Epilogue

The guards at the gate searched the cart; finding nothing unusual, they let it pass, trading jokes afterwards about the drunkard and his brother leaving the city so long before dawn.

When Barnaby reached the wall where Pao-Lin perched, she led him off the main road, down a long, overgrown path in the woods, to a partially collapsed hunter's shed. Working together, they got the ropes untied and the heavy coat off before pulling Kotetsu down from the cart into Barnaby's arms.

While Barnaby carried the vampire inside, Pao-Lin lead the mule and the small cart and around to the back of the structure. Once the animal was unhitched and hobbled, she went through the packages and bundles in the back, taking inventory: food and medicine in a good quantity, four small casks of water and two of wine, ample clothing and blankets, cooking supplies and essential tools, a crossbow and other small arms… and coin; more coin than she had ever seen in one place.

The day passed quietly; Kotetsu had shifted back into his natural form the moment they moved him inside, his wings splitting the back of the shirt he still wore. Barnaby positioned him as Nathan had instructed, hauling in water from the nearby stream to bathe him, clean his wounds, and cool his burns. As predicted, the vampire's hands and feet grew cold and his breathing shallow as the burned skin hardened and shrank. When Barnaby's hands shook too much to make the cuts, Pao-Lin took the knife from him and did it herself, exposing the lighter tissue underneath the burns.

Afterward, Barnaby unwrapped his own arm, and he pressed a blade into the skin below the previous incision. Kotetsu turned his head when he brought the arm to his lips, but Barnaby persisted, begging him softly to drink. Eventually, the vampire relented, but he only took a little before pulling away again. Barnaby let Pao-Lin clean his arm, smear it with a poultice, and rewrap it.

He sat next to the vampire throughout the day as he slept, propped up against a corner of the shed. Eventually, he too fell asleep, waking at a light pressure on his arm; Kotetsu had moved his bandaged hand atop it. Barnaby looked into his clouded eyes, brushing Kotetsu's hair back from his forehead to let him know he felt him. He looked for Pao-Lin, and saw her sleeping on a blanket where the fallen beams of the roof met the floor – and then he heard the still distant pounding of approaching hooves.

Barnaby shifted Kotetsu down onto the blanket and stepped outside to meet the rider. It was not yet dusk, but under the trees the light was fading swiftly. As the rider turned the last corner, he saw it was Yuri. The man was alone.

Yuri slowed his mount, circling it, dropping from the saddle before it had fully stopped. He leaned over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

Barnaby approached the man slowly. "Yuri, why are you here? Where is Lord Nathan?"

When Yuri caught his breath, he straightened, pushing his long hair out of his eyes where it had come loose from his accustomed tie. He glanced at the shed, and turned to Barnaby, his eyes unnaturally bright. "Lord Nathan is dead. The king is dead, and so are many other men. Lloyds has condemned you for it. Where is the vampire? Cover him up and get him out here. He's better a little burned than dead."

"Dead?" Barnaby stood in his place, rooted to the ground. Yuri slapped him, hard, and he blinked back the tears that stung his eyes.

"Move! There is no time!"

"Dead… where will we go?"

"I don't know. Away from here. Now hurry!"

Writer's note:

Thank you for reading! I hope it proved to be worth your time. Did you enjoy it? Please let me know by leaving a review! I'm also open to constructive criticism, as this is my first fic (reposted, with revisions, from the anon meme). I'd like to know what to focus on improving if I ever try this again… or if I were to write a sequel.