The Storm King

“You did well out there,” Narses commented as he thumbed through a few of the papers that Leon had just given him, his expression growing more and more foul the more he saw.

Leon could understand the man’s anger—those papers were the documents that he’d retrieved from Valentina’s manor, and just from his own cursory skimming, he already knew that they implicated quite a few people in Occulara as collaborating with vampires, whether knowingly or otherwise. They didn’t just give a list of potential vampires, but also those who provided Valentina’s people with supplies and shelter, and those who Valentina was personally keeping an eye on. Leon himself had come up plenty of times in the latter category, and he’d given those particular sections a little more than a cursory glance, but there hadn’t been much within them that indicated anything more than a bit of passive observation. Not even a note about trying to potentially gain access to his villa.

“Thanks,” Leon replied as he leaned back in his chair. He and Narses were meeting in a security station not too far from the Hexagon. It was one of the places where Heaven’s Eye kept their prisoners who presented the greatest and clearest danger to peace in Occulara. As a result, it was an enormous building, and one of the most heavily enchanted in the entire city.

Despite the size of the place, however, Leon was a little gratified to have found out that there were only thirty cells within, and even those were rarely filled. In general, over the past decade, he’d learned that it was a rarity for more than five cells to be filled at any one time, and even then, there were usually less.

Naturally, this was the place where Valentina was being held. As an eighth-tier vampire—and a mage who’d been quite highly-ranked within Heaven’s Eye and thought to only be seventh-tier up until her failed attack on Narses—her capabilities weren’t entirely known. She might have more knowledge than she should about Heaven’s Eye’s security measures, or she might have deep wells of power she could call upon that they couldn’t account for. Regardless, she was imprisoned here, where Heaven’s Eye was most able to imprison one of her power.

Following Leon’s raid on Valentina’s manor, Narses had practically jumped at the chance Leon presented to enter Valentina’s manor without Rufus’ interference. All twelve contractors that Leon had captured were turned over to Narses, and Narses’ people were even now going through Valentina’s manor with a fine-tooth comb looking for anything out of the ordinary. Leon, however, hadn’t stayed long. He hadn’t gotten much more information out of those contractors, but he at least was certain that, given their original jobs of protecting a Heaven’s Eye research facility, they were hired by Rufus, either directly or indirectly.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough proof of Rufus’ direct involvement for Narses to openly act against him—at least, no proof that they knew of, Leon had taken a lot of papers from Valentina and they’d need quite a bit of time to go through.

Narses appeared to realize this as, with a deep sigh, he set aside the stack of papers that he’d been leafing through.

“Leon,” he said, “I’m going to head down and speak with Valentina now. Would you like to accompany me?”

Leon, grinning, replied, “You ask that as if that as an offer I was going to turn down.”

“Good. Then follow me.”

“Is there anything you need me to do?”

“You can observe, but leave the talking to me.”

“Easily done.”

---

Valentina was kept in the lowest cell in the prison: a deep, dark pit guarded by dozens of powerful mages and reinforced with an ocean of magic. The pit itself had a long staircase running along its outer edge, and as he and Narses descended past the gates interspersed along its length, he could feel them passing by the powerful wards that would serve to keep Valentina down below.

As they walked, Narses informed Leon that this particular prison wasn’t normally staffed, but with Valentina here, they’d had to call in the guards. However, the wards and other facilities were always kept in strict condition, ensuring that there were no weaknesses that Valentina could exploit.

From what he could sense of their warding scheme, Leon had to admit that it was powerful enough that he would’ve been surprised if anyone weaker than a tenth-tier mage could break out, and even a tenth-tier mage would likely have a lot of trouble should they find themselves unlucky enough to be thrown down there.

He silently resolved to carry with him a bigger supply of ‘open’ runes, which he’d been slowly stockpiling since the expedition to his Clan’s research facility.

Once they reached the bottom, Leon estimated they were at least half a mile below the earth. He was a little surprised that they were so deep, and he couldn’t help but wonder if this pit had been around since his Clan ruled the plane.

His wonder was almost immediately confirmed when Nestor whispered from his soul realm, [Idiots. This was an industrial waste pit. Foolish to build something down here…]

[Should I be worried heading down there?] Leon asked as he slightly slowed his pace.

After a long moment’s pause, during which Narses spoke with the guards on duty at the bottom of the stairs, Nestor finally said, [I suppose not. Everything dumped down here probably decayed within ten or twenty thousand years of our fall. Still idiotic to be here.]

[I’ll be sure to make a note of that. Xaphan, you there?]

[Huh? What do you want, human?]

[I’m going to sit in on an interrogation involving a vampire who’s probably contracted with Amon. Figured that would be something you’d be interested in listening in on, too.]

Xaphan chuckled, filling Leon’s ears with the sound of rapidly crackling flame. [That would interest me…]

[Good.]

As he had that quick exchange, Narses waved Leon over, and they walked through the door at the bottom of the stairs.

In contrast to the otherwise open pit above them, capped by the main prison and filled with nothing but magic power channeled by enchantments, the bottom of the pit was a dense building, with narrow corridors only allowing two people to pass by each other if one of them hugged the wall. Like the pit above, it was dark, and Leon could sense certain enchantments in the walls that were familiar to him. They almost felt like his antimagic gems, but more focused. It was hard to read the flow of magic, but if he had to guess, they were all trained on the cell at the center of the building.

It took a surprisingly long time to reach the heart of the building, as there were no straight unimpeded hallways that ran for longer than fifty feet. There were additional gates, guards, and enchantments frequently, and if anyone managed to break out of the cell, they’d have to wind their way through a maze, break through a dozen interminably slowly-opening reinforced doors, and fight off several dozen powerful mages, all without the use of their magic power thanks to what felt like wards similar to Leon’s antimagic gemstones. If Leon were to design a prison, he realized as he and Narses slowly made their way through the building that he would struggle to come up with something more secure without using some of his Clan’s more questionable practices.

At the heart of the building, surrounded by reinforced steel walls many feet thick, Leon and Narses stepped out into a small room, though relatively large given the tight tunnels they’d just had to walk through. On the opposite side of the room was a wall of enchanted glass, and to the right was a door. To the left was nothing more than a simple wooden table and three chairs. Two guards stood on either side of the door, but Leon hardly took note of them even as they saluted, for on the other side of the glass, he could see Valentina herself, sitting alone in a bare cell with only a single dim magic lantern to light the place.

Her cell was steel and concrete, and for furniture, she had no more than a table and two chairs. A toilet and sink were in the corner, but they looked quite strange to Leon, and when he asked Narses, it was explained that all of their facilities had to be specially designed to ensure that the prisoner they were to house would have no magical materials at all to work with, compounding the overlapping fields of antimagic Leon could feel concentrated on the cell.

Valentina herself looked about as Leon expected any powerful vampire to look: inhumanly gaunt, with skin so pale it was almost transparent. She had sharp features that were excessively emphasized by her vampirism, and a pair of cold black eyes currently narrowed in boredom. She wasn’t particularly tall, but she was so thin that she appeared taller than she was.

“Did people really not see her for what she was?” Leon asked in wonder, not really expecting much of an answer. To his eyes, Valentina was about as obviously vampiric as any he’d ever seen.

“She had disguised herself with a permanent light enchantment,” Narses explained. “She also wore enchanted jewelry that hid her aura, making her look a tier weaker than she was. It’s understandable that she fooled so many in Heaven’s Eye.”

Leon just smiled and shrugged. “Good thing she tripped up this time.”

“Indeed,” Narses commented. “Let’s get this started.”

Without another word, Narses opened the door to the right of the enchanted glass, Leon following closely behind. Those Heaven’s Eye personnel who’d followed them stopped in the observation room.

Valentina looked up as they entered, but the bored expression on her face didn’t even flicker until Leon stepped in right behind Narses. However, all he got for his presence was a brief widening of her eyes, he didn’t even get a gasp of surprise.

“Valentina,” Narses stated as he took the seat opposite her. Leon closed the door behind them and leaned against it. When Valentina failed to respond, Narses, unperturbed, continued, “I hear that you haven’t been cooperating with your interrogators. You must know that you’re not going to leave this place alive if you don’t give us something. We have you dead to rights, there’s no getting around that.”

Valentina averted her gaze and didn’t respond. Instead, she began to quietly tap on the table in a regular rhythm in what Leon interpreted as a way to keep her focus on something other than Narses.

Regardless, Narses pushed on. “Who are your accomplices? You have to have had a few here in Occulara, and many others outside of the city, to maintain your cover. Surely there are a few that don’t matter? Just one that you could give us? Anything to forestall your inevitable execution?”

Valentina remained quiet, and Leon couldn’t help but frown as Narses continued.

“Look, you’re a smart woman, you wouldn’t have gotten as far as you did if you weren’t. You’re also ambitious. There isn’t an eighth-tier mage in the world who isn’t. You don’t want to die, but that will be the inevitable conclusion to this story if you don’t provide us with something. Even just a little morsel. How about the reason why you attacked me? You can’t have expected that assault to work, so why even try it in the first place? Why me of all people? Isn’t Leon Raime your target?”

Valentina’s eyes momentarily flickered toward Leon, but again, she didn’t respond.

Narses continued trying to cajole her into speaking, but Leon’s frown only grew wider the more he continued. Narses emphasized again and again that Valentina wasn’t going to make it out of the prison alive, and Leon couldn’t help but think that a foolish move. He was by no means an expert interrogator, but he wondered why Narses kept emphasizing the fact that he didn’t intend to let her go. Leon had to admit that if he were in Valentina’s position, he wouldn’t give up anything without a lot of persuasion or torture. There wouldn’t be much point in it, he saw, if he was only going to killed after being pumped for information.

Judging by Valentina’s appearance, he didn’t think they were starving her, even though she consumed blood to live. He didn’t see any signs on her body that she’d been mistreated, either. If anything, her lack of concern over their presence and obvious boredom she displayed prior to their arrival spoke of just how well Heaven’s Eye was treating her, relatively speaking.

‘If Narses isn’t going to offer her anything, then the longer she stays quiet, the longer she lives,’ Leon thought. ’Narses is claiming it’s the other way around, that she’ll live longer if she gives up information, but… is that even true? She doesn’t even look like she’s been tortured. Why would she conclude that giving up information in this case was the best bet? Are they just hoping she gets bored enough to tell them everything they want to know?’

For a quarter of an hour, these thoughts weighed on Leon’s mind as Narses continued to get absolutely nowhere with Valentina. He did finally get around to offering a few more amenities, but Leon noted that they were little more than creature comforts. He never once promised Valentina her life, nor her liberty.

Leon’s desire to speak up began to grow, but he reigned himself in and checked in on his demonic partner.

[Xaphan, is there any way at all to undo vampirism?]

[What a question that is, boy,] Xaphan replied. [No matter what, there are always ways to turn something back. She made herself a vampire, and becoming human again is possible, yes. But it’s hardly a thing easily done.]

[Do you know how?]

[I do, but the method is effectively impossible.]

[What do you mean?]

[The demon she’s contracted with has to release her from her contract. Or at least, the contract between them has to somehow break. This could be as easily done as a simple declaration of intent on Valentina’s part, but most demonic contracts have long clauses dedicated to preventing such violations. I know Amon, and I can sense him on her, and I can tell you right now that if she tried to undo his contract, then she’d be toasty ash on the ground in about two seconds flat. Amon doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his contracts.]

[So there’s no way for Valentina, specifically, to renounce her contract? To get Amon’s power out of her body?]

[I wouldn’t say no way, but there’s certainly no practical way.]

[And without that, there’s no way for her to get rid of her vampirism?]

[No.]

[But, hypothetically speaking, if she were to lose her contract with Amon, what would need to be done?]

[A human imbibes blood—or, more specifically, mana—to transfer its power to their demonic Lord. After a long while, their bodies will adapt to require such imbibement to live, and that’s where a human becomes a vampire. Throughout this process, demonic magic inundates the mage’s body, and likewise, the mage becomes addicted to it. Mana is consumed, most of its power flowing to the demon. Demonic power returns through their connection, nourishing the mage in question in place of food or drink.

[In order to undo this, a mage would, ideally, require demonic power without consuming mana. That way, they would continue to be nourished despite no longer consuming mana. Once that’s done, the mage would need to be slowly healed as they’re weaned off demonic magic and readapt to human food.]

[But in Valentina’s case, would that be needed?] Leon asked as he furrowed his brow in thought. [She’s a powerful mage, surely she wouldn’t need much, if any, food to live, right? Would it be that hard for her to readapt?]

[Without Amon’s power, Valentina will likely drop in magical tier. Even then, her body is adapted to mana and demonic magic-based nourishment, and if she wanted to be healthy again, then readapting to human food would be the ideal. She can’t just go ‘I don’t need to eat’ and stop, her frail human body would likely fail.]

[So, she needs to be weaned off of demonic power. Why then did you recommend that her contract be broken first?]

[She needs to get rid of all the demonic power in her body. The healthiest thing to do is to do so gradually, but demons that make contracts with humans don’t allow that to happen. There is no chance even in your hells that Amon would ever allow her to wean herself off of him. So, the only way to rid herself of demonic magic is to break her contract.]

[Xaphan…] Leon said as a devious spark flickered in his eyes, [would you be willing to forge a contract between yourself and Valentina?]

[Fuck no,] Xaphan immediately and emphatically responded. [Not a fucking chance.]

[You sure? I couldn’t bribe her for all the information she knows by offering her another demon to sign on with as she weaned herself off of demonic power?]

[I’m still healing, boy! She can fuck right off if she thinks she’s getting any of my power!]

[But what you’re saying is that it’s not impossible? You just don’t want to.]

Xaphan went quiet for a long moment. Before he had a chance to say anything, Leon continued to press, sensing an advantage.

[Xaphan, wouldn’t your healing go faster if you had more people under contract with you? Wouldn’t this benefit you greatly?]

[I will not take Amon’s scraps!] Xaphan roared. [This is a vampire, Leon. This woman whored herself out for power! Accepting her is below my dignity! I am a Lord of Flame, and my standards will not be lowered!]

[Does the contract have to be onerous, then? Couldn’t you spare what she might need to live?]

[Even if I could, how are you going to get around Amon killing her immediately if her contract were to break? Or how to even break her contract?]

[I was hoping you could have some tips for me there, but otherwise I was going to consult with any of Heaven’s Eye’s demonologists. I just figured that since you were an exalted Lord of Flame, then you might be willing to impart a little wisdom on this mere mortal man.]

[Don’t patronize me, boy.]

[Don’t let your pride get in our way, demon.]

As they descended into stony silence, Leon started to tune back into Narses’ attempts to get Valentina to talk, but as he did, he realized that her eyes kept glancing in his direction. She didn’t seem nervous, but she was clearly keeping an eye on him.

Finally, he could stand it no longer and decided to make the decision he had to. Valentina was the best lead he had on the vampires in a long time, and he wasn’t going to let her go the way of Kassia. He needed her cooperation, and he was going to get it.

So, with more confidence than he was actually feeling, Leon pushed himself off the door and sauntered over to the table, taking Narses by surprise.

“Leon…” the Chief of Security said in warning, but Leon paid him no more than a reassuring smirk.

“Narses,” Leon said in an even tone, “let’s talk outside…”