Chapter 27

The vampire woke up a long while later, to find that the pain had all but disappeared. He turned to look at his legs and found to his astonishment that they had been healed. He frowned. Did his own blood heal him? Then a vague vision of a harpy's face, the face of the younger, less experienced guard came floating into his mind. He knew with a sudden burst of clarity that this man was the one who had helped him, that had shown him pity and had eased his suffering. Then he remembered how he had broken down and begged for it all to stop. He winced with disgust at his actions. Well, at least he hadn't done that in the face of his main antagonist.

He sighed before his eyes fell on one of the skulls from his dead companions. Was he really doomed to become one of them? Was he really destined to die in here as they had done before him? Then he remembered that a part of him had already died when he had realized he'd never see Lorelei again.

No, no, no. He had to stay alive. Because he would find a way to get out of here, and when he did he would return to her, regardless of whether she had met someone new or not. He would tell her truth, about what had happened, why he hadn't come back. Then she would go back to him, because she had never stopped loving him…

Oh…what the hell was he thinking? Like that was ever going to happen. Lorelei had dragged him to see one romantic movie too many. This was real life, this was no movie. How pathetic he was, to think that he would ever be capable of doing something like that in the first place…He knew that if Lorelei had found someone new, and if she was utterly besotted and in that blissful bubble that only contained happiness, then he would never be the type to intentionally break it.

So why did he have to stay alive then? If it wasn't for Lorelei than who? His mind began to whirl round and round and Reiko had the distinct feeling that he had gone over this path before in his head, the night before. He was losing it, he was sure he was losing it, that his mind was slipping from him, fleeing from him as fast as it could.

But he had to think this again, he had to remind himself. He had to. It was all he had left. Without Lorelei, it felt as though he had lost all meaning to his life. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He did have the guild to look after too. That didn't really count for much anymore, especially when it seemed as though they no longer followed his orders.

Well, Remy certainly didn't. If it wasn't for him, he would still have been running free; he would have had the alliance by this time. His mission would have been completed and he would simply have had to pass the news to the Vampire Master. He growled with anger as he thought of his friend. He'd make sure the little bastard suffered for this. Though he wasn't too big on torture, especially after this. Maybe he'd just demote him, make him the lowest of the low and ignore him pointedly as he went about guild business. That'd teach him! So, he had to live so then he could punish Remy for his disobedience.

But revenge was one of the worst reasons for continuing the struggle to live. He'd learnt that after battling Mostro, just before fighting Vergil. Though revenge was certainly one incentive, he knew that it could not act as the sole reason. Then he knew. Dante. He needed to keep his head, he needed to stay alive because of him. Why? His mind turned blank before it reached an answer. Reiko cursed. It shouldn't have done that, it shouldn't have hesitated. What was happening to him?

He owed Dante one, that was why he needed to keep living. He had helped him defeat Mostro, he had helped him gain the revenge that he had so desperately wanted. He had threatened his life several times, sure, but that was beside the point. Though even now Dante still didn't seem to like him as much as the others, Reiko knew it made no difference to the fact that he owed him.

He also owed his parents. They had been human, they were once part of mankind. And now the rest of their kind was being threatened by the demonic army that was slowly but surely being gathered. He had to stay alive so then he could…fight…

His eyes fell upon the bowl that had been set out for him and he got to his feet, crying out in pain as his legs collapsed under his weight.

Okay, this didn't look good. Not good at all. Though his legs were healed, they were still too weak to support him. He knew that this would not have been the case had he only been able to drink some blood. His eyes fell upon the corpses again and then to the dishes that were scattered about the cell, the blood that had rested there for so long.

Something clicked within his mind. Those vampires had all died due to starvation, not because of the torture. But how could he be sure? He turned again to look at his dead companions. Some of the bodies were still so fresh that they had not yet turned to ash, and others had bones remaining. The skeletons that were there must have been hybrids in that case, and the skull he had been faced with had been part-vampire. It was the only explanation he could come up with and it seemed entirely plausible. His eyes turned once more to the blood.

What if the vampires had all been wrong? What if the blood wasn't poisoned? The number of bowls were the same as the number of corpses and not a single one of them had been drained. He had to take his chance. He simple had to. He crawled painfully, his legs dragging uselessly behind him, to the dish that had been laid out for him and reached out for it with a trembling hand. He blinked and tried to steady it, not wanting to a spill a drop of the precious life-giving fluid.

He reached out once more and lifted it up, frowning as he felt the lightness of the wooden bowl. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, panting from exertion, his eyes closing momentarily, his face contorting in agony as he pulled his stiff, pained legs under him. Finally, he brought the bowl towards him and looked down at the contents. His face filling with dismay as he saw that there were no contents. The bowl was completely empty.

On a sudden whim, he brought the edge to his mouth and tilted his head back and was rewarded by a single droplet splashing against his lips. He licked at them and swallowed hard, savouring the brief taste, wishing that he had more. Still, that one drop had been better than nothing and he had to be content with it. Now all he had to do was wait a while and bide his time. Sooner or later, he'd find the opportunity to escape.

At that point he felt his body become tense with a sudden fear. Noises were coming from outside his cell. His fear was compounded further when he saw the younger guard enter. His eyes narrowed immediately with distrust as the guard smiled gently at him and began to walk towards him. The vampire snarled like a wild beast, warningly, as he crouched in the corner of his prison. The guard's face fell at the vampire's reaction and he slowly lowered his weapon and placed it on the ground. He slowly came towards the prisoner, his hands outstretched, like how one might approach a bad tempered dog. Reiko's eyes further narrowed.

'I am no animal,' he said softly, his tone measured, resounding with a strange type of strength and authority that he felt he did not really possess anymore. 'There is no need to treat me like some sort of mule, even if you did whip me, like how one whips a donkey that can no longer walk.' The guard looked mollified at these words and started apologizing immediately, taking the hazel-eyed vampire completely by surprise.

'I'm sorry…really I am…it's just that…I've never met many vampires…and all the ones that I have met before were always brutal…and animalistic.'

'Because they were fearing for their lives, just as I am, even at this moment.'

'You have nothing to fear from me. I just wish I could have stopped the other, really I do.' The harpy's violet eyes bored into him and the vampire frowned, feeling as though he had seen such eyes before. Then the corners of his mouth quirked upwards slightly.

'What's your name?' he asked, his voice still soft. The harpy blinked, astonished, before offering a tentative smile.

'Jay. I know your name already.'

'I assume your sister spoke of me.'

'You…what?' Jay took a step away from the vampire, confused and feeling suddenly scared, irrational though it was. Reiko smiled and leaned back, resting his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

'Rose is safe. She has been granted safety from my people. All of you have been for that matter. I gave my clan express orders not to attack any harpy they come across, not even if the harpy attacks them.'

'Rose mentioned it to me…I thought she was mad. But seeing you here before me now? I know now that she was speaking only the truth.'

'I'm not much given to telling falsehoods.'

'I can see that now. My sister was telling nothing but the truth. And if I remember correctly, that means that you saved her. Just as you were kind to my daughter when she hurt herself after bumping into you. You gave her some chewing gum, remember?'

'Ah yes. Her.' A slow smile spread itself across the vampire's face and Jay noted with some alarm of how jaded the vampire looked. Imprisonment was breaking his spirit, he was so close to breaking entirely, no matter how much the vampire railed and fought against it. 'How is she?'

'Dana is fine. She's pleased with her little present. Says it might be simple but it was a present all the same,' Jay said, trying to clear the vampire's gloom. Reiko gave vent to a soft, tired laugh. 'She keeps asking over you. She keeps asking where "Mr. Vampy" went.' The vampire's face darkened and he sighed.

'What will you tell her?'

'I don't know. I hope she doesn't ask again.'

'Tell her the truth. That the nice vampire who was kind to her has been condemned to death, because that's the way you people treat hospitality. I offer your Queen a gift of great power and because of the follies of another I am the one who is to die.' Reiko's eyes had narrowed with anger at the injustice of it all. His earlier optimism had died and had given away to a darker mood. He had been on an emotional tightrope before, and he had fallen. 'Then you can tell her that the vampire was a bad man, just like how all vampires are. And then you will train her and teach her the best ways, the fastest ways to kill a vampire. You'll teach her how to recognise us. You'll turn her into a killer, a persecutor of my kind.'

'Reiko…'

'I can't take this anymore!' The vampire's eyes were rapidly welling up with tears, much to the harpy's distress.

'I can't free you, Reiko. They'd find out that it was me and I'd be beheaded. I love Dana too much to allow myself to be killed. I'm all she has left. But…is there anything I can do to make this any easier for you?' This appeared to be the wrong thing to say. Reiko lowered his head onto his knees, hugging them to him so then Jay couldn't see his face as he started to cry.

'No…no…' he lamented brokenly. 'No…there is nothing…' He looked up, shaking with emotion. 'But if you see your sister, please ask her to tell Lorelei the truth, about what happened.' He swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure. 'Please…' Jay nodded silently and was about to say something when Reiko continued. 'If they ask…tell her…tell her that it was a quick death, painless. Tell her there…was…was no suffering.' The vampire's speech was broken by incoherent sobbing as his mind splintered into more and more fragments. 'But…but most of all…tell…tell her to tell Lorelei…that I love her.' There was a silence between the two of them, broken only by the sound of the vampire's sorrow. Jay sighed shakily and then nodded, feeling as though his heart was breaking as he watched the vampire suffer.

'You know…you'll find a way out somehow…sometime…'

'Before you…came in here…I…I thought so too…now I am…I am not…not so sure. I will never see her again…my hope…it's…it's like a question…that can't be remembered…it comes and goes…'

'Reiko…' Jay whispered, trying to calm him, trying desperately to console him.

'Just go…just go, please…you can't help me…no one can.'

'I promise you. I will find a way!' Jay cried. The vampire simply continued to sob into his knees. Not sure whether the vampire had heard him, he ran from the cell, locking it closed behind him, not seeing as Reiko slowly raised his head to watch him go.

The vampire gasped, groaning in pain and retching, as a thunderbolt of agony raced through him, forcing his vision to become suddenly blurred, sending his head spinning. He groaned and sank to the ground, falling onto his side. Soon, the moment had passed and he felt well enough to sit up.

He frowned. What had that been all about?

Hours passed and then, finally, he heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock. He growled softly and turned his head towards the door, his eyes widening as the older guard came into the cell, a whip in his hand. Reiko felt his heart plummet to his feet. He tried to rise, so then he could flee but he was still too weak. He struggled madly as the guard grabbed him roughly and dragged him out of the cell, half pulling him, half carrying him. The vampire wriggled and fought as best as he could before a sickening pain pounded through his head, causing dark spots to scud across his vision. The guard also seemed to notice something was amiss, but it only caused him to laugh.

'What's wrong, vampire? Can't fight anymore?' The harpy shook Reiko about like a rag-doll, and he could only moan his protest, no longer being able to find the strength to form words. Then the pain passed, giving back his power. He snarled before sinking his fangs into his assailant's hand. The harpy cried out with pain and anger before pulling his hand away, punching him in the stomach, making him fall to the floor, a crumpled heap.

The vampire's eyes snapped open as the harpy dragged his head off the ground by the hair, wrenching it painfully. He could only cry out with pain as the harpy punched and kicked him over and over again, blood splattering from his mouth in a messy spray.

'You'll pay for that! Oh God you are going to pay for biting me!' Reiko made sure to spit out any blood that may have entered his mouth, whether harpy or his own. He wiped his lips on the back of his arm and felt his fangs, until they were cleansed of blood. Even in his weakened state, he had not forgotten the dangers that harpy blood had for him.

The harpy had watched all this with a cold calculating look on his face and swept out, leaving Reiko with a faint glimmer of hope that maybe it had all come to an end, that maybe he was just going to end his life then and there instead of drawing out his anguish.

He watched eagerly as the harpy returned and searched with his eyes for the weapon that would kill him. How would it be? Would it be something quick? Oh God let it be something quick! Then his dismay was complete as he realized that the harpy was holding no such thing. No dagger, no sword, no axe, nothing. He licked at dry lips and tried to back away as his eyes fell upon the pliers. That couldn't be good…

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Blood streamed out of his mouth in a seemingly unending flood as the guard dragged him into the cell.

'Let's see you try and bite me now, Vamp,' came the derisive laugh. Reiko said nothing, his eyes darkened with pain, glazed over with unshed tears. 'Just think. Your fangs will regenerate, and I can do this again and again, as many times as I want, and you won't be able to do a damned thing about it.' Reiko's gaze shifted slowly, to stare at the bloody pliers that the guard still held. He opened his mouth, coughed up more fluid before croaking something inarticulate. The guard grinned and strode towards him.

'Hey? What's that? You want more pain? Is that it, you sick little shit?' Reiko's eyes stared up at him, panicked. The harpy laughed again seeing the look in the stricken vampire's eyes and shook his head. 'You are a lot of fun you know. It's a shame really, that you had to be a male. But still…' The guard readied his whip but frowned as the vampire started heaving, vomiting out yet more blood before rolling away, sobbing with pain as his hands flew to each side of his head. The harpy watched him closely before a slow smile crossed his face.

'I don't have to do a damned thing.' He laughed again. 'I just have to wait.' Reiko couldn't listen to the sound of his voice; roaring had already filled his ears, blood had filled his vision and with a breathy sigh, he sank into merciful darkness.