My wounds cry for the grave.
My soul cries for deliverance.
Will I be denied ?
From the song Tourniquet (the Fallen album), by Evanescence
The first few months Solomon and I spent together, we spent on my training and education. He began by telling me about his kind.
"My kind are called the Chiroptera. The majority of us start life as humans, only to be transformed into vampires by either taking in or being infected by the blood of a Chiropteran Queen. The Chiropteran Queens are the true vampires - the originals. As a race, they're believed to have evolved parallel to human beings as a separate species under the genus Homo."
"As Chiropterans, we feed off human blood. We possess extraordinary speed, strength and healing abilities, as well as extremely long life-spans. We are also shapeshifters, capable of assuming Chiropteran or human form, and are able to transform our various body parts into wings or shields or weapons."
"Throughout history, humans have attempted to exploit the Chiroptera, either to find a source of immortality or a weapon for wars. It was to end the scourge of the Chiroptera that the human-raised Chiropteran Queen, Saya, decided to destroy her kind. In this she was opposed by her twin sister, Diva, and the war they fought lasted well over a century, ending only a few years ago with Diva's - and almost all of the Chiroptera's - destruction."
"Following the war's conclusion, Saya entered into the thirty-year hibernation cycle that is characteristic of the Queens. The human factions that supported Diva during the war disbanded. Or at least that's what I had assumed. I believe now that some of Diva's human followers have been contacted by the Searrs, and that they're working together now to recreate the substance called Delta 67. It's the same substance that Diva's followers used to transform humans into Chiroptera, and most of the research that enabled its creation was destroyed in the war between the sisters. It's with this substance that I believe the Searrs intend to transform the former Himes, and perhaps eventually other humans, into Chiroptera."
When he paused in his explanation, I asked him the only question that remained unanswered in my mind.
"You told me once that you would explain more fully to me your desire to oppose the Searrs, when letting things develop as they are poses no risk to you."
He considered his response carefully, then continued. "To be honest, there was a time when the Searrs' current goals coincided with mine. I was a member of Diva's faction. I was one of her five Chevaliers - a class of Chiroptera more powerful than the rest because of having directly been granted a Chiropteran Queen's blood. Chevaliers are compelled by instinct to serve and protect their mistresses at all costs."
"But then one day, I met my mistress's twin and enemy, Saya...and I fell in love. I eventually abandoned Diva, ignoring the compulsion of my blood, to join Saya in her cause. She was in love with another, with her own Chevalier, but I chose her side nonetheless. It was while protecting her that I nearly died. I still don't know to this day who saved me and how. But I made a promise to myself then that I would devote the rest of my existence to protecting Saya's happiness. Though she sleeps now, what the Searrs are attempting to do contradicts her desires. It's for that reason alone that I wish to oppose them."
"But how do you intend to fight the Searrs, with all their power and resources?"
"When I fought by Diva's side, I ran the corporation that provided a legitimate human front for our faction's activities. It was called the Cinq Flèches Group, and though it has fallen largely inactive, most of its infrastructure and resources are still in place. All that I really need is someone else of a like intelligence to help me fight this battle, and that's where you come in."
"Do the Searrs know about your existence or Saya's and her Chevalier's? Because it seems to me that it would be far easier for them to complete their research if they had any of the three of you."
"The survivors of the war all believe me to be dead, and Saya and her Chevalier are guarded by their human protectors, the Red Shield. As far as the Searrs are concerned, the only option that remains open to them is recreating Delta 67 from whatever material Diva's old followers managed to preserve."
"How long do you think we have before the Searrs finally manage to produce the substance?"
He shook his head. "It's difficult to estimate, as it ultimately depends on how much of the original material has survived. But based on some rough assumptions I've made, it can be anywhere from six to eighteen months."
"That's very little time with which to mount a defense or launch a counter-attack."
He nodded. "That's why we have to work fast. Actually, if you don't have any more questions, I'd like to proceed immediately with the next phase of your training."
"Which is?"
"Learning to fight with all kinds of bladed weapons, particularly the katana. I hate to tell you this, but bullets are entirely ineffectual against the Chiroptera in their vampiric form. Dismemberment via the blade is still the most effective way of dispatching them."
"I have some skill with the naginata. Perhaps that will help."
He smiled at me grimly. "Even with the fighting ability you've retained from your Hime days, Shizuru, the training will be difficult."
I gazed back at him calmly. "Don't worry, Solomon. You're not the only one who has a strong reason to fight."
If it's to protect Natsuki, I added silently to myself, I'll do anything and I'll fight anyone - Hime powers or no Hime powers.
~~~~~
Solomon hadn't lied when he warned me that the training would be difficult. For the next several months, not a day passed that I didn't suffer a cut, a bruise, a sprain, a dislocation or a fracture.
"I expected you to be resilient and uncomplaining, Shizuru, but your stoic indifference to your pain is almost incomprehensible to me. For one thing, you can't possibly be used to being beaten up on a regular basis like this. For another, you only have a human's capacity for endurance and recovery."
I sipped my tea before regarding Solomon's figure at the doorway, his gaze fixed on my bandaged arm. I smiled at him reassuringly.
"Would you care to join me for tea?"
He nodded, but his expression remained troubled. "I'm truly sorry for forcing you to endure all this, Shizuru. Maybe we should lighten your regimen somewhat. In any case, based on what your instructors tell me, you've made absolutely amazing progress. You seem to be a prodigy when it comes to fighting, apparently. So perhaps there's no need for us to be so strict with your training."
I shook my head. "On the contrary, Solomon, the fact that I do get injured tells me more than anything of my need for further training. When the day comes that none of my trainers can touch me, then that will be the day I will allow my pace to be relaxed."
He regarded me for a long moment, then shook his head and smiled. "Whatever other reasons you have for fighting, I am truly truly glad that you're on my side."
"That's enough formality for today," I told him calmly. "Now drink your tea before it gets cold."
~~~~~
After Solomon left, I looked at my bandaged arm and examined the rest of the cuts and bruises still healing on various parts of my body. What Solomon didn't know was that by empowering me to protect Natsuki and her friends, he was giving me not just the chance to be part of Natsuki's life again, but the opportunity to actually deserve being a part of her life again. My battered body hurt, yes, but it was a pain I welcomed, because it was a pain that contained penance, absolution, deliverance and redemption. The only way I could cleanse the blood on my hands was by washing it away with mine.
If by doing this, I can clean my hands enough so that they can someday touch Natsuki's face, then it'll all be worth it... With that thought, I calmly drank the rest of my tea.