After watching the vampire body being carried off, Asha addressed the crowd again, reminding them, “I will be leaving for Terem in a few hours and will need a volunteer to replace Sim as my personal guard, since he is currently incapacitated.” A few volunteers stepped forward and Asha settled on a young female vampire named Uta who was well known for her speed and agility. She then dismissed the rest and Lina ran off to see Sim.
Sim was stretched out on a bed in the infirmary, with several visible wounds. He was propped up in bed with a bowl of red liquid being lifted to his mouth, from which he drank. Sim smiled at Lina when she entered and told her, “Glad to see you’re well.”
Lina touched her chest to feel the arrows exit wound and then reached over her shoulder to feel the entry wound. The spots were still tender, but were already scabbed over. For such large wounds, they had healed surprisingly quickly.
As soon as Tam had returned her to the cave, another vampire had carefully extracted the arrow from her, which was considerably more painful than the process of putting the arrow into her, especially since it had penetrated so deep through her body, just poking out the front of her chest. The arrows heads were deliberately barbed, so that they did just as much damage when being removed as when being put in. But once the arrow was removed, and she could finally relax, the blood started clotting, and she was soon on her feet.
The process had been much worse for Sim, with five arrows sticking out of him. Pulling so many arrows out of him was vastly more painful, as the barbed arrowhead scraped against his inner flesh. With the amount he had bled he was severely weakened, and passed out before all the arrows were removed. Blood was pouring out of him on all sides, and they had to quickly clean him up and slap him awake so he could eat some food, lest he should quickly die.
Ela was on a bed next to Sim, and she’d been almost as bad. She’d not bled as much and had more strength, but removing the arrows was just as painful for her.
Lina told Sim, “We were more worried about you than me. You came within a hand’s breadth of death.”
“Old vampires like us are hardy. We worry about young vulnerable vampires. I can’t believe he shot you. What threat did you pose?”
Lina then got in close to Sim and said to him, “I’ve got a question.” He turned to look at her as she approached and she continued, “Asha killed one of the vampires just a few minutes ago. He didn’t bring back a victim, so she drank his blood until he was dead. Then she ordered him taken off to the kitchen. Why?”
Sim looked at her warily, apparently reluctant to answer her question. Finally he confessed, in a whisper, leaning close into her ear, “She’ll eat him.”
Lina stepped back with some shock, but Sim gestured for her to come close to him again and listen. “Have you ever heard of vampire wares?”
Lina nodded, saying, “I’ve heard of them. They’re medicines made from vampires.”
Sim continued, “Vampire wares can make humans who consume them healthier, younger, stronger, and so on. They work the same for us. If you were to eat another vampire, you’d become much strong and healthier than you are now.” Lina wrinkled her nose at the thought of eating vampires.
Sim then told her, even quieter and more confidentially, “I told you Asha killed all of the vampires older than her to become our leader. She didn’t just kill them. She ate them. Older vampires make the most potent vampire wares. They make anyone dramatically stronger, faster, healthier and hardier. Because of that, Asha vastly surpasses the next oldest vampire in all these qualities. That’s why no one would be willing to try and usurp her. She’s simply too strong, too fast, and too resilient. And she just grows more so as time passes.”
“Do people want to usurp her?” Lina asked, innocently.
Sim simply laughed and flashed a smile. “I can’t speak for the minds of all vampires,” he said, “but I don’t think so. She’s made many changes that have improved this coven.” After a moment of reflection he added, “Though, not all vampires are immune to the desire to aggrandize themselves.”
“How did she improve the coven?” Lina asked.
“There it comes again. That endless string of questions,” Sim said, smiling again and giving Lina a wink, “You’ll make me talk until I grow hoarse.”
<-- Go to
Part 58 Go to
Part 60 -->
You can see what's been written so far collected
here.
After watching the vampire body being carried off, Asha addressed the crowd again, reminding them, “I will be leaving for Terem in a few hours and will need a volunteer to replace Sim as my personal guard, since he is currently incapacitated.” A few volunteers stepped forward and Asha settled on a young female vampire named Uta who was well known for her speed and agility. She then dismissed the rest and Lina ran off to see Sim.
Sim was stretched out on a bed in the infirmary, with several visible wounds. He was propped up in bed with a bowl of red liquid being lifted to his mouth, from which he drank. Sim smiled at Lina when she entered and told her, “Glad to see you’re well.”
Lina touched her chest to feel the arrows exit wound and then reached over her shoulder to feel the entry wound. The spots were still tender, but were already scabbed over. For such large wounds, they had healed surprisingly quickly.
As soon as Tam had returned her to the cave, another vampire had carefully extracted the arrow from her, which was considerably more painful than the process of putting the arrow into her, especially since it had penetrated so deep through her body, just poking out the front of her chest. The arrows heads were deliberately barbed, so that they did just as much damage when being removed as when being put in. But once the arrow was removed, and she could finally relax, the blood started clotting, and she was soon on her feet.
The process had been much worse for Sim, with five arrows sticking out of him. Pulling so many arrows out of him was vastly more painful, as the barbed arrowhead scraped against his inner flesh. With the amount he had bled he was severely weakened, and passed out before all the arrows were removed. Blood was pouring out of him on all sides, and they had to quickly clean him up and slap him awake so he could eat some food, lest he should quickly die.
Ela was on a bed next to Sim, and she’d been almost as bad. She’d not bled as much and had more strength, but removing the arrows was just as painful for her.
Lina told Sim, “We were more worried about you than me. You came within a hand’s breadth of death.”
“Old vampires like us are hardy. We worry about young vulnerable vampires. I can’t believe he shot you. What threat did you pose?”
Lina then got in close to Sim and said to him, “I’ve got a question.” He turned to look at her as she approached and she continued, “Asha killed one of the vampires just a few minutes ago. He didn’t bring back a victim, so she drank his blood until he was dead. Then she ordered him taken off to the kitchen. Why?”
Sim looked at her warily, apparently reluctant to answer her question. Finally he confessed, in a whisper, leaning close into her ear, “She’ll eat him.”
Lina stepped back with some shock, but Sim gestured for her to come close to him again and listen. “Have you ever heard of vampire wares?”
Lina nodded, saying, “I’ve heard of them. They’re medicines made from vampires.”
Sim continued, “Vampire wares can make humans who consume them healthier, younger, stronger, and so on. They work the same for us. If you were to eat another vampire, you’d become much strong and healthier than you are now.” Lina wrinkled her nose at the thought of eating vampires.
Sim then told her, even quieter and more confidentially, “I told you Asha killed all of the vampires older than her to become our leader. She didn’t just kill them. She ate them. Older vampires make the most potent vampire wares. They make anyone dramatically stronger, faster, healthier and hardier. Because of that, Asha vastly surpasses the next oldest vampire in all these qualities. That’s why no one would be willing to try and usurp her. She’s simply too strong, too fast, and too resilient. And she just grows more so as time passes.”
“Do people want to usurp her?” Lina asked, innocently.
Sim simply laughed and flashed a smile. “I can’t speak for the minds of all vampires,” he said, “but I don’t think so. She’s made many changes that have improved this coven.” After a moment of reflection he added, “Though, not all vampires are immune to the desire to aggrandize themselves.”
“How did she improve the coven?” Lina asked.
“There it comes again. That endless string of questions,” Sim said, smiling again and giving Lina a wink, “You’ll make me talk until I grow hoarse.”
<-- Go to
Part 58 Go to
Part 60 -->
You can see what's been written so far collected
here.
Vampire Wares pt 59
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