Chapter 12
The sun beamed hot upon Jina as she trudged across the sandy desert. Her lips were cracked from heat and her body was about to drop as she tried to cover her sensitive eyes from the garish sunlight. She could feel her Guardian powers quickly draining and knew that she would have to find shelter soon, lest she die a horrible death from the sun.
It had been only a day since she'd set out to find Heero and she wondered how Treize and his small army had gotten that far. She'd flown the first couple of miles, being able to smell the Tainted from far away and she knew that she had to use all of her Guardian powers before they went away. Now that she'd removed her Guardian ring and renounced her allegiance to her Queen she was fast losing her Pureblood instincts. She stopped for a minute to eye her Guardian tattoo in her inner thigh, it was a cross wrapped with a serpent amongst olive branches. Inside the very top part of the cross was the all-seeing eye. The bottom of the cross was disappearing quickly; she knew that as soon as that tattoo vanished her powers would be gone and she would never be able to go back to being a Guardian again. This whole process would take a few days, but she was sure that she'd never make it to Heero in time and back to Roddy before the cross disappeared.
While lifting up her heavy, black veils to examine her tattoo a strong wave of faint came over her and she stumbled backwards and fell onto the sand. Her back hit the hot sand and the sun burned into her hand, her eyes watered and she felt as if she were on fire. It was only a matter of time before she actually started to burn to ashes.
"Oh gods, please don't fail me, I must find Heero." She closed her eyes as she lay upon that hot sand and focused on Heero trying to form a connection with him. Her concentration was strong and she could feel a strong presence, but she couldn't tell if it was Heero's or not.
The strength of presence hit her hard. Her body convulsed and shook as she tried to concentrate harder on finding Heero. Yet, the presence wouldn't let her escape its grasp. She could feel the presence laughing at her and could feel the sun start to seriously burn her skin. She tried to cover completely in the shroud, but the veil were not enough and she knew that she must get up from her position if she wanted to live.
"Damn you, who are you?" Jina screamed to the heavens, and the presence disappeared from her mind. She had to find shelter, it would be noon soon, and she could see her tattoo quickly disappearing. There was no hope for her and there was no hope for Heero. She should have stayed with Roddy, but she knew that she couldn't just leave Heero with the Tainted. They would surely kill him if they hadn't already.
She jumped from her position and surveyed the great expanse of the desert. The golden sands and the golden sun rolling like waves dune after glorious golden dune. This beautiful vastness had claimed many of man's life, but she would be damned if it claimed hers.
****
Zechs and Treize laughed at the sight of Jina making her way across the desert. It was only a matter of time before she fainted and that was when Treize would retrieve her. The desert was cruel, especially to vampires.
"Everything is going according to plan. The Oracle has said that the black vampire would be delivered to us, but I didn't know that it would be this simple." Zechs commented with a slight snicker.
"You just keep your mind's eye on her, as soon as the Pureblood faints, go get her. I have a proposition for her. And go get Heero." Treize smiled and rubbed his hands together sneakily.
"Where is he?" Zechs asked standing quickly.
"With Noin, of course." Zechs' mouth dropped and he almost rushed Treize with extreme anger. Zechs' fist clenched and he ground his teeth to the point of cracking. The room's air was tense and Treize could tell that Zechs was ready to strike like a maddened cobra.
"Yes, my Lord Treize," Zechs said tensely. He turned on one heel and exited towards Noin's chambers. Zechs tromped down the hallway, his footsteps sounding as loud as thunder as he angrily marched down the hall. He wasn't pleased with Heero coming in and taking his woman away from him, but he knew that it would have happened one day. Treize had been planning this ever since he'd found an Oracle for himself; Treize was determined to rule over all vampires and all human kind.
Without knocking Zechs entered Noin's room. It was dark like most other rooms in the small compound. He could just make out Noin's silhouette next to Heero's. She was naked and snuggled next to him and he was in the same position. His eyes narrowed at the sight and he forced his fangs to retract back into his gums so that he wouldn't be tempted to feed on Heero.
"Noin!" Zechs screamed, jarring the young vampire from her sleep; this also woke Heero.
"Zechs! You entered without knocking." She pulled the sheet up over her bare breast, but Heero simply stood up and smirked at Zechs.
"Treize wants the Tyro. Get him dressed and to the throne room." Zechs said. Noin's eyes narrowed and she arched an eyebrow. Heero quickly made his way towards his quarters to dress and scurry towards Treize's throne. Zechs quickly turned and walked after him.
"You're being an ass Zechs. This is my duty. You can't be angry with me for doing Treize's bidding." Noin said, stopping Zechs in his tracks.
"You slept with him."
"You were too caught up with your love for Catherine to ever pay me any attention. Now that I finally have a partner you want to ruin it for me. Just because you've ruined your life to be with Treize, doesn't mean that the rest of us want to do the same." He slapped her. Hard. His hand falling across her face in a stinging whack that rang through the whole castle. He grabbed her and pushed her on the bed, ripping the sheet away from her body and pushing her hands above her head. Noin tried to scream but his lips came crushing down on hers, bruising them and marring the silky white flesh with purple and red. She bit him with her fangs, but he only relished in the pain more; she could see the anger definite in his eyes.
"Treize gave you to me first, Noin. I don't care if you do have a person to care for. You are mine." He shouted, ripping his uniform pants and yanking them down violently.
"You want me now that I have responsibility over another. If you do this Zechs, expect the wrath of Lady Une." She ground out over her anger and fear. Blood was all over the bed sheets from where she'd bit him and where he'd hit her.
"Let Lady Une bring her wrath. Treize has grown sick of her as well." Zechs pushed into her violently and Noin screamed wretchedly into the darkness of her room. No one was the wiser to her agony.
****
"I feel something horrible." Roddy declared, falling from her camel and stumbling forward. Trowa was the first to jump down off of his camel and run towards her. She was shaking and her eyes were closed; she was having a vision. Trowa was calmly whispering to her and rubbing her back soothingly. She grabbed his linen shirt and pulled roughly, almost tearing the fabric.
"No… no… stop…. This is wrong… I am not yours…" she fell backwards screaming. Trowa grabbed her before she hit the ground; she convulsed and shook in his arms and he held her hoping that it would all be over soon. Sally and Cathy were quick to run towards her, while Quatre, Duo and Wufei held their camels so that they wouldn't go running off.
"What's wrong with her Trowa?" Sally was the first to get to her. She pulled out her canteen full of fresh water and wet one of the many veils and placed it over Roddy's head.
"I don't know; this has never happened before. She's talking so randomly." Sally took her pulse and it was racing quickly.
"She's in another's mind. It will stop soon, hopefully. I guess we could camp here for the night until she recovers." Catherine said as she reached down and touched her Queen's head lovingly.
"She can do that? Go into another person's mind this vividly?" Duo asked.
"Only other vampires. Even Tainted have a deep connection with her." Hilde answered.
Suddenly, as quick as it started, the seizure stopped. Roddy went limp in Trowa's arms and a few minutes after that, opened her eyes weakly.
"What happened, love?" Trowa asked, stroking her cheek soothingly.
"Someone has raped a Tainted… and…an… oh gods." Her mind was spinning. Just as soon as one image left another came in it's place. This time it was of a dark-haired vamp trapped in a sand storm. She was in a forsaken place, trudging through the deep sand as more mounted up around her. The hot wind was blowing the sand into her face and hair and sensitive pale flesh, making it seem like glass was cutting her. Her poor skin was cracking and burning to ash and Roddy could feel the blood inside of this woman bubbling like molten lava. Roddy felt the need and the desperation inside of this woman, the need for water, the need to feed, the need for all desires both physical and emotional.
Roddy concentrated on delving deeper into the lost vamp's mind, but it didn't work. Jina had shut the pain out; the only thing that bade her go on was the thought of Heero. To keep the pain away she quoted a poem…
"Alone alone, all , all alone/ Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on/ my soul in agony/" this same verse continuously. Roddy felt herself get faint, much like Jina was doing. The poor ex-Guardian was stumbling and falling until finally all Roddy saw was dark.
****
"You are a sick bastard." Noin said from the bed curled in fetal position. Zechs snickered.
"You may be a vampire, Noin, but you are a woman first. I have won this time."
"I never thought that your war was against me. I always thought you hated Treize for what you think he did to you." she sat up quickly and pulled the sheet over her again trying to hold her head in dignity.
"He did do this to me. He promised me beauty and lifetimes of joy, but what do we get? Nothing." He said walking towards the bed.
"You did this to yourself. You chose to leave the Guardians, much like Lady Une chose to leave. And you regret it, much like I regret ever loving you." he slapped her, and grabbed her neck towards his barred fangs preparing to bite.
"Noin, you are dangerously close to death."
"Then kill me Zechs, my blood will be on your hands. This will go with your other senseless killings and the others blood that you have spilt in the past." He squeezed her neck tightly, his thick, sharp nails burying into the skin of her neck.
"Do you want to be thrown into the dungeon with Lady Une? Both of you traitorous women will be fed to the Bugs." His hands got tighter around her neck.
"The man hath penance done/ and penance more will do." Noin squeaked out with all of her might. She could feel all of her strength draining from her body. The blood from his cuts into her neck was trickling down her naked sternum.
"To the dungeon with you!" Zechs screamed. He called for the guards to come and take her away. The guards quickly entered the room and grabbed Noin, shackled her and threw her into the dungeon.
The dungeon was dark and mildew-filled. She knew the horrors Heero must have felt prior his Tainted days. She now knew the horrors that humans must have felt staring down the fangs of a violent vampire. Soft tears began to fall down her cheeks as she curled herself into a ball into a small corner.
"Do not cry, sweet child, salvation is coming." Une's voice was calming and hope-filled. Noin lowered her head and let the tears fall.
****
Heero bowed before his new lord in reverence. He was taking in the beauty of the darkness. His body was just now getting used to the newly acquired senses that he received with his vampire initiation.
"Isn't it beautiful, my dear Heero?" Treize asked putting strong arms on Heero's shoulders.
"Yes, my Lord Treize." Heero couldn't contain himself; he was a newborn vampire lamenting at the splendor of the night.
"I know you feel strange. You feel more nimble, more agile, stronger, faster, smarter. This is to be expected. You have all of these powers; you are more powerful than you can ever imagine. The question is, my sweet Heero, who will you serve?"
"Only you, my Lord Treize."
"You will not turn on me for that Queen.
"No, my Lord."
"Good. There is a girl lost in the desert. I want you to go and retrieve her for me. Bring her back. I shall want to speak with her. "
"Who is she my lord?"
"She was a Guardian for the Queen, but that bothersome bitch threw her away like a bad lunch. I am her salvation; I am here to take her in, like I did you. Like I did all of my children."
"Her name, sir?"
"Jinakel Devina Wohess, my greatest enemy soon to be my greatest ally." Treize said these words mostly to himself, "Go get her, Heero. But take this before you enter the sunlight, lest you burn to death." Treize threw him a small vial of red liquid.
"Yes sir." Heero said catching the vial and turning to walk away.
"Oh and Heero…" Treize stopped him. Heero turned quickly.
"Yes sir."
"Don't fail."