Samir's eyes narrowed as he scanned the desert horizon. In the distance he noticed a small town that seemed relatively empty, save for the lingering smell of blood – both vampire and human.
"There must still be vampires occupying it," he said to himself. "I guess I'll have to drop by."
He tugged the cloth of his headdress snugly over his nose to protect himself from the sun. His deep, blemish-free skin was barely visible beneath all of his clothes. Despite the heat, nearly all of his body was covered. Temperature wasn't really an issue for vampires, after all.
Sunlight, however, was a different problem entirely. It didn't hurt pure-blooded and royal vampires, but overexposure would still lead to fatigue and the temporary weakening of their powers.
The young Prince heaved a deep, annoyed sigh, before setting off toward the small town.
His elder brothers had been searching for the Mirage for months to no avail; it wasn't until a few days ago that the King had finally sent the youngest prince to surveil the borders. Samir had long since gotten tired and irritated with his siblings' incompetence.
The only useful thing the other three princes had managed to glean from their months of 'work' was a narrowed down vicinity in which the wizard den was located. It had become clear to them from mysterious traces of magic arcana that the Mirage was most definitely near the Dunes.
None of them were sure how it was possible considering the fact everywhere around the dunes was almost entirely uninhabitable for humans, especially such an impressive population of them. From their deductions, there were upwards of ten thousand magic-wielding humans dwelling within the mysterious city.
Yet somehow, they still hadn't found a single tangible clue that would lead to their exact coordinates.
"Fucking useless, idiotic imbeciles," he spat under his breath, thinking about his older brothers again.
Samir had already spent his first three days on the job traversing the perimeters of the Dunes.
Every unfortunate border town that he came across that housed any number of humans, was destroyed within an hour of his arrival. None were spared.
Mortal blood was spilled indiscriminately, staining the arid desert sands in crimson.
He didn't have time for any sort of diplomacy. It wasn't benevolence that would catch the eye of his mother.
It was victory.
Despite the fact that he was the King and Queen's full-blooded son, just like his brothers… in the eyes of the traditional vampire hierarchy – strength was most important. Age typically determined a pure-blooded vampire's strength, since that's how their bodies developed, but it wasn't always the case.
Prince Samir, the infamous and cruel vampire general, was one of the rare exceptions… and he had no intention of letting any of his siblings seize the title of successor before him, regardless of the cost.
This little quest the King had sent him on was the perfect opportunity to show his superiority as a tactician and as a warrior – and he refused to make a single mistake.
He had no idea, however, that at the small skirmish town he was about to pass through, the greatest trump card he could ever wish for would quite literally fall into his lap.
—
"We can blend in with the vampires temporarily if we drink these little concoctions," Shea stated quietly, pulling several vials of deep purple liquid from her bag. "It'll give us a murderous vampire aura."
They were on the other side of a large dune, preparing to enter what used to be a smaller human settlement and was now just a nameless vampire camp. Aero had casted a protective barrier around their horses a safe distance away, so it was only the three of them.
Nazmi looked at the potions Shea was holding apprehensively. "I'm not sure it will work on me, my body doesn't exactly metabolize things the same way a humans' does."
"…I guess not," the sorceress replied awkwardly. She glanced at her brother, searching for answers.
"You're already cold and primarily scentless," he said thoughtfully. "But you obviously don't have a vampiric aura, which they'd be sure to notice immediately."
Nazmi frowned. "I guess I can give the potion a go. What's the worst that could happen?"
Shea's eyes widened. "You're joking! So many terrible things could happen!"
"I'm not suicidal, I don't want to rush to my death," Nazmi chuckled. "I just think my body's natural ability to avoid death from a vampire should be enough. Not only is it impossible for them to bite me without permission, vampires can only kill me if they directly rip my heart out and then crush or eat it. Any other attempt on my life won't work."
"Surely they know that," Aero refuted.
"But do they?" Nazmi asked. "My kind has been so scarce we're thought to be completely gone… and other than the pure vampires, I don't think any of these lower-bred creatures would be aware of how to kill a nymph."
"Even though there's mostly younger, half-breed vampires in these pop-up camps, there's almost always a few pure nobles that oversee them," Shea said.
"Okay? Unless they can figure out exactly what I am incredibly quickly, I think I'll be safe enough for the two of you to gather what you need. I have my own research to tend to," she stated with a tone of finality.
It was clear she had no intention of waiting behind the safety of the sand wall.
Aero just shook his head frustratedly, and took one of the vials from his sister. Each of the three poured one into their mouths and waited a few moments for the effect to start.
Shea looked at Nazmi and smiled with relief. "It seems like it's working on you after all!"
"Thank the gods," Aero sighed. "Whatever, we should hurry lest anything goes wrong."
Nazmi wrapped herself tightly underneath the desert-oriented clothes Shea had provided her. It inoculated most of her body except for her striking eyes. She was grateful for shelter from the sun, but it did make walking longer distances a little uncomfortable.
With a renewed sense of confidence from the potion's success, the young nymph marched toward the vampires' den with confidence. She was determined to gather even just a little useful information, and hopefully get a chance to assassinate the disgusting creature that helped destroy her people.
She fidgeted idly with a small metal object in her pocket.
She would kill him.