Chapter 127

Hotch's arm flew up to protect his face and the gunyun's teeth sank into his forearm causing him to scream out in pain as he landed on his ass.

"Oh yeah, they're known to bite, too," came down the tunnel, and had Hotch not been busy trying to get the thing off him, he might have yelled a few choice words back to the rock creature. As it was, the gunyun's teeth sank even further into his soft tissue.

Using his free hand, he tried pulling on the thing's legs hoping to make it release him.

A shrill noise escaped it, and its teeth dug in even harder. Not only were its teeth tearing into him, but a burning sensation also started to radiate out from the wound, and Hotch winced. Shit! Are they poisonous, too?

"Let go of me!" he insisted as he pulled even harder not caring if he pulled the little thing's legs off or not.

It let out a deep growl and shook its head like a dog, and Hotch could feel his muscles ripping. Gritting his teeth, he let go of the thing's legs and grabbed the shoot-like hair stuff that was protruding out of the top of the thing's head hoping that it would at least get its upper jaw to loosen.

As soon as he yanked on it, it yelped, and Hotch used it's open-mouth scream as the perfect opportunity to pull it away from him. The ploy worked, and the little thing hung limply from his hand as he breathed roughly.

He stared at the little thing wondering how the hell it could be so strong with being so little. He shook his head. "I guess the supernatural world doesn't exactly follow rules of science, does it?" he asked it as he grabbed the cage with his free hand.

When he tried to unhook the latch on the top of the cage, he noticed his fingers weren't working as they should have been, and he frowned as he made a fist. Shit! It's going numb. He looked at the little onion looking thing. "Did you really poison me, or did you hit a nerve or two?"

The little thing just stared at him, so he shook his head and moved the creature to his partially numb hand, so his good fingers could get the cage open. As he did it, he wondered why the thing wasn't trying to get away.

When the cage's door was finally back, Hotch used his good hand to grab it by the scruff of its neck and started it towards it, but he froze when the little thing started crying. It was such a pitiful sound, that Hotch's heart clenched.

He huffed, though, when he looked at the massive gashes the thing had ripped into him. "Into the cage you go," he told it as he ready it above the door.

It started whining, and when it looked up at Hotch, big tears dripped down its cheeks.

Hotch sighed and then his eyes started stinging and watering. He frowned. What the hell? When his nose started running, too, he frowned as he looked at the creature still in his grasp, and then huffed. "You're not crying, you're just secreting that to make me not be able to see. Tricky little bastard, aren't you?" he told it and started it into the hole.

The little thing's legs and arms shot out and held onto the sides of the cage to stop its forward movement. "Pease!" it squeaked.

Hotch froze again. He wasn't sure if it was a plea or just a noise.

"Pease, no cage!" it cried as it looked at Hotch.

Hotch winced. He could understand the thing's feelings because he felt the same about cages. He swallowed and wiped the tears out of his eyes so he could study it some more, but then he glanced back down the tunnel and shook his head as he licked his lips. "I'm sorry, but I have to," he told it and tried to shove it through the cage door.

"Sowwy bit! Protecting self!" it gushed as it still fought against being put in it.

Hotch's chest tightened. I would never blame anything for trying to protect itself, but... He pulled it away from the cage and looked at it. "Protecting yourself? But I wasn't trying to hurt you. I didn't even know you were there! You attacked me."

The little thing wilted. "Protecting sprouts!"

"Sprouts?"

The thing nodded and then whined. "Pease no eat!"

Hotch sighed. "I'm not going to eat you," he told it but then mentally cringed because he wasn't sure what the rock things were going to do to it.

"No eat sprouts!"

"I don't even know what sprouts are, so I wouldn't eat them, either," he told him and then wiped his still running nose. The liquid still coming out of the thing's eyes was worse than any onion and almost as bad as teargas.

The little thing frowned. "Then why in tunnel?"

Hotch wilted. "Because I was told to." He held up the chain the little thing had grabbed. "I don't want to be here, but they make me."

The thing's eyes followed the chain to the shackles on Hotch's wrists and then used its tiny hands to wipe the drops off its face, and within a couple seconds, Hotch's eyes stopped stinging. The little thing smiled. "Then let go?"

The vampire winced. "I wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry."

The little thing crossed its arms. "Can."

Hotch took a deep breath. "They know you're in here because they heard me yell when you bit me. If I go out there without you, I will get into trouble, and they would just send someone else in here to get you," he tried. He would gladly get into trouble to save the tiny being but lying about it wouldn't be saving it; it would only be prolonging the inevitable.

"Sprouts ready soon. We run."

Hotch wiped his nose again as he looked back down the tunnel, and then turned back to the gunyun. "How soon is soon?"

XXXXX

Sebastian opened the door and looked at the humans. "It's safe to come in."

Kahlan took a step towards the door as curiosity about the frozen vampire peaked, but Chuck put a firm hand on her arm and stepped in front of her. "Me first."

Kahlan frowned as she looked at him. "If Sebastian said…"

He huffed and basically blocked her way with his large frame, and she opened her mouth to argue, but Rossi leaned in closer to her. "Just let him be, Kiddo." She shot him a look, but he smiled. "If it makes him feel better, let him do it."

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

He chuckled and then took a deep breath as he stepped through the doorway. The once frozen man was sitting in a chair and his dark hair was still dripping as he continued to thaw out. As soon as he saw them, he stood up and approached Kahlan. Chuck tensed, but Rossi wasn't worried because even Willie seemed relaxed.

"Thank you, ma'lady," he started as he grabbed her right hand in both of his and bowed his head, "Sebastian and these fine men explained how I came to be released from my arctic prison, and I thank you," he went on as he looked at her, gave her a nod, and then moved to shake Chuck's hand. "And I thank you, too, sir. They told me how it t'was you two who broke through the harvester's defenses."

Chuck shrugged. "We couldn't have done it without Willie."

"But you are welcomed," Kahlan put in as she studied the new man. He was still shivering slightly, his whole body was a little swollen, and she couldn't imagine how cold he still was especially in soaking wet clothes. She looked at Chuck. "Cam's clothes should fit him."

Chuck nodded and turned to the door, but the vampire shook his head. "No, I couldn't possibly ask any more of you."

Chuck glanced at Kahlan, knew she didn't care what the man thought, and went out the door.

Kahlan huffed at the man. "Dry clothes will warm you up quicker."

He wilted. "But I..."

Sebastian laughed and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "There is no sense arguing with her," he told him and then gestured to him as he looked at her. "Kahlan, David, this is Lance."

The wet man nodded to them, and Rossi's brows furrowed. "Lance?"

The man nodded again. "Yes, sir."

Kahlan notice the strange look on Rossi's face. "What?"

Rossi looked at her for a moment, looked back to the new man, and then back at Kahlan. "Really? I can't believe you haven't thought it."

She frowned. "Thought what?"

"The way he speaks, using 'ma'lady', and his name is Lance…" He turned to the vampire. "Your full name wouldn't be Lancelot, would it?"

Kahlan's frown immediately turned into a look of shock mixed with hope as she looked at the man. "No way," she breathed.

Lance sighed. "Yes, my first name tis Lancelot, but only because my mother adored Mallory and his legends."

"Although, he is almost old enough to be a knight of the Round Table," Christian put in with a grin.

Lance looked at those around him and then winced. "I've reverted to old habits. I am sorry; I didn't even realize I was doing it," he admitted weakly.

"Sit," Sebastian urged as he gestured to the chair. "You still have a lot of healing to do."

"Apparently he needs to eat some more," Kahlan said and looked at the vampires who had traveled with her. "Surly you all have some extra."

Lance sat down, but he shook his head. "I'll be fine given some time."

Kahlan snorted and looked at Willie. "Please?"

He smiled and was gone.

"Truly, I don't need…" Lance tried again.

Kahlan went to him and squatted down in front of him as she grabbed his hands. "Let us make up for what that monster did to you."

He inhaled deeply and then nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She gave him a smile and then stood up, then she looked at Sebastian. "Have you guys questioned him, yet?"

Sebastian shook his head. "Not yet."

Lance frowned. "Questioned me?"

"Do you know who captured you?" Christian asked.

Willie came back in the door with a bag of blood and held it out to the shaking man.

Lance's eyes got wide as he looked at Kahlan and then back to the other vampires. "I'm not… not in front of…" he stammered as he stood up so quickly that he knocked the chair he had been sitting in over.

Sebastian put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about her, Lance."

"I'm married to a vampire, Lance. Seeing you drink a little blood isn't going to be too harsh for my delicate female sensitivities."

That comment made Rossi choke on his own breath, and it took all his experience on the job not to bust out laughing.

Kahlan shot him a look and then gestured to the chair Christian righted. "Sit, feed, questions can wait until you're done."

The new vampire sighed, nodded, and flopped down in the chair.

XXXXX

"Drop and show," the gunyun still clutched in Hotch's hand said.

"Show me first, then I'll let you go while we figure out what to do."

The onion looking thing's eyes narrowed. "How know you don't eat sprouts?"

Hotch huffed. "How do I know you won't run away or bite me again?"

The gunyun locked eyes with Hotch, and Hotch mentally cringed because he hadn't seen the thing blink yet, so he really didn't want to get into a staring contest with it. It grunted, reached up, and ripped one of the shoots of green grass looking stuff out of its head and handed it to Hotch.

"What's that for?"

"Rub on bite, no more numb."

Really wanting the full use of his hand again, he sat the little creature down and then took the offered blade. "Just rub this on the wound?"

It nodded. "Will hurt but will work."

Not knowing if it was a trick or not, Hotch studied the miniscule thing.

It huffed and jumped into the cage. "Wait here," it told him and then sat down.

Hotch took that as a good sign and proceeded to rub the thin, green leaf over the gash, and within seconds, he had to clench his teeth to stop the scream that wanted to leave his throat. He rubbed it all over the whole wound, when he finally couldn't take the pain anymore, he stopped as he panted. I'm not sure that was worth it. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, and silently wondered if he should just shut the cage. He glanced around them even though he couldn't really see anything in the dark. He mentally huffed. Hell, I could be surrounded by them, and I wouldn't even know it. Maybe I better let it play out and see what comes of this.

He gasped, though, when the tell-tale pins and needles feeling erupted throughout his arm signaling that the green thing had worked.

Once he was able to move his fingers completely, he reached into the cage and picked the gunyun up and sat him on the ground with a gentle hand. "Thank you. That feels much better."

The thing smiled, and Hotch had to do a double-take because the smile didn't reveal any teeth, and he silently wondered if the thing's teeth were retractable.

"To sprouts," it said and started down the passageway.

Hotch took a deep breath and started crawling after him. And here I go. He sighed. What the hell are you getting yourself into now, Hotchner?