8 You made me love you, and you made me cry. You should remember you were born to die.

Zion was out of patience. Frustrated, they left the room in a huff and shut the door. Sliding down the length of it with their back they sunk into a seated position on the floor. With some of the blood they had on them from the interrogation they drew a square on the ground with a triangle inside. Inside the triangle they wrote a name in an ancient language.

The name began to bleed. The blood pooled up and started taking shape until a woman, a vampire stood in front of them. "Summoning me at this hour, Zion? You must be desperate." She said.

"Remember the Fae king's messenger bird?" Zion said still sitting on the floor.

"You mean the phoenix he enslaved with blood magic?" She replied.

"Yeah, that one." Zion stood up.

"What about her?" the vampire looked intrigued.

Zion flung the door open. "Say hi to Nyx."

The vampire looked at the lich puzzled. "I'm confused, where's the phoenix and what does this have to do with the goddess of the night?"

"Contessa, you know I wouldn't summon you unless it was something complicated. So give me some time to explain. Magic, like all forces in the universe has its own inertia. You and I both know the Fae king is a lecherous abomination who stops at nothing to possess and enslave whatever and whomever he wants. When Nyx was just a young goddess he saw her and wanted her but she refused him, so he killed her. However, Nyx was a goddess so she reincarnated. Each time she would refuse him and each time he would kill her again just like the day kills the night. After so many deaths the magical inertia caught up and her form changed. She evolved into a bird made of fire. This is both equal and opposite her nature being now consumed by light even though she is the diety of darkness. As she could no longer die, the Fae king sought to enslave her, but she broke free so he somehow made her a lich." Zion explained.

Contessa could not turn pale because she was a vampire and also because as a vampire human emotions were mostly dead to her. "This all seems rather out of my league, don't you think?"

"It amazes me you still doubt me even now. Why do you think he sent her after me?" Zion asked.

"To send you a message about what he will make of you for refusing him." Contessa says matter of factly.

"Yes. And that's where you come in. You're a vampire, so you don't have a soul he can steal and trap in a phylactery and if you drink her blood you will be immune to the sun. You can already heal any wound if you drink enough blood. If you help me we can beat him." Zion said.

"What exactly is in it for me?" Contessa asked.

"Besides your fondness for yours truly, the favor of the goddess of the night and ending the tyrannical reign of a man I know you already hate?" Zion asked.

"Yeah, besides all that." Contessa smirked.

"I'll tell you my first story. I'll tell you how I met him and became a lich. This is something nobody else knows but him. I know you like possessing knowledge, especially personal knowledge that no one else has. I know this entertains you in your existentially boring eternal life." Zion said begrudgingly.

"Deal." Contessa smirked.

"Then sign here." Zion snapped their fingers and produced a binding contract.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucky had pretty easily locked on to Corvis's smell, she hopped along, her magical leash trailing behind her. She stopped over a mound of dirt and started digging. Dug a deep tunnel until she reached the remains of a bird. It smelled horrible. She popped her head out of the tunnel and chirped at Cerberus.

Cerberus used his hands and started digging. "Don't worry Lucky, Zion can bring him back. This wouldn't be the first time." Cerberus wrapped Corvis up in a black felt cloth. "If cats have 9 lives, how many do you have, buddy?" He said looking a little forlorn at the raven.

Lucky went back underground and pulled out a strange glowing object. She carried it in her mouth to Cerberus.

"What have you got there, Lucky?" Cerberus took the object from her mouth. His eyes momentarily got wider, then his expression changed and he put the object in his pocket.

Lucky chirped.

"I'm not sure what it is. Zion will know though." Cerberus said anxiously as he looked around. "We should go though."

Lucky started to walk but Cerberus stopped her.

"Just hop in my coat pocket. I'm going to use a hearth stone to bring us back." Cerberus opened his pocket and motioned for her to jump inside. Lucky did and Cerberus chanted something as they faded out of their surroundings and back into the living room at home.