Dreadmaws and their riders hid as best they could in an attempt for an ambush while the Orcs on foot that could be pulled from keeping the gang members pacified hastily made a defensive line. In the middle of it all, Aldrin stood with his eyes closed, using all of his enhanced senses to get a mental visual. What confused him was that one moment it would sound like thousands and the next hundreds. In his defense, this was really the first time he was relying upon his other senses, something he would need to practice. He tried his best not to wince as he thought about how much stuff he needed to work on and worried over the other Vampires that had decades of practice over him.

  A hand gripped his shoulder, and he opened his eyes while turning to look over his shoulder. He met Moira’s blue eyes, which held a tinge of sadness. A flash of concern swept over him before an intense light that burned his exposed face like acid blinded him.

  The alert flashed in the darkness of his closed eyes as he did his best not to groan in pain from whatever she used.

  Pierre rushed towards Moira, grappling her and trying to wrestle her to the ground. Jared rushed to Aldrin’s side while Evie quickly carved out a rune before throwing it at the entangled Pierre and Moira. A lightning cage wrapped around them both, but unfortunately, Moira had gained the upper hand and held Pierre at knifepoint.

  “Release me!” She demanded, the earlier sadness that tinged her eyes morphed into the fierce determination of a caged animal.

  The Orcs who readied themselves were torn between keeping their focus on the approaching Scarab Sons, the captured gang members who saw the opportunity to escape, and the lightning cage.

  “What are you doing?” Pierre struggled.

  Moira gritted her teeth. “Be quiet or I’ll slice your neck. Your employer isn’t the only one I answer to. I needed to do this,” she explained, pressing the knife against Pierre’s neck hard enough to draw a bead of blood. “Now when the Scarab Sons get here, all you have to do is hand him,” she jutted her chin at Aldrin. “Over to them and you will all be free to go.”

  “But why?” Evie was the one to ask this time, inching closer.

  Moira shook her head. “It’s complicated. Besides, I told you he was going to help me with some friends.”

  The pain from the proximity blast receded as the skin healed itself, and Aldrin shakily stood with Jared helping him up, much to the surprise of Moira, who tried to hide it. “That was unpleasant. Thanks Jared,” Aldrin said before his eyes found Moira’s.

  She felt fangs loom all around her as Aldrin’s Vampiric Aura sharpened around her. The split hesitation allowed Pierre to wrangle free, and plunge one of his own daggers in her side. The lightning cage dropped on Evie’s command as she rushed, her Giantese tattoos receding slightly and her size growing enough to cover the ground in three steps. She grabbed Moira before she could do something else. Pierre switched places with Jared as he raised his bow with an arrow nocked, aimed directly between Moira’s eyes.

  “What was it?” Pierre asked Aldrin, watching his face regrow its skin.

  Aldrin shook his head. “I don’t know, but whatever it was, it held silver and holy magic. Luckily I invested those points early on otherwise, I would have been dead,” He gave a wheezing chuckle before another system alert popped in his vision.

  Moira stared in shock, not resisting Evie’s hold. “H-How…? They said it would work…” she asked in disbelief. “How strong are you…?”

  Aldrin stared blankly at the alert before changing his attention back to her. “You didn’t have to betray me. I would have helped you, regardless.” He sharply nodded his head towards two Orcs. “Keep her with the others for now. I will deal with her later.” He looked at Evie, seeing her partially transformed. “You can let her go now.”

  Evie nodded sharply and released her into the waiting arms of the Orcs, who roughly grabbed her up and took her away.

  “Everyone else! Get ready!” Aldrin shouted.

  Jared walked up to him, standing off to his side. “Are you sure you’re good to go?” he asked, searching for any indication that he wasn’t.

  Aldrin patted his friend on the shoulder. “I am. Thanks buddy,” he smiled. “Although I think they may not be once they see me still standing.”

  Jared nodded and then whistled. A second later, a Dreadmaw answered back, jumping from a rooftop and landing right behind Jared. It nudged its beak-maw against Jared, and he turned around to pet it, whispering praises that made it trill and honk happily. Jared slid his hand against its flank as it lowered itself, allowing ?him to climb upon its back. “T-Bone and I will be on the rooftops,” he smirked before clicking with his tongue and T-Bone, the Dreadmaw launched itself back onto the rooftop.

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  Aldrin tried to stifle a laugh when Pierre slapped his hand against his forehead at the ridiculous name for a Dreadmaw. Evie was the next one to stand beside Aldrin, as did Buramog-Kurdan and Pierre. The Orcs that could be pulled away from guarding the gang members pushed their way in front, lining up in a crescent line, covering the three alleyways the Scarab Sons could pour out of it, much as the Orcs ambushed the gangs not too long ago.

  “Any direction?” Pierre asked, keeping his eyes cycling through the alleyways for any movement.

  Aldrin shook his head, his face straining to pinpoint anything with his hearing, but the marching still sounded like it was coming from all directions. Whatever they were doing, they had some information of how his abilities worked, no thanks to Moira. Although he had to give it to her, playing the scared act all the while studying him. He did wonder how she managed to get any information to them without being noticed with all the eyes around at all times unless she had some trinket on her that acted as a recording device that fed information back to them.

  “Aldrin,” Pierre said softly, forcing Aldrin to open his eyes and look at him. “Your Vampiric Aura, is there a way for you to infuse your senses into it? Like having it act as an extended version of your Vampiric Awareness skill?”

  Aldrin nodded his head and attempted to do as Pierre suggested. He closed his eyes, unfurling his tight hold on his Vampiric Aura that flooded throughout the streets as an invisible blanket. The hard part came next — something he had been working on, which was splitting his attention on two different things. Both his Vampiric Aura and the second level of Vampiric Awareness worked as an extension of him; in theory, the two should easily be able to work together. The problem lies within the skills themselves. Vampiric Aura counted as both an active and passive skill, while Vampiric Awareness acted only as a passive skill. He could manipulate the first but not the second, so all he needed to do was figure out how Vampiric Awareness acted and then mimic and incorporate it into his aura. It sounded easier from the way Pierre had said it and how his mind worked on it, but trying to do it now, under pressure of an attack any minute, didn’t give him much confidence.

  “It's possible, but given what we are up against, I don’t think I would have the time to figure it out,” Aldrin relented, opening his eyes back up.

  Pierre nodded, his mind working on another solution. “What about the Ghoul Baron and his ghouls? They are also part of the Servant Bond, and since you made them, could you see through their eyes?”

  Aldrin forgot about them ever since they chased down the stragglers. He realized if he could feel Hellix and Drellix, the two Vampiric Warhorses then the Ghoul Baron shouldn’t be any different. Aldrin reached deep within his link to the Ghoul Baron, connecting to him.

  “Do not fight me. I want to try something,” Aldrin told the Ghoul Baron.

  “I am yours to command, Master,” the Ghoul Baron replied just as reverently as before.

  Aldrin pushed against the bond with his mind then felt a sense of vertigo violently assault his mind. He opened his eyes, feeling his mind return to his body as he stumbled forward. “Holy shit,” Aldrin mumbled, reaching out for the grasping hand of Evie. She steadied him, looking over him with a concerned gaze of her own.

  “Maybe you should do that sitting down? I think standing might be a little advanced for you,” she suggested, helping him sit down.

  Now sitting, Aldrin delved deep back into the Servant Bond, specifically the strand that tied him to the Ghoul Baron. Once again, he pushed his mind against it and he felt himself leave his body and travel along the strand he imagined as a tightly woven white rope. Blurred images raced past him until he felt himself stop at the sight of a mangled body with clawed hands ripping and tearing pieces of flesh from it. The edges of his vision were clouded, but anything that was within frontal vision he could see clear as day.

  “Master?” Aldrin heard the voice of the Ghoul Baron that sounded like it was next to his ear.

  “It worked!” Aldrin thought happily.

  “We are one? Master shares this one’s glorious form?” The Ghoul Baron said aloud excitedly.

  Aldrin tried to move the limbs of the Ghoul Baron but found that he couldn’t. He tried to at least look around but also found that he couldn’t. “No, I can only hear and see what you do. Looks like you are still in control of your body. Regardless, we have a task.”

  Without question, the Ghoul Baron stood, looking up towards the illuminated sky of two moons with stars that looked like small pinpricks of light poked through a deep blue fabric. “What does Master ask of me?”

  “Find the Scarab Sons that are headed back to where we are. Use the bond we share to pinpoint my location. Have your ghouls spread out. I need eyes on the Scarab Sons before they take us by surprise.” Aldrin explained.

  The Ghoul Baron didn’t say a word, letting out a short guttural snarl. Aldrin couldn’t see the other ghouls but heard them snarl in response before they snapped to attention, their claws clicking against the cobblestone road as they encircled their leader. The Ghoul Baron chuffed once then launched itself against a building, digging into the stone wall as if it was made of clay. It scaled the building with ease, then took one deep inhale, shifting through the scents until it found one that stood apart from the rest. It crouched down on all fours then took off.

  Through the eyes of the Ghoul Baron, Aldrin saw firsthand the agility of the Ghoul Baron as it leapt gracefully across the rooftops, sometimes leaping over two rooftops at a time as it raced towards the scent. It howled once that was mirrored by the other ghouls as they all whipped themselves into a frenzy at the thought of fresh meat once again.

  After several rooftops, they came to a sudden stop. “Pay close attention to your surroundings. We don’t know what they are capable of,” Aldrin cautioned the Ghoul Baron.

  The Ghoul Baron didn’t have time to answer before its vision was obscured by…

  “Is that fucking sand?” Aldrin thought before he retreated back into his body.

  His eyes snapped open and saw an alert awaiting him but he had to ignore it for now, as he jumped to his feet before he jumped and partially shifted his body into bats, making himself hover in the air as he turned in a circle, scanning the rooftops. He found what he was looking for. The only problem was, the Scarab Sons had thrown his senses off and were actually approaching from behind where Aldrin and his friends had set up their defensive line.

  “What is it?!” Jared called from a nearby rooftop as other Dreadmaw riders looked up to him.

  Aldrin pointed to the growing sandstorm that was headed their way. “It's them!”