Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
"Final Hours"
by Troy A. Stanton
(Author's note: This fanfic follows the events of the original story"Winds of Change" (written by me) and also incorporates a few elements
from the story "Drawing Blood" by Catherine B. Krusberg. I have her
permission to make use of her work as a source of material, so anything
"new" you see in here about D's past with Doris that didn't happen in
the movie is most likely her original plot material.)
WARNING: This story contains adult content, please do not read beyond
this point if you are easily offended by such things.
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((Day 1 - Cha'laka Hive))
Vampires had a keen interest in the sun, given the fatal consequences of
being exposed to it. As such, they had evolved over the ages to become aware
of where the burning disc was in the heavens at all times, even in the depths
of slumber. The crossing of the horizon, both rising and setting, produced the
most powerful of vibes in their bodies to warn them when the danger was past,
or when the danger had just begun.
D awoke as the tingle ran through his blood, just the faintest of shivers
that he had come to recognize as the feel of the rising sun. His human blood
protected him from being instantly crisped by the searing light, but even that
only went so far before the radiance would first incapacitate, then kill him.
Resting in complete darkness did a lot to restore his vitality, but the only
true remedy was to rest buried in the comforting embrace of the earth.
He wondered if he had the strength to see the journey to the end before
having to 'take a dirt nap' as that thing so cavalierly phrased it. He very
much disliked having to do so, not because of how dirty he got but because it
keenly reminded him of his darker half.
((Good morning,)) it greeted him with a faint yawn.
D cast a very irked glance at his hand as he began to yawn as well. He
froze for a split-second as he saw the dark shape on the ceiling, remembering
after a moment what it was. Or more precisely, who it was.
((Hey, D?)) it said quietly as he rose to his feet, absently stretching out
a minor kink in his sword arm. A faint twinge in his abdomen reminded him that
he was still healing. While his regeneration sealed wounds quickly, completely
repairing all the damaged or destroyed tissue tended to take longer. ((This is
just one of those hunch things, but you might want to use the can before you
wake her up. You know how women are when it comes to hogging the bathroom in
the morning.))
He just stopped and looked down at his hand, wondering just what exactly
was leading it to believe that he knew much about women as a species, let alone
being consciously aware of trivial details like their morning bathroom habits.
He cast a quick glance at the cocoon and headed into the bathroom to take care
of his own business, deciding it was not worth the effort to argue with it so
early in the morning.
The cocoon was still in place when he returned, a fact that surprised him
slightly. He was fairly sure that she had felt the rising of the sun just as
easily as he had, and the way the plumbing had rattled when he flushed the
toilet could have woken a three-quarters dead zombie from a slumber. So why
hadn't she started to stir just yet?
((She wasn't kidding about being a solid sleeper,)) it chuckled softly to
itself as he reached up to touch the shell-like covering. The satin cape had
taken on both the color and consistency of soft bark, identical down to the
smallest detail that he could determine.
Empathic control over inanimate objects such as one's clothing was a skill
that most vampires could learn, animating them with a simple act of will. The
degree to which they could be commanded to act depended on the individual skill
of the noble, which tended to vary quite widely. He himself had the power to
do so, once causing his own cape to try to hold onto the edge of a crevice as
it opened up beneath his feet. It required a fair amount of effort to do so,
however, or at least it did for him, and so he tended to limit his exertions to
keeping his hat and cloak both in-place and out of the way during combat.
His hand traced the bark-like cape from one end to the other, remembering
how Meier Link had been able to turn his into steel to use as a weapon. The
thoughts were thrust from his mind a moment later, not wanting to remember the
rest of the events that had followed that first discovery of Meier's ability.
His fingertips soon encountered her hair, very lightly brushing across the
blue-green strands with a feather-light touch. They seemed to be quite soft
and silky as they brushed against his hand, causing him to repeat the stroking
motion. A slight frown formed on his face as the impulse registered on his
conscious mind, a quiet desire to simply touch her hair like that. It was an
unknown impulse, one that seemed harmless but bothered him nonetheless.
A very soft buzzing sound registered on his ears a moment later, looking
up to find the cocoon-shell vibrating gently. He held perfectly still, one arm
still outstretched to touch her hair as he waited to see what she would do. A
faintly suspicious look crossed his face as the buzzing stopped after a few
moments, starting back up once his fingertips resumed a slow glide through her
hair.
He continued to very carefully stroke her hair, the buzzing noise growing
louder with every passing second until the cape-cocoon fell away from her body
without warning. He lowered his hand to his side as she arched her back, her
head moving down until her barely-opened eyes were on level with his.
((Good morning,)) she buzzed very softly, her eyelids taking their time in
parting to reveal her insect-like eyes. Their shape slowly returned to normal,
the ridges melting away until the smooth liquidness of her blue-green irises
were restored. "Or are you not speaking to me for some reason?" she inquired
in a soft tone.
"Morning," he replied calmly.
"I suppose that's a start," she purred quietly, slowly allowing her arms
and legs to relax. "I know I asked you to wake me gently, but I certainly
didn't expect something as gentle as that. You have a nice touch, D."
She carefully let her legs drop to the floor, making sure she had a firm
sense of balance before releasing the rest of her hold on the ceiling beam. It
took a moment for her features to return to normal before she turned around,
giving him a slightly curious look. "That was a compliment, you know," she
said quietly. "Or do such things make you uncomfortable?"
"The bathroom is yours," he said quietly, moving over to the bed to gather
his things together. "Feel free to take as long as you need."
"Thank you, I think," she replied with a raised eyebrow. She glanced over
at the bathroom door before looking back at him, shaking her head to herself.
She padded over to the bathroom without another word, gently closing the door
behind her.
((That wasn't so hard, now was it?)) it spoke up with a faint chuckle.
"What was?" he asked, pausing to cast a slightly wary look at his hand.
((Being nice to her like that. Honestly, how many times have you woken a
woman up with a gentle caress like that?)) it inquired languidly. He couldn't
see the smile on its face from his angle, but he could definitely hear it in
its voice. ((Don't get me wrong, that's a great way to do it, and I'm sure if
you had stuck around some of your other companions long enough you'd have found
out for yourself what it was WRRRRF!))
D waited until the thing had fallen silent before taking his hand off of
the hilt of his sword. He watched as a good three inches of it was removed
from the palm of his hand, idly wondering where exactly the thing's internals
were located. He knew it could swallow up a lot of mass when it had to, but
the question was where did it go?
He busied himself with the task of getting dressed, not overly concerned
with the answer to the metaphysical question. He had gotten his boots on and
was in the process of reattaching his cape when he heard the heavy rattling of
the plumbing, shortly followed by the sound of the bathroom door opening up.
"So that's what that sound was," Galen said with remote amusement. "At
first I thought it was a toilet being flushed upstairs, until I remembered that
there isn't a third floor to this thing. I guess they just don't make pipes
like they used to. So tell me, D, do you....?"
He lifted his head up as her voice suddenly trailed away without warning.
He turned to follow her gaze, suddenly realizing what she was looking at. He
cast a quick glance at the expression on her face before returning to the task
of securing his scabbard on his back.
She moved across the room in perfect silence, very slowly reaching out to
touch the platinum-and-silver rapier. "D?" she whispered, her eyes dangerously
wide as she picked it up. "What is this?"
"You said the road ahead was dangerous," he replied calmly, tugging on the
various clasps and straps that tightly secured his equipment against his body.
He looked up to find a pair of liquid-like eyes staring hard at him, a look of
stunned disbelief clearly visible in their depths.
"But...." she stammered for a moment. "But this is.... D, this has to be
worth a fortune!" she protested. "Why would you do this?"
"You needed a weapon," D said in a neutral tone, not looking up at her.
He stood up and patted himself down again, a completely unnecessary gesture to
do but doing it anyway for reasons that he wasn't sure of. He felt a touch on
his hand and looked up, feeling.... something unknown on the inside at the
sight of Galen on the verge of tears.
"D.... thank you," she whispered very softly. She looked at the rapier
for another few moments before sliding it into the empty sheath on her belt,
moving over to the wall to retrieve her boots. She slipped them on with ease
and looked back up at him, still clearly taken aback by the gesture. "I'm....
I'm ready when you are."
He said nothing as he put his hat on, casting one final glance at the room
to make absolutely sure he wasn't leaving anything behind. He nodded in idle
satisfaction and headed for the door, turning his head slightly to make sure
that Galen was following him.
The stairs protested just as loudly as they had the first time, seeming to
announce to the tavern that someone was coming. It occurred to the both of them
that perhaps the wooden slats had been made so squeaky for just that purpose,
warning the bartender and the patrons of their presence.
D cast a sidelong look at Galen as she deftly plucked the room key from
his hand, handing it to the barkeeper with gentle nod of thanks. She received
a soft series of moans in reply, accompanied by a gesture to a sort of buffet
table set against one wall.
"I trust we have time to grab a quick bite for breakfast?" she inquired as
she rejoined him. She edged past him without waiting for a reply, having by
now figured out when not to truly expect one.
((A little feisty in the morning, isn't she?)) it mused quietly, drawing a
dark look from D. ((Oooh, something smells really good in there.... watch out
for the lamia,)) it added casually.
D took a half-step to the left as he moved past Lani, glancing down at her
to find a distinctly coy look on her face as he dodged the casual flick of her
tail. His gaze briefly swept across the table, only slightly surprised to see
Carmen keeping her company at this early hour. The bracer was still securely
tied to her left wrist, but from this angle he could see that more marks were
hidden beneath the black leather.
He idly wondered what had hurt her like that as he turned his attention to
the breakfast buffet. It wasn't the widest variety he had encountered, but it
offered enough items he found palatable to make it worthwhile. The majority of
what ended up on his place were wedges of fruit, not presently in the mood to
play the guessing game with the slices of meat sitting beneath the warmers.
He glanced down at Galen's plate as he sat across from her, part of him
remotely amused to see that their choices were almost identical. She glanced
up at him with a look of light amusement, already working on devouring a small
cluster of fairly ripe grapes. He ignored her and started to eat, saving a
small portion of melon for the symbiot.
They both looked up as the tavern door opened, admitting what could only
be described a wrinkled gnome-like creature that was maybe three feet tall. He
carried a heavily-decorated staff that was easily twice his height and looked
to be about twice his age as well. He stood up on his tip-toes to peer around
the room before spotting the two dunpeals, a faint hint of a smile crossing his
face as he shuffled over to them.
"Countess Galen," he wheezed in a very soft voice.
"Elder Marken," Galen replied with a nod of her head. She hesitated for
a moment before adding, "I'm not claiming my father's lands, there is no need
to call me Countess."
The gnome seemed to shrug in dismissal. "You are a noble regardless, my
dear," he said in a voice made brittle by age. "Our sympathies are with you
nonetheless for the loss of your father."
"Thank you," she said with a hint of sadness. She looked up as he made a
quiet noise to himself and pressed something into her hand. "What's this?" she
asked as she held up the oddly-shaped trinket.
"A token of our kind," the elder explained. "You will always be welcome
in Cha'laka Hive, Countess Galen, and with this in your possession the other
Hives should be willing to grant you sanctuary if you need it. A simple token
of kindness for all the kindness you've shown us, nothing more."
"Thank you, Elder," Galen said with a smile of genuine gratitude. She
blinked hard as the gnome then reached out with his staff, thumping it hard
against D's calf.
"And you, hunter," he said in a slightly sharp tone. "I was told you were
here in our Hive, but I was not told why."
"Elder, he is...." Galen started to say before being cut off with a sharp
gesture.
"I wish to hear him speak for himself," the elder said gently, his beady
eyes still fixed on D. "I do not believe he will attempt to lie, as that is
not what I've been told of his nature. Speak, hunter," he added.
D lifted his head up to gaze squarely into the elder's face. "Galen has
asked me to accompany her," he said simply. "I have no interest in doing harm
to anyone in this city."
The elder raised a bushy eyebrow and snorted quietly to himself. "It is
not this city I am worried about but Galen," he countered in a low tone. "I
know what brought you this region, hunter."
"Elder, please," Galen spoke up quietly. "I asked him to come with me as
an escort. You don't need to worry about me."
"I will worry about whatever I please," the gnome countered with only a
faint hint of amusement in his eyes. "And for the moment, it pleases me to be
worried about you. Eh?" he added as D reached down to his belt, drawing one of
his daggers and holding it out to him. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We have an agreement signed in blood," D said quietly, tilting the blade
slightly to show the gnome the dried crimson streaks. "She will not come to
any harm while she travels under my protection."
The elder remained very quiet for a number of moments, studying the dried
blood on the dagger. "Very well," he said softly as the dagger was returned to
its sheath. "I shall not worry about you then, my dear. I think I speak for
the rest of the Hive when I say we will pray for you on your journey, wherever
it may take you."
Galen smiled gently and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on the gnome's
bald spot. "Thank you, Elder. I won't ever forget your kindness."
"Safe travels to the both of you," the elder said quietly, casting a final
glance at D before heading back outside.
Galen shook her head gently as she studied the wooden trinket. "My mother
had something like this," she said quietly as she tucked it away in a pouch on
her belt and resumed eating. "It was a token of the Barbarois that would allow
safe passage through the city. She said that it had been intended for her and
her alone, given her heritage, and so father had it set into the tombstone when
she passed away."
She remained silent for several minutes, finishing her breakfast before
standing up to take the dirty plate over to the kitchen bins. She paused as D
stood up as well, waiting for him to catch up before moving once again. They
put their utensils in the bins before heading for the door together.
D paused for a moment in the doorway, casting a glance over his shoulder
as he felt a tingle on the back of his neck. He swept the room for possible
threats, his gaze coming to rest on the pair of purple eyes looking at him from
beneath the edge of a wide-brimmed hat.
((D, what is it?)) it asked very quietly.
D said nothing as Carmen brushed a single fingertip against the brim of
her hat, tipping it just slightly in what might have been a gesture of either
farewell or respect. He gave her a subtle nod of recognition, the edge of his
own hat dipping slightly in a gesture that would have gone unnoticed to anyone
who wasn't actively paying attention. It didn't matter that he was a hunter of
vampires while she hunted something else, the unspoken bonds of understanding
and respect were often the only true feelings of friendship that people like
them ever had.
((D?)) it prodded carefully as he closed the tavern door behind him. He
looked up to find Galen giving him a slightly curious look, wondering what had
delayed him for that brief moment in time.
"Let's go," he said to them both, not in the mood to try to explain the
unspoken code of respect that existed between hunters.
"D, go ahead and get your mount ready," Galen said as she turned to take
one of the causeways. "I've got a bit of last-minute shopping to do. Or are
you going to make me travel for five days without a change of underwear?" she
added lightly at the faint look of suspicion on his face.
He said nothing as he headed towards the stables, knowing that she would
not run away while his back was turned. Quite the contrary, he found it to be
more than a little bothersome that she seemed to be so willing to travel with
him given yesterday's events. He couldn't readily figure out her motives for
doing so, save for stalling for time. That made little sense to him, but he
knew that not everything would at first.
He reached the stables in short order, tossing another coin to the stable
boy as his mount was promptly fetched and made ready. The horse seemed to be
both well-rested and in good spirits, the faint scent of fresh oats discernable
in the air as it breathed.
He almost moved to climb in the saddle when he remembered what Galen was
doing, moving instead over to the saddle-bags to make some room for a package.
A moderate space had just been freed up when the sounds of footsteps on the
spiral staircase reached his ears. He lifted his head up to see Galen making
her way down to the ground level, holding a bundle that was smaller than he had
anticipated. The bundle was handed to him without a word and was neatly tucked
away in the saddle-bag, fitting nicely between a small blanket and a set of
digging tools.
She waited patiently as he climbed in the saddle, reaching up to accept
the offered hand and mounting up in front of him. She grabbed the reins before
he could, nodding her gratitude to the stable boy as he opened the doors.
Both dunpeals inhaled sharply as the full brunt of the morning sun spilled
through the doors, taking them by surprise. The burning disc was still low on
the horizon, the optical illusionary effect making it seem twice as large as it
should be. They weren't sure if the brightness was natural or due to the odd
lensing effect of the invisibility screen, but neither one wanted to remain out
in the open for very long.
A simple flick of the reins set the mount into motion at a steady pace,
first steering southeast to follow the trail. A guard tower stood just inside
the hazy bubble of light-bending energy that kept the Hive hidden from others,
manned by a number of heavily-armed mutants. One of them nodded to her as they
approached, ducking back inside the tower to deactivate their segment of the
invisibility field.
"I was wondering about that," Galen said quietly as the air rippled before
them, the intensity of the light dropping by a considerable amount. "I mean,
I've been inside the Hive at sunrise before, but I never got curious enough to
ask about what the cloaking field did. I don't know about you, but I'd rather
not have to put up with another case of heat exposure anytime soon. Do you
mind if I drive for awhile?" she asked, casting a glance over her shoulder at
him. "The trail east is pretty obvious, but I know a few places along the way
to stop and rest your horse."
He glanced up at her before nodding silently, reaching one hand around her
waist to take hold of the saddlehorn for stability. She gave him a look of
amusement as she braced herself in the saddle and gently snapped the reins.
The mount took the overt hint and picked up the pace, settling into something
that wasn't quite a gallop but still covered the terrain at a decent rate as
they headed due east, directly towards the rising sun.
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They traveled in silence for close to two hours before Galen eased thepace down to a casual trot. The terrain here was primarily comprised of open
meadows dotted by the occasional patch of scrub brush. She continued to guide
the horse along at a trot until they came across a small pond, easing back on
the reins to let the horse rest and momentarily graze.
D frowned as he looked around the area, not finding any sort of shade or
cover from the overhead sun. Casual travel during the day didn't bother him,
but having to do so after three days of non-stop combat was a different matter.
The guards and minions of Count Niles had mounted a fierce barrier-defense,
forcing him to fight through their ranks to make it up the trail to the castle
proper. Things had only gotten worse on the inside, as it became obvious that
they had been preparing for his arrival for quite some time.
The very edges of his lips curled back in a faint snarl as he realized
that he would most likely have to seek shelter soon, certainly before the end
of their five-day journey. The thought of being buried and thus vulnerable was
bad enough, but given the fact that he had company....
He blinked and looked up as she sighed heavily, the kind of deep sigh that
usually only accompanied a situation of despair. She was staring off at the
horizon, her eyes narrowed as she searched for something that wasn't to be
found anymore.... like a castle.
She paused and looked back over at him, a heavy sadness plainly visible in
her liquid-like eyes. She sighed quietly again and looked down at the willowy
meadow-grass that grew around them. "I used to be able to see the castle from
here," she said quietly. "My father said he didn't want a large domain, just
enough to be self-sustaining and low-maintenance. The land the Hive is on used
to be his, but he sold it to them after a couple of centuries of occupancy."
He said nothing as she seemed to gaze around the immediate area, taking
her time in enjoying the view. "The Cha'laka Hive was like a second home to my
mother after she left Barbarois," she quietly spoke up. "Even though she came
from a culture that had lived in isolation for five thousand years, she seemed
to fit in nicely with the denizens of the Hive. They welcomed me as well after
I was born and grew up enough to truly understand them and their way of life.
I tried to do the same with the Barbarois, but while they allowed me access to
their city in my mother's presence, I didn't feel the same sense of kinship as
I did here."
She sighed quietly and looked over at him, studying him carefully. "You
went through Barbarois once yourself, correct?" she inquired.
He glanced over at her for a moment before nodding once, returning his
focus to the level terrain and the menacing sunlight.
"I was still a child when my grandmother passed away, but I remember her
telling me about it," she continued. "About how a vampire noble had come to
them seeking sanctuary with a bunch of hunters in pursuit. She said that three
Barbarois volunteered to protect the carriage as it traveled, and that one of
them was a close and personal friend of hers. Tell me how you killed them, D."
D blinked in surprise at both the abrupt change in tone and the directness
of the question. He turned to face her and found her twisted around in the
saddle, looking squarely at him with a fairly unreadable look on her face.
A frown crossed her face as he remained silent. She continued to stare at
him for a moment before she reached down, grabbing his left hand and flipping
it over to expose the wrinkles. "I don't suppose you'll talk to me," she said
in an edged voice.
((Umm,)) it spoke up quietly, the wrinkles parting to reveal a face marred
by uncertainty. ((Listen, you're a cute dunpeal and all, but I don't want to
get involved in whatever it is the two of you seem intent on getting yourselves
into. Nothing personal,)) it added in an abashed tone.
"Hmmph," Galen muttered, casting a dark look at D. "Some company you're
turning out to be. Do I want to ask why you don't want to talk about it?"
((D?)) the thing spoke up quietly, taking them both by surprise. ((I know
you don't want to remember everything that went on back then, so just give her
the basic background and stick to the part she's interested in.))
D glanced down at his hand before looking up at Galen. He noticed that
her expression had changed slightly, taking on a hint of guarded curiosity and
perhaps even concern. Sighing quietly, he drew in a breath and began to tell
her about one of the most defining moments of his entire existence.
"I was hired by the Elbourne family to rescue their daughter Charlotte,"
he said in a quiet voice. "She had been kidnapped by a vampire named Meier
Link. The Elbournes had also hired another team of vampire-hunters, the Markus
brothers. We pursued Meier's carriage for a number of days, eventually up to
the gates of Barbarois.
"One of the hunters was killed outside the gates, causing them to withdraw
for the moment. I entered the city to try to negotiate with them. While I was
inside, one of the hunters used an astral drug to project his soul and launch
a spiritual attack. The carriage escaped the attack and I went after it.
"One of the Barbarois guarding the carriage was a shadow-weaver, able to
warp and twist the darkness to his will. He entrapped me in a shadow prison
that took some time to free myself from. By the time I escaped, the carriage
was several miles down the road. My horse had died in the attack, so I was
delayed for another few hours while I secured a new mount."
She nodded slowly in understanding. "Sounds like Benge," she explained.
"Grandmother said he was a little touched in the head, but he was one of the
few Barbarois who could meld into shadows. Let's go," she said to the mount,
reaching down to pat the side of its neck before gently flicking the reins.
They traveled down the road a few hundred yards before she peered over her
shoulder at him, giving him a faintly reproving look. "You can still tell me
about what happened as we ride, D," she prodded gently.
D sighed quietly and looked back out at the flat terrain, briefly looking
up at the burning sphere in the sky. "I caught up with the carriage while they
were resting their horses in some ruins," he said quietly. "Charlotte was out
in the open to bask in the sun, which meant that she was still human and that
I wasn't too late. One of the other hunters intervened, trying to take her
back by force, and we were both attacked by one of the Barbarois. A dryad."
"Caroline," Galen said softly, causing D to lift his head up to look at
the back of her neck. She twisted slightly to look at him, her blue-green eyes
seeming to be filled with regret. "That was my grandmother's friend. Please,
tell me how she died," she asked very quietly
"I pursued her into a wooded area," D explained in a calm and measured
tone, his voice remaining as soft and gentle as hers. "Had I known about her
powers, I wouldn't have done so. She had melted into the trees to escape when
I was overcome with heat exposure. She then assumed the form of a treant and
attacked me, leaving me with no other choice but to strike back. I managed to
decapitate her while she was in her treant form and immediately sought shelter
against the sun.
"While I lay buried in the earth, she regenerated her body and tried to
attack the hunter who had intervened earlier. The hunter drove a knife into
her skull and a bolt of lightning struck a few moments later, drawn by the
metal and finishing the task before the favor could be returned."
Galen closed her eyes and sighed quietly, trying not to imagine what he
had just described. "So it wasn't you after all," she said softly once she had
regained her composure. "Everyone had blamed you for it, simply because they
didn't think that anyone else could have killed her. You said she died while
in a forested area? Good," she said when D simply nodded to her. "At least
she found peace in a place her spirit could rest comfortably in."
They rode along in silence for awhile, Galen absently steering the mount
as she reflected on her grandmother's stories while D quietly brooded about the
past. He looked up as she called his name quietly, finding her looking over
her shoulder at him once again.
"D, what about the other one who was with them?" she inquired. "Mashira."
"The lycanthrope," D said quietly, causing her to blink at the tone. "He
remained with the carriage until it approached Castle Chaythe, abandoning it to
try to stall me long enough for the carriage to reach the castle."
"Castle Chaythe?" she echoed in surprise. "Carmilla's castle? So it WAS
you who finally put her spirit to rest! My father thought it was you, but he
felt it was too dangerous to try to find out for sure. He.... didn't want to
attract your attention," she added, her voice dropping to a soft whisper.
D said nothing for several moments, trying very hard not to remember what
happened after he had entered the castle. "Mashira made no effort to conceal
his presence, seeking to engage in a battle that was designed to delay me. I
was able to approach him undetected and so the encounter was.... brief."
"I see," Galen said very quietly, returning her attention to the trail.
"When they didn't come back, the Barbarois held a memorial in their honor. My
grandmother never was able to tell me what the elders said about them without
starting to cry. She said they were viewed as heroes who had died in the line
of duty for the sake of the honor and reputation of the Barbarois."
"They did what they were hired to do," D said calmly. "Nothing more."
"Much like you do, D?" she spoke up without thinking, her tone faintly
laced with bitterness. She paused as she realized what she said and glanced
over her shoulder at him, studying the look on his face. "I.... didn't mean
that in a bad sense," she amended quietly.
D looked at her before gently shaking his head. "As I told their elder,
I have nothing personal against the Barbarois. Indeed, their loyalty to their
ancient traditions is something to be admired. I was hired to do a job and the
Barbarois were hired to stop me. There is no honor to be lost or won when it
is simply a matter of doing business."
Galen just shook her head to herself. "I could never live like that, as
a mercenary with no ties to anything but gold," she said in a subdued tone.
"Is that all you are these days, D? A hired blade who will exchange the blood
of your vampire kin for mere coin? I'm almost afraid to ask what the true cost
of this was," she added darkly, reaching down with her right hand to run her
fingertips along the hilt of her rapier.
"So tell me, hunter," she continued in a slightly clipped tone, her mood
growing darker the more she thought about things. "What became of this Meier
Link you pursued for so long? Surely the great vampire-hunter rescued the
kidnapped girl and slew the evil fiend who dared take her. How much gold did
you collect in exchange for his head on a stick? And how much gold will you
receive for my father's death?" she demanded as she jerked the horse to a halt
and spun around in the saddle to stare into his eyes.
He looked up at her as that last sentence came out, seeming to drip with
scorn and contempt. "None," he said calmly. He waited until her liquid eyes
had blinked with surprise before explaining. "My contract with the Elbourne
family only related to Charlotte, not Meier Link. She died in the castle and
her ring was returned to her family as proof of her passing. Meier then used
Carmilla's shuttle to take Charlotte's body up to the City of the Night, never
to return to the planet again. That was his original intention all along....
his and Charlotte's. I saw no need to pursue him."
"What?" she said, blinking in surprise again. "You mean she went with him
of her own accord?"
"So it seems," he replied with a subtle nod, praying that she wouldn't ask
him to recount the entire story of their tragic love for one another. It had
taken him quite a long time to quit thinking about that one, helped in part by
the time he had been alone with Leila during the sandstorm. "Charlotte's ring
was returned by the lone survivor of the other hunter team," he added, causing
her head to snap up. "I made no monetary profit from it."
She looked at him in heavy silence before taking in a deep breath, seeming
to brace herself for something unpleasant. "And my father?" she asked in a
steady voice, belied only by the look in her blue-green eyes.
"I was not hired by anyone to kill him," he said quietly, suddenly unable
to look into her liquid eyes any longer. He let his gaze roam across the flat
terrain as he continued to speak. "I know he was one of the ones involved in
the attack on my father's palace, a number of years after my mother.... after
she was murdered. He had taken great pains to keep his whereabouts closely
guarded since then, and it was only recently that I was able to finally trail
him to this castle."
"D?" she breathed quietly, drawing his attention back to the soft curves
of her face. "You mean.... my father was involved in the Blood Wars?"
D simply nodded, knowing that she was referring to the bloodiest part of
the ten-thousand year history of the vampire reign. Upset with the Vampire
King's iron-fisted rule, a legion of nobles had banded together in an attempt
at usurping his power and destroying him. His father eventually fell, but not
before most of the vampire population had been decimated almost to the point of
extinction. Their numbers had slowly returned after the end of the Blood Wars,
but that had all changed once he began his crusade to put an end to things....
Galen slowly shook her head in disbelief. "He never said anything about
it," she whispered. "D, the legends...."
"Are in the past," he interrupted quietly. He leaned forward slightly,
grabbing the reins from her and giving them a gentle flick. The mount started
back in on a casual trot, slowly heading further down the trail.
"D...." she said quietly, reaching up to touch him. She blinked as he
edged away from her touch, finding a dark look of concealed pain in his eyes.
She tried to study that hidden emotion before she finally turned away, righting
herself in the saddle and holding onto the horn for balance. She knew that
there was a great deal more to the story than he was telling her, but the pain
in his eyes....
A lot can happen in five days, he had said, the quiet words starting to
echo in her mind for some reason. She knew that half of the first day was
almost behind them, the searing light of the sun reaching its zenith overhead.
She decided she would try asking him about the Blood Wars and her father's
involvement another day, not wanting to push things. She had seen it in his
eyes when he talked, opening up just the slightest amount. She thought there
had been far more hidden in shadow behind the story of Charlotte's kidnapping
as well, a sort of woman's intuition whispering softly to her.
Very well, she thought to herself, I will not pry further into your pain
or your past. For now, she added as they rode along in silence.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They stopped twice more along the trail, both times near small ponds ofwater and willowy grass. They dismounted to stretch their muscles as the mount
drank and rested, D seeming to withdraw further into a shell of sorts while
Galen tried to relax and savor the beauty of the local terrain.
They were approaching the edge of a wooded area when Galen tugged on the
reins, guiding the mount over to another small oasis of water and long-bladed
grass. The sun was starting to approach the horizon behind them as she slid
out of the saddle and walked around, absently patting the horse's flank.
"The trees will remain fairly thin for another day or so," she called out
to him as she sat down at the end of the pond. She wriggled out of her boots
and soaked her ankles in the cool water, a faint look of bliss crossing her
face at the contact. "There's an old druid circle further up along the trail.
I usually camp out there when I'm not riding through the twilight hours. You
have any objection to staying put at night?"
He said nothing as he looked at the flaming skyline, watching as the edge
of the sun started to brush the horizon. He narrowed his eyes as he thought,
wondering just how long he would be able to keep going at the current pace.
The forest canopy would cut down on the amount of sunlight he would be exposed
to, which meant that he should be able to endure another full day before he
would be required to make use of the digging tools in the saddle-bag.
((Uhh, D?)) it spoke up quietly, too quietly for Galen to overhear. ((Let's
not try to be a macho man with this one, okay? I don't know how well you're
holding up, but I seem to remember an awful lot of sunlight this past week, and
you know what that means? Heat exposure. Need I remind you of the last time
we went through this one? And I have the sneaking suspicion that you won't be
able to rely on a passing werewolf to take pity on you and bury you like a bone
in the backyard again....))
D said nothing, his right hand suddenly reaching up to touch the hilt of
his sword without consciously realizing it. A faint chill registered on his
senses a moment later, the unmistakable feeling that someone or something was
nearby and was watching him.
"D?" Galen said in a low tone, remaining absolutely motionless. She had
been reaching for her boots when she saw him tense, her own combat instincts
telling her not to move until she had a better feel for what the problem was.
"In the woods," he said quietly, staring at a particular section of the
treeline. The sensation of being watched had faded after a few moments, but
not before he had caught the barest flickers of motion behind one of the trees.
He wasn't sure if it had been a falling leaf or a squirrel that had drawn his
attention, but he had long ago learned to trust his instincts when they tried
to tell him something is amiss.
She scanned the woodline for a few moments before glancing back at him, a
faint frown crossing her face as she saw him slowly lowering his hand from his
sword. "What do you think it was?" she asked as she gently shook the water off
of her skin and stepped into her boots.
"I don't know," he said simply, his eyes still narrowed in suspicion.
"Bandits don't usually operate this far out," she spoke up as she slowly
moved next to the mount. "They usually stay fairly close to the human village
that's another two days down the road. We're technically still on my father's
lands, and he had a reputation for dealing somewhat decisively with any common
thieves who dared bother people passing through his domain."
I'll bet he did, D thought to himself in a momentary fit of sarcasm.
((So how did he deal with the uncommon ones?)) the thing inquired, the voice
briefly startling Galen as she went to reach for the saddlehorn.
"I never asked," she said simply, casting a faintly wary look at D as she
took his offered hand. She hoisted herself in the saddle and picked up the
reins, glancing down at her side to where D's left hand rested on his thigh.
"But I doubt that he killed them if that's what you're getting at. After all,
how is one supposed to learn the error of one's ways if they're dead?"
Both D and the thing remained quiet as the mount was gently urged into
motion once more, both dunpeals keeping a causal but wary eye on the terrain.
The shadows around them began to grow longer as the sun continued to set, a
swath of cool and comforting darkness enfolding them as the last sliver finally
slipped over the horizon.
D looked in front of him as Galen seemed to shiver briefly. He had felt
the tingle as well, but it certainly wasn't strong enough to make him consider
physically reacting like that. He paused as he suddenly realized that he was
now looking at the side of her face, faint looks of amusement and embarrassment
visible on her eyes as she gazed back at him.
"Sorry," she apologized quietly. "I tend to get all shivery like that at
sunset. I tend to blame it on my Barbaroi blood, since nobody else I've talked
to seems to react that strongly."
"You are who you are," he replied in quiet dismissal.
"I should hope so," she said as she turned back to look at the trail. "I
would certainly hate to think I was someone else after all this time. May I
ask you a question, D? What was it that made you stop back there as we were
leaving the tavern?"
He remained silent for a few moments before finally speaking. "Paying my
respects to another hunter, that's all."
She twisted around in the saddle to regard him carefully, one delicate
blue-green eyebrow arching up in mild surprise. "Another hunter?" she echoed.
"Carmen Averness," he explained after a brief hesitation. "I rescued her
mother from a vampire's dungeon a number of years ago."
"Really...." Galen said slowly, her other eyebrow arching up in surprise.
"Odd that she never mentioned that to anyone before. I suppose you are right
about her in one aspect. She used to be a hunter, a werewolf hunter."
The image of the scars on Carmen's wrist suddenly flashed into his mind,
sending a twinge through his guts. If she had indeed been hunting werewolves,
then surely one of them must have struck her in the arm at one point. That
alone shouldn't have been enough to infect her with the lycanthropic disease,
but if such an attack were to be followed by a deep bite....
"I see," he said quietly, already able to figure out the rest.
"She'll be alright, D," Galen said gently. "It took the elders six months
to purge her body of the disease, but they believe it is finally done. She is
still recovering from the antidote, however, so she will likely remain with the
Hive for another month or two. Few think she will ever leave, though," she
added in a slightly remorseful tone. "Not after what she confessed to doing
while under the effects of the moon-rage...."
D said nothing, not able to think of something to say even if he had been
inclined to comment. He had met his fair share of werewolves in the past, most
enslaved by vampire nobles as tools. He considered himself fairly fortunate
that he hadn't been in a situation where he had to worry about exposure to the
disease, still not overly sure if his vampiric blood would have been able to
subdue the infection.
"Would you believe she's only twenty-two?" Galen murmured, more to herself
than to D. "Hardly an adult, and yet her entire life has been changed beyond
repair twice. First becoming a hunter to avenge the death of a close friend,
then becoming the very thing she so wanted to destroy. Tell me, D, living the
life of a hunter as you do.... how long can a soul truly exist like that before
it twists in on itself and either collapses or burns itself into ruin?"
It seemed a minor eternity passed before he finally answered her. "Not
long if one possesses a human soul," he said quietly, drawing a faintly uneasy
look from her. "One either finally rejects the fires of vengeance inside them
or becomes consumed beyond all redemption. You don't see many old hunters on
the trail, simply because they've either given up or died by that point."
He looked up as he felt her touch on his wrist, her head tilted slightly
to one side to regard him carefully. "And what of you, D?" she asked in a very
soft tone. "Which side of the balance do you place yourself on? Surely you
think of yourself as having at least part of a human soul," she added as he
remained silent. "Or does that not mean anything to you?"
Actually, I don't know why you hunt vampires, the voice from the past said
in his mind's ear. I understand the need to exterminate them, but you never
told me why you decided to pick up a sword. Tell me, D, what is it that drives
you to pursue those blood-thirsty creatures of the night?
Leila's voice continued to haunt him, gently reminding him, even playfully
teasing him in that coy voice of hers that he had never actually answered the
question she had asked, never offered her that glimpse into his own dark past
and tortured soul. He then heard her voice again, very softly whispering to
him as he thought how Galen was now asking the same question. I can't change
the past for you, but I can give you a second chance....
He allowed his eyes to close at Galen's touch, her fingers gently brushing
across his cheek as Leila's once had, carefully trying to pry his soul open
using the warmth of her own. But she was not his beloved Leila, not the young
human woman he discovered he had loved only once it was too late, once she had
forever slipped beyond his reach....
"D?" Galen asked very quietly, wondering if she was finally going to be
given a glimpse behind the veil of his isolation.
He finally forced his eyes open to look at her, watching impassively as
she instinctively recoiled from something that was visible in the depths of his
visage. "Galen," he started to say, pausing as he heard his voice rasping in
the confines of his throat. It seemed to take forever before the words finally
worked their way free and slipped from his tongue. "Ask me later."
She looked at him before nodding in silence, seeming to be at a loss for
words. It seemed for a moment that she might have tried to reach out to him,
to touch him in a gesture of understanding and comfort before she turned away
and refocused on the road ahead of them.
D was surprised by how tired he suddenly felt, his strength seeming to
leave him once the eye-contact was broken and he was allowed to withdraw back
into his shell. He looked out at the land around him, the thin line of trees
starting to blur together as the evening twilight took a firmer grip. Soon it
would be true night, the sky untainted by the cloud-reflected rays of the sun
and the countless glittering pinpoints of the heavens allowed to shine upon a
world long forsaken by the gods.
He blinked hard as the horse suddenly came to a stop, lifting his head up
to quickly scan the area. He almost fell out of the saddle in shock as he saw
that they were now in a different part of the shallow forest, the dim light of
the setting sun apparently long gone. A quick search of his memories revealed
absolutely nothing, not the slightest hint of the passage of time. A faint
chill crawled down his spine at the realization, not having had his mind just
summarily dispose of sensory input like that in quite some time.
((D, you with us now?)) the thing in his hand ventured carefully, drawing a
very sharp look from him. He glanced up to find Galen twisting around in the
saddle, giving him a distinctly wary look.
"Wait, what happened?" she asked, glancing down at D's left hand.
((He's just tired and won't admit it, that's all,)) it replied casually.
"That's enough," D said in a flat tone. He paused and looked back up at
Galen as he heard a very soft giggle, finding a knowing smile tugging on the
corners of her pale blue lips.
"Men," she said with exaggerated patience. "I have yet to meet a single
male of any species who will admit to a woman that they're tired. We're at the
circle, D, so you can take it easy now."
D said nothing as he dismounted, giving her a mild look as he held his arm
out to her. She accepted the offer with a deliberately sweet smile, holding
onto him for balance as she climbed down from the saddle. "Thank you," she
said with a slight nod of her head.
He looked around the area, only needing a momentary glance to know that he
was now on what had once been holy ground. A small clearing in the forest was
taken up by a number of medium-sized stone slabs had been arranged in a rough
circle. It wasn't on the scale of the ancient ruins of Stonehenge, the circle
perhaps being a third of its size and the slabs considerably smaller, but it
nonetheless gave one the impression that this place had been of considerable
importance to somebody at one point in time.
The center of the circle appeared to have been blackened by the ashes of
countless small campfires, no doubt making a natural campground for the druids
who once lived here and those who visited the circle after their departure. A
closer examination revealed that a number of loose pebbles and rocks had been
gathered together in a circle of their own inside the larger one, whether the
focus of their rites or simply a makeshift fire-pit he couldn't tell.
He began to move towards the circle to get a better look at the stones,
suddenly halting in mid-motion as the blood-chilling tingle that meant he was
being watched returned. He very slowly looked around at the trees, trying to
discern which direction the threat was coming from.
((D....)) it warned quietly.
"Yes, I know," he replied calmly. He cast a quick glance over at Galen
as she slowly backed up towards him, one hand on the hilt of her rapier as she
likewise scanned the surrounding terrain. He said nothing as he felt her back
lightly press against his, his hunter's instincts telling him that he could
trust her to guard his back.
"Somehow, I don't think that's a squirrel," Galen said in a very low tone.
"You see anything?"
The faint but sudden sound of brushing leaves made them both tense, but it
was the sharp report of a crossbow string that set things into motion. Even
before he knew where it was coming from, D launched into a rolling-tumble to
get out of the way, drawing his sword in a single smooth motion once he ended
up back on his feet.
The sounds of two more crossbows being fired in rapid succession told him
that there were at least two opponents, possibly three if the first shooter was
slow on the reload. A blur shot out from the darkness in front of him, aimed
at Galen's fleeting figure as it vanished behind a tree. Deciding that he had
enough time to cover the distance before the weapon could be reloaded, he began
charging forward as fast as he could.
Another sharp twang echoed through the air as a bolt sailed close to him,
coming from a patch of darkness several yards away. He could feel the rush of
displaced air from its passing as he pressed forward, focusing on the sudden
blur of panicked motion directly ahead of him.
The image of a human dressed in the typically dark and shoddy clothing of
a common bandit registered on his mind as he got within arm's-length of him,
the crossbow clearly visible as the bandit swung it up for a point-blank shot.
Pure combat instinct took over as the threat registered, bringing his sword up
at a steep angle with a powerful swipe.
A hideous snapping sound filled the air as the entire front half of the
projectile weapon was shorn off, the steel-fiber bowstring coming apart as if
it were cotton instead. The tension on the bowstring caused the severed ends
to whip back wildly, narrowly missing D but catching the bandit in the side of
the head to leave a fairly large gash.
Still acting on instinct, D didn't try to stop his forward momentum in the
slightest. Raising his arm up higher to avoid making contact with the edged
blade, he ran forearm-first into the bandit to slam him against a tree. The
whooshing of air was clearly audible as it exited the bandit's lungs and left
him in a barely-conscious daze.
Deciding that the bandit wouldn't be a threat for a few moments, he turned
to go after the second crossbowman and came within a fraction of an inch of
eating another bolt as it lanced out of the darkness. The feathers on the
projectile managed to graze the edge of his ear as it passed, leaving behind a
shallow nick that only served to really annoy him.
He started to charge forward but stopped just as quickly as he saw that
the situation would shortly be resolved. The second hunter was holding what
was called a repeating crossbow, having a clip of bolts mounted in a case on
top of the bowstring for rapid-fire loading. The bowstring had just been drawn
back to the firing position again when a dark blur suddenly passed over him.
D's face remained impassive as he heard the heavy thump of a human skull
becoming rather solidly introduced into a nearby tree. A pair of fiercely
glowing red eyes became visible a moment later as Galen stood up, her cloak
slowly changing back from its bark-like camouflage pattern.
"Bandits," she muttered in disgust as she slid her rapier back into the
sheath on her belt. "What fools...."
D said nothing as he returned his sword to the scabbard on his back, idly
wondering what they had been thinking. Attacking a pair of travelers when they
were clearly armed and the odds were perfectly even? And that didn't even take
into account the fact that they were trying to waylay a pair of dunpeals when
the sun was down. Granted it was possible they might not have noticed that
particular aspect in the darkness, but still.... foolishness or desperation?
((D!)) it suddenly yelled as a metallic whispering reached his ears.
D leaned back as far as he could with something akin to a sigh as the
dagger was thrust past him, barely missing the base of his throat. His right
arm came up to pin the bandit's wrist back, holding it steady. His other hand
formed into a fist as it swung up, the back side casually slamming into the
center of the bandit's chest.
The bandit gasped hard as he was thrown back into the tree once more. The
dagger promptly fell from his limp fingers as his eyes rolled up into his head,
the blade neatly falling into D's hand as the bandit slid down to the ground in
a three-quarters unconscious stupor.
"Nice reflexes," Galen said calmly as she dragged the other bandit over to
where D was standing. The man's nose was clearly broken, blood streaming down
his face to leave an even darker stain on his dark shirt. "So, whatever shall
we do with these two, hmm?" she mused loudly, grabbing the second bandit by his
collar and pinning him against a tree.
She leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose, her eyes glowing
a vibrant red color as she pulled her lips back to expose her vampiric fangs.
"Let me ask you something, fool," she said in a decidedly casual tone. "Do you
have any idea who you just tried to kill?"
The man's eyes became dangerously wide as he stared at her, a steady flow
of blood still oozing down his face. "C-C-C-Count's.... d-d-d-daughter...." he
gasped, clearly terrified at the realization.
"Oh, good boy," Galen cooed quietly. "Maybe I'll let you live after all,
just so I can tell my father about this. Oh, you spineless WORM," she spat in
disgust a moment later.
D just looked away as he heard the sound of the bandit's bladder letting
go, no doubt at the mere thought of being taken to see the vampire landlord for
punishment. A very soft moan at his feet told him that the first bandit was
regaining his senses. A not-overly-gentle nudge of D's boot convinced him to
keep his moans of pain to himself and stay put.
Galen reached out and grabbed the bandit's jaw, wrenching it hard to the
right so his gaze fell on D. "Next question, fool.... do you have any idea at
all who my traveling companion happens to be?" she inquired evenly.
It took a few moments for him to recognize the silent figure. "I-I-It's
him.... t-t-the dunp-p-peal vampire h-h-hunter...." he rasped in a high-pitched
tone as his eyes widened even further.
"Mmm, that's two for two tonight," Galen replied coyly as she forced him
to look back up at her. "Had your aim been as good as your memory, we might
have been in a bit of trouble. Of course, had you bothered to take a closer
look at us before pulling the trigger, you wouldn't be in this situation, now
would you?" she added in an edged tone.
"Countess, p-p-please...." the man babbled quietly. "I beg you...."
"Hush," she said absently as she looked over at D. "What do you think we
should do with them, D? One for you, one for me, sounds like an even split.
I haven't had a bite to eat in a long time," she added, deliberately flashing
her fangs at the terrified bandit.
D remained silent as she reached out with a single finger, lightly dabbing
it in the mass of blood dripping down his face. She brought the crimson smear
to her lips, very gently flicking her tongue across it. She made a face and
spat on the ground a moment later, her nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Yeech, maybe not," she said sourly. "Well, there goes that option. Not
that I was kidding about needing a decent meal, but you taste like week-dead
roadkill. So what do I do with you, hmm? D, would you...?" she added, making
an absent gesture at the bandit next to D.
D said nothing as he reached down, casually grabbing the bandit's collar
and yanking him to his feet. A simple glare convinced the man to stand still
and remain perfectly motionless as they both waited to see what Galen would do.
"Thanks," Galen said to him. "We should always do our part to keep our
lands clean and free of trash. Okay, fool," she said as she turned her focus
back to the bandit with the broken nose. "I'll be honest with you. I got a
really nice wake-up call this morning and that sort of had me in a good mood
all day. So in spite of what you two idiots tried to do, I'm going to give you
a chance to learn from this. Just grab your stuff and go home. Really, that's
it," she said as both bandits gave her incredulous looks. "Of course, if I
ever find either one of you trying to rob anyone again, I'll feed you to him,"
she added, making a subtle gesture towards D with her chin.
The second bandit flinched hard as D cast a sidelong glance at him, very
carefully edging away from the dunpeal as discreetly as he could. "Go," D said
in a perfectly calm and level voice.
Galen smirked to herself as the bandit promptly took off running like a
bat out of hell. "You should go get that bandaged," she said as she took a
step away from the other bandit, making a gesture to the retreating figure.
"Now get out of here and take your broken toys with you. Or do you intend to
stick around and see what's for dinner?" she added lightly.
The bleeding bandit immediately started running, coming to a halt as he
tried to pass D only to have his arm grabbed in a solid grip. He remained
frozen in fear as D edged closer, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets
as D calmly tucked the other bandit's forgotten dagger in his belt. A single
step back was all D needed to take to indicate he was finished with him, the
bandit promptly bolting off into the woods a fraction of a second later.
D and Galen just looked at one another in silence before they both glanced
down at D's left hand as it began to laugh very softly to itself. ((You two are
a piece of work,)) it chuckled in obvious amusement. ((Somehow, I think it will
be a very long time before either one of them even thinks about trying to pull
a stunt like that ever again.))
"Let's hope so," Galen replied as she wiped her fingertip against her leg.
"Well, that was an exciting way to end a day, don't you think?" She sighed and
gave D an irritated look as he simply turned around and headed back towards the
mount without saying anything. "Or would you prefer I had killed them?" she
called out in an edged tone.
D stopped in his tracks and cast a dark glance over his shoulder. "You
did the right thing," he said calmly before moving over to the mount to start
unloading a few items from the saddle-bags.
"Thank you, your highness," she muttered sarcastically as she headed over
to the saddle-bags to get her own equipment.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galen sighed as she set her mess-kit aside, not able to eat the last bitsof the trail rations she had warmed over the small campfire. Had the forest
been any thicker she would have suggested that they go hunting for some game
instead of relying on the too-dry foodstuffs for sustenance.
She looked up at the dark figure sitting opposite her, peering through the
shimmering veil of heated air caused by the quietly crackling fire. The circle
of stones made for a rather interesting backdrop, one that might have inspired
her to paint a portrait if she had any artistic skills worth mentioning.
She remained silent as she studied him, absently wiggling her bare toes as
they were warmed by the fire. The more she thought about it, the more she was
convinced that something was hurting him on the inside. Why else would he keep
such a wall of isolation around him if he didn't fear being hurt further? Part
of her yearned to reach out to him, to try to break the wall down to see what
was hurting him, to try to see if she could help him. But at the same time....
would it be worth it?
This was the very same man who killed her father, who hunted not just him
relentlessly over the years but the rest of her kind as well. She knew that
not all of the recent vampire deaths had been by his hand, some of the more
spectacular ones being attributed to him simply because of the disbelief that
anyone else could have done it. But he had definitely killed his fair share of
his own kind, vampires and dunpeals alike.
And now that she was the last, she knew he would eventually kill her too.
So why had she bothered with the charade of wanting to see her mother? Part of
her truly did want to visit her mother's grave, of course, but her real intent
back then had been to stall for time, to give her a chance to get her wits back
in order and think rationally again. So now that she was thinking clearly....
why allow this to continue?
A lot can happen in five days, he had said.
She closed her eyes as the words continued to echo in her mind. Five days
she had asked for, and one was all but gone now. Four days left, four days for
her to.... do what? Get to know him? See if she can be his friend? Would it
matter to him if they did become friends? She knew he abided by his own code
of honor that she was starting to understand, but would even friendship hold
him back from killing her? Certainly not if he was willing to die in the name
of his personal crusade....
She sighed quietly as she opened her eyes and looked back up at him. He
had finished eating awhile ago and was simply sitting there, the brim of his
hat masking his face from her gaze. Not from the fire, however, as that was
what he appeared to be staring at.
What sort of fire burns in your heart, hunter? she silently asked, part of
her wanting to ask aloud but not having the courage to do so. What is it that
has driven you for so long, for all the hundreds of years that you have roamed
the world? You have to be at least two thousand years old, if not three. And
yet through it all you have remained focused on one goal, one single task that
should have seemed to be all but impossible at first, but now....
"D," she said very quietly, not entirely sure if he would be able to hear
her over the quiet crackling of the fire. She saw the edge of his hat tip up
just slightly, an indication perhaps that his gaze had shifted towards her.
She drew in a deep breath and suddenly decided to press on, figuring that
the subtle sign would be all the acknowledgement that she would receive. "What
happened to you back then?" she asked. "What went on during the Blood Wars
that made you hate your own blood like this? What could you have done to make
you hate yourself so?"
He remained silent for so long that she feared he wouldn't answer. The
passage of time was only measured by the soft pops of the branches that fueled
the campfire before he finally spoke, the softness of his voice almost lost
among the background ambient noise that one could find in any wooded area.
"I saw what we were like," he said. "I saw what we were capable of, and
how little we regarded all that wasn't like us."
He didn't react when she silently rose to her feet, moving around the fire
to sit a few feet away from him. His gaze remained focused on the flickering
heart of the small blaze, his eyes seeing the dancing yellows and oranges of
the flames but his mind seeing something else entirely.
"When they attacked the palace, they also attacked the local villages as
well," he said in a hollow whisper. "Human villages, innocents who had nothing
to do with the insurrection. They torched everything and everyone, viciously,
mercilessly slaughtering all who managed to escape the fires. I could hear the
screams from my bedroom, smell the scent of burning flesh and spilled blood,
watch helplessly as women were raped, children beheaded, innocent people caught
in the middle of a war and left to die.
"I had thought that was only because of their greed, their evil. When my
father planned to strike back, my mother pleaded with him to spare those who
were not involved in things, to leave the innocents alone. He apparently did
as she asked at first, but she suddenly disappeared two days after the first
wave of counter-strikes.
"She was found on the steps of the palace three days later, broken almost
beyond recognition, her body violated, drained dry of blood and life. I can
still remember the screams of my father at the discovery, screams that I will
never be able to forget.
"Without her influence, without her love to guide him, my father flew into
an unholy rage at all who had risen against him. He demanded that her killer
be brought forth or that all who opposed him would suffer. When none stepped
forward, he went on the offensive and brought the war to their domains, laying
waste to their lands, bringing death and destruction and ruin to the innocent
humans whose sole crime was happening to live in their domains. I asked why he
was doing this and he said it was the only way they would understand. Strike
and be struck, harm and be harmed.... that is what your father said, about what
my father became in the end."
He fell silent as he felt her touch on his arm, very gently squeezing his
wrist before slipping her fingers among his to hold his hand. The warmth of
her skin was almost on par with the heat of the fire, bathing him with a level
of intensity that threatened to burn him if he spent too much time near it or
got too close to it.
"Eventually they came for me," D continued after awhile, not knowing how
much time had passed since he last spoke. "They sought to strike at me to hurt
my father, much as they had done with my mother. Three of their number were
able to breach the defenses, finding me in the hallway. I grabbed the nearest
weapon I could by instinct, nearly burning myself with the searing light of the
ancient sun-sword that was part of the collection on the wall. I knew how to
use a sword by then, but I had never used that one.
"The light alone was bad enough, but its touch proved to be devastating.
I killed the first two within moments, the white light melting through their
swords as if they had been cast from wax. I went to confront the third one
when he used his powers, first disabling the power source of the sun-sword,
then causing it to destruct in my hand.
"I don't know how I survived either the explosion or the assault that
followed. All I remember was blindly grabbing for a weapon from the collection
on the wall, then hearing the sounds of many voices screaming in unison. I
later awoke in my bed, one of my father's retainers telling me that I had been
found near death and had spent four days in a slumber. The hole that had been
torn in my hand had been healed, but not by my regeneration."
D sighed very quietly as he looked down at his left hand, seeing the quiet
wrinkled face of the symbiot staring back up at him. "It has been with me ever
since, becoming a part of me in many ways."
The gentle grip on his right hand tightened as D closed his eyes, not able
to look at her or it or anything else anymore. "Nobody seemed to care that
innocent people were being slaughtered by the thousands," he whispered. "Not
my father, not the other nobles, not the insurgent vampires. I left the castle
on my own a few days later, intent on finding my mother's killer without having
to resort to wholesale slaughter. I began to pursue those who I knew had taken
part in the assaults on the palace.
"I confronted and slew three before they realized what was going on, what
I was doing among their ranks. Those who weren't preoccupied with the attack
quickly left, returning to their lairs and castles and domains. I began to
follow them, hunting them one by one, tracking them down wherever I found them,
whenever they slept with the sun.
"As I traveled, I realized just how they treated their own people, their
own citizens of their domains. Most viewed them as simply cattle, existing
solely for the nobles to feed from when they desired. The rest viewed them as
tools, resources, something to be exploited, manipulated, used. Not a single
one seemed to care, not even the other dunpeals I encountered. Nobody.
"As I chased a vampire past a small village on the far eastern continent,
I suddenly found myself having to make a choice. I could either continue to
pursue him, one whom I knew had taken part in the attacks, or I could let him
escape and instead help the villagers rescue a young woman who had been taken
captive by a local vampire. In the end, I realized that it really wasn't a
choice after all."
"And so you put vengeance aside to help them," she said very softly.
"It hurt to let him go," D replied, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"But I suddenly realized that only I had the power to rescue the girl, a young
innocent barely old enough to be a woman. I realized that if I didn't do it,
if I didn't step in to defend the weak from the strong, nobody else would. Who
else could go up against a vampire and live? My conscience.... the teachings,
the words, the love, the soul of my mother wouldn't allow it. I had to stop
and help them.
"I don't know how long it took before I was able to start searching for
that vampire again. It seemed that as soon as one wrong was righted, as soon
as one innocent was freed, was spared death or worse, another would be taken
captive, and another, and another. Always by the hands of vampires, always by
those who cared nothing for justice, for innocence, or for humanity. I finally
realized that I had to try to put an end to things, to put a stop to the dark
pall that vampire-kind was casting over the world."
He felt her touch on his chin, tilting his head up to force him to look
into her liquid eyes. "I understand, D," she whispered. "Knowing what I know,
seeing what I've seen.... I don't think I can truly blame you. Our kind has
brought great pain to others, and there is nothing I can say or do that would
ever undo what was done, to restore what was taken.
"But it is over now, D," she said as she leaned forward slightly, holding
his hand a little tighter. "You've done what you've set out to do. They're
all dead, D, every single last vampire. Your mother's killer has been found as
well. I still find it.... difficult to believe that my father could have been
capable of such a thing, but.... she has been avenged. Her soul can rest now
in peace knowing that you have...."
She fell silent as he abruptly pulled away from her, his gaze returning to
the flickering core of the campfire. "That I have annihilated an entire race?"
he said softly, almost bitterly. "That I destroyed an entire civilization in
my quest for vengeance? I don't believe she would have wanted that."
"Then why did you do it, D?" she asked softly.
D closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his arms, wishing the voices
would go away, the calls and cries of his past rushing up from his memories to
torture him once again. "I had no choice," he said simply. "I killed the ones
like your father for vengeance, and that doesn't bother me. But the others....
I had to kill them because they were evil, they brought only death and misery
to those who were innocent. Had any of them been able or willing to change
their ways, I would have gladly left them alone. Do you know what it is like,
to look at them, to feel sickened by what they do, and then turn around to look
at your own reflection in a mirror, knowing that their blood and all its evils
flows just as strongly in your own veins?
"I know the hunger, Galen," he whispered harshly, seeming to be on the
verge of a breakdown. "I feel it every day, every night, every time I see a
drop of blood, smell it in the air. I've seen what that hunger can lead to,
how easily it can tempt and corrupt. How many times did it take every ounce of
my strength and willpower to turn away from a pretty girl's throat, knowing she
was offering herself of her own free will but knowing what it could lead to,
how easily it could turn me into that which I had spent my entire adult life
trying to fight, to suppress, to defeat?"
His eyes snapped open as she suddenly moved, her hand glancing off of his
cheek a moment later. The slap hadn't been a powerful one, intended to shock
more than hurt. Surprised and stunned, he looked up at her to find a faint
scowl marring her exotic beauty.
"Arrogant bastard," she said very quietly.
It took D a fairly long time to get his brain back in working order, his
eyes finally blinking into full focus. "Galen...." he started to say.
"You think you're the only one who suffers like that?" she said as she
leaned closer to him, the edges of her lips edging back to expose the points of
her fangs. "I'm a dunpeal as well, D. Maybe having Barbaroi blood makes it a
little different from my perspective, I'll grant you that much, but we're both
half-vampire and I'll bet we both have the same needs, the same hungers, the
same cravings for blood."
She sat back and regarded him carefully, slowly shaking her head. "You
know what your real problem is, D? You're not alone simply because you're a
dunpeal, you're alone because you want to be alone. I understand your pain,
believe me I do. But you don't see me crawling into a little shell to try to
hide my pain from others. No, I reach out to them, to try to draw as much
strength from them as I can. I'm not above asking for help when I think I need
it. There's no dishonor in relying on others, D."
He said nothing as he turned his attention back to the fire, not sure what
else to say anymore. He closed his eyes at her touch again, her fingertips
lightly brushing over his cheek where she had struck him. "D?" she said very
softly, her breath tickling his ear as she spoke. "We all hurt inside for one
reason or another. I can try to help you with your pain, but only if you're
willing to open up to me. It's just.... something to think about."
"Thank you," he said quietly, not knowing what else to say.
She squeezed his shoulder before moving to stand up, pausing for a moment
and leaning back down. "I'll be on that large tree at the edge of the circle.
It would be.... appreciated if you could wake me up in the morning as gently as
you did earlier. Sleep well, D," she whispered softly before standing up.
He remained where he was, head bowed and eyes closed as he listened to the
soft sounds of the night around him. He could make out the faintest of clawing
sounds as Galen started to climb the tree-trunk, the louder snaps and cracks of
her cape assuming a bark-like form echoing a few seconds later.
The quiet sounds of the forest and the soft crackles of the fire were the
only things he heard for the longest time afterwards, the voices of the past
remaining surprisingly silent for once in a very long time. Perhaps they would
even let him sleep in peace, something that hadn't happened since....
Two faces suddenly looked back at him from the depths of his memory. Both
blue-eyed blondes, born centuries apart, never knowing one another, but still
able to reach across time and space to touch his heart and soul. In was only
in their arms on two quiet nights that he had found true peace, true silence,
and part of him wondered if he would ever be able to find such a thing again.
((D?)) it spoke up in a very soft tone, only the psionic half of its voice
registering on his senses. ((Listen, I just.... wanted to say thank you.))
That caused him to lift his head up, just enough to part his eyelids and
glance down at the hand resting on his elbow. "For what?" he asked.
((I know I've been with you since.... well, pretty much since the beginning
of this whole crusade,)) it replied quietly. ((But I never really remembered how
it all began. Childhood memories don't last too long, especially when they're
buried by all the years that follow. Thank you for opening up and telling me
how it started. I'm sure Galen appreciates it, too.))
"Galen...." he muttered, a whisper so soft that he almost didn't hear it
himself. He closed his eyes a moment later, wondering why he had spoken her
name like that.
((Look, I can feel the exhaustion from here,)) it spoke up. ((Just grab the
blanket and call it a night, okay? You can think about things in the morning
if you still need to.))
D sighed and laid down, making sure he was close enough to the fire to
still feel its warmth but not so close that he would run the risk of singed by
burning embers. Sleep claimed him faster than either of them anticipated, a
thick curtain of darkness seeping over him to draw his tortured soul into the
realm of haunted dreams once again.
