A Night at the Inn

by Cricketsong.1985

Adrian never expected Sypha and Trevor to invite him to join their relationship. After a night at an inn changes everything he's learning that there is more to life than defeating his father. This new mixture of awkwardness and self discovery has him learning to open up for the first time but setbacks along the way meet him at every turn. Threesome. Violence, gore & angst later. M.

19. Part Nineteen

Part Nineteen

Adrian came to with a groan. He was confused for a moment, but remembered quickly what had happened. Thankfully the horrible sensation was gone. He ran his fingers over his face, his teeth, finding that he was unharmed. Opening his eyes he blinked, adjusting to the light of the sputtering lantern and looking around the room. He was still in the spot he'd fallen but someone had adjusted him so he was laying down on his back rather than in a heap. Sypha was on the floor beside him, her expression laced with worry. He looked at her quietly for a moment then sat up.

"Are you okay?" she laid a hand on his shoulder, studying him. He gently pushed her off and nodded, taking stock of himself.

"That book," he said, looking around warily.

"Trev took it to another room. Its has a powerful spell on it to keep vampires from touching it. You passed out once it got close to you."

Adrian shuddered at the thought of the horrid thing and met Sypha's eyes. "Is there anything useful in it?"

She smiled a the mention of its contents. "Oh yes. It contains very specific information about the castle, as well as several spells I haven't seen before. Holy magic that harms vampires. I might be able to learn some of the spells if I have a chance to practice. Holy magic is not my strong point. Speakers don't exactly have a close relationship with God, but I may still be able to learn the spells. I won't know until I try. I didn't get a chance to look at any of it closely yet, but I think there is some other good stuff in there. It was really lucky that Trevor accidentally knocked that shelf over."

"Lucky," Adrian muttered, getting to his feet. There was no lingering damage; as soon as he was away from the spelled tome the awful ringing pressure in his head had disappeared.

Trevor came back into the room empty handed wearing only his breeches. "I stuck it out of the way for now," he said of the book. He still had the Morning Star at his hip. While it was not pleasant to be near, it didn't have the awful spell the book had on it. As long as he didn't touch it there wouldn't be an issue. Trevor looked him over. "You good?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Adrian said quickly, squaring his shoulders and turning his attention back to the mirror. "We need to finish this and get some rest."

Sypha looked between them with a frown. The tension was palpable. Neither man would look at the other for more than a moment without glaring or turning away. "I need to have a look at that book and see what might be useful in it. If we plan to take it with us I will need a way to carry it without making Adrian sick from the spell. We also need to find the castle. Why don't you two work on that and afterwards we will get some rest." Sypha worded it as a suggestion, but it was clear that she expected them to make nice with one another.

They were both stone silent as Sypha gave each of them a borderline threatening look and left the room. Adrian moved to the mirror. Trevor was eyeing him through its reflection but as soon as he saw Adrian watching him he set his jaw stoically and contemplated the nearby shelves.

"Just find the castle," Trevor said with irritation, his fingers playing along the stock and over the pommel of his new weapon.

Adrian's shoulders stiffened. There would be no forthcoming apology yet. He grunted a response and put his hands over the frame of the mirror. He stared into his reflection, the gold of his eyes staring back at him and Trevor's impatient figure looming in the background, arms now crossed over his bare chest.

Show me where the castle is.

Adrian tried to clear his mind so he could focus. Slowly his reflection muddied and disappeared, replaced with a bird's eye view of a familiar hulking structure. The image sharpened and hung before them, the castle a dark blemish set in a wide expanse of forest. It jutted up far beyond the tops of the tallest trees. The mountains were behind it, snow not quite reaching the valley where it was nestled. They were the same mountains he could see in the distance from the Estate but he didn't know the location specifically. It was reasonably close. This may be their chance to get to it, if only they could manage to gain the castle before it moved once more. He pushed the mirror to give him a wider view, adjusting the angle and looking around for any landmarks. There was a small village several miles away. He panned the mirror over it, looking for something he might recognize.

"I know where it is," Trevor said definitively from behind him, striding forward until he was shoulder to shoulder with Adrian. "That's the village Sypha and I went to."

Adrian released the mirror and looked at Trevor. "You said it took you six days to walk here from there. It will be gone by the time we can reach it."

Trevor nodded. "Probably. But its a close as we're going to get. Better than it being in Braila.

Adrian regarded the hunter for a long moment, searching his face. He wanted to say something, but he sensed that anything he said would just become an argument. He turned back to the distance mirror, replacing his gloved hands on its frame and directing it to show him the castle's interior.

This time the mirror responded more quickly. He knew the castle well and already had an idea of where inside he wanted to see. First he looked into the main entrance area, a massive open hall that was the first thing one saw when entering through the huge front doors. He expected the long expanse of red carpet with gold details which split and wound up each side of twin curved staircases then rejoined at a landing on the next floor. He recognized the statuary along the sides of the room, decorations and finery meant to both flaunt and intimidate, depending on who walked through the doors. He felt a little stitch in his chest at the hall – it had always been the first thing he would see when returning home – but there were some stark differences. The entire room was a bloody disaster. Corpses were bloated and rotting in every direction. In some places they were stacked two or three high. There had been a massive battle here. Most of them wore the same colours as the bodies in Braila had: black and red for his father's vampire army, and steel for the Styrian vampires. There were others mixed in – a fair number of them night creatures – but primarily it was just and endless sea of corpses.

"Jesus Christ," Trevor said from beside him, taking in the carnage.

Adrian didn't answer him. He just guided the mirror's eye along the familiar halls, moving quickly though different areas. Most of the battle had been right in the main entrance. There was evidence of fighting elsewhere; destruction and explosions had left various rooms destroyed while others were untouched. The castle itself was simply so large that much of it had escaped ruin. Adrian quickly passed over the intact sections, only pausing to examine anything which was littered with bodies or seemed out of place. The entire building was devoid of the usual servants, night creatures and guards. Everyone was dead. It seemed the only thing even remotely alive in the castle was Dracula himself. His entire army appeared to have been slaughtered. Somehow that didn't bring Adrian much comfort. He was willing to wager that his father alone could wreak at least as much if not more havoc than the whole of his army combined given suitable provocation.

"Is Dracula even there, or is it abandoned?" Trevor said from beside him. He refocused, instructing the mirror to show him his father. It quickly brought up a clear image of the man, long cape sweeping around him as he shifted. He was in one of the high towers. It was outfitted differently than Adrian remembered. He frowned at the image.

The sun was rising, pouring in through the large windows on three sides of the circular room. Adrian remembered it well because it had offered an incredible view of the lands surrounding the castle. He'd spent time there during long summer days of his youth looking out over fields or forests depending on where the building was at any given moment. Now the room looked more like a cross between an alchemy lab and a mortuary. The center was dominated by a solid looking stone autopsy table with drainage troughs running off the sides and bottom. Streaming sunlight put an oddly cheerful touch on an otherwise grim scene. His father remained carefully out of the light, speaking to someone. Adrian adjusted the view once more to reveal… a human?

"Who is that?"

"I have no idea," Adrian said, studying the man's face. He had nearly shoulder length silver hair and was wearing a miserable expression, holding a strange looking weapon. He wore good clean clothes and the same black and gold armor that the man Dracula had buried had worn. Beside him was a pile of human corpses, one of which lay on the massive stone table. As the pair watched, he stood over the table and struck it with his weapon, a hammer. Blue light erupted from the table, the hammer, the man and the corpse, and when it settled they watched the body twist and grow, morphing into a wicked looking night creature with blue fangs and eyes. It leaped off the table and stretched to its full height; a little taller than Dracula. It unfolded long leathery wings, ducking out of the sunlight and lashing out violently with sharp claws and a long tail. The man strode fearlessly forward and raised a hand to its cheek, peering into its face. A long moment passed wherein they stared at one another, the creature motionless. When the man lowered his hand the creature was still and calm. It eyed him him quietly before stepping away, inclining its head to Dracula and disappearing from the room.

"Oh good," Trevor said flatly. "The one fucking thing alive in that castle is the guy who can turn corpses into monsters."

Adrian watched for a moment longer, perplexed. The man was conversing with his father comfortably, neither cowering nor flinching away. He looked angry and unhappy, but not frightened. Perhaps even more remarkable was that Dracula left him a tray with food and even a glass of wine, setting it on a desk on the back wall of the room. He then gestured to the pile of bodies and the man said something in protest, hands clenched into fists as he argued with the Lord of Darkness. Dracula drew closer to the silver-haired man and clamped a large clawed hand on his shoulder. The human shrank visibly beneath the touch, reluctantly meeting Dracula's eyes. As he stared into them his body slackened, his jaw relaxing and his arms hanging limply at his sides. He was held in place for an entire minute, unblinking, rapt. Dracula was speaking to him. He nodded numbly at whatever was being said and Dracula released his shoulder and disappeared in a column of fire. He was left standing with a dazed, glassy expression.

"Did he just-" Trevor pointed at the image in the mirror.

"Yes. Father is very good at manipulating people, but he can force them against their will if they aren't persuaded to obey him by other means. Most vampires can do it."

Trevor made a disgusted noise and muttered something unintelligible.

Adrian held the mirror's focus on the strange man for awhile longer. It took a few moments for him to come back to himself. He rubbed his face and blinked hard, appearing confused, as if he'd just woken from a particularly convincing dream. A tall, muscular night creature moved at the man's direction to gather up a new body from the waist-high pile and lay it on the table. The blue-eyed man looked it over, running his hands along the body in an unexpectedly gentle manner. He rested his palm over the dead man's forehead, his face somber. Out of the corner of his eye Adrian saw that Trevor was staring with sickened fascination. They both watched the necromancer press one hand into a deep wound in the corpse's gut, sinking in past the wrist, his eyes closed in concentration. Dark fluid welled up around his arm and the body shifted where his hand was moving around inside of it. He withdrew and washed his hands at a sink in the corner. He dried them and returned to the body. Raising the hammer high he let it strike in a repeat of the process from before, resulting in another night creature. After calming this one with a hand on its cheek his shoulders wilted and he leaned over the autopsy table as though wearied. He washed his hands again – much more thoroughly this time – then gathered the plate of food Dracula had left and moved as far from the pile of corpses as he could get, all the way to the opposite side of the room. There was a chair there and a cot. He sat in the chair, sunshine gleaming off of his silvery hair. He closed his eyes, apparently enjoying the warm wash of light on his skin. Then he began to eat his meal. Adrian let the mirror go, the scene fading and his own face staring back at him again.

He turned away from the mirror and finally met Trevor face to face, studying him quietly. The hunter had a strong stomach – he'd seen plenty of things die in his life – but apparently watching them come back to life was enough to sway him. He looked a little sick, though he was trying to play it off as stolidity. Adrian could sympathize; just the thought of what all those corpses must smell like was disgusting, never mind putting a hand inside one. He certainly didn't envy the forge master his duties. How the man could stand to eat after something like that was beyond him. Not that it appeared he had much choice. His father was clearly forcing him to comply. The effects of repeated compulsion were taxing on both parties. If the person was especially resistant the process would have to be repeated over and over to remain effective, and the ability required considerable resources to remain effective for more than a few minutes. Clearly Dracula had no remaining allies or he wouldn't be wasting his energy on a single human, no matter how useful his skills.

"It looks like we got lucky," Trevor said, shifting his eyes away from Adrian's. "Those things are much easier to kill than full vampires. If he has no troops then we can pretty much walk right in the front door and face him directly. Even if he makes new vampires they won't be trained in combat. The young ones are so distracted by blood they're useless as soldiers."

"I'm not sure if you noticed but there are only three of us," Adrian answered cynically even though he knew Trevor was right. "We aren't an army. We still have to face him and win."

Trevor sighed. "I know that, but at least we won't have our attention divided. We can focus on finding him and defeating him."

Adrian didn't answer. He opted to glower silently at the cracked glass of the mirror, considering what it had showed them. He could feel Trevor's watching him. He glanced over and met the ice blue stare briefly before sticking his nose in the air and striding past Trevor towards the doorway. A hand caught his wrist before he could make an exit, tugging him gently back. Adrian allowed himself to be pulled to face Trevor, though he made sure to keep his frown firmly in place.

"Can we talk?" he began, searching Adrian's face for some sign that he was willing to discuss what had happened earlier. "We can't ignore each other forever. Trust me, I'm the last one who wants to have a serious adult conversation about anything but we need to clear the air."

He wanted to, really, he did. But it was extremely late, after dawn already and he was tired. It felt like the day had been stretched out into an entire week for all that had transpired. Waking in the woods just after sunrise seemed like ancient history. They'd moved inside and gone back to sleep until well after noon and Adrian had been plagued by nightmares of drowning in blood and his father murdering him. Then he'd sparred with Trevor and they'd nearly… something. He wasn't sure what but Trevor had been ready to pounce on him. After lunch he'd had a long and sensitive discussion with Sypha which had stirred up a whole slew of memories that he'd not thought of in years. He'd run as a wolf and they'd shared a huge meal around the fire, then spent time talking together afterwards, which had eventually led them to the unpleasant discussion of Adrian's dietary proclivities and the resulting argument. As if that weren't enough excitement for one day he'd then consulted the mirror not once but three times, each instance revealing new information to give them a clearer idea of what had been happening in the real world while they'd been tucked away in the Belmont Hold. Trevor had discovered his family's most precious tools to slaughter vampires, and he'd been knocked unconscious by a fucking book. It was enough for one day and even though he didn't need a great deal of rest his mind was far too full and he was more than ready for sleep.

Adrian shook his head at Trevor, carefully extracting his wrist from the man's hand. "Its after dawn. I'm tired. We have several days of travel ahead of us to discuss things, but right now I want to sleep. Let's find Sypha."

He left the room with Trevor trailing behind him and padded along the hall to where Sypha had taken the vampire skin book. He cautiously rounded the corner, immediately feeling dread and discomfort rising as he came into range of the powerful spell. He was greeted by a heartwarming scene. Sypha had the book open and she had fallen asleep on it, her face serene and peaceful in the light of the single lantern she'd been reading by. Her mouth was slack over the page, a bit of drool having leaked out of the corner. Adrian couldn't help but smile at her. Trevor dutifully strode past him and carefully removed the tome from beneath her face. He closed it and set it far enough out of the way that Adrian could approach Sypha and scoop up her sleeping form in his arms. She stirred but didn't wake, her head lolling against his shoulder. Trevor gave him a knowing look – no matter how much was unresolved between them they'd both do anything for Sypha. Adrian carried Sypha from the room, levitating a few inches from the ground to ensure he didn't jostle her as he took her down several flights of stairs and deposited her on the cots. She moaned something in her sleep and grabbed the lapel of his coat tightly in her fist. Trevor's fingers were there to gently pry her hand from the garment. Their eyes met and Trevor held his attention for several long seconds, hand was still on his lapel. Adrian shifted out from under the touch and Trevor climbed into the bed on one side of the sleeping mage, pulling a blanket over them both then wrapping her in his arms.

Adrian stooped to pick up the empty wine bottle from earlier, setting it atop the desk so it wouldn't get knocked over. With his back to Trevor and Sypha he fingered the smooth dark glass, considering. He then pinched out the lantern between his fingertips, plunging the room into darkness. Finally he removed his coat and boots then climbed in on Sypha's other side, curling up and facing away from the two humans. He didn't share their blanket.

He was mentally exhausted, yet sleep was a long time coming. Trevor's breathing deepened into sleep after only a few minutes, and Sypha was snoring lightly. He could feel their heat at his back. He laid awake in the dark just staring at the wall. He didn't let himself think on any one thing, instead his mind drifted through the events of the day in a mash of scenes. The discussion about drinking Sypha's blood was front and center. He replayed the things he'd said several times before eventually falling into a fitful, restless sleep.

~o~O~o~

Adrian got very little actual rest. He woke more than once from nightmares with the sense that a great deal of time had passed, but in reality it had only been an hour or two at most. Three times he woke rigid and confused, soaked in sweat and ready to bolt from the cot.

The first nightmare was a disturbing rendition of the events which transpired in the cage, except Sypha and Trevor never came back. Adrian remained trapped for centuries, re-living the dehumanizing experience of losing himself to thirst and watching his body shrivel to a corpse-like state. He was finally wakened by a group of thrill-seekers who discovered the Hold through the natural caves. Somehow they freed him from the spelled prison, at which point he was driven to mindlessly slaughter them all and drain them dry. He panicked at the realization that he had harmed these strangers, unable to control himself after several hundred years of starvation. In his panic he fled. When he emerged from the Hold the world had changed so much he barely recognized it. Everything he'd once known was long gone, lost to the ages and replaced by massive cities and technology he didn't understand. Trevor and Sypha were over four hundred years dead and the sorrow and horror that filled him left him unable to cope. He took the shape of the wolf and retreated into the forest, disconnecting from all civilization and living out his days in voiceless solitude. The sense of time passing in the dream was so realistic that he felt as though half a millennia had really passed.

He woke disoriented, his body tense. He expected to feel pine needles under his paws and was confused by the lumpy cot beneath him instead. He lay on his back in the darkness listening with intense relief to the sounds of Trevor and Sypha asleep beside him as the dream slowly faded. His hands wandered over them for reassurance that they were in fact real. He gripped Sypha's limp fingers in his own trembling hand and fought back the desire to weep.

Convinced the nightmare had been only that he attempted to go back to sleep.

The second dream was a different type of terrifying. Adrian bit Sypha and somehow lost control of himself, drinking and drinking until she was bloodless and limp. He killed her. Her drained, lifeless corpse sagged in his arms, her head tipped back to expose a throat ravaged by his fangs. He stared at the body in his arms in horror and felt searing pain in his back. A sword plunged into him from behind and emerged from the front of his chest with a wet tearing and far too much blood. Trevor killed him in this nightmare. He felt the hunter's boot on his back, forcing his body off of the sword. He fell face forward onto Sypha's corpse and snapped awake in the cot. He was panting hard this time and his cheeks were wet with his tears. His shirt was soaked through with sweat and his hair was plastered to his face.

He got up and wandered around the room for a few minutes to try and clear his head to no avail. He almost didn't want to try and sleep again, but he had nothing else to do and he was tired, despite his inability to get any rest.

He eventually found his way back to sleep. He did manage for an hour or so, but was pulled into another realistic and disturbing dream. They had defeated Dracula in a glorious battle. The world was saved, they were heroes. Adrian took possession of the castle, inviting Trevor and Sypha to live with him there. They passed on his offer, saying that they wanted instead to discover the world together on new adventures. They left him only a few days after the battle, when he was still struggling to manage the sorrow of necessary patricide. They disappeared for over a year, in which time Adrian grew distant and listless, floating around the castle grounds like a specter. He was overjoyed when they finally returned, but they brought news that hurt terribly. They were deeply in love with one another. They'd realized there was no place for him in their relationship – their tryst had been only a matter of convenience and curiosity. They moved away together. At first they visited the castle a few times but as the years passed they came less and finally stopped altogether. One day Adrian went to find them. He visited their home – a newly built manor on the old Belmont Estate lands, a beautiful construction that Trevor and Sypha had made together. Several children ran and played on the grounds, but when he approached he was treated like a threat. An older version of Trevor took him to a private study and explained to him (with one hand resting on the Morning Star) that he needed to move on – they couldn't raise a family with a vampire looming over them, and they would appreciate if he left them alone and never bothered them again. Adrian was sent away and told never to come back. He retreated to his empty castle and bolted the doors, stunned and crushed by the realization that they had pushed him out of their lives so easily. He despaired. He sank into an all-encompassing depression, the years creeping by pointlessly as he sat on the throne and withered away, his heart broken.

The dream faded, consciousness returning to him slowly. He was in the dark. His cheeks were wet, and his companions were still asleep beside him. He shook the disturbing nightmare from his mind and got up, unwilling to try to find sleep when it was obviously not going to come. He pulled his coat on and walked through the rows and rows of books until he found a corner to sink into, tucking his knees up against his chest and resting his forehead on them. He closed his eyes and felt the tears come. He didn't even know why he was crying, specifically. He was simply overwhelmed by everything. The cage and all of its horrific tortures. His body disfigured by numerous scars. The awful discussion about drinking human blood. The image of his childhood home stacked with bodies, empty of nearly all life. His father. His mother. The nightmares that had felt real.

Adrian cried for a long time, releasing pent-up sadness and anxiety that he'd been unable to deal with any other way. He cried until his shoulders sagged and his back ached from the sobs he swallowed lest the noise wake his companions. Finally he had no tears left and he fell asleep curled up against the wall. He remained there for several hours, motionless. This time no dreams plagued him.

~o~O~o~

Adrian came awake with a groan of discomfort. It had not been a restful sleep. He was stiff all over, still huddled against the wall he'd fallen asleep leaning on. He unfolded himself and pins and needles raced through his legs as circulation returned. He got to his feet and listened for Sypha and Trevor. They were a few floors above him in the room with the mirror.

He made his way to the room, wiping crust from his eyes and dragging his fingers through his tangled hair. He paused at the doorway when the unwelcome sensation of dread and the ringing beginning in his ears announced the presence of the Belmont vampire book. He made a noise of irritation and hung outside the doorway. Trevor and Sypha looked at him but they were in the middle of something and were apparently concentrating.

Trevor was holding the frame of the distance mirror in his hands. Adrian could see the image on it and was surprised to discover it showed the alchemical engine room of the castle. Sypha had the book spread open on the floor in front of her. She had one finger over some text and her other hand was poised to perform magic. Powerful magic. The air tingled with it, Adrian's hair puffed up from static, as did Trevor's. Sypha's seemed to sway in an unseen wind. She chanted in a language Adrian had never heard, repeating the incantation several times, each time raising more and more energy until Trevor's hair was completely standing on end in a halo around his head and the room crackled. She spoke the incantation once more and finally adjusted her hands, directing the spell at the image in the mirror. Blue lightening streaked from her hand, around the frame of the mirror and into the castle shown in the glass. It focused on the engine itself; a many-faceted orb that Adrian had seen his father use to transport the castle from place to place. Sypha grit her teeth and closed her fist and Adrian was stunned to see the most important component of the castle's engine implode as her fingers closed into a fist. It released a flare of magical and electrical energy, a backlash which caused the surface of the mirror to crack and then shatter into a thousand tiny shards. Trevor jumped back just in time to avoid being peppered with pointy bits of glass. Sypha was caught by a few of them, a little slice on her cheek and a few on her arms. She wilted, bracing herself on both palms and panting with exertion.

"You… broke it." Adrian said intelligently, staring at the now useless frame of the mirror with his mouth hanging open in awe.

"Adrian, there you are, we were looking for you," Sypha said once she'd caught her breath. He could see the way her eyes glittered with pride and exhilaration at what she'd just done. As an afterthought she snapped the book shut and slipped it into a cloth bag. As soon as the book was in the bag the sensation of his skin crawling and his teeth aching stopped abruptly. He blinked in surprise, tentatively stepping closer.

"It works?" Sypha asked him. "You can get near the book?"

He nodded. She grinned. "Perfect. I spelled that bag to block magic. As long as the book is in there it shouldn't give you any trouble."

"That's very clever Sypha," he said to her, impressed by her creativity.

Trevor shook glass shards out of his clothes and gave Sypha a hand up. When she rose a rain of shards fell around her, tinkling on the floor at her feet.

"Are you alright?" Adrian asked, moving into the room and resting on hand on her shoulder, the other tipping her chin up towards him, examining her cheek. His nostrils flared at the scent of her blood. He remembered one of his nightmares and abruptly released her.

"I'm fine, its only a tiny cut," she said as she wiped the little slice with her finger. "That book is amazing. Its definitely coming with us. Now that I've looked closer it seems to be all about Dracula and his castle. There are so many diagrams, spells and even weapon enchantments. A lot of it is… well its pretty questionable, to be honest. Sacrifices, dark magic, that sort of thing. It explains how the enchantment on the Morning Star whip was performed. It uh… well I'm not going to say that the Belmonts weren't black magicians," she glanced at Trevor when she said that and he scowled at the mention of Belmonts and black magic together.

Sypha was doing a terrible job of hiding just how excited she was about the book. Her eyes were bright, almost scary. "This thing could keep me busy for months. I've only had it one night and I already found a way to disable the castle's teleportation. Worked perfectly, as you saw. Well, except for the backlash that broke the mirror. The engine was really powerful, it released a lot of magic when I crushed it and I wasn't prepared to direct all the extra power. When we get on the road I'd like to practice some of the more approachable spells. Maybe we'll run into some night creatures to try them on."

Trevor clapped his hands together, sudden;y all business. "Well, I guess we can hit the road, then. The castle won't be moving any time soon and Dracula's army is fucked. We aren't going to get a better chance than this; let's get going," He didn't waste any time, although his eyes lingered on Adrian for a long moment, taking in his disheveled, exhausted appearance. He gathered up anything he needed to take with him, mostly weapons. He was already wearing his boots, bracers, cape and the rest of his gear, both whips and his sword at his belt and a small pack of supplies ready to go. Sypha was similarly prepared. She seemed equally as eager to get on the road.

Adrian didn't have much with him save his pack and his sword, so he offered to carry some of the heavier supplies they needed to bring with them.

It wasn't long before they made one last sweep of the Hold and finally left it behind. When the stone door sealed it shut Adrian let out a sigh of relief. They rekindled the fire from the night before and finished off the last of the deer meat before they began walking. The afternoon was grey and cool, an ominous bank of low-hanging clouds threatening to dump more rain on them and ensure their travels would be as unpleasant as possible. So far it had held off. All three of them sincerely hoped it continued to do so.

Both Trevor and Sypha seemed to sense that Adrian was not himself. He was even quieter than usual, unwilling to make conversation for its own sake. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. He didn't want to talk about his nightmares, but they had disturbed him deeply enough that he didn't want to let Trevor and Sypha too far out of his sight either. He stayed several paces behind of them as they picked their way along the trail which led from the Belmont lands to the next village over. The trail was wide enough that the cart and horses would have managed it easily, despite it being overgrown and occasionally blocked by a fallen tree. Adrian began to wonder after the first few hours if it wouldn't have been easier if he'd simply pulled the cart himself. At least then they'd have some shelter from the rain which was definitely going to come down soon.

Without shelter or much food they had to be careful of how deeply they exerted themselves. Well, the humans did, anyhow. He could catch them as much meat as they could eat, but their bodies needed other things to thrive and there wasn't a great deal to forage by the edge of the road. A patch of red currant was the highlight of the afternoon, both Trevor and Sypha stuffing as many as they could down their gullets and picking more to take with them. Their lips and fingers were stained red and Sypha was in good spirits, energized by the sweet snack and happy to be on the move. Trevor was listening to her with half an ear, keeping watch on the forest around them and pointing out things he recognized from time to time. Adrian dragged behind, brooding and sulking and generally being a complete wet blanket.

They stopped to find somewhere to rest just before it got dark. Adrian stepped off the trail and scouted nearby for somewhere suitable to take shelter. He managed to uncover a shallow cave. Really it was more of an outcropping of rocks that created a small protected area beneath it, but it was the only thing around that was even remotely capable of keeping the rain off. They left the path and tried to collect some firewood along the way as they trudged through the mosquito-ridden brush towards the little alcove. The first raindrops began to fall as it came into sight, a dark place nestled between the thick trees.

They made a small fire at the edge of the overhang and Trevor and Sypha gathered some pine boughs to make a little nest out of so they weren't right on the cold ground. They laid out one of their wool blankets and sank down beside one another. Nobody was tired, but the weather forced them to take shelter whether they were ready to or not. The sound of drumming rain filled the space, which was really only large enough for two. Adrian resigned himself to being a bit waterlogged, setting down on Sypha's side barely beneath the protection of the ledge. He could hear their stomachs complaining as Trevor poked at the fire with a stick. It was small, just enough to give them a little light and warmth. Not enough to attract attention, protected on all sides by the bush as they were.

"You're hungry," Adrian commented when Sypha's stomach protested for the third time in half an hour.

"I'm alright," she said, waving his worry aside.

"Its a terrible night to hunt," Trevor grumbled, gesturing to the rain. "We should have stayed at the Hold. We only got about seven hours travel in today anyway and now we're going to freeze our asses off."

Adrian rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a few pieces of dried bear meat and handed them to Trevor and Sypha. "I can't help the rain but at least this is more filling than berries."

"Thanks," Sypha said, taking hers in hand and gnawing slowly.

Adrian nodded and leaned his head back, resting it against the rocks behind him. How could he possibly explain that he'd rather be out here half soaked and crammed into a shitty little excuse for a cave than spend another minute in the Belmont Hold? He didn't love the rain, but the cold didn't bother him and he was just so happy to be out of there that he wasn't about to complain. Sypha's hand crept into his lap, searching for his. He opened one eye and turned it on her before gripping her warm fingers in his own.

"Adrian you're freezing," she said when their skin touched.

"Sorry," he said softly, letting her hand go. He inched a bit further from her so his coldness wouldn't leech away her heat. She needed to keep her heat. He glanced at Trevor, who met his eyes in the dark and wrapped his cloak around Sypha. She gratefully snuggled into it.

"Better?" Trevor asked her.

"Yeah," she answered him.

"Good." he said definitively and kissed her temple for good measure.

Silence settled over them again, awkward and heavy in the tiny shelter. Adrian's mood hadn't improved over the course of the day and he was staring off into the trees, lost in thought.

"This is going to be a long night," Trevor said after another bought of quietly sitting around, listening to the rain.

It was.

It rained most of the night. Eventually Adrian got tired of the way he was half in and half out of the cave so he changed to his wolf form and curled up outside on the ground. His thick fur protected him from the rain at first, but after a few hours it began to soak through.

At least Trevor and Sypha stayed dry and reasonably warm, and eventually they fell asleep huddled against one another. Adrian closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. The rain slowed around midnight and stopped completely a few hours after that, giving way to the sounds of owls calling to one another nearby. As soon as the first streaks of light came into the sky the trio gathered up their packs and set off, slogging tiredly though the wet forest back to the path.

They were determined to make some headway before they stopped again and they walked steadily through the damp morning until the sun rose high in the sky, finally drying everything up and making Adrian squint uncomfortably at the brightness. He could feel his cheeks singeing after awhile and he stepped off the path, traveling instead beside it beneath the cover of the trees. They broke for rest and food just before midday and Adrian crankily huddled himself under two thick pines, closing his eyes to the sunlight and leaning back against a rock.

Trevor and Sypha found a nearby stream to wash up in. Trevor expertly speared a couple of fish with a sharpened stick and gloated about his superior survival skills when they returned. They started a fire and waited for it to get hot enough to cook over. Sypha tended the fire and Trevor sank down beside Adrian, who cracked an eye at him then closed it again. His jaw tightened slightly when he felt the hunter's hand on his knee.

"Adrian."

He frowned with his eyes closed, drawing himself more tightly inward.

He heard Sypha get up and say something about looking for some wild edibles and to keep an eye on the fish. She wandered off into the bush and Adrian opened his eyes, watching the place where Sypha had disappeared from view.

"She is terrible at foraging," he said under his breath. He picked a stick out of his hair and scowled at the sticky sap left behind. Great. Now he'd have mats.

Trevor snorted beside him. "That she is, but I asked her to give us a few minutes. I'm reasonably confident she won't try to eat anything she finds without running it by us first."

Adrian didn't answer, but he was very much aware of Trevor's hand on his leg. He closed his eyes again.

"I know you're in a shit mood, but I don't think we should wait much longer to talk," Trevor said beside him, sounding surprisingly serious.

Adrian ignored him, wishing he would just go away. He didn't feel like talking. He'd decided sulking was far more satisfying.

"Would you at least look at me?"

Adrian resigned himself to opening his eyes and turning them on the man beside him. Trevor met his gaze and Adrian's heart hurt at the intensity of his expression.

"We might be dead by this time next week and I'd fucking hate myself forever if I kicked the bucket before I had a chance to make this right."

Adrian's brows lifted a little at that but he supposed it was true – they were on the final leg of their journey, after all. They very well could be dead in a few days. "Fine. I wouldn't want you to die without a clear conscience, Belmont. God forbid."

Trevor swallowed whatever retort he'd been ready to fire back. "Come on Adrian. You're fucking miserable. Its not only me who needs to fix this. I don't claim to be a very smart man but I know enough to recognize that things are seriously fucked up between us right now."

Adrian snorted at that. "I'm fine."

Trevor rolled his eyes. "Sure you are. You're just peachy. A real ray of sunshine."

That was received with an appropriately prickly glare.

"Jesus you're fucking impossible when you get like this. I hate talking about all this feelings shit but at least I'm trying to fucking try."

"I'm sorry I'm making this so difficult for you," he bit with no small measure of sarcasm.

"God damn it you stubborn asshole! Stop with the catty remarks and this mopey bullshit. What exactly are you looking for? Do you want me to drop to my knees and beg for your forgiveness? Because that's crap. I'm not the only one who needs to put things right here. We both have a part in this."

Adrian sniffed, picking at his glove. "I'm not apologizing to you. I didn't do anything."

"Neither did I! You're all insulted and butthurt over a fucking misunderstanding. Its nobody's fault. Its just a stupid thing that we should get over so it doesn't wreck whatever time we have left."

"But somehow I'm the one painted as a bloodthirsty animal. You've killed far more people than I have."

Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose, perhaps considering how successful he might be if he attempted to strangle Adrian. The dhampir knew he was being childish but he couldn't seem to help himself. He was angry. He was cranky. The sun was too bright. He wanted a nap. He wanted an apology. He wanted Trevor to understand how deeply his lack of trust cut, but he seemed capable only of making snide remarks and doing his best to derail the hunter's attempts at reconciliation.

"Its not a competition! I've lived a hard fucking life. That has absolutely nothing to do with this. We need to lay the cards on the table. Simplify things. Be honest with each other. I respect you Adrian, and I kind of hoped you respect me enough to try a little harder than this."

Adrian could hear the sincerity in Trevor's words. He growled, uncomfortable with the way this was unfolding. "Fine."

"Thank you," the hunter said and pulled one of Adrian's hands into his lap. "Look. I'm sorry things went like they did. I'm sorry I forced you into explaining yourself like that the other night. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings with the shit I said. I should have trusted you more. I'm an idiot. I know you're more than-"

"A monster?" his tone laden with bitterness.

Trevor's grip on his hand tightened and he struggled with what to say to that while Adrian regarded him coldly. "I never meant to make it sound like that."

"But you did. You really believed I would treat you or Sypha the same way a vampire that was trying to kill you did. Like prey. How could you actually think that? We've been living side by side for months. Haven't you learned anything about me in all that time? Have I ever done anything to make you think you weren't safe with me?"

Trevor sighed deeply and looked down but he didn't release Adrian's hand. "I know you're insulted. I know I hurt your feelings, but just for one second try to see it from my point of view. My entire life I've been taught that vampires go batshit crazy for blood. I've seen it more than once. When I got bit… that was one of the scariest things that's ever happened to me. It hurt like hell. I've seen what you can do too, circumstances aside. Adrian you're scary sometimes. You're strong enough to pick up a giant metal cage and throw it like it weighs nothing. You can move so fast I can't even see it. You're fucking immortal. I'm not. Sypha's not. I'm just trying to protect her, can't you see that? I know a lot of really shitty shit has happened to you lately and you need someone on your team. Me and Syph, we are those people. We are here for you, but you can't expect me to abandon all self-preservation and just blindly agree to things I don't understand. I will not do that. No matter how much it upsets you I'm not sorry for questioning things. I should have trusted you sooner, though. I should have accepted what you said instead of being so stubborn about it and pushing you like I did."

Trevor took a pause to breathe here, looking into Adrian's face and hiding nothing. It was hard to argue with the things he said when he laid it out as he had. It was perhaps a little easier to understand it from Trevor's vantage point now, even though it still hurt. Adrian shifted to face the other man. His cold expression softened a bit, though he was still tight all over. "I… didn't expect… I thought you knew me better."

The hunter's shoulders sagged. "Adrian I don't mean to turn it back on you, but you are not very forthcoming with details. I kind of got the idea that you didn't want us to know too much."

"As I said before, hunting is a private matter. It doesn't concern you."

"See, this is what I mean. Okay its not my business, and I never asked about it after you told me you were on the animal-only diet. I accepted that. I trusted you. I respected your privacy. But I drew my own conclusions about the details."

Adrian sighed heavily and contemplated his gloved hands. "I- find it… uncomfortable to discuss certain things with humans."

"Alright, fair," Trevor said gently, "but we're not just some random humans anymore, right? If we're gonna do this thing – the three of us – then we need to be able to be open with each other."

Adrian yanked his hand out of Trevor's, making a fist. His lip curled in a snarl of frustration. "How am I supposed to explain things that you can't understand? You already think me a monster."

"I don't think you're a monster Adrian. You've gotta stop saying that. And I know some stuff is going to be weird but all we can do is try. I knew when I signed up to be in a three way relationship with a sorceress and a dhampir that there'd be a learning curve. It would be fucked if there wasn't one. For now it would help a lot if you didn't clam up or run away every time something is bothering you. You can talk to us. Even if you think we can't understand. We don't always have to understand. You can still talk to us."

Adrian growled, his frustration mounting. "I tried talking to you and it made everything worse."

"Because you ran away! You got angry and insulted, then you said I assumed the worst of you and never bothered to look any deeper, which isn't true. You said that your father was right about humans and that you didn't belong with us, and some shit about Belmonts, then you ran away and never gave me a chance to respond. I know I fucked up and I should have handled that situation better. I'm sorry I hurt you. But as soon as you said your piece you disappeared. Its been almost two days and you have spent the entire time ignoring me or moping. Getting you to talk to me has been like pulling teeth. I'm no expert, but I know we can do better than this."

Adrian shrugged, still instinctively clinging to the feeling that he was somehow separated from Trevor and Sypha, like there was a chasm between them that could not be breached. More and more he knew that was wrong. They were bridging the gap and he kept pulling further back out of fear and some misguided instinct of self-preservation. He was running away from the only people who were on his side. He was wearing his insult and anger around him like a cloak, using them to keep Trevor out, afraid that he would be hurt worse if he let down his barriers.

Trevor met Adrian's eyes, his voice softening once more. He was really working to keep the conversation moving in the right direction, no matter how many times Adrian tried to twist it. "I know you're upset by more than just our argument. The things you saw in the mirror the other night brought up memories of your home and your family. I know you had nightmares all through that night and you haven't slept since. I know you're freaked out about breaking your animal-only diet too. As uncomfortable as it was for you to talk about hunting and feeding it made everything so much clearer for me. I'm really glad you explained. Its fucking hard for me to change what I believed was true for my whole life. I won't lie and say I'm not scared about the biting, because I am. But I trust you more. I do feel safe with you. Its kinda fucked actually, how relaxed you make me just by being around. How confident I am when I know you're there."

Adrian's fists relaxed, his mouth opening in surprise. "I make you feel that way?" he murmured, stunned.

Trevor scratched the back of his head, smiling in embarrassment. "Yeah, you do. You make me feel all kinds of shit I don't understand. I'm good at watching other people, but I'm bad at understanding myself. I think I know you pretty well by now. You're really a sweet, sensitive guy who's had garbage luck and now you're all screwed up from losing your mom and having to kill your own dad and being trapped in a torture chamber. All I want to do is give you a hug and kill anyone who so much as looks at you wrong."

Adrian stared at Trevor in astonishment now, a slight heat working its way onto his cheeks at being called sweet and sensitive. Trevor grabbed Adrian's hands so he had one gloved appendage in each of his large palms. His face was pure, unadulterated honesty.

"Adrian you and Sypha are the best thing that ever happened to me. You make me crazy. Both of you. Having you in my life makes me want to be a better man. At first I just wanted to get laid, but now its different. Now I want to make you both happy no matter what happens to me. I would do crazy shit to protect either of you. I've never cared about anyone like that before. Its terrifying. I'm probably shit at it; I'm used to being alone, looking out for myself and assuming the worst of everyone else. But you and Syph… you're just… better. You're worth fighting for. So things need to be okay. I'm not going to let you curl up in a sadness ball and brood and sulk alone anymore. If we are going to die in a few days, then we'll damn well do it together."

Trevor stopped talking abruptly. It seemed like he might have more to say, but had only now realized all the things he'd just put to words, like he was hearing it for the first time himself. His eyes widened and he looked incredibly exposed suddenly, like someone had pantsed him in a room full of his most respected mentors and he was too shocked to react. He stared at Adrian uncertainly for a moment before he visibly relaxed, deciding that he was okay with it and that he was going to wear his words proudly, no matter how they were received. Adrian realized that his hands were all clammy – they were sticking to his gloves. He peeled his hands free from the sweaty grip and put them over Trevor's forearms instead.

"That… was a lot," he said with a small smile.

Trevor blushed, his chest and cheeks flushing red. He twisted free of Adrian's hands, fidgeting with the edge of his fur cloak. "Well… I may not get another chance. Just had to say all the feelings shit while it was fresh. Don't get used to it."

Adrian smiled wider. It felt odd on his face at first – like he'd been sulking and upset for long enough that his mouth was resistant to the idea of smiling so easily. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Well, good." Trevor said with some measure of finality, but immediately after he said it he was peeking at Adrian and his heart was pounding behind his ribs loud enough that it was surely audible to human ears. It was making the pulse point at his throat visibly flutter. Adrian raised a brow and Trevor leaned in, kissing his cheek quickly.

"Trevor," Adrian said in a low voice.

"Yeah?" the hunter was all expectation and desire.

"Your fish is burning."

"Shit!" Trevor shot up and practically trampled over Adrian to try and rescue his catch of the afternoon. He snatched the stick it was impaled on from the fire and waved it around, trying to put out the flames. He was left with a smoking, blackened mess. One of the fish fell off the stick, crumbling to dust. Trevor drooped, his bottom lip working into a pout. "My fish..."

Adrian got to his feet, feeling lighter somehow. Buoyant. His sour mood was decidedly brightened by the things Trevor had said. It may not have been an apology exactly, not specifically, but it was more honest than that. It fit better. It healed something in him that he hadn't known was hurting. He'd been so busy being bitter and piteous that he'd failed to really consider Trevor's point of view. There was always the urge to clamp down on the things that hurt and refuse to hear anything else, but that would only result in him being alone in the end. It was easier, but less fruitful. Its was much harder to admit to his partners when he was struggling and also recognize that this might be a challenging curve for them too. But if Trevor could be as reasonable, patient and vulnerable as he had been just now, then Adrian knew he had to try.

He squinted in the bright sun, slinking up beside Trevor and putting an arm around his shoulders. The hunter turned from his still smoldering lunch and gave Adrian an uncertain look. Adrian carefully extracted the burnt fish from his hand, tossing it into the fire. "Come on, I'll get you some more fish."

"Really?"

"Of course," he said confidently, pulling Trevor out of the sun and into the shade of the big trees. Before going too far he leaned into the hunter, pulling Trevor's arms around his shoulders and pressing their bodies together, sliding his hands along Trevor's back. He put their foreheads together, taking a moment to breathe in Trevor's scent and listen to the pounding of his heart. He hugged the hunter tightly, tight enough that he heard him wheeze a little, so he let up just a hint.

"I really needed to hear all of that," he said quietly. "Thank you."

The stubbled face against his broke into a wide smile and Adrian smiled back, nosing his cheek and temple, planting feather kisses wherever he touched. Trevor's arms tightened around him and pulled him into a real kiss, lips a little chapped and rough, but somehow perfect. His eyes fell shut and he melted against the hard, warm body, softening into strong arms, letting himself be pulled into the deep kiss which began with gentle pecks along his lips then became more intense, their mouths opening to one another, tasting each other's tongues and heat. All of the things Trevor had said about wanting to protect him, to be a better man, to make him happy – it was so genuine – it was incredible to know that another person felt that way about him. Adrian didn't often need to be protected, but knowing that the man against him cared for him that way made his heart sing. It eased his fears of being touched, it calmed the tangle of doubt that plagued him. He'd never imagined that he would find these kinds of feelings here. He was deeply moved.

"Hey, don't cry," he blinked in surprise as Trevor's thumb carefully swiped at his eyes, wiping away tears he hadn't realized were there. He pulled back, trying to turn away. Trevor cupped his face with a hand and kissed both his cheeks. "C'mon you're alright," he said pulling Adrian against his chest and running his hand through his hair in long strokes. Adrian tucked his face against Trevor's neck and let the hunter hold him and pet him. It felt so good to be touched. He was so relieved. He hadn't realized how tense and miserable he'd really been until they'd talked.

A slight throat clearing sound alerted the pair to the fact that they were no longer alone. Adrian twisted around to see Sypha standing a few paces away with a bundle of various wild things she'd collected in her arms. Before he could pull free Trevor wrapped his arms around Adrian's waist, pulling his back firmly to his chest. He stilled, letting himself be held. He could feel Trevor's heart thumping at his back.

"You guys talked?" Sypha asked, even though the answer was obvious. Adrian nodded and Trevor didn't answer, he was too busy peeling Adrian's coat off one shoulder so he could kiss his neck. Sypha smiled at that, dumping her bundle of greenery unceremoniously on the ground. She paused for a moment to laugh when Trevor got a mouthful of blonde hair instead of neck. He made some dramatic sputtering noises and carefully scooped Adrian's hair out of the way, returning his mouth to the pale column of his throat. It was the unscarred side, his soft mane now draped over the other shoulder, covering the marked flesh nicely. It was as if Trevor knew that would put him at ease, which it did. Also, he wasn't quite so freaked out by them seeing the marks anymore. Knowing that his two partners cared for him so much eased his self-conscious panic.

Sypha wrapped him in a hug, her arms slipping around his waist. He was sandwiched between them wonderfully, with Trevor kissing him in increasingly more demanding ways, which Sypha watched with a soft smile and a knowing gleam in her bright blue eyes. He relaxed between them, letting them touch him, letting them hold him. He let go. He couldn't find any reason to hold onto his fears and anger anymore. It didn't matter.

He dipped to catch Sypha's mouth in his own, slowly working their lips together until her cheeks were flushing pink. She twisted her fingers into his hair and stood on her toes to get closer. Behind him Trevor was now nipping at the junction between his neck and shoulder, sending tingling shivers along his skin. He fastened his lips over one spot and sucked, and Adrian groaned, goosebumps prickling his flesh. His knees wobbled. Trevor was holding him up now, and Sypha was stroking his chest.

They lulled Adrian between them petting his hair, kissing him all over his face and neck, and hugging him between them. His eyes had slipped shut. Trevor had abandoned his throat and found his lips. His head was turned sharply to the side so he could reach the hunter's mouth with his own and Sypha had her hands on his upper arms, massaging his biceps and triceps. Eventually the kissing tapered off and Adrian found himself simply being squeezed between them, someone's fingers carding through his hair, someone's arm wrapped around his waist, a hand on his hip. His fingers were tangled together with another hand.

For a few minutes Adrian forgot all about his worries and fears. He wasn't angry anymore. He didn't feel bitter or disconnected or misunderstood. He felt loved. He was safe and happy and he was lucky enough to have found not one but two incredible people who knew who and what he was and accepted him, peculiarities and faults notwithstanding. All he could do was smile against them, soak up their affection and bask in the warmth of their bodies. So he did.

~o~O~o~