Loving Merritt Forever

Loving Merritt After 38

Xi had always known he wasn't meant to be a soldier. A soldier would have let the vampire burn herself out and take occupancy of the residence. Established a base to start to work from. Instead he found himself spelled with vampire blood to heal, while a vampire made an excellent nurse. Taking care of him. A succubus delivering meals daily and other supplies apparently. Goddess below be amazed by that fact Xi had exclaimed in his mind.

Xi had been a quiet soul in Central, he had mostly just gone with flow. Do his best to stay out of anyone's way. Hide in libraries reading. Out of sight and out of mind. His less than elegant plan had worked, a gentle life in the breeding stable, fed and exercised and bred until his quota was reached or he died. It had seemed a more than reasonable fate.

When his group of stallions had been sent into the deepest tunnels and told to seek the other side of the world. Xi felt fear like he had not known since he realized that his ability to see the world without any light would be enough to keep him alive long enough to reach adulthood.

A spear of all things had been handed to him. He had done poorly at battle school, spears was one of his worst scores for talent. Regardless, the Matrons and had sent them down. Telling them they were the last stand for the Sunless. Victory rested on their ability to stay alive and find another escape from the city to the surface.

Now, he knew he had been used right until the end of his people. Sent into the caverns as the last hold backs. The Matron's falsely assuming that even if their assault plans ended in defeat, they along with the best breeding stock available survived to rebuild the Sunless Society anew. Instead, one single, stallion, from a family of low rank was the last of his kind standing.

Finding himself feeling strange things for the unusual vampire he had come across after leaving the ruined mountaintop that Matron Malice had exploded to begin her assault on the surface. The mountain lay ruined, but Xi had been surprised how once he reached the forest, the land seemed to have been untouched by war. There were no discarded weapons, no bodies. Not a single sign that here was here the Sunless fought and died to their end in what should have been an epic war.

Xi had seen no people. No large animals. Not until he had watched a vampire, and stopped her from walking into the sun. Sunless were more than friendly with most demons. Vampire were not the list. Too low in power, too unpredictable. Too human.  Xi had always been warned to kill a vampire on sight.

Merritt was not like he expected a vampire to be, and after watching her interact with a succubus and an incubus, Xi was at least certain that he was not the only one who found Merritt was something special. When he wanted to learn more about her, about her past, anything that she wished to share with him he had wanted to treasure. Instead he found himself pouring out his entire life to story to her,

No one had ever let him speak this much before. To let him to think through his feelings and memories. He felt lighter. Invisible weights that had been holding him down, releasing. Even just the effort of his heart beating in his chest seemed easier. Another night had passed, Xi knew he would not die. Another day or so and Merritt would set him loose, the blood from her veins that had saved his life, would have worked its way out of system. That was the only reason she was still taking to rest in the library upstairs and insisting he took the bed for the day.

Insisting, "I'm already dead and you are healing. Take the bed." Xi did not think Vampires were supposed to be so caring.

At sunset, as promised Marisol arrived with two large boxes of books and papers. "According to those I trust the most, this is best, accurate record of history that can be shared." Marisol dropped the boxes on the floor. One breaking, contents spilling out, revealing reams of photocopied pages. "You didn't get the originals, sorry. And um read fast because we have a plan that will be starting tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more until I pick you up tomorrow at sunset." Without even waiting for a response, Marisol was gone.

Like an afterthought, a cooler or packed blood, and a picnic for Xi was neatly dropped from the air onto the small table in the kitchen space. Xi ate the hot meal in the picnic basket. A fragrant curry was the meal tonight, with nutty basmati rice and flatbread. Judging by how swiftly this particular meal vanished, Xi had enjoyed it a lot.

Merritt drank down her plastic tasting blood quickly. Once fed the two attacked the papers Marisol had left for them. Lux's language spell allowed Xi to read letters he had never seen before. Something beneficial from a demon, with no request for payment or favor owed struck Xi as exceptionally unusual. Though considering Merritt, and how she did not align with what he had been taught of vampires, maybe exceptions were growing more common in the aftermath of the events he read about on the stark white papers from Marisol.

Merritt kept checking the dates of events. A date she knew would always cause her sadness kept repeating in the news briefs and case files. A woman named Laurel and all her lovers stopped an apocalypse, a human man destroyed an entire crime organization to save his lover, and Merritt's own death had all happened on the same day. Death had also come for hundreds of other people that day. Merritt had no idea that she had died during such a tumultuous time. Her, Levi and Asher had been busy with other activities then.

They read in painful detail how Xi and his handful of companions were the only ones spared the doom that came for the dark elves. That Supreme Matron Malice had sacrificed all for her chance to reign in the new world the God of Nothing and Darkness wanted to create. The court of the fire Fae had taken control of Fae. The previous water Fae ruling family had been wiped out during the war. Fae dragons were nearly extinct, many choosing to take refugee status on the mortal world instead of remaining in Fae. However an influx of new dragons did not please those already established in the mortal world. Though details on the dragons who lived hidden on Earth were scant. A protective enclave.

Merritt read how there were now known to be several different universes. All others currently seeking to destroy the world Merritt was in. The timeline trying to sync into one, dominant universe with Erebus sowing chaos upon chaos with the goal being to bring ruin and destruction to everything. A return to nothing. Merritt wondered, if this was supposed to be a good universe, why did she have to be so sad?