-CHAPTER 4-
After Kurt's sudden retreat, the Incubus took off again, flying off towards some unknown destination. Mazier wanted to follow him, but Sora wanted to find Kurt and make sure he wasn't hurt. She ran over to his destroyed watch, which had fallen off due to the shot, narrowing her eyes when she saw the face of it. In fading letters, it was flashing 'malfunction'. What did that mean?
"Kurt?" Sora called out, standing, "Kurt!" she spun around to face Mazier. "What the fuck were you thinking?! You're never supposed to shoot anyone with a hostage! You're lucky it was a goddamn dud or his hand might be gone!"
She ran off before Mazier could answer, trying to find any trace of his scent. "Kurt!" She couldn't believe this happened. And how did he disappear like that?
Luckily, he hadn't gone far; she picked up his scent near the house; he was bleeding, which wasn't surprising. He was hiding behind some hedges near the tool shed, whimpering from the pain in his wrist. "Kurt?" she called out.
"Go away!" Kurt snapped. Sora gasped at how fierce he sounded. Slowly, she sheathed the katana in its scabbard, and knelt down. "Kurt, please; you're hurt, you need help."
"No one will want to!"
"What...?" Sora swallowed, unable to see him through the bushes. "Kurt, what are you talking about? Please, come out, Clara and I will help you!"
"No you won't, you'll just kill me!"
"Kurt, what the fuck is wrong with you!"
Kurt didn't reply, but Sora could smell fear coming off of him. She sighed. "Kurt, I know I acted harsh towards you, but I swear, that's just how I act towards people I'm not used to being around. I wouldn't hurt you. If it's some kind of big secret, I have tons of them, too. Clara, Eric, Mazier, Ms. Renard, and Eric's grandpa all do too. We're here with you all the way."
She heard Kurt shuffle, digesting what she had said. She bit her bottom lip softly. "Kurt... please."
"You'll laugh at me..."
"Why would I?"
"Because I'm not the same; you'll hate what I look like."
"That's for me to decide."
Kurt shuffled again, pausing before standing up. Sora mirrored his actions, although standing quicker than him. Her eyes widened at what she saw:
Kurt looked completely different; Sora hardly recognized him. His skin was a deep blue, and from what Sora saw, he had short velvet-like fur. His eyes were yellow without pupils, his black hair was a deep indigo, his hands bore three fingers, and he even had a tail. She couldn't see his feet.
He looked down at the ground as if ashamed, but he couldn't help but be surprised as Sora just stood there, her expression leaning somewhere towards sorrowed pity. Eventually he looked up at her. "...You can run off screaming in terror now," he murmured.
Sora only gave a weak smile as she reached out and touched his cheek. "Let's go inside and get that wrist bandaged."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Honestly, Kurt thought Sora had fallen on her head from the way she was acting. It was like a total transformation. The last time he saw her, she was glaring at him like she was going to eat him. Now, she was being nicer than he could ever imagine her to be. She had cleaned his wound and bandaged it, and then called Alucard, telling him to come over. He came in right before Clara and the others. The first thing Mazier asked was, "Did you find him?"
"He's in the family room," Sora murmured, then, in a hushed tone, told everyone, "Guys, he doesn't exactly look the same, so don't recoil in terror or anything when you see him."
Mazier quirked an eyebrow, confused. "What, did the shot leave a hole in his wrist or something?"
"Not really, but... Clara," she said, turning to her friend, "I think we all need to tell him who we really are."
Clara slowly nodded, and Sora led them into the living room. Kurt looked up as they came in, and they stared for a moment, but said nothing. Clara sat on an overstuffed chair next to Eric, Alucard in another chair, Sora sat next to Kurt, and Lilith and Mazier stood.
"I know I shouldn't have left the house," Kurt said softly, "I heard an explosion and came out to see what it was, and then... well, Mazier and Sora know."
"I don't get it," Eric said, "Why do you look like this?"
"This is who I am. That watch that I was wearing before I got shot was a hologram projector. It made me look normal. I'm a freak, you can all say it."
"We're all freaks," Clara said. Kurt looked towards her, puzzled. Clara sighed heavily, thinking of what to say. Finally, she continued.
"Kurt, we're not who you think we are, either. As you can see, Transylvania is home to demons. You were attacked by one. We were hunting it. We're all demon hunters."
"I don't understand..." Kurt confessed.
Eric nodded, "That's understandable," he then stood. "Kurt, have you ever heard of Dracula?"
Kurt nodded. "In movies and stories..."
"Alright, well, he's real. My family, the Belmont clan, has been fighting Dracula for hundreds of years. We're hunters; it's what we do. We protect Transylvania from the threat. Dracula last appeared in 1999."
"Did you kill him?"
Eric froze, looking hurt. "...No. I had an older brother, Julius. As tradition in my family goes, whenever Dracula rises, siblings must compete against each other to decide who will go to face him. Needless to say, I lost. Julius went to the Hakuba Shrine in Japan, and asked if they could come to Transylvania to help, getting some crazy idea that they could seal Dracula inside of the solar eclipse that year. He and the priests there made an agreement that Julius would go into Dracula's castle, and before the castle collapsed after he defeated him, the Hakuba family would seal his castle inside the eclipse. It worked, and fortunately, Dracula should never rise again. However... when Julius returned, he had lost his memory. He didn't know his name, who he was, anything. He didn't even recognize me as his little brother. So, we tried to restore his memory, but it didn't work. He left Transylvania in an attempt to find out who he was. Ever since then, I've guarded Transylvania in his memory."
Eric leaned against a wall, and nodded towards Clara. "Your turn."
Clara nodded, and cleared her throat. "My family, the Belnades Clan, is just like Eric's. Our families are close allies. We're hunters as well, but we use magic. We're witches, as you would call it. My family met Eric's in 1476 when Trevor Belmont saved Sypha Belnades. Sypha was the only one of our entire family to obtain the exclusive status of Mage, the highest rank in sorcery. I left home about three years ago, for safety reasons, and the Belmonts found me a home. My parents live in the Belnades Manor in Walachia, along with the rest of my family. Sora?"
"I'll pass to Maz and Lil," Sora murmured.
"Lilith and I are vampires," Mazier said nonchalantly. Kurt's eyes immediately widened. Mazier chuckled. "Don't worry, we don't drink human blood. Lilith's just over two hundred years old, I'm close to three thousand. I got involved with the Belmonts around Sonia Belmont's time; Lilith was raised by Maria Renard, who was related to the Belmonts through her sister's marriage to Richter Belmont. Al?"
Alucard straightened. "I am a Dunpeal, half vampire, half human. My mother was an herbal healer, my father was Dracula. I fathered the son of Sonia Belmont, thus the entire Belmont line is descendants of Dracula, and that is why Eric calls me his grandfather."
"We've all seen worse than you, Kurt," Sora told him, "So, like Clara said, you may be a freak, but so are the rest of us. It's not everyday you see witches, vampires, and vampire hunters."
Kurt nodded slowly, "I understand..."
Clara smiled. "Besides, I think you look cuter this way!"
*
Everyone but Eric went back home, Clara insisting that Eric stay. Sora was in her room, sitting on her bed, staring at a wall. She never imagined that Kurt would have a big secret like that... and Clara was right: he DID look better like that.
A knock sounded on her door. "Come in," Sora called out. Kurt came in slowly, closing the door behind him. Sora looked in his direction. "Hey."
"Why didn't you want to talk downstairs?" Kurt asked, sitting next to her on the bed. Sora shrugged. "I didn't want to say it in front of everyone..."
"Could you tell me now?"
"Why are you so eager to know?"
"I just want to know why you seem so cold towards others..."
Sora looked away, hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm like Alucard; a Dunpeal. I have no idea who my parents are, but I was found as an infant by a vampire and raised as one."
"What was your parent's name?"
"His name was Lucian Tonitrus. He was a good man, but his training was harsh. He wanted to make me a perfect warrior, which meant he tortured me until my pain sensors were dulled, but not completely gone; he wanted to make sure I could feel if I was hurt badly or not. Eventually the training turned to punishment if I didn't meet his expectations. He would beat me constantly, and when I reached puberty, he expressed a sexual interest towards me. I couldn't help but let him molest me, but when he came to me two years ago and tried to rape me, I fled. All the doors were locked, so I had to throw myself out of a window, almost breaking my legs. I ran, but he caught up with me in the suburbs and stabbed me in my side, and told me that I would die where I lay, and left. Clara and Eric found me before I bled to death and helped me. I stayed with Clara, and ever since then, I've been scared of men, so I put on the tough attitude so they'll stay away from me."
Kurt nodded, and looked at the floor. "How long did it take you to warm up to Eric?"
"About a year, I believe. I hated him about six months after I met him because he and Clara had a fight and Clara came home heartbroken. I comforted her, and realized that I had feelings for her. I never really acted on them, but she knows."
"Are you really gay?"
Sora shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know what I am. I suppose I'm bisexual at least, but I've never really met a man that I've been attracted to, at least not yet."
"How badly did your father beat you?"
"He broke my legs once because I tried to run away... but then he apologized sincerely about it and didn't make me train for a year, but he would still punish me if I went against his orders."
They stayed silent for a long time, before Sora spoke up again. "Kurt?"
"Mm?"
"If I showed you something, would you promise not to act like a perverted teenage boy?"
Kurt looked at her like she was crazy, stuttering with his answer for a second before saying, "Uh... yeah."
Sora turned around and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head. Kurt grimaced, seeing the multiple scars on her back. "Mein Gott..." he whispered.
"This is how badly my father beat me..." Sora murmured, then turned back to him, moving her hair away from her shoulder and shoved away her bra strap, showing him the deep bite wound Lucian had given her the night she tried to escape. "He gave me this to really remember him..."
"So it's a good thing Clara found you or you'd be dead, huh?" Kurt wondered aloud, then looked at her. "So this is why you're so harsh towards everyone?"
Sora nodded, and pulled her shirt back on. "How's your wrist?"
"Better than it was."
"So... hey, one question."
"Ja?"
"How did you disappear like that earlier? Did the demon do it?"
Kurt creaked a smile. "No, I did that... I have the ability to teleport."
"Were you born with the ability?"
Kurt nodded. "I don't know who my real parents are, either. I was adopted by a family in Germany who found me. I didn't discover that I could teleport until I was a teenager. I managed to be one of the first to get a hologram watch to hide my true appearance and it allowed me to be normal..."
"We'll fix it, Kurt... I gathered up its remains... hey, you need to get to bed; it's getting late. And don't worry about what you look like, alright? At least you're human."
Kurt nodded, and stood. "'Night, Sora."
"'Night, Fuzzy."
She watched him leave, and lay down, not bothering to pull the covers over herself. She closed her eyes, about to drift off to sleep when she felt that magic presence again. She remembered that Clara said her nightmares were magic-induced, and immediately leapt out of bed, running out of her room and towards Clara's room, about to enter it when a strong magic slammed against her, throwing her back. She could smell fear. Dammit, Clara was having another nightmare!
She clumsily climbed to her feet and hurried to the guest room where Eric was staying, pounding on the door and opening it. "Eric, get up!"
Eric was sitting up as Sora opened the door, almost grabbing his sword to attack her out of instinct. Seeing it was her, he sheathed the sword and got out of bed. "What is it?"
"It's Clara. I can't get into her room. She's in trouble."
Eric's eyes immediately widened in fear after she finished. He retrieved his whip and took his sword with him as he and Sora ran for Clara's room. Sora stopped him before he tried to break the door down. "There's some sort of magic seal. It's impossible to get in."
Eric let out a frustrated scream, turning around, yelping in surprise when he saw Kurt. "What are you doing here?"
"What's wrong?" Kurt asked. Sora thought for a moment, an idea popping into her head.
"Wait," she said, walking over to him. "You said you can teleport, right?" she winked at Eric, who only quirked an eyebrow, as if saying "What're you up to, Sora?"
Kurt nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
"Can you take me into Clara's room?"
"What? What's going on?"
"I can't explain. Please, this is important."
Kurt thought for a moment, unsure of what was happening, but nodded. "Yes, I can." He approached Sora, who looked at Eric, and took his sword. "I'll be back."
Eric was about to protest, but Kurt had put his arms around Sora and with a sharp 'bamf!' sound, he teleported himself and Sora to her room.
They were quickly greeted by sounds of someone chanting, obviously male. The entire room was sealed with magic, so Kurt's teleporting was the only way to get them in and out.
Sora ran over to Clara, seeing her mumbling counter spells in her sleep, trying to ward off the evil. In her hand was the locket of Elizabeth Bartley. Was whoever who was doing this the same person who had sent that letter to Clara?
She grabbed Clara and handed her to Kurt. "Take her out of here then come back for me."
Kurt obeyed, holding Clara and teleporting out. Sora looked around, trying to look for some source of the magic, but found none. Kurt came back quickly and grabbed her, taking her out of the room. Suddenly, the magic was gone.
Eric was holding Clara tightly, a hand holding her face as he talked to her. "Clara? Clara, please, wake up!" She was still whispering the spell, as if she were still being haunted. She was in a raging fever; her body was shaking. "Sora, what the hell's going on?"
Sora grabbed the locket from her hand and threw it aside and took Clara. "I think I can help. Don't panic; I know what I'm doing."
Kurt stood back and Eric watched in fear for his girlfriend's life as Sora gently moved her hair aside from her face and neck, exposing her throat. Eric's eyes widened. "Sora, what..."
Sora bent down, and sank her fangs into her friend's flesh, sucking her blood, rich with dark magic. Whoever it was, cursed her, or was trying to. She didn't swallow any of the liquid, else risk her own sanity, but kept drawing out the blood until it was all gone, shoving Clara back into Eric's arms as she ran for the bathroom to spit out the blood and rinse her mouth out. Clara immediately woke up in a cold sweat, screaming and writhing in a horrified fit. Kurt and Eric quickly restrained her, with Kurt holding her legs together to keep her from kicking while Eric held her arms with one hand and placed a hand over her mouth, shushing her and calming her down. She eventually stopped moving, although her breathing came out in ragged gasps. Sora came out and knelt next to her, looking into Clara's eyes. "Clara, what happened?"
Eric moved his hand away so she could speak, and Clara squirmed again until she sat up, clinging to him. "Someone was putting a curse on me, telling me to kill everyone in this house and take the locket to a certain location. I-I don't recall where... God, I'm scared..."
Sora nodded. "I know..." she poked her thumb with a fang and dropped the blood onto the bite wound on Clara's neck, covering the bite completely so no one would notice outside of their home. Clara looked to the side, seeing the locket on the floor, and timidly reached out, grabbing it and holding it close, afraid that someone could come in and take it at any moment.
"I honestly think it's Taryn," Sora told her.
"He's not that powerful, Sora... he wouldn't know how to control minds..."
"Who's Taryn?" Kurt asked. "An old boyfriend?"
Eric scoffed. "He wishes." He gently stroked Clara's hair, rocking her back and forth. "It's obvious none of us are going back to sleep tonight... what should we do?"
"I'd say ask Alucard about it," Sora suggested, "He's good with magic stuff."
Kurt looked around. "I'd make sure that Clara was never in a room by herself... but that's just me, I've never even heard of this stuff before, so don't pay attention to me."
Eric narrowed his eyes in thought. "Hey, that's actually a good idea. Whoever's doing this is sealing off rooms, so if someone's with her, they could try and stop it."
"Yeah, but the rooms are sealed on the inside and outside. No one comes in, no one goes out," Sora noted. "Unless Kurt wants to be her permanent babysitter... or we get walkie-talkies, but who knows if they can cancel out those signals."
"I don't care," Clara said softly. "I just don't want whoever's doing this to come back..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
All four of them had stayed out in the living room for the rest of the night. Clara had fallen asleep on the couch and, thankfully, didn't have another nightmare. The sun was rising before everyone had calmed down. Sora started the coffee, and the gurgling pot woke Clara. She grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Ugh... coffee?"
Eric chuckled, and moved over to the couch, sitting next to her and putting her glasses on her. He kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, it's being made. How are you feeling?"
Clara shrugged, leaning on him. "Better... I need coffee, though."
Kurt looked at the golden locket sitting on the coffee table. "What's so special about that?" he asked.
Sora brought Clara her cup of coffee and sat in the armchair. Clara sipped at it, gazing at the locket. "It holds the spirit of Elizabeth Bartley, the bloodthirsty niece of Dracula; Alucard's cousin. I found it while I was swimming in England a few years ago. Coincidentally, it was in a lake where Bartley's castle had fallen, and I found it while searching for diving rods my brother threw into the water. Y'know, the kind that sink and you have to dive for them?"
"Who's looking for it?"
Clara shook her head. "I don't know. All of her ties are either dead or out of Romania. Her son and lover left after her death. The last time she was killed before this, an amateur witch, Drolta Tzuentes, opened the locket like an idiot, knowing who it belonged to and everything, and released her. That was in 1915. She resurrected Dracula in 1917, and then she was killed by Eric Lecarde, and Dracula was slain by John Morris, a relative of the Belmont family and the founder of our High School. When I found it, I took it to my mother, who immediately recognized it and was relieved I hadn't opened it. She put a spell on it so that Bartley wouldn't be resurrected so easily, and I've kept it ever since."
She drank her coffee quickly, and before she asked for another cup, Eric took it and went to the kitchen, getting it for her as well as a cup for himself.
"Whoever's doing this is obviously really skilled in the Arts," Sora said, "I haven't picked up any kind of trail; they're doing this from a long ways away."
Eric sat back down and gave Clara her cup. He leaned back and was about to speak when a knock on the door sounded, startling everyone. Sora sighed. "I'll get it," she said, and stood. She opened the door, looking up at the visitor, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, clad in dark clothing, had dark brown hair, and wore a wide-brimmed hat.
"Clara Belnades?" he asked. Sora looked back into the living room. "Yo, it's for you."
Clara stood slowly and came to the door. "Yes?"
The man nodded his head in greeting. "Forgive me for troubling you so early, but I've been hired by your parents."
Clara's eyes narrowed, suspicious. "Hired you? Excuse me?"
"I am a hunter; call me D if you must call me by anything, and your parents have hired me to hunt down and destroy a certain threat to you," he told her.
"What kind of threat?" Sora asked. Clara nodded. "What she said."
D glanced at them both as Eric and Kurt slowly came into view. "Miss Belnades, I've been hired to hunt down and kill your older brother, Taryn Belnades."
After Kurt's sudden retreat, the Incubus took off again, flying off towards some unknown destination. Mazier wanted to follow him, but Sora wanted to find Kurt and make sure he wasn't hurt. She ran over to his destroyed watch, which had fallen off due to the shot, narrowing her eyes when she saw the face of it. In fading letters, it was flashing 'malfunction'. What did that mean?
"Kurt?" Sora called out, standing, "Kurt!" she spun around to face Mazier. "What the fuck were you thinking?! You're never supposed to shoot anyone with a hostage! You're lucky it was a goddamn dud or his hand might be gone!"
She ran off before Mazier could answer, trying to find any trace of his scent. "Kurt!" She couldn't believe this happened. And how did he disappear like that?
Luckily, he hadn't gone far; she picked up his scent near the house; he was bleeding, which wasn't surprising. He was hiding behind some hedges near the tool shed, whimpering from the pain in his wrist. "Kurt?" she called out.
"Go away!" Kurt snapped. Sora gasped at how fierce he sounded. Slowly, she sheathed the katana in its scabbard, and knelt down. "Kurt, please; you're hurt, you need help."
"No one will want to!"
"What...?" Sora swallowed, unable to see him through the bushes. "Kurt, what are you talking about? Please, come out, Clara and I will help you!"
"No you won't, you'll just kill me!"
"Kurt, what the fuck is wrong with you!"
Kurt didn't reply, but Sora could smell fear coming off of him. She sighed. "Kurt, I know I acted harsh towards you, but I swear, that's just how I act towards people I'm not used to being around. I wouldn't hurt you. If it's some kind of big secret, I have tons of them, too. Clara, Eric, Mazier, Ms. Renard, and Eric's grandpa all do too. We're here with you all the way."
She heard Kurt shuffle, digesting what she had said. She bit her bottom lip softly. "Kurt... please."
"You'll laugh at me..."
"Why would I?"
"Because I'm not the same; you'll hate what I look like."
"That's for me to decide."
Kurt shuffled again, pausing before standing up. Sora mirrored his actions, although standing quicker than him. Her eyes widened at what she saw:
Kurt looked completely different; Sora hardly recognized him. His skin was a deep blue, and from what Sora saw, he had short velvet-like fur. His eyes were yellow without pupils, his black hair was a deep indigo, his hands bore three fingers, and he even had a tail. She couldn't see his feet.
He looked down at the ground as if ashamed, but he couldn't help but be surprised as Sora just stood there, her expression leaning somewhere towards sorrowed pity. Eventually he looked up at her. "...You can run off screaming in terror now," he murmured.
Sora only gave a weak smile as she reached out and touched his cheek. "Let's go inside and get that wrist bandaged."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Honestly, Kurt thought Sora had fallen on her head from the way she was acting. It was like a total transformation. The last time he saw her, she was glaring at him like she was going to eat him. Now, she was being nicer than he could ever imagine her to be. She had cleaned his wound and bandaged it, and then called Alucard, telling him to come over. He came in right before Clara and the others. The first thing Mazier asked was, "Did you find him?"
"He's in the family room," Sora murmured, then, in a hushed tone, told everyone, "Guys, he doesn't exactly look the same, so don't recoil in terror or anything when you see him."
Mazier quirked an eyebrow, confused. "What, did the shot leave a hole in his wrist or something?"
"Not really, but... Clara," she said, turning to her friend, "I think we all need to tell him who we really are."
Clara slowly nodded, and Sora led them into the living room. Kurt looked up as they came in, and they stared for a moment, but said nothing. Clara sat on an overstuffed chair next to Eric, Alucard in another chair, Sora sat next to Kurt, and Lilith and Mazier stood.
"I know I shouldn't have left the house," Kurt said softly, "I heard an explosion and came out to see what it was, and then... well, Mazier and Sora know."
"I don't get it," Eric said, "Why do you look like this?"
"This is who I am. That watch that I was wearing before I got shot was a hologram projector. It made me look normal. I'm a freak, you can all say it."
"We're all freaks," Clara said. Kurt looked towards her, puzzled. Clara sighed heavily, thinking of what to say. Finally, she continued.
"Kurt, we're not who you think we are, either. As you can see, Transylvania is home to demons. You were attacked by one. We were hunting it. We're all demon hunters."
"I don't understand..." Kurt confessed.
Eric nodded, "That's understandable," he then stood. "Kurt, have you ever heard of Dracula?"
Kurt nodded. "In movies and stories..."
"Alright, well, he's real. My family, the Belmont clan, has been fighting Dracula for hundreds of years. We're hunters; it's what we do. We protect Transylvania from the threat. Dracula last appeared in 1999."
"Did you kill him?"
Eric froze, looking hurt. "...No. I had an older brother, Julius. As tradition in my family goes, whenever Dracula rises, siblings must compete against each other to decide who will go to face him. Needless to say, I lost. Julius went to the Hakuba Shrine in Japan, and asked if they could come to Transylvania to help, getting some crazy idea that they could seal Dracula inside of the solar eclipse that year. He and the priests there made an agreement that Julius would go into Dracula's castle, and before the castle collapsed after he defeated him, the Hakuba family would seal his castle inside the eclipse. It worked, and fortunately, Dracula should never rise again. However... when Julius returned, he had lost his memory. He didn't know his name, who he was, anything. He didn't even recognize me as his little brother. So, we tried to restore his memory, but it didn't work. He left Transylvania in an attempt to find out who he was. Ever since then, I've guarded Transylvania in his memory."
Eric leaned against a wall, and nodded towards Clara. "Your turn."
Clara nodded, and cleared her throat. "My family, the Belnades Clan, is just like Eric's. Our families are close allies. We're hunters as well, but we use magic. We're witches, as you would call it. My family met Eric's in 1476 when Trevor Belmont saved Sypha Belnades. Sypha was the only one of our entire family to obtain the exclusive status of Mage, the highest rank in sorcery. I left home about three years ago, for safety reasons, and the Belmonts found me a home. My parents live in the Belnades Manor in Walachia, along with the rest of my family. Sora?"
"I'll pass to Maz and Lil," Sora murmured.
"Lilith and I are vampires," Mazier said nonchalantly. Kurt's eyes immediately widened. Mazier chuckled. "Don't worry, we don't drink human blood. Lilith's just over two hundred years old, I'm close to three thousand. I got involved with the Belmonts around Sonia Belmont's time; Lilith was raised by Maria Renard, who was related to the Belmonts through her sister's marriage to Richter Belmont. Al?"
Alucard straightened. "I am a Dunpeal, half vampire, half human. My mother was an herbal healer, my father was Dracula. I fathered the son of Sonia Belmont, thus the entire Belmont line is descendants of Dracula, and that is why Eric calls me his grandfather."
"We've all seen worse than you, Kurt," Sora told him, "So, like Clara said, you may be a freak, but so are the rest of us. It's not everyday you see witches, vampires, and vampire hunters."
Kurt nodded slowly, "I understand..."
Clara smiled. "Besides, I think you look cuter this way!"
*
Everyone but Eric went back home, Clara insisting that Eric stay. Sora was in her room, sitting on her bed, staring at a wall. She never imagined that Kurt would have a big secret like that... and Clara was right: he DID look better like that.
A knock sounded on her door. "Come in," Sora called out. Kurt came in slowly, closing the door behind him. Sora looked in his direction. "Hey."
"Why didn't you want to talk downstairs?" Kurt asked, sitting next to her on the bed. Sora shrugged. "I didn't want to say it in front of everyone..."
"Could you tell me now?"
"Why are you so eager to know?"
"I just want to know why you seem so cold towards others..."
Sora looked away, hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm like Alucard; a Dunpeal. I have no idea who my parents are, but I was found as an infant by a vampire and raised as one."
"What was your parent's name?"
"His name was Lucian Tonitrus. He was a good man, but his training was harsh. He wanted to make me a perfect warrior, which meant he tortured me until my pain sensors were dulled, but not completely gone; he wanted to make sure I could feel if I was hurt badly or not. Eventually the training turned to punishment if I didn't meet his expectations. He would beat me constantly, and when I reached puberty, he expressed a sexual interest towards me. I couldn't help but let him molest me, but when he came to me two years ago and tried to rape me, I fled. All the doors were locked, so I had to throw myself out of a window, almost breaking my legs. I ran, but he caught up with me in the suburbs and stabbed me in my side, and told me that I would die where I lay, and left. Clara and Eric found me before I bled to death and helped me. I stayed with Clara, and ever since then, I've been scared of men, so I put on the tough attitude so they'll stay away from me."
Kurt nodded, and looked at the floor. "How long did it take you to warm up to Eric?"
"About a year, I believe. I hated him about six months after I met him because he and Clara had a fight and Clara came home heartbroken. I comforted her, and realized that I had feelings for her. I never really acted on them, but she knows."
"Are you really gay?"
Sora shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know what I am. I suppose I'm bisexual at least, but I've never really met a man that I've been attracted to, at least not yet."
"How badly did your father beat you?"
"He broke my legs once because I tried to run away... but then he apologized sincerely about it and didn't make me train for a year, but he would still punish me if I went against his orders."
They stayed silent for a long time, before Sora spoke up again. "Kurt?"
"Mm?"
"If I showed you something, would you promise not to act like a perverted teenage boy?"
Kurt looked at her like she was crazy, stuttering with his answer for a second before saying, "Uh... yeah."
Sora turned around and grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head. Kurt grimaced, seeing the multiple scars on her back. "Mein Gott..." he whispered.
"This is how badly my father beat me..." Sora murmured, then turned back to him, moving her hair away from her shoulder and shoved away her bra strap, showing him the deep bite wound Lucian had given her the night she tried to escape. "He gave me this to really remember him..."
"So it's a good thing Clara found you or you'd be dead, huh?" Kurt wondered aloud, then looked at her. "So this is why you're so harsh towards everyone?"
Sora nodded, and pulled her shirt back on. "How's your wrist?"
"Better than it was."
"So... hey, one question."
"Ja?"
"How did you disappear like that earlier? Did the demon do it?"
Kurt creaked a smile. "No, I did that... I have the ability to teleport."
"Were you born with the ability?"
Kurt nodded. "I don't know who my real parents are, either. I was adopted by a family in Germany who found me. I didn't discover that I could teleport until I was a teenager. I managed to be one of the first to get a hologram watch to hide my true appearance and it allowed me to be normal..."
"We'll fix it, Kurt... I gathered up its remains... hey, you need to get to bed; it's getting late. And don't worry about what you look like, alright? At least you're human."
Kurt nodded, and stood. "'Night, Sora."
"'Night, Fuzzy."
She watched him leave, and lay down, not bothering to pull the covers over herself. She closed her eyes, about to drift off to sleep when she felt that magic presence again. She remembered that Clara said her nightmares were magic-induced, and immediately leapt out of bed, running out of her room and towards Clara's room, about to enter it when a strong magic slammed against her, throwing her back. She could smell fear. Dammit, Clara was having another nightmare!
She clumsily climbed to her feet and hurried to the guest room where Eric was staying, pounding on the door and opening it. "Eric, get up!"
Eric was sitting up as Sora opened the door, almost grabbing his sword to attack her out of instinct. Seeing it was her, he sheathed the sword and got out of bed. "What is it?"
"It's Clara. I can't get into her room. She's in trouble."
Eric's eyes immediately widened in fear after she finished. He retrieved his whip and took his sword with him as he and Sora ran for Clara's room. Sora stopped him before he tried to break the door down. "There's some sort of magic seal. It's impossible to get in."
Eric let out a frustrated scream, turning around, yelping in surprise when he saw Kurt. "What are you doing here?"
"What's wrong?" Kurt asked. Sora thought for a moment, an idea popping into her head.
"Wait," she said, walking over to him. "You said you can teleport, right?" she winked at Eric, who only quirked an eyebrow, as if saying "What're you up to, Sora?"
Kurt nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
"Can you take me into Clara's room?"
"What? What's going on?"
"I can't explain. Please, this is important."
Kurt thought for a moment, unsure of what was happening, but nodded. "Yes, I can." He approached Sora, who looked at Eric, and took his sword. "I'll be back."
Eric was about to protest, but Kurt had put his arms around Sora and with a sharp 'bamf!' sound, he teleported himself and Sora to her room.
They were quickly greeted by sounds of someone chanting, obviously male. The entire room was sealed with magic, so Kurt's teleporting was the only way to get them in and out.
Sora ran over to Clara, seeing her mumbling counter spells in her sleep, trying to ward off the evil. In her hand was the locket of Elizabeth Bartley. Was whoever who was doing this the same person who had sent that letter to Clara?
She grabbed Clara and handed her to Kurt. "Take her out of here then come back for me."
Kurt obeyed, holding Clara and teleporting out. Sora looked around, trying to look for some source of the magic, but found none. Kurt came back quickly and grabbed her, taking her out of the room. Suddenly, the magic was gone.
Eric was holding Clara tightly, a hand holding her face as he talked to her. "Clara? Clara, please, wake up!" She was still whispering the spell, as if she were still being haunted. She was in a raging fever; her body was shaking. "Sora, what the hell's going on?"
Sora grabbed the locket from her hand and threw it aside and took Clara. "I think I can help. Don't panic; I know what I'm doing."
Kurt stood back and Eric watched in fear for his girlfriend's life as Sora gently moved her hair aside from her face and neck, exposing her throat. Eric's eyes widened. "Sora, what..."
Sora bent down, and sank her fangs into her friend's flesh, sucking her blood, rich with dark magic. Whoever it was, cursed her, or was trying to. She didn't swallow any of the liquid, else risk her own sanity, but kept drawing out the blood until it was all gone, shoving Clara back into Eric's arms as she ran for the bathroom to spit out the blood and rinse her mouth out. Clara immediately woke up in a cold sweat, screaming and writhing in a horrified fit. Kurt and Eric quickly restrained her, with Kurt holding her legs together to keep her from kicking while Eric held her arms with one hand and placed a hand over her mouth, shushing her and calming her down. She eventually stopped moving, although her breathing came out in ragged gasps. Sora came out and knelt next to her, looking into Clara's eyes. "Clara, what happened?"
Eric moved his hand away so she could speak, and Clara squirmed again until she sat up, clinging to him. "Someone was putting a curse on me, telling me to kill everyone in this house and take the locket to a certain location. I-I don't recall where... God, I'm scared..."
Sora nodded. "I know..." she poked her thumb with a fang and dropped the blood onto the bite wound on Clara's neck, covering the bite completely so no one would notice outside of their home. Clara looked to the side, seeing the locket on the floor, and timidly reached out, grabbing it and holding it close, afraid that someone could come in and take it at any moment.
"I honestly think it's Taryn," Sora told her.
"He's not that powerful, Sora... he wouldn't know how to control minds..."
"Who's Taryn?" Kurt asked. "An old boyfriend?"
Eric scoffed. "He wishes." He gently stroked Clara's hair, rocking her back and forth. "It's obvious none of us are going back to sleep tonight... what should we do?"
"I'd say ask Alucard about it," Sora suggested, "He's good with magic stuff."
Kurt looked around. "I'd make sure that Clara was never in a room by herself... but that's just me, I've never even heard of this stuff before, so don't pay attention to me."
Eric narrowed his eyes in thought. "Hey, that's actually a good idea. Whoever's doing this is sealing off rooms, so if someone's with her, they could try and stop it."
"Yeah, but the rooms are sealed on the inside and outside. No one comes in, no one goes out," Sora noted. "Unless Kurt wants to be her permanent babysitter... or we get walkie-talkies, but who knows if they can cancel out those signals."
"I don't care," Clara said softly. "I just don't want whoever's doing this to come back..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
All four of them had stayed out in the living room for the rest of the night. Clara had fallen asleep on the couch and, thankfully, didn't have another nightmare. The sun was rising before everyone had calmed down. Sora started the coffee, and the gurgling pot woke Clara. She grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Ugh... coffee?"
Eric chuckled, and moved over to the couch, sitting next to her and putting her glasses on her. He kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, it's being made. How are you feeling?"
Clara shrugged, leaning on him. "Better... I need coffee, though."
Kurt looked at the golden locket sitting on the coffee table. "What's so special about that?" he asked.
Sora brought Clara her cup of coffee and sat in the armchair. Clara sipped at it, gazing at the locket. "It holds the spirit of Elizabeth Bartley, the bloodthirsty niece of Dracula; Alucard's cousin. I found it while I was swimming in England a few years ago. Coincidentally, it was in a lake where Bartley's castle had fallen, and I found it while searching for diving rods my brother threw into the water. Y'know, the kind that sink and you have to dive for them?"
"Who's looking for it?"
Clara shook her head. "I don't know. All of her ties are either dead or out of Romania. Her son and lover left after her death. The last time she was killed before this, an amateur witch, Drolta Tzuentes, opened the locket like an idiot, knowing who it belonged to and everything, and released her. That was in 1915. She resurrected Dracula in 1917, and then she was killed by Eric Lecarde, and Dracula was slain by John Morris, a relative of the Belmont family and the founder of our High School. When I found it, I took it to my mother, who immediately recognized it and was relieved I hadn't opened it. She put a spell on it so that Bartley wouldn't be resurrected so easily, and I've kept it ever since."
She drank her coffee quickly, and before she asked for another cup, Eric took it and went to the kitchen, getting it for her as well as a cup for himself.
"Whoever's doing this is obviously really skilled in the Arts," Sora said, "I haven't picked up any kind of trail; they're doing this from a long ways away."
Eric sat back down and gave Clara her cup. He leaned back and was about to speak when a knock on the door sounded, startling everyone. Sora sighed. "I'll get it," she said, and stood. She opened the door, looking up at the visitor, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, clad in dark clothing, had dark brown hair, and wore a wide-brimmed hat.
"Clara Belnades?" he asked. Sora looked back into the living room. "Yo, it's for you."
Clara stood slowly and came to the door. "Yes?"
The man nodded his head in greeting. "Forgive me for troubling you so early, but I've been hired by your parents."
Clara's eyes narrowed, suspicious. "Hired you? Excuse me?"
"I am a hunter; call me D if you must call me by anything, and your parents have hired me to hunt down and destroy a certain threat to you," he told her.
"What kind of threat?" Sora asked. Clara nodded. "What she said."
D glanced at them both as Eric and Kurt slowly came into view. "Miss Belnades, I've been hired to hunt down and kill your older brother, Taryn Belnades."