The Rules of Blood

Volume Two ; Chapter 115 (331) - No Rest for the Living (Part 2)

The Serpents of amber and crimson left Lendros’s chest and instantly found Blanc’s own chest.

Once they touched his skin, the serpents began pulsing, taking over Blanc’s heartbeat as they traveled deeper inside, settling inside his heart.

And for a moment, Blanc was Lendros himself.

He was looking down upon a small wooden crib built inside their room. He peeked inside, and there, with a smile that shattered all his worries, stood his newborn daughter, barely a few days old.

Next to him, with a hand on his shoulder, stood his breathtaking wife.

She was the third daughter of a boyard family with whom he had fought in the past. But time proved them to be loyal to Iskahul, so they were spared.

And what a blessing that was, as he was given her hand to strengthen the bond between them.

One of her eyes was red, the other, even more red. Vita, they were gorgeous.

“Lendros,” Velakia muttered, seeing what was happening, “Get off him.”

“Velakia!” Sera got in her way, “You cannot stop a harvest, and you know it.”

“He is dead, Sera, and Blanc is harvesting him,” Velakia said, getting in her face. “Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, especially not now, please.”

“You will wound my brother, Velakia,” Sera persisted, “Think clearly and wait for him to come back. Do what you please when he does, but not until then.”

“...” Velakia clenched her jaw.

“Do you wish to hurt my brother, Velakia?” Sera asked, her voice low, “Look me in my eyes and answer me.”

“I do not,” Velakia sighed, taking a step back, tears overflowing her eyes, and falling to her knees, crying.

“Then cry, sister,” Sera placed a hand on her shoulder, “Cry until the sky turns black.”

And Velakia did, grabbing Lendros’s lifeless hand, placing her forehead in it while she cried.

Tahreni, too, knelt down, with a hand shutting Lendros’s eyes for the last time, never to see the light again.

But as the Vita would have it, as Tahreni closed his eyes, Blanc opened his, mind and senses returning to him.

His face was in the grass, a small ant climbing on the side of his ear.

He jumped up, wiping the ant away from him, only for him to realise where he was, who he was standing on, and who surrounded him, tears in their eyes.

Blanc sighed, got off Lendros’s body before he knelt again, and soon began speaking.

“As the Gods fade, so too do men. As the wind falls silent, so too does the soul. As life is woven, so too must death unweave. Praise be to the Vita, for She lends us our fleeting hours, and may you now return to Her eternal embrace, Lendros.”

“Praise the Vita,” Sera nodded.

At their words, Velakia and Tahreni’s tears grew stronger, and their screams louder.

But despite the risk, they waited, cried, and stood there, watching over the dead body of their old friend.

But ten minutes later, when their tears ran dry, when their throats could scream no longer, Blanc spoke in Iskahese, toward Tahreni and Velakia.

“I am sorry for not being able to save him, and I am sorry for harvesting him. He grabbed my hand and did not let go even after he passed,” he explained. “I am sorry.”

“Why didn’t you say something if he was awake?” Velakia muttered. “You lied to me?”

“He said he always hated goodbyes,” Blanc smiled sadly. “He asked me too, among other things. So yes, I did lie for him. Now, let us bury him.”

“No, we cannot leave him in this forsaken place,” Velakia shook her head. “I will carry him if I have to, not like we could make things worse.”

“Velakia-” Blanc muttered.

“No, Blanc,” she interrupted, “Allow me this, please.”

“...As you wish,” Blanc sighed, knowing he couldn’t deny her this. “But we have to move.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Wait,” Tahreni intervened. “What did he ask you? And why can you speak so clearly all of a sudden?”

Blanc stopped for a second, thinking about Tahreni’s question.

What he found difficult to pronounce, or hard to understand in Iskahese, was as clear to him now as if Iskahese were his mother tongue.

His strength definitely increased. His smell. His hearing. But what stood out most was how light he felt on his feet.

There was much else he had not checked yet, but there was no time for such things, so he returned to the conversation at hand, facing Tahreni.

“He warned me about my relationship with Velakia and about the boyards. Who to trust and who not to. Then, he requested that I take care of you two, and that, when I get to Iskahul, I see his wife and daughter, and return, myself, the marble he wears at his neck, for his daughter to have,” Blanc explained. “As for why I can speak better now, I think it is also thanks to Lendros and his stupid idea to hold my hand in place while he was dying.”

Tahreni muttered something silently, but then spoke clearly, “And did you accept all that he requested of you?”

“I did,” Blanc nodded.

Velakia clicked her tongue, her eyes red and dry with tears. “Yet another reason why you should’ve told us and not listened to his request not to tell us he was awake.”

“Why?” Blanc wondered.

“The day will come when you will find out, my dearest Blanc,” Velakia groaned, grabbing Lendros’s body from the ground and throwing it over her shoulder. “But that day is not today.”

Blanc opened his mouth to press the issue, but he held his tongue as his hearing caught up to him.

“You are right,” Blanc sighed, turning to look behind his shoulder. “Velakia, give Lendros to me, get on Silvia with Sera.

“No,” Velakia muttered, “I will run if I have to.”

“Please, now is not the time to argue,” Blanc replied.

“No. I just want to leave this cursed Empire already.”

“Fuck it,” Blanc clenched his jaw. “Tahreni, you go with Sera, do not stop until you either see the damn Vita or the boat.”

Tahreni placed a hand on the back of Lendros’s head, kissed his scalp, then nodded to Blanc’s orders.

“Sera,” Blanc turned towards her, but Sera was already moving to Silvia.

“I know already,” Sera replied, not stopping to turn to him.

Blanc nodded, but after another look back, faced Velakia, “Let’s go.”

Velakia remained silent as she began running once more, her dead Protector over her shoulder.

All that happened lately shattered his heart even more.

But his mental breakdowns would not have aided anyone.

When his sister told him he wanted to kill herself, his heart shattered.

When he needed the Order to protect him, his heart grew frustrated.

When his friend betrayed him, his heart darkened.

When he killed his friend, his heart grew quiet.

When the man he travelled with, almost three months straight, died right at the end of the journey, his heart cried out.

Not when he was blamed for it, not only by everyone else, but by the Vita Herself, his heart crumbled.

When Velakia refused to look him in the eyes and return to her former critical self, his heart couldn’t take anything else.

Yet he stood tall, back straightened, ignoring the monologue inside his head.

Because of Lendros, his stamina and strength were renewed, better than before.

With that, he could finish this. With that, he could return to his wives. With that, the quiet moments might return.

Even if Velakia were to lea-

Blood droplets flew in front of his eyes.

Huh?

An arrow. A scream.

He turned toward it, only for all the color to leave his face at the sight.

Velakia was hit by an arrow.

His monologue rushed in, trying to balance his panic.

No, no, no, no.

‘Wait, calm down.’

Where was she hit?

‘Her empty shoulder.’

Good, not lethal.

‘Who dared…’

Fuck.

‘I must protect her.’

“Velakia!” Blanc yelled, rushing behind her.

“Agh,” she groaned, “What happened?”

“You’ve been hit by an arrow,” Blanc replied, “Come, give me Lendros. We have to leave his body behind.”

“We can’t, Blanc, we can’t,” Velakia muttered through the pain.

“Yes, we fucking can,” Blanc hissed, grabbing Lendros off her shoulders, placing him on the ground, and ripping the string that held the marble at his neck.

“NO! Lendros! What do you think you are-”

“Saving your life, if I couldn’t save his,” Blanc interrupted as he grabbed Velakia into his arms, making sure not to touch the arrow stuck on the back of her shoulder.

But he didn’t stop running regardless of what she cursed at him or how much she hit him.

He kept on running as fast as he could, catching up with Sera, Tahreni, and the mare, Silvia.

“Blanc, are you alright? What happened?” Sera asked, panicked.

“Velakia has been hit,” Blanc muttered, “Just focus on running, regardless of what happens, understood?”

“What do you mean?” Sera frowned.

“Understood?” Blanc repeated.

“...Understood,” she replied.

Tahreni seemed overwhelmed with their situation, unsure of what to do.

But who wasn’t, really.

Lendros was dead. Velakia fainted from blood loss after a while. And even more death stood waiting at their back.

All this has accumulated in the minds of the only three conscious people remaining, and slowly ate at their minds, especially after four hours of running continuously.

Perhaps this was their enemies’ plan all along.

For what is worse than giving someone false hope, only to slowly rob them of it, right as the end was in sight?

And in sight really was, as the Dabune River, as well as the dock where the boat awaited, stood a mere mile away from them.