Chapter Twenty Three

Blood and Bone

Relief flooded him as Inerys dusted herself off. Of all the creatures she could have stumbled across . . .

“Your ability to get yourself into trouble is uncanny,” Rhydian said, surveying the damage to the forest.

Her breath was ragged, but she managed, “I’m beginning to think I’m cursed.”

“Bastard probably wanted that fancy spiritual core of yours,” Ayduin said, looking her over.

“More than likely,” Rhydian agreed.

Inwardly, he cursed himself. He’d allowed her to stray too far out of the range of his Awareness. Had he kept closer, he would have recognized the threat before things got out of hand. Still, the whole ordeal had been a decent learning experience.

Inerys’ lack of physical discipline had become glaringly obvious. In her old body, she may have been capable enough, but with her reinforced strength, she struggled. The poor girl had launched herself a handful of times in her attempt to put distance between herself and her pursuer. By all rights, she should have easily outclassed the drake. However, without familiarity and coordination, she had floundered about like a fish on land. After what he’d seen, he wouldn’t have been surprised if some of those uprooted, crooked trees had been her doing, rather than the drake’s.

With a fair amount of physical training, she could put that strength and speed to good use. The only question was how to go about it. He could start by adding a few physical activities to her current regime each day, both before and after her meditations. A walk, perhaps? Something simple, at least to begin with. There were plenty of opportunities to hike and swim around camp and no shortage of more structured exercises in his own knowledge bank. She may not be a Talhavar, but she would benefit from the training of one so long as she was under his charge.

But such thoughts could be shelved until tomorrow.

Bow still in hand, he moved for the fallen drake. Yellowed, viscous saliva oozed from its open maw, breath near unbearable. He wrinkled his nose, stomach wavering. A quick scan of its cores confirmed that it was, in fact, of its forth Ascension. Like most terrestrial draconic species, its physical core was more impressive than its mental and spiritual ones.

In theory, the more potent essence found in the blood would provide Inerys’ physical core with enough to foster her own Ascension. The days of mediation required to fully process it would also serve to advance the metal core. Of course, they would have to stretch out the feedings and provide her with plenty of downtime, in order for her to rest. Too much all at once would only make her sick, overwhelm her already delicate system.

He had time, he reminded himself. After all, they were operating off however long it took for her to recover, rather than a hard deadline. The lack of one was a bit daunting, but he knew that a strong foundation could not be rushed. Push too hard and both her meridians and her cores would expand faster than they could settle. Both needed time in order to condense properly. If they did not, they would not be able to handle higher Ascensions down the line and her growth would stunt. With her level of spiritual damage already, she was at enough risk. They had been lucky her core had stabilized as uniformly as it had.

By what miracle that had occurred, he wasn’t sure, but he had inspected the remnants of her recent purge himself. There had been no strange clumps to suggest the harmful crystallization of her essence and the bile had been more oily than watery. Which indicated a strong concentration of essence in her channels. All in all, it had been a normal expulsion of impurities. He had no intention of wasting their run of good luck by rushing her next Ascension.

The Council could wait and if they pressed him, he would tell them to kick rocks, consequences be damned. Inerys’ future took precedence. He would face any repercussions after he fulfilled his promise to see her safely to the Patriarch.

He ran one hand along the creature’s side, studying the scales, the points of weakness. There was an almost metallic quality to the drake’s natural armor, which had likely been the reason why it had endured as much damage as it had. His emberlance Technique had split the armor between its neck and forelimb, but it had taken two to fully penetrate flesh. Scales like those could be used for any number of purposes. Powders, armors, lesser treasures . . .

Perhaps it was a good thing he’d emptied out his Pocket.

He had never been one to waste a kill.

“It will take some time to harvest, but there should be more than enough blood to last the next few weeks. We can harvest the meat as well, split it between us and the wyverns. Ephaxus could use a fair bit himself,” he said.

“Could dig out the cores too,” Ayduin added. “It would be a shame to waste them.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Best get to it,” he said.

He glanced about, trying to decide how best to bleed out a creature of this size. Hanging it upside down wasn’t really an option, unless they got creative. There were no low enough hanging branches from the elder trees and the smaller ones were too thin to support the weight of a creature that size. Even if they could, they did have any rope or chain. He stood, rubbing his chin as she took in the surrounding forest.

Decades ago, one of the larger trees had fallen, leaving behind a particularly thick log several meters high. An idea sparked and he took a moment to consider their options, a plan beginning to form. He looked to Ephaxus, then the creature. While they were relatively the same size, Ephaxus was considerably lighter. However, he was strong, which they could use to their advantage in this situation.

“Ephaxus, do you think you could drag the drake up over that log?” He asked.

The wyvern eyed him, considering, then gave a slight dip of his head.

“He says he’ll try,” Inerys said.

“What are you thinking?” Ayduin asked.

“If we could drape the body off the side of the log, we could bleed it more efficiently. Once we sever the head, you can forge a funnel from ice. Inerys and I can work on filling the jars while you dig out the mental core. Or, we slit the throat and wait until its bled before we go searching for any cores.”

“That could work,” she said. “What are your thoughts, Red?”

“I’d recommend slitting the throat, rather than severing the head. I’m not sure if drakes work the same way, but deer taste awful if you don’t give them a swift, clean death. The meat might be edible, but it's tough and sometimes hard to stomach,” she said.

“Better than letting it sit and rot” Ayduin argued.

Ephaxus rumbled and Inerys looked up to him in surprise.

“Are you sure? A-alright, fine,” she said, holding up her hands. “If you want it, by all means.”

“Suppose that settles it then,” his partner said.

Rhydian nodded, then turned his head toward the sky and gave a sharp whistle. He’d sensed Tanuzet and Vaelor’s presence enter the sky above them shortly after Ephaxus had ambushed the drake. With them so close at hand, they may as well land. They could use a few extra sets of eyes on the ground while they worked on harvesting what they could from the kill.

With a pitched nicker, Ephaxus prowled back over to the corpse of his foe, tongue flickering. With Tanuzet’s help, they managed to maneuver the dead weight into place without too much difficulty while Vaelor kept watch. Alongside her tall, icy funnel, Ayduin had forged a thick support to rest below the drake’s jaw. It held the head up at a slight angle, providing a more efficient means of draining its blood down into the waiting basin. Gruesome as it was, it was effective.

The twenty quart-sized jars Sorisana had supplied them with filled quickly, and rather than waste a plentiful resource, they’d devised a viable alternative means of storage. Being that Rhydian’s Pocket wasn’t designed as a living space, anything inside would enter a suspended state when the portal closed. So, in theory, they wouldn’t have to worry about any forged ice melting while inside.

After a few attempts to get the design right, Ayduin forged three large barrels in which to store some of the excess blood. He wasn’t entirely sure they needed all of it, but this way, less went to waste. If nothing else, he could gift what remained to the Sages. They could process it down into concentrated blood essence to help replenish their own stocks. To replace what Sorisana had given him.

There was plenty to be gained from the carcass, like the bones and heart, but only so much time they could spare. So, they prioritized the meat and cores next. Ayduin eyed the corpse after dismissing her funnel contraption, then used a variation of the Crescent Blade Technique to conjure a wide, razer-thin sheet of ice in the air before her. With her arms spread wide, she sighted her target, then pushed out with one hand, directing the two meter long blade through the drake's thick neck, just behind the skull. Ice cleaved flesh with little resistance. The head thumped to the ground, tongue lolling out with a wet smack that left Inerys green around the edges.

Ayduin patted her shoulder. "You sure you're a huntress?" She teased.

"Deer are . . . considerably less grotesque," she replied.

"You're right, that breath is rather terrible, isn't it?"

Color bled from the woman's face. "I think I might actually be sick."

Leaping out of retching distance, Ayduin shot her a look. "If you're going to purge your guts again, go do it over there."

The vampire staggered off a ways, but appeared to get her stomach back under control.

"I take it we're left with the nasty business?" Rhydian asked.

"It would seem so," Ayduin sighed.

Rather than dig through flesh for the next several hours, Ayduin opted to cut the drake into more manageable pieces. While she concentrated on maintaining her Techniques, Rhydian guided where to strike. She split the head in two, offsetting her cut from the center, as not to jeopardize the core. Then, she cleaved the chest and pelvis just behind the respective cores.

As the body separated, the tell-tale glow of its cores shone through the gore. With a grimace, Rhydian nudged the two hemispheres of the drake’s head apart with his boot. At the center of the brain, a solid sphere of faint gold light peeked through the folds. It appeared Ayduin’s slice had almost been a little too precise.

“My turn, then?” He sighed.

“If you please,” Ayduin cooed.

Accepting his fate, he removed his gloves, then his bracers, and passed them over. He pulled his sleeves up past his elbows, ensuring they remained secure, then set to work while the women watched. He shoved the useless half of the head aside, which was promptly snapped up by one of the wyverns. Tanuzet was never one to waste good meat, though her ferocity occasionally made his skin crawl. Especially in instances like this.

Grimacing, he reached into the warm, sticky flesh, the smooth surface of the core slippery in his grasp. It was around the size of a small melon, but about half the weight. It eased out of the tissue without resistance, vibrating softly against his palm.

Inerys’ expression walked a fine line between horror and intrigue. “The cores are solid?”

“More or less,” he said, “the different aspects of the Soul exist in a sort of limbo between the physical and spiritual realm while you’re alive. After death, the meridians are broken down and absorbed into the body while the cores solidify and are left behind in the physical world.”

“That’s . . . oddly disturbing,” she said.

Ayduin shrugged. “But useful. We can put those cores to good use or sell them. It’s a win either way.”

Rhydian held out the bloody core, clearing his throat. “If you would.”

With a roll of her eyes, Ayduin doused the core in a small slurry of water. Taking it, she weighed it in her hands a moment. She hummed, nodding.

“Not bad. You want this in your Pocket too?”

“Please,” he said. “I’d rather not have those on the saddles with us.”

~*~

Inerys watched while Rhydian worked with grim efficiency. He dug out core after core, thick ichor staining his dark skin. He never once complained, which she found rather admirable. She could handle gutting her own kills, had done so countless times, but she had always been squeamish when it came to the bowels. She shuddered when he shoved them aside to retrieve the silvery physical core.

Ephaxus’ head snaked in beside her, tongue flickering with interest.

“Please tell me you’re not planning on eating those?” Inerys groaned.

If he did, she was fairly certain she’d actually lose her breakfast this time.

The heart is the true prize, he said, May I?

She stifled her urge to gag. “Have what you will, I lost my appetite hours ago.”

Are you certain? I could save a portion of the heart-

“I appreciate it, but I’ll be fine. I promise,” she said quickly.

He huffed, but moved to snag the lion’s share of the torso. With a contented rumble, he dragged it off to a more secluded area, much to her relief. She’d seen the way Tanuzet snatched up the two halves of the skull and unlike Ephaxus, did not have the courtesy to eat them elsewhere. Mercifully, she and Vaelor had the decency to haul the tail away before indulging any further.

Thoroughly disturbed by the whole affair, she glanced to Ayduin, who sat nearby. She was still inspecting the rich, dusky core. If Inerys focused on it, she noticed a fine, chocolatey brown dust swirling around inside.

Ayduin asked absently, “What’s it like? Speaking with Ephaxus?”

Inerys blinked.

“It’s normal enough, I suppose. Though, sometimes it does give me a bit of a headache,” she said, watching the hazy swirl of the core. “Why is the core that color?”

“Earth essence,” she replied. “Spiritual cores typically adopt the color of whatever essence domain you’ve chosen. If you focus on your own during your meditations, you should be able to see yours once you’ve chosen a domain.”

Was hers not supposed to have a color yet?

She bit her lip. “I see.”

Ayduin spared her a glance, eyes narrowing, “Speak.”

Hesitantly, she said, “I’ve already seen mine. It’s red. For the most part, anyway.”

The woman eyed her with renewed scrutiny, as if she might sneak a peek of Inerys’ core for herself.

“Then it seems you are of the blood domain. Interesting.”

“Is it that surprising?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Not surprising, necessarily. Only curious. Sages and other healers with the ability to fleshweave are of the domain. Sorisana, for instance. Your core may also indicate the domain you have an affinity for. Mine glowed a light blue even when I was babe.”

Inerys touched the faint scar along her throat. “I could become a healer, then?”

“I don’t see why not,” she said, “Provided you can find someone willing to take you on as an apprentice in Saeducar. The Patriarch must have someone in his court for you to study under.”

“I’m assuming that also depends on the viability of my spirit?”

She nodded. “It would. You still have a ways to go before unlocking that beast.”

Indeed she did.