Lilith moved her head purely on instinct, and the blade passed only a few centimeters from her throat. The stranger tried to stand at the same time, but barely managed to lift her back from the wall before losing her balance.
Despite her injuries, she attacked again. This time Lilith raised a hand and caught her wrist before she could complete the movement. The difference in strength was so obvious that even Lilith was surprised.
The young woman clenched her teeth and tried to free her arm using both hands, but Lilith barely had to make any effort to keep her still.
"Calm down. I don't want to hurt you."
"Let me go!"
"I can do that."
Lilith looked at the sword.
"But I'd prefer if you dropped that first."
The stranger responded by trying to kick her. Lilith stepped back just enough to avoid it without releasing her wrist. Claire appeared beside her with her sword ready, while the explorers quickly took positions at both ends of the alley.
"I don't think she wants to be rescued," Claire commented.
"I noticed."
The young woman looked at Lilith's fangs again. There was fear in her eyes, but also a determination that was difficult to ignore. She was injured, surrounded, and could barely remain standing, yet she continued searching for some way to fight.
"I'm not going to let you take me!"
Lilith frowned slightly.
"I have no intention of taking you anywhere."
"Liar!"
"We met about twenty seconds ago. Give me a little more time before deciding I'm a liar."
Claire let out a small laugh behind her. The stranger, on the other hand, did not seem to find it funny. She tried to move the sword again, and Lilith decided she had had enough. She applied a little more pressure to her wrist. The young woman's fingers opened and the weapon fell onto the stones.
"Much better."
Lilith released her immediately and took a step back to show that she truly had no intention of attacking her.
The young woman remained still and then looked at the sword on the ground.
Then at Lilith.
For a moment, she seemed to consider trying to retrieve it.
"I wouldn't recommend it," Claire said.
The stranger looked up at her. "Humans working for vampires?"
Claire raised an eyebrow. "I don't work for her."
"Then you're her slave."
"Definitely not."
Lilith had to suppress a smile. The conversation was beginning to amuse her more than it probably should have.
"Can we start over?" she asked. "I'm Lilith."
The young woman did not answer.
"Lilith Bloodrose."
That did provoke a reaction.
The hostility on her face immediately mixed with surprise.
"Bloodrose..."
Lilith was beginning to suspect that mentioning her last name had not been the best idea.
Claire slowly sheathed her sword. "She needs medical attention."
The stranger's wounds were more serious than Lilith had initially thought. She had several cuts on her arms, and a dark stain covered part of her clothing near her abdomen. The smell of blood reached Lilith with an intensity that would have been uncomfortable a few days earlier. Now she could ignore it, although her body remained far too aware of its presence.
"We have doctors in the Eternal Bastion," Lilith explained. "We can help you."
"I'm not going inside that thing."
"Would you rather stay here?"
The young woman remained silent.
Lilith gestured toward the ruins around them. "Because this place doesn't exactly look like a very functional hospital."
The stranger tried to stand again. She managed to get to her feet while leaning against the wall, took one step, and her legs gave out.
Lilith caught her before she hit the ground.
The reaction was immediate.
"Let me go!"
"Can you stand on your own?"
"Yes."
Lilith removed her hands, the young woman fell again, and Lilith caught her once more.
"Excellent demonstration."
"I hate you."
"It certainly seems that way."
Claire approached and examined the wound on her abdomen. "We can't leave her here. She's losing too much blood."
The word blood made Lilith far too aware of the scent again. She looked away slightly and decided to focus on something else.
"What do we do about the exploration?"
"We'll return," one of the men in the group replied. "The others can continue inspecting the city."
Claire nodded.
The stranger tried to protest, but this time her voice came out much weaker. "No... Bastion."
Lilith felt her body losing strength.
"We can argue about it when you're not about to pass out."
"I'm not going to..."
Her eyes closed.
All of her weight fell onto Lilith.
There were a few seconds of silence.
Claire looked at the unconscious young woman.
Then she looked at Lilith.
"I guess you won the argument."
"I would've preferred it to happen before she tried to cut my throat."
One of the explorers prepared an improvised stretcher. While he did, Lilith examined the stranger more carefully. She appeared to be around the same age as her. Her hair, covered in dust, was a reddish-brown color and reached a little past her shoulders.
Her clothes were made from durable leather and several pieces of dark green fabric, but she wore no symbol Lilith recognized.
The strangest thing was that she was there at all.
They had found a city apparently abandoned for centuries in a region of the Demon Continent barely known by their maps.
And inside it was a girl.
Alive.
When they placed her on the stretcher, something fell from one of her pockets.
Lilith crouched down to pick it up.
It was a small wooden pendant. Engraved on it was the image of a mountain surrounded by three trees.
Claire examined it over her shoulder. "I don't know that symbol."
"Lately, we keep finding symbols no one recognizes."
"At least this one doesn't look like it belongs to a ghost fortress."
Lilith placed the pendant with the young woman's belongings. The mention of Oblivion reminded her that they still had much larger problems waiting for answers, but this was not the time.
The group began the journey back while the other explorers continued investigating the city. Lilith and Claire walked beside the stretcher. For most of the journey, the stranger remained unconscious, although she occasionally muttered words Lilith could not understand.
After almost an hour, her eyes opened.
The young woman took a few seconds to remember where she was.
When she saw Lilith walking beside her, she tried to sit up.
"Don't even think about it," Lilith said.
The stranger lay back down, probably because her own body had reached the same conclusion.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To the Eternal Bastion."
Fear immediately returned to her expression.
"No."
"You need a doctor."
"You don't understand."
Lilith moved a little closer.
"Then explain it to me."
The young woman looked around. Claire and the explorers were listening as well.
Finally, she looked back at Lilith.
"If you found the city..." she murmured. "We have to leave."
"Why?"
The young woman swallowed.
"Because they'll find it too."
Lilith immediately felt her curiosity awaken at those words.
"Who?"
The stranger opened her mouth to answer.
A distant roar tore through the forest.
Then another came.
And another.
The young woman closed her eyes.
Her face lost what little color it had left.
"Too late."