-CHAPTER 9-
Lilith had stopped by the Belmont Graveyard to visit her mother's grave before going into the Forest of Silence beyond it to hunt. It was strange how the Belmonts buried their dead so close to Dracula's castle, but the Belmonts said it was Sonia's wish long ago before she died that she be buried in the same graveyard where Lisa Tepes, Dracula's beloved wife and Alucard's mother, was buried. It was also the same graveyard where Alucard's tomb lay, where he had wanted to sleep for eternity, to let humanity die so as he would not be a threat to them, but ever since evil refused to die, Alucard would not rest.
Something else the Belmonts had said, to add a sort of irony to this burial place, was that their spirits would continue to guard over the border between the Forest of Silence, and Transylvania's people. Well, at least from this side of the forest borders...
Truthfully, Lilith didn't want to feed. She felt fine, but then again, she hated herself for what she was, probably more than any other vampire, and swore off blood as much as she could. She decided that she would just go in, hunt something small, and return. She didn't want to go too far into the forest, because she knew Taryn was still at the ruins, more than likely trying to break the seal on the locket.
Lilith had never intended for that locket to be found by anyone, including the Belnades family. It was Lilith who had cast that locket into the sea before Jadin Tray dared to open it again. She had actually worked with John Morris and Eric Lecarde, hiring them to kill Elizabeth Bartley as well as Dracula. She had offered payment, but neither of them accepted; Morris had just wanted the world to be at peace, and all Lecarde wanted was revenge for what Elizabeth had done. She had killed his newlywed wife, Gwendolyn, and Turned her into a vampire. Lilith would have killed Elizabeth herself... she didn't know what stopped her. Probably that Lilith had no true cause other than her hatred towards the countess, while Lecarde did.
Something caught Lilith's attention, and she quickly turned, seeing the young doe leap over a fallen tree branch and hurried away as soon as it had seen Lilith. Lilith sighed; it would have to do.
Taking a wolf's form to catch up faster, Lilith chased it down, leaping on its back and closing her jaws around its throat. She returned to her human form and drank, her thirst suddenly getting the better of her as she drained it dry; she had intended to just take a little, so that the doe might live, but it had been so long since she had fed that her instincts took over, and soon the doe was dead.
A thin line of blood dribbled down Lilith's chin, and she wiped it away with a finger. She had always been a neat eater, probably because of her proper upbringing. She stood, and regained control of herself. She couldn't go back to the estate with her vampiric instincts flaring. She turned to leave when she felt something close by, pulsing, and a deep chanting echoed through her head. She immediately leaned against a tree for support, pressing two fingers against her temple as a migraine surged through her head. It felt similar to what they had experienced earlier with Taryn...
...Lilith's eyes widened as it dawned on her, and she took off running to the edge of the forest towards the ruins of Dracula's castle. She couldn't get too close; the power was too great, but she saw Taryn, holding the locket, chanting a spell. Just from the words, Lilith could tell it was some sort of resurrection spell... wait, resurrection?
What would Taryn want to do with a resurrection spell? With the locket? She fell to her knees, her hands clapped to the side of her head, trying to block out the chanting, but she couldn't help but ignore two words that stuck out among all the rest:
"Belmont... Bartley..."
After those words were spoken with the incantation, all of the pressure and the torment ended, as if it had never happened, but something was different. Lilith felt life in the area... and not natural life. One was near Taryn, and several others back from the way she had came.
Not wanting to look for it, Lilith turned on her heel and ran back, stopping when she reached the Belmont graveyard.
Everything in the soil seemed to be moving, making Lilith's breathing quicken. She looked at all the graves, feeling the lives beneath them, beating anew. Lilith began to hurry out of the graveyard, as the surface soil began to shift and pale hands clawed their way to fresh air. She ran as fast as she could back to the estate.
Alucard, Mazier, and D were the first to sense the problem, even before they sensed Lilith coming back. The strength of the magic made Alucard think another resurrection of Dracula was being held, but that was impossible; Julius Belmont made sure of that.
Markus came inside, about to ask what was going on, but figured Alucard and Mazier would only give him the silent treatment.
Suddenly the front door flew open and Lilith ran in, coming to a halt and panting heavily. Mazier waited for her to catch breath before speaking. "What's up?"
Lilith shook her head. "Big trouble. Big, BIG trouble. Wake up everyone, this isn't something we need to wait until morning for."
Mazier and D immediately ran to wake everyone, while Alucard and Markus stayed with Lilith. "What happened?" Alucard asked.
Lilith looked up at him, swallowed the spit in her mouth, and spoke, "It's Taryn. He's doing something really big."
Soon enough, Eric, Clara, and Sora came into the entrance hall, Kurt bamfing in right after them. All of them were confused as to why they were woken up so early. Lilith wasted no time.
"Hey, Clara?" she began, "Remember that person you said wouldn't be able to open the locket?"
Clara blinked, even more confused, and nodded her head.
"He opened the locket!"
"What!" everyone exclaimed, almost in unison, except Sora, who waited for the long pause before saying, "...Aw, shit."
"Even worse," Lilith continued, "I was coming back here through the Belmont Graveyard... something he did in the resurrection spell for Bartley involved the Belmonts... let's just say if we go after him via that area, I wouldn't be surprised if there were about twenty hollow graves. I don't know if he's resurrecting every Belmont, or just the ones that have been known throughout history, but their alive."
"How's that worse?" Eric asked. "Belmonts don't work for evil; they'd just help us, right?"
"Something tells me he didn't resurrect them to have them turn on him... We need to go now. Sure enough, I know all of the Belmonts will flock here."
"Wait..." Clara whispered, "...isn't the Belmont graveyard where Sypha was buried?"
"No time to think about that, Clara," Sora told her, "We need to leave, like Lil said."
That was when Markus spoke up. "Um... hey, I know I'm the new guy here, but don't you think we should all split up into teams and go? If Lilith's right about the Belmonts, they'll take several routes here."
"He has a point..." Eric murmured. "I'd say split up into groups of two..."
"There are an odd number of people here," Alucard observed, "someone must either stay behind or go alone."
They were all about to ask Kurt if he wanted to stay since he was new to the demon business, but he spoke up before everyone else, saying, "I'll travel with someone and teleport around to check on everyone and take them out of trouble if need be..."
"In that case," Clara looked around, "could you go with Markus? He can fly; you can teleport, so you could both sort of be the rescue team."
Kurt looked in Markus's direction warily, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
"I can go alone," Alucard said.
"Lil and I'll go together," Mazier announced.
"And I'll be with Eric... so," Clara glanced over at Sora and D. "...that leaves you two to work together."
Sora's eyes widened in disbelief, but she didn't protest. She only folded her arms over her chest, murmuring something under her breath. She still had Mazier's sword with her, so weapons weren't a problem. She just didn't want to be put with D.
"We need to leave now," Lilith repeated, "Alucard, think you can handle the graveyard route? You know that area better than anyone else here."
Alucard nodded. "Yes, of course."
"And remember," Clara said, looking at Alucard, Mazier, and Lilith, "If it is the Belmonts, don't believe anything you see right off the bat."
=-=-=-=-=-=-
One thought ran through Lilith's mind as she and Mazier took the area through town to where they felt the nearest presence. Markus was right; they had all split up, and Mazier took off after the nearest, and Lilith followed. That one thought was: What if it's my mother or uncle?
Why Taryn would want the Belmonts was beyond anyone's thoughts. Mazier didn't want to go after Taryn directly, figuring they'd leave that up to Clara. For now, they wanted to know if the Belmonts were dangerous.
"I bet Sora will want to go directly to Taryn and get back the locket," Lilith spoke softly. Mazier only shrugged.
"That sounds like her, but..." he trailed off, pulling out his gun and making sure it was loaded, "I think Clara made the right choice putting her with D. He'll hold her back."
"You know each other?"
"Nah, at least I don't think so. I knew a kid a long time ago that reminds me of him, back when I helped Sonia. It was Alucard's little brother... forget his name, but I know it wasn't D, so... meh," he shrugged.
Lilith sighed softly, and folded her arms over her chest, trying to concentrate. "...Mazier?"
"Mm?"
"What if it's Mother? And what if she's not normal? What if Taryn did something to her?"
Mazier halted, and turned to face her. "...Lili, if she's not normal, you'll have to get it in your head that she's no longer your mother and that you'll have to destroy her. I thought that about Minueal before he turned on us... I would never have killed him because you adored him as a father figure but he hated you... when he tried to kill you I had no choice. I put my own feelings aside and put your safety before everything else. Remember that."
He didn't say his point directly, but Lilith understood. If something happened to her friends that were Maria's doing if she was no longer human, Lilith would have to ignore her heart and kill her adoptive mother. She hated the thought of it.
Mazier put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm with you all the way, kiddo. You've never done this before, so don't hate me if I have to do it for you, okay?"
Lilith nodded, and they continued on. It wasn't too long before they heard someone walking through the foliage, soft footsteps crunching the twigs beneath them. Mazier readied his gun, while Lilith stood her guard, ready to unsheathe her sword at any moment. Another footstep, and they then heard whoever it was stumble, landing on the ground with a soft grunt. Mazier slowly stepped forward, ready with his gun, while Lilith slowly followed behind.
"Help..." it was only a soft whisper, uttered by a dry throat, barely audible. Lilith recognized it, and ran forward, despite Mazier's attempt to stop her.
Lilith halted when she saw the blonde-haired woman, clad in the simple dress she had been buried in, laid upon the ground, her fingers twitching to grab something to try and pull herself up. Lilith drew in a shaky breath, and knelt down, gently moving her hair away from her pale face, her skin freezing to the touch.
Lilith felt her breath catch in her throat. "...Mother?"
The woman looked up, her eyes seeming different as they caught Lilith in their gaze. Yes, it was Maria Renard. But... she was different. "Mazier... what's wrong with her?"
Mazier knelt next to her, and took Maria's face in his hand, and narrowed his eyes, concerned. "...Lili..."
"What?"
He lifted her upper lip to confirm his suspicions, hearing Lilith let out a choked cry as she saw them.
In place of eye teeth, Maria had fangs.
"The Belmonts have been reborn as vampires," Mazier whispered.
=-=-=-=-=-=-
Alucard looked around in horror at the sight before him; graves had been opened, leaving empty coffins six feet below the soil. The people who were in them had dug themselves out. They were all Belmonts, or at least members or relations to the family.
Alucard moved around the graveyard, looking at the graves of each person who had dug themselves out, reading the names aloud as he came upon them: Richter, Maria, Juste, Leon, Sypha...
His face paled when he came to the last two graves.
"Trevor Belmont... and Sonia Belmont," he whispered. So few graves, but still, they were the more powerful members of the line. Alucard knelt in front of Sonia's grave, touching the headstone.
She was alive, and so was Trevor. His lover and son were both alive, and although Alucard knew it was an unnatural resurrection, something told him that they were still themselves deep down. He had to find them. They couldn't have gotten far, not alone. He stood and dusted the dirt from his knees, sniffing the air. He could smell every Belmont that had escaped, and easily picked up Sonia's scent, and headed in that direction first.
He found her near his tomb, literally at its doorstep, as if trying to get in, thinking he would be in there. "Sonia," he called out, stopping just a few feet from her. She weakly turned around, and Alucard felt himself grow cold as he saw how pale she was. She tried to speak, but couldn't. Alucard hurried over to her and knelt next to her, taking her cold hand in his. "Don't speak," he told her.
Then he felt it; the dark power in her veins. He jerked his hand away, looking at her almost in fear now. He didn't have to look for any sort of bite mark or even open her mouth. He knew she was a vampire. "Sonia..."
She reached a hand up to her mouth, slipping her index finger in, feeling her new fangs, her eyes growing wide and her mouth shaking as she held her hands together in front of her. She tried to cry or make some sort of noise but couldn't from the dryness in her throat. Alucard gently took her into his arms and stroked her blonde hair, feeling her fear. "It's alright," he told her. He didn't know why this had happened, but he guessed it had something to do with the vampiric power in the locket. Sonia didn't want this, he could tell. She was still herself, despite what she had been changed into. "Sonia, I can help you," he told her, "but... you will have to do something you don't want."
Sonia looked up at him, puzzled, although her expression didn't show it very well. She was so weak... Alucard hated having to do this, but he had to help her. He took off one of his gloves and raised his wrist to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, but then sank his fangs into his skin, and held his wrist up to Sonia's mouth. She looked at the wound and Alucard felt hatred running through her; hatred towards herself, because she wanted the blood coming from Alucard's wound.
"Do not be afraid, Sonia, I allow you to do this; drink," he softly ordered her, holding her frail frame in his free arm. She glanced back up at him, and then back down at his wrist. Once again, she hesitated, but slid her tongue out, lapping at the blood slowly, something that felt reminiscent of a small kitten's tongue attempting to groom human skin. After licking it a little, she gently closed her mouth around the hurt, sucking on the wound but not biting into it. Alucard could see color coming back to her skin as she drank, even though she hated every drop she took.
She pulled back before she let herself get carried away, and Alucard's wound began to heal. He put his glove back on and held her in his arms a little while longer.
"Alucard?"
He didn't even hear Markus landing in front of him as he held his beloved, and looked up to see him and Kurt. "What is it?" he asked.
"We're the check-up crew, remember?" Kurt reminded, and looked at Sonia. "...Who's she?"
Sonia heard the reference towards her, and slowly turned to face the boy and Incubus. Markus blinked, his mouth opening a little bit in disbelief. "Holy Hell... Sonia?"
Alucard nodded, and Sonia turned back to Alucard, curling up into his arms. Alucard put his arms tighter around her, and turned his attention to Markus. "Did you check up on anyone else?"
Markus shook his head. "We saw D and Sora, but they haven't seen anything; looks like Lilith and Mazier found someone, and we haven't seen Clara or Eric."
"Have you seen any other Belmonts?"
"No," Kurt said, "we passed by the graveyard though and saw how many people were brought back... or at least those who had dug themselves out of their graves."
Markus's expression turned serious. "Have you found your son?"
Alucard shook his head. "No..." he gently stroked Sonia's blonde hair, and looked around. "Markus, can you and Kurt go around and bring everyone back to the estate? Tell them to bring anyone they have found, at least, if they will comply. I have a feeling that if Sonia is out of her grave, Trevor will be nearby, but I will search for him later."
Markus nodded, and was about to pick up Kurt and fly away when Kurt spoke up, "Do you need anyone to carry Sonia?"
"No, but thank you; I will be able to help her."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Taryn craned his head back and gazed up at the sky, closing his eyes and sighing softly. "This night couldn't have been any more perfect..."
He opened his eyes and turned around to face the woman standing amongst the rubble, clad only in Taryn's cloak that he had put around her, her long black hair fanning out across her back. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Uncomfortable," she replied, her voice thick in an accent that was Romanian but had an influence of British. "I can't feel anything... my strength is not the same..."
"Your... special power... has been distributed among seven individuals... you are no more than a mere human at this point," Taryn explained, approaching her and gently wrapped the robe tighter around her.
She looked up at him, her green eyes focusing on his face. "I don't even remember who I am..."
"It doesn't surprise me, milady."
"Who am I? Do you know?"
A smile etched Taryn's features. "Of course I do... how rude of me to not show my appreciation." He stepped back and bowed. "I offer my allegiance to you..." he paused and looked up at her, still bowing.
"...Countess Elizabeth Bartley."
Lilith had stopped by the Belmont Graveyard to visit her mother's grave before going into the Forest of Silence beyond it to hunt. It was strange how the Belmonts buried their dead so close to Dracula's castle, but the Belmonts said it was Sonia's wish long ago before she died that she be buried in the same graveyard where Lisa Tepes, Dracula's beloved wife and Alucard's mother, was buried. It was also the same graveyard where Alucard's tomb lay, where he had wanted to sleep for eternity, to let humanity die so as he would not be a threat to them, but ever since evil refused to die, Alucard would not rest.
Something else the Belmonts had said, to add a sort of irony to this burial place, was that their spirits would continue to guard over the border between the Forest of Silence, and Transylvania's people. Well, at least from this side of the forest borders...
Truthfully, Lilith didn't want to feed. She felt fine, but then again, she hated herself for what she was, probably more than any other vampire, and swore off blood as much as she could. She decided that she would just go in, hunt something small, and return. She didn't want to go too far into the forest, because she knew Taryn was still at the ruins, more than likely trying to break the seal on the locket.
Lilith had never intended for that locket to be found by anyone, including the Belnades family. It was Lilith who had cast that locket into the sea before Jadin Tray dared to open it again. She had actually worked with John Morris and Eric Lecarde, hiring them to kill Elizabeth Bartley as well as Dracula. She had offered payment, but neither of them accepted; Morris had just wanted the world to be at peace, and all Lecarde wanted was revenge for what Elizabeth had done. She had killed his newlywed wife, Gwendolyn, and Turned her into a vampire. Lilith would have killed Elizabeth herself... she didn't know what stopped her. Probably that Lilith had no true cause other than her hatred towards the countess, while Lecarde did.
Something caught Lilith's attention, and she quickly turned, seeing the young doe leap over a fallen tree branch and hurried away as soon as it had seen Lilith. Lilith sighed; it would have to do.
Taking a wolf's form to catch up faster, Lilith chased it down, leaping on its back and closing her jaws around its throat. She returned to her human form and drank, her thirst suddenly getting the better of her as she drained it dry; she had intended to just take a little, so that the doe might live, but it had been so long since she had fed that her instincts took over, and soon the doe was dead.
A thin line of blood dribbled down Lilith's chin, and she wiped it away with a finger. She had always been a neat eater, probably because of her proper upbringing. She stood, and regained control of herself. She couldn't go back to the estate with her vampiric instincts flaring. She turned to leave when she felt something close by, pulsing, and a deep chanting echoed through her head. She immediately leaned against a tree for support, pressing two fingers against her temple as a migraine surged through her head. It felt similar to what they had experienced earlier with Taryn...
...Lilith's eyes widened as it dawned on her, and she took off running to the edge of the forest towards the ruins of Dracula's castle. She couldn't get too close; the power was too great, but she saw Taryn, holding the locket, chanting a spell. Just from the words, Lilith could tell it was some sort of resurrection spell... wait, resurrection?
What would Taryn want to do with a resurrection spell? With the locket? She fell to her knees, her hands clapped to the side of her head, trying to block out the chanting, but she couldn't help but ignore two words that stuck out among all the rest:
"Belmont... Bartley..."
After those words were spoken with the incantation, all of the pressure and the torment ended, as if it had never happened, but something was different. Lilith felt life in the area... and not natural life. One was near Taryn, and several others back from the way she had came.
Not wanting to look for it, Lilith turned on her heel and ran back, stopping when she reached the Belmont graveyard.
Everything in the soil seemed to be moving, making Lilith's breathing quicken. She looked at all the graves, feeling the lives beneath them, beating anew. Lilith began to hurry out of the graveyard, as the surface soil began to shift and pale hands clawed their way to fresh air. She ran as fast as she could back to the estate.
Alucard, Mazier, and D were the first to sense the problem, even before they sensed Lilith coming back. The strength of the magic made Alucard think another resurrection of Dracula was being held, but that was impossible; Julius Belmont made sure of that.
Markus came inside, about to ask what was going on, but figured Alucard and Mazier would only give him the silent treatment.
Suddenly the front door flew open and Lilith ran in, coming to a halt and panting heavily. Mazier waited for her to catch breath before speaking. "What's up?"
Lilith shook her head. "Big trouble. Big, BIG trouble. Wake up everyone, this isn't something we need to wait until morning for."
Mazier and D immediately ran to wake everyone, while Alucard and Markus stayed with Lilith. "What happened?" Alucard asked.
Lilith looked up at him, swallowed the spit in her mouth, and spoke, "It's Taryn. He's doing something really big."
Soon enough, Eric, Clara, and Sora came into the entrance hall, Kurt bamfing in right after them. All of them were confused as to why they were woken up so early. Lilith wasted no time.
"Hey, Clara?" she began, "Remember that person you said wouldn't be able to open the locket?"
Clara blinked, even more confused, and nodded her head.
"He opened the locket!"
"What!" everyone exclaimed, almost in unison, except Sora, who waited for the long pause before saying, "...Aw, shit."
"Even worse," Lilith continued, "I was coming back here through the Belmont Graveyard... something he did in the resurrection spell for Bartley involved the Belmonts... let's just say if we go after him via that area, I wouldn't be surprised if there were about twenty hollow graves. I don't know if he's resurrecting every Belmont, or just the ones that have been known throughout history, but their alive."
"How's that worse?" Eric asked. "Belmonts don't work for evil; they'd just help us, right?"
"Something tells me he didn't resurrect them to have them turn on him... We need to go now. Sure enough, I know all of the Belmonts will flock here."
"Wait..." Clara whispered, "...isn't the Belmont graveyard where Sypha was buried?"
"No time to think about that, Clara," Sora told her, "We need to leave, like Lil said."
That was when Markus spoke up. "Um... hey, I know I'm the new guy here, but don't you think we should all split up into teams and go? If Lilith's right about the Belmonts, they'll take several routes here."
"He has a point..." Eric murmured. "I'd say split up into groups of two..."
"There are an odd number of people here," Alucard observed, "someone must either stay behind or go alone."
They were all about to ask Kurt if he wanted to stay since he was new to the demon business, but he spoke up before everyone else, saying, "I'll travel with someone and teleport around to check on everyone and take them out of trouble if need be..."
"In that case," Clara looked around, "could you go with Markus? He can fly; you can teleport, so you could both sort of be the rescue team."
Kurt looked in Markus's direction warily, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
"I can go alone," Alucard said.
"Lil and I'll go together," Mazier announced.
"And I'll be with Eric... so," Clara glanced over at Sora and D. "...that leaves you two to work together."
Sora's eyes widened in disbelief, but she didn't protest. She only folded her arms over her chest, murmuring something under her breath. She still had Mazier's sword with her, so weapons weren't a problem. She just didn't want to be put with D.
"We need to leave now," Lilith repeated, "Alucard, think you can handle the graveyard route? You know that area better than anyone else here."
Alucard nodded. "Yes, of course."
"And remember," Clara said, looking at Alucard, Mazier, and Lilith, "If it is the Belmonts, don't believe anything you see right off the bat."
=-=-=-=-=-=-
One thought ran through Lilith's mind as she and Mazier took the area through town to where they felt the nearest presence. Markus was right; they had all split up, and Mazier took off after the nearest, and Lilith followed. That one thought was: What if it's my mother or uncle?
Why Taryn would want the Belmonts was beyond anyone's thoughts. Mazier didn't want to go after Taryn directly, figuring they'd leave that up to Clara. For now, they wanted to know if the Belmonts were dangerous.
"I bet Sora will want to go directly to Taryn and get back the locket," Lilith spoke softly. Mazier only shrugged.
"That sounds like her, but..." he trailed off, pulling out his gun and making sure it was loaded, "I think Clara made the right choice putting her with D. He'll hold her back."
"You know each other?"
"Nah, at least I don't think so. I knew a kid a long time ago that reminds me of him, back when I helped Sonia. It was Alucard's little brother... forget his name, but I know it wasn't D, so... meh," he shrugged.
Lilith sighed softly, and folded her arms over her chest, trying to concentrate. "...Mazier?"
"Mm?"
"What if it's Mother? And what if she's not normal? What if Taryn did something to her?"
Mazier halted, and turned to face her. "...Lili, if she's not normal, you'll have to get it in your head that she's no longer your mother and that you'll have to destroy her. I thought that about Minueal before he turned on us... I would never have killed him because you adored him as a father figure but he hated you... when he tried to kill you I had no choice. I put my own feelings aside and put your safety before everything else. Remember that."
He didn't say his point directly, but Lilith understood. If something happened to her friends that were Maria's doing if she was no longer human, Lilith would have to ignore her heart and kill her adoptive mother. She hated the thought of it.
Mazier put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm with you all the way, kiddo. You've never done this before, so don't hate me if I have to do it for you, okay?"
Lilith nodded, and they continued on. It wasn't too long before they heard someone walking through the foliage, soft footsteps crunching the twigs beneath them. Mazier readied his gun, while Lilith stood her guard, ready to unsheathe her sword at any moment. Another footstep, and they then heard whoever it was stumble, landing on the ground with a soft grunt. Mazier slowly stepped forward, ready with his gun, while Lilith slowly followed behind.
"Help..." it was only a soft whisper, uttered by a dry throat, barely audible. Lilith recognized it, and ran forward, despite Mazier's attempt to stop her.
Lilith halted when she saw the blonde-haired woman, clad in the simple dress she had been buried in, laid upon the ground, her fingers twitching to grab something to try and pull herself up. Lilith drew in a shaky breath, and knelt down, gently moving her hair away from her pale face, her skin freezing to the touch.
Lilith felt her breath catch in her throat. "...Mother?"
The woman looked up, her eyes seeming different as they caught Lilith in their gaze. Yes, it was Maria Renard. But... she was different. "Mazier... what's wrong with her?"
Mazier knelt next to her, and took Maria's face in his hand, and narrowed his eyes, concerned. "...Lili..."
"What?"
He lifted her upper lip to confirm his suspicions, hearing Lilith let out a choked cry as she saw them.
In place of eye teeth, Maria had fangs.
"The Belmonts have been reborn as vampires," Mazier whispered.
=-=-=-=-=-=-
Alucard looked around in horror at the sight before him; graves had been opened, leaving empty coffins six feet below the soil. The people who were in them had dug themselves out. They were all Belmonts, or at least members or relations to the family.
Alucard moved around the graveyard, looking at the graves of each person who had dug themselves out, reading the names aloud as he came upon them: Richter, Maria, Juste, Leon, Sypha...
His face paled when he came to the last two graves.
"Trevor Belmont... and Sonia Belmont," he whispered. So few graves, but still, they were the more powerful members of the line. Alucard knelt in front of Sonia's grave, touching the headstone.
She was alive, and so was Trevor. His lover and son were both alive, and although Alucard knew it was an unnatural resurrection, something told him that they were still themselves deep down. He had to find them. They couldn't have gotten far, not alone. He stood and dusted the dirt from his knees, sniffing the air. He could smell every Belmont that had escaped, and easily picked up Sonia's scent, and headed in that direction first.
He found her near his tomb, literally at its doorstep, as if trying to get in, thinking he would be in there. "Sonia," he called out, stopping just a few feet from her. She weakly turned around, and Alucard felt himself grow cold as he saw how pale she was. She tried to speak, but couldn't. Alucard hurried over to her and knelt next to her, taking her cold hand in his. "Don't speak," he told her.
Then he felt it; the dark power in her veins. He jerked his hand away, looking at her almost in fear now. He didn't have to look for any sort of bite mark or even open her mouth. He knew she was a vampire. "Sonia..."
She reached a hand up to her mouth, slipping her index finger in, feeling her new fangs, her eyes growing wide and her mouth shaking as she held her hands together in front of her. She tried to cry or make some sort of noise but couldn't from the dryness in her throat. Alucard gently took her into his arms and stroked her blonde hair, feeling her fear. "It's alright," he told her. He didn't know why this had happened, but he guessed it had something to do with the vampiric power in the locket. Sonia didn't want this, he could tell. She was still herself, despite what she had been changed into. "Sonia, I can help you," he told her, "but... you will have to do something you don't want."
Sonia looked up at him, puzzled, although her expression didn't show it very well. She was so weak... Alucard hated having to do this, but he had to help her. He took off one of his gloves and raised his wrist to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, but then sank his fangs into his skin, and held his wrist up to Sonia's mouth. She looked at the wound and Alucard felt hatred running through her; hatred towards herself, because she wanted the blood coming from Alucard's wound.
"Do not be afraid, Sonia, I allow you to do this; drink," he softly ordered her, holding her frail frame in his free arm. She glanced back up at him, and then back down at his wrist. Once again, she hesitated, but slid her tongue out, lapping at the blood slowly, something that felt reminiscent of a small kitten's tongue attempting to groom human skin. After licking it a little, she gently closed her mouth around the hurt, sucking on the wound but not biting into it. Alucard could see color coming back to her skin as she drank, even though she hated every drop she took.
She pulled back before she let herself get carried away, and Alucard's wound began to heal. He put his glove back on and held her in his arms a little while longer.
"Alucard?"
He didn't even hear Markus landing in front of him as he held his beloved, and looked up to see him and Kurt. "What is it?" he asked.
"We're the check-up crew, remember?" Kurt reminded, and looked at Sonia. "...Who's she?"
Sonia heard the reference towards her, and slowly turned to face the boy and Incubus. Markus blinked, his mouth opening a little bit in disbelief. "Holy Hell... Sonia?"
Alucard nodded, and Sonia turned back to Alucard, curling up into his arms. Alucard put his arms tighter around her, and turned his attention to Markus. "Did you check up on anyone else?"
Markus shook his head. "We saw D and Sora, but they haven't seen anything; looks like Lilith and Mazier found someone, and we haven't seen Clara or Eric."
"Have you seen any other Belmonts?"
"No," Kurt said, "we passed by the graveyard though and saw how many people were brought back... or at least those who had dug themselves out of their graves."
Markus's expression turned serious. "Have you found your son?"
Alucard shook his head. "No..." he gently stroked Sonia's blonde hair, and looked around. "Markus, can you and Kurt go around and bring everyone back to the estate? Tell them to bring anyone they have found, at least, if they will comply. I have a feeling that if Sonia is out of her grave, Trevor will be nearby, but I will search for him later."
Markus nodded, and was about to pick up Kurt and fly away when Kurt spoke up, "Do you need anyone to carry Sonia?"
"No, but thank you; I will be able to help her."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Taryn craned his head back and gazed up at the sky, closing his eyes and sighing softly. "This night couldn't have been any more perfect..."
He opened his eyes and turned around to face the woman standing amongst the rubble, clad only in Taryn's cloak that he had put around her, her long black hair fanning out across her back. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Uncomfortable," she replied, her voice thick in an accent that was Romanian but had an influence of British. "I can't feel anything... my strength is not the same..."
"Your... special power... has been distributed among seven individuals... you are no more than a mere human at this point," Taryn explained, approaching her and gently wrapped the robe tighter around her.
She looked up at him, her green eyes focusing on his face. "I don't even remember who I am..."
"It doesn't surprise me, milady."
"Who am I? Do you know?"
A smile etched Taryn's features. "Of course I do... how rude of me to not show my appreciation." He stepped back and bowed. "I offer my allegiance to you..." he paused and looked up at her, still bowing.
"...Countess Elizabeth Bartley."