Ch 10 – Promise Broken
Evan's grip loosened as his focus shifted to the rain drenched black rider. Clove took this moment of distraction to launch a feeble attack. Bringing her legs up to her chest she kicked out with all her might; a repeat of her earlier effort but with better results. Evan's hands slipped from her throat and she landed flat on her bottom. Quickly, she climbed to her feet as her captor stumbled backward. Even though weakened Clove went on the offensive and launched her shoulder forward into his lower stomach. With assistance of the rain slicked stones Evan toppled over on to his back. Clove paused briefly to try and clear her head which had first been dazed due to blood lose but was now in a fog. She quickly turned and made to run to the edge. Instead she ran in an immovable force.
D's arms closed in around Clove. The younger dhampire face snapped up to look at him. Her face had an un-clove like pale chalkiness to it; her hair matted, dirty, and slicked against her face from the rain, and her eyes dim from tiredness and blood loss. As the two estranged dhampires stared at each other time seemed to stop and the pair seemed lost for words. D brought his hand up to stroke Clove's cheek. "Clove..." he said softly. Before his hand could reach her skin a scream brought them back to reality and their attentions turned to Evan.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" he roared and ran toward the pair. D grasped his hilt and brought his sword out just in time to block Evan's steel arm from bashing him in the head. In the process he flung Clove to the ground a little roughly, mostly on rekindled instinct. The instinct and memory that she still needed him for protection, which he knew was false. D pushed Evan off with his blade and the fight was on and the combatants began jumping among the rumble like long ago.
Dazed, clove lay on her side watching the two fight through the now torrential downpour. They weaved among the stones slashing out at each other no progress on either side. Suddenly Clove's mind came back to the present and she realized something.
'He tossed me aside like I couldn't defend myself...' Clove climbed to her feet with a scowl and was about to leap up into the rumble, but when her hand grasp empty air instead of a sword stopped short.
Clove sighed and let her shoulders sag as the cold facts hit her. Her sword was lying on the dirt floor of the cellar and her daggers had been stripped of her and stabbed into the zombies as a morbid joke by Evans. Yes, they were all down stairs with the zombies that Clove had released in a fit of rebellion. 'Well, that came right back and bit me in the ass...' Clove thought to herself.
Clove took off down the rubble and to the only remaining room, the main hall. She stood on a stone outcropping looking down at her handy work. The zombies had wandered up from the cellar and into the open rain. Some of them had already begun wandering across the bridge to hunt for fresh meat. Since Clove had come to be Evan's 'guest' all the women had been turned so there were about 50 or so hungry zombies wandering around. 'Well maybe they'll just wander away to look for food and let me get my weapons nice and easy...' Just as this thought crossed her mind a zombie, with two daggers sticking from her face turned up at look at her. The woman's mouth opened long and she screeched alerting the others that there was fresh meat about.
"Oh shit..." Clove mumbled as the rest of the zombies turned to stare at her. With a piercing scream dagger face launched herself into the air and at Clove, the rest close behind her. Running on nothing but adrenaline the dhampire crouched and began leaping along the rubble. As tired as she was Clove would be damn if she'd die at the hand of some stupid zombies. The zombies launched themselves at her one after another. Just as Clove would dodge one zombie another was already headed toward her with mouth agape and claw-like hands extended. Weaving around the zombies Clove began to lead them away from the stairs. If she could get them all away from the stairs she would be able to double back and get her sword. Clove spared a moment to glance at D and Evan. The two were too engaged with their battle to give her any help what so ever.
Clove huffed out angrily and leaped up into the air just in time to doge another attack by dagger face. Clove twisted her body in the air and landed gracefully on the stone floor in front of the staircase. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was off and flying down the stairs with a horde of zombies at her heels. Clove pushed herself to the edge to stay a just ahead of them. Dagger face reached a claw out and swiped at Clove. The young dhampire flipped herself over, cartwheel style, to avoid the attack and to get within grabbing distance of her discarded sword. Clove reached out, grasped her sword's hilt, and swept it forward chopping off dagger face's head.
The head flew back hitting another zombie in the face and sending it crashing to the ground. Clove gripped her sword tightly and flew into action chopping off head after head. The mindless women continued to attack her and soon Clove stood in the corner ringed in a pile of dead headless zombies. With a grimace she wiped a large blood clot from her face and maneuvered through the bodies. Grabbing a few of her daggers from the lifeless bodies she headed back up the stairs. 'At least the rain with help wash away all this blood...'
Clove exited the staircase and looked up to try and find D and Evan which she soon did for they were still locked in battle. Clove felt determined to be the one to stop this battle and head toward the pair.
D was slammed into a rickety wall, which promptly began to fall over with the dhampire still leaning against it. D had nothing to prevent his fall and ended up lying on top of a pile of brick staring up at where he originally stood two stories above. D's back was completely raw and his head throbbed from the hard impact. He closed his eyes and reached to grasp a bloody spot on his head, his large hat had long since flown off so he had a full range of vision. When D opened his eyes Evan was leaping down to him.
D turned to grasp his sword, which had been jolted from his hand and brought it up to slash Evan, but the vampire would have none of that. He grasped D's wrist with his iron claw and began to squeeze. D clenched his teeth together and refused to let go. Evan sneered and began smashing D's hand into the fallen stones. D could feel his bones cracking and reluctantly opened his hand. His large sword clattered off the stones and away from him. Once his sword was out of the way Evan released his now bloody and twisted wrist and backhanded D with his steel claw causing blood to leak from his mouth and streak a cross the stones.
Evan held D down with his still flesh arm and raised his steel hand to finish off the job. The dhampire grasped on to Evan's pinning arms with his uninjured hand, although it was no use. "She is mine and no one will take her from me!" Evan spat through clenched teeth in D's face.
D watched Evan draw his hand back and closed his eyes. 'Is this it? Killed by this sad excuse for a vampire?' Evan let out a piercing battle cry that was stopped suddenly cut off and in turn his hold on D lessened. Cold droplet hit D's face but they weren't rain. Confused D snapped opened his eyes. Evan was frozen in his attack position, a dagger sticking through his neck. He tried to speak, his jaws moving up and down, but choked on his own blood. D flipped the gasping vampire to the side and pushed himself up with his good hand.
Clove withdrew her sword and hopped down toward D but she didn't stop at his side and instead walked toward Evan. Evan was clawing at the dagger trying to pull it out. His frantic hand grasped the hilt and with one quick pull it was out. Blood spurted everywhere; she must have nicked the vampire's jugular. Although dark sticky blood was already pooling around him Clove could see his wounds were already healing. She didn't want to give him the chance to speak nonsense again so decided it best to end it now. Clove brought her sword up and then down through Evan's neck severing his head and ending the immortals life.
Clove bent down and grasped the head by the hair. She was going to have to put it out in the open to ensure it burnt. Clove sheaved her sword and turned to see D watching her. Clove dropped the head at the sight of him.
"Ah... um..." Clove stumbled over her words. She wasn't sure what to say. The two just watched each other for a moment; in this moment Clove noticed the sorry shape D was in. His right hand was twisted and bleeding badly and he had splatters of blood every so often covering his body. Clove knew there were many more wounds underneath D's hard body armor. Clove reached up and wiped at the blood covering her cheeks. She was sure she didn't look much better.
D studied Clove over. She had become a beautiful woman and he was sorry he had missed her growing up. He was sorry he had missed so much of her life... D began to approach her. "Clove..." he whispered reaching out his left hand to stroke Clove's cheek. He let his hand drop and wrap around her waist embracing her in an one armed hug. He laid his head a top hers and sighed in relief. "I've missed you so much..."
Clove was ridged, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Tears stung her eyes and a soft sob escaped her lips. Bringing her hands to her mouth she backed away from D.
D was a bit shocked when she did this and felt a horrible pain in the pit of his stomach seeing her eyes fill up and then over full with tears. The pain he got from watching her cry was worse than the throbbing one in his hand.
Clove was so ashamed of her crying. She'd sworn never to cry because of him again but she couldn't help it. "Why!" she cried out. "Why did you leave me?"
D's eyes softened and he let his shoulders fall and his body relax. He approached Clove again. "I'm so sorry Clove, at... at the time I thought it the best thing for you-"
"How! How could you think abandoning me the best thing for me!" Clove yelled at him.
"Clove, I thought at the time that if you stayed with me any longer you'd end up getting killed... I just didn't want you be hurt anymore little Clover..." he said softly reach out his arms to Clove. "Please," He said softly. "I'm sorry..."
Clove shook her head to try and stop her tears. She wanted more than anything to run into his arms but something held her back. Clove was just afraid of being left again.
"Please Clove... I'm sorry, that was the biggest mistake I've ever made... I'll never leave you again...I love you"
Those were the words that Clove needed to hear. She smiled through her tears and collapsed into D's arms letting hers wrap around his neck. D was soaking wet and aching all over but he was happier than he had been in decades.