The fireflight feather hung in the air, glowing with a radiant orange light.
Ophelia held in front of her a shred of fabric, torn from the clothes of a dead bounty Hunter. Upon its activation, Ophelia somehow bound the feather to the bloody fabric with its innate magic.
The feather was now behaving similarly to a compass needle, its sharp tip pointing in the direction of the vampire sisters.
Even though he knew the Enfiri weren't technically called vampires, Mathew had started defaulting to that description in his head.
The two companions moved over rocky terrain in tandem, not quite running, but moving at a pace that would exhaust normal humans.
Beings of the Third Tier really did have seemingly inexhaustible stamina.
Not long after they had begun tracking their targets, the same targets were spotted. Mathew was almost surprised at how easily things had gone.
He stood with Ophelia at the top of a rocky ridge, which jutted above a steep hill, one that was only a dozen degrees off from being a sheer cliff.
The Hill led down into a valley, and in that valley, just a hundred meters away, were two young women.
Due to his metal face, Mathew could no longer squint, but he could somehow focus his vision a little, which had much the same effect.
Each one was wearing a simple dress, one that a medieval maidservant might wear, and from his current distance, he noticed that they weren't moving all that fast.
"Let us close in quickly, Dread, before they notice us." Ophelia began to charge down the cliffside at an impressive pace. Mathew waited for a moment before following her lead.
As they neared the two girls, he quickly got a better look at the situation. The two were indeed traversing the terrain, but they were clearly struggling to gain any ground: One sister, who had black hair and a white dress, held tightly to the hand of the other sister, as if she were leading her around.
The other sister had silvery hair and was wearing a black dress and bonnet, and she was stumbling all over the place, as though she had two left feet.
They looked so pathetic that Mathew was tempted to warn them of Ophelia before she reached them. He hesitated, though, and in that hesitation, his mistress cast her hands forward, using the strange binding magic she had trapped him with during their first encounter.
The one in the white dress went stiff, her arms stuck to her sides.
The action caused her to involuntarily let go of her sister's hand, and the poor girl fell to her knees, immediately feeling around for her sister.
"Siyah… W-what happened? Where did you go?" Her hands reached nothing but empty air.
Mathew hadn't been sure before, but he was pretty confident now: The girl in the black dress was blind.
He activated his Truesight, and sure enough, familiar glowing white chains were wrapped around the sister in white.
He also noted that each sister was glowing with a crimson light.
"Apologies, but we cannot allow you to go any further." Said Ophelia, projecting her targets, which were both still facing away from her.
The sister in the black dress and bonnet turned her head in the direction of Ophelia's voice, and Mathew got confirmation of her ailment. Her eyes were a brilliant metallic silver, but they didn't seem to be able to "see" anything in particular. They were simply staring aimlessly into the far-off distance.
"What's going on? Who are you?" Said the one held by invisible chains, Siyah.
"Bounty hunters hired by Arlem to track you. I suggest you forgo any sort of half-baked attempt at resistance."
"I cannot move…" Said Siyah, "Is this magic?"
"We have no reason to take you in alive if you make trouble for us. Just say you surrender and come with us." The blind sister placed her hands on the ground, as if preparing to prostrate herself.
"No… We can't go back… We will die!"
"Would you prefer we kill you here instead?"
"Can you promise me something?" Siyah began.
"No, but I will listen to your plea." A rare show of mercy from Ophelia.
"I will surrender to you, and I will come with you… But please don't let any harm come to my sister. If you promise me that I won't struggle."
Her sister finally found her, grabbing tightly onto the hem of her dress.
"What are you saying? They will kill you…"
"I'm sorry, Beyah. At least this way, one of us survives."
It was a tragic sight that twisted Mathew's insides. He didn't even know Ophelia had it in her to comply either. Not too long ago, he had watched her commit highway robbery against an innocent family, and he still hadn't forgotten her Massacre of Mathias's acolytes.
Even if he tried to stand up for the two girls, what could he do? If he tried to speak up, Ophelia could literally order his silence, and the contract would compel him to comply.
Could he stop her by force?
She had to focus to use the Chains of Order, and she was stuck in place while she used them. He considered sneaking up behind her and tackling her, but then he dismissed the idea. A single order from her mouth would stop his plan in its tracks, and if he pissed her off, it might just seal the fate of the ones he was trying to save.
"I… could go instead…" Said Beyah, her voice trembling.
"No… I can't allow that. I'm the older sister. It's my responsibility to make sure you are safe. No matter what." She tried to crane her neck to look at her captor, but she could only turn her head a few centimeters. "Please… Take me and only me."
Mathew could not see Ophelia's face from where he stood, and he wondered what emotion he would find if he could. He hoped there was something more than scorn
"You are willing to sacrifice yourself?" She said slowly.
"Yes." The words came without hesitation.
"No!" screamed Beyah. Tears like liquid mercury streaked her face. "You can't do this… You can't leave me alone, too. Y-you said we would always stick together no matter what…"