Tahno paced back in forth, started to climb the stairs, then stepped back down.
Something was wrong up there.
He heard a woman cry out in pain, and bolted to the top of the stairs, his ear pressed against the door. That wasn't Korra, or Asami, at least he didn't think it was….
Closing his eyes, Tahno listened as hard as he could. Moments like this, he was strangely glad his heart was silent. As loud as things seemed to him now, something hammering away in his chest would probably drive him mad.
Bits of phrases drifted down to him, and he pieced it together. Tenzin's wife was having her baby. Okay, maybe that's what all the fuss was about. He was about to go back down the stairs, when he heard something else.
Airships?
And…fighting, maybe. Or just training? The airships might be unrelated. There was plenty of air traffic, and he still wasn't quite sure just how much his hearing could pick up if he really tried.
He put his hands to the door, and pushed slightly, feeling it catch against the lock. He could break that, if he had to. And the silver chains….he'd work something out. Or maybe he'd find another way.
But if he did that, he'd better have a damn good explanation. Everyone would be on edge, especially if there was a new baby around. People got…protective. He didn't think, 'I just thought I heard something' would work, if he turned out to be imagining things.
If they wanted my help, they'd come let me out.
He slid down the door and sat on the top step, his cheek pressed against the wood, feeling the vague presence of the silver, but not close enough for it to quite hurt.
It was probably nothing. He should just go back to sleep. He just hated feeling so helpless, not even being able to ask what was going on.
After waiting there a while, he heard footsteps coming towards him at a run, and the chains being pulled off quickly. He sat up, getting properly worried again. At least in a moment he'd have answers.
Korra pulled the door open, and jumped slightly at the sight of him right there. "Good, you're awake," she said, recovering quickly and grabbing his hand.
"What's going on?" he asked, wincing as she dragged him into the light. It was still relatively dark in this part of the temple. He knew the worst was still to come as she pulled him towards the exit.
"We have to get out of here. Equalists are attacking again."
"What do you mean, again?" She dragged him out into the yard, and squinting, he made out Naga's silhouette, and caught the scents of Korra's friends.
"You're bringing him?" That was Mako.
"What, you want me to just leave him to starve in the basement?"
"That'd be a nice surprise for them once they thought they'd secured the temple," Mako said.
"I think they know a few things about how to deal with vampires," Asami said, and Tahno thought he detected an unspoken idiot hanging off the end of that sentence.
"All right, enough talking, everyone get on," Korra said. It wasn't easy for them all to scramble on the poor beast, and Tahno found himself barely holding on to Asami at the back. They made a run for it over the island, Naga managing to bat an attacking Equalist out of the way, and swam under the harbor, Korra keeping a bubble of air around them with her waterbending.
"What happened?" Tahno whispered to Asami as they crossed under the harbor.
"Amon's in his endgame," she said. "He's kidnapped all of the Council except Tenzin, and the new chief of police, and is occupying Republic City. He's trying to eliminate the last of the airbenders. Tenzin and his family went off with Beifong on a flying bison."
"What?" Tahno demanded. "Why would they attack in the day, anyway?"
"Oh, they're human," Mako said. "Most of them, anyway. They're mostly wannabes. Amon is promising to turn his followers."
"What kind of an idiot would want that?" Tahno asked.
"Amon is making big changes," Asami said darkly. "It's going to be a lot better to be a vampire in his world."
"And what exactly does he think all these new vampires are going to eat?"
"Anyone who resists him," Asami said.
"And that's it? We're just going to run away?"
"We've sent for help from the United Forces," Mako said. "They should be here in three days. We just need to survive that long."
They reached the other side, and started walking towards some kind of dark tunnel. Tahno stopped dead in his tracks. "That's a sewage tunnel," he said, his hands in front of his nose and mouth. "No way am I going in there."
"The rest of us don't like it either," Mako said.
"The rest of you don't have a nose like a shirshu."
"Fine, have fun staying out here in the sun," he said, and Tahno heard his feet splashing through the muck.
Asami took his arm. "If anything, I'm jealous of you right now," she said. "At least you don't have to breathe."
"Point," he said. "Give me something nice to smell for the road?"
Asami leaned towards him a bit, and he brushed his nose against her hair, taking a deep breath and holding it. Lovely. They went into the tunnel together.
Tahno didn't speak while they were in the tunnel, to avoid the need for air, but even without circulating it, the stench seeped into his nostrils. It was bad enough that he began to tear up. He didn't have a handkerchief or anything with him, and ended up wiping it on his sleeve. Nothing allays suspicion like wandering around sewage tunnels with bloodstains on your clothes, he thought.
They made their way out somewhere in the slums, and followed Mako and Bolin to an alley in a run-down industrial section, coming to a ramshackle tent city. It was shadowed, but still far too bright for comfort as far as Tahno was concerned. "We can hide out here for a while," Mako said. "No one will be looking for us here."
"And with the stench of sewage on us, we'll blend in," Asami said.
"Don't be so quick to assume," Bolin said cheerfully. "Poor doesn't have to mean dirty." He looked around, seeing Tahno rubbing his bloodied eyes. "What's wrong with him?"
Tahno coughed a little. "Oh, just gagging on the stench of human waste. Is there a place I can wash up?"
"Um, yeah, should be," Bolin said. "Why don't I show you, c'mon." Tahno saw Mako and Bolin glance at each other, and Bolin shrug before leading him into a darkened, broken-down building. They came out the other side to a heavily overgrown courtyard, with a rusty pump in the middle. There was a well-worn path to the pump, and everything around it was covered in dense weeds and vines.
Bolin helped Tahno by pumping some water, and Tahno did his best to wash himself, clothes and all. He realized he hadn't bathed since the night of the match, not since he'd drowned. He hadn't particularly needed to, since he didn't seem to get greasy or sweat, but there was another reason—clinging to his body faintly had been his own scent, or at least, how he'd smelled when he was human. His new body chemistry had another, less pleasant scent, almost vinegary, though it was mild enough that he didn't think it could be detected by humans. But he'd never find his old scent again under all that muck, anyway.
After he'd thoroughly rinsed himself, scrubbing as best he could with his hands, Tahno sat there trying to squeeze the water out of his hair and clothes. With his waterbending, he'd never really thought of being wet as something you could get stuck in. He'd assumed it would take a few more minutes to dry without bending, but this was ridiculous. It was like the world was mocking him.
He glared up at Bolin, who was fidgeting nervously, and caught a stray whiff of fear under the reek of sewage. "What?" he demanded.
"Nothing," Bolin said, looking away.
"Look, I'm hardly going to bite you when you smell like a sewage pipe. Even I have standards, as it turns out. So just…stop doing that, please." He sat with his head in his hands, dripping miserably.
"Stop doing what?"
"That…that thing. Ugh, your heart is loud."
"…Sorry?" Bolin said, as if he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "Actually, no, you know, my heart being loud is good, I'd like to keep it that way."
They sat in silence a moment. "Did you need me to pump water for you?" Tahno asked at length, unsure why Bolin was hanging around.
"Nah, we'll probably find some clothes to change into before we wash these, and I'll get Mako or Korra to heat the water. It's freezing cold out."
"Oh, right," Tahno said. He hadn't failed to notice the cold, but he was cold no matter what he did, and being wet didn't seem to make it any worse. Not like he had any body heat to lose.
"Look…" Bolin said, "if you're going to be in the group, I should probably just explain why I've been avoiding you…it'll probably help you understand a lot about Mako's behavior, too."
"Oh?" Tahno said.
"Well…it's just…." He fiddled with something at his neck, and Tahno realized he was unfastening the collar of his shirt. He pulled it loose and leaned his neck towards Tahno.
"What are you doing?" Tahno said. He was very close to taking back his comment about having standards.
"Showing you my scar?"
"Oh. I…I can't really see very well right now, it's too bright. I mean, I can see your face, it's just kinda blurry."
"Oh," Bolin said, doing his shirt up again. "Well, I have a scar. From a vampire. Not long after we'd lost our parents and were on the street, I was approached by a guy who offered me a lot of money to help him with something. I thought he meant like, pulling weeds or carrying things. I'm lucky he only took me into an alley, not someplace more private, or Mako might never have found me. It was almost too late when he did. He had to burn the guy off me, and it took me weeks to recover. I almost died."
Tahno felt a pang on his own neck, and touched the bite wound Amon had left, still not fully healed. He remembered shaking, Amon standing over him, kneeling to bite—no, not now. "I don't know what to say…I'm sorry that happened to you," Tahno said.
"Thanks," Bolin said. Tahno could actually sense him relaxing slightly. Is that really all he wanted from me? A few words of sympathy? "For what it's worth," Bolin said, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, too. I mean, I didn't like you, actually, I thought you were a—"
"You can just stop after 'I'm sorry about what happened to you' and leave it at that," Tahno said.
"Sorry," Bolin said. "I was just trying to say that whatever problems we may have had….it seems kinda unimportant now. We're on the same side. Actually, you know, I'm kind of glad you're here."
"And why's that?"
"Well, I mean, all the stuff Amon says about vampires being oppressed, especially by benders…even if it's not true, we're all benders except for Asami, and none of us are vampires, so…what do we know about it?"
Tahno put a hand to his head. "You're glad I'm here because you think I give you credibility? I haven't given much thought to the politics of it, okay. I just want to get back at Amon for what he did to me. Plus I'm grateful to Korra for probably saving my life."
"Oh," Bolin said. "Well, I mean, if Amon stayed in control, it'd probably still be better for you, right? He's made blood donation mandatory for all healthy adults, and removed the ban on vampires living outside of Dragon Flats. He even has the government offices and courts open at night."
"I…hadn't really thought about that."
"Me and my big mouth," Bolin said. "You're not going to change sides, or anything like that?" He laughed nervously.
"Don't insult me," Tahno said, getting up. "After what Amon did to me? I don't really give a shit if he's the best leader Republic City could have. This is personal." With that he stalked off, looking for someplace dark to spend the day.
He woke to the dark blue sky of twilight showing through the window of the abandoned house. To his surprise, he wasn't alone in the room. Asami sat by a small fire, with a tea set. She'd gotten cleaned up. Tahno noted with distaste that his own clothes were still soggy. He didn't even have body heat to help dry them, and it wasn't like he'd have sat in the sun, either. He really couldn't have imagined that water would be such a massive inconvenience.
"Good morning," Asami said.
"Good morning yourself," Tahno replied, smiling at her sleepily. "Don't suppose you're here to give me my breakfast?"
"Sorry," Asami said, "I haven't even gotten anything to eat myself."
"Really? I didn't think of the Uhvatar as the type to forget dinner."
"Oh, they're all eating dumpster food. I just…passed." She made a show of focusing on the tea. "You must think I'm a priss."
"Nah," he said. "I'd be one to talk, after bleeding from the eyes over a bad smell."
Asami laughed. "You're okay now though, right?"
"Yeah, just wet." He grimaced. "I've been waterbending since I was two. I never thought the day would come when being wet would be a bad thing."
"Come sit by the fire," she said, and he did.
"I was thinking," Asami said, "maybe it would take the edge off your hunger if you drank some water."
"I dunno," he said. It didn't appeal to him much.
"Well, the way I figure it, blood has water in it, right? You're obviously using the moisture in your body, so your body has a need for water. Maybe you don't get thirsty for it because your instincts are telling you to get blood instead, but drinking water would at least help with the dehydration. I'm not saying it'd work forever, just on days when you can't get blood."
"I guess it's worth a shot," he said.
Asami poured from the kettle into a teacup and tested it with her finger, mixing with a little cold water from another cup. "I thought it might go down better if it was body temperature," she said. "Here."
Tahno took the cup, enjoying the warmth in his hands, and looked at it a moment. It just felt so nice and…normal. Come on, water, he thought, bringing the cup to his lips. Be nice to me, for old time's sake.
He had to force it down a bit, and it did feel strange, but not entirely bad. The warmth felt good, anyway.
"How is it?" Asami asked anxiously, leaning forward.
"It's….hm," Tahno said, taking another sip cautiously, then getting up quickly and trying to run to the other room. He made it as far as the doorway before doubling over and retching. The water came back up tinged with blood. He heaved a few more times, not producing much, and stood up shakily. "Can we just…not experiment with me anymore for a little while?" he said, turning to face her wearily.
"I'm so sorry," Asami said. "I just thought…."
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," he said, slumping back down by the fire. "I wouldn't mind having another hot cup just to hold, though," he said, and Asami poured him one.
He saw something gleaming on the floor next to him in the assorted detritus. A mirror. He reached to pick it up, but dropped it very quickly, hearing it crack as it hit the ground.
"What's wrong?" Asami asked.
"Silver backing," he said, shaking his hand. "I should have known."
"Let me see."
"It's fine," he said, showing her his hand. He hadn't held on long enough for it to really burn.
"Here," Asami said, holding up the mirror for him. "Did you want to look?"
Tahno turned towards the cracked mirror warily. He almost didn't recognize himself. Even in the warm firelight, his skin and lips was several shades too pale. It looked unnatural, bloodless. His eyes, by contrast, were a bit bloodshot, and looked tired, with reddish circles under them. They were still the same color, though, that sort of silvery blue, the only part of him he really recognized, like his own eyes looking out of a stranger's face. His hair hung in limp, tangled clumps, still a bit wet, and his cheeks were a bit more gaunt and hollowed than he remembered them.
"Well," he said, looking away. "I look like shit."
"I could comb your hair," Asami offered. "If it dries like that, it's going to be almost impossible to untangle."
"You've been itching to do that for a while, haven't you." He smiled slightly.
"I didn't know how to bring it up. You seemed to be dealing with bigger problems."
"Well, go for it," he said, tossing his hair. "You look like you take pretty good care of yours, so I trust you."
Asami took a comb out of her pocket and knelt behind Tahno. She ran her fingers along the side of his head, gathering the first section of hair. Tahno tightened his jaw a bit and looked down.
"You sure you're okay with this?" she asked.
"It's fine," he said. He remembered her taste the night before, filling him, then was snapped out of it by a tug on his scalp, drawing a little grunt of pain out of him.
"Sorry," Asami said. "It's really tangled." She was still working her way up from the bottom of that section. This was going to take a while.
"Amon is giving out blood to any vampire in need at distribution stations around the city," Asami said. "I don't really feel right about that, considering he collected it by force, but I thought that maybe you…."
"Everyone will know I'm helping Korra now, though, after that stunt with the Council," Tahno said. "And I know my looks have taken a hit, but there's still a chance people will recognize me from the papers." It hurt to think of turning away blood that was right there for the taking, but the part of him that still knew how to use logic knew he couldn't risk it. The very last thing he wanted was to end up at Amon's mercy again.
"True," Asami said. "I probably have the least recognizable face, the rest of you being all over the papers for pro-bending and all. Do you think maybe I could just say I'm a vampire and get some for you?"
"Hah," Tahno said. "If there's even one vampire there…no. They'll know." Her comb reached his scalp, and he leaned into it, making an effort not to moan and failing slightly. He caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, and she moved on to the bottom of the next section.
"If it's scent, maybe I could just…wear a lot of perfume, or something."
"And maybe if you try humming, they won't hear your heartbeat," he said. "No, Asami, sweetie, don't go into a place like that. You're going to end up in the bottles."
Asami pulled through the next knot a bit harshly, and then swept the comb through the newly-liberated patch of scalp, and Tahno hissed through his teeth. About half of his hair was done now, and she ran her fingers through it.
"Nhn," he said. His hair was definitely going to smell like her now. Well, there were worse things.
Footsteps approached, and Tahno glanced up to see Mako entering the room. "Asami, there you are, I was getting worried. What are you doing?"
"Just combing Tahno's hair," she said.
"You shouldn't even be alone with him, he's dangerous."
"Yeah, he might brutally murder me by sitting nicely while I play with his hair," Asami said. "I've been up here about an hour, you get protective now?"
"I just assumed you'd have a bit more sense," Mako said. "I…sorry, Asami, I just really care about you, and I don't know what I'd do if I came up here to find you being hurt, or…." He trailed off, frustrated. "I don't understand why you'd want to spend time with that creep anyway."
"I am right here, you know," Tahno said. He glanced behind Mako and saw Korra watching him, looking jealous and hurt, and Bolin not far behind her, looking at Korra with longing…. Oh, this is just ridiculous.
"Here, why don't I clear some of this up for you," Tahno said, rolling his eyes. "Asami, Korra, Mako likes you both, you can just decide for yourselves what you want to do with that." He saw Mako scowl defensively, about to speak, and continued: "And Mako, you can stop worrying, I'm not moving in on either of your girlfriends, I'm far more interested in drinking their blood than I am in dating them."
"But that is what I'm worried you'll—" Mako started.
Tahno cut in again. "And Bolin…oh, Bolin, honey. Seems we're the odd ones out. We should just have sex, don't you think? We're too good for all this drama."
Bolin coughed. "You're not…really my type."
Tahno tried not to let that go to his pride too much, telling himself he'd been joking anyway, but remembering the wreck he'd seen in the mirror, it still stung a little. He was dead and looked it, and doubted that was much of anyone's type. Asami resumed combing his hair, and he gave Mako the smuggest look he could muster, thoroughly enjoying the jealous glare he got in return.
Maybe it was petty, but it felt good to pretend that the biggest threat he posed to them was as a romantic rival. He was used to that role. It was comforting, almost nostalgic at this point. It was a very human sort of way to be hated.
Korra was pacing, agitated, saying something about the need for reconnaissance, and she and Mako started making plans. Tahno knew this stuff was probably important, but couldn't focus on it, opting instead to go somewhat boneless under Asami's attentions.
Finally, Asami finished with his hair, and held up the mirror again so he could see her work. He didn't really want to see himself again, but he glanced to be polite. "Well, at least the hair isn't a wreck anymore," he muttered, running a hand through it. It was nothing like its former glory, but then, what was. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
He got up and walked towards the exit.
"Where are you going?" Asami asked.
"I just need some air," he said.
Tahno wandered aimlessly around the tent city. There were a few drifters bundled in blankets or sitting around fires. Remembering the reflective properties of his eyes, he kept them low, so no one would see them gleaming out of the dark at them. He wasn't even sure if he was doing this out of consideration for them, or if it was hunting instinct. That thought gave him chills.
After a time, he noticed that his footsteps had echoes, and caught a few glimpses of his shadow when she wasn't being quite as stealthy as she thought she was. He sighed. "Hey, Korra."
Silence. Or what she thought passed for silence, anyway. He laughed darkly. "You're not fooling me, Korra."
"You must've made a mistake, there's no Korra here," Korra said, stepping into view.
"Ah. I stand corrected." He smiled at her, then wondered if she could even see it. "Spending your night babysitting me?"
"I've just got your back."
"I see. You could tie me up if you don't trust me." He paused. "I meant that as sarcasm, but you look like you're actually considering it."
"Actually, I was thinking, do you want to do recon with me?"
"I'd have thought you'd want to go with Mako."
"Fun as that sounds, that base is going to be full of vampires. Not only would it be nice to know which ones are which, but they'd be able to sense that we were both human. Could limit our access."
"And there's the added advantage of keeping an eye on me," Tahno said. "Well played."
"Is that a yes or a no?"
Tahno nodded. "I'm in."
"Okay. On my word, we knock them out and take their uniforms," Korra whispered.
"No. They're both vampires. And could you whisper any louder? They're going to hear us."
"What, from all the way over there?"
"Yes." He raised his eyebrows for emphasis.
"I still think we could take them."
"Maybe you could," Tahno whispered with a dubious look. "They're probably older and better fed than me."
They waited some more, until another pair of Equalists walked by. "Humans," Tahno said. "Let's do it."
Korra nodded quickly, and they struck. It was over all too fast. One of the Equalists tried to chi-block him, which didn't even have the effect of making him numb, and he knocked the poor fool's head back into the wall. When he looked around, Korra had taken care of hers as well. They dragged the two into the bushes, to change in privacy.
Tahno did not fail to notice that his prisoner was bleeding from where he'd struck his head on the wall. His fangs had come out at the first scent of blood. He cradled his prisoner's head, and licked the wound before he could think about what he was doing. Then…that was it, he knew what he was going to do with him, but not from the scalp, that would be a terrible place to drink. He started stripping the Equalist's clothes off, and when he'd peeled off the uniform, he pulled the man towards him and bit his neck. He found that Equalist blood tasted just as fantastic as everyone else's.
Korra, partially changed into her own prisoner's uniform, glanced over him and her eyes widened with alarm. Before Tahno could react, she kicked him hard in the head, knocking him off his Equalist prey, and stood over him with fire in her hands.
"Put those out," Tahno hissed. "We'll be seen!"
Korra did so grudgingly, but grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "What the hell was that, Tahno? I thought you had some control!"
"He was an Equalist!" Tahno said. "He deserved it!"
"What, he deserves to get eaten?"
"I wasn't going to kill him," Tahno insisted. "He's fighting for a regime that treats humans as food whether they like it or not. See how he fucking likes it."
"You're supposed to be better than them," Korra said furiously, pressing him into the ground, crushing his feeding erection between them. He saw by the disgust on her face that she felt it.
"K-Korra," he said. "The Equalist. He's bleeding out."
"Is that all you can think about? Wasted blood?"
"No, I mean he's dying, idiot."
Korra whipped around and saw the Equalist bleeding copiously from the neck. The two little pricks Tahno had made wouldn't have bled this fast, but the force of her kick had torn his fangs through his throat, and his blood was pooling on the ground. "Shiiit," Korra said, running to him and trying to apply pressure with Tahno's shirt. "Shit. What do we do?"
Tahno had never really heard her swear like that before. But then, he'd never seen her partially responsible for someone dying, either. He rubbed where Korra had kicked him, just over his left eyebrow. He wasn't sure how his body handled blunt trauma, but it felt like it was going to bruise. "I don't know," he said.
"You…you have to give him some of your blood."
"No way," Tahno said. "Never. I'm not turning anyone."
"He's going to die."
"I'd rather let him die."
Korra looked up at him, her hands covered in blood, and for the first time, she really did seem to be seeing a monster. "You'll be a murderer."
Tahno felt the tears well up in his eyes, and couldn't stop them. "It was an accident. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"No," Korra said. "No, I'm not going to let it go this way. Tahno, get that uniform on."
"What?"
"Just do it!"
Numbly, Tahno pulled on the dying man's uniform, and he saw Korra putting his own clothes on the Equalist, or what was left of them after she'd made a makeshift bandage by tearing strips off his shirt. She hefted him up, pulled her mask down, and signaled Tahno to do the same. Tahno followed her into the building.
They quickly found an Equalist who seemed to be in charge. "He's a vampire," Tahno whispered to Korra, and she nodded.
"We just had a little accident," Korra said to the vampire, "is there an infirmary around here?"
The vampire took a look at the man Korra was carrying, picked up his wrist and let it drop, then turned to Tahno. "You're going to get written up for this. What do you think the blood banks are for? You can't just go around half-killing civilians."
"Ah, yeah, I know," Tahno said, putting his hand to his neck in staged embarrassment. "It's just, you know, it tastes so good, I can't help myself. And that's what the humans are for, right?"
"Infirmary's on the second floor, towards the back," he said. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Hasook," Tahno said.
"Listen, Hasook, you're going to have to go through orientation all over again. Amon's glorious vision isn't about just ripping anyone's throat out in the street."
"Great, I'll be back for that orientation," Tahno said. "Just gotta get this guy to the infirmary before it's too late."
As they left, Tahno saw the vampire shake his head and mutter, "Fucking new recruits."
They reached the infirmary and dropped off their charge, and Tahno was all for getting out of there before they were discovered, but Korra said that since they were already in the building, they might as well try to get some information.
Tahno lurked several paces behind her, and when she stopped, he stopped too. Finally, she turned to him angrily. "What the hell are you doing back there? Just keep with me and act normal."
"You've got blood on you," Tahno said.
"Oh, well, whose fault was that? I don't care about your delicate nose, suck it up and do your part."
"You ask these things of me, then you get mad when I lose it and bite someone," he said, drawing up level with her.
"Damn right I hold you responsible for your actions," she said. "And to think, I was actually starting to think you were basically a good person, that you'd never bite anyone who wasn't willing."
"I did try to warn you."
"Yeah. Yeah, you did." She looked around. "Where are we?"
"I think we're in the morgue."
He saw her shudder. "Let's get out of here, then." She turned back, glanced in the glass window set in a door as she passed it, and stopped in her tracks.
"Tahno," she said, her voice gone cold and scared. "Look."
Tahno looked over her shoulder through the glass. Lying on a steel table was former police chief Lin Beifong, pale as the sheet draped over her, a bite mark purplish on her neck.
He couldn't see Korra's face behind her mask, but he could smell her tears. "She didn't make it," she said.
"I…I think it may be worse than that," Tahno said. He tried the door. It was locked, but a good push from him opened it anyway. He pulled his mask off and sniffed her face. Inconclusive. With a quickly muttered apology, he pressed his mouth on Beifong's, and pushed his tongue in her cold, unresisting mouth.
"What the hell are you doing, do you have no respect for the dead?" Korra demanded. "This isn't one of your games!"
Tahno slid off the table, curling up on the floor. That taste in his mouth…he'd never forget it. Ever. "She's been made to drink Amon's blood," he said.
"Oh," Korra said. "Oh. We can't leave her here." She scooped up Beifong's limp body. "She's so light without her armor," she said.
Tahno glanced around the room one last time, and spotting a cooler, opened it and found three bottles of blood. He took all of them. It was cold enough outside that they'd probably keep fairly well there.
He went first into the hall, knowing that his hearing made him the better lookout, and waved Korra forward.
"When do you think she'll wake up?"
"Dunno," Tahno said, sitting with his arms folded over his knees, staring at the corpse. They'd given her the best moldy old bed in the abandoned building, dragged down into the dark basement, on his recommendation. The walls were crumbled away in spots, and they'd stuffed the cracks with bits of old curtains. He'd told them having a lot of bright light in her eyes when she woke up would only add insult to injury.
"How long did it take you?" Korra asked.
"I didn't really keep track of time well," Tahno said. "Spirits know how long I was in jail. Felt like at least a day." He turned to her. "You really shouldn't be here when she wakes up. You've got blood all over your clothes. And besides," he said. "I don't have to worry about her hurting me."
Korra nodded. "Come and tell us when she's awake."
"I will."
Tahno lay there on the cold concrete, waiting, slipping in and out of sleep. Beifong was motionless beside him. He felt an awareness of the three bottles of blood with him, and, between dreams and fantasies, the thought came to his mind, it didn't work, she isn't going to wake up, just drink them. He resisted. As hungry as he was now, it had been so much worse when he'd first risen. She'd need it more.
It was around sunset that she finally stirred. Tahno sat up, and saw her open her eyes, the flash of fear as she saw his uniform, then recognition of his face. "What…what happened?" she said weakly. "Is Tenzin…."
"I don't know," he said. "Sorry. We found you in the hands of the Equalists. I'm afraid we were too late." He paused. "Well, this has come full circle, hasn't it?"
"Where am I?"
"Some abandoned slum in some alley that's crumbling too much for junkies to risk getting high in," Tahno said. "The Avatar is here."
He saw Beifong touch the bite mark on her neck, probing the ugly, gaping holes. "You have to keep her away from me."
"Yeah, I thought that far ahead," Tahno said. "And here, look. I even have some blood for you." He opened the bottle, and saw her eyes widen as the scent of blood hit the air, his own fangs extending, even though he knew it wasn't for him.
"Keep that away from me," Beifong growled.
"I know it's disgusting," Tahno said, "and I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, it tastes like shit too. But you'll feel better. Trust me."
"No," Beifong said, trying to back away from him on the bed, "you don't understand. A conversion doesn't become permanent until the subject drinks human blood."
"What?" Tahno repeated. "You're…you're delusional. He killed you, okay? It's done."
"No," Beifong said again, her eyes cold and very steady. "If Amon is killed before I've tasted human blood, I can become human again."
Tahno said nothing a few moments, in shock. She was serious, and didn't look insane. It can't be. It can't. "So the first thing you did," he spat, "the very first, was seal my fate. You're…you're just as guilty as he is."
"That's not true," Beifong said. "I was trying to help you."
"You mean to tell me that all this could have been temporary? That I could have actually gotten my life back? And you didn't even give me the choice?"
"You'd be dead now if you'd chosen it," Beifong said. "A new vampire without blood has a few days at most. And they're not pleasant days. You would have been in pain, driven mad, a danger to everyone around you."
"Fuck," Tahno said, the tears coming to his eyes. "You didn't tell me there was a cure. You didn't tell me there was a way out."
"I've tried to 'cure' vampires before," she said. "My partner, years ago…he got turned, and begged me to not give him any blood. We kept him in a cell while I hunted the monster who did it to him." She shook her head, looking suddenly old and haggard. "I didn't get her in time. And my partner…it was a horrible end. Agonizing. Without dignity. I wasn't going to do that to you. I knew it wasn't likely we'd get Amon in the next few days. I tried to give you the best chance at a life I could."
Tahno wiped at the tears. He wondered what he'd have chosen, given this information in advance.
He'd have chosen to wait.
At least until there was no other hope. He'd have at least given it a chance. No matter how much it hurt.
He picked up the opened bottle of blood, shoving it at her. "We're not getting Amon in the next few days either, most likely, and we don't have a secure place to hold you. Drink."
Beifong started to reach for the bottle, her hand trembling. He saw her fangs behind her grimace. "No," she said, getting up and stumbling away from him. "I've made my choice."
Tahno stood up too, shaking with rage. "I can't believe you expect me to respect your choice when you didn't give me one."
"If I become a danger to the Avatar, then just stake me," she said. "But I will not drink that."
"I could hold you down and force you," Tahno said. "You're new. I'm stronger."
"You'd be no better than Amon."
"You made sure of that, didn't you," Tahno said angrily. But she was right—he didn't have the heart to restrain her and pour the blood down her throat. "I don't even have to force you, though," he said. "I could just walk away." He set the open bottle down, taking a few steps back. "How long do you think you'd last? I'd find it impressive if you made it an hour."
"Don't," she said. She fell to her knees, red tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making your choice for you." She looked up at him, pleading. "There were some cops who liked to tell new vampires they had a chance at being cured. Sell them on it, pressure them into it. This went on when I was a younger officer, before I became chief. I'll never forget their screams. I don't think we saved even one. That's how we dealt with the 'vampire problem.' I thought it was cruel. I didn't want to give you false hope, trick you into making an uninformed decision. I thought you'd suffered enough at Amon's hands."
Tahno laughed bitterly. "Suffered enough? If you think this life is so free of suffering, then drink. You have no reason not to, right?" His voice became cruel, mocking. "Apparently hope is only false when it's someone else's hope."
"Please," she said. "I know what I'm facing. I know how bad my chances are. But please let me make this one choice. For the choices that were taken away from us both."
Tahno picked up the open bottle, twisted the cap back on, and took the two others as well. "You'd better stop crying," he said. "You'll have even less time."
Beifong nodded stiffly, painfully. "Thank you," she said.
Tahno started walking away, towards the stairs. "I'll just take care of these, then."
"Don't let anyone else down here," she said. "Promise me."
"Don't worry, I'll tell them."
"You'll probably have to tie me up before the night is up," she said. "I don't know how long I'll be…lucid. Do you have any silver?"
"No," he said, "but I wouldn't worry too much. Without blood you'll get weak," he said. "Even rope should do it."
"Don't underestimate the strength of desperation and madness," Beifong said.
