Free A Reason to Live: A Shadowdance Variation by Mark Wooden Page B

Patient.
    Illyana held a death grip on the pieces still in her
hands. “The closet,” she said through gritted teeth.
    Adriana remained still for a moment. Then Illyana
felt Adriana’s presence move from her to the closet in the rear of
the room. The next sound she heard was the opening and closing of
the room’s entrance door.
    It was the last sound Illyana remembered from Adriana
Dupré.

    Illyana knew that living in a world without
Adriana would be difficult. It proved far more difficult living in
a world in which Adriana would never speak to her again.
    She had watched Adriana from afar, had been
there when Adriana finally tracked down Yukio in 1912 and, to
Illyana’s surprise, defeated the Asian vampire. Illyana had wanted
to reach out to Adriana but had stayed her hand for fear of further
reprisal.
    Several years later, Illyana found a suitable
replacement—Dominique.
    During her duel with Yukio, Adriana’s blood
spilt upon the throne in the Daughters’ lair. That blood seeped
into the ground beneath the throne, where former Daughters
matriarch Cytheria had buried Dominique nearly a century
before.
    The blood revived Dominique.
    Once Adriana had gone, Illyana freed the
Dominique. The girl was little more than an undead husk in dire
need of blood and care. She had no memory of her life as a Daughter
of Lilith assassin, no memory of her life with Adriana.
    Illyana took it upon herself to nurse
Dominique back to health, adopting her as the daughter Adriana
would never be. It was enough to sustain Illyana in her loneliness
as a vampire. She chose to keep Dominique in the dark about her
true heritage.
    This proved a nearly fatal mistake.
    Illyana’s charade had lasted into the 1970s,
when a fateful encounter with a vampire named Kara destroyed the
charade. Kara was one of the last Daughters of Lilith, having
survived Adriana’s seventy odd years of vengeance. She restored
Dominique’s memory. Worse, she revealed Illyana’s connection to
Adriana, whom Dominique still held guilty for leaving her behind
during the Revolution in France.
    Angered at Illyana’s deception, Dominique
convinced Kara to stake and imprison Illyana until she could devise
a suitable punishment. Illyana was revived in the late 1990s by a
new masked face—Fatale, the new leader of a revived Daughters of
Lilith.
    At Dominique’s request, Fatale released
Illyana from her prison. However, a Daughter would shadow her for
the rest of her unnatural life. That Daughter’s sole purpose was to
drive Illyana to melancholy and keep her there.
    Should Illyana attempt to end her unlife, the
Daughter would prevent it.
    It appeared that vengeance ran deep in the
family Dupré.
     
    TOKYO, JAPAN
    SEPTEMBER 2013
     
    When Illyana entered central Tokyo’s Tsukiji
Fish Market, she noted a distinct lack of visible security and
personnel. This was particularly odd because daily deliveries
occurred in a few hours. The world’s largest wholesale fish market
should be better prepared than this.
    Despite her disdain for the Daughters of
Lilith, they had taught her to be keenly observant of her
surroundings.
    Illyana used the Daughters’ teachings to
press blood to her eyes, turning the whites red. This allowed her
to see inanimate objects as cold blues and blacks. She could see
the circulatory systems of animate, living creatures.
    Illyana noticed the blood of several men
armed with assault rifles trying to hide in the shadows. The men
made no attempt to stop Illyana, leading her to believe they were
waiting to spring some sort of offensive.
    It was exactly as she had planned. She
thought it fitting that, since she lost Adriana here, she should
end her torment here.
    End herself here.
    Upon arriving in Japan, Illyana had contacted
an Initiated mercenary she had known from her days as an assassin.
Through them, Illyana identified an establishment that was a front
for Japan’s criminal underworld—the Yakuza. She had specifically
chosen the Okimoto clan because