Chapter 26: Caught

AN: YAY! HAPPY! My writer's block is finally gone (for the time being. Knock on wood) I'm so extremely sorry that I've been so late in posting, but on top of writer's block I also managed to come down with a sinus infection (not fun) and some sort of stomach bug that's going around. It's kinda hard to write if you're constantly vomiting. (also not fun) I thank you guys for being so patient with me and I'm sorry the chapter's not longer, but I figures you guys would rather have a shorter one up than have to wait until I wrote another piece to it. (who knows how long that would have taken) Oh, and in this chappie we get re-aquatinted with a certain vampire. That's all I'm telling you, so you'll just have to read and find out. Also, here's the current news:

if any one wants to see what Destiny looks like, email me at and I'll send them a picture or two. I

f you have anything in particular that you'd like to see in the sequel, Hand of Fate (I think that's what I'll call it), then you can also send it to me via email or review. I'd love to have your input.

Review please!

"How long have I been out?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my head. Boris glanced in my direction.

"Well, I'll say this for you. You may be foolish, but you've got impeccable timing. Damon just went to get the train tickets. He should be back any minute. Oh, right. You've been out for about a day. You almost died you know."

"Even angels were not meant to live forever," I whispered to myself.

He got up and walked over to me, placing one large hand on my forehead. "Yeah, fever's gone down. I guess you'll be all right to travel." I couldn't put a name to the underlying emotion I detected in his voice. It was sort of a combination of regret and something else.

"Yeah." For my own part I knew I would miss him, in an almost brotherly way. He'd looked out for me, you know? It would be weird not having him to argue with.

"I saw Nonia."

He looked at me sharply. "That's impossible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then I guess my purpose in life is to defy the impossible, because I did see her and I did talk to her. She said she'd watch over me if I kept this on," I showed him the necklace, "Said she wanted to make sure I didn't do too many stupid things."

Boris gave a small laugh. "That does sound like Nonia." An awkward silence stretched the distance between us. Then Boris did something I never in a million years thought he would do.

He gave me a hug. "I'll miss you, you know. You're annoying, but…"

I grinned. "And you're irritating, so I guess we're even. Just don't get too cocky now that you've got yourself some battle wounds. I might just fly out especially to deflate your ego."

"You have a talent for that, I've noticed." But he was smiling. At that moment, the door to the room opened and Damon walked in.

"Oh, so you're up already," he said. "Good. Time to go." I glanced back at Boris, who made a shooing motion.

"Go on. You'll miss your train." I had a funny feeling in my stomach, like I'd never see him again. But I followed Damon out to the train station. Travelling by train, it would take us a week to get to Rome. Damon didn't appear to notice, but my finely attuned sixth sense caught the distinct aura of vampires.

"Damon," I whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

"What?" he whispered back, a little irritated. I didn't know why.

"Damon, this station's crawling with vampires. They're everywhere." He didn't reply, but by the way his eyes were scanning the platform, I knew he was inwardly cursing. I was very grateful for my disguise and blessed Nonia for dying my hair.

Wearing a shapeless rust colored dress and large apron helped downplay my pregnancy, while my hair was pulled severely back in a bun and wrapped with a length of cloth. I think that even Dracula wouldn't have recognized me that that moment. Well, maybe Dracula, but certainly not any other vampire. But just in case, Damon had outfitted me with a mini-armory of my own: two this daggers in leg sheaths, two more hidden in sheaths up my sleeves, and one that hung on a cord around my neck. It was not much protection should we run into a group of vampires, but it felt comforting nonetheless.

We boarded the train without hassle and took our seats near the rear of the train. Damon was about to sit down when I slid sideways, under the arm he had braced against another seat, and into the window seat. I smirked at him. He just shook his head and sat down. We had arrived just barely on time, for it had not been five minutes when the train began to move.

I relaxed against the seat and closed my eyes, hoping to finally be able to sleep in peace, not thrashing in feverish dreams or plagued by Dracula and his lusts. However, a natural sleep apparently was not my fate. My mind began to wander over the miles that now must separate me from the count. Why must my thoughts always return to him? I was so torn in my feelings for him. My mind insisted that I fear him, my conscious dictated that I hate him with all my soul, yet, my heart wanted me to love him with my whole being. It was so confusing and I never knew what to feel.

I was startled out of my reflections by the feeling of a tiny foot kicking against my abdomen. I couldn't help it; my eyes filled with tears. Vladislaus should have been here to see. But this was for the best. (AN: yes, the names symbolize something. Dracula indicates fear or direct hatred, the count is for distant hatred, and Vladislaus is, of course, love)

It had been three days of traveling and nothing had yet gone wrong. I felt tenser and more bothered with each passing minute. Something should have happened by now; something should have gone wrong. It's not to say that I wished for something to go wrong, but I knew Dracula probably even better than his Brides. He was not a vampire to give up, and with his cunning…some plan would undoubtedly be set into motion soon.

On the fourth day we stopped to pick up more passengers. As I watched them get on, I could sense vampiric auras. They were literally giving me a headache. I could feel their minds searching for me, so I made myself as mentally "small" as I could and threw up all my shields. But…there! Even in disguise as a first-class passenger I recognized Nerilka. She was second on my list of "Vampires Most Likely to Blow My Cover". If she saw me, it was all over.

"Damon," I spoke out of the corner of my mouth. When he didn't respond (he was asleep) I poked him the ribs. With his finely tuned reflexes and senses, he instantly jerked away.

"We've got a serious problem," I told him quietly. I explained about Nerilka and how she would most likely be able to find me because of our encounter at All Hallows Eve. I could the cogs spinning in his brain even as his jaw muscles tightened in anger/worry.

Deciding to let him think in solitude, I stood and slipped out of my chair towards the sleeping car. It was dusk and I was tired. Once inside, I let out a sight, leaning on the post of one of the bunks, not really paying close attention to my surroundings. But something was not right.

I whirled, picking up the slight shush of a lady's skirts on the floor. There, in the doorway, stood Nerilka with a small smirk on her face.

"So," she said. "Did you really think that you could keep ahead of us for very long? What with nearly every vampire in Europe on the alert I'm surprised you got this far. Lucky for you I found you first." I looked at her in confusion as she closed the car door behind her and walked over to sit on the bunk across from me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Nerilka tucked a strand of her long reddish brown hair behind her ear with another smirk. The gesture reminded me so much of Dracula, right before he was about to pull something tricky.

"What I mean is that I will help you escape," Nerilka said. She laughed as I looked at her in amazed disbelief, my eyes nearly bugging out of my head.

"Okay, what's the catch?" I asked. Vampires always have a hidden agenda. She shook her head.

"No catch Destiny. I have a…problem with Dracula that needs to be remedied."

"What problem?" I sensed a story behind her words and, nosy as I was, I wanted to hear it.

"You know that my sire was sired directly by Dracula, correct?" I nodded. "My sire, Charles, was at first very good friends with Dracula and assisted with a lot of the less desirable jobs needed to keep the vampiric community under control. Almost like a second-in-command, you could say.

"But over the course of about a hundred and fifty years, Charles became dissatisfied with the way things were run. He envisioned a society where vampires were orderly and refined, the peak of society and no longer hidden in the shadows. So, he tried to break from Dracula and form his own coven, but, well, Dracula didn't like that too much. So he killed Charles." Nerilka smiled bitterly.

"Of course, after Charles's death, Dracula did start refining the vampires under him. The hypocrite. I've hated him ever since and that's where you come in." She pointed a long slim finger at me. "Just think what a blow it will be to him if you are lost to him forever, along with the only living children he has."

"One problem," I pointed out. "I've got a monster hunter from the Vatican with me and he's not going to follow whatever scheme you've got up your sleeve."

Nerilka shrugged. "I've dealt with his kind before. I know how their minds work."

Kay, now please review and help my muse become inspired. And remember, all flames will be used to roast marshmallows. ; P