Power Imbalance

Lord Lagosi offered Worldling a smile. It was somewhere between inviting and cruel, with a hand extended.

The truth of the matter, in the year 89, was that Worldling would have made a powerful ally. He had personal connections with demons from outside Burrowgatory– not to mention his physical abilities and weapons proficiency. He was the perfect peon, too, since he was also not the brightest. Lagosi couldn’t help his delight– he was so close to getting what he wanted.

“You seem uncertain,” Lagosi said. He didn’t miss the way that Worldling shifted back and forth, despite the grin.

“Me? Oh, no, it sounds great.” Worldling tried to sound as earnest as possible. “Turning into mist, being unkillable, drinking blood, that sounds… really cool!” It sounds really stupid, he thought. He didn’t see the value of turning into mist; his lifespan was already basically eternal, and he had no plans on making any enemies that would kill him; and he had no interest in drinking blood.

“Then come to me.” Lagosi beckoned him with two fingers.

“Like, right now?” Worldling asked.

“When else?”

“I dunno, uh… I just, you know, this feels really sudden. And, it’s also, you know, such a huge opportunity! I think it’d be great if, uh, like, we could do some sort of ceremony! I could invite a few friends– it’d be great.”

“Worldling, pet, it seems as though you’re stalling…”

Something about that nickname settled strangely within Worldling. He was no one’s pet– he was an adventurer! He was a fighter. He wasn’t made to lounge around at home, doing nothing! He was supposed to be out in the world, making allies, seeing new places! It was one of the main reasons Lord Lagosi had really started to creep him out– not to mention the way that he had not-so-subtly followed Worldling for at least a week before making his move.

This whole “vampire lord” opportunity was so weird. Worldling was definitely skilled in whatever it was he threw himself into, but enough so to be sought out by the council of vampire lords? It was… not… He couldn’t even articulate the feeling in his own mind. 

“What? No way!” Worldling laughed nonchalantly. If there was one thing he knew he was good at, it was using his charm to disarm others. “A day like this could end up being the most important day of my life! Of course I want the people I love most to be there for it.”

“You don’t think it would upset them to see you dead?”

“I mean, I’ll come back. We’ll just let them know beforehand.”

Lord Lagosi chuckled. He almost believed him. He rose from his throne, and stepped carefully toward Worldling.

Worldling held his ground. His fingers itched to grab his sword, but he didn’t want to be the one to turn this into an outright hostile situation. He still believed he could diffuse this.

“Come now, child, what’s the problem?” Lagosi began circling Worldling.

Worldling’s mind screamed the word prey, and he felt it was true.

“Are you afraid of the way this might change you?”

Worldling laughed. “I’m not afraid of anything.” At the time, this was true– Worldling had seldom felt fear. Unease, sure. But he was definitely not afraid in that moment. He just did not in particular want to be a vampire. 

“Then what’s the problem?” Lagosi, behind Worldling, stepped forward.

“I’m not interested in doing it alone,” Worldling said. A half-truth.

“I’ll be here.”

Worldling could feel Lord Lagosi’s breath on the back of his neck. It made his hair stand on end.

Worldling took a breath. “I’m saying no for now.”

“That’s a shame.”

Lagosi reached around Worldling’s neck and put him in a headlock. Even with the sword and the sleight height advantage, he felt he was able to restrain Worldling with some ease. He grabbed Worldling’s arm and yanked it toward his open mouth.

Before he had the chance to make contact, though, Worldling flipped Lagosi over his own back. Lagosi connected harshly with the ground. This would have incapacitated anybody else, but Lagosi scrambled to flip himself over on his hands.

Worldling grinned. Now here was a challenge. He drew his sword, holding it out in front of himself defensively.

“Now what do you think you’re going to do with that?” Lagosi asked, pulling himself to his feet.

“I don’t think it’ll kill you,” Worldling began, “but it should hold you back.”

Lagosi chuckled darkly. He lunged again.

Worldling thrust out his sword and hit him square in the midsection. His shirt tore, and blood dripped for but a moment before the wound sealed itself back up. Lagosi reached a hand out toward Worldling, but was once again met with the smack of the blade.

The pair continued like this– Lagosi grew bloodier and bloodier, but maintained his stamina; Worldling, on the other hand, remained untouched… though he could not keep swinging that sword around forever. 

When Worldling found himself wheezing with the effort, he put his sword away, intent to fight off Lagosi with his bare hands. Risky? Sure. But Worldling relished the challenge. Plus, it meant that he had to start taking the fight seriously– it was a fun exercise before. Now, he should probably actually try to make his exit.

When Lagosi lunged this time, Worldling reacted by punching him in the gut. The wound he’d sustained a few minutes earlier radiated pain– no longer bleeding, but still very sensitive. He doubled over.

Worldling used this opportunity to run. He turned and fled from the chamber, out the way he came. 

When the door to the exit was in sight, he felt a cold rush blow by him. Then, standing before him was Lord Lagosi himself. Unable to come to a stop quickly enough, Worldling crashed into him, sending them both to the ground.

Still, Worldling had the upper hand. He used his limbs to pin Lagosi to the ground, breathing heavily.

All for naught, though, as Lagosi had been toying with him from the beginning. He once again melted into mist, and re-materialized atop Worldling’s back.

Before Worldling could do anything else, he felt Lagosi’s horrid fangs connect with his neck. He struggled at first, but was unable to reach behind him in a way that would get the vampire lord off of him. His heart pounded– he felt it in his chest, and he felt it in his neck; he shook, feeling smaller than he ever had. His head swam and his vision darkened. Worldling envied the world he’d lived in not seconds before– the world he’d lived in without any fear.