“Sister,” he greeted her.
“Let the moons guide you,” she said. “They will lead you true.”
He smiled and nodded at her. She squeezed his hands before stepping back. He knew that if he needed her, she would be there. He would never truly be alone. For Wyvern could go anywhere in an instant when needed.
And then it was Seeyr’s turn. Sophia Strange stood beside her, holding a wrap that she’d shrugged off of her bare shoulders. Her eyes were still bound with a white, silk band. Though she was blind, she came to him unerringly and her headmoved between him and Legion as if she were gazing at both of them.
“So, Legion, you are finally going on your hunt with Weryn,” she said, her voice rich and warm.
Legion shifted from foot to foot. Their voice was slightly edged with a whine as they said, “Yes, as itshouldbe.”
Clearly, Legion felt that she might challenge that notion. But Seeryr only nodded.
“Yes, as it has always been fated to be,” she said.
“I am the Childe of his Heart,” Legion pronounced again but less certainly.
“Yes, Legion. You are,” she said. Then she turned to Ryder and her smile was full of love. “Everything is as it should be, Weryn.”
“I am glad to hear it, Seeyr,” he answered.
She had just blessed when he intended to do. He bowed his head and she placed a hand on the top of it as if in benediction. Then she stepped back and the way was clear. Ryder turned to Legion with a smile.
“What form would you have me take tonight, Legion?” he asked.
Legion’s jaws opened in surprise and pleasure. They had not expected him to ask them that. “I have heard, Master, that you can shift into a fierymane.”
The fierymane was an Ever Dark creature made of flames and ash. It was a fearsome and frightening beast. Seeing one would cause even the most powerful Vampires to back away.
“And so it shall be,” Ryder said.
And he shifted.
Legion’s eyes reflected his flames. He stood over seven feet tall on four hooves. Flames scorched the earth beneath his feet. And when he tossed his head, fireballs flew off in every direction.
“Beautiful,” Legion moaned. “So beautiful, Master.”
Without another word, Ryder and Legion went out into the Ever Dark. He allowed Legion to lead the way. His Childe sniffed the air and growled as he located the rabirah’s scent. Legion was then barrelling towards it. Ryder kept slightly behind the massive, bulky form. Every other creature kept out of their way, but the rabirah–slow and full after eating a nest of younglings–had remained. It was king of its domain.
Or so it thought.
Working with Legion was almost effortless. It was as if they had fought beside one another for eons. Ryder used the fireballs to goad the rabirah onto the path they wanted. Legion would plow into the creature, ripping its flesh with their sharp claws. Ryder would dart in to stop that barbed tail from hitting Legion. Legion grabbed hold of that tail and ripped the barb off. Blood spurted like a geyser. Legion bathed in it, letting out howls of pleasure, as the rabirah spasmed and fought.
Ryder got the creature onto its back and Legion went in with jaws wide to rip open the soft underbelly and feast on the rabirah’s still living organs. The rabirah screamed as Legion pulled out its intestines and shoved some of them into their mouth. Blood, offal, gore. It was everywhere. It coated Legion and the ground. The rabirah wailed. Ryder watched. In this moment of utter conquest and happiness, Legion let out a howl and pumped a savage clawed fist into the air.
“We did it, Master! Our first hunt together!” Legion cried. “We shall kill more and more and more! Oh, we shall!”
There will only be one more death we shall experience together,Ryder thought as he shifted back into his humanoid form.
He didn’t let Legion know what was coming. He made the moment swift. So swift that Legion’s soul likely didn’t even know that they no longer had a body. Legion’s head was severed from their body. Ryder held it in one hand. The massive formstood upright for a long time before it finally toppled over and blood poured out. Ryder kept expecting Legion to shift into their human form too. But they did not. They laid there in their Second Death, the monster that they had been in their Second Life.
Ryder breathed in and out. He tossed Legion’s head into the pile of the dead. He shifted part of himself to that of the fierymane again and he sent a stream of flame onto both corpses until they were engulfed in fire.
“Ryder?” Grayson’s voice came from behind him.
He turned and saw his beloved Ashyr running towards him. Fiona stood a few feet away, having brought the young man to him. Grayson threw himself into Ryder’s arms. Ryder embraced him.
“Oh, Ryder, I know why you didn’t want me at the gate,” Grayson murmured into his hair. “You gave Legion their final wish. But I know you’re hurting.”
