The Vampire & Her Witch

"Powerful," he said after thinking for a few moments. The sensation of dozens of trees offering up their strength, whispering their support and echoing his desire for the invaders to suffer and die was more intoxicating than the strongest wine he’d ever tasted. "I felt strong and mighty... like I’d finally become strong enough to protect the people relying on me."

"And?" Ashlynn asked pointedly. "Is that all you felt?"

"No," the young man said, shaking his head as he recalled his feelings at the time. "I was... happy, I think. I was glad that it hurt so much, that they didn’t die without knowing the kind of suffering my friends had endured because of them. I, I wanted it to last longer," he said awkwardly, looking away from Ashlynn as shame burned in his heart. "I didn’t want them to die so quickly when Milo’s archers opened fire but..."

"But you remembered your mission," Ashlynn said. "Even as you were consumed by vengeance, you remembered your duty."

"They deserved to suffer for what they did," Ollie said. "But if we didn’t kill them, we’d never be able to reach the Inquisitors behind them, and the pain wouldn’t have lasted forever. Once we started, we couldn’t stop."

"Did they really deserve it Ollie?" Ashlynn asked. "The Inquisition were the ones forming the second sun in the sky. Those soldiers were only there to act as guards. They followed the orders of their lords and knights, but they’d never drawn a blade against your men until you attacked them."

"That doesn’t mean they were innocent," Ollie said, staring at the vision of Ashlynn and wondering if the real Ashlynn would ask such a question. "You heard how they shouted at us. They wanted to kill ’demons’ just as much as the Inquisition does."

"You’re the one who took justice as one of your virtues, Ollie," Ashlynn pointed out. "When you punish the guilty, justice and vengeance can go hand in hand. But when you punish the innocent simply because they fight alongside the guilty, are you serving justice? Or are you prioritizing your vengeance?"

For a moment, Ollie wanted to argue that vengeance had nothing to do with it. His trap had been the best plan he could think of and if not for the unexpected strength of the Inquisition, it might have worked. Whether or not he satisfied his vengeance in the process didn’t matter as long as the ends were just and righteous. He was protecting his village and the people who died were soldiers in a war... Just because they hadn’t swung a sword at his people yet didn’t make them innocent, did it?

But the words died on his lips before he could speak them when he thought back to the day that he and Ashlynn had escaped the Summer Villa after she killed Sir Kaefin. They were hunted by Sir Broll, a man she’d sworn to take revenge on for his part in burying her after Owain nearly killed her.