Crimson Heir: Rise Of The First Blood

4

CHAPTER 4

ECHOES OF POWER

The western tunnels of the undercity were narrower and older than the ones Rylan had grown used to.

Mira led the way, her healed side no longer slowing her. She moved with the practiced silence of someone who had survived decades in the dark, but every few steps, she glanced back at Rylan.

"The map-seller's name is Orris," she said quietly. "He's old, even by vampire standards. He’s blind in one eye, but he sees more than most. If anyone knows where to find a hidden library and Kaelos, it's him.

Rylan had heard of Kaelos, but he thought he was nothing more than a myth. He nodded anyway, keeping his hands hidden in his tattered sleeves. "Does Orris work for anyone?"

"Orris works for Orris." Mira snorted. "He sells information to whoever pays. Criminals, nobles, even the Shadow Court. But he's not stupid enough to pick sides. That's why he's still alive."

They walked in silence for another hour. Even at the speed of vampires, the place seemed unreachable. Finally, Mira stopped before a door made of salvaged iron plates, welded together from scraps. She knocked twice, paused, then knocked three more times.

A slot in the door slid open and a single, milky eye peered out.

"Password," a raspy voice said.

"Blood remembers," Mira replied.

The door creaked open and they walked in.

Orris's shop was a hoarder's paradise. Shelves overflowed with ancient trinkets, faded maps, jars of preserved organs, and weapons that had rusted into near uselessness. The old vampire himself sat on a stool behind a counter, his one good eye scanning Rylan with unsettling intensity.

“What do you want?”

"I need information," Rylan said, ignoring the observation. "About a scholar named Kaelos.”

Orris's eyebrow rose. "Kaelos? That name hasn't been spoken aloud in centuries. What's your business with him?"

"Survival."

The old vampire laughed, a dry, crackling sound. "Aren't we all trying to survive?”

“I thought your job was selling information and not asking questions?”

Orris' lips curved into an impressed smile. Without another word, he picked up a map and circled the exact location where Rylan could find Kaelos. Rylan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch of blood-stained coins, his entire savings from decades of scavenging. He placed it on the counter. "This is all I have."

Orris weighed the pouch, then nodded. "Good enough. One more thing: Kaelos is mad. Brilliant, but mad. Don't trust everything he tells you."

Mira departed from Rylan when he went in search of Kaelos. He wouldn’t let her come with him. Following the map, he arrived at the location. A library in the middle of nowhere.

Rylan walked into the library, his senses on high alert. The room was circular, lined with shelves made of petrified wood. Thousands of scrolls and tomes filled the space, some so old that their spines had crumbled to dust. A single figure sat at the center, hunched over a desk, scribbling with a quill made of bone.

The figure looked up as Rylan’s eyes fell over him.

He was ancient, far older than any vampire Rylan had ever seen, even Orris. His skin was parchment-thin, stretched over a skull that seemed too large for his body and milky eyes.

"Rylan Vane," the old vampire said, his voice as dry as ashes. "I have been waiting for you. For centuries."

Rylan's hand twitched, ready to summon the Seal's power as his eyebrows dipped into confusion.

Kaelos chuckled at his defensive pose. "Sit. You have questions, and I have answers. You will need both if you hope to survive the next four Seals."

Rylan didn't bother to sit. "How do you know my name?"

Kaelos smiled. "Because I know everything about the Seals, and you, Rylan, are now a Seal-bearer. The first in three thousand years to bond with one without being destroyed, you're a prophecy. But that is not what makes you special."

He stood, his movements slow as he walked to a shelf. From it, he pulled a scroll that unrolled across the floor, revealing a diagram of five objects.

"The Seals of the First Blood," Kaelos said. "Forged from the body of the First Vampire after his destruction. Each Seal grants absolute dominion over a fundamental aspect of existence."

He pointed to the first diagram, the gauntlet Rylan now knew intimately. "The Seal of Flesh. Gives control over the body, healing, transformation, and the power to reshape flesh. Your own or others."

He moved his finger to the second that was a cloak wreathed in shadows. "The Seal of Shadows. Gives dominion over darkness, intangibility, stealth, and the ability to command shadow as a weapon."

The third one was a ring. "The Seal of Memory. This gives access to the minds of others. The power to read, alter, or erase memories… but the cost is your own."

The fourth one was a circlet. "The Seal of Dominion. It gives absolute authority over any vampire of lesser blood."

There was something about the Seal of dominion that looked awfully familiar. Rylan could swear he'd seen it before.

Kaelos pointed to the fifth one which was a chalice. "The Seal of Eternity. This…” he said, tapping the image with his index finger. “Gives true immortality. No sun, no stake, no weakness. It can also strip immortality from any vampire, reducing them to ash."

Rylan stared at the scroll. "You said I'm special. Why?"

Kaelos's milky eyes fixed on him. "Because no vampire in history has ever bonded with more than one Seal. The power is too great and the consciousness within each Seal rejects any bearer who already carries another. But you..."

He paused.

"You were born hollow and your blood deficiency was not a curse. It is a vessel. You have no innate power to reject the Seals because you were born with nothing. The emptiness that made you weak is now your greatest strength, making you able to bond with more than one.."

Rylan's heart pounded. "How many Seals can I bond with?"

"All five," Kaelos said. "But there is a price. The Seals are not just objects, they are pieces of the First Vampire's consciousness. Every Seal you bond with brings him closer to waking inside you. Bond with all five, and you will cease to exist. The First Vampire will be reborn in your body."

Silence filled the library as Rylan was plunged into thought. He thought of the power coursing through his veins, the first real power he had ever known. Where would all his thirst for revenge and validation go if he gives up bonding with the seals?

"Tell me where to find the next Seal," he said.

Kaelos nodded slowly. "The Seal of Shadows. It is held by the Shadow Court, a faction of spies in the upper city. They use it as a ceremonial symbol, unaware of its true power.”

Rylan nodded.

Kaelos handed him a map marked with locations. "The journey will change you, Rylan Vane. The question is whether you will remain yourself long enough to finish it."

Rylan took the map and turned toward the exit.

Behind him, Kaelos whispered one final warning: "The Echoes you hear? They are not just directions.”

Rylan turned and stepped into the darkness.