As D rode on, he began to notice things. Broken branches and displaced leaves, and horse hoof imprints in the mud. Ophelia may be tricky, he thought, but she still leaves an obvious trail. A trail, that D now followed, and that led to the heart of this great wood and to the vampire paradise where she now hid.
Ophelia knew of D. She had known his father. She also knew he was a hunter that had hunted her…once. But that was five years before, and D had been pushed to the back of her mind with her new project. She had no idea that D was stalking her at this moment, or she surely would have picked a safer location.
Humans did not know Centelion existed. She knew that the people of the village would put up a bounty. They always did. But usually they hired pathetic humans that couldn't track another loud clunking man in broad daylight. Much less a band of vampires who were veiled in the magic of Centelion. She didn't know that the little villagers could afford the prowess of Vampire Hunter D. Or any Dunpeal for that matter. Perhaps if she had known then she would have been more careful. But the error in her judgment could prove to be fatal.
As dawn approached the second day, D rode on through the wood. Centelion would be another day's ride. He'd reach it by about sunset. Perfect, D thought, Right when all the hoards of demons and vamps come out to play. He wondered how he was going to work this out, because his timing was all wrong. He was riding, a bit slower now, in pondering, when he heard a sound behind him, he stopped suddenly. It was the clopping of hooves, mirroring his own, but they slowed and then stopped a moment too late. He wheeled his horse and looked closely through the trees.
He saw movement, and heard the swish of a cloak and the crunching of leaves. The other Dunpeal, D thought. The sound came closer, but his vision could not penetrate the dense deep wood, and all he saw was shadow, in the gray pre-dawn light. D pulled out his sword slowly. He knew it was Ziri, but that did not mean he was safe. At last he could make her out, slowly coming toward him, still hidden by shadow and trees until at last she stood almost right in front of him.
She had long sheets of raven hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her eyes were deep almost purple black. Her skin was an ivory shade that made her face glow like the moon itself in the fading starlight.
"So you found me out." She said. "That's right. I am a hunter, like you, but in the beginning didn't have the slightest clue as to where Ophelia was heading. Thanks. You pretty much hand-fed me the answer I'd been looking for. Centelion. That's a dangerous place. But I can handle it, even if I will be alone."
"Don't count on that." D said in a low rumble.
Ziri shivered inwardly, that voice. But she kept a cool face.
"What, you think that this Dunpeal can't outstrip you in the hunt?"
"You're young, and foolish." D said plainly, his voice slow, but precise. "I am experienced. I don't act stupidly on my impulses because I'm threatened or afraid."
Ziri felt a pang of worry. She was being rather stupid. What about all those things she'd heard about this D? She was vulnerable. He had his weapon at the ready, and he was mounted which gave him a height and speed advantage. What had she been thinking?
She crossed her black clad arms with defiance. She could still win.
"Well," She said, "I may be stupid, but I need that money, and this mission is solely for me to complete. I have reasons of my own for doing this D. Just as you have your reasons for hunting. We all do. Me, I need that cash, and this mission, and I won't let you stand in my way."
With a single sudden movement, she leapt into the air. She wasn't sure what she was doing exactly, all she knew was that she was strong and fast, and she couldn't have D taking her bounty, and her revenge away from her. Somehow she had to stop him for a while, and for that, she had to fight him.