Venipuncture

Chapter 3: Blood Oaths

This time, Willow was not carried down to the basement like before, but instead, placed onto a much more comfortable couch in a fairly spacious living room. The vampire lady, Lilith, was indeed much stronger than her frail body would suggest. For she carried Willow on her shoulder without so much as a stagger.

As she plopped Willow onto the couch, Lilith raised a brow. “So, are you happy?"

Willow, for a moment, paused, then smiled. “That depends, am I dinner, or are you going to buy me some?"

Lilith snorted, and walked away into another part of the house.

Willow took that moment to look around. She had been dumped/kidnapped in a repurposed home that appeared to be some horrible mix of modern and historic. Aged wood was used as support to modern day movie posters, a statue of a gargoyle had a purple star necklace around its neck, while a T.V sat in an armoire, and against that, was a long, dried spear.

“Where am I…" Willow muttered.

“My home," Lilith called from the other room.

“I can see that!" Willow replied. “Why did you kidnap me?"

“I wouldn't call it kidnapping…" Lilith returned.

“I'm pretty sure that was robbery though!"

“Okay, that's…true enough," Lilith replied, and Willow opened her mouth to speak once more, but closed it.

This was…all too strange. Just what the hell was going on? Why did a goblin, of all things, wander around outside? Why was there a kitsune just hanging around?

And why had she been kidnapped by an actual, honest to god, 'vampire?'

“....I must be dreaming," Willow muttered, and there was a slight 'ah' from Lilith's direction. It had been so faint, so distant, that Willow thought it might have been the wind.

And at that, Lilith appeared through the doorway once again, a white and gold bowl in her hand. She forced a smile. “You must be hungry."

“…And are you thirsty?" Willow replied, causing Lilith to sputter as her face turned a shade of red.

Wait, Willow thought. She's a vampire, her skin is pale, how is she able to blush? Isn't she undead, and—

Her thoughts became wind as Lilith almost shoved the bowl into her hand. “E-eat, human. Willow, whatever you want to be called."

Willow looked down at the bowl, in it was, surprisingly, salted tuna was mayo. “Um, sure? Is this tainted?" She asked the last part in a quiet whisper.

“What?"

“What?" Willow hurriedly asked, and set the bowl down on the couch next to her. “Okay, so, look Lilith, princess of demons—"

“First off, I'm not 'that' Lilith," Lilith the not Lilith cut in, “and second, I am a vampire, not a demon."

Willow made a mental note that she didn't deny demons existed. “O-kay, so, that brings me to my first point."

“You're about to have a mini freak out, aren't you?" Lilith asked with a grumble.

Willow forced a strained smile. “Kinda! So, uh, here's the thing—You kidnapped me after robbing me, took me to this…uh, haunted house, where's there's goblins and fox ladies—"

“Be sure you don't confuse Kitsune with Gumiho, they get angry about that," Lilith added.

“Oh, okay! So there's Koeran, Japanese, and Dungeons and Dragons characters running about!" Willow's voice grew more strained with every word. “So, I would really, really, 'really' like an answer about what the hell is going on?!"

Lilith paused as Willow's breathing steadily rose, and slowly, she moved to sit down on the chair across from the couch. “That's…fair enough."

Willow forced a nod and clasped her hands together. Her pulse was skyrocketing as her vision began to sway, she didn't need to be a doctor to know that she was on the verge of passing out once more. “S-so, what…I mean, am I in another world?"

“No," Lilith paused, then shook her head. “Kinda? It's complicated."

“Okay, then, follow up question," Willow took a deep breath. “Are you going to kill me?"

Lilith's eyes widened as her fists clenched. With a hiss, with a breath, Lilith shook her head furiously. “No! There's—that's too much of a risk! I cannot—I must not take that kind of risk! I am keeping you alive because I need you to—"

Lilith glanced down at the bowl, then shook her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She took several deep, steadying breaths, and Willow had to hand it to her, she knew how to keep herself under control. Not many of her former patients could say the same.

Willow's frown grew, nevertheless. “Okay, so, walk me through this. Why did you rob my store, and where am I?"

“Okay, I can answer all of your questions in one go," Lilith replied. “You're…in the Underground. Underdark?" She shook her head. “We just call it the Underground. We almost went with “veil," but that got copyrighted by some band and…I'm getting off track."

“No kidding. Why are there fox ladies about with a vampire? What's next, the grim reaper?"

“They live down the street, actually," Lilith replied, and Willow searched her face for any sign that she was joking. But not a trace of deception or even humor, remained on her face. Either Lilith had one hell of a poker face, or she was completely serious.

“…Okay! So," Willow laid back on the couch's pillows, and closed her eyes. “I would very much like to wake up from this fever dream, thank you."

A second passed, and the only sound that reached Willow's ears was the gentle creak of wood.

“…I mean," Lilith's voice purred in Willow's ear. “I can make sure you stay asleep."

Willow's eyes shot open, and sure enough, Lilith had draped herself right next to Willow, as if she had been there the entire time. “Gah!" Willow clutched her chest. “Don't do that! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

“Aren't you a doctor?" Lilith wondered. “Can't you heal yourself, or something?"

“Can't you make your own blood?"

“No, that's why I have to feed," Lilith replied flatly.

“…Oh, okay, that explains…nevermind," Willow shook her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Lilith gently pushed the bowl of tuna closer to her, and Willow once again took a deep breath. “Okay, so, again, why did you rob me?"

“…Its…" Lilith paused for a moment, then placed her hands on her legs in quiet thought. “We need medicine."

“You seem healthy," Willow noted. “Or, at least, unalive? Undead?"

“It's not for me, well, sometimes," Lilith said. "My friends, other…myths, creatures that you humans would call fantastical, live here, in the Underground."

Willow blinked. “You mean…"

“Yes," Lilith replied. “Have you heard of Little Red Riding Hood? She's down here, she's a werewolf by the way. Or…she's descended from the first one. Have you heard of the Headless Horseman? He's my “uncle." Many fairy tales, many myths and legends, they were mostly true, and most of them, have come here to Portland Oregon. We created an Underground society, one hidden from the eyes of “normals" like you, just under the 'surface' of your reality. But many of us are foreigners, and many of us can't pass for humans. But…"

Lilith shook her head.

“We all need to eat, we all need substance, entertainment, medicine," she continued, and Willow's eyes widened. “And not many of us can pass as human, I'm one of the few who can. And we cannot allow the Veil to be broken, lest we be exposed to humans as a whole."

“Why not?" Willow asked, and in response, Lilith raised a brow.

“Dungeons and Dragons," she replied.

“…Ah," Willow clicked her tongue. “Yeah, I guess people would like to kill you and yours for fun, nevermind how we treat ourselves…"

“Indeed," Lilith nodded. “And as for why I robbed you…well, I didn't think you would be home—"

'She's not apologizing,' Willow noted.

“And because a big hospital would be too hard to break into," Lilith finished.

“…Okay?" Willow blinked, and with a grumble, drove her hand into the bowl of tuna. With its sticky, mush substance in her hand, she plunged the food into her maw and started chewing. The tuna was good, really good. Enough to remind Willow that she was still alive. It was kinda coopery though.

“Ah, I mean, we have spoons, but I guess…" Lilith shook her head.

Once Willow had finished her first bite, swallowing it down with force. Tuna and salt covered her cheeks, but she didn't care. Willow set the bowl down, and took a deep, long, satisfying breath. “Okay," she said.

“Okay?" Lilith made a small smile.

“I—" Willow stood up. “Am going home, and 'never seeing you again.'" She stated, not said, not asked. Stated.

There was no room for rebuttal in her voice, no space for argument.

“About that," Lilith played with her hands. “I don't mind you going home, and I'll return some of the stuff I stole."

Willow narrowed her eyes.

“But here's the thing," Lilith stood up, and faced the taller girl. “We need a doctor, many of us 'myths' are in desperate need of medical aid. The Little Match Girl is almost dying from sickness and—"

“How is that my problem?" Willow crossed her arms. “And why shouldn't I just tell someone else to deal with your lot?"

“Because you've just taken a bit of my blood," Lilith held up her thumb, which had the faintest trace of a bloodied prick on it. “And that means you're under my Blood Oath."

“....Come again?" Willow asked.