Lady Dhampir
Chapter 46

Milena stood up, frowning and turning to Ellias. "We need to..."

"I know. Your theory may be right. If they used all that Human blood to... I'll go and investigate to see if there weren't male victims that could have been... used to create that female one. If there aren't, it means whoever did this found a way to create Wendigos even faster."

Milena nodded, well aware of that frightening truth. That Wendigo was the scariest and most horrible thing she had ever seen, even including the darkest part of her childhood. It had almost killed Rayan, and if it wasn't for Ellias' quick judgment, she would have been dead along with him...

"Though I don't mind a visit from time to time, it's very late to intrude my bedroom with a guest, Millie," sighed Raphael, reminding her where she was.

Both Milena and Ellias excused themselves and left her older brother's bedroom quickly. The young duchess was still preoccupied, but Ellias couldn't help himself and chuckled. "Calm down, Milena, we will handle it."

"There is nothing funny about this... We are in such danger if that thing is freely roaming around!"

The human prince sighed and turned to her, putting his hand on her shoulders.

"It is true, but whoever created these creatures probably knew what they were doing. It also means they won't act too recklessly. Moreover, that male Wendigo has yet to be heard of. Until then, we can't be sure there's a real danger or if any of our theories are right..."

"I know when I am right. I can feel it. Someone's pulling the strings behind all this, and if we aren't prepared, next time..."

"Well then, how about we go together to the Royal Library to search for more clues? It will remind us of the good old times, our childhood there..."

Milena couldn't help but blush slightly under his stare. Ellias was being a bit charming and flirty on purpose, and she found herself defenseless against his smile.

"We... we could do that," she said. "Research more about Sleverin's work..."

But while she said that, a growl came from behind them. They both turned around to replace Blanche, standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Blanche!" said Milena. "Where have you been..."

She had noticed the shape-shifter had been gone for a few hours. It wasn't unusual, not when Milena was at the De Crescent Manor. Maybe because she thought she was safe here, it was the only place Blanche allowed herself to leave her mistress for longer than a few minutes. Milena walked up to her, caressing her neck while the silver panther sat at her feet and rubbed her sides against her dress.

"Your Highness, can I meet you downstairs in a few minutes? I have something to do here..."

If he was surprised by her words, Ellias showed nothing of it. He politely agreed, bowing slightly.

"Of course, my dear Lady."

He walked away, leaving Milena and Blanche alone in the corridor. As soon as she was sure the Prince was far enough, Milena turned to Blanche, kneeling down to match her height.

"So, where have you been? I thought we were supposed to always stay together!"

Blanche growled a bit and, against all odds, walked away. Milena knew that behavior when she wanted to show her something. With a sigh, she followed the silver panther, who led her down the stairs. After a few minutes of following her, Milena realized where they were going.

"Blanche, we can't go down into the Sanctuary, you know it's a sacred place!"

The panther stubbornly sat down, staring at her with her glowing gold eyes and growling.

"You can growl, but I don't have the key anyway, Father has it. And you..."

Before she could add one word, something dropped at Blanche's feet. A golden key. Milena's eyes opened wide.

"Don't tell me you stole it from father!"

She ran to grab the key, while Blanche scratched the door. Milena hesitated. She was not supposed to open that door. She hadn't been there in years! Her father had taught her this place was only meant to be opened in cases of an emergency... "Blanche, no! You know this is only for emergencies, real emergencies!"

The feline growled some more, but seeing Milena wasn't changing her mind, she shape-shifted into her human form. Standing n***d in front of the door, she slammed her hand against the door. "You danger."

"I'm not in immediate danger, Blanche. This is..."

"But maybe too late!" She growled with her raspy voice, showing fangs.

Milena sighed. Since they had been children, Blanche was always overprotective of her, but this time it seemed... different. She had never been so insistent or ever mentioned the Sanctuary.

"Blanche, what is it? You know something don't you?" Asked Milena.

"... Bad Evil," Repeated Blanche. "Danger."

"Blanche, I don't understand!"

"The Wendigos, they are danger. Bad danger."

Milena stood speechless. How did Blanche know about Wendigos? She was implying she clearly knew about this kind of creature, from her tone. Something older than what they had witnessed together. Milena turned the gold key between her fingers. "I know, that's why we are trying to replace who awoke them or created them, Blanche. To stop them. We need to know how they are created, and..."

"Vampire flesh."

"Blanche, how do you even know that!"

"Wendigos flesh eaters," she repeated, nodding.

"Blanche, answer me!"

Knowing that Blanche knew so much, while not knowing how she did, annoyed Milena. Even if Blanche had a hard time speaking correctly, Milena knew she could still understand her words fully and was avoiding answers on purpose. The silver-haired woman shook her head sideways, looking like a cat with her frowning nose. Something seemed to bother her. Milena waited a bit more, until Blanche clicked her tongue.

"...Me too," whispered Blanche.

"You too what?"

"Them like me. I think created me too.

"...What?"

Milena took a few seconds to understand. They had... created Blanche too? What was she talking about? Did she mean... the ones who created the Wendigos? It couldn't be! Blanche was nothing like those creatures! Moreover, she clearly remembered her meeting with Blanche, so many years ago. In that dark, scary place, in a tiny cage. The little puppy next to her, as terrified as she was. They were thrown there like some merchandise, in the middle of... of...

The young duchess' mouth opened slowly, remembering all from back then. It was a memory she had tried hard to forget, along with everything she could remember from before that one moment.

Blanche was right. There were lots of creatures in those cages. So many terrifying creatures that Milena had seen many times after that in her nightmares. Until now, she hadn't spent too much time reminiscing. It was a frightful memory, and as an adult, she doubted a bit what her child self had witnessed that day. So, so many creatures. Milena remembered she had seen such bizarre things, with fangs, claws, fur...

"You're... talking about... the traffickers..." she whispered, in shock.

Blanche nodded. Milena didn't know where Blanche had come from before that. She was just there, a tiny silver wolf among a horrible crowd of poor, desperate creatures.

Since they had been together, Blanche had always been unable to say what she was, or how she had come to the world. The shape-shifter only ever had very blurry memories of being trapped in a cage her whole life before she had met Milena. She had been taken from one place to another and beaten up when she tried to rebel or flee. But her origins were the biggest mystery. Blanche had no recollection of ever having a family, or so she had told Milena.

From her appearance, her white warm skin, gold eyes, and long silver hair, she clearly wasn't human or vampire, but actually, no other living creature was like her. In none of her books had Milena ever been able to replace something about shape-shifting creatures. The one and only time where Milena had seen anyone that resembled Blanche, just a bit, with her white skin and white hair, was...

"The Oracle."

Blanche turned to her with a frown.

"Blanche, you... The Oracle, back then she said something like I knew her. She... maybe she wasn't even talking about me. You were there, even if you were hidden in my clothes. That time, she... was hinting at you. Blanche, you know the Oracle, don't you?" After hesitating, Blanche nodded.

"... Her too, I think. In the cages. Long ago. Before you."

"Blanche, why didn't you say so earlier! You and The Oracle knew each other? How! You're..."

Milena didn't even have enough words to say what she wanted. How could Blanche have hid so many things from her! Seeing her so flustered, her friend took a step forward, looking a bit sorry.

"I was baby! Very hard to remember... Oracle older."

"Blanche, what are you? And Tthe Oracle?"

"Don't know..."

Milena sighed. Blanche could shape-shift, while the Oracle could potentially see the future, or predict someone's... even if they had physical similarities, they weren't alike in many aspects, like their speech, age or behavior. Moreover, she had never seen The Oracle's eyes. If they were golden, she would have made the link much earlier... but The Oracle's eyes were clearly brownish, like a human's, while Blanche's eyes were close to those of a cat, or a night creature.

It was frustrating to only realize such things now. Milena took a deep breath. This time, in the cages... there were so many things she had struggled not to remember, but now she needed it. First, if Blanche had been in the same place as the Wendigo, it was a big key. Moreover, one thing Milena had always noted was that Blanche didn't have a belly button when she was in human form... Blanche couldn't remember her parents, was it because she didn't have any in the first place? Or were they different from her? Or had she been the result of some crazy experiment, like the Wendigo...?

Milena sighed. She didn't think her best friend's birth secret would be brought back in such a way...

"Blanche, what do you remember?" she asked. "About the Wendigos, and The Oracle?"

The shapeshifter put on a serious expression, trying hard to remember.

"Cages. Very cold."

"What else?"

"Blood food, and blood drink. Very dark and smelly. Loud."

"The Wendigos, too?" Asked Milena. "They were in cages?"

"Far away," Blanche replied, shaking her head. "Dangerous and loud. Them eat Humans and them eat Vampires. Bad Humans fed them."

Milena gasped.

"Blanche, do you remember those Humans? Their faces?"

"No... baby me on the floor. Humans up. Too high."

Despite her disappointment, Milena took a deep breath, thinking of what else they should try to bring back from her memories.

"But how did they turn them? The Wendigos? Just eating Vampires?"

"Them bit them."

"What?"

"The Wendigo. They bite the Vampire."

"And... the Vampire turned into a... Wendigo?"

Blanche nodded. So that was the accelerated process? Making the Wendigos bite the Vampire and...

Milena went terribly white. Didn't Rayan get... bitten?