A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

It wasn't long before a furious Lars stormed out of the bunker and right into the middle of a battle between Anders and Frederik. They were going at it without a word, and their movements were a little strange, but Lars was far too angry to notice any of that right now.

Or, for that matter, any of the other strange things there. Like the blackened corps lying just a few feet away, or the fact that the other vampires all stared at the fighting with lifeless gazes.

"That's it!" he roared as he grabbed towards Anders. "I don't care who started this fight, I've had more than enough of your crap, Anders! Let's see how much trouble you make as a mindless ghoul!"

Only after grabbing Anders by his throat and looking into the man's dazed, empty eyes, did he realize something was wrong with him. Anders wasn't even struggling against his grip. "What's wrong with you? You half asleep, or what?" he frowned, while shaking the vampire in the air.

Distracted and a little confused as he was, he also didn't notice that the remaining four vampires, including the one he was trying to save, were closing in on him from behind.

He turned around, Anders still in his grip, "Do any of you know what's going on with—" he began, but fell silent when he suddenly realized he was surrounded by the remaining vampires, all looking at him with empty gazes full of obedience to another.

That was also when he noticed the corps lying a little further away, and the two human girls standing just behind his former subordinates.

Instantly, the fury drained from his face, to be replaced by a cold, calculative expression. As if his previous anger was just a joke. He released Anders and fully turned towards the two girls, who he instantly realized were behind this.

He wasn't Sigurd's second-in-command for nothing.

"I see," he growled. "It seems I've been lured into a trap. I'm sure the earlier quacking was related to you two as well."

Then he turned specifically to Emily, "And you… I recognize you. Our focus was on that werewolf back when that thing with Astrid happened, but I saw some glimpses of a raven-haired woman as well. I can only assume it's no coincidence that you and that werewolf show up to interfere in Dominion business one after the other. Who are you? And who is he?"

'He must have seen Master through the eyes of a ghoul,' Emma and Emily thought at the same time. 'I wonder how it's going over there…'

They weren't worried about him, however. They may not be able to talk with each other over this distance, but they could still feel that he was alive and well.

"You seem surprisingly calm about all this," Emily grinned devilishly. "Based on your earlier outbursts, I would expected you to be a more… expressive person."

"It's easier for people to follow a mean bastard than a calculative asshole," the man shrugged, indifferently, but on high alert. "It's more relatable. Now answer my question. Who are you, and why are you interfering in Dominion business?"

"I see," Emily nodded appreciatively. "That's clever, I like it."

She had no problem engaging with this man a little. After all, if at all possible, getting him to cooperate willingly was preferable.

"Anyway," she continued, finally wiling to answer his question. "My name is Emily, and this is my little sister Emma. That werewolf you mentioned earlier is our husband. His name is Erik Gunnulf."

Ignoring his surprise about finding out that these two human sisters were both the wives of a single werewolf, he focused on the name she mentioned instead. "Gunnulf…?" he muttered, with narrowed eyes, a memory sparking inside him.

Emily smirked confidently and nodded, "That's right. Our husband is Runa Gunnulf's son, and also happens to be Astrid Frost's childhood friend. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this…"

"Astrid is alive…" Lars immediately realized, eyes opened wide. "That, I did not expect… nor that Runa had a son. Where the hell did he even come from after all this time?!"

"Is that really important right now?" Emily chuckled dismissively.

"I suppose not…" Lars mumbled, already coming down from his surprise a little. His face now showed a thoughtful frown. He had long since started to completely ignore the vampire's around them. He realized one of these women was using some method to control them, but he didn't care.

All he cared about was himself.

And that was why Emily was treating him this way. Because he was more helpful as a willing participant, and because Astrid had always judged him to be supremely selfish, to the point of sociopathy.

And that was a trait Emily could exploit in a way that Elora would be proud of.

"So I suppose you're here to take control of the second-ranked ghouls, while your husband does his part in Kirkenes, and by the end of it all, Sigurd will be dead, and Lady Liv will be back in charge?" he immediately guessed correctly. He didn't know the specifics of their plan, but the beginning and end parts were obvious to him.

"Essentially, yes," Emily snickered confidently.

"And it looks like you might just succeed…" Lars frowned. "As soon as Liv and the second-ranked ghouls stand on your side instead, the battle is basically over." He sighed and shook his head, "I always told Sigurd he needed to secure this place better, but he got overconfident. Especially after he enslaved Liv."

Shaking himself free from his thoughts, he refocused on Emily, "So what now? There must be a reason you're still talking to me, rather than doing whatever you did to these guys."

He didn't intend to struggle unless there was no other way. He could see when he was outmatched.

"True," Emily nodded with a conspiratory grin. "You see, these slaves are useful, but they can't do much besides simple, menial tasks. Certainly controlling a third-ranked ghoul is beyond them. Something that I assume is generally your task?"

"I see…" the clearly sharp Lars nodded. "You want my willing participation in this little ghoul rebellion you're staging. But why should I? I can see that Sigurd's days are numbered, even if I don't help you, but if I'm going to help you, I want some assurances of my safety when it's all over. Otherwise, what's the point?"

In response, Emily took out a sigil stone from her storage collar, and presented it, "Here is your assurance. I assume you recognize it?"

Suppressing his surprise over magically appearing stone, Lars nodded. "It's a sigil stone. Sigurd makes plenty of those. But what sigil is inscribed on it?"

"It's a covenant sigil," Emily shrugged. "We make a deal, and the covenant sigil enforces it. The deal is this: in return for you following our orders until the Kirkenes battle is over, you will be allowed to leave afterwards. As a second-ranked vampire, you can easily find a place to belong in the Council."

This sigil was something that only fairies could create by channeling their own magic. Naturally, it was a hot commodity back in Söl and on other worlds as the only accepted method of making important deals.

Being one of the few Dominion members who knew of the council, Lars nodded in understanding, but also frowned. "I don't doubt this sigil will bind me to that, but how do I know it binds you as well?"

"You don't," Emily smirked sadistically. "But what other choice do you have? If you refuse, I'll simply enslave you and make it work."

She couldn't actually enslave another second-ranker, but she could always kill one of her current ones and make some room.

For a few moments, Lars and Emily were stuck in a staring contest, but then Lars finally nodded. "Fine. You have a deal. It's not like I care about Sigurd."

"Good!" Emily grinned widely, before directing her slaves to grab Lars's limbs. "Just insurance, you know? It can be dangerous for an Arcanist like me to approach a Runebound."

Lars scoffed, but nodded, and watched Emily approach with the stone in hand.

A few moments later, some dark green energy swirled, and a deal was struck.

With that, Emily and Emma sighed in relief. Finally, everyone important was either dead or under control.

——————————

A few moments later, things had calmed down, and the sister's finally entered the surprisingly comfortable bunker, accompanied by Lars and the enslaved vampires.

"We did it, big Em!" Emma smiled brightly at her older sister while they walked through the bunker towards the control room. "Master will be so proud of us!"

"Of course he will," Emily chuckled perversely as an eager and excited glint passed through her eyes. "And then he'll finally give me what I want!"

Emma quickly remembered what Emily had been promised by Erik, causing her eyebrows to twitch slightly as she palmed her face. "Right… he was going to do it gently if we failed…"

Emily nodded with a wide grin and her mind lost in the many perverted things she and Erik would get up to once this was all over.