He remained throughout the night, crawling on his hands and knees to sift through the debris. Glass bit into his skin. Ashes and dirt sullied his uniform and made him sneeze. Still, he searched. It wasn't until dawn crested the horizon that he smelled the unmistakable scent of blood. He dug deeper into the pile of cement blocks and ashes before him. At long last, he found the object.
Flecks of blood remained on the carbon fiber bullet. It was the bullet of a Guardian, for only carbon fiber bullets would kill the vamps in the mortal world. The guardsman hesitated, not sensing the soul of the dead immortal despite the blood.
It was all he'd found. His gaze went over the area again then to the sun. He was running out of time. If this was enough, his masters could get to work immediately. If it wasn't, they'd beat him and send him back.
It all boils down to a matter of minutes, he'd heard his masters saying. We only need a few to disrupt the Watchers' plan. He'd risk a beating, if his masters thought a few minutes would save their world. He placed the bullet in a small pouch at his waist and left the ruins, dusting himself off. His gaze went to the sunrise, a brilliant display of reds and oranges over the desert. He couldn't help hoping he saw this strange, new mortal world again, and the rumors spreading throughout the ranks of guardsmen were just that-rumors. The colors and sensations of the immortal world were richer on the senses, but the mortal world seemed raw, untamed.
Traveling to the portal between worlds, the guardsman took one last look around then dropped through the gateway to the immortal world. He gripped the pouch with its precious cargo. One day, he might tell his children about the mortal world, how wild it was, before his masters destroyed it to save his world.
*****
Darian opened his eyes. The cave was dark. He was curled up on the cold floor. He hadn't had one of the attacks in a few days. He'd had them frequently when Sofi freed him from the Black God. For months, he'd black out several times a day and wake up somewhere else, usually with the room around him in shambles.
At least he couldn't destroy the rocky cave. He glanced around and pushed himself up. The point where Watchers entered the world was not the best place to pass out. He was lucky he hadn't been killed after telling them off.
With a shiver, Darian Traveled back to the cabin he'd claimed. His head throbbed and his body ached, as if he'd flung himself against the rocky wall. He took a hot shower to soothe the muscle aches and stood in the hot water, letting it run over him.