Tortoise and Fox [BL]

3.26

It felt as if... Aisultan was hiding scandalous love marks.

Alyssa stood for a moment and watched Sophie's body crumble away into ashes. Then, she turned around and rushed over to the black wolf.

"Fen'ra!"

She hugged the large wolf, arms sinking deep into fur, and inspected the wounds closely. Seeing as the wounds weren't fatal, Alyssa sighed with relief. The wolf growled affectionately and licked her face.

"Stop," she laughed, "that's disgusting."

The wolf growled again, low and contented, as Alyssa brushed her hands against the wolf's snout before pinching and pulling at its cheeks. The powerful pressure disappeared off Elijah's chest. He exhaled the breath clogged in his throat.

Then, Elijah began to carefully fix his own attire. The wolves on the ground played dead. Fen'ra's occasional threatening growl kept them in place.

"She is powerful," Aisultan noted.

"She is."

"This is... the power of the vampire's goddess?"

"Indeed," Elijah said, catching sight of Aisultan's crooked tie, "though she is no god. Just indisputably, the most powerful and fit to rule over vampires."

"And she's your old friend that visits you regularly?" he asked with mirth.

"Once in a blue moon," Elijah answered, distracted as he

Elijah whipped around the instant his vines were tugged upon. The bloody vines tying down Father Joel tightened. The priest flinched at his sharp gaze. The vines pulled away the belt of vials from beneath Father Joel's undercoat and dumped their contents onto the floor. The foul smell spread out before the breeze dispersed it into the reddened sky.

Elijah's eyes narrowed, "Where are the rings? And the blood?"

The priest gasped with painful wheezes. "In the cellar... behind the altar. The blood... and a dozen rings—"

Elijah tightened the binds, "What other humans are involved? Their names, too."

"Jacob Goodwin, Douglas Fischer, and... Simon Bradshaw are all affiliated with the church and cooperated with me."

"And why choose to work with demons and smuggle blood?"

"It was the coin—I desired money! She-she offered me riches beyond anything I could ever dream of—a, a lavish life so long as I followed her instructions. Please, I've told you all there is to know so spare m—"

Elijah bound his mouth with a vine and muffled any further cries. As kindhearted as some humans were—others had found themselves no solace in their powerlessness.

"I will take care of things here," Alyssa said, appearing beside Elijah and Aisultan. Fur dusted her dress and hair—she didn't pay it any attention.

"A shame about Sophie," Elijah said, giving Alyssa's shoulder a squeeze. She shook her head with a forlorn smile.

"It's alright. It really is a shame. Sophie's loyal virtue had a resentful, extreme history to it—I hoped she had changed, but it was not so. But, she was beside me for a long, long time. I must honor her dignity for this reason."

"I told you she was insane," Fen'ra cut in, standing casually as blood seeped through her side.

"Yes, well, maybe actually discuss this topic with me instead of vaguely mentioning things and antagonizing me as you—Fen'ra, love, why are you moving?! Ah, the suit I got you... it's ruined," She cried.