Blood Bond

There was an ache in the darkness.

It was that ravenous hunger, clawing at me from within. It wasn't as fierce as before, though what had happened before slipped past my memory. But I knew that I had fed recently. I wasn't fully empty. Is that what had woken me?

I had no sight, but I could feel the air flowing over one of my arms, and there was dust beneath my fingers. But most of all, I sensed out there, bright points of life, of hearts thumping, and pulses flowing. It drew at my hunger, which I felt too tired and weak to stop.

My blood, for some reason, was everywhere.

It was like before, when the mist of blood had sprayed out of my punctured chest, except this was wider. I could sense points of my blood far off in the distance as if someone had flung them far away from me. And flung them everywhere, for my blood was mixed in with those points of life, many of whom were slowly ebbing away.

My unleashed hunger lashed out at my blood and drew upon them. In came the blood essence, rich and vibrant, filling me, while each point of life slowly blinked out, one by one. My fingers reached out to stop it, but my arm felt like it was pinned.

CAWREE!!

A sharp, high-pitched shriek pierced the darkness above, circling over me.

I had heard that sound before. It was the cry of an Aethelwing, shrieking the same way it had when it watched over my victory over the elves, or had it been a procession?

The shriek sounded again, closer now. There was a predatory hunger in that cry.

A disturbance landed beside me, shaking dust against my arm. Pain flared—a beak, sharp and hooked, tore at my skin and flesh. But beyond the pain, I sensed its pulse. Amidst the dimming points of life strewn about, here was one that was fierce and throbbing with vigor.

My hand shot up, sending rocks and rubble flying, and grabbed the neck of the bird. It thrashed violently, trying to pull away, but its beak was still embedded in my arm. Wings beat against me and talons dug into the sinews of my muscles. But my grip was steel, and my palm-fang erupted, stabbing into its chest. My blood rushed in. The struggle ceased. My arm dropped as dust and feathers landed upon it.

Sight returned with an alien, piercing clarity. The world was painted in ultra-sharp, vibrant colors—bright reds, impossible violets, and gradients of shades upon the jagged rock jutting out of the ground. A flicker of movement, and my gaze zoomed in, instant and at an impossible distance, upon a small creature scurrying over the ruins.

A mouse.

Prey.

—

"Big Sister Leo, you should eat!"

A slice of apple dropped from a fork onto my plate. But my attention was upon the small pile of beans on one compartment of the sectioned tray. The beans disturbed me for a reason that kept slipping away into the hazy fog of my mind.

"I just don't feel like eating this morning."

A carton of juice landed on my tray.

"Have juice, you'll feel better!"

I smiled and shook my head at her naivete.

A larger figure sat down beside Annie. Julia faced me. There was something unusual in her gaze. "Leonard, I'm glad you managed to get up this morning. We were all concerned after…"

"No, no, no! Julia, no bad things!"

Bad things? I remember coming back to bed last night... had I been helped there? Annie was in my chair, waiting for me. Her eyes were large and round as they stared into me.

My throat was raw then, like razors had sliced through the insides. Had I been shouting? Inhuman sounds, screams, came from the distance, rising out of the edge of the fog.

Small fingers brushed over mine, and the fog rose higher. The white haze pushed everything out of sight.

Annie glared at Julia. "Give Big Sister Leo time."

Julia looked from me to the tiny little girl beside her, still glaring angrily upwards. A flicker of what might have been surprise—or perhaps respect—crossed her features. She retreated.

"Of course, Annie. I'm here simply to tell Leonard that there will be a visitor today, and he's been cleared for a day excursion."

—

The total flashed across the checkout screen.

I stared at the numbers for a moment, then at the black, glossy card in my hand. It was a credit card Julia had given me, with a simple instruction: "Buy whatever you need." I had seen Sam using one of these before, but I hadn't accounted for how different this was: when you physically count out the change, you feel it leaving—being pulled out of—you. Now... it's just a tap and a beep. I couldn't quite get over the change.

I remembered going out to the stands in the market at the keep. Meris would always step forward to talk to the shop owner whenever there was something I showed interest in; I just had to dip my chin toward it. Once, I caught sight of a beggar boy staring at me when Meris handed over a skewer of meat. I remember thinking it strange how large and hungry his eyes were.

Spoiled princess was right.

"What's wrong, Leo?" Maya's worried voice asked from beside me. "Was that too much?"

I shook my head, pushing the memory away. "Oh, no… it's fine. We're not saying no today, right? And that dress looked great on you!"

A tall mirror caught my reflection on our way out and I couldn't help but stare. There I was: short wavy hair, glasses, a little paler from the lack of sun, but essentially the same skinny kid. And yet, there was something disquieting and jarring about the sight, a feeling that I didn't belong here, in this space, in this normal, everyday world.

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Perhaps it was the plain shirt with the large, black BMI logo on it that stamped me as their property, or the black onyx wrist band that was actually my shackle. Or was it my other half staring at this form that I would forever be in?

What happened over there?

We stepped out of the store and were immediately swept along with the crush of people that flowed down the walkway of the mall.

I was used to crowds, to walking through throngs of people with eyes on me. But there was something different about the crowds here, something I hadn't noticed in all the times I came here with my friends. There was a certain distance between everyone here. The way strangers glanced at each other in passing and clumps of kids ignored one another felt cold, so different from the warm greetings exchanged in the streets of the Keep. Everyone felt a little more separated here, as if there was some invisible barrier around each person.

"Ooh, can we get a pretzel? I can smell them!" Maya tugged on my sleeve. She pulled me toward the food court, weaving easily through the dizzying, swirling eddies of people around us.

The smell she found so enticing was a thick, artificial sweetness mixed with the scent of bread. It wasn't bad, and I used to like it, but now it felt… excessive. It was like everything else in this place. The chaos of sparkling lights in the window displays, all the gizmos and gadgets spinning and bouncing about, all the done-up models talking or striking poses on the clutter of screens on the way. It was too much. An overload. The cacophony of color and motion splashed down upon the mirror surface of a floor that was too perfectly tiled and patterned.

The crowd surrounded me at all sides, hemming me in. I felt them stretching up over me, staring down at me. A pang gripped my chest, and I had a sensation of being pushed downwards, of being held on my knees. All those eyes staring, reaching for me.

Don't!

I can't breathe!

A hand dragged me out of the current and pushed me toward a bench. "Leo! What's wrong?" Maya wiped the sweat from my forehead. "You want some water?"

I shook my head, not wanting her to run off alone. "No, I'm… fine. Just need a sec."

What was that? That memory of being held down, it felt real. I tried to pull at the thread of it, but then stopped myself. I'm having a good day with Maya. I can't spoil this for her.

A few more deep breaths and everything started to settle around me. The tightness eased from my chest. I put up a hand. "Sorry, things have been weird lately."

"Umm… Leo, you've been acting really 'sus' for a while now."

"Huh?" That caught me out of nowhere.

"Like on Sunday when you like, knelt down and made that promise? Even Mom was weirded out."

I reeled back scrambling for an excuse, but Maya kept coming.

"Your hand gestures, and words sometimes, yeah, definitely off." She stopped pacing. "Finally, there's that one time when you said you're a princess and all that? I knew immediately what's up!"

I could only stare back at her, dumbfounded.

"Transmigration! You've been isekaied!"

She pulled a small, thin book out of her messenger bag and shoved it right in my face. On its cover was a girl with giant, impossibly sparkly eyes and hair that defied the laws of physics, under a title of blown-up, cartoonish calligraphy.

Then I took in the rest of her. She had on a sparkling headband with bright, neon ribbons, a white t-shirt that looked like it had been drowned in rainbow glitter, and a blue, frilled skirt that was way too short for her!

The way her pigtails bounced... yeah, she was the spitting image of a real-life magical anime girl.

Had she prepped for this all along?

"Umm… what… does that mean exactly?"

She put one hand on her hip and pointed the book at me. "It means that… hmm… you are actually a princess from another world! What did you do with my brother Leo?"

I sank my face down into my hands. This is so screwed up. She kind of hit it right on the head, except…

"I'm still Leo, Maya. We're just… all mixed in here." I pointed at the side of my head. What even is the point of lying to her?

She blinked. "Wait, you're serious? So is this like a reverse isekai?"

I could only stare blankly back at her.

"You know, usually you get hit by truck-kun, and then you're like a prince or princess in another world."

"Truck-kun?"

"It's just a truck. Apparently, there are a lot of bad truck drivers in Japan."

"Umm… no, maybe an explosion-kun?" I muttered, then stopped myself. For some reason, I knew I wasn't on the other side anymore, but what was this about an explosion? I'm starting to get a headache.

Maya leaned in closer to stare into my eyes, as if she could somehow see the other part of me. "So you're still you, and the princess?"

"Yes, Maya," I searched the blues of her eyes, hoping she did find a piece of me. "I still remember us burying the hermit crab that we found at the beach, how you made me glue together popsicle sticks as a gravestone. But I'm also… her."

"I knew it! There's no way you'd pick out dresses like that!" She beamed, a triumphant grin spreading across her face as she thrust a hand into the air. But then her hand came down to her chin as she scrutinized me again. "So, what's your… princess name?"

"Elara. Well, it's not really English, but that's the closest-sounding name I could come up with."

"It's cute! What were you like?! One of those fair princesses that's adored by all? Did a dragon kidnap you? Or a curse from an evil sorcerer?"

I put a hand out to calm her down. "No, I was just spoiled and really sheltered. Stuck-up, maybe. I don't think most people knew who I was… until recently. And nothing like that happened. There was just a coup against my family."

"Is that why you're here?! Did some goddess give you a mission? Or… oh… oh… What about your special powers? You gotta have some, right?"

"I don't know, Maya. I have no idea why this happened. I thought I did before, but then I realized I was just being stupid." I grabbed my head as I looked down at the lights reflecting off the glossy synthetic floor. "Every day, I keep getting pulled back and forth between these two different worlds, and insane stuff just keeps happening on both sides, never giving me a chance to breathe. I'm always forced to make these big decisions, and I keep making the wrong ones!"

I closed my eyes. "And then I'm this mixed-up thing, with memories from two completely different lives in my head. I feel like I'm going insane! Maybe I am! Nothing feels right anywhere! I have a hard time even going to the bathroom!"

"Oh, and my stupid power? I bleed."

The venom in my last words struck Maya full on, and she fell a step back, her hands dropping to her side and her voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Leo. I… I thought if we could play pretend a little, it'd cheer you up?"

I wanted to reach out to her, but a part of what she said stabbed me, painfully. "Pretend? So you didn't actually believe I had someone else in my head?"

There was a long silence as she stared again into my eyes. Her jaw muscles tensed and her face turned somber. She leaned over and hugged me. "I believe you, Leo. I didn't… totally before. But I do now."

Her warmth filled me with relief. "I might actually be crazy, you know? But you're the only one I've told this to in either world." I patted her arm. "I think I needed this. I'm not sure what's wrong, but things have felt really murky lately, like everything has been flipped upside down."

Maya pulled back and squinted. "Is this because of that weird little girl in your room?"

"Annie? No, she's just a harmless little kid." Then I remembered the gifts I'd gotten her and looked down in relief to see the bag with the pink bow headband and red dress beside my leg. "Hopefully you two can meet each other once she's done with treatment."

Maybe after I'm gone, since I only have a few months left. A breath escaped my lips. No, I'm here, now, alive with Maya.

She shook her head, not looking convinced. "Well, you got to tell me more about the princess you and that other world. But first, pretzel! And also, we need to get you some nice clothes too!"

"Umm… Maya? I'm stuck in a medical research facility all day long. Who do I need to look good for there?"