Chapter 49.

Niik.

As I stepped from the Soul Carin and walked out onto the balcony overlooking the castle's courtyard, I looked up at the early afternoon sky.
The sun was out, but the misty clouds were keeping its heat to a mere annoyance than anything to worry about.
On the horizon, I contemplated what I was about to do. Unleash a dragon, from within my soul.
The wind picked up. With it, I let myself break into my swarm. I flew around the castle, sticking to the shades before landing hard on the bridge that leads to the shore.
As I stand with the Sea of Ghosts behind me, the sun rising and soon to be peaking over the tower currently sheltering me.

"Dur Neh Viir!" Wisps of white light pulled from my being like threads of yarn, twisting and knitting into the form of the dragon Durnehviir. Having being brought into the light, the dragon spread his wings and looked to the sky.

"Wa su'um fin lok"

"I'm sure that means something" I cross my arms and look over the sea.

Just for a moment, I had an inkling of what it felt like. To want to soar over there myself. If only the sun wasn't out, if only I didn't have a long list of tasks ahead of me.
"Just so you know, I'm not sure if you realise…" I looked him over. His form had more physicality than anything else in the Soul Cairn, but there was still a transparency and a hint of glow from his body. A dragon's soul is more powerful than much else in the world, but it's still just a soul.
"You're a ghost right now. Can you see that?"
Not having thick armoured scales, he'll be vulnerable to any attacks he comes in contact with. Human ghosts are strong enough to hold swords. To fight in battle. But too heavy a blow can disintegrate them.
"You'll have to be careful. I don't know what will happen if you're destroyed as you are"

"I've no interest in battle. I only wish to feel the wind under my wings"

"So be it" I reached out my hand. His body flashed slightly as Soul Trap came into effect.

Though some testing in the Soul Cairn, we discovered that when he tries to leave on his own through the portal, his soul would return to me so long as the trap spell is in effect. "Now. If you'd please" I say with a smile to him. "My daughter"

Durnehviir called forth his Thu'um, and from the mist came Helgi. The joy it gave me to see her in the light once more.
She walked to me, looking over the bridge and across the ocean.

"How are you?"

"cold…"

"Hmph" I lifted her into my arms as Durnehviir took off. Against the sky, he became invisible in no time.

"wow…" Helgi's jaw dropped when she saw the castle that was once blocked by the dragon. "Do you live here?"

"No. It belonged to an enemy. But we are staying here. for now"

Durnehviir said his body would deteriorate in time. When that happens he'll return to the Soul Cairn and Helgi with him. My hope is that should that start to happen, his soul will instead come to me directly. Giving me the power of the Thu'um again, and also the ability to summon him back whenever I like.
If not, we'll need to work something out. I can't keep returning every day to free him.

As we approached the door entrance, I grew worried about the mess inside. I don't want Helgi exposed to the stains of blood. Then again, perhaps we're beyond that at this point.

"Is Betty here?"

"Afraid not. She's doing her own thing now"

"good. she's still saving people"

"Of course" I have to assume at least some, hopefully, most of her deceased targets were responsible for some measurable acts of villainy.

"Robin-in! You here-er?" I don't recall there being such an echo. Funny how hollow a hold feels after its members are eradicated. "Serana-a! … Valerica-a-a!?"

I heard the claps of boots on stone. Then right on cue, half hanging from the balcony above the throne. "Heeeeey Niik!" There was a mild excitement in her tone. But also something nefarious about it. Eyes like daggers, she stared down to me.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Jeeze, you can smell the two cups I had?" She asked nervously.

"No, you just look it"

Robin's lips perked angrily as her eyes narrowed on me. "Helgi, your father and I need a grown-up talk"

"I don't believe you're capable of that" I called up to her.

"Oh Ha-ha!"

She stepped away from the balcony, moving behind the wall to head towards the stairs. Although I had no worldly idea of what she wanted to discuss with me, I wanted to respect her desire to talk privately.

"Helgi, do you want to sit on a… king's throne?" Tasted sour to use that word about Harkon, even ironically.

But Helgi's eyes lit up as she ran towards the chair. Robin passed her, glancing at the girl as she marched over to see me.

"Heads up" She tossed a small silver neckless to me. Her amulet of Mara. "Care to explain what this is?"

A smile stretched across my face as I held it up for a better look. "This, beautiful amulet, is from Serana if I'm not mistaken" I looked up at the balcony, expecting her to be there.

"She's helping her mother in the courtyard, Harkon made a real mess of the place"

"I see"

"But I'm more interested in how this amulet represents marriage. And why you kept that little nugget to yourself"

So they finally learned the truth. It was amusing while it lasted I suppose. "Not so funny at the receiving end of the joke is it?" I ask with my arms crossed. Men at taverns. People in my way. Horses. Every time I use Vampire Seduction to get something I need, she swoops in to make a joke about it.

"Oh please, like I care. I just didn't think an old goat like you would play a prank like that" She flashed me a smile as she nudged my arm. "It's just, the Dawnguard were really mean to us… mean to Serana because of it"

"Well. Luckily we won't have to work with them again" As I spoke, I took both ends of the chain and attempt to put the amulet around Robin's neck, but she backed away. "You've not stopped wearing it because of me have you?"

"I still wear it" She took the chain from me and started fastening it around her belt.

"That's easy for someone to steal" I warn her.

"yeah right, like anyone's getting past two vampires and my watchful eyes. I'll bite their arms off" She then held up the ring on her hand. "And with this bad boy, it might be literal"

"Indeed. I actually have a plan for that" I asked that she take me to see Serana.
Robin already stated that Serana may be joining us, but I want to affirm that myself. If she is, she gets to hear the plan. Also, we need to talk about Valerica. Harkon may be dead, but the contract on her head is more a call to glory than a cash sum for the assassins.

"Come on Helgi" I call as Robin leads me though.

"Actually Niik, it's pretty gruesome though there" Robin warned with a sickly look on her face. "Know how Banning was left out in the sun at the Dawnguard's fort? Well, there's more though there… Human, vampire… I think I even saw…" Her voiced hesitated on the words. "child, skeletons… I didn't look for long"

I nodded. "Helgi, stay put" With a motion of my hand, I summoned Fang to watch over and keep her company while we find Serana.

Much of the passageway was collapsed in due to poorly maintained brickwork. Some places we had to climb over and through walls to reach the far end. Somehow I didn't see Valerica crawling though this way. My guess would be she went a floor higher and stepped off from a window ledge.
"flying would be faster than this" I muttered to myself.

"Do you see wings on me?" Robin commented giving me a snide glance as she mounted some cobble. "they've got wings, but as you can see, There are no wings on me~" She chimed happily as we hopped over the last part before walking into the courtyard.

Dead bushes. Piled snow. Sheets of ice trailing down the sides of the castle walls. The place was a mess of a garden. But more so, it was also littered with bones and muddy ash piles mixed in with damp snow.
Some were distinctly human remains. Human flesh tends to cling to bone as it rots, whereas vampire remains disintegrate almost immediately.
On the far side, Valerica was on her knees tearing away at roots and weeds.
Already she'd cast balls of lights to melt the snow away. I have a similar set up in the college. Magic orbs that take the place of the sun.
We'd have seen a lot more of that magic being taught in classes if Harkon's plan had worked out as he planed. A huge rise in students too, probably.

Serana looked to be tidying the bodies. I'd leave them. Bonemeal, rotten flesh, even vampire dust makes good fertiliser. I noticed she was pilling clothes, robes, and dropped weapons from the bodies and leaving them on a stone balustrade. Swords to knives, dwarven alloys and silver.
Serana was just about to pick up a knife when I called her over. She looked like she was about to look closely at the blade, but she came rushing over to hear what I had to say.

"So. The first thing to say is, I've got my dragon shouts back, In a way…"

The pair listened as I explained what happened in the Soul Cairn. That I only have dragon powers for as long as Durnehviir is in me, but to maintain our deal I have to summon him often so he can enjoy himself as a freed dragon.

"So you can't shout right now, can you?"

"Fus!" I called to the sky. Quickest way to answer the question. "No. Durnehviir is off flying somewhere. But the second point of action involves your mother" I say to Serana.
I ask if either of them intend to come with us. Serana is keen to come wherever we go, but Valerica wants to stay in the castle and maintain some sliver of the vampiric monarchy.

"You gonna bend the knee, Niik?"

"No"

"Didn't think so" Robin smiled. "What's next? We going to track down Alduin?"

"Actually, I might have an idea on where to find him" I announce. I was sad to see how hopeful it made her because I was about to cut it short. "But by the time we get there, he may be gone already. Because of this, we're not going yet. Instead, we're going to Whiterun"

"No More Side Quests!" Robin blurted while thumping my chest.

I put a hand out and pushed her back by the forehead. Her arms flailed in feeble attempts to get me. "I knew one of their old pack leaders. Maybe they'll help you with the curse"

"The only help I want, is getting the ring off!" She complained, still with her head pushing against my hand.

Serana reached out to take her collar and pulled her to heel, not unlike how one would a real dog. "Would turning her into a vampire help?" She asked, catching Robin's full attention.

"I'd Fang'k you not to do that" Robin replied, prompting a hidden snicker from Serana. "Yeah, there's Do-vahkiin way I'm letting that happen"
Serana and I looked at each other. This one needed explaining.
"Dovahkiin" Robin said with a perplexed look. "There's do-vahkiin way… No-fu'king way" She urged. "there's Do-vahkiin way guys, c'mon!"

"Robin" I tell her. "Stop swearing"

"I didn't swear! I made a pun the first time!" She growled. "…besides" She smirked, then held up her hand baring the wolf ring. "Lycan say whatever I want"

I'd completely lost my thread on what she was saying at that point. Arguing would be fruitless, so I just moved on while addressing Serana as opposed to the pair of them.
"Once we have Robin's concerns better understood, we'll board a ship to Solstheim"

"Solstheim…" Robin made a face, wondering out loud. "That rings a bell… weird"

"Should we find Alduin" I continued. "we'll see about slaying him. But the person I'm looking for is Miraak"

"Who's that?" Serana asked.

"Not sure. But I know he's ancient, used to be a Dragon Priest. Alduin has singled him out for death… also" I looked at Robin.

"also what?" She asked after the short pause.

I should tell her. She deserves to know but… being ignorant might be better for now. I'm caught either way. Robin will inevitably lose control once that ring takes her, so I Have to take her to meet the pack.
"… well, we might have to be careful. Solstheim is an, unusual place" For now, I'll omit the part of Miraak being Dragonborn.

Robin.

He's definitely not telling me something. It has something to do with Solstheim, or maybe even this Miraak fellow. But for now, I was just wondering about the city of Whiterun. On my last visit there, I had no idea there were wolves in men's clothing wandering about.
Is it public knowledge? Or is it a monster exclusive information. If so, then Niik and Serana are okay, but what about me? I'm just human.
I glance at the ring on my hand. Technically, it might make me part monster too. If only I could take it off.

"Niik, how did you get this ring?"

"After I hunted down the man who wore it last, he was so regretful for things he had no control over, he practically begged me to kill him"

"goddamnit," I sigh. Is it even worth asking if there were other options he could have explored first? Killing is the easiest way to get something done I guess.

I don't think Niik will kill me though, but to be honest it kinda scares me. When Serana goes beast mode she's still in complete control, but the man Niik spoke of sounds peaceful until the wolf takes him. How many people might I end up killing? Will Niik and Serana try to stop me or wait until I calm down?
I don't want either of them getting hurt either though. Even though they can regenerate, Niik more so than Serana, I don't want to wake up and find evidence that I'd hurt my friends while out of it. I cringed thinking about it.

Serana was standing by the table where we put anything that looked remotely valuable from the bodies either shackled to the walls or locked in stockades around the courtyard.

"Still wondering what it's for?" I ask as I walk over again.

"It doesn't make sense to me" She sighed.

"Well, I don't know if this helps. One um, would you call him a hero?…" He didn't have magic or superpowers of any sort, apart from really good eye-sight and physical abilities. "One hero I followed used to carry a hollowed blade" I held the knife to my forearm so the blade stuck out over my wrist. "It was meant to deliver poison to people he had to kill more sneakily"

"Oh" Serana pointed to a hole at the handle. "I guess the poison gets inserted in there?"

"Well it's just a theory" I explained. "The guy I'm talking about isn't from this universe. Plus, looking around, I don't even think we're the right century for his style of weapon to exist"

Serana just nodded. I think I was starting to lose her. "So, how long did you follow him for?"

"Just a few years" I sighed. I liked that hero, I just wish I got to see it through with him, but his journey took decades. "With Niik I'm lucky. I got the slot where Alduin is defeated"

"The slot?" Serana asked with a quietening look.

"The window in time" I say holding up a finger on each hand to visually demonstrate for her. "There's a point where the hero is born, there is a point he dies. Somewhere in the middle is a slot where he embraces his duty to triumph over evil, and a point he accomplishes it" Obviously time in-between is different for each hero, so I explained with some sadness that with some of my previous assignments, I'd get swapped out with another agent towards the end.
"Not this time though" I say with a grin. "I'll be here for the finale of this tale"

"But why would they swap you out?" Serana asked.

"Many reasons" Not the least of which is how dangerous the job is. "Agents getting killed or lost in action is a real risk we undertake on these missions. Our Omnico are meant to help against that, but really their use, if needed, is to recover the body" Unless the agent has been fired, in which case they pretty much stay in limbo waiting for him or her to die and then sneakily collect the body.

"Mainly in case our DN-… um…" Can't say DNA, she'll have no idea what I'm on about. "Okay. They collect our bodies so that we don't 'infect' other people after we die"

"But you were replaced before…" Serana looked me up and down. "you weren't fired with him were you?"

"When was I replaced?" Took me a second to realise she meant with one of my last jobs. "Oh yes. Some heroes start their journey young and finish old. So we get about a year or two, three tops following them before someone else steps in. I was relived in a way because keeping up this guy… oh boy" His endless stamina would give even Niik a run for his money.

I have wondered what might have happened if super sexy assassin man had spotted me during those close calls. If he played his charm card with me, it would've probably worked. That thought made me smirk.
I'd accept being Mrs Auditore and nothing less. Although…
I rested my hand on my lower tummy. Since we can't risk foreign genes getting mixed up with others', my baby factory gets genetically 'disabled' when I'm sent off universe, so his lineage would end if we hitched up.
Unless he cheated on me, in which case he dies after I find out and history changes all over again.

"So" Serana stared at Niik for a moment. "are you the first person to follow Niik?"

"Officially we're not told when or who swaps with us, so we need to wait for the assignment to end and then for word of mouth reaches us. And I could count my friends on one hand so…" It's entirely possible I'm the last of a long line of followers. Niik is over four hundred years old after all, so his turning point could be becoming a vampire, meeting Betty, or even the day he picked up a sword. "Although, I know with one of my cases. Several of us were sent all at once to scout different time slots then return after one year"
Serana shook her head. I'm going to need at least four more hands or a chalkboard to explain that to her.
"Back to the matter at hand… There's easier ways of killing someone, so I don't know what this knife is meant for"

"Okay then" Serana took the weapon from me and set it down on the table with the others.

I understand why Harkon wouldn't put his executees' weapons in the treasury, but surely there's a better place than just leave them lying on the ground. Though some of lighter weapons were found on their persons, not that I searched any of them.
Maybe it's a flex? We'll put you to death even without disarming you first. Or maybe some of them had their weapons just out of their reach just to tease them as they die.
The thing that made me sad though was the sun blackened remains of some of the vampire bodies still standing with their arms and bound to a wooden cross.

"Banning at the fort has been out for a while, he's still… fleshy?" I questioned. "Harkon didn't set them on fire did he?"

"There's a spell my father's court knew of. It's difficult to use, but it can nullify any blood a vampire has recently drunk" Serana explained. "I used it on Niik after he was poisoned, remember? I can leave you so weak you go into a sleep until you taste blood again. You won't die of thirst, but you can't regenerate or make any use of vampire powers" She went on to tell me that sometimes when the person posting vampires in the sun was feeling particularly cruel, he'd wet their lips with some human blood just so they'd be awake while it happens.

"That's horrible!" I scrunched up where I stood. The idea of seeing my vision darken, feel the inside of my mouth dry up as it turns to ash, and of course, suffer the sensation of my body roasting from the outside in. "I want to go… This whole castle is depressing as hell"

"Niik said he's not leaving until tomorrow" Serana reminded me.

We both looked over. There he was, standing over Helgi's shoulder as the ghost girl voluntarily helped Valerica with weeding the flowerbeds. Even after I suggested she stay out of the court, she used Fang to track us and easily navigated the tight tunnels to find us.
"They just scream 'ruthless vampires' don't they?"

"When you live as long as we do, you need a hobby"

"Flower arranging?" I rolled my eyes.

"In the coldest winter, she had the reddest of roses, daises of the brightest yellows, and the walls were covered in a thick lush green of ivy… When mother has this yard living again, you'll know what it means to see true beauty" Serana showed me the warmest, content smile I've ever seen on her.
I remember her saying she used to help Valerica work out here. Clearly, some of that passion rubbed off on her too. It was nice to see her speak so fondly of her life.

"Would you rather stay here?"

Her bright eyes dropped for a second as she looked around the yard. "No… I think I need to keep travailing with you two. I can't be cooped here forever" She said with a sure glance to me.

Hearing her say so definitively that she's ready to leave the nest felt so familiar to me. Like watching from the other side. When I told Niik my name, he looked at me much how I feel I am to Serana right now.