((Chapter heading is taken from the song Sleepwalker's Dream be Delain. I tend to be wrong with these estimates, but I suppose we'll have about two more chapters after this one.))

Chapter 25
As the Innocents Lay Their Heads Down

'Can you see enough?'

'Yeah. Don't fret, vampire.'

Regis shook his head. 'Thaler, did you ever ask yourself why Will bothers you that much?'

'It's fucking disgusting.'

'Well, they didn't exactly invite you to participate, so how does it concern you?'

'I hear them, sometimes.'

'And?'

'And you heard him threaten me.'

'Come on, now. Will doesn't strike me as the type to be vague about threats. You riled him up, and now you're playing the victim. It doesn't work that way. Just leave them alone.'

'Yeah, yeah. It's still disgusting.'

They had found nothing in the dining room and what was probably a living room. Now, they were in a study. Regis approached the bookshelf and ran a hand over the backs of some very familiar tomes. 'Someone in this house is a medic. I have a feeling it isn't Svitlana.'

'Doesn't strike me as the caring type.'

'No. Her father, then?'

'Father, my arse. The little shit got that one right. He's not her father.'

'Hmm.' Regis turned away from the shelf. 'Well. Maybe we should speak to the old man. You see, when I came here with Shani, Svitlana asked if we wanted to goad her father into death. Then this old fellow comes tottering out and tries to touch Shani. I don't think that was what we all thought at first.'

'What then?'

Regis shrugged. 'I plan to find that out. Come on. Let's find him.'

It took them the best part of an hour. They'd found Svitlana's bedroom all right, and even though Regis was positive that he could put her in a deep enough sleep to fail to wake up to a grenade exploding next to her, they stayed clear of her. Where the old man was, however, was a bit of a mystery until Thaler remembered that he had come to them from the kitchen. Now they had already looked there, but only superficially. What, after all, should there be?

The answer to that question was a hidden switch and door that Thaler found. And behind it was a scholar's paradise.

There had been books in the study, but here, there was a library. While the room had no windows, it had a ridiculous number of candelabras, enough to light it up as bright as day. 'Well, fuck me,' Thaler said quietly.

'Don't let Will hear that,' Regis answered absently. At the far end of the room, the ancient man looked up from a book and towards them, his mouth open. 'Sir, we apologise for the intrusion. If you don't mind, we'd like to ask you a few questions.'

'Svitlanka doesn't know you're here, does she?'

'No.' Thaler approached him with a frown on his face that sought its peer. 'Are you a prisoner?'

The old man laughed. 'Yes and no. She still thinks I can be saved. Isn't she the cutest child?'

Regis swallowed. 'Is she truly your daughter?'

'That she is.'

'And you are how old?'

The man looked at Regis. 'You won't believe me.'

'Oh, but I will. She is about twenty, I'd estimate. You? Forty, give or take?'

'Thirty-seven.'

'Her mother?'

'Killed herself.'

'Because of your affliction?'

He laughed. It was sad and dark and quiet. 'Yes. And no. She was always a troubled woman, and when it was clear that I couldn't keep practicing … She feared we wouldn't have enough money. Funny, I inherited a fortune from her.'

'And you couldn't practice why?' Thaler asked.

'I cannot remember a single thing I learned. All this books, and none of it sticks. You see, I got stone drunk one night. Met this fellow. Nice guy. We talked about ambitions and I was so frustrated. There's so much medicine can't heal. Not even magic. And the next thing I know, I wake up in the morning and I don't remember anything at all.'

Regis listened. He felt a quiet dread in the back of his mind, something lurking there. Twice in his life he had heard of a person's life going horribly wrong, of curses so powerful and so underhanded they seemed like a blessing at first, until they revealed their true nature. He licked his lips. 'But?' He feared he knew the answer. It all made sense, fit the twisted pattern.

'But there was nothing I couldn't cure. A guy with a growth inside his throat the size of a troll's fist. Gave him marigold salve. It went away within two days. A woman, two months pregnant, having cramps and bleeding heavily. Gave her a tonic made from daisies and she had a healthy girl. A child, born three months early. Gave it milk with crushed cuttlebone. He's a city guard now. I felt like a god. But after a while I noticed … every time I helped someone, I felt so drained. As if a part of my life had gone into them.'

'And that's what it did. Whenever you used that new-found power to heal someone, you aged.'

'Fuck.' For the first time since Regis had met him, Thaler looked frightened. He couldn't blame him. 'What sort of mage can do that?'

Regis shook his head. 'None. This is bad. And I'm afraid no-one can help you.'

'And what,' Svitlana's voice said behind them, 'do you think you are doing here?'

Ϡ

Ilkar's heart was racing. Also, to his dismay, his hands were trembling. 'I'm turning into Will,' he said. He held out his arm in front of him and a light tremor ran through it. 'See that? I'm blaming you.'

The barbarian looked at his hand, his expression wistful. 'Should I leave, then?'

'I'd like to see you try.'

Hirad reached out and took his hand into both of his. 'You sure this is a good idea? You're rather flustered.'

Ilkar felt the heat in the tips of his ears and saw Hirad's lips twitching. 'You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?'

'Do you even know what your ears do when you're irritated?'

Ilkar rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath. 'No. But thanks. That … actually helped.' His eyes narrowed. 'And don't you dare turn into some disgustingly considerate piece of softness on my behalf.'

'Hah. Me.' Hirad let go of his hand only to cup his face with both of them. He moved closer, until their faces were less than an inch apart. 'You want to know how hard this was? To love you from an arm's length away, never let you know? I wish I had. I wish I hadn't listened all those years ago when you told me no. I should have told you what I really want.'

Ilkar closed his eyes and covered Hirad's hands with his own. 'No, actually.' He looked at him again. 'This way, we became friends first. I think that's better. Because now I know you'd never hurt me. I couldn't have known that then. I know I can trust you completely. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in my life that I regret. I won't start now.' He saw the barbarian's lips part by a fraction, but for once, Hirad remained silent. Their eyes were locked, and when he thought about it later, Ilkar couldn't possible say which one of them finally closed that last bit of distance.

Ilkar hadn't done this often. There had been Pheone, and while that had been fun, they had both known it wasn't forever. Then there was Ren'erei, and he wondered what she'd be thinking about him right now, if she were watching as a spirit. She'd probably be thrilled. She'd loved him enough for that. But the point was, this was different. Not because they had both been women and had felt different in his arms. Not because Hirad's stubble was scraping over his chin in a way that should be off-putting but wasn't. But because … he had never lost himself so completely. He had sometimes indulged himself and wondered what it would be like to shut the barbarian up by just kissing him. In his mind, the other man had always seized control, had pressed him up against a tree or a wall and proceeded to tear his clothes off of him.

The reality was different. A good kind of different. Hirad's hands were clutching the fabric of his tunic, holding on to it tightly. But he wasn't demanding, and he wasn't pushing. He was giving everything to this, and when he finally pulled away, he was flushed and his forehead moist with sweat. 'Oh, dear Gods,' he managed.

Ilkar put his arms around him and rested his head against his chest. 'That about sums it up.'

Hirad released his tunic and moved his hands to the front if his breeches, letting them hover there. 'Too soon?'

Ilkar gave a half-crazed laugh. 'Not soon enough.'

In answer, Hirad gave him his best horrible grin, and Ilkar knew there was no way he could love anyone more than this. And then it was him pushing, and Hirad letting him, letting the elf steer him to the bed and encouraging him. He made a mental note to thank Regis for his advice. Then his head checked out and maybe for the first time in his life, he let himself fall completely, knowing that he was, at long last, home.

Ϡ

At first, after finding Regis and Thaler, Svitlana had been livid. But before she could unleash a tirade on them, her father had silenced her with nothing more than a frown and told her they should hear the two men out. She hadn't liked it, that he had told two strangers of the curse, but Regis ensured her that it wasn't the reason why they were there. 'What I cannot stop asking myself,' the vampire said, 'is why Varilia sent us to you. I've known her for a very long time. If it were just that we can rent a room … no. There must be more. You wouldn't by any chance know anything about the Preservers?'

'We don't know about them, and we don't want to. Idiots.'

'Then maybe you know about their predecessors, the Blackwings?' Thaler tried. 'Or about Trina Vesely?'

'Trina was a darling girl.' Thaler went pale at the old man's words. 'What was done to her, that was horrible. And your friend Varilia, she tried to save her. It was the last time I saw her, now that I think about it. She and I, we didn't part amicably, I'm afraid. She said I had only myself to blame, and now I know she was right.'

'She knew what had happened to you, the curse?' Regis asked.

'I went to her for help. Like you, she couldn't offer any. But she hated the Blackwings. And I figure she now hates the Preservers. I had an ear to the ground, back then, and gathered information for her. But she never came back to me.'

'Did she know you were looking?'

'I don't know. We'd planned to, but after our falling out … ah. She must have thought I'd abandoned it all. If she sent you to Svitlanka, she must have no other options left. No answers.'

'What do you have for us, then?'

'A laboratory. It is outside the city. I can draw you a map. I wonder if they still use it.'

Regis opened his mouth to answer, but then the whole building shook. He stood quickly. 'Thaler, are you armed?'

'No.'

'I have weapons here,' Svitlana said quickly.

'Good. Get the and stay here. Lock the door. I will see what this is and come when it's safe.'

'You think …'

'I think Sirendor was wrong, Thaler. They just did attack.'

The vampire skidded to a halt in the small corridor between the two wings of the building. The door to the left wing wouldn't open until he mustered all the strength he had and tore it from its hinges. Behind it, there was chaos.

When he and Thaler had gone to the other side, Erienne and Jandyr had been positioned in the room above, at the window. It gave them a good view of anyone approaching from the street without being seen themselves. At least, that had been the theory. Now, the air was filled with dust and and a human would have a hard time breathing. A grey shadow crashed into him and on outside, followed by Will. Less than ten seconds later, the rest of The Raven came crowding into the corridor where the air was at least a little clearer. Regis took another look into the room, taking advantage of his superior senses. The roof was gone, and now that the worst of the dust was settling, he smelled blood. A lot of it. Suppressing a cough, the Unknown followed him into the room, his huge sword drawn and ready. 'The others?' Regis asked.

'Outside, looking for who did this.'

Regis nodded. 'Go with them. I'll see what I can do for Erienne and Jandyr. Go.' Stones were crunching under his feet as Regis walked into the first room of their wing. He picked his way over slabs of rock. He knew the havoc alchemists could wreak, but he had rarely seen it up close. This was very bad indeed.

Ϡ

Nothing. They had found nothing so far, and Ilkar was prepared to give the search up as a bad job. Then he saw it, completely still in the shadows. He wasn't the only one. Before he could shout, Thraun shot past him. When or why he had changed into a wolf he didn't know, but he knocked into the thing that was lurking behind the growth with incredible force. The rest of the Raven followed him, and only when The Unknown had the thing at sword point, did he back off. Will came to his side and hoisted the creature to its feet. Hirad stood beside him, so close he could feel the heat coming off him. 'What in the ever-loving fuck is that?'

The elf shook his head. 'I'm not sure we want to know.' With incredible strength and agility the creature – it looked like a crossbreed between a person and something else, but it was certainly not fully human – tore itself from Will and The Unknown's grasp. Thraun reacted before anyone else had a chance. He pounced, burying his fangs in the creature's neck. He only let go when Will got to him, putting an arm around the wolf and whispering to him.

Sirendor was the first to find his voice. 'Well, didn't we all want to know what a mutant looks like?' He knelt beside the dead creature and turned it onto its back. 'Shame. You think this … thing could talk, even, or was it just raw muscle?'

'It must've had brains enough to blow up a room,' Hirad said.

'Gods burning,' Ilkar said quietly. 'I could barely see in there but … I just can't imagine …'

'Don't say it.' The barbarian's voice was rough. 'Don't say that, Ilkar, you're wrong.'

'I hope so.'

When they returned, Regis stood in the frame from which he'd torn the door. His expression was completely blank. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'Jandyr is dead. Erienne … not yet.' Ilkar pushed past him, past what was left of the archer and to the form of Erienne. She didn't look hurt, other than the elf, but he knew well enough that didn't need to mean anything. Her eyes were open, but Ilkar was certain she didn't see him. He clasped her hands in both of his and, not for the first time, tried with all his might to claw at the mana he could feel but never use. He ignored the pain in his skull that spread slowly down his spine, until strong hands pried his fingers off Erienne's. He glared at Hirad, but the barbarian simply shook his head. 'You can't kill yourself, Ilkar. I need you.'

Shaking, he fumbled for the pendant around his neck and put it around Erienne's. Before the stone touched her skin, what tension was still left in her went and he could practically feel how the last spark of life fled from her. No last words, no hope, no closure. Suppressing a sob, Ilkar brushed her hair out of her face before he stood and walked over to Hirad. The warrior put one arm around him, tucking him to his side.

'This has to end.' The Unknown's voice was a mix of grief and anger. 'No matter how, we cannot let this continue. It's not just us. It's the thing outside, it's everyone ever subjected to those experiments, every woman who sought help and died. It's Denser and Erienne and Talan. What Jonas is doing is unforgiveable. We have to stop him.'

((I have a separate file where my characters are listed. Some of them are in italics. The ones in italics I had intended to die from the start. This makes that three of them. One of those that remain I cannot kill because canon. I don't know if it will be someone else.))