Chapter 7 – The Forgotten Lands

Azrael winced as Mioko pounced on another rat. She caught it and swiftly broke it's neck. Puncturing the creature's broken body, she proceeded to drain it of all it's precious blood. The meal wasn't enough to sustain her for long, but it would help.

"How can you do that?" Azrael asked as she lay the rat on the barren ground and sprinkled sand over the body, "How can you drink from the blood of animals?" Mioko looked up at him,

"I would have thought you would be the first to appreciate a warm meal for a change." She studied him. Ever since they had left the boat, he had refused to feed. His skin growing paler with every passing day as he watched in disgust as Mioko survived on the remaining bottles of blood and the blood of the vermin that wandered this barren wasteland.

Mioko rummaged through her bag and produced one of the last bottles of blood. He looked at it in disgust and turned away, continuing his journey across the desert. "Azrael!" she called, "You must feed!" she swung the considerably lightened bag over her shoulder and chased after him. Azrael ignored her and kept his eyes on the ground before him. She forced the bottle under his eyes, "Stop doing this to yourself! I know it isn't ideal and I know it's disgusting but starving yourself doesn't help anyone." Azrael forced his eyes into hers,

"No," he said simply, nudging past her and walking on. Undeterred Mioko caught up with him and stood in front of him, forcing him to stop. "Why?!" she shouted, "Why won't you feed?!"

"I'd rather starve than drink cold blood," he answered, shuddering as he inevitably remembered the taste of the liquid, cold. Mioko glared at him, "Cold blood is all we have, so you'd better get used to it," she said firmly, thrusting the bottle into his hands. Still he refused to drink.

"Fine," Mioko muttered, taking the drink from him and downing the contents. She took a step towards him, raising a claw to the side of her neck. She sliced the skin and tilted her head to one side, exposing the fresh wound. Azrael forced himself to look away, "Don't" he growled. Mioko took another step closer, she was almost pressed against him. He could smell the wafting scent of her blood, calling to him, she was so close, he could almost taste it. "You leave me no choice," she murmured, stepping closer still. There was no getting away from it and despite his best efforts to contain it, his hunger won out. He pierced the already healing skin and pulled a wave of warm, intoxicating blood into his mouth. He could feel her heart beat falter as it struggled to pump in time to his hunger and she was weakening beneath him. Finally, his self restraint kicked in, once more and he tore his fangs from her neck, ripping the skin as he left her.

Mioko swayed on the spot for a moment before her legs buckled beneath her. Azrael closed his eyes and savoured the taste he had almost forgotten. The blood spread through his system like fire, revitalising him and ending his pointless protest. He looked down on the fallen vampire and realized, in his ravenous hunger he had drunk too much. Mioko sat on the ground, cradling the wound as the world around her grew hazy.

Azrael knelt beside her, "Mioko," he gasped, "Forgive me." She looked up at him and smiled,

"I got you to feed, didn't I?" she croaked. She fell forward into his arms. He turned her over, she was sleeping. Her body desperately needed to recover from losing so much of her precious life blood. Azrael slipped his arms under her neck and legs and lifted her into his arms. Her head lulled against his chest as he continued the journey to the unknown.

He carried the sleeping vampire until the sun begun to set. He glanced up at the sky to see the fiery orb melting away into the palette of oranges, pinks and reds that streaked the sky. He lay his cloak on the ground and set Mioko on top of it. He felt insecure here, surrounded by nothing but sandy, desert wasteland. There was nothing here that could possibly pose a threat, but still, the wide expanse they were traversing caused him more discomfort than the crossing in the boat.

Night was falling. The sky was darkening into a velvet, midnight blue. Stars were beginning to scatter across the sky, twinkling at him. He smiled, up until a few nights ago he couldn't remember ever seeing the stars and now he couldn't imagine how he had ever slept, without the stars shining above him. Azrael shook his head, firmly, had they really been gone that long?

He glanced over at Mioko. Still sleeping. A surge of guilt welled up inside him as he remembered how childish he had been, not feeding because he didn't enjoy the taste, despite the minor detail, he had to feed to survive. Now, Mioko had paid the price for his immaturity. He brushed some stray hairs from her face, "Mioko," he whispered. She didn't stir, her breath didn't falter, she slept on. Azrael lay down beside her and rested his chin above her head, "Mioko, I'm sorry."

He felt the strain of the day's journey take it's toll and he felt the need for sleep overwhelm him. His eyes began to close and he didn't bother fighting them.

Suddenly he snapped them open, all thoughts of sleep destroyed. In the distance, something was moving. Not something, someone. A human! A human was scurrying across the wasteland with a flaming torch, in a hurry. Azrael rose quickly and using is vampiric agility, crossed the wasteland to follow the person. Despite the lack of cover, the vampire managed to remain well concealed, stalking his prey from a polite distance and yet at the same time, remaining undetected.

The human was a young male. He was shorter than the human males who served in Razielim, skinny and agile. He was wearing typical Nosgoth dress though there was a tear over the places where a clan insignia would once have been displayed. The human scurried through the wasteland and soon led Azrael to a great dip in the desert. The man jumped into the dip, leaving Azrael to approach cautiously. He gasped at the sight before him.

In the dip was a ruined city, buildings and streets all in ruins lay at the bottom of this massive depression. Azrael watched the human descend to the streets and vanish into one of the houses. Azrael scanned the city, there were no other signs of life here. 'Good,' he thought. That would make it so much easier to hunt.

TBC