Chapter 9: Into the Fray (POV-Jakev)

Lei found the escaped vampire's trail easily. The poor bastard had cut a path right through the fallen autumn leaves, the disturbances visible even to the untrained eye. Obviously, the runaway had been fully focused on putting as much distance as possible between him and the assassin, and did not have the time to worry about hiding his tracks. I don't blame him, I thought. Lei hadn't always been as amiable as she was now. No, our first encounter was marked by what I distinctly remember as the Dunmer trying to sabotage my research at the College. Ask her though, and she'll spin a different tale. Something about getting lost and a simple case of curiosity, no doubt.

And, truth be told, our relationship hadn't improved until much later in our lives. Five years later, to be exact – seven years from present day. It was then Lei met Avalyn. If one defines "met" as "almost murdered," at least. Quite a story, that. I'd remind Lei about the incident later, she always got a kick out of retelling it.

But now was not the time, unfortunately. The two of us had arrived at the end of the road, so to speak. Our escapee had led us right to the mouth of a cave, his footprints – along with those from several other groups - faded into the darkness within. The vampires' lair, no doubt. Lei told me to wait by the entrance while she went inside to confirm. I had a few moments to myself, staring out into the inky night. The keening had ceased, I noted. Likely because of me and Lei. Our battle with the vampires hadn't been what one would call "quiet," and I would have been surprised if any of the surviving groups still roamed, not with us endangering their kin.

Lei emerged from the cave, waving me over. "Definitely the bloodsuckers' den. The whole place reeks of it." She shuddered. "It's not a pretty sight. I've never seen anything like it before. Not a thrall to be found, no servants, not even a single one of those monstrosities they call dogs. As far as I can tell, it's a purely vampiric population in there."

"So Sylgia was right." I remembered the miner's harrowing encounter with our adversary. "In that case, she's lucky she survived. The one stalking her must have decided she was too much trouble to kill. The villagers might have called the Dawnguard if she had gone missing." I gestured to the cavern beside us. "Drawn unwanted attention to whatever it is they're hiding in there."

"Hiding something? How can you be sure?" Lei asked. "The things aren't exactly being subtle, you know. I mean, unless they're holding the auditions for a banshee screeching choir in the woods." A weak joke, even for her. Odd.

"Just a guess. All of these rumors of haunted woods and vengeful spirits could be keeping attention away from other activities going around in the surrounding caves." I noticed the glazed-over look in her eyes and the careful restraint in her breaths. "Nervous?"

"I'm standing ten feet away from the biggest vampire infestation I've ever seen. Nervous is an understatement." Her black eyes came back into focus to meet my green ones. "We should be calling on the Dawnguard, not trying to take them all on ourselves."

"I don't trust the Dawnguard. Sure, they're good fighters – I'll give them that. But you've seen the way they treat the infected. Even with those that are newly afflicted, where the disease hasn't had time to take root in their mind- they deserve to die, in their eyes. Efficient, yes. Powerful? Certainly. But humane? Never. They will slaughter anything and anyone that gets in their way, living or undead." Lei opened her mouth to argue, but closed it and instead fixed me with a withering glare. I didn't wither.

"You're going to be the death of me, knife-ears," she replied finally.

"Well, un-death really." Her eyes, the only thing visible behind her helmet, narrowed in confusion. "Vampires, Lei. We're fighting vampires." I explained.

She made a grumbling sound in the back of her throat, clearly not amused. "Exterminating vermin, you mean." As if struck by a sudden thought, the Elf turned to face me fully with fire in her eyes. "If one of those things in there manages to Turn me, kill it, will you? Avenge me and all that stuff?" I nodded, admittedly a bit confused by her request. "And… Jak?" She continued, "Kill me too."

Without giving me a chance to respond, she dove back into the cave. What? I mean, I knew Lei didn't like the undead – albeit for reasons unknown - but this? In a different situation, I would have pressed her for more information. However, that seemed a bad idea in this setting as I followed her into the fetid den. I forced myself to dismiss the thought, instead training my mind on staying alive through our endeavor.

Only a few meters in, we were forced to come to a stop. Two vampires - one female, one male - idled in the entry chamber, their yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. Lei had been right. A fresh kill lay before them in a pool of blood – a hunter by the looks of it. They had fed recently, then. The dead man's blood stained their teeth and ran red down their chins, only to dry a crusty brown on ragged tunics. They stood facing each other, engaged in a hissing argument and utterly oblivious to the danger that lurked nearby. Lei waved me off, indicating I should stay behind her for this one. I complied, content to sit back and watch the assassin do her thing. She selected a small vial with a white tag from her belt, gulping it down. The potion took effect almost immediately, cloaking her in what started as a mirror-like polish, but eventually faded to reveal nothing but empty air.

And just as I had guessed would happen, the two vampires toppled to the ground a few moments later, Lei's golden daggers buried hilt-deep in their hearts. She reappeared in a flash of light, retrieving the blades with a clear air of disgust. Her eyes met mine from across the room, and a slight inclination of her head told me the deed was done. With finger to her lips, Lei beckoned me to follow. She led me to a narrow crack in the wall, completely hidden unless you were looking for it. We squeezed our way through the jagged stone. I sucked in a pained breath as my injured side brushed against a protruding section of rock. Lei shot me a sympathetic look, no doubt guessing what had happened. I shrugged, determined not to let it slow me down.

Another room loomed to meet us, its ceilings higher than the last, and… it was completely packed with vampires. From our sheltered position, crouching in the shadows, I could count at least ten, but my detection spells indicated the presence of many more. Twenty-three vampires in total. Stendarr's Mercy. I held up my hands, with the number ticked on my fingers for Lei to see. She glanced over, eyes widening almost imperceptibly as she realized my meaning. I nodded tensely, the movement hardly more than a sharp jerk of my neck. With a deep breath, Lei moved forward again, the shadows swallowing her up. After taking a brief moment to brace myself in a similar way, I followed.

Thankfully, most of the vampires sat in seclusion, their abnormally large populous apparently not affecting the creatures' natural desire for isolation. They made easy targets; a short knife thrust or a veiled spell, and they ceased to be. We managed to proceed undetected with no trouble at all, and with eight, nine, ten of the vampires down without a single hitch, Lei started to become overconfident. She quickened her pace, favoring speed over stealth, didn't quite stick to the shadows as she had before. Yet even with the increased risk of detection, she and I succeeded in taking down an additional four vampires. It was still stressful work, but it had been fairly easy thus far.

Until it wasn't.

In an attempt to preserve my magicka reserves, I had begun to forgo the casting of detection spells. Instead, Lei would give our target and his surrounding area a hasty once-over before we made a move. Another vampire bit the dust. Our system worked well enough.

Until it didn't.

Eight left, and as the night outside grew late, the vampires became restless. It didn't seem like it would become too much of a problem. I prepared a silent Flare spell as the one nearest me turned away. It was a simple shot, one I had performed countless times before. My target was completely unaware of my presence.

Until he wasn't.

The ball of flame left my fingers only to collide harmlessly with the wall where the vampire had been standing a moment before. Faster than my eyes could register, the man dove toward me with fangs and claws outstretched. With no warning, no time to dodge, I found myself flat on my back with his face dangerously close to mine. His foul breath washed over me, rank with the odor of rotten meat. I couldn't breathe. "Lei?" No response from the assassin. "Lei!" Desperate, I tried to shove him off, to no avail. His fingers were like iron. Eyes glowing with anticipation, he lowered his fangs to my neck. I felt them graze my skin.

Purple light filled the room. All at once, the pressure was lifted. It was as if the vampire had simply ceased to exist. I opened my eyes, having closed them in my panic. Lei stood over me, her hands filled with sparks. Her eyes flashed angrily as she helped me to stand, but I wasn't sure if her irritation was due to me or the vampire. Speaking of which… Still slightly dazed, I glanced over my shoulder to see what happened to the man. In his place lay a smoking pile of ash.

"Thanks." I managed, massaging my throat. "Guess that makes it seventeen times now, huh?"

Lei inclined her head, some of the anger leaving her face. "Eighteen." I scoffed. She pretended not to hear it as she continued. "But we need to get out of here. Now. That will have – " The Dunmer broke off and unsheathed her dagger. "Shit."

Three cloaked vampires stood before us, fully armed and spells at the ready. One of them bared bloodstained teeth at Lei, an unearthly wail emanating from his throat. Our escapee, it seemed. He looked quite young, but eternal life tended to do that to a person. Hatred was written plain on his face. She met his gaze amusedly, unblinking and unafraid. "I'm happy to see you made it back." The assassin purred. "It would be a shame if something else had gotten to you first. Now I get to kill you myself."

Enraged, the vampire leapt forward. Lei countered his attack easily, obviously toying with the man. I didn't have time to reprimand her, though. At some silent signal, the other two stalked toward me in unison. Their hands glowed with blood magic, casting sinister shadows on the wall. Unlike their brethren in the woods, these vampires staggered their attacks, getting a feel of my weaknesses instead of blindly slashing at me and hoping to connect. I found myself evenly matched, maybe even at a bit of a disadvantage as I was forced to block both blade and spell simultaneously. All of my magicka reserves went towards constructing wards against their attempts to drain my lifeforce – no time for any offensive spells of my own.

Sword it is then. Great. I drew Filnjar's blade, once again thankful for its excellent craftsmanship. I pushed forward, trying to gain back lost ground before I ended up being backed into a corner. It was far from easy, with my focus split between defensive magic and offensive melee, but it wasn't completely foreign to me either. I pressed any opening available, slashing at undefended ribs and limbs, ducking under their guard when I could. One of them went down, his black blood gushing from the wound in his throat.

The ensuing one-on-one combat allowed me to once again use magic to my advantage. Although my reserves were depleted, I still managed to muster up enough magicka to sling a fireball into my adversary's face. She let out a shriek, clawing at her skin in an attempt to douse the flames. Grimacing, I averted my eyes from the gruesome sight. Her screams persisted, growing hoarser as the spell ravaged her body. With a final, painful cry, the vampire fell to the ground.

Lei's opponent wasn't faring much better. Tainted blood seeped from countless cuts all over his body, none of which were deep enough to kill him. No, they were intended to inflict as much pain as possible on the creature before Lei decided to finish him off - which seemed to be happening now. The vampire, brought to his knees by his wounds, was staring up at her in terror. She advanced, helmetless and smiling, daggers in hand. Her blades rested on either side of his throat, pressing into his pale skin just enough to draw blood. She paused. "Any last words?"

Wisely, perhaps, the vampire chose to remain silent.

Lei shrugged. "Have it your way." The daggers sliced toward each other, severing the man's head from his shoulders. "Burn in Oblivion, s'wit," she spat, wiping her blades clean on his cloak.

I frowned at her, unable to contain my disapproval. "Was that really necessary?"

"Was what necessary?" She asked innocently. I didn't respond. The corners of her mouth raised in a crooked smile. "Oh, you mean this?" Lei nudged the vampire's corpse with her boot as she spoke. "It's not necessary, no. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, though."

My stomach turned in revulsion. The thought of anyone actually enjoying inflicting pain on another living, sentient being was despicable to me. I told her so, not bothering to keep the disgust from my voice.

"See that's the thing, isn't it? If we were up against bandits or warlocks or anything like that – I'd understand your point of view, no problem." The assassin's eyes glittered darkly, her expression unreadable. "But these beasts are no more 'living' than the stone around us. They aren't like any of us. No, they gave up any vestige of morality, not to mention mortality, the second their hearts stopped beating. After that, they are nothing more than monsters, parasites. Feeding on men and women, killing them for sport? That, Jakev, is despicable. These scum don't deserve our sympathy, let alone our 'mercy.''

Lei glared at me, a challenge clear on her face. I sighed, but had no desire to take the bait. Arguing wasn't going to get us anywhere, and there were still five more vampires left in the cave for us to take care of. Though I had no doubt they were aware of our presence, from the looks of it, they weren't going to come to us. With a pointed glance at Lei, I turned and left the room. Drawing on the last dregs of my magicka, I used my spells to locate the remaining vampires, finding them all gathered in a room towards the back of the cave.

We headed that direction, neither of us bothering with stealth or subterfuge anymore. Wordlessly, Lei pressed a small blue vial into my hand – a magicka potion. I accepted it with a grateful nod and downed the contents of the flask in one gulp. Gross. The Dunmer followed suit a few seconds later, wiping her mouth with an expression of distaste.

The entrance to the final room yawned before us. Preparation time. I sheathed my sword and prepared a mental list of spells to use in the next battle. Lei leaned casually leaned against the wall, inspecting one of her daggers. She replaced her helmet with the metal plate flipped down to conceal her face. We met each other's eyes with a silent question between us. Ready? It seemed we were.

Lei stepped into the room first, opening her palm to release a deceptively small magelight. The orb of light struck the ceiling a few seconds late, its power throwing the room into sharp relief. Four vampires clad in black armor and silver masks watched us mutely. Their eyes glowed with hunger. Next to me, Lei stiffened as she beheld what seemed to be the master vampire. The fifth – a female – perched above them all on an iron throne. An ebony mask concealed the woman's nose and cheekbones, leaving her fanged mouth uncovered for… obvious reasons. Her equally black hair ran down to her shoulder blades, complementing her moon-white skin. She regarded the two of us in silence, face twisted in anger, her feral yellow eyes burning into mine.

For a second, she seemed almost… familiar, but I dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. With a flick of her wrist, the four vampires below her were ready for battle. Three of them drew their swords, advancing on me and Lei. The other hung back, hands shrouded in ice.

The room exploded into action. Lei dashed forward, laughing like a madwoman. She sent a powerful shock spell hurtling toward the vampire nearest to her, striking him right in the chest. His eyes widened in surprise behind the mask as he died, his body convulsing on the ground. Without a moment's pause, she whipped herself around and engaged in blade-to-blade combat with another.

I went with a simpler approach – less movement involved. My hands filled with fire, the flames climbing higher and higher as I felt my magicka reserves shrink. The remaining swordsman launched himself at me with a hiss. I dodged his opening pass – the only one he would ever make against me. I flung a roaring wall of fire in his direction, killing him instantly. No time to rejoice, though. Eyes narrowed, I searched for a sign of the mage. He had been right there, where could he have -? There. The vampire stood a few paces away, his gaze fixed on Lei as she grappled with her opponent. Ice flew from his hands, missing her by a hair. Fortunately for him, the assassin barely noticed, still focused her duel.

Unfortunately for him, I was not. His blackened body collapsed a few moments later. Lei made short work of her remaining vampire – a quick knife thrust between his ribs and he was done. Only one left.

We turned back to the throne.

The woman had risen to her feet, sword drawn. I stifled a gasp. The blade was bone – dragon bone. Her armor glimmered in the light of Lei's spell. When she moved, it looked almost like scales. A pit formed in my stomach. It couldn't be. I forced myself to raise my gaze, to look at her in the face. Her mask lay discarded at her feet. In its place… "Gods, no," I choked on the words.

"Die," snarled Avalyn.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back already! I just couldn't wait to post this chapter. I don't have much to say here, but I should be updating again soon! Also thanks to my friends S and L for the help on this one. See you all in the next chapter!