The Fallen Vampire

246  Reveal

The Poison Tree Curse.

Taira devised it himself after being unable to shake his fascination with a poem shared with him by Vermeil- likening this curse as a small tribute to her.

Like the poisonous emotions spoken of in the poem, the curse transforms one into a tree that can only subsist off the internal fear of the caster.

The moment that the subject is not afraid anymore, it has no substance to keep itself alive and thus a process of starvation begins.

You could water Elliot in blood, tears, or Colt 45, absolutely none of it would have changed anything.

He would still begin the slow, painful process of dehydration. His excruciating death would be dragged out for weeks or months at a time.

That is, unless someone decided to chop him down ahead of time. But it was unlikely that someone could find a weapon in the lower realm sharp enough to do so.

"Intriguing… I don't believe I've ever seen a curse as complex as this."

Taira looked at Eui Fang and found him staring at the 'tree' in fascination.

Elliot was still alive, though his face was the only part of him that remained visible.

With his vocal cords turned to wood, he could no longer even scream out to vocalize his intense discomfort. Instead, he released these pitiful monotonous groans that were barely loud enough to hear over the roar of the wind.

Eui Fang seemed to find most everything about the curse fascinating as he poked at the tree like a small child.

"You."

Eui Fang pauses and glances over at Taira who is staring at him coldly.

"How did you know that he was the culprit..?"

Taira's tone made it very clear that he was looking for any sort of lie or fallacy to give him a reason to take one more life today.

Eui Fang smiled disarmingly and tapped a finger against his head.

"I heard it just now. It's a shame I couldn't do so earlier, or I would've warned you."

Taira narrowed his eyes.

It's rare for humans to be born natural telepaths. As in, one in around ninety million.

They're usually very smart. But their bodies are afflicted with some sort of disability (Can't walk, talk, cultivate, etc.)

They usually don't live very long because people aren't usually very big fans of those who can overhear their darkest thoughts at any given time.

"Prove your ability to keep your life."

Taira wasn't a fool. Anybody could claim to have a higher brain capability but so few actually had the ability.

He couldn't allow Eui Fang to say something just to say it. Proof was mandatory.

"Well you see, I'm usually able to read the minds of whoever I'm near. But for some reason, the minds of you and your brides continue elude me."

Taira could wager a guess that it was his one time source of diet that made him immune.

To prove his claim, Eui Fang pointed out random members of the crowd and divulged some of their deepest secrets.

Mostly things like who was attracted to who and who believed it was alright to skip baths.

Judging by the mortified looks on people's faces, he was more than just a little bit accurate.

"Satisfied?" He asked with a smile.

Taira gave no answer.

Instead he walked past the overly charismatic sect leader as if there was nothing else remotely interesting about him.

Vermeil followed in his footsteps shortly after he started to leave. She was then followed by Keran, and eventually Aveena.

The storm picked up once again and became so thick that no one could see which direction they left in.

It was so long before anyone even moved again. It was as if they were all afraid to do so without permission.

Eui Fang was the first to move, but it was only because something caught his eye.

For just a moment he could have sworn that… maybe he saw the hull of a boat floating over the island.

But just as quickly as it came into view, it disappeared. Taking the harsh blizzard along with it.

-

Shakti was breathing heavily as sweat trickled down her forehead.

She lie on her back- barely conscious and clearly in a state of delirium.

It was almost like she was going through a bad high.

The colors in the room were too bright, so she had to keep her eyes closed. Her head was pounding, so even the rustle of the sheets felt like drums resounding within her ears.

Worst of all, her body felt like it was spinning. She knew if she even tried to walk or sit up she would lose the contents of her stomach.

A soft, cold cloth was placed over her forehead; giving her temporary respite from the fever that ravaged her.

Shakti opened her eyes as minimally as she could to glean the culprit.

"Dai…Shi..?"

An ocean of colors and cartoonish apparitions swam through his hair. He looked like the world's most handsome fever dream.

At least, Shakti hoped that it was a dream. Otherwise she didn't know if she could live with herself after causing him this much unnecessary trouble.

'Such a… beautiful dream..'

Shakti tried to lift her arm to touch him, but she didn't seem to have the strength to do it herself. Just before her hand came crashing back down into the bed, he reached out to catch it.

He brought her hand towards his face, and planted a lingering kiss on her palm.

The warmth. It was unmistakable.

There had been a select few instances where Shakti had been lucky enough to touch Taira on accident.

She had his warmth, the softness of his skin, and the curls of his hair all perfectly memorized. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

And though she had never felt his lips before, this was in fact what she had imagined them to be like.

This rolling heat encased in soft, velvety reminders of her deepest buried needs and wishes.

It was too much joy to place in the lap of a sick woman. But one thing she knew for sure was that this definitely wasn't a dream.

The man she'd sworn to serve was kissing her. Granted, it was just her hand, but it was on her body nonetheless.

All of this was too much for her mind to handle.

Her eyes fluttered closed once more despite her determination to fight her exhaustion.

Her last fleeting thought was a simple prayer that he would still be here whenever she awoke.

Taira held Shakti's hand for a long time after she lost consciousness.

He was almost like a statue he moved so little.

His eyes didn't waver off of her.

Not even when he heard the door open behind him.

"Pardon me, Dai-Shi… But I believe that I can help everyone here."

Idc how old I get. I’ll never stop being mad at American dragon Jake long for changing the art style in season 2

AnathaShesha

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