Chapter 23: Cold Fury
AN: Hey! Look at that. A new chapter in less than a week. I'm proud of myself. Guess what I awoke to on the last day of camp? A three-day dead possum lying belly-up on our cabin doormat. Which was disturbing, because when we arrived at camp, it was lying at the entrance, about a mile from our cabin…very disturbing indeed. One of the boys did it, we think, because he has a crush on one of the girls in our cabin (no idea who). 'nough about that. This chapter it dedicated to A Seriously Crazy Person Called Aleera, because she gave me the idea for both it and the next chapter. Thanks oodles and oodles.
Now, CrackpotJoe. I will have you know that just because you believe you have turned one of my muses against me…oh, you didn't know I had more than one? Hah, I have one specifically for every story I write! And I have four Van Helsing stories alone besides this one, so I would not advise using that tactic again, for it is doomed to failure. Now (holds up fluffy pink frilly things with a skeptical look) this was your "secret weapon"? One problem hon: (pulls out flamethrower) BURN MY PRETTIES!!!!! BURN! MWUAHAHAHAHA! (dancing in merriment as frilly things go BOOM) kekeke. I give you an 'A' for effort and sheer craziness (not that it even comes close to mine), but I'd watch your back. You never know what's watching you o.O (shifty eyes, forboding music playes)
Enjoy the chappie, my truckloads of cookies await! (munchmunch. Munchity munch munch)
(Nonia's POV)
Boris and I were so stunned by what we saw in the village that, against our better judgement, we stopped the carriage. We should have just gone straight through. Destiny was out before I could stop her. I winced at the look of joyful anticipation on her face, and then looked away as it slid into one of horrified shock.
"We should get her out of here," murmured Boris. I sighed.
"You can try, but she'd never forgive you. Let her see if her family survived." No sooner were the words out of my mouth then an inhumanly high-pitched shriek nearly destroyed our eardrums.
"Lord above!" Boris exclaimed, hands uncovering his ears, "What was that?"
I pointed to the pitiful figure kneeling across the square, surrounded by the dead. Destiny was sobbing her heart out. Having lost most of my family to vampires, I knew how she felt.
Abruptly, she straightened and rose. I went to meet her halfway and stopped short, marveling at the change that had come over her. Though I knew anyone who could endure six months of Dracula and then escape must have a strong spirit, I had always thought of Destiny as…well, a rose perhaps. Protected, but still fragile.
I saw none of that on her pale face. Her jaw was firmly set, her mouth pursed in a grim line, and her blue eyes were red-rimmed, but shining with cold purpose, not tears. I will admit, I had to fight the urge to step back; she radiated cold fury and looked ready to kill.
(back to Destiny)
"Nonia," I said calmly, "You and Boris will need to find somewhere very safe to spend the night tonight." And I would need weapons. Nonia looked at me questioningly, obviously demanding an explanation. So I invented a lie.
"I just attacked Dracula. Gave him a nasty wake-up call, I admit. But now he knows we're here and most likely he's already figured out whereabouts we'll be spending the night."
Nonia looked worried but headed back to the carriage, continuously looking over her shoulder at me. I followed, discreetly pilfering small, easy-to-conceal weapons lying around. Then climbed innocently into the carriage and shut the door. Popping open the hatch, I said, "Wake me when we're there please. I feel really drained."
And I did, but not for the reasons that they thought. Even now I could feel Dracula poking my shields, trying to find a weakness. I knew there was at least one and it would only be a matter of time until he found it.
It turned out to be several hours later. One moment I was reading quietly, the next I was standing in the middle of the ballroom in Budapest. Why Budapest, I do not know. Maybe because of the nature of the memories attached to that place.
I looked around the golden room. It appeared empty, save for me, but I knew better.
"Get out here," I ordered coldly. "I am in no mood for you games." With that, I spun around, checking to see if he was behind me.
"What have you done to your hair?" He ran a hand through it, playing with the silky tendrils. I froze, severely annoyed that he was behind me anyway.
"Dyed it," I snapped. "And I give you three seconds to get the hell out of my head or I'll –" Dracula spun me around. My balance at the moment was not the best, so I was forced to grab his arm to keep from falling over.
"You'll what, Destiny?" he hissed, gripping my shoulders tightly. From my sleeve, I grabbed a knife and pressed it against his throat.
"Remind you of what it's like to feel pain." The words came out collected, cold, and carrying a deadly promise. Dracula just grabbed the weapon and threw it away. It clattered to the polished floor, breaking the ensuing silence.
"You've done quite enough of that already, I can assure you."
"Well, you did say you wanted to feel. And I believe sorrow was on your list." My voice rose as I tried to fight the tears that were threatening to escape. My mother's dead face floated on the top of my mind. I pushed Dracula away.
"You killed her, damn it!" I screamed at him. "She never did anything to you and you killed her for no reason other than she raised me! And did you realize that you killed all my friends too? You killed EVERYONE I LOVE!"
He shrugged with a smirk. "I am a vampire. It's in my nature to feed."
"Do I look like I care?"
Dracula vanished, only to reappear behind me, again. Damn, I hated that habit of his. He wrapped his cold arms around my waist, resting his hands on my swollen stomach.
"Don't touch my children," I gritted, trying desperately to suppress the feelings brought on by his touch. He was well aware of my struggle.
"Don't you see," he said softly, lips by my ear, "that you are fighting a losing battle? Eventually, I will catch you, little bird." Dracula ran one finger in gentle circles on my stomach while he trailed feather-light kisses down my neck. Despite my best efforts, I found myself relaxing into his hold. In my relaxed stupor, I almost missed his next words.
"A bird might escape her cage, but never her master." That woke me up quite effectively. Later on, I would laugh at the stupidity brought on by his arrogance. He could probably have easily persuaded me to stop running right then, but he had to ruin it by trying to satisfy his rather large ego.
"You were never my master," I hissed, and slammed my foot down on his instep. While he was momentarily distracted, I wiggled out of his hold and scrambled away, trying to put some distance between us.
I stared across the room at him, hating him and his ability to keep irritatingly calm in times like these. All my previous feelings were pushed back behind a mask of cold fury.
"I am going to kill you," I stated. "First, I'm going to torch those slime sacks you call children. Then Marishka. Then Aleera. Her death will be painful. Then I'm going to kill Verona. But I'll make hers quick. Then, after you've watched them die and I've left you completely alone in your wretched unlife, I'll kill you. Bit by bit, piece by piece, until you beg me you inject you with werewolf venom and make an end to it."
I glared at him steadily to impress upon him that I meant to carry out that gruesome promise. Dracula's eyes flashed blue. He was steadily losing his temper as well and I knew that at any moment, one or the other of us was going to blow. At least I couldn't die here. Minds were a tricky battlefield.
"And just where would you get that venom?" he asked, unimpressed by my threat. "Even if you had it, you couldn't kill us. You couldn't even kill yourself." I tried to ignore the comments, recognizing that he was just trying to get to me, to get me to leave myself vulnerable, but it was hard.
"Things have changed Dracula. We have changed, and you have made a critical error in choosing this battlefield." Imagination is unlimited. A bottle of holy water materialized in my hand and fire ran itself in a ring on the floor with me at the center. "This is my turf Dracula, this is my mind! Anything can happen." The floor under his feet disappeared and he was forced to morph in order to keep from falling.
Dracula screeched at me and dove. I threw the holy water and the bottle shattered on his face, which was quickly hidden by steam. He shrieked in pain and suddenly I was able to see a picture on one of the mirrors. It was of myself, slumped on the carriage seat. The pain must have momentarily caused his grip on my mind to weaken. Remembering Dracula's relationship with mirrors, I dived through it –
havebegWeyoumymy– and sat bolt upright in the seat. I was back in the carriage, but the sky was starting to lose the sun's rays. Our confrontation had actually taken several hours.
It was agonizing, waiting for nightfall. Waiting safely tucked away deep within a village church. Hoping I wouldn't wake Nonia, or worse, Boris. So much depended again on so little. But I would have my revenge.
Nonia had finally succumbed to weariness and was sprawled in a chair in the corner of the room. Boris was somewhere, probably getting himself a drink. Well, he was welcome to it; lately, he looked like he could use it.
Placing a hand on my stomach, I was rewarded with the sensation of a tiny kick. The movement brought a small, sad smile to my face. Their future was so uncertain, and here I was, rushing headlong into danger yet again.
The cool night air caressed my face, banishing my fears. Growing my wings, I launched myself into the air, testing out my maneuverability. It was decent. Sparing one last glance at the church, I turned and winged my way along the mental pull of the count.
NYAHAHAHAHAHA. I know, you guys'll hate me for stopping it there, but what would you rather have, a cliffhanger or a longer wait? R & R my lovelies, and the next chappie will come quickly. I do have a four-day weekend coming up this weekend. Lots of time for writing…..