed by the sunlight the three once loved. Her heart was afflicted by fear and urgency, for she dreaded what she would have to do. She could only trust in the words she shared with him.

“Please, hurry…”

She was winning time, for all.

———-

 

“Come on!”

He looked back, down the stairs. The two soldiers were struggling to lift what they carried, for it was heavy. Due to it, he dashed back to them, groaning as he helped push. There was no time to spare.

He trembled as he held the big contraption of metal and wood, which they carried to the top of the tower. It was not the first, or last; he had lost count of how many they hauled. Even three vampires had trouble with the weight of this one.

Bastian would have tripped, for the last steps of the stairs were not easy to manoeuvre past. Luckily, two strong claws grasped the metal and leaned it upwards, facilitating his moves. He smiled up at Nerys, who nodded and heaved with him.

They dropped the contraption by the parapets, and while he eyed it carefully, she headed back down to help the others keep carrying scraps. One by one, they were bringing all that they had crafted during the past two days, as they discussed.

It had been tiring to forge everything, because they did not dispose of much time or materials. As well, they were unsure if they would manage to combine it all in just one night. They had to do it before the sun could rise, for the light would reveal their presence in the tower to the ones below.

They were working in the dark, using their sharp eyesight instead of torches. He worked frantically, while she directed them all silently. They needed to be careful, or else. Everything depended on this ploy.

———

 

Trust, fear, paranoia… Those emotions were a very powerful weapon. Every person that considered themselves a leader knew it. Words and acts could turn the tides of a battle, for there was always a reaction, which could be predicted.

Her eyes opened, dreadfully. She got up from her bedroll and walked slowly towards the exit of her tent. There was doubt in her heart at first, but it soon faded, because she could hear the murmurs outside. She left her tent, and her eyes narrowed with relief. A faint subtle smile grew on her lips, for she saw what she had hoped for, something that could have not been there at all. She looked up to it, intently.

The horizon was tinted in red, for the sun was beginning to rise, banishing the darkness at last. Everyone in the camp was waking up, and they could not avoid but whisper, in wonder and dread. All were looking at the fortress, which loomed over their camp.

There was a big contraption on one of those tall towers, made of metal and wood. Its shape was bizarre, and they did not understand its purpose. It was made of iron plates, haphazardly tied poles, and there was a huge piece of glass on top of it all. It was of the size of a big statue, but it resembled a chaotic beacon.

The more the sun came up, the more they could see its outlines. That, in turn, made their confusion grow. All the rebels in the camp began to argue nervously, wary, for they did not know what they were looking at.

She knew what that thing was: nothing. It had no use, no other purpose other than baffling its onlookers. But only she was aware of that fact, and she would not reveal it to her comrades. It was time for her to act and do her part.

Bastian and Lyssa had always been more mischievous than Nerys. Unlike them, she did not believe this ploy would work, but she was about to be proven wrong.

The whole camp was awake, out of their tents. They all had gathered, and now they were looking up at the beacon, not really knowing how to react. They were suspicious, but not scared of it. That changed instantly when she screamed.

“My god!” All turned to look at her as she pointed at the contraption, yelling for all to hear. “We’re done for!”

Her troops did not react at first. Not until she began to march through, frantically, shouting orders with the most fearful scowl she could muster.

“We must leave!” She grabbed an official strongly and shook him, making sure to hint terrible dread in her snarl. “Call everyone away, we must retreat! Retreat I say! We will all die otherwise!”

“R-retreat? We-”

She let go of the man and let him stumble back. They had never seen her like this, so when she motioned at what the vampires had built, they all shuddered.

“That thing is a horrible weapon! Look at it! Its wicked and crooked form sustains a terrible speculum! It can channel powerful sorcery!” She cowered slightly from the sight, lamenting bleakly. “They have been waiting to use its power, to kill us all at once! Now that we are all gathered near their walls, they will use the sun to burn us!”

There were a few soldiers in the ramparts and towers, watching her. They saw her act, and they in turn signalled at the two that stood by the beacon. As the sun loomed high, they did as instructed. Vampires had good eyesight, and she had foretold where she would stand in the camp. As well, her yells helped spot her position between all the humans. The insurgents watched as the glass of the beacon was moved and leaned with ropes, to allow light to pierce through it.

The beacon acted like a huge magnifying glass, which invoked a thin but sharp ray of light. It soon was pointed down at them, slowly. As planned, the light brushed her first, before anyone else. All gasped and cowered as she let out a pained yell, letting herself stumble back as if she had been burned. She made sure to grimace strongly as she panted with wide eyes, having scorched her clothes with her own hands. Her next scream hinted anger, shock.

“T-the sun! They have learnt to wield its light!” She moved further away from the light, holding her smoking robes as she feigned despair. “They have turned one of their most feared weaknesses against us! They will burn us alive!”

There was a moment of silence, and then… panic struck. She hid a grin by bowing her head, for the vampires moved the beacon again. Everyone had seen their fearless general panic, and they could not avoid but dread as well. The ray began to creep over another soldier, who did not doubt to move away in fear of its touch.

“Ah!” He was not truly scorched by the light, but he had cowered near her, and she did not doubt to summon heat without ever raising smoke in her hand. “It burns!”

Two had claimed to be wounded by the light, and that was enough to instil fear in everyone, even the bravest. Chaos ensued. She stood upright as all began to flee, trying to back away as much as possible from the fortress. In such panic, she moved too, making sure to let one of her hands blaze when no one looked.

Flames rose near the light, over a tent Lyssa passed by. Sergius had been slightly away, but he soon spotted her in between the crowd, thanks to her firm shouts.

“Retreat! Save and take all the resources you can! We can’t fight against that weapon!”

He watched in horror as the other officials echoed her words, blindly. Vampires were incapable of magic, but no one was paying mind to that fact. Everyone was scrambling away, grabbing all that they could from the camp, gathering to flee across the fields. He ran and shouted at them all, unbelieving.

“No, stop! You idiots!”

No one listened to him. He dashed to her and grabbed one of her arms, quick to demand answers, furiously.

“Lyssa, what’s the meaning of this?!”

She looked up at him coldly, and he saw nothing but determination in her gaze.

“We’re leaving, now.”

His eyes widened more, with realization. He knew her well, and he could see that she was aware of something. That thing was harmless; those vampires had not learnt to wield magic, and no human mage was aiding them either.

Knowing those facts, he let go of her, to step close to that ray. Part of him did not wish to believe she was lying to them, but he knew she was. Sure enough, the light did not burn at all when he brushed it. There was no pain, not even a sting. He looked all around himself and began to yell at their troops, loudly.

“Stop, it’s a ruse! That beacon is nothing, a simple-!”

She interrupted him.

“It’s not! We are in danger! Don’t pay mind to the words of my lieutenant! He only wishes to instil bravery in you! His heart does not wish to surrender, and so, he’s shielding himself with a spell to sway you to keep fighting!” She pushed a few men away, urging them all. “If we stay, we will die, in vain! We can’t win, so we must leave, to see another day! This clan is too dangerous for us to bring down! We shouldn’t have ventured this far into their lands!”

All ignored his warning, in favour of her words, which held more authority. She was young, brave, and strong. Not only that, but she had proven resourceful and worthy of their trust. No one would pay him any mind if she spoke.

There was no reason to believe she was committing treason. She had slain many vampires, without hesitation. Many clans had cowered upon her march, and that had led them deep into vampiric domain. Her comrades would never doubt her.

There was nothing he could do to stop their flight. They took all that they could from their camp and fled away from the perimeter of the fortress. All the while, she smiled slyly, only he catching that subtle scorn. Still, he followed them all, even if he felt ire. He knew he could not stay back and fight alone. Everyone retreated to the distant hills, leaving the castle and their targets behind, in fear. Humans could be as selfish as vampires. They were prey of the same instinct: self-preservation.

Those sharp green eyes watched from above while the army moved away. She stared at the outlines of their banners and carts, which were fading past the horizon. Soon, she was incapable of seeing her in the distance anymore.

“It…” She struggled to form words, incapable of believing that the army was gone and that her domain would survive. “Oh my god… It really worked?”

All had been holding their breaths in the rampart, staring at the fields dreadfully. However, after that whisper, a strong laugh echoed. Nerys did not react at all when Bastian bent onto the parapet with a sharp cackle, his method of expressing relief quite mocking towards everything.

She had been very sceptical, critical of the plan that the two had discussed and arranged. Even if she had agreed to help him build this strange beacon, she had not believed that it would be able to fool anyone.

To be honest, she did not know if she was dreaming. Perhaps she was suffering a nightmare, because she had seen her leave far away, where she could not follow. Their ploy had really worked, and due to it, the three were still alive against all odds.