Dissolution of Arms

By Eerie

Chapter Ten: A Silent Compromise

The dull rays of a midwinter sun began to seep through the window when Caruwyn awoke. Dark red embers still lingered in the hearth and the scent of pine was heavy in the air. He sat up with a start and tossed his head toward each corner of the room but immediately regretted it. Throbbing pain spread from the back of his head and he swayed in dizziness. Gripping the mattress for support, Caruwyn squinted at the shining window, the events of the night before only a blur in his memory. He struggled to sift through them, to find a clue as to where he was but nothing productive became clear. He recalled the aching cold and the falling snow before a pair of dark eyes cut through the image. Caruwyn rubbed the back of his head. Who did those eyes belong to?

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and prepared to stand when an insistent itching played at his throat. He quickly checked to see that his pendant remained around his neck and found that he could hardly tilt his head. Touching the gauze wrapped around his throat was all it took. The dark hunter, the brief fight, the anger and pain. Caruwyn spotted his sword next to the bed and seized it, standing cautiously against his splitting headache. Everything after that confrontation with the vampire hunter was a black spot in his mind.

The doorknob to the small room twisted slowly, quietly. Caruwyn gripped the sword and stood, ready for the intruder to make his fatal mistake. But his eyes could scarcely focus. The door swung open and the dark-clad figure from his last memory stepped silently inside, closing the door behind him.

D saw the wild look of confusion in the youth's eyes as he stood with his sword pointed menacingly toward him and reacted quickly.

"I mean you no harm," D said and raised his hands to prove he had no intention of drawing his weapon.

"Who are you?" Caruwyn shot.

"I am D," the hunter replied and remained still, not wanting to provoke the other.

"Where have you brought me?" the albino spat and looked around nervously.

"Just a room. Out of the cold."

"I didn't ask for your favors," Caruwyn said, keeping his sword steady.

"No. But you would have died if I hadn't," D said and sensed the other half-breed relax.

Caruwyn slowly lowered the sword and sat on the bed's edge, pressing a hand to his throbbing head. The gash in his throat itched ferociously beneath its gauze wrappings but he was helpless to ease it. "Though you certainly didn't want me to come away comfortably, did you?"

"I apologize for that," D answered truthfully.

"No matter. You got what you wanted. Now what is it you want with ME?" Caruwyn said and looked defiantly into the hunter's eyes. "If it was just an act of charity then I'll be on my way."

Caruwyn rose with sword in hand and approached the taller dhampire who still stood before the doorway. But D did not move. The agitated young half-breed stopped and glared bravely at the imposing black-clad man.

"Get out of my way."

D gazed stonily at the brash youth until the latter turned his eyes down, face shifting into a look of muted frustration.

"Do you really think you'll survive out there, knowing nothing?" D asked darkly. He found that he could scarcely tolerate the younger man's arrogant insubordination.

"I'll manage," Caruwyn said dryly, his eyes still averted.

"Where do you plan to go?"

"What business is it of yours?" the albino snapped.

"None at all. But I doubt you'll get very far," the hunter declared.

"And why is that?"

"For one thing your appearance will draw immediate suspicion. What will you do if you have to defend yourself? Even if you could fight, there are very few humans that still use swords." D remained like a stone pillar in the young man's path. He believed what he said and doubted that the youth would survive the world knowing what little he did. And sending him out to his death was not something the hunter could easily do.

Caruwyn couldn't reply. He knew the vampire hunter was right. But standing there like a child receiving a lecture was extremely irritating. The albino bit his lip to keep from exploding in the tense silence that followed.

"Tell me your name, child," D finally commanded.

Caruwyn gritted his teeth and gripped the sword hilt so tight the skin of his knuckles stretched painfully. There was that word again. The pale half-breed decided that he loathed being given that label. But standing there saying nothing, as much as he wanted to, would not get him through that door.

"Caruwyn," he muttered. "Now if you'd kindly step aside, I'd like to leave."

"You haven't answered me about where you'll go," the older half-breed said flatly.

His grip felt as though it would simply shatter the hilt of his blade. It was all he could do to keep from striking out. The air around Caruwyn grew suddenly dense and thick with electric energy. D could physically feel the albino's growing frustration pricking the edges of both his nerves and mind like timid fingers.

"I am not your prisoner," the young dhampire growled dangerously yet eerily calm. As he spoke, the twin tapers adorning either side of the narrow mantle above the dusty hearth began to quiver before rising from their places and crashing down. The candles shattered into bits of hard wax and scattered over the floor.

D watched in hidden wonder. He turned his eyes back to the brash youth in search of some expression that would clarify what he had just witnessed but there was nothing there except angry ruby eyes and tightly clenched teeth. The young half-breed hadn't even noticed. D exhaled.

"As you wish. Though I would like to help you," D said and yielded his sentry-like position from the door. His eyes remained fixed on Caruwyn. He would allow the young man to do what he desired, as it was his right. But that nagging feeling that wormed within him at the idea of letting the other half-breed disappear began to creep again.

Caruwyn paused to reflect on what he assumed was an offer from the hunter. It took him completely by surprise. But his anger was still hot. He thought up several different replies but kept them silent as he tromped out the door.

D remained still, studying the broken candle pieces on the floor. He could have easily predicted Caruwyn's indignant reaction, but this was quite surprising. The pieces of the puzzle suddenly formed an island in his mind. Caruwyn surely had the gift of telekinesis, something he had seen very rarely in the race of humans.

He recalled one incident in his many employments—a young girl who had been acting strangely and frightened her parents into frenzy. He was called into her town purely by chance to carry out a simple job when the hesitant father heard of his visit and approached him. Claiming it as a spirit possession, as none of their doctor's treatments had worked, the man implored D to help in any way he saw fit. The hunter refused. He had no powers over the world of spirits. But the man begged for him to just look; perhaps the experienced hunter could offer some advice in the least. Obliging the distraught father, D went to their home and found the girl standing calmly in the center of her room, unflinching as objects swirled about her. She had smiled sadly at the black-clad hunter. D remained firm in his argument that he could not help, bade the parents his apologies and wished them well before setting out again. Several years later he heard that the girl was locked in an asylum.

The thought of Caruwyn carrying similar powers around the humans was anything but comforting. There could be no doubt about it. And it would explain the strange way the youth's sword spun in dead air last evening. The urge to keep a watchful eye on the young dhampire intensified in his absence.

"Damn," D muttered to himself and crunched a chunk of tallow beneath his boot.

Caruwyn stalked past the silent innkeeper whose eyes bore holes into his back and stepped into the frigid morning air. His breath came out in ragged puffs as he tramped the hardened snow in his frustration.

"Damn!" he said aloud and paced about, ignoring the startled looks from the passersby. Of course he had nowhere to go. What in the world would he do even if he did? It didn't seem likely that the humans would willingly lend stories for him to learn from. But isn't that why he came here? Why DID he come here?

Caruwyn shivered and glared at the pale sky, cursing himself. He wished he had worn warmer clothes at least. He thought with a trace of sadness to his forgotten knapsack of chisuna wine, suddenly craving its fuzzy warmth as it spread through his veins. A gaggle of geese crossed the sky to his right and he watched them soar away. He wondered how nice it must be to have the luxury of wings, to travel the skies unmolested by prying eyes and sour words. He kicked a clump of snow.

There was only one relatively productive choice for him. He could set out to gods know where and likely freeze to death or he could take up the hunter's offer. Unfortunately the latter was that choice.

The youth stopped pacing and forced himself calm, trying to find the good side of such an arrangement. The vampire hunter could surely teach him how to survive; he had endless years of experience as a half-breed among the race of man. And, just maybe, he could learn more about his parents and their ancestry. Caruwyn sighed heavily and propped himself against the inn wall to wait.

D bade the cowering innkeeper his thanks and exited the small inn, ignoring the restless parasite. It was too early to oblige its grumbling. The hunter stepped into the morning outside and began toward the inn stables. If not for his keen sense of sight, the monochrome quality of the gray sky glaring on snow-covered ground would have provoked D to walk right past the albino standing against the wall to his side.

D stopped in his tracks but did not turn.

"Changed your mind already?" he asked somberly.

Caruwyn pushed himself away from his resting spot and looked toward the sky where the geese had long disappeared.

"I was considering your offer. If what you offered still holds," the younger dhampire said, wondering if he was making a mistake as he spoke.

D pondered silently for a moment. "You may accompany me for a while. But stay out of my way when I require it." He had no intention of speaking further and plodded off toward the stables.

Caruwyn stared after him, his nerves bristling. Tightening his hold on his sword, he followed the hunter and fought his shivers. The stables were blessedly warm in contrast to the winter air as he stepped inside. A great black beast neighed and pranced at the sight of its owner and D extended his hand to smooth its mane. Caruwyn gaped at the creature. The hunter saw this from the corner of his vision but spared the youth his attention.

"It's not organic," D said as the beast nipped at his empty hand.

"Not organic?" Caruwyn echoed. His brow twisted in confusion. "But it looks so real."

D saddled the cyborg and lifted himself into it. His expectant glance fell to Caruwyn who took the signal and approached, eyeing the creature warily.

"He won't bite you," D said.

Caruwyn looked reluctant but closed the distance, not quite sure what to do. To his relief, the older dhampire extended his hand for Caruwyn to grasp and hoist himself behind the black rider. The horse trotted toward the stable door with its passengers while the young half-breed marveled at the strength he sat upon. A smile touched his cold lips.

At the threshold of their exit, D bent and swept up a dusty wool horse blanket before tossing it over his shoulder to his companion. Caruwyn accepted it wordlessly; the other dhampire's considerate gesture caught him off guard. Perhaps the vampire hunter was not as bad as he initially thought.

The albino barely had time enough to fix it securely around his back before the steed jolted into a sprint through the tiny village streets. His arms fastened in a death grip around D's waist as the ground whizzed by.

The hunter suppressed the urge to laugh and slapped the reins harder, allowing his strange companion to find stability at his expense.

Caruwyn braved an arm away from his source of balance to pull the musty horse blanket around his head, grateful for its shelter. From his cloak he watched the busy villagers pause their never-ending chores to stare at the strange pair that all but flew away from them. Caruwyn studied the blurs of their faces curiously. Women shied, men scowled, and children gaped as they stood at their broken fences and cracked doorways when the riders passed by. The fierce beast rounded the corner that led straight for the gate out of town.

The albino took one last look at village life for the time, not knowing when he'd see it again. He had no idea what D's way of life was. From what he gathered, he was more of an introvert than one to spend much time in human civilizations. That was fine with him. He could get used to just about anything if he wanted to. And perhaps he might grow to tolerate the vampire hunter's company. If the albino could convince the older dhampire that he was worth keeping around.

Caruwyn tossed his head to release a stray wisp of hair that fell in his eyes to the winds when something dark caught the corner of his vision. He whipped his head about to observe whomever or whatever it was when his glance beheld a glittering pair of onyx eyes peering out from a drawn hood attached to a great black cloak that draped massively over a tall figure. He had a mere second to see the man's face. But in that fleeting second he also saw the sinister smile that stretched over stark white teeth on that pale face. Why did he look so familiar?

The albino remembered the mysterious young man at the inn last evening that saved his hide from a certain angry innkeeper. Manx. The tall dark man with the searing gaze that could make a glacier melt. The memory of his presence made Caruwyn shiver but he chanced a glance back anyway. He wasn't sure if what he had just seen or what now lay before him was more unnerving. There was no one there.

To be continued . . .