Acherontia Atropos Part 5
I hit the dirt in an undignified heap. Suddenly, nothing much
mattered except for the fact that Yan, whom I had thought wouldn't
know violence if it smacked him in the face, had kneed me in the
groin. Tears tried to squeeze themselves out of my eyes and I
forgot to breathe for a couple of minutes while I just lay on the
ground and curled up into a little ball.
There was a surge of that weird staticky feeling that I'd had all
night, and it came up through the ground and hit me like a spark.
I was on my feet and feeling a hell of a lot better before I could
even think about it. Yan was almost to the woods, and I limped
after him as quickly as I could. Yeah, Duo, real smart. Further
toward the kill zone, please.
I couldn't just leave him to those monsters. I had the feeling
that Yan wasn't the one that kneed me, not really. Tamlin had said
that vampires could roll an ordinary human's mind with their eyes.
Yan was as ordinary as it got. He was sweet, and innocent, and
like everybody's little brother, damnit. So I followed him right
into the jaws of the beast, armed only with my little gold cross
and my dubious amount of faith.
Not one of the brightest things I'd ever done.
By the time I reached the woods, there were six vampires, and Yan
had already gotten to them. There were three females and three
males. All of them, and I mean all of them, looked like walking
wet dreams. Nothing at all like the thing that had attacked me
before. I knew they were vampires, though, no matter what they
looked like. It's like how I knew the words I said over Heero's
body a year ago. No explanation...I just knew.
Just like I knew that there were two more hanging back, and a
third barely on the edge of my perception, controlling the others.
I stopped about six meters away from the vampires and stood. I
could feel the electric energy almost rolling off of them and
brushing past me, raising the hair on my arms. I didn't know what
the hell it was, but it was fascinating, and it felt almost...nice.
I'd worry about that later. Right now, I was worried about the
fact that there were vampires, they had Yan, and I was completely
unarmed.
IDamnit, Heero, why'd I leave the room without the gun. What are
you guys doing? I need you!/I I thought angrily. I knew that
there was no way they could know that I was in trouble, but it
felt good to be able to mentally curse someone.
For a long moment, the vampires watched me, and I watched them
right back. Yan was being held by one of the females, a tall red
head that looked like she could have been a fashion model or
something. She was wearing a dress, something white, thin, and
almost see through. She had Yan cradled in her arms, with his face
pressed against her breasts. She smiled, flashing her fangs in the
moonlight.
I licked my suddenly dry lips. "Let him go." I said with a lot
more authority than I felt.
"No." The red headed vampire clutched Yan a little more tightly.
He made a soft, very contented sound. "The little one is quite
happy where he is."
There was a tiny flicker in my peripheral vision, and I
transferred the main part of my attention to the vampire that had
moved. He was also very tall, with pale blonde hair that looked
white in the moonlight. He was dressed in jeans so tight that they
looked like they were painted on, and a t-shirt that appeared to
be more holes than anything else. He smiled at me as well,
managing to not show any fang. "You could join him in our arms."
He licked his lips. "I promise to be gentle."
"No thanks. I just want Yan." I took a step back as the vampire
took a step forward.
"Look into my eyes."
I suppressed the urge to laugh. Talk about B-movie vampires... I
had the feeling it would piss him off if I didn't act impressed,
though. So far, they seemed to be content just to play with me.
Which was fine. I didn't really want to get attacked outright.
"I'd rather not, if you don't mind."
He took another step forward. I took another step back. He laughed.
Glad someone was having a good time. "You smell interesting, human.
I just want you to look me in the eye."
"Really, that's okay."
The red head had obviously had enough games. "Do what he says, or
I will kill this one." She stroked Yan's cheek gently with one
hand. He giggled softly, his brain on a different planet.
INever look a vampire in the eye,/ITamlin had said. Well, it
looked like I didn't have a lot of choice. Shit. So I did it. I
looked the blonde vampire in the eye, expecting at any moment for
my mind to get torn apart or sucked away or whatever happened when
vampires rolled someone under.
It was completely anti-climactic. His eyes were just eyes. Pretty,
I'll admit, a crystalline, icy blue vaguely reminiscent of
Tamlin's, but nothing more.
"What is wrong, Paul?" One of the other vampires, I think a female
one, asked.
Paul. Somehow, it didn't seem right for a vampire to be named Paul.
Whatever the vampire saw in my eyes, he didn't like. He frowned,
and his eyes took on a faint glow. He said something in a guttural
language that I didn't understand. Whatever it was sounded very
disgruntled. "What are you?" He demanded, in Standard once more.
I shrugged. "I don't know." I couldn't help it, I grinned. Hey,
I'd just made a major victory, as far as I was concerned. I was
still in control of my own mind. Good sign. "So now what?"
I don't think that was what he wanted to hear. He surged forward,
and I managed to take a step back and grab the chain of my cross.
He was faster than a normal human, but not enough to overwhelm me.
He didn't try to grab me like I'd expected, instead he punched me
before I could dodge. He was sure as hell a lot stronger than a
human; his fist connected with my ribcage and I went flying. I hit
the ground hard and he was on me, fangs bared. I yanked the cross
out from under my shirt, and it flared into life.
Immediately, the vampire was gone. The others were shrieking
loudly. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and clutched my
ribs. I couldn't tell if anything was broken. It all hurt way too
much. Shit.
It took me a couple seconds to gain my feet, and they were the
longest seconds of my life. I still wasn't convinced about the
entire cross thing. I was waiting for one of them to shout "Just
kidding!" and leap on me. But no, they were cowering away. The red
head and the blonde were just shielding their eyes, the other
three were shrieking and backing up. I took a step forward.
They all took a step back. Damn, it felt good.
The good feeling didn't last long, though. The red headed vampire
wrapped one of her hands around Yan's throat, still shielding her
eyes with the other one. "Take the cross off and throw it away."
"The hell with that!" I yelled.
"If you don't, I will rip his throat out." I saw her hand tighten,
and Yan giggled. "I am not joking, human, and you know it."
Shit. That was the problem with being the good guy. You couldn't
let another good guy get killed in front of you. I reached up and
grabbed my cross. It was faintly warm in my hand. I snapped the
chain with one sharp yank, then threw it away. Hopefully, I'd be
alive to get it back later.
I really wished that I hadn't left without my gun. I also wished
that the guys were here. I really did.
The light of the cross died as soon as I pulled it off, and the
vampires stopped cowering. "There, happy?"
"Very." Paul the vampire started moving toward me again. One of
the other female ones, this one with black hair and dressed in
more leather than I've ever seen in one place, slunk along with
him.
"Whoa, whoa, stop there." I backed away. "What the hell do you
want?"
"Stop moving." The red head commanded. "Or I will kill him."
Shit. I stopped. Paul and the other vampire took a leisurely walk
up to me, and slowly looked me up and down the way you'd check out
a horse before you bought it. The female vampire leaned in and
blew softly on my ear. I flinched. There was something about them,
that energy that I'd felt earlier, and it was almost dancing
across my skin.
Paul stopped on the other side of me and grabbed my braid,
stroking it gently. That bastard. I suddenly decided that I would
kill him first, as soon as I got out of this situation and managed
to get a weapon. NO ONE touches my hair. Especially not a stupid
vampire with B movie dialogue. "He is pretty, isn't he, Victoria."
Victoria. So that was the leather queen's name. Gag me.
She breathed softly in my ear. "I like you."
"That's nice." I said. "I don't think I like you." Me and my big
mouth.
She laid a hand on my chest. I fell to my knees, gasping for
breath. Victoria giggled. I decided that it was a sound that I
didn't like. Paul hauled me to my feet like I didn't weigh
anything when I couldn't manage to stand up right away on my own.
Great.
Victoria blew on my ear again, and then there was a quick wetness
that could only be her tongue. I couldn't help it, I shivered. I
had to close my eyes and imagine that it was someone else, because
I knew I couldn't give her the satisfaction of whimpering, which
is what I really wanted to do. No, better to pretend that it was
Heero, or anyone else at all.
She giggled. Again. It was really setting my teeth on edge. I
concentrated on the annoyance and anger, anything to keep myself
from thinking about the fact that she was nibbling on my ear...and
then my neck. My eyes flew open.
"Just relax, pretty one. I just want a little taste." she
whispered.
I had to try twice before I found my voice. "Something tells me
that with you, it's never just a little taste." I said.
"True." She licked my neck, and I did my best to flinch away.
"Victoria just wants a taste, pretty one. She won't hurt you, too
much." Paul whispered in my other ear. Oh God, I had both of them
after me, now. "If you fight, Cheree will kill the boy. You're a
much more interesting toy than he is."
"What do you want?" I asked, very quietly. My voice didn't shake
or crack. Point for me. God, I hated being powerless more than
anything else.
Cheree, the red head, laughed. It was a practiced sound, pleasant
like a warm blanket that you could almost wrap around yourself. "I
want your fear, pretty one, and your anger. I want it to wash
over me."
I didn't think I'd ever been so thoroughly trapped before in my
entire life. This one was wholly my fault. I decided that when I
got free, Paul would be second. Cheree was going to die first.
Victoria actually kissed me. Full on the lips, open mouth, tongue
and everything. I didn't respond, and after a long minute, she
pulled away. Her lips moved to my neck. "You must be the one that
Thomas got himself killed trying to take. Are you worth it? It is
not often one stands against the coterie of Ebon Thorns" I felt
sharpness that could have only been her fangs, and I shut my eyes
tightly. I would not scream. I would not scream. I would not
scream. Oh God...
I heard a sound behind me. Running footsteps, getting closer. Hot
damn. Victoria pulled abruptly back and hissed. Whoever it was (I
was praying that it was the guys) started shooting. A bullet hit
Victoria in her arm, and there was an explosion of blood. She went
down clutching her arm. Whatever kind of ammo that Tamlin had
given us, it definitely was not for play. I wanted to cheer.
That happy thought got cut off when Paul grabbed me by the throat.
Suddenly, time slowed down for me, like it sometimes does in the
middle of really intense fights. The electricity I'd been feeling
all evening jolted through my body like cold black lightning, and
I sent it blasting outwards, down into the ground, and, most
importantly, through Paul's arm. It's hard to find the words to
describe how it felt. My nerve endings were on fire, but strangely
enough, it was pleasant. I felt like I was filled to the brim with
cool, dark water that I could manipulate at will. When it went
flowing into Paul, the spark that was him retreated before the
rush of power, and then he was mine.
He was mine, and I could feel him hating me.
"Let me go." I said, a lot more calm than I had any right to be. I
could feel things happening around me, more bullets flying through
the air, the vampires beginning to retaliate...then beginning to
fall back as the power that was filling me up swept over them.
None of it mattered, because for that one moment, I and the power
were all that existed. This was what I meant when I called myself
Shinigami, the God of Death.
Paul let me go. I fell to my knees, clutching my ribs and trying
to start breathing again. "Back away." I wheezed. He backed up two
steps, and I could feel a line of power stretching between us like
a rubber band. One more step, and it snapped. Paul was free from
my control, though I could still dimly 'feel' him. He shot me a
look of pure, utter hatred, and fled with the others, disappearing
into the woods.
The guys were right behind me, I could hear them, and I could feel
them sending ripples shuddering through the dark power that was
still filling me. Trowa and Heero ran past me toward the woods,
though Heero paused long enough to give me a quick once over with
his eyes, to make sure I wasn't bleeding profusely or anything.
"Duo!" It was Quatre. I turned to look at him. There was a
tangible bubble of energy around me, soulless black that somehow
glowed, hurting the eyes. He touched the outlying edges with the
tips of his fingers, and then jerked his hand away, shaking it as
if it had stung.
Abruptly, the bubble popped and all the energy dried up. I found
myself laying on the asphalt of the parking lot, again, gasping
for breath. I was completely empty.
"Duo... are you okay? What was that?" Quatre was on his knees
beside me, helping me roll over. I jerked when he touched me, and
rolled away. His hands were like searing fire after glacial cold.
"Duo!"
"Don't touch me!" I screamed, and struggled to my feet, rear-end
first. It wasn't terribly dignified, but it was the quickest way
to get up. I stumbled toward the woods, half running.
There was blood, so much blood, all over the asphalt and in the
dirt by the trees. I knew some of it belonged to the vampires;
Trowa, Heero, and Quatre had managed to wound most of them. That
wasn't what I was interested in though. There, under one of the
huge, ancient trees, the ground had turned into black, sticky mud.
The air was chokingly full of the coppery tang of fresh, cooling
blood. There was so much blood, too much blood.
I knew where all the power had come from, though not why it had
come to me. I knew what it was now.
Yan was there, laying in the middle of the sea of mud. His head
was thrown back and one of his arms was carelessly to the side,
like he was just sleeping. There was even a soft, innocent smile
curving his lips. His formerly pristine white shirt was now shiny,
wet black in the moonlight. Where his neck had been, there was
only a gaping hole, gleaming dully.
That bitch had said she wanted my fear and my anger. She could
have my anger, all of it. I'd give her all I could hold. I grabbed
a tree for support and started throwing up until I was empty and I
felt like I was going to vomit my toenails. When I was done, I
looked back. Yan was still laying there in the moonlight. He
wasn't a hallucination, like I'd half hoped.
I fell to my knees in the mud by him and let the cooling blood
soak into my pant legs.
I knew where all that power had come from.
Oh God, I wished I didn't know.
I hit the dirt in an undignified heap. Suddenly, nothing much
mattered except for the fact that Yan, whom I had thought wouldn't
know violence if it smacked him in the face, had kneed me in the
groin. Tears tried to squeeze themselves out of my eyes and I
forgot to breathe for a couple of minutes while I just lay on the
ground and curled up into a little ball.
There was a surge of that weird staticky feeling that I'd had all
night, and it came up through the ground and hit me like a spark.
I was on my feet and feeling a hell of a lot better before I could
even think about it. Yan was almost to the woods, and I limped
after him as quickly as I could. Yeah, Duo, real smart. Further
toward the kill zone, please.
I couldn't just leave him to those monsters. I had the feeling
that Yan wasn't the one that kneed me, not really. Tamlin had said
that vampires could roll an ordinary human's mind with their eyes.
Yan was as ordinary as it got. He was sweet, and innocent, and
like everybody's little brother, damnit. So I followed him right
into the jaws of the beast, armed only with my little gold cross
and my dubious amount of faith.
Not one of the brightest things I'd ever done.
By the time I reached the woods, there were six vampires, and Yan
had already gotten to them. There were three females and three
males. All of them, and I mean all of them, looked like walking
wet dreams. Nothing at all like the thing that had attacked me
before. I knew they were vampires, though, no matter what they
looked like. It's like how I knew the words I said over Heero's
body a year ago. No explanation...I just knew.
Just like I knew that there were two more hanging back, and a
third barely on the edge of my perception, controlling the others.
I stopped about six meters away from the vampires and stood. I
could feel the electric energy almost rolling off of them and
brushing past me, raising the hair on my arms. I didn't know what
the hell it was, but it was fascinating, and it felt almost...nice.
I'd worry about that later. Right now, I was worried about the
fact that there were vampires, they had Yan, and I was completely
unarmed.
IDamnit, Heero, why'd I leave the room without the gun. What are
you guys doing? I need you!/I I thought angrily. I knew that
there was no way they could know that I was in trouble, but it
felt good to be able to mentally curse someone.
For a long moment, the vampires watched me, and I watched them
right back. Yan was being held by one of the females, a tall red
head that looked like she could have been a fashion model or
something. She was wearing a dress, something white, thin, and
almost see through. She had Yan cradled in her arms, with his face
pressed against her breasts. She smiled, flashing her fangs in the
moonlight.
I licked my suddenly dry lips. "Let him go." I said with a lot
more authority than I felt.
"No." The red headed vampire clutched Yan a little more tightly.
He made a soft, very contented sound. "The little one is quite
happy where he is."
There was a tiny flicker in my peripheral vision, and I
transferred the main part of my attention to the vampire that had
moved. He was also very tall, with pale blonde hair that looked
white in the moonlight. He was dressed in jeans so tight that they
looked like they were painted on, and a t-shirt that appeared to
be more holes than anything else. He smiled at me as well,
managing to not show any fang. "You could join him in our arms."
He licked his lips. "I promise to be gentle."
"No thanks. I just want Yan." I took a step back as the vampire
took a step forward.
"Look into my eyes."
I suppressed the urge to laugh. Talk about B-movie vampires... I
had the feeling it would piss him off if I didn't act impressed,
though. So far, they seemed to be content just to play with me.
Which was fine. I didn't really want to get attacked outright.
"I'd rather not, if you don't mind."
He took another step forward. I took another step back. He laughed.
Glad someone was having a good time. "You smell interesting, human.
I just want you to look me in the eye."
"Really, that's okay."
The red head had obviously had enough games. "Do what he says, or
I will kill this one." She stroked Yan's cheek gently with one
hand. He giggled softly, his brain on a different planet.
INever look a vampire in the eye,/ITamlin had said. Well, it
looked like I didn't have a lot of choice. Shit. So I did it. I
looked the blonde vampire in the eye, expecting at any moment for
my mind to get torn apart or sucked away or whatever happened when
vampires rolled someone under.
It was completely anti-climactic. His eyes were just eyes. Pretty,
I'll admit, a crystalline, icy blue vaguely reminiscent of
Tamlin's, but nothing more.
"What is wrong, Paul?" One of the other vampires, I think a female
one, asked.
Paul. Somehow, it didn't seem right for a vampire to be named Paul.
Whatever the vampire saw in my eyes, he didn't like. He frowned,
and his eyes took on a faint glow. He said something in a guttural
language that I didn't understand. Whatever it was sounded very
disgruntled. "What are you?" He demanded, in Standard once more.
I shrugged. "I don't know." I couldn't help it, I grinned. Hey,
I'd just made a major victory, as far as I was concerned. I was
still in control of my own mind. Good sign. "So now what?"
I don't think that was what he wanted to hear. He surged forward,
and I managed to take a step back and grab the chain of my cross.
He was faster than a normal human, but not enough to overwhelm me.
He didn't try to grab me like I'd expected, instead he punched me
before I could dodge. He was sure as hell a lot stronger than a
human; his fist connected with my ribcage and I went flying. I hit
the ground hard and he was on me, fangs bared. I yanked the cross
out from under my shirt, and it flared into life.
Immediately, the vampire was gone. The others were shrieking
loudly. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and clutched my
ribs. I couldn't tell if anything was broken. It all hurt way too
much. Shit.
It took me a couple seconds to gain my feet, and they were the
longest seconds of my life. I still wasn't convinced about the
entire cross thing. I was waiting for one of them to shout "Just
kidding!" and leap on me. But no, they were cowering away. The red
head and the blonde were just shielding their eyes, the other
three were shrieking and backing up. I took a step forward.
They all took a step back. Damn, it felt good.
The good feeling didn't last long, though. The red headed vampire
wrapped one of her hands around Yan's throat, still shielding her
eyes with the other one. "Take the cross off and throw it away."
"The hell with that!" I yelled.
"If you don't, I will rip his throat out." I saw her hand tighten,
and Yan giggled. "I am not joking, human, and you know it."
Shit. That was the problem with being the good guy. You couldn't
let another good guy get killed in front of you. I reached up and
grabbed my cross. It was faintly warm in my hand. I snapped the
chain with one sharp yank, then threw it away. Hopefully, I'd be
alive to get it back later.
I really wished that I hadn't left without my gun. I also wished
that the guys were here. I really did.
The light of the cross died as soon as I pulled it off, and the
vampires stopped cowering. "There, happy?"
"Very." Paul the vampire started moving toward me again. One of
the other female ones, this one with black hair and dressed in
more leather than I've ever seen in one place, slunk along with
him.
"Whoa, whoa, stop there." I backed away. "What the hell do you
want?"
"Stop moving." The red head commanded. "Or I will kill him."
Shit. I stopped. Paul and the other vampire took a leisurely walk
up to me, and slowly looked me up and down the way you'd check out
a horse before you bought it. The female vampire leaned in and
blew softly on my ear. I flinched. There was something about them,
that energy that I'd felt earlier, and it was almost dancing
across my skin.
Paul stopped on the other side of me and grabbed my braid,
stroking it gently. That bastard. I suddenly decided that I would
kill him first, as soon as I got out of this situation and managed
to get a weapon. NO ONE touches my hair. Especially not a stupid
vampire with B movie dialogue. "He is pretty, isn't he, Victoria."
Victoria. So that was the leather queen's name. Gag me.
She breathed softly in my ear. "I like you."
"That's nice." I said. "I don't think I like you." Me and my big
mouth.
She laid a hand on my chest. I fell to my knees, gasping for
breath. Victoria giggled. I decided that it was a sound that I
didn't like. Paul hauled me to my feet like I didn't weigh
anything when I couldn't manage to stand up right away on my own.
Great.
Victoria blew on my ear again, and then there was a quick wetness
that could only be her tongue. I couldn't help it, I shivered. I
had to close my eyes and imagine that it was someone else, because
I knew I couldn't give her the satisfaction of whimpering, which
is what I really wanted to do. No, better to pretend that it was
Heero, or anyone else at all.
She giggled. Again. It was really setting my teeth on edge. I
concentrated on the annoyance and anger, anything to keep myself
from thinking about the fact that she was nibbling on my ear...and
then my neck. My eyes flew open.
"Just relax, pretty one. I just want a little taste." she
whispered.
I had to try twice before I found my voice. "Something tells me
that with you, it's never just a little taste." I said.
"True." She licked my neck, and I did my best to flinch away.
"Victoria just wants a taste, pretty one. She won't hurt you, too
much." Paul whispered in my other ear. Oh God, I had both of them
after me, now. "If you fight, Cheree will kill the boy. You're a
much more interesting toy than he is."
"What do you want?" I asked, very quietly. My voice didn't shake
or crack. Point for me. God, I hated being powerless more than
anything else.
Cheree, the red head, laughed. It was a practiced sound, pleasant
like a warm blanket that you could almost wrap around yourself. "I
want your fear, pretty one, and your anger. I want it to wash
over me."
I didn't think I'd ever been so thoroughly trapped before in my
entire life. This one was wholly my fault. I decided that when I
got free, Paul would be second. Cheree was going to die first.
Victoria actually kissed me. Full on the lips, open mouth, tongue
and everything. I didn't respond, and after a long minute, she
pulled away. Her lips moved to my neck. "You must be the one that
Thomas got himself killed trying to take. Are you worth it? It is
not often one stands against the coterie of Ebon Thorns" I felt
sharpness that could have only been her fangs, and I shut my eyes
tightly. I would not scream. I would not scream. I would not
scream. Oh God...
I heard a sound behind me. Running footsteps, getting closer. Hot
damn. Victoria pulled abruptly back and hissed. Whoever it was (I
was praying that it was the guys) started shooting. A bullet hit
Victoria in her arm, and there was an explosion of blood. She went
down clutching her arm. Whatever kind of ammo that Tamlin had
given us, it definitely was not for play. I wanted to cheer.
That happy thought got cut off when Paul grabbed me by the throat.
Suddenly, time slowed down for me, like it sometimes does in the
middle of really intense fights. The electricity I'd been feeling
all evening jolted through my body like cold black lightning, and
I sent it blasting outwards, down into the ground, and, most
importantly, through Paul's arm. It's hard to find the words to
describe how it felt. My nerve endings were on fire, but strangely
enough, it was pleasant. I felt like I was filled to the brim with
cool, dark water that I could manipulate at will. When it went
flowing into Paul, the spark that was him retreated before the
rush of power, and then he was mine.
He was mine, and I could feel him hating me.
"Let me go." I said, a lot more calm than I had any right to be. I
could feel things happening around me, more bullets flying through
the air, the vampires beginning to retaliate...then beginning to
fall back as the power that was filling me up swept over them.
None of it mattered, because for that one moment, I and the power
were all that existed. This was what I meant when I called myself
Shinigami, the God of Death.
Paul let me go. I fell to my knees, clutching my ribs and trying
to start breathing again. "Back away." I wheezed. He backed up two
steps, and I could feel a line of power stretching between us like
a rubber band. One more step, and it snapped. Paul was free from
my control, though I could still dimly 'feel' him. He shot me a
look of pure, utter hatred, and fled with the others, disappearing
into the woods.
The guys were right behind me, I could hear them, and I could feel
them sending ripples shuddering through the dark power that was
still filling me. Trowa and Heero ran past me toward the woods,
though Heero paused long enough to give me a quick once over with
his eyes, to make sure I wasn't bleeding profusely or anything.
"Duo!" It was Quatre. I turned to look at him. There was a
tangible bubble of energy around me, soulless black that somehow
glowed, hurting the eyes. He touched the outlying edges with the
tips of his fingers, and then jerked his hand away, shaking it as
if it had stung.
Abruptly, the bubble popped and all the energy dried up. I found
myself laying on the asphalt of the parking lot, again, gasping
for breath. I was completely empty.
"Duo... are you okay? What was that?" Quatre was on his knees
beside me, helping me roll over. I jerked when he touched me, and
rolled away. His hands were like searing fire after glacial cold.
"Duo!"
"Don't touch me!" I screamed, and struggled to my feet, rear-end
first. It wasn't terribly dignified, but it was the quickest way
to get up. I stumbled toward the woods, half running.
There was blood, so much blood, all over the asphalt and in the
dirt by the trees. I knew some of it belonged to the vampires;
Trowa, Heero, and Quatre had managed to wound most of them. That
wasn't what I was interested in though. There, under one of the
huge, ancient trees, the ground had turned into black, sticky mud.
The air was chokingly full of the coppery tang of fresh, cooling
blood. There was so much blood, too much blood.
I knew where all the power had come from, though not why it had
come to me. I knew what it was now.
Yan was there, laying in the middle of the sea of mud. His head
was thrown back and one of his arms was carelessly to the side,
like he was just sleeping. There was even a soft, innocent smile
curving his lips. His formerly pristine white shirt was now shiny,
wet black in the moonlight. Where his neck had been, there was
only a gaping hole, gleaming dully.
That bitch had said she wanted my fear and my anger. She could
have my anger, all of it. I'd give her all I could hold. I grabbed
a tree for support and started throwing up until I was empty and I
felt like I was going to vomit my toenails. When I was done, I
looked back. Yan was still laying there in the moonlight. He
wasn't a hallucination, like I'd half hoped.
I fell to my knees in the mud by him and let the cooling blood
soak into my pant legs.
I knew where all that power had come from.
Oh God, I wished I didn't know.
