Naselle saw them, out on distant rooftops. Small shapes in the blackness of night, scurrying from one roof to another. She saw them as if it was day, as if that horrible thing spewed its light over them. From her perch atop the roof, the human city of Tregar sprawled. Buildings upon buildings, stacked ever close, culminating in the tower at its heart. Naselle laughed at it, short and light.

Hmm? The shapes were getting closer, and that gave her a twinge of surprise. But of course they were. Assassins thought death their ally. It was brutal betrayal when it was visited upon them, and she'd brought it to many since stepping foot in this city.

Death is my ally, not yours, she thought. That could be seen as hypocrisy, but years of killing had driven it into her mind. Death would not come for her, and certainly not by the hands of humans.

She leapt. Her cloak flapped in the wind. If the assassins could see her, they'd be surprised. She had no need of their intricate wires to traverse large gaps between buildings. They must have seen, for the three shapes that headed for her paused.

This is no longer your city. Her feet touched the roof in silence, and then she was sprinting. In a blink she was leaping to the next-in fact, she skipped one building entirely. The lust was quickening her pace, pushing her towards the humans that dared challenge their new superior.

Brave humans. They were still some distance away, but they were moving, albeit with less eagerness this time.

Distance meant nothing. She would be on them in seconds at her current speed. The humans stopped again. One more building, and she would kill them.

A glint of light flew above the rooftops. Naselle leapt, and the glint thudded into a tiled roof below her. Two more came at her as she sailed high in the air. She pulled one palm from beneath her cloak and flicked. The glints were cast aside, flying harmlessly into the night.

Naselle was high above them, falling, ready to land within their midst. She looked down to see them fidgeting with something.

Crossbows. They were prepared this time. Or so they thought. They looked up from their weapons and went still.

Aiming. More bolts raced through the air. Another flick, another dispersion.

By now the Assassins must have realized their futility, for they threw their crossbows on the roof and scattered to surround her landing point.

She had options. One was to change the arc of her jump, and land outside of where they expected. The other was to start the killing now; and indeed, the crimson dagger strapped to her lower back writhed against her, eager to taste. She could throw it.

Or she could make use of the dragon's skull attached to her hip. Watch it rip and feast on the humans as they screamed in terror. As happy as the thought made her, she couldn't risk it. The skull's time was not yet

The dagger came out, twisting itself in her hand, but she didn't throw it. She settled for landing right in what the humans thought was a trap.

All of them stood motionless in the night. Naselle wouldn't make the first move, and the dagger was becoming hard to control.

The humans spoke, but she couldn't understand them. Nor did she care to. She would curse them in the Queen's name, but they didn't deserve to hear her speak. They didn't deserve to look upon her either, but some things couldn't be helped.

"Elf..." one of them said.

That one she understood, and she lifted her head for the first time to see them.

Ugh. Such hideous things. The man in front of her took a step back, a small blade in his hand. He looked quite old for a human, with many scars on his hooded face. She looked at each in turn. Another man and a woman. Both quite young, but the woman seemed barely more than a child.

They were united in one thing: fear. It was easy to tell. She'd seen it on many faces, and it was always the same. She could tell when they tried to hide it, like the old man did.

He thinks himself brave. He was the head of this little group, she imagined.

The dagger pulled her in the young woman's direction.

Soon, blade. Soon. Her own lust was rising into a need; the curse of blood that she gladly accepted.

Another few moments passed of idle talk from the humans, and she snapped. To the dagger's dismay, she set herself upon the leader.

He moved to escape the dagger that aimed for his throat, and he succeeded, if only just. The blade grazed the side of his neck and rent his hood, but he lived. He gathered himself a few feet away and lunged, blade extended.

Naselle spent no effort on her movement. He was so slow that she simply grabbed his arm and twisted. The sound of splintering bone was magnificent, even more so than his scream of agony and the shocked gasps that sounded behind her.

He fell to a knee. As much as she enjoyed this display of pure pain, she needed him to be silent. Crimson entered his throat until it poked out of the other side. When she withdrew it, the blade dragged blood from the wound and drank it greedily. The body collapsed with a sputter of blood, then moved no more.

Are you satisfied?

Crimson writhed with such ferociousness that she could do nothing but smile.

Neither am I.

She turned. What were once assassins now stood pale and farsighted in the moon's blue glow. She couldn't blame them for their fear. Their masters told them that she was nothing more than an assassin from a rival guild. What they found was something beautiful-and far more deadly.

Naselle stepped forward. Crimson pulled towards the young woman, but again it would have to wait. The young man, fearful as he was, held. The young woman took a step back, nearing the roof's edge and the long fall beyond it.

It was times like this that she was thankful to have parted from her sister. Iselle was too much about business. She didn't appreciate the terror they could cause. She didn't seem to enjoy it as much as Naselle, and that was a shame.

Naselle walked slowly towards the man. His face was ever-changing, switching between emotions with every blink.

Finally she was too close, and the man slashed at her. Naselle stepped back. The blade threw one side of her cloak open and passed just inches from her bare stomach.

It almost grazed her, and in his mind he may have thought that it was a near strike. She saw determination in his eyes as he recovered and slashed once more. This met the other side of her cloak.

He stepped forward. Naselle laughed and forced Crimson through the little resistance that his chest provided. The man stumbled backwards until he teetered on the roof's edge. Another step and he would plunge into the dark streets below.

But Naselle couldn't allow that. She took hold of his arm and Crimson's hilt and slung him back onto the roof, pulling the dagger free as she did so. Crimson pulled more blood here than from the old man, but still it wanted.

The young man was alive. That much she knew; she didn't stab for the kill. At least, not to kill him quickly. He moaned feebly as his life flowed, blood forming a pleasant pool around him.

The woman was next. Naselle forced her eyes away from the dying man. When they fell upon the woman, they found a sight just as filling. Terror. Pure, untainted horror. A twisted, disturbing visage. The face of a creature that knows these next moments will be its last.

There would be no running. Few humans made that face and did anything but freeze in wait for their end.

Crimson pulled at her. Yes, now.

The woman still held a dagger. Naselle had no fear of it, given how much the blade shook. She advanced on her slowly. Crimson wouldn't like that, with its eagerness for blood, but she wanted to savor this. Years of Iselle's quick, brutal killings had taught her to enjoy whatever pleasures she could.

She grinned underneath the hood. Could the woman see it? She hoped so.

*

Naselle watched the road with keen eyes. Empty, save for the night fog that drifted lazily over its blue stone. Humans did little during the night, she'd come to learn, but she needed to be careful. Across the road were more buildings. They were more intricate here than in the rest of the city, and the humans probably thought them beautiful.

The road was too large to jump normally, and that wasn't helped by the lowness of her current building. Not a problem, in truth. She leapt. Her arc was short, and as the sensation of falling hit, a finger slid over Crimson's edge.

It was reflex at this point. She drew on the cut, felt the power, and reversed the fall. The coming blue stone shot away from her, and she landed neatly on the building's roof.

Crimson writhed on her waist.

My blood is delicious, I know.

Naselle stepped over the jutting middle of the roof and to the other side. The tower greeted her, tall and lined with bright lights. The building she stood on was one of many that formed a giant circle around it.

I was right. She pet the dragon skull strapped to her hip. The humans here are important.

Naselle crouched at the edge and peeked over. On the ground was a small courtyard with a fountain and one human guard standing at the black gate.

Kill it. No, not him. He was irrelevant. Whatever he stood watch over was the prize.

Closer to the roof was a small balcony. It poked out in front of a large glass window.

The roof covered the balcony from where she stood, so instead of a step and fall, she hung from the roof's edge and swung towards the wall as she descended. She landed gracefully and noticed something. The glass was no window, but a door. It slides so that the human can enjoy the courtyard. Such luxury.

The door was locked, and her view inside was obstructed by curtains. One had to question the intelligence of living behind a thin glass door in a city full of assassins.

Or, Naselle thought, grinning, something much worse.

She took Crimson from its home on the back of her waist. Another glance towards the guard. He stood as he did before, straight and motionless, staring off in the direction of the tower.

Naselle turned back to the glass door. She brought Crimson to the lock and pressed the tip into it. Crimson's red blade began to glow, reflecting from the nearby glass and casting itself on the stone wall. Slowly she pushed forward, until the lock separated.

Now, we begin.

Naselle took the skull from her hip. It was still intact, though one of the black horns had chipped. That shouldn't make things too difficult.

She set the skull down on the balcony's floor and crouched, pointing Crimson tip-down over its top.

I will this.

From Crimson's razor-sharp edge came a stream of blood. The skull was showered in it, until what was once white was covered in red.

Crimson writhed. Dragon blood was strong; the blade would hate to part ways with it.

There, there. You'll have a very potent supply of it very soon.

With the skull properly drenched, Naselle began to draw a symbol in the blood, the one called 'Summon'. She waited for the symbol to set and glow. Immediately afterwards she drew another, this one the symbol of binding. Iselle was particular about the order and speed. To resurrect something without binding it to your will was a grave mistake. Even if easily destroyed, it was embarrassing to summon something that had its own mind to kill you.

And this creature was hard enough to kill the first time.

As the binding took hold, the skull lifted from the small puddle of blood. Naselle stepped to the other end of the balcony. Pure instinct caused her to wield Crimson with deadly intent.

Blood in a fine mist circled the skull, and then spread to form limbs and body. The creature was taking shape. Red mist condensed into a giant, naked body, with two blood-marked symbols etched on its forehead.

The dragon stared at her with dull eyes, the same eyes that were once filled with rage and confidence-

Naselle prodded with her mind. Who are you?

She felt the dragon's mind churning. I...am no one.

Let us see, Naselle thought to herself, stepping forward. She had to look up to see its face. Was it this large when it died? There were doubts in her mind that it could even fit through the door. This was the queen's power, long after her death.

Crimson touched the dragon's massive neck. The creature didn't react.

Good. She patted its scaled cheek. You serve a higher purpose now, animal.

The dragon flared black wings, then looked down into the courtyard. Naselle followed its gaze. The guard had moved a few feet farther from the gate but was otherwise the same. Vast empty stones of blue were set out before him, leading all the way to the tower, and Naselle wondered what the purpose of such a barren place was.

Wait here. Naselle placed a hand on the glass door and it pulled it aside. She crouched through the curtains and into darkness. There was a dresser adorned with a large mirror that she could see herself in. Little things were scattered about its top. Combs and brushes were the most abundant. A small box sat near its edge, covered in intricate patterns.

Jewelry? If only I was a petty thief.

Her eyes turned elsewhere. There. A bed, and a small figure resting within it. Naselle beat down her urges. Remember the plan, she repeated in her head. She couldn't afford to let bloodlust crowd her mind.

Come, Naselle commanded, turning to see if the dragon obeyed his master. A moment later he appeared in the opening but didn't enter. The frame was simply too small for its full height.

His giant hands reached for the top of the doorframe.

Naselle knew the outcome. Stop!

The dragon froze.

Crouch, as I am, and you'll fit. If you break the frame, I'll kill you again.

He did as she told, crouching low through the doorway. It was still a tight fit. His height was great, but so was his width. The dragon reached her and then stood, towering within the room.

Such heavy steps, she thought to herself. Do you see that? she asked him, and then pointed towards the bed.

Yes, he answered.

A human sleeps within the sheets. Kill it. Break its neck first, so that it may not scream, and then tear at its flesh until it dies. Be sure to use your teeth and claws.

The dragon stepped forward.

And, whatever you do, don't eat all of it.

I will not, it responded.

In two steps he was next to the bed, and Naselle heard a lovely cracking sound. Then the dragon set to work, to what Naselle truly needed from it. This was no random, senseless killing. A plan was now in motion. There was another dragon hidden within the city, and the humans would help her find it.