Dissolution of Arms
By Eerie
Chapter Three: Prophecy
Dusk settled over the sky, chasing the last rays of the sun's sleepy colors beyond the Earth's horizon. Feeling the first chill breeze that welcomed in the nightfall, D drew his brow in and slowly opened his eyes. The overhanging mosaic of vines that watched over him while he slept remained undisturbed to greet his awakening. A noisy crow he had heard in the distance drew closer until it passed over, squawking loudly until it faded into the east.
A low groan rumbled in D's dry throat. He tensed his muscles to stand, shifting his weight to his arms. Another breeze caressed his ageless face and blew his dark hair from his neck, bringing with it the scent of approaching rain.
'Perfect,' he thought with disappointment and eased himself up, peering through the vines at the heavy clouds that were already beginning to conceal the stars. Adjusting his long-brimmed hat, D crossed the secluded glen toward his steed that stood and stamped impatiently at his approach. It shook its black synthetic mane and allowed D to climb onto its back before instinctively heading toward the nearest stream to drink. The pair weaved carefully through the thick woodland, its paths dense with overgrowth of both branches and weeds.
A voice from his left hand broke the quiet. "What were you dreaming about, D? Dare I even ask?" it asked with a subtly sarcastic air on the last note.
"I don't remember," D replied simply, not caring to elaborate.
"Honestly, I can't remember you having nightmares in decades," the parasite in his hand commented, making it obvious that it wasn't about to drop the subject any time soon, "except for the ones you had a few months ago, before the fight at the Castle of Chaythe."
"Why should it matter?" D asked, still disinterested, ducking to miss a branch just before it caught him in the head.
The parasite snorted indignantly. "Need I remind you that your dreams, especially the nightmares, tend to mean something? And these somethings are usually important?"
D remained quiet, even less in the mood for this conversation than before, if that was possible, and hoped that if he ignored the parasite long enough it would either change the subject or get impatient and give up. D silently hoped more for the latter.
"The name Count Lee ring a bell?" the thing asked and D sighed. "Does the swamp ghoul incident mean anything to you? Or how about the time we were nearly killed by that damned..."
"That's quite unnecessary," D broke in.
"You had nightmares just before all of these things, D. And you're not in the least bit concerned about it now?" the parasite ventured.
Once again, D remained without a reply. The frustrated creature grumbled something inaudible and withdrew itself, not in the mind to tolerate one of D's classic somber moods. But D was considering what it said.
He did have similar dreams prior to these battles, and he did not forget them. He didn't want to tell the parasite that he did also remember this last one for two reasons. First and foremost, he was not in the mood for conversation; secondly, he didn't understand the dream and hearing the entity's opinions on the matter did not sound even remotely tolerable at the moment.
The dream was blurry at first before the sheer vividness of it hit him full force, searing its images in his mind. D replayed the scenes behind his eyes. He was sitting in the same enclosed glen that he had fallen asleep in, alone and uneasy. The parasite was not with him, he noticed, when a strange shadow fell over him. He looked to the sun, which had become a striking blue that shocked him as soon as his eyes fell upon it. Choking on a scream of pain, he pressed his hands to his blind eyes and felt blood pouring from them, splashing and pooling around his legs. His agony faded almost as quickly as it came and he pried his eyes open slightly to test his vision. The terrible blue light had melted but blood still lapped gruesomely at his knees. Something from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned in alarm to see. Much to his horror, his eyes found his own mother lying strangely at a distance, her face crunched in pain. He shifted to move to her, to comfort her, when suddenly her countenance relaxed and dark eyes regarded him sadly.
"Oh, D. . .," she whispered in a voice heavy with regret.
He managed to crawl closer bit by bit when he was startled to a stop by the cry of agony that pierced his ears. Blood, thick and dark with clots of gore flowed from between her thighs in pulses, staining her white dress a grisly shade of red. Another cry ripped from her throat and he watched in paralyzed terror as her face contorted again, fighting. The cry became strangled and died before she fell back onto her elbows, exhausted. Her blood seeped closer and closer until it mingled with his own. He watched this with morbid fascination, almost spellbound.
The woman propped herself into a limp sitting position. Reaching down into the mess of her ruined dress, she retrieved what it was that had caused her so much pain. When she emerged her hands, a bloody mass that thudded sickeningly came with them. She turned to face him completely and stretched her arms out, holding the bloody thing like a holy offering. Her eyes went wild with madness.
"Please forgive me, D! I never meant for you to suffer this way!" she cried and pleaded, urging the pulsing object in his direction. "Please forgive me. . . I love you so much!"
He looked to her begging eyes and face wet with tears before regarding what it was that she held out to him so earnestly. His eyes widened at sight of the human heart beating with life, sloshing blood with each pulse through her fingers.
"Please take it, D! Oh it's all my fault! I didn't mean to be so late but I couldn't find you! I couldn't find you anywhere!" a new stream of tears worked down her cheeks, "I never meant to do this to you. Please, D, take it!" her voice rang shrill with desperation.
That's when D awakened. The dhampire was actually surprised that he didn't cry out in his sleep. It was realistic enough. He could still feel that passionate desperation that she had as she cried to him. But the parasite had noticed his state of unrest so he must have been tossing at the very least. D had learned from the entity that he scarcely breathed when he slept, much less tossed about.
A sharp branch scraped along the half-breed's cheek, turning his concentration outward. Blinking with surprise more than pain, D touched the already-healing wound and studied his blood-dabbled finger in the scarce light that the rain clouds were quickly devouring.
The steed found the swiftly flowing stream and immediately stopped to immerse its mouth in its coolness. D dismounted and crouched at the stream's edge, taking his fill of the refreshing water as well. His throat stopped aching at once. From the distance came the low rumble of thunder, accompanied a short time after by a streak of lightening that lit up the sky an electric blue. D flinched and prepared to shield his eyes, the image of the blue blinding light flashing in his memory. But the blindness and pain did not come. The parasite twitched.
"What is it?" it asked, slightly alarmed.
"It's nothing," D answered, closing his eyes to regain his nerves.
The entity regarded him cautiously for a moment but yielded to D's desire to be left alone. Reopening his eyes, D looked into the stream. He watched the reflections of the storm clouds in the water as they moved fluidly across the sky. A small drop of rain splashed upon his hand but he did not take his gaze from the reflections. A gradual but deep and heavy feeling of broken sadness settled on his immortal soul. He remained still at the bank, allowing himself to plunge further into this sudden oppressive emotion that all but overtook him.
More drops of rain followed the first, unnoticed to the troubled dhampire. The black steed whinnied and nudged him urgently with its nose, eager to find shelter from the wetness. D blinked against his withdrawn state and took the horse's face in his hands, petting its jaw reassuringly. He stood and looked about, spotting a dry space beneath a great ancient willow tree on the other side of the stream. Taking the reins, D led the beast across the shallow body toward the promise of dry warmth. As soon as he stepped beneath the tree, relief came to him. The steed grunted in agreement and settled down beside the thick trunk to rest and watch the rain. The burdening sadness that weighed upon him only a moment ago had suddenly vanquished itself, leaving D wrought with more confusion than before. Something was definitely amiss somewhere. But whether it was inside himself or some place unknown in the universe, he did not know.
He needed something to pass the time away while the rain showered unrelenting over the earth, if not to distract himself. Conversing with the parasite was still out of the question. D shook off his long wet cape and set his large hat neatly with it on the ground. The space beneath the willow tree was quite warm and taking these extra pieces off made the half-breed feel cooler already. He walked to the edge of the branches' sheltering field and stood just at the threshold separating it from the rain. From there he could feel the refreshing breezes that carried an earthy yet cleansing scent without getting wet, but that oppressive feeling was present in his mind again, only less strongly. D took a step back and, as he had suspected, the feeling went away. That terrible sadness perhaps was not entirely within him; it was in the very air. But the space around the willow tree was most likely protected against such disturbances. D was not surprised at that; it was probably the oldest and wisest tree in this forest. He was suddenly grateful for that.
D sat dejectedly between his horse and cape, knowing he would have to wait the storm out and staring out into the blurry darkness, pondering without wanting to. Another crack of lightening and thunder appeared and sounded in unison and briefly lit the forest in unearthly glow. The entire night seemed to be that of a completely different world to D.
A faint scraping sound perked up his ears. D carefully turned his head and sought out the source of the noise, his keen eyes focusing hard in the dark. A slight shifting of movement in the dense boughs of the willow tree captured his gaze and he tried to focus on what it was. For a long moment nothing happened. The sound of the rain continued its steady patter with the occasional roll of thunder. D's eyes narrowed.
Then he began to make out a shape. The outline of its body didn't appear distinguishable, as it was small and huddled in a crouching position. But two slanted eyes the color of indigo formed slowly and grew brighter until they looked as if on fire. Like ghost flames, bright and alert, and staring right back at the half-breed. D steadied his hand just above his shoulder to seize his sword when the signal came. But the thing merely watched him.
"Who are you?" D called up to it.
The being did not reply but slowly blinked its large brilliant eyes. They stayed half-closed this time; two blue slits peering at him lazily like twin crescent moons. D sighed in resignation and lowered his defenses, turning away from the creature and leaning heavily against the tree. The parasite shifted uneasily.
"What is it D?! Will you stop ignoring me and tell me what's going on?" the voice in his left hand complained.
D rubbed his left wrist and replied, "Just a tree spirit. It's harmless."
The little face in his palm shifted its mouth into a tight line that showed it didn't entirely believe its host. D lifted his eyebrows at it, a look that communicated that he didn't want any arguments. The parasite snorted and stole a hard look at the creature in the tree for itself.
"Still, something doesn't seem right," it said, studying the mysterious shape.
D ignored the spirit and closed his eyes to let the soft sound of the rain sooth him. It eventually slowed from a pour to a steady drizzle that the stream welcomed by expanding its banks. The thunder faded further into the distance, its companion the lightening following. D found himself in a state of rest, half asleep as the rain eased itself away. The clouds began to dissipate and drift eastward, revealing the moon and stars. D's horse snorted and lumbered out of the tree's sanctity into the fresh cool of the night to steal another drink from the bulging stream.
D observed it for a while before reaching for his cloak and hat to depart. A sudden, raspy and otherworldly voice stopped him short.
"Be prepared for his coming, dhampire. You will have to make a difficult choice when that time comes. Be wisely prepared," the creature from the tree spoke slowly and strangely, its very voice captivating D's senses.
The hunter turned to look up into the tree and saw that the spirit with glowing eyes of blue fire was no longer there. He had never in all his years heard one speak. The lingering memory of its terrifyingly sensual voice chilled his bones. D quickly took up his cloak and hat, replacing them on his body before striding out to meet his horse, eager to get away from the haunted forest. The steed stamped its feet with surprise as D leapt unnoticed upon its back and turned about to the direction that they were headed. The beast started into a hasty gallop.
"Nothing huh? I wouldn't call THAT nothing," the parasite commented matter-of-factly, "Have you ever heard of a tree spirit speaking?"
"No," D answered truthfully.
"What did it mean by HIM? Any ideas, D?" it asked more curious than ever.
"I know absolutely nothing of the meaning behind its message," D replied, keeping the slight tinge of fear that held him concealed from his voice.
"Strange, very strange indeed," the entity said half to itself and began to ponder silently.
They continued through the vast stretch of wood toward the nearest town, D's discomfort at the thought of the spirit's prophecy increasing with each stride.
To be continued. . .