Chapter 27

Eva cringed when she heard Taka's body fall. She didn't need to turn around to know the boy was dead, and she didn't want to. Even if part of her was relieved that he would no longer be out there somewhere plotting her death, she still felt conflicted that he was gone.

She was thankful when Adrian put an arm around her shoulders and started to lead her back toward the rise. "We need to get you away from here. I don't imagine the smell will help you recover any faster."

Eva agreed wholeheartedly, but she still pulled away from him. She then turned to face her father. Many of the men were still staring at the angel, but he ignored them all as he stepped closer. "He is correct. You could become ill with your blood loss and the miasma." He then gestured to the rise. "We can speak up there."

She then looked around at all the injured men. There were more standing than she expected, but it was still a woefully small number. Unfortunately, she knew she was in no shape to heal them. Not anymore. She finally gave her father a nod and allowed Adrian to help her up the side of the valley.

They had not made it all the way before she paused and looked over at him. "How is it that you seem to be at nearly full strength again?"

Adrian grimaced but didn't look away. He was hesitant as he answered. "It is because you are what saved me. Had your blood not coated my injuries, I might not be standing. The knife didn't hit my heart, so it is possible I could have survived, but I would have been down for a long time."

It was Eva's turn to grimace. Yes, she had tried to give him her blood, but she would have rathered it not happen the way it did. Thankfully, they were to the rise, and she could let it drop. She still had far too many questions to dwell on it for long anyway.

She turned to see that Sypha and Trevor were the only ones to have followed them up. The rest of the men were still down in the valley, presumably looking for downed comrades. Eva had to repress another wave of nausea now that the danger was past. She tried to ignore it as she turned to face her father.

Now that she had the time, and he was there, her tongue could not seem to form words. It was several seconds before she could figure out what she wanted to ask first. "Why are you here now?" She then paused, and her brow scrunched as something else occurred to her. "Wait, did you come from the future too?"

He moved forward and looked as though he were going to put a hand on her arm. Eva jerked back with a frown. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know you. I don't even know your name. You were never there for me. Just because you are my father, doesn't give you the right to act like you-" She had to cut herself off the keep the sound of tears from escaping.

She was aware she had pent up anger, and she was being unfair. Especially since the man in front of her was an angel for crying out loud. She still couldn't bring herself to greet him with open arms.

The angel let his hand fall and stepped back again. Though his voice did not show it if he were hurt by her rejection. "You may call me what you wish. My name is not important."

Eva held up a hand and cut him off. She had to take a few deep breaths before she could look him in the eye. "Maybe for any other human, but if what you have said is true, then I am flesh of your flesh. I, at least, deserve to know your name."

He gave her an unreadable look and didn't answer right away. Finally, he nodded. "I will speak it for your ears only. Later. For now, it is sufficient for you to call me Avigdor."

Eva tried to look into his eyes to see if there was more. Unfortunately, he was impossible to read. Although she shouldn't have been shocked. He wasn't human, after all. She finally gave him a nod. "Fine, Avigdor, tell me why you are here now. Why weren't you there-" She desperately wanted to ask him about her mother, but could not force the words past her lips.

He still tried to answer. "I am here because you were nearly killed again. I could not have acted so overtly without the presence of the damned, but I could not stand by and watch you die."

Eva's eyes flashed, and her jaw clenched. She nearly shouted at him but managed to swallow it. Instead, her voice was ice cold. "Why now? As a matter of fact, you still didn't tell me how you even know I am your daughter unless you come from the future too."

If angels were even capable of showing exasperation, that would have been how the rest of the team would have described the male's face. Not that Adrian didn't understand his lover's frustration. He still put a comforting hand on her arm. He knew she would regret it later if she couldn't get a rein on her temper.

Eva was grateful for the gesture and took a moment to try and gather herself together. Logically, she knew it wasn't her father she was mad at. Not entirely. No, she was angry that her mother was dead and he hadn't been there.

Her father took advantage of her silence and continued. "Perhaps it would be best for me to explain what I can. Then you are welcome to ask any more questions."

Eva had already come to terms with the fact that she was half-angel. She had even had several daydreams about how her first meeting with her father would go. Some were good, some were bad, but none of them were like this. She wasn't sure what to think. Somehow she doubted her mother would have loved anyone that was as incapable of expressive emotion as her father seemed to be. There had to be more he wasn't showing. She clung to that thought as she finally nodded.

He didn't hesitate to take the offer and launched into his tale. "Perhaps I should start by answering one of your questions. I am both from the future, and not. You see, angels are timeless. Or rather, we exist outside the flow of time. I have seen all that was, and all that could be."

Eva started rubbing her temples. She failed to notice how excited Sypha looked at that news, and probably would have laughed at Trevor's face, but she was too busy trying to wrap her head around the existential nonsense she just heard. Though she shouldn't have been shocked.

He continued when she looked up again, as though his words were the most normal thing in the world. "I am sure you want to know how any of this happened. It is a long story, but I can try to explain."

He paused then and looked away. For a moment, he almost looked human. When he turned back, Eva was shocked to see pain in his eyes. "Your mother has a special soul. I cannot tell you the details of why, but you should know that it meant she was deemed worthy of a guardian angel through all of her lives. At least until she reached her enlightenment, or was deemed no longer worthy due to her actions."

There was a slight hitch in his voice when he spoke again. "I was assigned to be her guardian. I watched through several of her lives until I could stand silent no longer."

Eva threw up one hand and put the other over her eyes. She stood there for several seconds, taking deep breaths before she finally looked up with a frown. "If you were her guardian angel, why was she brutalized and murdered?"

The pain that was in his eyes crossed his face as well, but he still answered. "From the moment you were born, you became a target. You had to become my priority."

Eva looked like she had been punched. In essence, what he was saying was that her mother died because she was born. Adrian immediately picked up on her pain and grabbed her arm to steady her. His voice was low when he spoke. "It was never your fault. Do not blame yourself."

She looked up at him but shook her head. She wished it was as easy as he made it sound, but she had no doubt that if she had never been born, her mother would not have had to suffer. Her attention was then drawn by her father. "He is correct. I knew from the moment I decided to approach your mother that it could be a possibility, but she welcomed me. She showed me what it meant to love, and you were all either of us wanted. A part of us both."

He then stepped forward. "I have never been far from your side. Even though I was forced to seal your power to keep you from being damned, I knew you would attract unwanted attention. Your mother also knew and agreed."

This was all too much for Eva. She took a step back as she tried to assimilate everything before she looked back up with a frown. "She knew you were an angel? She knew what could happen?"

Her father's eyes softened. "Yes, she was aware of it all. It would have been selfish of me to not tell her, and I cannot lie."

Eva's mind was still going a mile a minute. She had more questions now than answers. Before she could ask any of them, her father stepped closer and lowered his voice. "I cannot stay. Now that the demons have been nearly annihilated, my presence here is unwarranted."

She wanted to explode with all the questions but said none of them as her father closed the distance. This time, she allowed him to reach out, and he cupped the side of her head as he gave her a small smile. "Evangaline, you are more than I could have expected. Know that you have become all I hoped for and that I will never be far from your side, even if you cannot see me."

He then took a step back and eyed the man next to her. Adrian raised a brow but didn't hesitate to put an arm around her shoulders as he spoke. "Have no fear that she will come to harm with me."

The angel chuckled. "No, had I not trusted your intentions, I would never have allowed that mirror to transport her. At least here she can be who she really is without fear of eternal damnation just for existing." He then turned to his daughter. "As long as you continue down the path you have chosen with fairness and only target the damned, then you will be safe here. Never be afraid. Call to me in need, and I will be there. You have my word."

Eva was silent as she watched her father back further away. She had so many more things she wanted to say, yet none of them could make their way out. When he took to the air, she finally rushed forward and looked up. "Thank you!" It wasn't what she really wanted to say, but hopefully, he understood anyway. At least she had a better idea of what happened now.

She continued to watch him until she heard Trevor speak up behind her. "Wait, did he just say that he was the one to send you through the mirror?"

Eva's eyes widened as she looked back and then up again. He had said that, which only added to her questions. He had been cryptic, but she had a feeling she understood. That didn't make her feel any happier, but at least she knew he wasn't far. Maybe she could still ask questions when she figured out what she wanted to ask. He had appeared in her dreams before, who was to say he couldn't again. Either way, it was a moot point for the moment, and they had far more pressing matters to worry about.

It had been a few days since the battle, and Isaac had still not gone far. Initially, he had stayed on the off chance that he would get an opportunity to take care of the Nephilim and Dracula's spawn. However, the opportunity never presented itself. Part of that was the fact that he knew any demons he created would be next to useless in a battle against the two, not as long as the woman lived. Despite his skill, he was only one man against more than a hundred. His demise would be certain without the aid of his troops.

He then decided he would stay close to the group as they traveled back. The men that had survived the battle would be headed back to their homes while the rest of the group would keep going. Eventually, the two would not be as well guarded.

He took that time to watch the two even more closely than he had before. What he found shocked him. It was not unexpected for the woman to take her time and heal the wounded, even when she was not at full strength. However, he was not expecting Alucard to be there with her to help in any way he could. Not that he was capable of healing anyone, but he certainly was able to dress wounds and help in other ways. Any of the able-bodied men helped whenever they could.

Isaac wasn't sure what to think of the boy helping humans. He had no doubt that Alucard was just as angry about his mother's death as his father had been. Yet there he was, helping the humans as though they had not been the instigators of the end of his family. It made no sense to the Forgemaster.

Watching the group as they traveled back to their homes made him think. Yes, he had seen the evils of humanity wherever he looked, and he had rarely seen kindness. Yet, watching these men, he realized that perhaps not all of humanity was lost to greed, hate, and corrupted hearts. That did not make him wish to rejoin his race, but it did make him wonder if killing them all was the only alternative.

Surely doing so would rid the world of the taint of their bigotry and hatred, but it would also rid the world of the light of those that were willing to share it. Would that not lead to a darker world in the end? Those were the thoughts that consumed him over the next few days.

He knew that he had been swayed from his path more than once before, and both times had led to disappointment. However, the fact that it had happened more than once made him wonder. Did he really want to annihilate all humanity? Was that his goal, or like the Captain said, the goal of another.

As he watched the mirror once more, he wondered if the justice that had already been served was enough. Both Hector and Carmilla had paid for their betrayal. The fact that Alucard had been the one to wield the stake that killed Dracula was less shocking. The boy had opposed the war from the beginning. He came as a combatant, not a betrayer. Did it make a difference?

He nearly chuckled at the thought that it was fitting for Carmilla to be killed by her greed. Trying to bite off more than she could chew seemed to have been a common occurrence in the female's life. One that she paid dearly for in the end.

He stood with a groan as the sun set and let the mirror drift back into its box. Perhaps it was time that he looked for his own goal after all. The old woman he passed on the way to Styria might have had the right of it. A quiet life with naught but his thoughts for company was appealing. Perhaps that should be his new goal.

He didn't bother to look back as he turned toward the nearest coast. He wasn't sure where he would go, but he did know wherever he chose would be where he was meant to be. A small, sad smile graced his lips at the thought that this might have been what Dracula wanted all along. Why else would the man send him halfway across the world? He had no doubt that he would one day find out, but for the time being, it had been far too long since he last prayed.

It had taken Striga and Morana nearly a month to make it back to Styria. Between the few vampires and demons that had followed them off the battlefield, there were less than a hundred left. Not that there had been many more to start with. Though the humans they traveled back through were not nearly as defeated as they should have been. The sight of such a small group had the people chasing them, hoping to exterminate them once and for all.

That would have been enough for both females to be in a foul mood, but the sight that greeted them upon their arrival home was enough to make Striga growl. Surely, the only reason the place did not stink to the heavens was due to the fact that it was still snowing in the mountains. Otherwise, the stench would have been overwhelming.

They picked their way through the rotting remains of demons and vampires alike. They had been told by Carmilla that the Forgemaster, Isaac, had been there. However, this was far worse than they anticipated. The inside of the castle was in worse shape than the outside. Blood and guts covered nearly every hall. The fact that it was there due to an enemy was what made it most unbearable.

When they made it to the central room, Striga and Morana both let out low growls. The place had been desecrated. Finally, Striga turned to the vampire that had been following them. He was just as exhausted as the rest of them, but he jumped to attention at her glare. "I want a team to get this place cleaned in three days. Start here and work your way out. No longer."

He jumped to salute before he ran to find the rest of the vampires left. Morana turned to her lover and put a hand on her arm. "We will rebuild stronger than ever. This is no block to us."

Striga sighed and ran a hand down her face. Her eyes were tired when she looked down and brushed a stray strand of hair from Morana's face. "I know. But to do so, we will need to focus on rebuilding our army. We will be given little time before the surrounding regions find out about Carmilla's death. It would invite invasion if we do not have a show of power soon."

Morana let out a soft sigh as well. She knew her lover was not wrong, but they could only tackle one thing at a time, and it was nearly dawn. She tugged on Striga's arm. "Let us see if we can find a place for the day. Surely he did not desecrate every room."

Striga growled again at the reminder. As angry as they both still were at the death of Carmilla, they were far more furious at the missing Forgemaster. The Nephilim had not targeted their sister specifically. However, Isaac had done this to their home, and he was the one that killed Lenore. For the moment, their focus had to be on rebuilding, but she swore it would not be long before they found him. No matter where in the world he escaped to, he would not evade them forever.

A/N: I had so many plans for the ending of this story, that they were starting to get out of control lol. So, at a nudge from a reviewer, I have decided to stop this story here, with the exception of an epilogue, this will be it. Before you kill me, know that it is because I have decided to write a sequel instead 😉 It took the nudge and one sleepless night for me to come up with a whole new plot lol. I don't think I'll be starting it right away, as I do have a separate project I am working on that is taking up a lot of my time and probably will through the end of the year. That doesn't mean it will be that long. I doubt it will be more than a few weeks before I get started on it. Anyway, I hope you have all enjoyed this journey and are looking forward to the next! Cheers!