Born To Run

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Her sudden retreat to her old self could mean many things and from what Darien seen in the time before, during and after the masquerade, he was rather confused as to which possibility he should believe. Rowena could have been playing around with him this whole time and all the signs she was giving away were just fake and she felt nothing towards him. That would mean, he was used again. Or she might have been hurt and hid behind her old self so that she wouldn't let off some emotion that might undermine her position of authority? Choosing either of those was like playing a lottery, you never know if you've won unless you get every single number right and at the moment, Darien just couldn't be bothered with games. So he just let her do her thing for the time being, even though there was a strange, mostly mental, stabbing pain that Darien did recognized but decided to ignore as well. At the point of being called amateur so openly that even the most eloquent bully would be ashamed, Darien just shrugged his shoulders in the manner of 'whatever, it's not like I really care about what you say' and leaned back. Out of the two of them, Rowena was the one who had better chances in solving this scribble. He had no idea how long it would take, but truth be told, he was thinking, maybe, a day.

When Rowena was wrestling with the riddle for second day, Darien was starting to wonder if it was really within her power to break the code and deliver a solution. Considering that she was starting to behave strangely, or different from how he knew her, there were moments when he nearly said something even against Rowena's wish, since Darien didn't take orders from vampires. Yet every time, he kept silent. It seemed as if Rowena was in absolutely different universe where his existence had no place and maybe it would be better to leave it that way as that situation actually allowed him to work on his own project. The first time he got a chance to imperceptibly walk off while Rowena was muttering something under her breath, he found his own secluded spot in the car. It was night so he would definitely not fry in there and the darkened windows would prevent anyone from looking in. He wasn't sure whether it would prevent Rowena too, but then he was sure that he would hear her joyful shouts if she broke the code which would be a signal for him to stop his own doings.

Looking down at the papyrus again, Darien's own skills of ancient Egyptian began to work. Good thing was that as it turned out this wasn't a riddle but a single page with inscription that the Hekan only had to translate. In a way, you could call translation a riddle solving as well, since there was no punctuation in the text nor any visible spaces that would separate the words. Pretty much similar to their map but not as complicated. It was even easier for Darien as he had the two words inscribed in red for some reason. Starting of there would make a lot of sense. Unlike Rowena, however, Darien couldn't go for hours and hours without a brake. He was still just a human with certain limits and as he was reaching his limit, he couldn't focus on the text any more. Nothing in it made sense. Leaning back in his seat he closed hisfor eyes for a while just to give them some rest. The night has advanced and the moon was now nearing the horizon, but there were still a few hours left before the sun would take reign over the sky. Lamp...Karnak... That's all he could translate. Those where the only words in red that made sense but at the same time their disjointness was confusing. Just what on earth is this paper trying to tell me? The lamp part was truly baffling. As for Karnak there was only one thing that he could think of and that was the Karnak temple dedicated to Amun-Ra, and that was when some of the puzzle pieces clicked together. His mantra 'He, the sun god, created for them magic as a weapon, to fend off the blows of the happenings.' was from a book he read during his training, it was in the passage about Amun-Ra. Sitting up straight his heart was beating fast. There was something in the temple. Something that he had to find, but how? Rowena mustn't know so he would somehow have to get them to go to Karnak temple, if it was still standing that is considering that vampires were culture bullies, neglecting any temple that wasn't devoted to Sekhmet. The only part left to figure out now was tha lamp. What about a bloody lamp?

However, that small victory was enough for him for the time being. Now he knew where to go even though he had no idea what the rest of the papyrus said, he had a direction to follow at least. He would definitely attempt to translate the inscription later on to find out how the one word that made no sense fall into the bigger picture, but he had a good feeling about the whole thing. Cheerful in heart, but cold on the outside, this was still a secret and Rowena was not to find out about it. Therefore, as he returned back to their small camp, he looked as if nothing special has happened, even though there was a swing in his step, not that Rowena would notice since she was still in the trans-like state. With a sigh, realizing that their mutual mission was still stuck at the same point, Darien sat down again and watched Rowena doing her thing which, truth be told, was sometimes more entertaining than watching the grass grow. But even at the end of that night, no solution surfaced and Rowena was still maniacally muttering, scribbling and singing which was something unheard off to Darien.

It must have taken couple more sleeps before Rowena finally broke the code. Darien was just staring into nowhere at that point so when his vampire companion exclaimed suddenly, Darien sat upright, wary, ready to strike, but as it turned out, it was just Rowena finally making some progress. It took another two hours before Rowena victoriously shoved in his face how indispensable she was, and how he, in her perfect universe, should bow to her magnificence. Shame for her perfection was so hard to reach and maintain. Listening to her explanation, Darien moulded over the solution. It was for him to figure out the rest and it didn't take him as long as Rowena to partially make sense out of the translation. "Well, what it basically says then is that we need to go to the Great Sphinx of Giza at noon. As for the Apep part..." Leaning backwards to rest his back against the wall, his expression became distant as he searched his memory for any reference and cross-reference to any part of the last bit of the riddle. He repeated the phrase over and over again taking certain keywords out to run through his mental bank of knowledge. Apep was a snake, he thought to himself, tapping his index finger against his chin. There was a light frown on his forehead. Snake, snake, snake...could it be the execration ritual? Blood and sacrifice? It didn't make sense. Something told Darien, though, that the answer wouldn't be that simple considering how hard it was for Rowena to just break the code, he should expect at least another catch before he would reach the correct answer. Shifting his eyes from the non-existent point somewhere in front of him, he looked at Rowena. The same frown marking his face only this time deepening. There was no anger in his expression, just deep concentration. He seemed to be looking at Rowena but at the same time not seeing her at all. Apep, the snake, going around the globe... It was the idea of a snake twisting itself around the Earth that hit Darien with another answer. Clearly it was something he didn't expect and it projected on his face with a highly raised eyebrow and a surprised 'uh' escaping his lips as well. "So...you have two options to choose from for the last part of the riddle. It is either asking of a sacrifice or it is referring to the snake shaped bracelet that we got. Anyway, that's all I can bring into this discussion." He said and shrugged his shoulders, waiting for Rowena to voice her opinion.
 
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Did Rowena's heart break when Darien utterly failed to react with appropriate awestruck admiration? Certainly not. Praise was a rare resource in the vampire society, more so in the army; they believed that excessive approval spoiled one's resolve to further improve and often opted for the reverse procedure of criticizing every little mistake in order to whip the recruits in shape. Hours of beating in the soldiers' heads how incompetent they were usually had the opposite effect of stomping their self-confidence to the ground and putting them on anti-depressants, but Rowena had always possessed almost supernatural ability to not give a fuck. Sure, having her success acknowledged would have been a nice bonus, yet her satisfaction didn't depend on compliments. Archeologists all around the world would tear their diplomas in frustration if they knew she had broken the famous 'unsolvable' code; the vampire deserved her bragging rights. Yearning to unwind for a while after endless intellectual marathon, Rowena just stared at Darien as he racked his mind for possible solutions to the riddle. Irresponsibility in name of teamwork had never been so sweet. She sat next to him and leaned against the wall, finally letting the tension go away. The healing couldn't be postponed anymore if she didn't plan to swap her hand for a useless stump and ticket to the ranks of cripples wasn't really on her wishlist. Biting her sleeve as a provisional gag, Rowena awakened the power circulating in her veins and concentrated it all on stretching the bones and covering it with flesh. Millions of red-hot needles piercing her hand almost blinded her with pain, yet not a sound escaped her lips; her new policy of not making a weakling out of herself in front of Darien ever again was more efficient than a dose of morphine. Sweat was trickling down her forehead by the time she ended the regeneration and her skin gained an unhealthy shade of gray, but the look in her eyes remained focused. Well, at least that's taken care of, the vampire thought as she repeatedly clenched her new hand in fist to exercise its muscles. Other problems on my schedule: finding ancient relic of doom, killing guy whom I apparently like despite knowing better and preserving my mental balance. Yay.

Rowena would have loved some time to relax after that ordeal, but it didn't take long for Darien to start suggesting possible solutions to the riddle. "Sightseeing at Giza under warm rays of sun sounds romantic and all that jazz, but I think I'll pass on that experience. Invention of a sunburn cream with high enough factor is still a fairly futuristic vision, so you'll have to go alone." Her partner seemed too deep in thought to actually respond to her, however, so she chose to leave him to his own devices. Rowena could be rightly accused of so many character flaws it would take up a whole book if somebody felt inclined to document it, but hypocrisy wouldn't be found on the hypothetical pages. Darien hadn't disrupted her concentration in any way when she wrestled with the hellish cipher; there was no need to act childish and not show him the same courtesy. Closing her eyes, Rowena tried to steal a moment of rest... Unsuccessfully, as Darien didn't hesitate to present her with new theories. Her eyes immediately shot open and she blinked rapidly as if warding off sleep. "Both options seem pretty plausible to me; it's not like we have to toss a coin and go with a result brought to us by probability. Betting success on a pure chance has never been a viable strategy for me. When we get to Giza, you'll try the ritual and use the bracelet somehow. As to how..." Now it was Rowena's turn to frown in reflection. "The wording of the riddle - the let the treacherous Apep taste your blood part - kinda explicitly says you have to hurt yourself with the jewelry somehow, but it beats me how to achieve that. The snake is biting his own tail, so there's nothing sharp on it. A toddler couldn't injure itself with the thing if it tried. Maybe you're just supposed to splash your blood on the bracelet, but I don't know, that feels so tremendously impersonal."

Guided solely by instinct, Rowena reached after the bracelet that had been so unceremoniously tossed on the ground and started inspecting it up-close. It was a truly masterful display of craftsmanship; too bad the vampire cared for arts about as much as she cared for famine in human ghettos. The curves of the snake's slender body were almost hypnotic and its ruby eyes gleamed wildly in the light of Darien's flashlight. The vampire caressed its golden torso while turning the bracelet around to see every detail; she didn't what was she looking for, but there had to be some visible evidence of the item's true purpose. Her fingers trained for brutality rather than subtlety were probing the precious artifact with uncharacteristic care. Rowena would never forgive herself if she impaired whatever fragile mechanism might be hidden in the trinket. Suddenly, her finger got caught up in a small dent and without any proper warning, the snake dropped its tail and turned its triangular head to hiss at her threateningly. To say that Rowena was uncomfortable with the current development of events would have been an understatement of the year. Circuits in her brain got fried instantly and all her curiosity evaporated; in her emergency mode, all she wanted was banishing the vile creature. Rowena tossed the animated bracelet away, flinching back in the process. Unfortunately, the shock didn't improve her aiming skills; the serpent landed straight in Darien's lap. Before either of them could as much as gasp, the snake wrapped its body around his wrist lovingly and petrified again as if the previous signs of life were just an illusion. "I knew animals disliked vampires, but discrimination from animal-shaped pieces of jewelry is a bitter betrayal," Rowena broke the silence with an attempt to lighten the atmosphere which might have worked if the bracelet hadn't sparked with electricity.

Subsequent shock-wave blast sent Rowena flying against the wall, squeezing oxygen out of her lungs. Darien was spared from the make out session with the wall; an electric impulse conjured up a strange image before his eyes instead. A giant snake-like being with human features in its green scaly face bared its fangs at him, poison slowly dripping on the ground from the open mouth. "Oh yesss, come to me, you who wield the power of agesss..." If the serpent had the capacity to move its facial muscles, it would be smirking right now; smirking in a manner which would make Rowena's usual 'take-that-bitch' grin look like a shy schoolgirl's smile. "Let me borrow sssome." The beast lashed out at him, approaching in the elegant loops that signified swift demise for the prey, but instead of ripping Darien to shreds, the image suddenly dissolved into nothingness. The reality welcomed him back with a cruel jab; while the monster ready to devour him retreated, Rowena disappeared as well. Her unexpected truancy might have hurt a lot less if it wasn't for the three hooded figures casually waiting for him to come to his senses. The capes cast shadows over their faces, but just the air of arrogance surrounding them and somewhat unnatural stillness in their postures revealed their identities; vampires. "It's good to see you're awake; as you've already met with our lord, we can get down to the business. He is interested in something you have and if you offer it without resistance, we may just let you escape with your life," the one in the middle spoke, scorn ringing in his words. "I don't think you want to repeat the mistakes of your... mistress, I presume... who just wouldn't behave."
 
Rowena's further elaboration on his theory only made sense. Maybe it was the two ideas combined after all and not a choice of one. As Rowena examined the snake-shaped jewellery, that Darien absolutely forgot about, he was still looking at the riddle, trying to figure out if there was any other hint hidden in the text. Though suddenly, from what he has seen from the corner of his eyes, Rowena jerked herself backwards and a strange thing landed on his lap. Before he could figure out what it was or brush it off, the thing wrapped itself around his wrist, locking in place and once again regaining the shape of a bracelet. Its cold material felt strange against his skin and Darien would swear that for a second or two, he did think that the living tiny snake was trying to throttle his hand, that it was alive. "What the..." yet before he could voice any concern or question a blast out of nowhere, darted through the space, momentarily blinding him or possibly it was Darien's subconscious reaction to any potential danger to his eyesight. Either way he could only guess what happened to Rowena as his vision was taken over by some supernatural creature. Something he hasn't experienced before.

Whatever he was looking at was not of this world. Darien had seen a lot of strange, unimaginable things, but what he was looking at, at that moment, was way beyond his worst nightmares or his wildest imagination. However, in the face of that horrific creature Darien didn't panic despite the initial shock, he managed to retain calm mind, slowly searching for ways how to get out of that...place. What the snake like creature was saying was incomprehensible to Darien. He understood the words, but the meaning eluded him like the dusk's sunlight fighting through the trees. Then suddenly, it lashed out at the Hekan and his instinct of self-preservation kicked in with ferociousness of a lion whose tail has been stepped on. Darien let the magic flow freely and he felt as it locked on some object, ejecting them forwards, in the direction of the lizard, but nothing came to his view as it should have. Second later, he seemed to have been transported back to reality. Or has he left it in a first place? The matter that he used as a provisional weapon turned out to have been just some stone that crashed against the opposite wall and the impact either cracked them or shattered them. What on earth was that? Darien wondered, his breathing slightly heavier than usual. It's not every day that you get to face a monster like god knows what and come back from it to tell about it. Simple put, his mind was trying to comprehend what has just happened. He got nearly eaten alive, but it wasn't real...or was it? The end to these thoughts came when Darien felt that he was being watched. One quick look around gave away the fact that Rowena was nowhere to be seen. Then he saw the unknown, unwelcome figures at the side of the camp.

Darien rapidly moved to his feet, mobilizing his manipulation power. As stupid as he happened to be, he left his dagger from the plane crash in the car which would now become very handy as he could tell that his new enemies, this time real enemies, were vampires. Our lord? Christian's lapdogs? Mistress? Darien was nearly tempted to asking himself 'which one' but that would be truly detrimental to the whole situation just to start pondering on who these guys were referring to when the answer was somewhat obvious. Taking a slow deep breath in and exhaling in the same manner, Darien bought himself couple seconds to form his answer. "Well, that depends on what your lord wants. You see, I might happen to have couple things, not necessarily his, that he might want." Darien replied, and from his stance it was clear he would put up a fight if any of the three would try to attack him. He had a wide stance, lightly bent knees and sharp eyes. If the trio knew who they were facing, they would be aware of the fact, that being outnumbered wasn't something unusual to Darien, if anything, it was somewhat a day to day situation for him and he knew how to deal with it effectively, already putting certain things in motion. His calmness was crucial and he was master of that emotion, focus was like his second nature which allowed him not to miss any detail that could be vital to his survival. His face was motionless, aware of his surrounding, his whole body tingling with magic.
 
The leader of the mysterious trio laughed heartily, gurgling sounds rising in his throat almost creating an impression he was suffocating. The other two intruders showed zero signs of life; they just stood there motionlessly, piercing Darien with their cold stares. Their demeanor felt so clinical in comparison with the cheerful fellow that any faithful sci-fi fan would be reminded of robots. No, industrial revolution didn't conquer vampire market with electronical gadgets; the bloodsuckers just practiced the lovely custom of treating their subordinates as if they were nothing more than a dirt on their boots. The 'eat-or-be-eaten' philosophy claimed they weren't worthy of respect if they couldn't seize the power themselves. Lowly underlings shamed the entire vampire race with unforgivable incompetence; they should be grateful they were allowed to beg for crumbs from their master's table. Such attitude usually made you think twice before you dared to attract attention of your boss in a negative manner. Watching your every move carefully and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible was a time-tested method of survival. The leader finally calmed down enough to string together a coherent sentence.

"I'm sorry; I haven't participated in many conversations with humans and I didn't know you could be so hilarious. Not necessarily his, you say? Haven't you met our lord mere seconds ago? Haven't you witnessed his glory?" His voice was smooth, firm and carried the words with finesse of a professional rhetorician; man with this kind of elocution could alter reality to his whims even without the use of magic. Speech in itself counted as a formidable weapon if you knew the key to its true utilization. Swaying whole masses with few well placed words, charging decimated army with new ardor for combat despite clearly being on the losing end of the conflict, casually talking someone out of committing suicide; power of persuasion wasn't something a wise warrior underestimated. "You're not a salesman offering merchandise and we are not your customers haggling for the best price. Our lord, Eater of Souls, could easily plunge this world in eternal darkness and bathe in tears of those unworthy to thrive under his rule. He doesn't negotiate, especially not with the likes of you. What he wants he gets. It is nice to see, however, you're willing to speak to us instead of attacking blindly. How clever of you." Even though his face was still obscured by the cape, the tone of his voice gave away he was smiling now. "Stay rational for the entire time of our business and you may even find it pleasant. Solely to give you another reason to remain civil in this debate, let me explain what happens if you refuse to cooperate. See, you probably think that the only obstacle between you and your freedom is our trio, but that is hardly the case. Do you have any idea what exactly is wrapped around your wrist?"

The vampire chuckled to himself quietly. "This is not just a pretty trinket, no. It's something that will turn you into a shining lighthouse for the tainted creatures residing in the Underworld. They shall be attracted to you like moths to flame and you will never be able to find refuge; not even in the deepest slumber. You've been branded. Marked. Good thing is I can remove the curse and will gladly help you if you comply with my lord's request. He just wishes to receive some of your magic. Not a bad exchange for your miserable life, eh?"
 
When the same spokesman laughed, Darien kept calm as if the intruder's jovial change in behaviour didn't affect him in the slightest. Christian must have had a lot of strange vampires under his command, that was for sure. Yet, what the Hekan thought was the case actually turned out just to be a big mistake and assumption. Met our lord mere seconds ago? Darien wondered in his mind, slightly surprised, yet not giving that away either. Were the three of them servants to the lizard? Or should he say Apep himself? Just the single thought that he actually saw a god made the hair at the back of his neck stand up and his body, despite the magical tingling was for moments covered with Serbian cold. Maintaining his silence, Darien listened to what the man had to say. He seemed to be civil, not as impulsive as other vampires that the Hekan met, but he knew that if he would use his magic, this man wouldn't hesitate to retaliate. It was sort of respect worthy, though again, Darien was incapable of respecting leeches. Hearing about the curse was somewhat concerning but what did he know. It could be possible or they just could be bluffing to make him go with them wherever they wanted. Though the idea of him losing some, or all, of his magic wasn't just outrageous, it was downright frightening on a level that only a Hekan could comprehend. Magic was the only thing that kept him alive, without it, it would be like turning of a switch and he would drop down dead. It was also all he knew since he was very young and there wouldn't be anything else to replace it, if he'd survive the partition. Either way, it would mean that he would shorten his life span even more than it already was. Narrowing his eyes, he took his time with answering. Not too long, just couple seconds to figure out next steps.

"Suppose I believe what you're saying, but what if I choose not to go with you?" He suggested, his voice still neutral. The vampire seemed to be of a more talkative nature, in the sense that he probably wasn't as impatient as other vampires, that he might actually take the time out of the schedule to answer Darien his question. Although, the Hekan didn't take that for granted and expected betrayal every second of this fishy meeting. Therefore, Darien didn't let his guard down at all. If anything, apart from having his magic ready to attack at any one time, he also started searching the surroundings with light vibrations through the ground. He didn't use extensive amount of magic just a small amount and only a few time to scan the vicinity and see whether there was someone else around, like Rowena or if Rowena. Believe it or not, he was worried in a very particular way that was unsettling as well as reassuring. There was the possibility that they could use her as a lever to get him to go with them. So as he finished with his scanning action in just a second or two, he quickly analysed the collected data while still paying attention to what was going in front of him and around him.
 
Flashback​

Rowena felt like she had blown all her salary on the cheapest booze available on the market and proceeded to get drowned in the alcohol; her head was pounding so violently it wouldn't surprise her if her skull snapped in half. Head injuries had faithfully followed her during her entire soldier career, yet she had never managed to hand-wave the intrusive sensation of giddiness distorting her judgement. Getting wounded in the middle of the battle sucked without exception, but the vampire could force herself to go on through sheer willpower in most cases. A bullet in her gut, broken arm, harmed leg; all of those could be ignored to certain extent with the power of quick regeneration on your side. Temporary paralysis of your ability to think clearly, however, often proved to be devastating. Groaning quietly, Rowena climbed to her feet using the wall as a support. What the ever-loving fuck happened here anyway? Did old Egyptians instal conveniently hidden self-destruction buttons on their precious baubles or what? Word 'self-destruction' finally made her see past her own pain and realize the gravity of the situation; it was unlikely that they would knowingly insert a malevolent mechanism in their own sacred relic, but what if the time had corrupted its original purpose? What if her negligence burnt the only bridge on path to that damned book? Cold dread was slowly growing in her stomach, disintegrating all other emotions to microscopic particles. Failure of such magnitude would be the last nail in her coffin. Rowena gathered her courage and started approaching Darien, willing to face consequences of her meddling. Right as she made the first few shaky steps, a high pitched sound pierced her ear drums.

The vampire turned around in the direction of the sound, expecting everything from explosion of a sonic bomb to crew of insidious opera singers invading their hiding place, and froze in shock. Four figures were standing in the doorway; Rowena with her occasionally kamikaze-like tendencies was the last person you could possibly accuse of cowardice, but engaging in combat while so dramatically outnumbered, not knowing anything about your enemy and simultaneously dealing with painfully throbbing head was the textbook example of every fighter's worst nightmare. Blind charge without collecting some information first would equal to closing your eyes in the middle of a stroll through mine-field and thinking everything would be okay because fortune favors the idiots. Rowena automatically slid in the defensive stance, hoping to provoke them into attacking first and thus revealing their abilities. Gauging purely from their body language, the vampires seemed somewhat taken aback by her presence as well; that was a little strange for a group of mercenaries specifically hired to pursue her and Darien on Christian's behalf. Something was very off here. "Oh. A female company; who would have guessed. Take her somewhere nice, Atum, and make sure she's guaranteed a comfort." I know this is getting really old really fast, but... What? Rowena felt as if she had been dragged in some weird alternate dimension where mammals lived underwater, humans hunted vampires for fun and television aired quality entertainment. Were the intruders seriously thinking about using her as a hostage? Bloody hilarious. Nobody so tragically misinformed could pose much of a threat. The former commander smirked and got ready to answer this suggestion with force, but then the ground under her feet disappeared.

For a few scary moments, it seemed that the gravitation binding her to the planet's surface ceased to exist; she was hanging in the vacuum, flailing around and trying to catch a balance. Surrendering to the vast emptiness would mean getting engulfed by it. Engulfed and torn to pieces. Then it all ended; the stability returned and Rowena was standing in a small dark cave with one of the hooded vampires as her companion. Fine, so either I'm hallucinating pretty hard or the history books claiming the bloodline that possessed the power to teleport died out centuries ago were full of nonsense. Vampires blessed with rare skill to transport themselves and their armies across great distances instantaneously used to turn the tide of battle in many conflicts, but their kin had been wiped out mercilessly when they got the ingenious idea to rebel against their allies and usurp the reign over the land. Even the massive tactical advantage the teleportation bestowed upon them couldn't compensate for the beginner mistake of leading war on multiple fronts.Knowledge of their clan was eventually buried under thick layer of dust, but Rowena whose education generally boiled down to 'how-to-kill-various-things' happened to remember how to fight them effectively. The teleporters had to literally disassemble their bodies, direct the molecules to desired destination and reassemble them again; this beat even Vicissitude in terms of burnt energy. They actually had to store the energy in some easily portable container, usually a gemstone, in order to handle more teleportations a day. Without the extra storage space, her foe would be helpless as a newborn; newborn with extraordinary strength and a set of sharp teeth, but Rowena declined to dwell on technicalities. A plan immediately unfolded in her head.

"I-I am so dizzy," Rowena staggered towards the vampire theatrically, seemingly barely able to stand. Skin unnaturally pale even for a vampire and dark circles under her eyes added a ring of verity to her claim; it all enhanced that fragile look of a wounded gazelle she was going for. Playing the role of damsel in distress had never been a big part of her deception arsenal, but only because it was almost impossible to find a fool who'd actually fall for her act. This guy apparently considered her a defenseless woman; how could she resist such an opportunity? "Well, that's fairly normal for someone who experiences the teleportation for the first time. Try to focus on breathing and - whoa, watch it!" The vampire exclaimed as Rowena crashed into him, her body firmly pressed against his. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled in a quavering voice while gently sneaking her hands in the vicinity of his neck. His robe concealed everything, but when Rowena bumped into him, she felt some object on his chest that could very well be a necklace. Carefully creeping her fingers underneath the fabric was almost like snatching a butterfly with bare hands; if she gave him any indication she knew the weakness of his power, he could flee just as quickly and leave her stranded in this forsaken place. Her jailer somewhat stiffened under her touch, but refrained from loud protest. Female prisoners bribing their way to freedom with slightly unorthodox currency was practically a part of the culture; why would he spit on the tradition? That was when Rowena finally grabbed the delicate chain, tore it down with all her might and jumped away from his reach. "What the hell are you doing?!" her enemy blurted out, lashing out at her to regain his property. "Getting myself a lovely souvenir so I don't forget this magical evening," Rowena smirked before catching a kick directed at her belly, broke his leg in mid-air and slammed him to the ground. Both the crunch of a broken bone and his howling were a symphony to her ears. "Oh my, would you look at that. It almost seems like I'm a seasoned combatant and you're a glorified living taxi. And now, since I was kinda in the middle of something with my friend before you interrupted us so rudely, be a darling and tell me how to activate this toy of yours." The vampire's expression was pained, but the resolve twinkling in his eyes didn't falter. "I will never tell you anything, you fucking bitch," he uttered with disgust. Rowena responded with kicking him to the wounded leg mercilessly, eliciting another agonized cry. "Believe me when I say you will, and I recommend you do it now when you still have all your limbs. Or eyeballs, for that matter. So let me repeat myself; how do I get out of here?"
Present​
"That would be most unfortunate," the vampire answered smoothly. "In order to live up to our reputation and honor our lord, we would have to kill you and find a way to extract the magic from your body posthumously. Honestly, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. Needless to say, your lady would have to pay for your disobedience as well. We aren't quite savage enough to murder her, but you can probably imagine we will find numerous other uses for her." The leader folded his arms on his breasts, awaiting Darien's reaction patiently. "Be sensible, Hekan. None of us wants to stoop to violence." Sound of a thunder suddenly cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter and Rowena appeared in the room out of thin air; her top was stained with fresh blood, though she looked mostly uninjured. "Speak for yourself, buddy. Violence rocks." As if to demonstrate her statement, long white bone ruptured the skin on her elbow and stabbed through one of the lackeys' heart with precision of a surgeon. The now limp body fell to the ground with a loud thump. Rowena really wanted to exchange a few kind words with her so-called kidnappers, but leading conversations during fight was usually a short-cut to rather humiliating defeat. Instead, she dissolved in her liquid form to dodge the silver dagger thrown in her direction and materialized next to Darien, ready to kick some ass. Despite seething with barely restrained rage, her brain still took time to release few endorphins upon seeing him alive and well. She was so, so screwed.
 
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These vampires were pretty straightforward which Darien liked. The usual word games and tricks of the general sanguine population were, if nothing else, slowing down the whole possible negotiations most of the times. These guys though came here with purpose which they stated clearly, as well as informing Darien of what could happen to Rowena if he didn't comply. Guessing from the sharp, metaphorical stab within his chest, if Darien didn't have such self-control he would have lashed out back then and there, yet due to his harsh and strict training, he was as still as a stone resting at the bottom of a lake. Just as he drew a breath in to reply, sudden cracking sound disturbed the silence of their fair diplomacy and Rowena, like a magician she absolutely was not, appeared in the long decayed room and before one and two could make three, one of the trio was lying dead on the ground. For a reason known only to Darien, the Hekan's throat tightened as if killing that guy meant that Rowena just gave way to violence that would unfold and harm more than just their physical bodies. He wanted to somewhat scold Rowena for ruining his attempts of...well, he wasn't quite sure what he was planning but it was going the right way since he could still count himself amongst the living. Though he had to admit that wasting such a great opportunity with a huge factor of surprise would be even more nonsensical. He didn't even have to look at Rowena, knowing very well that she was ready to fight just as much as he was. The tingling of the magic under his skin was just screaming for some release, and Darien being the Hekan he was, he wouldn't deny his very own nature to reveal itself.

His face changed from the impenetrable mask to a smirk of someone searing with power. And he, the sun god, created for them magic as a weapon, to fend off the blows of the happenings. The mantra ran through his mind so naturally and unexpectedly, making Darien feel powerful, maybe allowing him to release more magic than he would have initially, but whatever was the effect of that simple phrase was visible in the shift in his stance. He was no longer on defence, but full offence, with back slightly straighter, his muscles slightly more tensed. All that happening within a space of fraction of a second, Darien became the pantomime master. Raising his hands and grabbing the air, he turned into a bulldozer tearing down the doorway which made its way to collapse on their now full fledged enemies. In the next moment, the dagger that was aimed at Rowena flew into his hand and the cold material of the helve had reassuring and calming effects on him as it sat perfectly in his palm. Even though he might have seemed very confident, maybe over-confident, with his smirk that was somewhat similar to the one that he gifted to Rowena the first time they met face to face, it was just another of his masks. In the space of him being a listener to him becoming a threat, he has never let his guard down and even now, more than before, he had his eyes and senses on the maximal possible level of focus. "I hope you have a better plan," he muttered in Rowena's direction before he lifted several rocks in the air, sharpening them with his manipulation skill and waiting to get a clear view of his target, before he would shoot. After all, ammo of this calibre was hard to come by in a dusty desert.
 
If Rowena were to write an essay on why it is unwise to annoy Hekans, she'd probably ignore the assignment entirely and question sanity of the professor, but tearing down the building's entrance as if it was made of paper would be a fine example to use in the paper. Chill went down her spine; when did Darien learn new tricks? Increase in his power counted as a welcome aid while they stood on the same side of the barricade, yet their brittle union had a clear expiration date slapped on it. The vampire stored the update about his powers in the section of her mind reserved for coming up with strategies; she would have to re-analyze his strengths and weaknesses later. Foolish new emotions couldn't smother her hyperactive sense of self-preservation, especially since he had assured her nothing had changed between them. Why am I so hung up on it, anyway? I of all people should know from experience that sex doesn't magically trigger feelings. That it's a complication more than a solution. Of course, Rowena's expression remained totally neutral despite the confused thoughts; then again, she could probably witness the start of a zombie apocalypse and seem only slightly disgusted at the smell of rotting flesh.

"Sure, I always have a plan. Behold the brilliance of the current one; let's show the intruders why it's a bad idea not to knock when they come for a visit. I suggest drawing an explanatory diagram in their own blood. Beauty of this scheme lies in its simplicity,"Rowena answered, her voice overflowing with undisguised annoyance. Pathological proneness to solving problems with brutal force was probably the most prominent of her personality disorders, but if attempting to murder her would-be kidnappers wasn't an appropriate response, she officially had no idea what Darien wanted from her anymore. Should I pour them a glass of wine and start preaching about errors of their ways? Something like 'you know, in certain cultures, it's generally impolite to steal women and barter them for camels of whatever you were trying to do?' On the other hand, corpses aren't known as particularly good conversation partners and finding out whom do we have the honor of dealing with could be worthwhile. Rowena's dilemma between choosing violent or marginally less violent option, however, resolved itself soon. The rattle underneath the pile of rubble could mean only one thing; their enemies weren't going to lie down patiently and wait for her decision. One of them rose from the destruction with an unnatural elegance only vampires possessed, looking as if the collapsing doorway bothered him no more than a gust of wind, and a long sword appeared in his hand out of nowhere. "Die in the name of holy Apep!" he hissed and ran towards Rowena, but the former commander was paying attention to something else; namely to the second vampire who turned invisible and applied the timeless tactic of strategic retreat.

Fleeing from battle in front of her was like waving a red scarf in front of an agitated bull; predatory thrill set her instincts ablaze, filling her with desire to hunt the pathetic coward down. He may have vanished from the visible spectrum, but he couldn't hide entirely. Certainly not from her. His scent was hanging in the air, pointing out his location like a neon-bright arrow, and the beat of his heart was singing a song about terror she loved so much. Rowena dodged the blade gracefully and thrust her steel boot in the attacker's stomach; the vampire faltered slightly. "The sword-nut's yours. Enjoy," she uttered before continuing to pursue the escapee. The sand could hardly be considered an ideal running terrain, but Rowena barely touched the ground as she sprinted. Chasing the prey personally had a unique, indescribable flavor to it; sensing his desperate need to get away and growing fear, spoke directly to her core. To her essence unburdened with rules enforced by etiquette, intricate mind games and other achievements of civilization. To the cold-blooded killer. The gap between them was closing quickly; she crouched and jumped at the invisible vampire like a panther, imprisoning him in her deadly grip easily. "Leaving the party so soon? And without proper goodbye? Awww, don't be such a spoilsport," Rowena smirked as her captive shifted back to the visible form. He started writhing violently in order to wriggle out of her clutch, but she just struck the little delicate point just below his ear firmly and he passed out. Throwing his body over her shoulder, the vampire headed back to their temporary abode. Disemboweling unconscious enemies robbed her of their delightful pleads for mercy; besides, she wasn't about to snuff their only potential source of information out. Petty vengefulness had to give way to logic.

Once they got inside, Rowena dropped her prisoner on the floor like a sack of potatoes and sat on his chest, placing one hand on his neck to measure his pulse. "Hey, Darien, hold him down for me with your telekinesis; I'm gonna wake him up for a little interrogation session and defiant subjects are irritating." Smiling in a manner her former subordinates had learned to hate with burning passion, she put the second hand over his nose to deprive him of oxygen. The results were spectacular; the vampire woke up almost immediately, coughing and gulping for air. "Hello, friend. My name is Rowena and we'll play a game together. I will ask you some questions, you'll answer truthfully and if I deem your replies satisfying, you can keep three organs of your choice. Maybe four if you make me laugh." Despite what uneducated posers thought, interrogation certainly wasn't about hacking off someone's limbs until he figured spilling beans would be more beneficial to his health; sure, bodily harm helped, but you had to smash his spirit to pieces if you truly wanted answers. Describing them the terrors to come usually worked perfectly... Yet this guy burst out in giggles instead. "Ahaha... Sorry, it's just that seeing you up-close... You're such a funny couple. A cursed Hekan and a Torch. No wonder you look so worn. What have you-" Rowena broke his finger without a warning, her face completely serene. So this one was actually trying to fight back in the realm of psychological warfare, eh? "I am not a star of this interview, buddy. Speaking of which, what did you mean by 'cursed'?"

The captive smiled, apparently ignoring the pain from broken finger with great success, and licked his lips. "Oh, I already told him, so why not repeat it for you. It means that, in short, he's a dead man walking. The serpent wrapped around his wrist sealed his fate. Vile creatures of darkness that have been asleep for centuries will rise and seek his blood. That's why we came in the first place; to grant him a salvation for a negligible price." Yeah, right. And I'm secretly member of a human rights organization. Rowena didn't know what they could actually want from Darien, but she understood the thought process of vampires; they were no charity. Profit must have greatly exceeded invested efforts if they indeed wished to help. "Good boy. Now tell me, how do we lift the curse?" she asked in a tone of someone conversing about weather. "You can't. Only glorious Apep can stop the unleashed horrors, and the offer is off the table now. He will be devoured and-" That was when Rowena's fist landed in his nose; a crimson flower blossomed on his face. "If you're going to lie to me, at least try and make it believable." "If you won't accept the truth, there is no point in asking me." She just rolled her eyes. "Listen, why do you think I'm being so intimate with you? To live out my perverse fantasies? Lie detection isn't that hard. Your pulse is racing, your pupils are dilated and you practically stopped blinking. You're lying," Rowena spat out the word, her voice full of malice.

For the first time since the interrogation began, the vampire showed a sign of emotion; a surprise leaked in his expression. "Yes. Yes, I am, but you won't get the truth out of me. I will never betray my god." The insane gleam in his eyes told her instantly he wouldn't budge; religious fanatics endured crazy trials for their beliefs daily. Pain only transformed them into martyrswhich automatically labelled them as worthy of paradise in their minds. Faith was a strong weapon... Unless somebody used it against them. "Maybe, but I can rip you out of your god's embrace. If you don't tell me what I want to hear, I'll kill you. Quickly and mostly painlessly; that's the good part. The worse part is that I will take the time out of my busy schedule to desecrate your corpse in every way imaginable. You can bet I'll be very, very thorough. Apep won't even recognize you when you enter the Underworld, much less welcome you as his beloved prophet." Preserving their bodies was a big deal for Egyptians; she watched the color leaving his face with content smirk. "No! I... The curse can be lifted by bringing an offering to Apep's greatest enemy, the sun god Amun-Ra. His temple can be found at Karnak." Two conflicting concerns immediately clashed in Rowena. Karnak was ridiculously far from here and it wasn't exactly safe to go sightseeing across the country with their 'world's most wanted criminals' status. Compelling Darien to struggle with mythical forces would also weaken him significantly, increasing her own chances of survival, but something within her protested. She didn't want to beat him using such a cheap trick; he was the first in a very long time to treat her like a person, not a weapon of mass destruction. Comforted her when she needed it instead of laughing at her feebleness. The very least Darien deserved was a fair duel to death without any outside distractions. Rowena sighed, stood up and stretched like a cat. "Well, we should get going if we plan to arrive at Karnak during this century."
 
It didn't take long until Darien saw the rubble moving and two of the vampires reappearing in front of him. He didn't expect that explosive-free collision to do much damage to them but it bought him and Rowena enough time to figure out, each for their own, a plan for survival. Not that they were rookies suddenly sent into a war, but one could never be too careful. Sending the sharpened stones of the size of a fist at the couple, Darien somehow managed to miss them both. It was because, one suddenly disappeared into a thin air which left Darien momentarily befuddled, the other moved when he wasn't supposed to, slashing at Rowena with a sword that also came out of nowhere. Either these guys were better magicians than Darien or they had some serious artefacts on their hands that helped them create stuff out of thin air. If the latter was the case, Darien would definitely want to land hands on that artefact. It would make the illusion learning so much easier and somewhat, yes, useless. The initial need of pushing Rowena out of the way of the blade was met with the hard reality that his vampire comrade was no damsel in distress. He could only feel like an idiot within the confinement of his own mind for even considering the option of trying to save her, after all, Rowena had full military training...duh. But just as she gracefully escaped the razor sharp steal, she quickly disappeared leaving Darien with a toy to play. "I would usually offer scotch for the part when men drink and smoke after a fab meal, but you see, I am sort of short of supplies," Darien said, pulling of a joke from times long gone and possibly forgotten, kept alive only in few, dusty and half dissolved books.

Whether or not Hekan's foe understood the pun, it certainly did not keep him from slashing at Darien in the same manner - vigorously. In Darien's lack of speed, he picked up on the readiness of his magic and even though he could feel his energy declining slightly due to the previous trick of demolishing the wall, he could still deflect the attack with the dagger that he so freely seized. Yes, it was for sure, his foe wasn't the one to be humoured with, unless Hekan's joke was terrible or very offensive, the vampire picked up in pace. That resulted in Darien's fastened breathing, not due to tiredness but because that's what they did in training. Even Hekans were taught how to fight vampires in case their master would be attacked. Slash here, slash there, Darien jumping from side to side seemingly just evading as in defence. Vampires were egocentric and overly confident creatures by nature, give them a reason to feel more powerful then their prey and they will swallow it hook, line and sinker. With the regular hits Darien figured out the vampires rhythm and like every composition, if the rhythm is unsettled the whole piece goes to hell. In such speed, timing was crucial but there was a way how to help things. Deflecting a blow, a sudden loud crack resonated nearby, just like when Rowena reappeared. As the Hekan thought, the vampire just momentarily looked in the direction, maybe expecting the forth comrade to show up, which Darien figured there must have been a fourth member otherwise the blood on Rowena's clothes would be mystery too. That split second was enough for Darien to follow trough with his trap. A sequel of the same sounds resonated from different places, getting ever so slightly more distorted as the Hekan has never used his illusion in such quick sequence nor could he duplicate the sound perfectly in the first place. As the vampire carelessly turned his head a bit more to the side, not failing to carrying on attacking mind you, his attention was divided nonetheless which was the opening for Darien. Feeling sweat trickling down his spine, he leaped to the opposite side of where his enemy was looking, using his manipulation to pick up a rock and send it flying at the vampire. On one side there was a wall but the rock was flying in the free space aiming at the body, so the vampire couldn't go anywhere else but towards the wall. Tough for him because that's where his heart met with the dagger that was secretly sent out flying in higher speed. The initial surprise and denial, with a last hopeful hack at Darien, just culminated in the well known hollow thump of body hitting the ground. "Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Darien told himself retrieving the dagger from the chest. That was also the point when Rowena came back with their remaining problem.

Fulfilling Rowena's request of holding their prisoner down, came to Darien as something he at first wanted to refuse. Holding down a vampire who can move fast and is more powerful than a human...well, it somewhat equals to tearing down a wall, that's if he fights back. However, this guy didn't resist, at least not that much. He did give it a go at first but gave up soon after Rowena so relentlessly broke his finger. So Darien just stood there, listening to what the...priest, for a lack of better word, had to say. The curse wasn't anything new to Darien, he mentioned it before already. But what came next was somewhat a news as well as a point of question. Karnak...that was exactly where he wanted and needed to go. The original bewilderment and somewhat elation was soon displaced by a frown. If he would have to go to Karnak to do whatever offering to Amun-Ra as well as performing whatever other ritual he had to do that was written on the papyrus he possessed...wouldn't that catch Apep's attention so that two gods would focus their energy in the same place which could create some sort of distortion? Darien wasn't an expert on that stuff but he didn't have a good feeling about it at all. As Rowena got up, Darien knelt down and looked straight at the vampire, in the fact seeing his features for the first time but not paying them any special attention, it was just a pointless detail on the picture of greater disaster. "Well, you are a better expert in this god stuff and whatnot, I just do magic. But say, would Apep ever set foot in Karnak, or even channel his energy in that direction? Just thinking what would happen if two gods meet at the same spot, since I bet Amun-Ra wouldn't like that lizard kin messing his home up," he said, his voice cold as north wind and hard as lead. Slightly pressing the tip of the silver dagger against the lower lid of the vampire's eyes, clearly hinting that if he wouldn't start speaking, he might as well lose his eyeball. Darien didn't know how important eyeballs were in the after life, but that didn't concern him, the pain did. He was no torturer by definition, not as skilled and inventive as Rowena, but he could come up with his own techniques when the situation arised. The hostage, despite knowing the threat, took his time with answering but at last, he decided to comply: "Yes, I can see you're quite ignorant of those affairs. Gods have no concept of place; they don't reside in the same dimension as you or I. Temples are just convenient means for followers to contact their deity. Apep will manifest wherever he wishes, and he cares not for his enemy's snares." That was sufficient enough for Darien and without any further notion, or change in expression, he drove the dagger through the vampires heart with an ease of a butcher. You could call it 'tying loose ends'. Wiping the blade with the dead man's shirt, the Hekan was done there, no more to see or do in this god forsaken place. It was time to move on and fulfil his own mission. "Grab some stuff too, will you? It's not like I have four arms," he requested from Rowena in that matter-of-fact manner, as he carried one of the boxes back to the car, leaving the sleeping bags and other scattered object lying around, the 'map' included.

Back in the car they were soon on their way. Night was still young despite the amount of action they already managed to get and as Darien calculated in his mind they would have to stop at least once on their way to Karnak. It was too far and Darien, even though wanting to get there as soon as possible, wouldn't be able to drive for that long in one go and he couldn't see Rowena being able to drive them during the day. "We'll have to stop at least once before we get to Karnak, it's too far for me to drive and we probably won't make it there in time before the sun rises," he informed her as he joined the main and the only well-kept road, driving south. The trees surrounding the road made the whole ambience look darker than it probably was. Darien knew that driving under these conditions would get him tired at some point but he would deal with that when the moment would come.

It was some four hours and a bit into the driving when Darien started recognizing the landscape. If memory served him right they were close to Asyut, the ghetto where they stopped some days ago before going down to Cairo. It was strange recollecting these memories. The first days of the strange alliance that he got himself into and what turn has it taken since. Shaking his head lightly, his train of thought got disrupted by a not too obtrusive but noticeable ring. The 'hungry eye' was blinking at him from beside the fuel meter. Slightly worrying as he wasn't sure whether there was any place he could get fuel from. Looking up from the orange light, there was no sound coming from him apart from the sudden sharp breath intake and the abrupt stomp on the break which sent the car into a skid, until it stopped, it's front facing nearly the way they came from. Still no sound from the Hekan. The only sign that the sudden halt was done on purpose were his wide open eyes and his hands clenching the steering wheel. He was staring at the road as if there was something there which completely absorbed his attention. That something was simply beyond description.

What the fuck...? He though violently as he was staring at the creature that was crouched in the middle of the road, some ten meters away within the sight of the headlights. It was staring at him, tongue slithering outside and back in as if it was tasting the air like a snake. It was alluring but at the same time, the hair on his arms rose just like when you're cold, but this coldness reached his very being. He shivered lightly and clenched his teeth. What the fuck...? He asked himself again as if those were the only words he knew. The critter moved like a lizard bound for dinner. Teeth bared, eyes glittering with only one, clear purpose. Darien had no idea whether Rowena saw what he saw, in fact, his mind for some reason blocked out everything else but that thing on the road. But it began trotting, picking up speed, heading for the car. In that moment, Darien felt pure fear and dread that he hadn't felt before. It was stabbing and paralysing at the same time. His expression twisted. With a sudden surge from deep within Darien somewhat unbuckled his seatbelt, it was as if he was fearing for his life. The creature leaped forward, opening its maw and the Hekan could hear the gargling sound coming from deep within that vermin's chest. His only thought was to get away. Hastily he opened the door and somewhat threw himself on the ground, turning around and backing away from the car as if the whole machine became his worst nightmare that would throttle him in its dark embrace. But the lizard was gone. Darien disorderly looked left and right, awaiting the damned thing to come launching from anywhere, but it seemed to have gone. The night air made the sweat on his skin even colder, yet it served well to partially clear the fog in his mind and he looked at the bracelet on his wrist which looked just as innocent as a child's toy.
 
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Darien's uppity spur to make her participate in the quick moving succeeded in annoying Rowena royally; the days when the vampire had accepted orders without a single protest were long gone now and she didn't remember granting the Hekan the permission to command her. Is he trying to suggest I'm not pulling my weight or has he succumbed to the delusion I'm going to put up with whatever crap he throws at me since I chose saving his sorry ass instead of ignoring his predicament and going to Cairo without any detours? I should probably remind him who exactly I am. Rowena usually believed in importance of a good practical demonstration - after all, it was infinitely more memorable to show someone their own entrails than yap about respect - but burying their alliance over minor insult wouldn't be too optimal. "Which is eternal shame, if you ask me. Considering your role in the society is representing a badge of riches and carrying around stuff like a mule sans odor offenses, it would be extremely practical." Despite her words, Rowena bent down to gather the scattered equipment nonetheless. Army routine where supplies often meant the difference between life and death cured anyone out of being wasteful. Those habits didn't disappear overnight; you carried them to your grave along with paranoia and bad dreams. The cooling torso of the priest remained abandoned on the ground to serve as a food for worms. Rowena knew this guy would probably sacrifice his right hand to receive a proper burial, but her recent burst of altruism didn't apply to crazy religious fanatics giving them speeches about superiority of a god so twisted the Egyptians hadn't even worshiped him.

Rowena wordlessly assumed her position at the passenger's seat and absently buckled the seat belt, her eyes seemingly focused on the bare wasteland surrounding them. Quest for Book of Thoth, artifact of immense power said to contain answers to every single question ever asked, was insane enough even without inclusion of forgotten gods. What did she know about Apep or Amun-Ra? Frankly, the vampire had never regarded them as something more than symbols, mementos of long dead culture. Superstitions. Such presumption may have sounded strange from a descendant of Sekhmet, but it bore an impeccable inner logic; if they were truly gods with power level similar to the lion-headed patron of vampires, why would they suffer her complete and total dominion over physical world? Wouldn't they want to savor the sweet power over mortals as well, to protect their faithful ones and bask in the veneration? Amun-Ra and Apep, apparently polar opposites of each other. Day and night, the heat of sun versus the cold emptiness of starless sky. Bigger rivals than McDonalds and KFC. It makes sense they'd somehow cancel out. Hmm, what else? Rowena searched in her memory for old legends concerning the two gods; the myth about them fighting for the dominance daily immediately came to her mind. According to that tale, Amun-Ra was the asshole responsible for the fact she had to spend so much time locked indoors hidden from the destructive sunlight. Well, no offense to his reputation, but I still kind of blame Earth's rotation for that one.

Sudden recoil severed the delicate chain holding her thoughts together; as the car jumped on the road, she instinctively accessed her powers and prepared to strike down anything in their way, but no threat emerged to endanger their lives. Blinking in confusion, Rowena tried to locate the source of trouble, yet nothing registered as 'menace' on her radar. Unless the trees joined forces in a horrible conspiracy, she couldn't imagine why had her companion stopped so abruptly. "Darien, now is not the best time to admire the landscape; I know the desert is majestic and inspiring, but I would be really overjoyed if we could continue with our voyage. NOW."Her voice held so much suppressed temper it could probably discourage a terrorist from blowing himself up; it had absolutely zero effect on Darien, however. She could only watch in amazement as he fled the car in terror just like rat leaving a sinking ship. The vampire was slowly acquiring impression no plot twist would surprise her anymore; even arrival of small winged Cupids shooting plasma lasers at unsuspecting squirrels wouldn't be more random than this. Following his suit, Rowena deserted the car and knelt on the cold ground next to Darien. She caught his gaze; he looked like a deer blinded by headlights. Disoriented, lost and genuinely scared. What the fuck is happening?! Darien hadn't expressed a hint of fear even when she used her intestine to trap him upon meting him eye-to-eye for the first time; seeing him terrified was positively unnerving. Finally, the dots in her brain connected and Rowena understood. Apep apparently specialized in things other than just darkness. Like illusions, for example.

Careful handling of a fragile human psyche certainly wasn't Rowena's forte; she had absolutely no idea how to treat mind haunted by likely nightmarish distortions. What if her unprofessional intervention caused more harm than good? Under normal circumstances, she would have panicked quietly, brought him some hot beverage and left him to wrestle with the illusions on his own, but they had no time for slow solutions. And so Rowena did what was best from the short-term perspective. She slapped him across the face, not hard enough to actually bruise him yet with amount of force that couldn't be ignored, and caressed his cheek as a substitute for apology. "Get a hold of yourself. Whatever you're seeing is just a greeting from our mutual friend Apep, so don't let it get to you. Come on, the engine's running, our destination's waiting. I'll take over the driving," she said in a reassuring tone, standing up and offering Darien her hand as a support. This situation was obviously beyond his control; chastising him or laughing at him would accomplish nothing outside of fulfilling her weekly quota of pointless villainy. "Focus on me and my reactions; I'm one hundred percent real and thus a good indicator of what's truly happening. See? I'm not freaking out, so - Oh, crap." Her whole speech on topic of 'chill out, there's nothing to be afraid of' was evidently tempting the cruel fate, as a giant blue viper sprang to existence. Rowena froze completely, her heart beating so fast it almost tore out of her chest. She was paralyzed by the serpent's basilisk eyes, couldn't move an inch even if her whole being was screaming at her to get away from the creature. Why did it always have to be snakes? Couldn't the universe send demonic monkeys or polar bears against them in the name of diversity? The snake circled around them, hissing dangerously, before hitting the ground with its enormous tale and summoning a miniature sandstorm. The tiny grain of sands were itching in their eyes, but that was the least of their worries as the viper revealed its long, venom-soaked fangs and leaped at Darien.
 
From far away he heard the door slam and steps resonating against the ground. His heart was nearly breaking through his chest as if it was a caged bird longing for freedom. Receiving a slap certainly wasn't comforting but it did do the trick of bringing most of his mind back to reality. He looked at Rowena, his eyes slowly coming back into focus on what was right in front of him, because as she said later, that's what was real. Accepting her hand, he stood up, breathing deeply to calm down his unsettled nerves. Even though the frightened expression was long gone, he could still feel sweat trickling down his spine and the awful itchy feeling in his back prevented him from being 100% ok as it felt like they were watched. With a frown upon his brow he was just about to tell Rowena that he was fine and that they should carry on travelling as she suggested. But clearly nature and lady luck were against them for some reason, because Rowena's sudden change of mood only sent Darien's mind flying out of the window into panic again...for a second or two. As he turned around, he saw the same lizard and considering that Rowena seemed to be genuinely scared, she probably saw it too. Has all hell broke lose? What the fuck is this doing here? Darien asked himself as he carefully watched the snake on legs slither around them with the same expression in its eyes it had before. The Hekan fought his increasing heart beat. This is no time to panic Darien. Get it back together! If it's real, it can be killed. If you kill it, you'll survive. He told himself and took a deep breath that filled his lungs with enough air to suffice him for quite a few seconds if someone just suddenly decided to suffocate him. At the exact same time, the viper leaped at him again. Instinctively and without hesitation, Darien shoved Rowena to one side while jumping in the other direction, entering survival mode.

Kill... he thought and despite his racing thoughts of doom and misery, he managed to mobilize his magic. The lizard hissed and prepared for another leap, flexing its back paws just like a cat. "What the fuck do you want?" Darien said aloud to relieve his frustration. It was meant as a rhetoric question though before the beast launched forward, there was this strange glint in its eyes, as if it understood what Darien has said. That was the reason why he reacted a bit too late and as he jumped to safety, his left arm got caught by the lizard's front paw. The sound of tearing fabric, the sting of open wound and lastly the feeling of blood trickling down his arm, finally pushed Darien over the border of hesitation. "You mother-fucking bitch," he gritted through his teeth like sand. This time the alleged smirk on the viper's face didn't scatter Darien's basic concentration. After all, he was facing just a primitive beast with primitive, slightly illusionary, expressions of intelligence for all Darien knew. Once again, he felt the handle of the silver knife in his palm. "Come at me you scaly coward," the Hekan said with more strength, provocatively, as if he was talking to a real, talking and thought-processing individual. He was aware that his new injury would slow him down, but the freshly found resolution blacked out the possibility of failure. It felt good to him to be resolute once again. For some reason, he felt as if he wasn't the same Darien for the past few days, since he entered the alliance with Rowena. Possibly because he had someone he could partially rely on during situations like this whereas before, despite having his team, he had different set of responsibilities back then.

The viper plunged at Darien. There was no chance in hell that what he planned to do would ever work properly considering the state that he was in, but in that moment, it was the only thing that he could do, that he could think of. Using the gravity of earth, drawing on it's power and manipulating it with his magic, Darien intensified it's strength in the small area where he and the beast were. Apart from immediately feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in his head as if someone has taken the knife out of his hand, heated it up above a flame and then shoved it back in his temple, his trick managed to slow down the lizardkin. It was not a major difference, if anything, an unknowing eye would not notice a thing. However, Darien royally miscalculated his abilities. His plan was to slow down the beast, then slash at it, hopefully hitting an important organ. But with pain of such magnitude that it momentarily obliterated his sight, Darien was lucky enough to have knelt down with twisted expression of pain. The beast missing him only by inches with it's paws, but the end of it's tail managed to slap Darien right in the middle of his forehead, adding a dull flavour to the pain already raging in his head, but also tumbling backwards and falling on the ground like someone who slipped on a banana skin. And there he was, like a dinner on a silver plate ready for the viper to be served.
 
Even though Rowena was present physically, she could be just as well enjoying a manicure at some beauty salon for all her contribution in this fight. The appearance of the giant snake completely defeated her ability to think logically; the dark thoughts of distant past seized her again, effectively imprisoning her in her own mind. Series of images ran in front of her eyes, each more disturbing than its predecessor. The white ceiling with cracks in the corner she knew so closely; if the vampire cared to pursue the endeavor, she could draw its exact position from memory. Staring on the same pattern continuously for few years would do that to you. Reptile pupils, cold and devoid of any feeling, piercing through her very soul and chilling her to the bone. A pile of bloodied instruments resting at the place of honor next to her bed, eager to sink their edge in the soft flesh. Rowena felt like a spectator in the cinema watching a documentary about her own life; that would have actually been kinda flattering if it wasn't for the fact she had literally taken pills for some time to forget this particular section of her curriculum vitae. Reality and imminent threat of painful death seemed strangely irrelevant to her at the moment, as if it didn't even concern her. The paralyzing fear made her see what was truly happening like through a murky glass; if Darien hadn't pushed her away, she would have been a sitting duck to the dangerous predator.

On the other hand, the limited insight Rowena currently possessed told her she wasn't in immediate danger. The monster looked hellbent on decorating its mansion with Darien's head specifically. The bracelet, said her logical thinking, momentarily overcoming the panic, it acts as a bait. All her senses were raging to break out of the terror's shackles, but she had been enchained too well; anxiety was slowly dragging her back to the black cell dedicated to replaying the memories over and over in high definition quality. As still as a statue, the only evidence that some wizard hadn't magically transmuted Rowena to stone were her eyes moving rapidly from the Hekan to his beastly opponent. If the mere power of wishful thinking could rewrite the relentless laws of physics, the lizard's head would have exploded on its own, saving Darien much trouble. Please kick his ass, kick his ass, kick his ass! Unfortunately, her little mantra had exactly the same effectiveness as every other pseudo-prayer the vampire had resorted to during particularly dire crises. None. The gods even decided to spite her by arranging the opposite; she paled visibly as her partner received a slap on the forehead which sent him flying backwards. Darien... Rowena's carefully cultivated self-control almost got smashed under the weight of despair and tears welled in her eyes; of course, that was before she remembered the crying strategy had certain disadvantages, like not working at all. And that the main method of dealing with bullies who damaged your stuff was to fucking reduce them to a bloody pulp.

The fear evaporated when confronted with flames of a sudden murderous obsession. The vampire didn't care in the slightest that this creature could successfully star in her worst nightmares anymore; she would rip it apart, limb from limb. Exploiting the serpent's focus on Darien, Rowena stood up silently and sprinted towards the creature. The sand muted any sound she might have made, though it probably didn't matter. The bracelet's charm was strong, luring the snake just as Ratcatcher's song enticed the rodents. The former commander dropped in her knees slightly, leaped like a puma and landed just on the beast's scaly neck. Her legs automatically clenched around the slippery surface to gain better balance. "Find a different snack, you piece of shit!" Rowena exclaimed, allowing the joints on her hand to rupture the skin and driving the improvised knuckle-duster through the viper's scales. The delicacy in the form of crunchy, fresh Hekan was promptly ignored; the beast roared in a completely unreptile-like manner and started wriggling wildly to get rid of the annoying stowaway. "Not bloody likely. I was a fucking champion in riding a rodeo bull," Rowena informed the creature, adding another blow for every word said.

The scene closely resembled a heavy metal album cover; there was a notable shortage of concepts more epic than a vampire riding a giant lizard from the Underworld while simultaneously stabbing it. Black blood was slowly oozing from all the wounds she had caused, but no vital organs had been affected. The scales offered protection too great for her to penetrate with the right amount of strength. Rowena didn't know much about anatomy of snakes, but one thing could be said with certainty; eyes were definitely the most vulnerable spot on the entire body. Eyes also conveniently led to brain. Rowena slid a little forward in order to aim better, managing not to fall of despite the viper's never-ending attempts to shake her down, and thrust the bone deep into its eye socket. A disgusting, wet sound resonated into the night; the demon formerly so intimidating wavered and collapsed on the ground, twitching in a death agony before finally ceasing to struggle. The vampire climbed off the motionless torso and hurried to check on Darien; she should have approached him slowly while sniping sarcastic remarks at him to keep her image intact, but her composure had been thoroughly shattered and she couldn't be bothered to pick up the pieces right now. Her mind was too hazy, the adrenaline lingering in her bloodstream too distracting, the relief too enormous. Rowena hugged her companion tightly; perhaps a little too much considering his injuries. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't react earlier. You might have noticed snake wouldn't be my first choice of a pet," she whispered in his hair.
 
Some people might have found the sudden face palm hilarious considering the way it landed on Darien's forehead and sent him flying back. He was that close to escaping any physical confrontation, yet it was not close enough. For Darien, however, this was like failing one of his tests over again. A test of power, determination and control. He had neither at that moment, to be honest, he nearly didn't have consciousness either. The sharp pain inside his head combined with the dull strike on his forehead nearly knocked out the lights out of him again again. Who knows, maybe he did lose consciousness for a second or two, but there was no one to ascertain that. When the pain in his head subsided a bit, it left him drained of energy, but he could hear some sounds of struggle somewhere around him. Rowena. The thought ran through his mind with the memory of the first time he saw her being genuinely frightened after they had their first run in with a snake. Now, there was this badass big lizard and Darien just couldn't imagine his vampire comrade being strong enough to able to fight of the beast. Groaning and propping himself up on his elbows was just as hard as running up Mount Everest under the time limit of one hour, but he had this drive to protect that mobilized the last ounces of energy and strength within his body. His head was still throbbing with pain which was only a fraction of what it was before but as he tried to look around quickly, a sharp stab reminded him that just few second ago he fooled around with his magic on such level that it would probably immobilize his talent for the next couple hours and slow down his mind and body for similar amount of time.

And so he slowly turned his head in the direction of the turmoil and he saw Rowena on top of the viper exactly at the moment when she, with fine manner of a pointy bone, ended the beasts life. For a second or two he thought he might have still been unconscious and this was just a wishful dream in which Rowena was victorious over the lizard; even when she came around and started to cradle him, apologizing, part of Darien was sure that this was not real. Yet, the pain in his muscles and his wound, as Rowena nearly squeezed the rest of his strength out of him, convinced Darien otherwise. "Rowena," his voice resonating with discomfort and a hint of pain. "You might want to ease down a bit." He told her, intentionally not using the word 'hurt' or 'pain'. After all, he was the man, wasn't he? He still foolishly maintained that image even though he looked like mess. With a disregard to his own injuries, he looked at Rowena, in fact looked her up and down as if to make sure on the visual side that she was not injured herself, before he looked her in the eyes, slightly frowning in concern. "Yeah, I noticed. I wonder why though. Not that I like them either, but I don't have such a...bad reaction to them." He said and propped himself up a bit further wincing slightly with the pain the throbbed in his left arm, where the vipers paw torn the fabric and digged into his skin. It wasn't a deep wound, if anything, the blood was already drying, but it still stung.
 
If the humans were still permitted to throw wild parties from time to time to forget their sad destiny as living storehouses of food, the vampires wouldn't have been a welcome guests for two reasons; snobbish demeanor and mad lust to deprive them of the last drop of blood. Rowena, despite her recent alienation from her race's ideology, wasn't much different in that regard. As the haze of post-battle excitement ebbed, seductive scent of blood pouring from his open wounds overwhelmed her senses. Darien probably didn't even recognize the very real danger of having a vampire so close to him while bleeding; not shoving her away immediately was similar to ramming a canary into a cat's mouth and expecting the two would become best friends. Come on, you wouldn't have to hurt him too much if it matters to you. He's drenched in blood. In sweet, sweet blood that will soon be wasted if you don't take advantage of it. One small lick isn't a big cost for saving his life. You even know how to turn it into a pleasant experience for him. What is the big moral quandary keeping you on a leash? Rowena shook her head slightly; if she crossed that sacred boundary now and drank from him without permission while he was so vulnerable, their partnership could officially order itself a gravestone. Her grip on him loosened the moment Darien started to complain, but when the Hekan asked about the purpose behind her fear, he could feel the tension returning in her posture. "It's just... another skeleton in my closet. Considering how our last session of confiding and comparing our respective traumas went, it'll also stay locked in there," she said in a tone not tolerating any opposition. The last thing she needed right now was to connect with him emotionally again; severing the old link had been difficult enough.

Ignoring any eventual protests, Rowena grabbed Darien's arm, placed it around her shoulder to stabilize him better and hauled him back to the car. He should be grateful I am patient enough to not pick him up like a sack of potatoes and simply carry him. Even thought that would have been easier than trying to make his legs cooperate, Rowena knew how humiliating it felt to have your shortcomings pointed out. Pride was a delicate thing, especially that of a warrior. She helped him into the passenger's seat and sat behind the steering wheel; the engine purred loudly, putting the Aston Martin in motion. "Rest. Oh, and if you see anything out of ordinary again, do me a favor and try to resist the temptation of leaving the car. Mauling yourself while jumping out of the vehicle traveling at speed of one hundred kilometers per hour would be hilarious, but suppress your comedian instincts; you'll have plenty of other chances to mutilate yourself during our hunt for the Book. Describe the creatures instead and be detailed. If they somehow appear in our reality again, at least I'll be prepared to fend them off." The vampire's mood was steadily dropping just like mercury in a thermometer somewhere in Siberia. Conquering her phobia should have felt like an awesome feat of bravery, but Rowena sensed it hadn't really happened; the fear of reptiles was still there, grinning at her from darkest corners of her mind. It had just stepped aside for a moment so she could protect Darien. To protect someone who wouldn't hesitate to back-stab her.

Her knuckles went white as she squeezed the steering wheel, letting out her anger on the pitiable object. It was time to face the truth; no more prevarications, no more intentional blindness to her mistakes. So, to summarize my situation, not only do I go out of my way to defend him from physical threats, I also tiptoe around him so his fucking feelings don't receive a fatal blow. I don't actively wish him death. Hell, I get downright terrified when he's about to kick the bucket. Even my greatest fear has to shut up when he's concerned. Oh gee, what could diagnosis for those symptoms be? Surely hatred! A sensible individual would suppose she'd watch her step better after that abysmal relationship with Christian, but no; 'self-destruction' apparently aroused her. If Rowena was a main character in one of those crappy romantic movies she hated so much, she would have blushed cutely over this revelation and planned the most memorable way of telling him the happy news, but typical protagonists of those masterpieces usually didn't have to deal with killing their love interests. Not being able to to kill her love interest, to be precise. Betraying the single principle she held dear disgusted her, yet at the same time, the vampire knew Darien would have no such inhibitions and committing suicide via letting him off her didn't seem too appealing. Cancelling their alliance and going separate ways could be one method of dodging the bullet, but she needed his support to continue searching the Book. I'm running in circles here.

For the entire journey, Rowena remained uncharacteristically quiet and unresponsive; the only sound filling the night air was occasional chirping of the insects and the car's growling. A lucky coincidence caused they stumbled upon a cave suitable for hiding before the sunlight. It was hardly a five-star hotel, yet they couldn't hope to find another source of shadow which decreased their demands significantly. Rowena unpacked their stuff, helped Darien with whatever he required and drifted off to the land of dreams soon. Exhaustion mixed with worries made her brain shut down quickly as a self-preserving mechanism, so she slept surprisingly well. Waking up, however, was enough to ruin her day. Her problems hadn't miraculously disappeared; if anything, they expanded and devoured more space than ever before. "Rise and shine, sweetie. We've got a curse to lift," the vampire said while wrapping her bedroll. Army had taught her to pack up things in a record speed; they set off within five minutes. Silver stars were illuminating their path, Rowena showed her disdain for safe driving once again and yesterday's ominous silence was still hovering above them like a dark cloud. Majestic gates of Karnak guarded by statues of ancestors arose on the horizon, giving Rowena chills for some strange reason. "So," she interrupted the stillness, "our friendly religious fanatic blabbed something about sacrifice. Do you have any idea what Amun-Ra could be bribed with?"
 
Her answer was clear enough. She didn't want to talk about it. He was aware of the fact that she was absolutely against him questioning her own resolution and so Darien decided to keep quiet. There might be time in the future when he would get another chance to find out. But why did he want to know in the first place? Recalling their "contract" it was not part of it. As well as all the other 'friendly' acts were not part of it. At the end, they will have to draw the line, they will have to face each other as enemies again. Being helped into the car was something that he welcomed. He was tired, mentally and physically, his legs did listen to him but with a proper lag of a game played on an ancient computer. As he sat down in the passenger seat, he basically drifted of instantly and slept all the way through until Rowena stopped at the cave. So whatever was watching them on the road, he didn't see a thing. As they stopped, he felt better, but not perfect and as they settled down, he firstly took care of the wounds that were somewhat forgotten in the haste of leaving the previous place of confrontation.

Rowena was out quite quickly too which was convenient for Darien as he wasn't sure she would be the best companion at the moment. Furthermore, they were closer to Karnak and he still hasn't figured out the whole papyrus in his pocket. Carefully taking out, checking that his vampire comrade was still soundly asleep, he turned his back to her just in case she would wake up and he wouldn't notice. Looking at the letters and using what he knew with what they got out of the 'priests', Darien could feel the imaginary wheels of intelligence swirling inside his head, working, clicking, trying to solve this gibberish. It was hard to measure time in the cave but when he finally cracked the code, his stomach was violently rumbling, demanding even a resemblance of food, threatening to devour itself if denied that right. But Darien ignored it, just to make sure he actually understood what he saw on the old parchment. It was instructions for a ritual. He had to get a lamp, fill it with Oasis oil and light it towards Ra at dawn in his rising while reciting spells. But what spells? That's where the parchment crumbled. He was this close to revealing the whole secret, but it was not close enough. He lost it due to his stupidity. The initial excitement for cracking the code was soon crushed but pure emptiness followed but anger and annoyance. How fucking stupid?! It's fucking lost! The feeling of failure overwhelmed him so that he had to leave the cave and walked into the sun. He couldn't even ventilate his frustration properly due to his aching body and sleeping Rowena which only doubled his anger. So he walked a bit further and growled like a wild animal, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

At one point hunger made him return to the cave and then he napped for the rest of the day. So as Rowena woke up, waking him up as well in the process, he felt refreshed and ready to go. The car drive was quiet which wasn't something unusual. Darien got used to Rowena being exceptionally quiet if she didn't feel like talking or if there was something on her mind that she just didn't want to talk about. Taking a wild guess, Darien though it might be still about his intrusive question. So he just looked out of the window. Not really seeing something unusual despite expecting some more lizards to appear either in front of the car or near the edges of the road. But it seemed that tonight, all the creatures of hell had some sort of holiday. Then the once mighty entrance to Karnak temple appeared in his sight and his chest somewhat tightened but at the same time, Darien felt somewhat uplifted. After all, Amun-Ra was the one who gave Hekans their magic. "Well," at first he was thinking of trying to lift the mood with a joke but staring at the entrance of the one place where he actually felt genuine respect, Darien refrained to being sensible. "Well, my wild guess would be blood. Seems like any god enjoys that." With these words he got out of the car, the cold night air brushing against his skin. "It might be better if you find a place somewhere to settle before the sun rises. I am going to find a spot for the ritual," he told Rowena before closing the door. In other words, he didn't want her to follow him for one reason. Even though the papyrus was crumbled in the most important place, Darien couldn't give up on it. It was his nature. Even when his team was surrounded by Rowena's lapdogs, Darien didn't give up on escaping her grip. The papyrus described the ritual done here and as far as he was aware, Egyptians had this terrible habit of painting on the walls like some mad artists, so maybe, just maybe, he might find the rest of the text somewhere in the ruins of this once mighty temple. One detail, though, eluded him. The aforementioned papyrus slid out of his pocket and was now lying on the seat of the car.

Despite the desolate state in which the temple was, Darien could recognize some of the hieroglyphs on the walls but none that seemed to be helpful. The sand crunched under his feet, columns towering over him. He would have probably missed that small detail on the wall if he was just a passer-by but with his intentions, he nearly scrutinized every centimeter of any consistent hieroglyphic sentence, if that's what you could call it. If he knew better, he would know that he was standing in the actual hall of Amun-Ra, though what he was looking at was more real than any hypothetical knowledge he could have possessed about architecture. It was indeed the depiction of the ritual and the 'spell' he was supposed to recite. Once again his heart raced. Seeing the whole guidance and mantra together somewhat made his magic tingle almost automatically as if a part of himself just waited to be awakened. A lamp...I need a lamp... He remembered and started looking around frantically but in the dark it was difficult, shapes looked like anything and everything. The sky was gaining a lighter shade, signalling the coming of morning and rising of the sun. I have to find something! Darien thought desperately. This ritual had to be done with the raising sun. However, as the dawn approached, light was its companion and by the gods around the globe, someone either knew Darien's intentions or he was just incrediby lucky, but he found a lamp, by the looks of it, left there couple years ago and it still seemed to have some fuel in it. Now he just had to lit it. It wasn't that difficult as the years of surviving, taught him how to make fire without matches and soon the lamp was lit. The Hekan turned around just as the sun peeked over the edge of the globe, bathing the earth with its rays of warmth. Looking at the wall on which the spell was inscribed, Darien began reciting:" Blood of the Drowned one is that which I put to thee for oil; the hand of Anubis is that which is laid on thee. The spells of the great Sorcerer are those which I recite to thee. Do thou bring me the god in whose hand is the command to-day and let him give me answer as to everything about which I inquire here to-day truly without falsehood." Nothing happened the first time and so Darien carried on repeating the phrase, holding the lamp high, his voice somewhat gaining in strength, becoming richer. The magic tingling in his body, like an army of ants running back and forth. Then at one point, out of nowhere, a blinding light came shining through that Darien was forced to close his eyes and turn away, but never failing to hold the lamp high into the sun. When his eyelids turned dark again, he guessed the sudden outburst of glow was gone. As he looked back in the direction of the great round ball of fire, he dropped the lamp in pure astonishment. Everything in his body was telling him that this was not a prank, it couldn't have been. He was starring at the face of the god and just the greatness of the moment made him fall on his knees like a servant of a great lord.

"I can only wonder what your request might be...Hekan."
 
On scale of one to ten, Rowena would rate her hatred for the idea of Darien venturing alone into the old, probably dangerous ruins of the Karnak temple with a solid twenty. Such aversion was comparable to her feelings towards jazz music, AB negative blood group and cute fuzzy kittens. Places brimming over with spiritual energy usually attracted ghastly creatures and the bracelet wrapped around her partner's wrist only fortified the possibility of Darien running into trouble. The vampire knew the Hekan wasn't a pre-schooler requiring constant care and changing his diapers - his surprisingly long career as the most elusive terrorist she had ever hunted spoke tons about his skills - yet the episode with the giant lizard almost dividing his skull in half was still painfully fresh in her mind. Blessing of humans lay in the fact they were blissfully unaware of their own fragility; if they knew how breakable their bodies seemed to the predators, they would have never left their houses and spent their already miserably hollow lives curled in a fetal position, drowning their depression in alcohol. Still, Rowena simply nodded in acknowledgement of his suggestion, keeping her emotions at bay. "Blood sounds reasonable. You may never understand it entirely, but it's not just a chemical cocktail of some cells, plasma and hemoglobin. It defines who you are - what you are - at the most basic level. The very essence of life, if you will. Any god rejecting a gift like that isn't worth worshiping," she smiled in a way that would shame even the Cheshire cat and leaned back to her seat comfortably. As soon as Darien disappeared in the depths of the temple, her grin faded.

Will I really want to follow him around like a lost puppy now that I've admitted he's actually important to me? Will I mark him with my urine as well? Gods, feelings should come in a package with a pamphlet informing potential users that they aren't compatible with self-respect. Or logic, for that matter. Darien is a fine fighter. The beast just surprised him the first time, not to mention he was drained from our earlier tango with the crazy cultists. He will also have much better chances than me in the sunlight; at least there's a guarantee he won't spontaneously combust. Rowena shook her head in disbelief; if she invented a time machine and traveled to past to tell her old self she would have the capacity to worry about well-being of a human, the aforementioned old would likely shoot herself to escape that degradation. Perhaps I should do it now. Suicide was a good way to go for noble Roman emperors, so I, a fallen soldier, have no right to look down at such convenient method of abandoning all responsibility, the vampire thought jokingly. She glanced at the empty seat next to her purely thanks to a coincidence and her eyes detected something weird; a suspicious piece of parchment that sure as hell wasn't here before. Rowena picked it up curiously, her eyebrow slightly lifted in a mute question. The page of haphazard Egyptian symbols almost triggered another headache; deciphering tangled codes was something she had to do in small doses otherwise her tortured brain started to complain loudly.

The intellectual galleys, however, didn't need to be repeated as Rowena clearly recognized a sign for certain word. Karnak. A proper conspiracy theorist would have immediately concluded she had been manipulated to embark on journey to the ancient temple by some higher force; the vampire, being paranoid yet not completely off her rocker, identified the supposed 'higher force' as her partner instead. Oh, I'm sure he just forgot to tell me about this minor detail. Darien is such a kind soul, after all; he would never intentionally lie to me or hide a crucial information, right? Right, and garlic is a recommended supplement of a vampire diet. A more unruffled individual might have let it go, preferring to secure her own safety first, but Rowena was hardly famous for her level-headedness. Darien had dared to deceive her. Feelings or not, that act raised a red flag in her mind. The obsessive urge to stick her nose where it didn't belong got the better of her; all the blunders she had perpetrated, stupid mistakes that had almost snuffed her out, originated in bad assumption founded in incorrect information. A good example would be a belief that Christian saw her as something more than a ticket to higher society. Rowena sneaked out of the car and wandered to the heart of the temple complex, following Darien's trail with ease. His scent hung in the air like a silver ribbon, distinct and attention-grabbing. She moved with a cat's grace, careful to never step out of the shadow. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the vampire wanted to make sure she could stay in its protective embrace the entire time. It resembled a game some autistic kids played - the challenge to avoid broken tiles on the pavement - with the exception that her life was at stake. Creeping behind one of the ancient pedestals, Rowena reached Darien's location just to hear the strange entity prompting him to say his request. Her stomach bounced wildly for some reason and the vampire had to put her hand over her mouth in order to suppress the sudden compulsion to puke. Blowing her cover thanks to poor digestion would have been especially embarrassing.
 
Darien stared at the godly creature for couple seconds. No book he has ever read, has described this possibility. He gapped like a fish flapping on solid ground. "I..." He said somewhat weakly and swallowed hard. How else should he behave in the presence of this powerful and mighty entity? But years in training taught him well how to treat those who deserve respect, whether it was by force or not. Darien shook his head, momentarily clenched his teeth as well as shutting his eyes. It was his technique how to shift between modes when he was under extreme pressure and frankly enough, this was an extreme pressure. "Excuse me...master." He said in the end, his voice slightly stronger this time. Not defiant, just audible. Addressing Amun-Ra as master somewhat came natural to him as if he was meant to address the god that way, but maybe it was just his training rooted in his mind. "Master, you say?" Came the same rich voice with a remote hint of intrigue. The silence momentarily enveloped the crumbling hall, sun wrapping its arms around the spectacle. "Speak up, Hekan. I don't have the whole day. What is your request?" It was not impatience that resonated in the voice of the sun god. It was a subtle remainder that Darien was exhausting his chance. "My request for you, lord Amun-Ra, is to grant me a normal human life span." It sounded ridiculous being said aloud. His whole childhood Darien grew up knowing that he will die before he would even turn thirty. Dreams of growing old were as comic as a firefly having a multi-generational family. Yet, at that moment, there was hope in the Hekan's voice. Hope that for some reason, the god that the Hekan was subconsciously worshipping, would be kind enough to help.

"Human life span?" Came the reply and the sound of feet crushing the sand. Darien could see the sandals of the god right in front of him, he didn't dare to look up. "Why would I do that, Hekan? You seem to be too...meek, to be able to handle such a gift." There wasn't any sign of mocking in his voice that Rowena would use against Darien. Yet the remark was clear. Darien seemed weak in the god's eyes. "At least stand up and look at me when you are talking!" Amun-Ra's voice gained on loudness and vehemence as if he didn't care if there was anyone around to hear their conversation. Darien's heart jumped. He felt as if he was being scolded for something he has done before he realized the gaffe that he committed. Taking deep breath in, the Hekan got onto his feet, a change obvious in his expression. Suddenly the old Darien, the Darien of the pre-Rowena era was standing in front of the god. This Hekan was confident, resolute and able to go to the world's end just to reach his target. It was the Darien that was buried inside the confines of the mind for security purposes. "Now that's how I remember you, Hekan." If it were possible, the god might have smirked before he took a tour around the solely standing figure, eyeing Darien up and down. Remember me? Things somewhat didn't add up. "Yes, Darien. I remember you very well. The boy who stood out of the Hekan crowd with his utopian dreams, but will so strong that the others had to suppress it with force. But how do you think you manage to defeat your bully when he nearly killed you back then? Simply by reciting a phrase you found in a book?" There were hints in the words that fell into the puzzle of Darien's mind so well that the reality of the past suddenly seemed dream-like. He was in fact astonished. "Yes, Darien. I did lend you a bit of my power back then so that you wouldn't die in the arena. Don't consider yourself chosen, I just simply thought you might be one of those who will be able to pay back their debt." A debt wasn't a word that Darien liked to hear but he had a feeling that he knew where this exchange, or more like monologue, was going.

"I will grant you your request, Hekan, under, well, a few conditions." Amun- Ra stood in front of Darien, hands crossed behind his back, a pure picture of magnificence and capability. "Nothing comes free, not even my request. But I am willing to do whatever you ask of me," Darien replied determinedly which earned a nod from the sun god. "Of course you are. Your elongated life span will cost you part of your freedom. You have already began without knowing, but now I want you to devote yourself to it, Darien. Your freedom will be confined by my worship. By carrying my mark and using it for the cause that you believe is worthy and does not endanger believes in me. In other words, you will become a priest of a cult devoted to my being only. Not other god but me, Darien. I will be your source of power, will and determination. Is that clear?" Aside from the fact that Darien had goosebumps in the direct sunlight of near 30 degrees, this whole deal seemed reasonable to him, and so he nodded in agreement. Another elusive smirk shadowed on the god's face. "Well, then. I shall seal our deal." With those words, Amun-Ra placed his palm over Darien's right eye. First seconds of confusion were in a fraction of a second traded for sharp, stabbing pain in his right eyeball that shot up to his brain. He couldn't...he had to shout, and it was a scream of someone who felt cheated, incredibly hurt and confused. "You no longer consider yourself a Hekan, despite still having your magic. You are now the priest of Amun-Ra, the almighty sun god. The one and only object of your worship. Fail me Darien, and you will regret ever trying to request anything from me." With those words the pressure of the palm was gone and so was the overwhelming presence of a higher entity.

Yet the pain prevailed and it forced him onto his knees. There was warm fluid running down his cheek that Darien could only guess the nature off with utter horror. Darien was growling like a dog who has been kicked several times and was now mocked from afar while being chained to a pole. The blood was dripping of his chin and as he reached out with hand to wipe it off, some of the fluid dropped on the bracelet. Darien didn't even notice what happened but the piece of jewellery actually loosened and fell off. Though that was beyond the Hekan's, or priest's, area of comprehension and notice. He was more concerned with the subsiding pain and the drying blood on his face. Opening his eyes ever so carefully as if drawing back the safety net of the eyelid would make his eyeball fall out, even worse revelation dawned on him. He breathed out rapidly, shocked jumping onto his feet. There was something wrong with his eyesight. It didn't feel right, it felt unbalanced. Stepping backwards and looking around as if he was expecting Amun-Ra to still be hanging around leisurely, Darien covered his left eye and darkness welcomed him in its black embrace. "No..." He breathed out again, and as he confusedly turned around, his shoulder hit the remains of a wall. The impact made him spin around and suddenly he was staring at Rowena. Dried blood on his cheek, instead of the usual cold blue iris in his right eye it was black with no pupil, black lines around his eyelids completing the symbol of Amun-Ra.
 
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Rowena bent forth a little, still fighting the impulse to show the audience the contents of her breakfast, and listened to the conversation. The vampire had no idea what the fuck was wrong with her belly, but she promised internally to pluck Haji's fingernails out with a rusty pliers if he had supplied her with spoiled blood. It felt as if her flesh-manipulating powers had gone haywire, as if her stomach declared independence from the rest of her body and led a glorious rebellion for freedom. Due to the nature of her previous job and tremendous popularity among her peers, Rowena had experienced being poisoned a few times; she had build up a resistance against the most common types of venom since then, yet she could never forget the horrible sensation of practically having her intestines knotted together. This was even worse. A waterfall of vulgarities threatening to spurt out of her mouth stayed inside only because of her current need for secrecy; Rowena gasped for air and her eyes welled with painful tears, yet she remained quiet. Misery was the closest companion of anyone serving in the army longer than few weeks and you had to learn to put up with it just like you would tolerate an unpleasant colleague who ignored all the sacred principles of hygiene. The vampire could be grateful for one thing, though; at least the exchange between Darien and Amun-Ra was interesting enough to distract her from sinking in her agony entirely. A normal lifespan? Well, that is... considerably more harmless request than I'd expect from him. The path of pessimism she followed faithfully had taught her to always predict the worst possible outcome; as such, Rowena had subconsciously anticipated Darien was going to betray her somehow. Nobody could logically blame her for such belief. Why would he hide it from her if he didn't aim to sabotage her?

A wish to live longer than the magic slowly decomposing his body from inside was something Rowena easily identified with. Power to re-shape the reality according to your will usually had a costly price tag attached to it and trying to wiggle out of payment felt like a legitimate attitude. She faced a similar problem, except that her predicament was born of a free decision; unlike Darien who had to carry the burden of ancient Egyptian magic just because he possessed the potential, Rowena at least got to click on the 'agree' button under the terms and conditions. The consequences didn't make her especially happy, yet she bore them with a certain kind of twisted, masochistic pride. Like a badge of honor, a message to her enemies. A message that conveyed very eloquently just how far she was willing to go in order to achieve her goals. Demonizing herself to further support her reputation of a murderous freak entertained her to no end, yet it worked precisely just because she had chosen it voluntarily. Darien regaining what had been stolen from him didn't upset her at all; the vampire even got a nagging feeling she was intruding in a very personal moment. She couldn't sneak off right now, though. The risk of being caught red-handed would be too high. So Darien's pals with a god? And here I thought Hekans had shitty contacts. Too bad he also can't call on Thoth's mobile phone to get the whereabouts of that stupid book out of him.

Rowena's musings were suddenly interrupted by a pained scream; her own anguish subsided as if it had never existed in the first place, so her first instinct was to run to Darien to massacre whatever forced him to strain his vocal cords so much. Cold reason, however, talked her into dropping her intention. Getting burnt to a pile of ashes could be regarded as a nice, romantic gesture in teen literature, but Rowena tended to shy away from actions resulting in messy death. She was thinking frantically, trying to stop her wild imagination from painting brutally detailed pictures of what might have happened to her partner, when Darien stumbled into her view. Rowena's lips formed into a small, shocked 'o' upon discovering the extent of sacrifice Amun-Ra demanded from him. "What a bastard. That was a total ass-pull. I mean, why would he even need your eye? Is he perhaps collecting eyeballs of unsuspecting people who ask him for help to display in a fancy showcase because that's the latest fashion trend between gods or... Oh." Realization of her rudeness registered too late on her radar; Darien's new, obviously useless eye pushed the fact she shouldn't even be here out of her memory. "I guess you won't buy it if I tell you I have developed an intense interest in Egyptian architecture, went to admire it and accidentally overheard your chat with Amun-Ra? No, right? Good thinking, since that is a complete bullshit. Yes, I spied on you, but only because I found that parchment of yours and thought you were going to double-cross me somehow. What was I supposed to think? That you wanted to surprise me with a secret birthday party and that little souvenir from someone's tomb was a gift? Come on, let's return to the car," Rowena said in a rapid speed, firing the words so fast they could barely be understood. She looked like a shaken crime victim attempting to mask her fright but failing tragically; losing an eye was just pointlessly cruel.

She waltzed back to the car safely parked in the shadows, sat behind the steering wheel and started searching for something in the compartment, her hands trembling slightly. "You'll... you'll need some sort of bandage over that eye until it heals otherwise you'd be risking an infection. Isn't that another of various situations human metabolism can't handle effectively? Or am I mistaking it for something?" After few seconds, Rowena indeed found a first aid kit and pulled out the bandage. The vampire gently wiped away the bloody trail running down his face so she could treat it properly. Pity, consternation, maybe even a tiny smidge of guilt; the usual indifferent facade had fallen apart and all those emotions were mirroring in her eyes. Get a hold of yourself. You have no business panicking. You're not the one hurt. Say something to repel this unbearable silence. And so was Darien going to become a witness of a sole event scarier than Rowena unleashing her fury on some unlucky fool; Rowena striving to comfort someone.

"You know, it doesn't actually look so bad. This tattoo design was really popular circa two thousand years ago, so it's retro by laws of fashion now and that never gets old..." Oh yeah, really comforting, Rowena. Five stars out of five. He's mutilated now, but at least his injury won't offend a fashion police. "And, umm, history is full of one-eyed people who went on to be incredibly successful in their field, such as..." Dammit, next time I say 'such as' in a sentence, I should have an actual example prepared! "... captain Jack Sparrow. Wait, no. I think that guy was fictional... and had both eyes intact. Didn't even wear glasses. But I know of a surgeon with such skill that he continued to perform operations even after he had lost his sight. Granted, all he could do was cutting out appendixes, yet... Fine, fine, I made that one up, but statistically, it's impossible for everyone with vision impairment to be crestfallen and miserable. You can't argue with maths; that's a foolproof way to make an idiot out of yourself." Rowena was just lucky motivational speeches weren't required from her in the army; had it been so, she would have discouraged three quarters of new recruits from joining and convinced seasoned veterans to quit. "Hey, I know what will definitely cheer you up; laughing at misfortune of other people. Let's see what we have in the store..." The vampire doubted mentioning his former brainwashed comrades would be a good idea; even she understood that was a very thin ice to walk on. "Okay, this one will have you in tears, I promise. Do you remember how I lose control of my powers from time to time, causing me to slowly go to pieces like a cheap Chinese electronics? I'm dying. The kicker? I could easily stop it if I didn't insist on using my powers so much. If you stall this mission enough, I may drop dead on my own and you wouldn't even have to get your hands dirty!" Rowena exclaimed in a tone of someone discussing weather.
 
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Darien stared at Rowena with as much confusion as she was staring at him with surprise upon being discovered in her hide out. But in whichever way he tried to look at her, narrowing his eyes or not, her image was still somewhat distorted as if there was a piece of data missing that resulted in a corrupted file. Just as he was focusing on her face, he heard every word she said clear and loud. My eye... The reality that was already constructed in his brain as an undeniable fact, came out clean and sharp. The god that he trusted, even believed in, just took away the sight in his right eye as a fee for his elongated life span. There were few seconds when 'dumb' would be the best word to describe Darien's brain activity and perception of surroundings. He didn't feel angry, upset, betrayed or hurt. For some reason, he felt complete and uplifted even though part of him was missing. A price of vision for some 50 or more years to live? Well, that was an absolute bargain and Darien would not argue with that. If anything, if he could, he would shake Amun-Ra's hand and pat him on the shoulder, congratulating him for a job well done, maybe asking for some extra years on top of what he got if it would cost him only his second eye as well. As he came back to there and then, Rowena was already walking back to the car, oblivious to him, but from the way she walked or more like was trying to escape, Darien could only guess that she said something embarrassing that he absolutely, yet unintentionally, ignored.

As he walked back, he stumbled couple times. His sense of direction was distorted as well and at first it was just something that he could associate with the exhilarating experience of meeting a godly creature only supported by his current and permanent condition. The true frustration and realization of how difficult his life would become, happened when he reached the car and tried to open the door. His hand was clearly aiming for the door handle, or at least that's what Darien thought, but it missed. Maybe he was just too tired, maybe his brain was tired. So he gave it another try with that undeniably silly excuse in mind. This time his hand closed around the handle and he managed to sit down, light frown on his brow as he was still adjusting to the fact that whatever was to the right of him, was invisible. Then Rowena came into the view again with the first aid kit. As she touched his cheek with the cloth, Darien couldn't help but jerked his head backwards. Not because it hurt, but because he just couldn't see her hand and he didn't know where she was reaching with it, if she was to poke his useless eye or not. Clearly, all these thoughts were unreasonable since Rowena was very much an adult conscious of her own actions and despite her mean attitude, she probably wouldn't go around poking him in the eye just to see whether it was still real or not. It was just the sense of not knowing what was happening, and that somewhat added to Darien's already growing sense of deformity and uncertainty. "Sorry...It's just...I can't see your hand and I don't know what you're doing. Not that I don't trust you. It's just that...I don't know what's going on in front of my face." He said pointing at the right side of his face indicating what he meant. Upon hearing about his newly acquired tattoo, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. So the god even gave him a free ink too. Yes, this was a bargain with many add ons, if one was looking at the situation from the bright side.

Then Rowena switched to the less usual but funnier and more adorable side of hers. The side where she was trying to be all comforting but due to lack of practice or whatever, she was just failing miserably. "It's not like I am miserable, Rowena. Confused, yes. Slightly apprehensive, yes. But you can't argue that this whole thing was a bargain. Though, I have to admit the next couple weeks or months...or years will be quite challenging, but at the end of the day, I am fine with paying the price of my sight for a human life span." He countered Rowena's attempts at making him feel better, showing her his point of view, which was far from what she assumed that he would be like at that moment. Despite being slightly stiff in shoulders, due to possible stress that Darien might have been subconsciously suppressing. He seemed ok otherwise. Up until a certain point, that is. When Rowena carried on, suddenly bringing up the topic of her dying due to her ability of transforming her body into a murderous weapon, concern and solemnity returned to his expression. "What do you mean you're dying? How?" The cheering effect probably ran away from Darien's sudden turn of behaviour. He momentarily forgot about his own handicap and stared at Rowena intensely, which was rather strange as his new eye didn't change at all and the bulk of that intensity was concentrated in his left eye. However, this time, it was him who gave out a clear sign that he wouldn't let this topic go easily and would persist in finding out what was going on with his vampire companion.
 
"What do I mean? Well, 'I'm dying' isn't exactly a cryptic sentence full of symbolism and subtle allusions to Dante's Inferno," she answered in the same easygoing tone, blissfully unaware of Darien's current emotional state. "It obviously means that in the foreseeable future, my life functions will fail and my body will succumb to slow, inevitable decay. A nasty smell of rotting meat will follow soon; I really recommend you to get rid of my corpse by that time since there is no air freshener in this car. Trust me, I've been in cramped space with corpses before and it's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. If you want some useful tips on how to deal with a cadaver, then burial would be a classic way to solve this problem, though you may consider eating me instead. It wouldn't even be cannibalism as we're not the same species, and since it's so difficult for you to find food in a desert, I wouldn't blame you. In fact, you have my permission to do so if I happen to... You know..." Rowena tightened an imaginary noose around her throat and bent her neck in a comical representation of death by hanging. "Kick the bucket before we find the Book. It's not like I could affect your decision anyway and it's better to accept your fate with grace..." The vampire suddenly trailed off, her sentence remaining unfinished. Very low capacity for empathy caused her to encounter some troubles noticing Darien clearly didn't enjoy listening to all the jokes about her approaching demise, but she saw his tension now. A surprised expression settled on her face. It hadn't occurred to Rowena that revealing her condition would be like opening Pandora's box; gallows humor was every soldier's best friend. If you couldn't eliminate your vulnerability, you had to shame it publicly to show how much you didn't care.

"Don't look at me like that, Darien. I didn't tell you so our conversation could devolve into another pity-fest with me crying on your shoulder. That was a singular incident, so no remake is scheduled any time soon. Moreover, I am not the victim here as I actually chose it willingly, fully acquainted with all the drawbacks connected to my decision." Despite knowing better, Rowena yearned to explain herself further; she would rather die than to admit it, but being able to confide her secrets to someone who wouldn't perceive her as a weakling for battling inner demons was strangely liberating. It felt like a poison leaving her system, a new strength pouring into her veins. Besides, Darien would surely pester her endlessly if she tried to omit the details after broaching the topic. Averting her eyes from his, the vampire sighed deeply and continued in her monologue. "Do you remember the story about my miraculous departure from the exclusive club of bedridden good for nothings? Well, I just exchanged that precious membership for an equally valuable one and enrolled to the society of cripples instead. Yay me. I may look healthy on the outside, yet that incident pretty much... infected my powers with a self-destructive virus. The doctors swamped me with technical information nobody without medical training could really understand, but the dumbed-down version is simple. The original source of my abilities - whatever it was - got destroyed due to my carelessness and now I'm basically channeling my own life force to access them. Combine this with the fact that what I do is already taxing on energy, and you get a solid reason to avoid funding your IRA." Rowena chuckled quietly, her eyes still stubbornly set on the dashboard.

"I had two options to choose from; either never use my powers again and spent the rest of my existence trying to forget who I am or just... embrace my gift. I was a firm supporter of the opinion that says it's better to burn than to fade away, so yeah. Do you know what, Darien? I think I even found my predicament to be kinda romantic. A young soldier who climbs ranks swiftly through pure talent only finally earns the honor of being a commander. She continues kicking the collective asses of anyone stupid enough to get in her way, her star shines bright... And then she tragically dies because of a terminal disease. I would have been a heroine; more than heroine. That would have cemented my status as a legend. Too bad I didn't manage to die before my higher-ups backstabbed me and branded me as a filthy traitor. Actually, this is why I'm seeking Book of Thoth in the first place. I wouldn't have minded dying for their cause if they restrained their urge to use me as a scapegoat, but now I kinda want all those wasted years back." Her voice sounded calm, robotically monotone; not a single emotion leaked into her tone, yet her refusal to make an eye contact seemed to be almost timid. The fragile impression, however, dissolved as soon as Rowena actually looked up to him, nothing but detachment reflecting in her gaze. "You should drop that remorse and start celebrating with a little victory dance. Honestly, your chances of success just skyrocketed." Hello, brain. Rowena here. Haven't we agreed to stop flooding Darien with matters from your private life? You know, to keep a distance? Because that plan is coming along nicely.
 
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