Vacuous Heart of Blood
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 89: Sidelines Moving Pt 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than much needed writing practice and spelling improvements (hopefully haha). I do own my plot and any original characters that may make an appearance. Any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, that you know is purely coincidental. Any resemblance to those I know, living or dead, is likely intentional but not always. The opinions and views of characters do not necessarily represent those of my own.
Room temperature coffee hit Archer's tongue, provoking a cringe before he forced himself to swallow. He set his mug down and scoot it away from him, electing not to go make himself another pot. Instead, he picked up another document, one of many scattered around his desk, and began reading over it.
He'd tried to go to bed, but sleep evaded him. After only managing rumpled sheets and tangled blankets, he decided to forgo the attempt in favor of catching up on work, hoping that the monotony filling the pages would lull him to sleep. He wanted Hakuro and Tucker out of his house as soon as possible and didn't want a backlog of work to greet him when he came home.
But he wouldn't lie to himself. His regrets weighed heavy on his mind as well and manifested themselves in the form of consistent annoying nightmares. Hours after he woke, he'd still feel chills under his skin, ready to form goosebumps at any reminder of what he did. Any reminder of the maid. Of how Riza was lost to him.
The fact there were two unknown men in his house only compounded the tension already in him.
And he was using men loosely. They were of the males of their species. Not human.
They were creatures of legends, fairy tales, and religious lessons. Their appearance and mannerisms in those tales made them othering. Unrelatable.
It brought comfort that you weren't anything like them. The last thing most people wanted to acknowledge was their capability for evil. They don't want to relate to it. Humans other it to ease their fears that the man who murdered a dozen people, the woman who killed her husband and kids, the soldier who committed atrocities during a war, could never be them.
These men were terrifying because they couldn't be relegated to feared icons.
They could walk among the crowds and if they chose to attack, be it physically or with magic, the human was prey.
Despite having no evidence of it, he placed them as responsible for the mysteries that plagued the town. The existence of vampires would explain the strange happenings with some of the women in the cities. They were weak, and less blood was a likely cause of that.
Did they still wander around the city, risking discovery by the Patarin? As long as they didn't kill anyone, he wouldn't ask for clarification. If Hakuro knew at all. The happenings with the women had stopped entirely since the Patarin came, but he'd take those harmless instances over having the religious maniacs here. At least the women got pleasure from it and insisted they were willing participants. He'd leave them be. The vampires were allies for now and he'd take a town with a majority of vampires above a town with just half Patarin.
And the way things were looking, the half would be reached rather soon. He'd had ten workers quit in the past week because the Patarin were luring them into positions in the church. The only thing he could do is relegate his best workers, those he knew to be strong atheists or of a different religion with strong faith, into the most critical positions.
Hawkeye had said in his missives that he'd try to get some meetings with those in government positions, but he wouldn't know the outcome of that for a while. Hawkeye did hire some men to spy on the Patarin in case they did something illegal. He told the men to seek out the slightest little thing that could be used to throw the group out of the town.
So far, the Patarin had been the epitome of good citizens when it came to legality. They followed the village laws just as stringently as they did the rules in their ludicrous religious text.
He placed his hand on his desk next to his pistol when he heard a noise next to his doorway. Moments later, Hakuro came into view. He moved his hand away from the gun, but still kept it on the desk. "Ah, Hakuro, can I help you with something?"
Hakuro glanced back at the stairs for a second before stepping further in the room. "I need to leave now." His voice was between a whisper and his normal speaking tone. The tone was one he'd heard in men who knew they were about to die on the battlefield but tried to hide their fear behind a mask of bravery.
Archer straightened. "And your friend?"
"He's not my friend." Hakuro grit his teeth for a second before saying, "He's about to betray everyone in finding a cure for what ails our citizens. He's going to lead to the destruction of his own people as well."
"And how do you know that?" Archer said. His voice had lowered to the same volume as Hakuro's voice.
"There were other witches that freed me. They're letting him think they don't know what's going on, but they do. His obsession with research has blinded him to morals. He'll do experiments on anything. He's always been a bit warped, but I never thought he would go that far."
"You believe their word to be trustworthy?"
Hakuro removed a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and held it out to Archer. He took it. "It looks to be nothing more than an order for supplies." Not to say he wouldn't adore destroying the list and making an inconvenience befall the Patarin. As small as it would be.
"He's to attain several bottles of Sabenel. It's the tenth item on the listing."
Archer looked up from his reading. "I'm unfamiliar with Sabenel."
Hakuro looked deep in thought for a moment. "I believe in Amestrian the herb is called Nightshade or Belladonna."
Archer's eyebrows furrowed. "Nightshade? Bringing Belladonna into this part of the country is extremely illegal. Children were consuming the berries thinking they were edible. Teenagers were eating a handful for challenges." Archer remembered hearing that. He was surprised they didn't move on to things like eating spoons filled with cinnamon and laundry soap bars. "The plant had been wiped out of Amestris when my grandfather was a young man."
"There are pockets of people who risk execution and still grow it. An alternate medicine. As you know, it can kill humans, the effects of the plant are even worse on witches."
"And vampires?"
"In large amounts it is unknown. We are able to consume it in small amounts and still live. In the past, a drop of it was used in blood to help us sleep if needed. It wasn't used often, and I've not heard of it being used as long as I've lived."
Archer wondered how long that was. "If the Patarin are shipping it and using it, I assume it could be deadly in certain doses."
Hakuro nodded. "It is possible. You would find it understandable why no one has ever tested the way different amounts would affect us."
He would understand if no one sat and ate a large portion, but there were ways to test the effects without doing that. Science was important to the development of any race. Then again, these creatures likely lived hundreds of years, so he could hardly blame them for not worrying about such things. They would likely regret not doing so.
If they didn't already.
"Where is he getting it from? Do you know?"
Hakuro nodded. "Central. The Patarin church is growing it there."
"Hide their crime in apparent sight, let their guise be that of holiness," Archer said and smirked. "Let him bring it in. Let him bring it straight to the Patarin."
"What? But…"
"If they do, I can have the Patarin thrown out of this area by the central army and they'll be arrested if they're caught with it. We can take down the large church in Central and reduce those fools to insignificance. Solving both your problems with them, and mine." He held up the paper. "And I know someone in Central who would be thrilled to have this if I may keep it. He can take down the Patarin from there."
"It is yours."
Archer placed the letter in his desk drawer and locked it. "I assume you vampires are much stronger than we humans. Can you jump higher, climb, run?"
"Exceedingly superior to every other being."
"Even men like yourself are capable?'
"Like myself?"
"Let us be honest with each other. You are clearly a well-bred gentleman. It's questionable whether—"
"I've fought in wars since long before you were born. Even a child of our kind can do those things far better than an adult human."
Archer felt insulted by that despite it being the truth. He did not let on and inclined his head in apology. "My apologies, on the level of humans I too am often underestimated. I felt the need to ask."
"Think nothing of it," Hakuro said.
Archer raised his hand to his chin. "Hm. . . Then there will be no need to take the shipping routes that I suggested for you and Tucker originally." He slipped on the coat he had draped over his desk chair. "I'll play dumb when he asks where you are. I'll still help him get out of town to throw off suspicion and to let him bring back the belladonna. For now, let's focus on getting you out of here and the information you have where it needs to go."
-/-/-
Before the Patarin came and created more work for him, Archer had intended to hire workers to rid the back area of the house of its traditional cracking and overgrown pathway. Now, he was glad he hadn't. That was one miniscule thing to thank the Patarin for, and what he hoped would be one small step in leading to their downfall.
The path was gravel; most of the stones had long spread out onto the grass and under the large bushes that lined each side of it. The shrubbery was thick and unkempt, so he and Hakuro could make their way along the walkway without being spotted by any prying eyes that might be watching the property.
Tucker was in a guest room away from the back and front windows of the house, and even if he weren't, the path was shrouded from the second floor windows by a vine-overgrown pergola.
When they got to the old gazebo at the end of the path, they made a short jog to the wide two-meter tall fence that encircled the main property. Hakuro was jogging at his pace, for a moment making him wonder if the vampiric bragging was ego.
Archer scaled the fence. He was at the top when Hakuro sailed over it with a jump as easily as one would skip over a small puddle.
Not merely ego after all. He let a little bitterness sink into him but it didn't surface on his expression.
He considered asking if there was a way to become one of them. If it was the same method used in all the tales. It was nothing more than a passing thought. Unlike most people with his goals, he did not treasure the thought of living for hundreds of years, if not forever. Life was worth nothing, goals would never be reached, if one didn't have an endpoint. You'd keep putting them off for another time that would never come.
He jumped down from his place on the fence. The two walked towards a hill covered in wet moss so flat and dark green under the water's weight that one would swear someone draped long ribbons of algae over the embankment.
They moved down the hill sideways so that their feet would have more purchase in the marshy ground. Their boots sank an inch or two in the mire with every step.
Hakuro probably could've cleared the hill and the stream below it without effort and wait for him, but he did not. He figured the only reason Hakuro hadn't gone ahead was that he needed him as a guide.
They stepped off the hill and up to where the stream bubbled and thrashed against rocks as it raged due to the seasonal rains. Since descending the hill, they were now out of sight of anyone in town as well.
When they got to the edge of the wide stream, Hakuro jumped across it and waited for Archer to navigate the slippery rocks barely peeking over the water.
Despite needing to get out of Amestris and back to his home as soon as possible, Hakuro was longanimous and waited for him as one would a child taking their first steps. That's what he felt like even with the few displays of vampiric adroitness that Hakuro chose to exhibit.
He took his time, didn't panic, treated this like an after dinner stroll rather than him sneaking away from danger and potentially saving several races. He held an air of confidence that, despite Archer's own, he was envious of.
They walked into the forest beyond and traveled a kilometer before Archer stopped. He removed a map he'd drawn and handed it him.
"Take these paths and don't divert. They're old trade routes that were used in the mid-1800s. Most merchants don't know about them nowadays, and I'd stake my life that the Patarin don't."
"And how is it you came to know them?"
"My family has been in this area for a long time. I played on these when I was a child. They're overgrown now, so you'll have to push your way through. Based on what I've seen you do just on this short journey, you'll have no trouble. If you follow that map exactly, you'll find yourself close to the border village of Mica. The Patarin are there but it's the closest village to the border. That will be your danger zone." He tapped a place on the map. "If you follow this path though, you'll be able to get across the border with limited chance of encountering anyone from the village."
"I know of Mica. If I cross near there I won't be close to the capital where I need to go, but I'll be close to a village that I know in Xing. I can get to the capital safely from there."
Archer gave him the map and then extended his hand. "Safe journey."
Hakuro gripped his hand. "I thank you for your help. I will tell the king of it. I'm sure he'll want to repay you somehow. After all of this is over."
"I wish your people luck," Archer said. "And for hell to rain down upon the Patarin."
Hakuro shot him a fanged, evil grin. "We'll rip them apart now."
"Just make sure you differentiate friend from foe," Archer said and let go of his hand. He couldn't care less about other human lives as long as he survived. He wanted the accolades such an alliance would bring to him. Vampires as allies would be far better than being the boss of some backwater cheese and wine area.
Without another word, Hakuro darted off into the woods in the direction the map indicated.
"Amazing," Archer whispered. He may not want to live forever, but the physical capabilities would be handy in the short life he held.
He shrugged and made the long walk back to his house.
-/-/-
The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end when he stepped past his back kitchen door threshold. Years of military training and trusting his instincts sensed the heaviness in the house, and he reached inside his coat to draw his gun. He locked the door behind him and set about clearing the room of possible intruders. He kept his back against the wall and stayed out of direct line of site from the hallway door the best he could. As he moved, he'd often check it to see if anyone was coming down the hall.
The pantry door latch was still secure. The intruders could not seal themselves in and the members of his staff had long gone home. No one would be in there. He moved to the hallway door and ventured into the hall, his footsteps light and his mind remaining conscious of the places he knew a board would creek if he stepped.
He paused when a thump came from his study. Saliva built in his mouth. He swallowed it. He moved to the edge of the door and was about to rush around when two voices, their lilts harmonizing without music but still somehow sounding singular, spoke.
"We mean you no harm, Lord Archer. Please come out."
Keeping his gun at ready, he moved around the doorway and faced two women. Though their expressions were calm, and their arms at their sides, he did not let down his guard. These two were likely one of the many beings whose existence he just learned of that very night. They were likely capable of killing him, weapon or not.
Which meant the firearm he held would likely be of no use either.
Still, he did not lower it.
The one on the right had skin as pale as moonlight, the one on the left, skin as dark as a moonless night. Both looked as if a layer of frost in the process of thawing coated their flesh. A dark grey crescent moon adorned their foreheads.
Several black bands were tied around their knee length silver hair in inch intervals. He withheld a shiver at their striking silver eyes that looked as if they could draw a man's soul from his very body. They looked to be identical twins save for the opposing skin color.
At 185 centimeters, he was considered a tall man, but they were at least five centimeters taller than he was. Their slender bodies were adored in simple red robes with a black and red cloaked with gold trimming pulled over their shoulders.
Yanking himself from his observation and cursing himself for allowing his guard to drop he spoke, "What the hell are you doing in my house? Who are you?"
"We are Lunars," They said as if he should know what that was. Their entire being radiated only a little more of a transcendental aura as Hakuro, but dwarfed anything Tucker had emitted.
"Why are you in my home?" Archer asked again.
"We are here to assist you. We must absolve you of any suspicion. Remove the body."
"Body?"
Archer's hand on his gun tightened when they both lifted their one arm. The dark skinned with her right hand, the light skinned favoring her left.
The sleeves pulled away, revealing red fingers and hands, blood covered. They pointed to the area around the couch.
He moved the way one would move around a trap, his eyes never leaving them until he looked down at the floor behind the couch. Tucker was face down, one hand reaching out towards his desk, the other holding a sprig of Belladonna. His eyes were staring into nothingness, his mouth was open and blood leaking from it and onto the floor. There were no signs of wounds elsewhere and no blood leaking out from under his body.
He lowered his gun, took a step back, and stumbled when he noticed Tucker's legs. His shoes were gone; his socks ripped and peeking out from the scattered fabric were pawls. His pants was shredded from his ankles up to his knees, with brown and grey hair, going from thickest to thin all the way, trailing under where the pants had yet to be ripped at his thighs. Their shape was no longer that of a man, but of a canine. They looked more akin to a gray wolf that he used to see before humans nearly hunted them to extinction.
"We must get rid of the body," they said again.
Archer gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the two witches. "What the hell is going on?"
The two of them looked at each other, and then at Archer. "Hakuro did not tell you then."
"He told me about the belladonna, not this!" he motioned down to Tucker's body. "Did you kill him?" It wasn't as if he cared about his life, but he did not want to be blamed for it.
"Yes," the darker skinned woman said. "He was going mad. He did not have enough. If we allowed him to transform, he would've killed you when you got back." Thought it was only she who spoke, it still sounded as if they both had. He had a feeling mad or not, these two would've killed him.
"We know what you have done, Archer," the light skinned one spoke, again, sounding the same as the woman next to her. "But you will be needed."
"You will explain everything that Hakuro did not, or you will not leave this house. I swear on my honor I will destroy you."
The two women did not react to what he suspected was a futile threat. "Hakuro did well not to speak on it. We were going to let this one go"— they both pointed to Tucker's body—"but it turned out he did not have enough."
"You keep saying that. He didn't have enough what?"
"Belladonna."
"Why would he? It would kill him. Hakuro told me it killed witches."
"Hakuro was not clear. It does kill witches," the dark skinned one spoke, slurring her s's at the end of the three words that ended in s.
"Witches," the light-skinned one said, also extending the S at the end of the word.
"But he's ..."
"He is a warlock," they both said. "He is male. They have different bodies. The belladonna affects them differently."
"So the warlocks turn into these ani—creatures?"
"If they are hooked to belladonna and do not get it, it affects them," they said. "We do not know why they turn. That is why it has been avoided for centuries."
"Why would they willingly take it if it turns them into those?" Archer said, the disbelief previously within him now evaporating with the night wind coming from the open window.
After a long, tension-laden pause, they spoke together, "No said they do it willingly."
AN: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but at the same time it was disgusting writing Archer. He's a necessary evil in this fiction though. (Yuck lol)
It's been hard to get myself to post, even though I adore writing this story and writing in general, I get nervous posting sometimes. Stupid anxiety. XD The only way to fight anxiety is to just do it, as extremely difficult as that is. Thank you all for reading! Hope you enjoyed this!
Note: I'm taking requests for some brief oneshots. If you have any ideas you'd like written, please PM me. Credit for the request will go to you. Don't do it in the reviews unless you're anon as it could qualify as interactive story.