Chapter 12
He knew it. That hollow feeling in his bones. Dull throbbing in his ears. The desire to slaughter.
She had called it forth. She had unlocked the chain around his instincts. She had been at fault for the death of so many. So many crucial pieces in his plight for domination. She had murdered and devoured all of them. And this was her time to pay off her debts in blood.
He was oblivious to the thundering snarls and roars he let loose in his flight to her location. His wings strained in vain, his mind was taken over completely by the raw emotion he felt. Power surged through him like fast-acting Skooma. He didn't comprehend his choices; flying over human settlements and other dragon's roosts. The only thing he could think of was his insatiable bloodlust.
~o0o~
Aneria ran through the halls of Alduin's fortress, leading a pack of vampire servants through the darkness. They carried the frozen form of a dragoness in their arms, her shallow breathing the only indication that she was still alive.
The Khajit didn't try hide her emotions from the vamps. She let them guess their own conclusions from the waves of anxiety, fear and terror that seemed to pour out her very soul. She couldn't tell if they themselves were as scared as she was by the roar that shook the walls of the fortress. Probably, none of them really cared.
She lead them down passageways, up servant's stairs, and down long dungeon corridors until she stopped into front of a small door deep underground.
"Set her down here. I can do the rest." she said, searching her body for a key. "And no one breathes a word of this or I will slit each of your throats." she looked each vamp in the eyes as she spoke.
Eventually after they had all filed back the way they came, and Aneria and Seraphina were finally alone, did the Cat produce a key from a chain around her neck. The door popped open with a click and Aneria had to drag the- surprisingly heavy- body of Seraphina through and onto a dusty bedroll in the corner of the stone room.
She locked the door again behind her and turned back to the frozen dragonness in the corner. She looked almost peaceful in the darkness. Her cheeks had slowly regained colour and she didn't look as toothpick thin anymore.
But Aneria knew not to trust the looks of this lethal predator. She had read mountains of books about the mystery laying in front of her; each one tells of a force so powerful that the World-Eater himself could have problems against. She had read one particular section about her in a book hidden deep in the College of Winterhold. It told that she held a Shout so powerful, that it would send others into a wave of madness and fury.
Seraphina stirred on the bedroll, oblivious to the harm she might have caused to so many lives.
Aneria slid down the wall she leaned on, crumpling to the stone room.
She had studied this fortress from top to bottom and had found this room far away from where any dragon could possibly find them. The World-Eater won't be thinking straight. This was the safest place for Seraphina.
The dragoness in question slept soundly on the bedroll, her brow creasing from what Aneria supposed was a dream.
The Khajiit closed her eyes briefly, straining her ears for any sounds besides that of her own breathing. None crossed her hearing besides a small drip of water somewhere off in the darkness of the underground tunnels.
With one slow flutter of her golden eyes did she realise that it would startle the dragoness to wake up in a dark, unfamiliar place. Aneria reluctantly stood from the cold stone floor and made her way to a wick of wax placed on top of a barrel on the far side of the room.
With a flick of her wrist, the candle lit with a small orange flame. It danced and flickered in the musty room, providing a small hope of light amongst the darkness surrounding her.
Aneria had studied this fortress before she even stepped foot in it. She had found the blueprints hidden under lock and key somewhere deep in an old dragon temple. The architecture had amazed the Khajiit, its series of hidden passages and corridors that would sometimes lead to dead ends for no apparent reason. Her fondness on the subject of this fortress was originally what lead to her downfall.
A vampire had overheard her talking about the subject and had captured her only to be placed in front of the World-Eater as a person who knew too much for her own good.
Alduin had questioned her about how she came to this knowledge, seeming more interested than furious. Later he had commented on her level of intellect and Aneria had unwillingly been sentenced to being a teacher for a lethal prisoner. Of course, all she knew about this 'lethal prisoner' was that it was powerful enough for the World-Eater to be cautious about.
A small stir from Seraphina caught Aneria's attention. The dragoness was waking.
Aneria did not feel frightened by this Nord anymore, by her power yes but not the creature who didn't know a word of her own language. Now she would have to explain this strange new place to her and the horrid circumstances they were facing under the fortress.
~o0o~
She was small, this woman that stood before them. Her greyed hair and hunched back didn't give her much of a powerful impression. Yet both the man and beast knew that this woman shall be the savour of the man's plight.
"Are you the one they call witch?" the man asked, looking down at the small woman.
An evil grin spread on her face and she showed teeth yellowed with age. "They call me things far worse than witch. I believe that another one is 'heathen'? Or 'hag'?"
The beast shared a look with its mortal counterpart. "Among others, yes." it said.
The grin fell from the witch's face, replaced by a snarl of disgust. "And I suppose you want me to fix your problems?" it wasn't spoken like a question but more of a grunt of disinterest.
"Yes." The Nord said, stepping in front of his mutil-coloured beast.
The woman spat at his feet. "I will not help you." She made a move to walk away but the man stepped in front of her.
"We have gold." he offered.
She regarded him for several moments. "I need not your gold or petty jewels."
"We have weapons of gold and diamond if you desire."
"I cannot be bought, child." she snarled, walking around him.
"Then how can we convince you?" the beast asked, quickly growing agitated by the witch.
She turned then, and suddenly her small form didn't match up to the chaos and evil she held in her smirking eyes. "A fair trade, Loksilkun."
A/N: So I've finally figured out the plot for this story (and yes that means I was previously winging it) and I know for a fact that the next chapter will be much better. Updates hopefully won't be as slow as they previously were but I can't make any promises.
Please review?