"Whatever else happens," Thornmaker had said, "Sebastian eliminated two of our greatest threats. Zarek and Dominic were the deadliest of Cornelius's children. Their absence will cripple any vampire offensive."
"The Heart Tree has made its choice," Moonsinger had added. "Sebastian may remain in the sacred chambers as long as necessary."
Even Rockbreaker, who had never trusted Sebastian, had nodded in reluctant agreement. "He has earned sanctuary. Though I would prefer to know what transpires within those walls."
Alone in the darkness, Boarstaff placed both hands on the sealed entrance. He didn't come to demand entry or to force his way inside. All he wanted was reassurance that Sebastian still lived, still breathed within the ancient wood.
"Please," he whispered to the Tree. "I need to see him."
The crystal lights embedded in the bark brightened at his touch. The wood seemed to warm beneath his palms, as the Tree itself recognized him, understood the connection between them. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sound like a slow exhale, the entrance parted, just enough for a single person to pass through.
Boarstaff hesitated only briefly before walking into the darkness. The entrance sealed behind him, leaving him in near-total darkness. Then crystal light began to glow along the walls, illuminating a spiraling path downward. The light seemed to brighten slightly as he passed, as if responding to his presence.
"Sebastian?" he called softly, not wanting to intrude but needing to know. "It's Boarstaff."
Only silence answered him. He continued downward, following the spiral path past halls that led to other chambers, until it opened into the chamber of sacred pools. The waters were still, reflecting the crystal light from above, but Boarstaffnoticed they were tinged faintly red. As he approached, he saw scattered bits of metal and copper in the depths, small gears, wires, components he didn't recognize.
Something had happened there. Something violent.
"Sebastian?" he called again, his concern growing.
An instinct drew him toward a darker passage leading deeper into the tree's roots. There, the crystal light was dimmer, barely illuminating the way forward. Boarstaff moved carefully, feeling his way along the smooth wooden walls until the passage opened into a chamber so dark he could barely make out its dimensions.
"You shouldn't have come." Sebastian's voice emerged from the shadows, startling Boarstaff despite his anticipation.
"I needed to know you were alive," Boarstaff said simply, not moving closer, respecting the darkness that Sebastian had chosen.
The smell of blood hung in the air, mixed with something else, metal, perhaps, and the strange burnt-copper scent that Boarstaff had come to associate with wounded vampire flesh.
"I'm alive." A pause. "Though perhaps not as you last saw me at the citadel."
"Are you hurt?"
A sound that might have been a laugh, might have been a sob. "I'm... healing. I've torn out everything my father put back into me during reconditioning. And more."
Boarstaff remained where he was, though every instinct urged him to move closer, to seek out Sebastian in the darkness. "The village prepares for war," he said instead. "The scouts report vampire activity at all borders."
"My father won't wait long." Sebastian's voice seemed to come from a different part of the darkness now, as if he were moving. "How go the preparations?"
"As well as can be expected. The dwarven craftsmen from Mount Irondeep will arrive tomorrow with steel. The desert tribes have sent word they march to honor their debt. They should arrive within three days."
"Will it be enough?"
Boarstaff didn't lie. "I don't know."
Silence fell between them. Boarstaff listened to Sebastian's breathing in the darkness, labored, occasionally hitching with what might be pain.
"You need blood," Boarstaff said.
The silence stretched longer this time. "Yes," Sebastian finally admitted. "But I won't take more from you. You're still healing yourself."
"I've healed enough." Boarstaff stepped forward, toward the source of Sebastian's voice. "Take what you need."
"You don't understand," Sebastian's voice had a new edge to it. "My father's reconditioning included new hunger suppressants. I've removed them all. I've never felt this... unregulated before. Not even after the shamans' first transformation. I might not be able to stop."
"I trust you."
Another silence, then: "Not your wrist. It would take too long."
