A/N: Short last chapter with evil ending. A sequel is possible but the idea will have to be put on hold for a while.
Conclusion
The three companions looked to the solitary survivor of the group of thieves, doubting his sanity as a grin spread across his face. Daniel's eyes were wide and wild in appearance, his body twitching with barely controlled laughter. Suddenly he let out a great cry, throwing his head back and slipping to his knees.
"They're dead! They're all dead!" Daniel yelled as he threw up his arms and laughed madly.
"You fool! Control yourself!" Integra snapped, stepping up and slapping him soundly on the face.
The mistress was well aware the hunter was watching his prey and the sign of weakness which had risen in Daniel would only encourage the vampire's attacks. Unfortunately, the desired calming effect was not forthcoming, the insane man merely increasing his laughter in his merry frenzy.
"We have to go! We have to go!" he began chanting, his head turning this way and that around the courtyard.
Integra nodded her head knowingly toward Walter, the aged servant quickly stepping behind Daniel and grabbing his arms. Pinning the appendages behind his back, the madman began to struggle as his mouth opened wide in a soundless scream. He moved like a snake and acted as a wild animal, his back twisting and his teeth gnashing in a horrible grimace as the retainer was forced to tighten his grip.
Seras silently watched the confrontation, still numb from what she had done. However, she was pulled from her shock as hands came down upon her shoulders and she was suddenly dragged from the group into the shadows of the courtyard columns. She attempted to scream out in surprise and alert but a black tendril snaked itself around her mouth, stifling any attempts at noise. The young woman quickly turned her head, her eyes widening in fear as the ruby eyes of the vampire stared back at her with amusement.
"Do you not enjoy such human weaknesses?" the monster softly asked, breathing softly in Seras' ear. "The blood running furiously through their veins, the pounding of their terrified heart."
Seras shivered at his grotesque breath, nearly gagging from the reeking stench. Her body stiffened as she felt another disgusting tendril climb up the fabric of her dress, inching its way to her breasts. She struggled and squirmed in the monster's tight grip, tears streaming down her face in frustration.
"Nothing will work, my pet" the vampire cooed in a triumphant tone, chuckling quietly. "Struggle all you like, you cannot escape. But do you wish to?" he asked, his hands beginning to travel upward toward her neck.
Seras, realizing the significance and increasing danger which lay in the area he was approaching, suddenly kicked her leg up backward. Her foot soundly connected with the crotch of the beast, weakening all his holds for a few seconds. Taking advantage of the situation she swiftly freed herself and sprinted forward, turning to face her unholy adversary.
But the vampire merely grinned as his gaze fell upon her own.
"Quite the interesting human you are" he commented lightly, waving his hand in the air toward her companions. "Perhaps one such as you does not deserve the fate of your kind? There are other worlds than the one you know."
"What are you talking about?" Seras demanded, taking another step backward away from the creature.
"Does your blood taste as sweet as your innocence?" the vampire wondered, striding to the side a short distance. "Would you find my blood as satisfying?"
"What?" the young woman confusedly responded, her brows crashing down in question.
In answer the creature, held up a single finger and slowly slid his tongue along the pale skin. Then did Seras' eyes widen in horror as she remembered the pool of liquid which had lain beside the body of Matthew. She had dipped her finger in the substance and the digit had been knocked against her lips by Integra, brushing the substance into her mouth.
"No" Seras whispered, shaking her head in denial. "No...no!" she cried out, backing farther away from the creature before her. "I will not come with you! I refuse!"
"You cannot refuse the blood" the monster replied, holding his thin hand out for her to take. "In this new world you will be my tie to the changing lands."
The other travelers, occupied by Daniel, did not at first notice her disappearance. Fortunately her absence was soon noticed as Integra looked about for assistance, her mind quickly realizing her other servant was gone. Seras looked on hopefully but her joyful emotion was soon dashed as Daniel strove against his captor one final time.
The lunatic broke free of the restraint, though the sharp sounding of shoulders popping revealed that he was not unscathed. He seemed unfazed by the injuries as he began running about the courtyard, spooking the horses and his hands feeling about every inch of wall to find a way to escape. The young man soon found the guard house, and even in his crazy delirium was still able to comprehend the find. He shot into the opening to the tower, Integra and Walter following close behind.
Within they watched as Daniel took up a torn and sharpened board, created in the monster's devastation of the machinery, and began waving wildly at the taut rope. Walter attempted to grab the man's arm but to no avail, the unpredictable swinging nearly cutting the retainers throat as pieces of the rope began to tear from the repeated blows of the sharp object.
"Walter, there is nothing we can do" Integra explained as they both exited the guard house for their own safety.
The two companions could hear, above the loud thunder only muffled by the walls, the sound of the mad man chopping madly away as he screamed his escape plan at the top of his lungs. Suddenly the drawbridge began to shift, dropping a few inches as the creaking hinges were heard. Within a few more moments the cut rope could be seen flying from the house while the wooden bridge collapsed to its final resting place upon the ground.
"Walter, watc-" Integra began, but her words were interrupted as Daniel bolted from the house toward freedom into the wild storm. "Damn it!" she cursed as she sprinted toward her horses, grabbing hold of one of the reigns and untying the terrified animal from the columns.
Walter quickly followed suit, taking control over the other beast and following as his mistress led them outside into the storm. Stopping at the end of the bridge, Integra peered into the gloom of the fog and storm. She could barely make out the figure of Daniel struggling to run across the mud to their right, his cackling disappearing as the storm renewed its strength for one last show of force.
"This way!" she shouted to her servant, racing after the madman.
The vampire, distracted as he had been by his conversation with Seras, hissed as the drawbridge was drawn down. He turned his head as his trap came undone, growling as the planks hit the opposite side of the moat. The young woman, seeing his attention elsewhere, sprinted for the bridge to follow her companions. Strangely the creature made no attempt to stop her escape as her feet echoed across the wooden planks, following the shadowy forms of her friends.
Racing upward in the direction the smaller group had come, Daniel wheezed out his laughter as he struggled up the road. His eyes were wild and his hands clawed at the mud beneath him, slowly propelling him forward up the small incline. The wind whipped the crazed man's clothes upon his body as he crawled, covered in filth, over the rough boulders which had been revealed by the torrents of rain pelting the ground.
Integra stopped her pursuit, signaling with her hands for Walter to halt as the storm blocked all verbal communication. The mistress could see the man approaching what appeared to be a rock slide blocking the path the travelers had come from. He could not pass the boulders which lay strewn across the entire road, the rocks too slippery for any to pass.
Many wolves suddenly began howling their haunting tune as the madman reached the barrier of stone. He looked wildly along the wall, all his attempts to scale the large rocks ending in quick failure. The two companions watched on in pitiful horror as he suddenly looked to his right, peering at the drop off which bordered the side of the road.
"No!" Integra shouted, suddenly realizing what the young man had in mind.
Unable or unwilling to heed her call, Daniel sprinted through the mud and leapt over the gorge.
"Daniel!" Seras cried out as she raced up to Integra, though she was held back from any farther by her mistress.
A bolt of lightning flashed above them as they peered to where Daniel had jumped, nothing heard from his long drop to the bottom of the ravine.
"We must leave. Now" Integra commanded, tightly holding the reigns of her horse as she guided the animal to a large rock.
Climbing upon the stone, the mistress used the boulder as a step to slide upon the back of the horse. Walter first assisted Seras atop the other horse and then slid in before her, holding the reins as he turned the steed around. Integra trotted past them, mindful not to let the animal into a sprint for fear of the slippery ground. Trudging as quickly down the road as they could, the three proceeded along on their journey past the castle and along the road.
From a high window in the castle a solitary figure watched the companions leave, their eyes burning like coals.
"She will return" the vampire spoke, his head leaning upward to look at the dark sky as he grinned widely. The clouds were quickly dispersing and the moon was beginning to reveal itself, lighting the way for the group. "After all, the blood cannot resist the calling."