DEATH INCARNATE

The forest was burning. The trees surrounding the Sanctuary was painted in bright orange hues, which were quickly being put out by a stray guard. He screamed loudly when I electrocuted him. I gave up on the carriage at Solitude and took whatever horse I could to race here. Looks like I was too late. Guards milled about outside, but I kill each one of them with my electric power and teeth. I didn't have the control a sword requires at the moment. I hold my tongue when I see Festus Krex riddled with arrows on a tree near the entrance. His hands held up to defend himself.

All I have on my mind is getting to survivors and gutting the person who did this. Voice was quiet. Suspiciously so. But she had the good grace to give me my power. What makes me deadly. I shove open the heavy door of the Sanctuary, no password needed this time.

It's far worse than the outside. Fire rages in an inferno down below. I don't need use for my lungs like the humans do so the smoke doesn't hurt me. I break into the main Sanctuary and am just in time to see the werewolf husband be taken down by a guard, then both of them by the fire.

I shoot out my power, the purple light clashing with the orange everywhere. Guards go down one by one, being burned from the inside out as it has been said.

"Eve! You're alive. I was starting to wonder." Nazir stands next to me like there isn't a fire raging around us.

"The Emperor was a trap."

"I figured as much, considering most of us are dead now." He crosses his arms. I see pride in his stance but also a level of defeat. "Before you ask, no-I don't think it was you. Well, maybe I did. But you saving my sorry hide just now sort of erased any doubts. So, thanks."

The Sanctuary begins to shake. I push Nazir out of the way of a falling ember. "We need to get out of here. Are all the guards dead?" I growl.

Nazir gives me an odd look, "Yes. Let's go before we are roasted alive."

He pulls my hand, and we race up the way, almost to the entrance when I hear her.

The exit is blocked. I am your only salvation. Come. Embrace me.

I see a hole in the wall. I fling power at it, enough for it to loosen for Nazir to get out.

"Go! I need to go back!" I don't wait for his response, I just run to her. I make a stop at my burning bed and pull the crown and vampire cure out. The fabric surrounding it was charred but kept it safe. Her coffin hums when I enter the room. Fire engulfs the banners and surrounding area. A fitting sight. I don't think, just act. After all, fire is the bane of vampires. I step into the coffin as I once did and embrace my Mother.

I fell asleep at her command. When I wake up her eyes are locked onto mine. I want to scream with how close she is, knowing just how dangerous she is. But I feel peaceful.

"Hurry Nazir! I know she's in here!" Yells the vampire girl.

"I'm going…as fast… as I can, you stupid she-devil. I don't see you…helping…" Nazir grunts, out of breath. Are they carrying us?

"I'm not exactly built for manual labor. Now come on, you've almost got it." She retorts.

"One more…pull." Nazir breathes out.

The realization that I'm trapped in here slowly sinks in. They weren't carrying me. They were trying to free me. I push as well, push so hard against the doors. Her eyes glow.

The Emperor will still be dead before afternoon tomorrow. I will make sure of it. As you know well, the one who tried to kill you…she is still alive….make her pay.

"Did you know?" I whisper.

She doesn't say anything and the silence is all I need. She knew from the start the guards would attack our Sanctuary. But it was justified because they were never the true Dark Brotherhood in her eyes.

I finally push free. The coffin doors fly open to gasps. I turn and Nazir shrinks away. The vampire girl is gaping. "I survived." I say.

"Barely," Breathes Nazir. I take in their expressions and wipe my face. A ton of blood rubs off and not dried.

"Ignore it." I say. "Just don't hug her no matter what you do." I stand and begin to walk in circles. "Where is she?"

"Woah slow down, it's alright. You've been through a lot. Maybe you should just sit down for a bit…" Nazir begins.

I bare my fangs at him, "Where is Astrid?!"

He stands, perfectly composed. "I thought she was dead. Possibly in the rubble somewhere."

I pause, look each direction I can until I find it. "No…her beating heart… this way." I stalk up the path with the vampire and Nazir at my heels.

She's in the room behind her map area. I think it used to be a bedroom. I find her charred remains laying on the ground spread out like a star. No wonder Nazir thought she was dead.

"Alive…you're alive…thank Sithis…." She whispers. Her form is burned beyond recognition, it's a miracle it barely touched her face.

So much I want to say. So many things that are hateful and so many that are comforting. Instead I settle for her name. "Astrid…"

"Shh…please there is much…I have to say and…not much time…"

I nod. "Go on."

"I'm sorry. So very sorry. The Penitus Oculatus…Maro…He said that by giving you to them, he would leave the Dark Brotherhood alone. Forever."

"You believed that?" I growl.

"By Sithis, I know! I was such a fool. All of this…its all my fault. You are the best of us, and I nearly killed you…as I killed everyone else…"

I just study her face. The angles, the shape of her features and the pallor of her skin. This one will certainly haunt my dreams.

"Don't you see? It was me. I set you up, wanted you dead. I betrayed you, the Night Mother… everything I hold dear. And now Maro has betrayed me. I just wanted things…to stay the way they were. Before Cicero, before the Night Mother. Before…you. I thought I could save us. I was wrong."

I'm angry. So very angry. But what to say to a dying woman? I settle for the truth. "No matter what you did that carriage was bound for this Sanctuary. Even if you tried to run, I'm sure they would have found you. As I am, you were a pawn to her. Don't blame yourself for any of this Astrid, you were reacting to what you thought was evil. And she is pure evil." I let the rage out. Cicero isn't here to fight me for my words. Voice doesn't force me to bend to her will. She just watches and possibly in glee. Her enemy is dying.

"She isn't." Breathes Astrid. "She brought to us the most important contract we've ever had. And you're alive! There's still a chance. A chance to start over and rebuild. That's why I did…this. Don't you see? I prayed to the Night Mother! I am the Black Sacrament."

"And you're saying?" I grit through my teeth.

"I'm saying you were right. The Night Mother was right. The old ways…they guided the Dark Brotherhood for centuries. I was a fool to oppose them. To prove my…sincerity, I have prayed for a contract. You lead this Family now." She gasps, her face is contorted in agony but her eyes betray hope. "I give you the Blade of Woe, so that you can see it through."

The woman was too blinded to see. I swallow tears of frustration. "No, you don't get it! I can't lead them! I will have nothing to lead because she owns me! She'll guide me to my death and if you send them with me, they'll be marked for their own graves! If you didn't do any of this, we would have to follow you, but now I have no choice but to follow her!" Her and I. It was only us.

"Yes, but she has done so much good." Astrid coughs, blood wells from her lips. "She will lead you to a better future."

"Bullshit! She never did! She never wanted to! If anyone has plunged the world into chaos it's you!" I scream. I want to stomp her face in until I see her expression. It is one of sorrow.

"I don't know why you are acting the way you are. The Night Mother is good. Follow her…end my suffering…."

If this is how she wants to go, then so be it. I'm not even sure a healing potion could save her now. I see the Blade of Woe right next to her leg. I pick it up in sure hands. "Sithis will guide you." I say through clenched teeth. "You will be good with him. But please, tell him to reign in his wife." I shove the blade down, right into her heart. She gasps, one tiny little gasp, then she's gone.

I don't stay longer. I stalk past the two remaining Family members. Both of them staring at me in horror. I end up sitting in a chair. Right across from the upright open coffin so I can watch her. And I stay. For longer than I cared to know.

Her withered face holds many secrets. Some I have fenagled out in my time with her. Others she keeps too close to the chest. But the one thing I can count on is her gaslighting and false promises. She never fails. It's as if I never had to execute someone I considered my friend in a dark hole in the ground. A person now only known by the memory of a dwindling guild.

She was never going to lead you to glory…

Never going to save us…

Never going to help the Brotherhood…

I take it the Night Mother is trying to apologize to me. She sure doesn't look remorseful. Her words fall on death ears. I take the abuse for a few more moments. Then I decide I've had enough.

I stand, slamming the chair back and see Nazir wince. Him and the vampire were off to the side, talking quietly for some time. I am grateful they left me.

"Yeah? Well maybe you didn't give her a chance?! What about that? Why couldn't she have been Listener?" I'm right up in her face.

She is not the one. You are.

I scream and slam both palms on the doors next to her. I was aiming for her head but it's like an invisible force field is around her. I clutch the doors and lean in. My voice is raw from emotion but I let her know exactly how I feel.

"Fine. I'll run the show. I'll take the family to Dawnstar, finish your stupid contract then you set me free. I'm done after this." I threaten. Her eyes lighten. I know it will be a hell of a fight to escape her. But I'll be damned if I let her use me to the end.

"I was weak. You were right. I was so weak. I was so scared of you. But not now. Now you'll have one hell of a fight on your hands."

Your Lover? She questions.

I didn't think of that. I'm too emotionally charged right now. "I'll send him away. Keep him one step ahead of you."

Grasping at straws…

She's right. I'm too proud and too pissed off right now to show it. Instead, I slam the coffin doors shut. I pant in front of it. Invigorated and still mad as hell from my outburst. The sound of the doors creaking shut reverberates through the cavern. Effectively shutting the Night Mother off from us.

"Now what?" The vampire girl asks when the stones settle.

"First." I point at her. "What's your name?"

Her brow furrows, "Babette."

"Alright, you and Nazir are coming with me. We take the coffin to Dawnstar and finish the job."

Nazir shakes his head. "Babette and I will take the Night Mother's coffin to Dawnstar. You are going to kill the Emperor."

I nod. "Deal. I'll finish it." I rub my forehead. "I'll go now. Just need some blood."

"Here." The vampire girl, Babette, brings out a glass filled with blood. "Figured you'd be hungry."

I down it in an instant. The nectar of life flowed over my throat, easing the burn and clearing my mind.

Go to the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Amaund Motierre knows the true Emperor's location. The Night Mother speaks.

"I'm going to Whiterun." I nod at the coffin. "Good luck with that."

"Be careful." Nazir says. "Just keep a clear head."

I pull on my mask. "I'll try, but I won't make any promises."

Cicero's Journal Entry

7th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 202

The wind whispers to Cicero, much like you do. She is dead. The Traitor is dead and so is most of the Brotherhood…we will have to rebuild. It might be slow, but it will be right, we will follow your rule and your word. To the death, Mother.