Ch5 - Reborn

The actions of your ancestors are not yours. You are free to be you.

"I will deliver your corpse to Princess Crudelis."

The woman stated, her tone mocking.

She moved with quiet steps thru the laboratory.

"Are we to play hide-and-seek, or are we to fight?" she taunted.

Her reptilian tail following her steadily, until she whipped it.

Destroying various medical equipment in the process.

"Stop hiding!" she demanded, with a growl.

A machine hissed, and she quickly stabbed it, before turning back.

The laboratory was dark, with only the tubes illuminated.

The people inside each tube floated vertically, yet lifelessly.

Suddenly from behind Purpura jumped, with a tube.

He wrapped it about her neck, and began to strangle her.

She was surprised for barely a moment, before using a knife to stab at him.

Purpura then disappeared again.

"You can't even follow thru with a kill!

You must be a escapee." her tone mocking.

There was suddenly a commotion.

She turned, and leap out of the way.

All the fully grown blood demons were escaping.

There was at least a good thirty of them.

"Wha-?"

Purpura then grabbed her from behind, pinning both her arms against her back.

The laughed, "Fool, now Princess Crudelis will know for sure you're a blood demon."

She twisted, and freed her arms, with a laugh.

The laugh made him twitch a bit, it sounded like his sister's.

Did all women laugh like this?

Purpua disappeared into the darkness again.

"This hiding is getting annoying!

Come out, and die with some shred of dignity."

Another machine spattered, and she turned to stab it.

Only to pause and examine her weapon.

It was melting away, as if she'd dipped it in some sort of acid.

She looked to the other, it was suffering the same fate.

She cursed, completely annoyed, and tossed the daggers away.

"Those were my favorite daggers!" she shouted, as she began destroying everything with her tail.

She turned, and standing in the door frame was Purpura.

She charged him, and quickly ran forcing her to give chase.

They left the laboratory in ruins, sparks flickered, and magic pulsed weakly.

Even some tubes were destroyed.

The lifeless bodies of the demons laid on the ground, forgotten.

Purpura hurried back to the princess's pet cages.

The reptilian woman following in a rage.

Purpura got inside, and ran passed various cages.

He stopped suddenly, before jumping to avoid her attack.

She gave a growling hiss, as she glared at him.

She then quickly charged, before turning about to whip with her tail.

Purpura grabbed her tail, letting himself be moved a couple of feet.

She tried to pull her tail away.
"Let go!"

It isn't often hot blooded assassins make it far.

They're prone to fits of rage, and their emotions are easily manipulated.

Purpura pulled with all his might, and swung her against the bars of a cage.

She hit the bars cracking many, and denting many more.

He then pulled again, before she could stand.

He continued slamming her against cage after cage.

She seemed generally un-phased by the abuse.

Suddenly, her tail ripped off, and she flew.
But she caught herself, and landed elegantly.

Before wobbling a bit.

"YOU S**T!" she screamed, before she charged Purpura.

Purpura stared at the tail, he had been unaware that was a possibility.

He kept hold of her tail, as he jumped, and smacked her with it.

She grabbed the other end of her tail.

Purpura smirked, as the blood at the end she held lunged her face.

"GAH!" she shouted, and rubbed her eyes to get the blood out.

Purpura quickly came up behind her, and strangled her with her own tail.

She struggled for a moment, fighting for her life.

Purpura moved some of the blood down her throat, to kill her faster.

After a decent struggle, she went limp.

Purpura placed his hand against her back, listening.

It was silent, he dragged her to one of the cages, and strung her up by her tail.

There was no way it'd be mistaken for a suicide.

The point was to make it clear this was where they'd fought, and where she'd died.

It would have been easy to kill her with plenty of strong blood manipulation attacks.

But that would confirm her theory to the princess.

So, instead the laboratory looked generally destroyed.

Being that she'd done most of the damage...

It could be posed that she destroyed it in a fit of rage, at being wrong about him.

And she died by strangulation.

There was no strong evidence of him being a blood demon.

Purpura went back outside, and began to scale the castle.

Using blood claws to ensure his grip.

He climbed up, and up, until he reached the top.

He orientated himself a moment, before jumping down to a walkway.

He walked along, before opening a door.

He went down the stairs, and went to another hall.

He walked passed two guards.

"Purpura." they greeted politely.

He gave them a polite nod to acknowledge their greeting.

It was odd being safe in only part of this large castle.

In any other part, the guards would immediately attack.

Yet, this was Prince Tynan's wing, and his guards.

They would not attack Purpura.

Even if another of the royal family ordered them to.

They answered to Tynan, and no one else.

Finally Purpura arrived, and knocked on a door.

"Who is it?" Tynan replied from inside.

Purpura did nothing, just waited.

"Come in, Purpura."

Purpura then opened the door.

Tynan was sitting hunched over, in a chair, with a book.

He seemed intensely focused on the book.

"Take care of her pets?"

Purpura nodded, and looked at the map.

There were various pieces moved about.

"Good.

Anything to report?"

Purpura picked up a piece of the table, it resembled the woman he'd killed.

He snapped it in half, and tossed it.

"Really?

I hadn't expected her to be hiding with the pets..."

Purpura shook his head, no.

"No, where'd you find her?"

Purpura tossed a small test tube to him.

Tynan caught it, before standing.

"Damn it." he threw it against the wall, and it shattered.

"She'll know. There's no hiding it.

Mother will know too.

Crudelis will insist on telling everyone.

It'll insight an immediate hunt on your head.

The entire royal family will want in on it."

He paused and looked to Purpura, who looked unconcerned.

"You do realize what that place was, right?"

Purpura nodded.
"They'll know, what you are."

He shook his head no.

"No?! How can they not?!"

A pitch black globe suddenly illuminated.

Tynan stopped, and went over to it.

He touched it, before releasing it, and looking to Purpura.

"My mother has summoned the family.

Stay here.

It is the only place that might be safe.

But if I need to, I will transport you out."

Purpura shrugged, and went over to the library as Tynan left.

Purpura pulled a book out, and read it to himself.

Nearly an hour later, Purpura was sitting in a chair, leaned back.

Still reading.

Tynan came in, looking confused.

"That was the strangest family meeting... I've ever experienced.

And my family is rather fucked up."

Purpura looked to him, before returning to his book.

"Apparently the power went in the blood lab.

The security cameras came on, and showed Crudelis's assassin destroying the lab.

As the blood demon they'd loaned her freed all the imprisoned blood demons.

There's only two surviving subjects.

A hunt has been issued for the escaped demons.

My sister is to receive harsh punishment."

He paused, covering his face with one hand.

"She demanded we find her assassin's body, it'd prove you were a blood demon."

He laughed more, "Hanging her, in the pet's cell.

That was inspired.

My mother was furious at her...

Not only for the destruction of the lab,

but saw all the pets she'd lost.

I was allowed to leave, as my mother began berating her."

He laughed warmly, "I've never been so happy to see my mother angry."

He went over to Purpura and looked at the book he was reading.

"You're reading a book on reptiles?"

Purpura showed him the page.

Explaining how reptiles can lose their tails, and grow them back.

Tynan laughed again, "I guess this has been an interesting day all around.
Alright, the last assassin.

Do be careful, my mother is now keeping an eye on this show down.

She doesn't want anything else like the lab destroyed.

Shouldn't affect much, but be cautious.

Oh! And she declared the main hall neutral ground.

Since we must practice for the ball...

I don't recommend going there though, unless I'm accompanying.

Her version of neutral... it isn't exactly friendly."

Author's Note

Currently visiting my parents, as such the rest of this book may get finished within the next two weeks.