It had lightly started to rain when Yakeshi took me aside on an empty street. Streetlamps lit the way with some kind of large firefly like creature in a glass cylinder. But there was nothing else alive here. The squat buildings surrounding us looked abandoned and condemned. It appeared that the inhabitants of the city had left this part to rot.

Yakeshi was about to explain why we were here when we heard a mechanical whirring. The sound grew louder, and I watched in amazement as a windowless, sleek hovercar made of grey metal smoothly rounded the corner. It quickly flew past us, but I stared after it, drinking in every detail until it was out of sight.  

I was then told that Rahklesh-9 was a more advanced planet in more ways than just technologically. Officially, it was listed as D-grade due to its inhabitants. A two full grades higher than what I currently was. I asked what that meant.

“It’s related to the strength of their auras,” he explained. “Right now, your F-grade aura is so weak that it’s almost imperceptible to most outside of F-grade.”

I frowned, thinking back to earlier lessons. “I thought I was shrouding it?”

“You are. Its deeper complexities are hidden even from me, but rendering yourself truly invisible is something else altogether. Right now you’re using a more rudimentary version of the ability. It masks most of you, but there is still a subtle aura signature radiating from you. Luckily, this place is only D-grade, so you’ll likely pass by unnoticed unless you attract extra scrutiny.”

“What do I do if that happens?”

“Stay close and let me handle it.”

“I thought I was just an astral projection?”

“And what exactly is it that you think you’re projecting? I can send you away now, but we might not be able to speak again for some time. I allowed you to come here because this is a relatively low risk area compared to where I’ll be going next. But you also can’t look weak here. So keep your eyes front and project confidence. In this city, you’re either predator or prey. Do you still want to come?”

There were still questions that needed answering. I had to learn as much as possible before returning to the ship, so I agreed to stay close and follow his instructions.  

We walked a couple of blocks down the street until we met an alien. A masculine black humanoid insect that was just over five feet tall. It had two dark eyes and mandibles that it clicked upon seeing us. It moved closer into the light, revealing black leather clothes that made me wonder if it belonged to an alien biker gang.

I thought it was going to speak first, but instead it reached into a pocket and pulled out an inhaler with its three-fingered hand. Yakeshi’s mouth tightened at the sight of it. The alien either didn’t notice or didn’t care as it took a puff and then shivered with excitement.

It annoyed me that I couldn’t ask what it was, but in this instance, I knew it was better to keep my mouth shut.

“Beeze, you called,” Yakeshi said.

Beeze slowly looked him up and down. Its mandibles clicked twice in annoyance. “I asked for serious help and they send me some D-grade off-worlder,” he said, its voice coarse and gravelly.

So Yakeshi wasn’t just shrouding his aura, but masking himself as something else entirely. I tried to Aura Sense, but both he and the alien just appeared as faint grey hazes. Aura’s that were completely impenetrable to my sight.

“They would not have sent me if I was not up to the task,” Yakeshi replied calmly.

The alien stared harder at him. Violence felt imminent, and I still had no idea what this was all about. Why were we here in the first place and who were they talking about?

Beeze eventually shrugged. “Alright, but I cannot account for your safety and there are limits to how far I can take you.”

“I already know where to go. I only came to you first partly as a courtesy and partly so you could explain the situation to my student.”

The alien looked past Yakeshi as if finally noticing me for the first time. Beeze did not look impressed.

“This is not a place for infants,” he said stiffly.

I bristled at the remark but said nothing.

“The night is not getting any younger,” Yakeshi reminded him. “Please escort us to the site while explaining why you summoned me.”

“I didn’t summon you. I asked for Yakeshi, the planet cracker,” he grumbled.

Yakeshi stopped and stared. “He does not care for that name.”

Beeze blanched, looking around, suddenly terrified.

Yakeshi then smiled warmly. “But I know he would appreciate it if you would indulge us.”

The alien relaxed and nodded. “Very well. It began three weeks ago, or at least, that’s when it was first noticed.”

“What was?” I asked, in spite of my earlier promise to remain silent.

“The bodies,” Yakeshi said.

“Correct. We knew it was a group because everybody had the same surgical cut to their necks to drain them of their blood. But then things changed after a week or so. The next bodies came back mangled and maimed. Like they’d been torn apart by a wild animal. A group of us followed a blood trail. The thing wasn’t even trying to hide its crimes anymore. We tried to fight it as a group, but the thing was too strong. When it became hopeless, I made a run for it. As far as I know, I’m the only one who made it.”

Beeze led us to an apartment building next to some industrial area. I still couldn’t see anyone, but the sounds of machinery in the factories could be heard.

“I talked to a few people about going back with reinforcements and that’s when somebody explained what it was we were dealing with. I made a request for assistance, though my contact warned me that it could be months before I got a response.”

Yakeshi concurred. “Normally, they would be correct, but I was in the area on other matters and decided to help.”

Beeze stopped when we reached the door. It was dark, but the faint smear of blood around the handle was unmistakable. More hover cars passed by now.

“We’re closer to people than we were before,” I said in surprise.

Yakeshi nodded. “It’s a common pattern. They start off in a remote place, picking off single isolated targets, but as their hunger grows, they move towards population centers.”

“Who?”

“Blood Reavers,” Yakeshi said.

Beeze shivered at the name. “Perhaps we wait for more backup first? Is there someone you can call?”

Yakeshi ignored him and went inside. Beeze and I followed with the alien grumbling to himself about this being a bad idea.

Away from the industrial pollution outside, a new smell hit me in the hallway. One of death and decay. There was no doubt in any of us about how to find the Blood Reaver. All we had to do was follow the smell.

“What of the residents?” I whispered.

Yakeshi glanced at me. “It’s fine. You can speak freely. He detected us as soon as we entered the building. He waits for us deeper in the complex.”

“So we’ve lost the element of surprise?” Beeze said morosely.

“You will be fine as long as you stay close to me.”

We continued deeper into the structure until we found an elevator shaft. Without warning, Yakeshi stepped into it, startling Beeze. But Yakeshi stood on an invisible forcefield he’d crafted. He then urged us to join him. His tone was patient, but I got the sense that he was growing tired of reassuring us. Once Beeze saw that I could stand next to him, he followed and the three of us floated down the elevator shaft.

Beeze clicked his mandibles in some kind of rhythm. Maybe it was a distraction or relaxation technique. Whatever it was, I doubted that it was diminishing the tension. I could tell myself that I was safe. That I had a god on my side. But all my body kept screaming at me was the fact that I was walking into a lion's den.

When we reached the bottom of the shaft, the doors had been ripped open. Claw marks and faded blood stains were around the edges. A part of me started to hope that maybe this wasn’t a Blood Reaver after all, but a Scarlet Beast. A path that I’d rejected would’ve given me some comfort.

Exiting the shaft put us in another residential hallway. There were lights in the ceiling that flickered, giving us flashes of the horror ahead. Dozens of Bodies lay in the halls. Some piled up next to each other while others lay haphazardly around the space. Some were missing limbs. None looked like they had died quickly.

Yakeshi’s eyes roamed over the bodies as if looking for something. After a moment, he said, “stay behind me.”

A sword appeared in his hands underlying the danger, but surely a D-grade threat is miniscule compared to him?

Following him was easy said than done as well. While Yakeshi walked with a casual ease, Beeze and I were constantly looking down to avoid tripping over arms and legs.

“Do you feel anything?” Yakeshi asked me.

I frowned, not fully grasping the question. Sensing a teachable moment was coming, I activated Aura Sense and scanned the area. Nothing appeared to me out of the ordinary.

“No, should I?”

He shook his head, inscrutable as ever.

At the end of the hallway, there was a hole in the wall that led to an abandoned warehouse behind the apartment complex. The blood was strongest in there.

To my left, there were several surgical tables with cadavers strapped to them. A holdover from when the killer was draining them in a less bestial manner. Some of the tables mercifully had white sheets draped over them.

To my right there was a cage with five aliens inside of it that looked like Beeze. They were huddled together, staring at the ground.

And in the center of the room was a dark figure crouched over a body with his back to us. A shallow pool of fresh blood surrounded him. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but the sounds were enough to disgust me. Crunch, chew, slurp.

He wasn’t just in a dark space, either. The closer I looked, the more I realized that his entire body was coated in shadow, making him all the more nightmarish.

As we moved closer, the figures in the cage saw us and screamed for help.

Beeze was shocked. He’d only just noticed them. “You’re alive,” he gasped.

He wanted to rescue them, but Yakeshi blocked his path.

“Your friends are dead,” he told Beeze. “Those things are just its puppets. It likes to play with its food.”

Beeze shrugged him off. “You don’t know that!” he snapped. “You’re not better than me just because you came here from off-planet. You’re still just D-grade, same as me.”

Beeze brushed past him. 

“Shouldn’t you say something,” I said. We couldn’t just let the guy walk to his death.  

Yakeshi sighed. “There are reasons for why I’ve presented myself this way. It would take too long to explain, but suffice to say that many more lives would be in danger if my true nature was revealed in this place.”   

“Sure, but he’s going to get killed.”

“Beeze is not suited to this profession. Too rash and quick to judgment. But you’re right.”

He moved fast. Closing the distance and clapping one hand on Beeze’s shoulder. “We should deal with the threat first,” he said, pointing at the hunched figure still eating. The alien snapped his mandibles in frustration but agreed.

As soon as Yakeshi stepped on the blood, the hunched figure stopped eating and cocked his head.

A blood spike shot out of the ground where Yakeshi had been standing, but the god merely sidestepped it. Another spike erupted out of the ground, this time slicing through the cage door that held the alien prisoners. These helpless went from huddled apathy to snarling as they launched themselves at us.

They didn’t make it more than a few steps before they all froze.  

“This is called Blood Puppetry,” Yakeshi informed me. He was using some kind of aura ability to hold them in place. “They’re already dead, but as a Blood Reaver, their control over the blood becomes more pronounced. They are able to reanimate them to a certain degree.”

“Are they conscious?” I asked.

“No, they don’t breathe. There’s no oxygen going to their brains. It’s no different from someone using their hands to hold up a corpse.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I thought it was worth showing you what happens when being are reduced to resources you can exploit. This is the future that I wish for you to avoid.”

Beeze stared at what was once his friends and then at Yakeshi. He jabbed an accusatory finger at him and stated, “you are not D-grade.”

I thought he might attack then, but to my surprise, he fell to one knee and bowed his head. “Apologies, my lord. Had I known it was you…”

“It’s fine,” he said before turning to me. “Have you had a good look?”

I stared at the snarling puppets and then found the same expression on the Blood Reaver’s face. This wasn’t some sophisticated level of control. They were just mimicking him. The shadows dissipated, and I saw his face. He looked like one of the purple aliens I’d seen on that billboard.

I moved closer, and it snapped its jaws at me. Only the body was frozen to help me see a simple truth. There was no he anymore. There was nothing in its eyes except feral rage. It was like staring into an abyss of hunger and… pain. The thirst had driven it mad and was hurting it.

“What would happen if we locked it up and starved it of blood?” I asked.

“It has reached a point of psychological degradation that it cannot come back from. If you locked it up, the thing would start biting itself and drinking its own blood. Though it wouldn’t work. Eventually, it would die. Some actions cannot be undone. Remember that.”

Yakeshi swung his sword, and with a single strike, killed the Blood Reaver and its puppets.

I shivered. Samara had told me to drink the blood, knowing that this was what awaited me. Well, I refused. I would not let myself turn into that thing.

We were finished here and were about to leave when a white sheet over one of the surgical tables shifted. Yakeshi was there in a flash and removed the sheet. A human was strapped to the table and gagged. They blinked a few times, like they had just woken up.

“This is unusual. How did I not sense you?” Yakeshi frowned before noticing the runes that were drawn on the inside of the white sheet.

I moved closer to see who it was and my eyes widened. “Damian?” I asked, shocked.

“You know him?”

“We met in the tower. But he shouldn’t be here. Last I heard, he hadn’t wanted patronage from any god. It doesn’t make sense. I mean, what are the odds of running into him off planet? This can’t be a coincidence.”

“It is not,” Yakeshi said.

And then the building exploded. 

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