Chapter Eight: Heartaches

D uttered a groan as consciousness slowly returned to him. He felt sick and weak, and his side throbbed dully in response to the weight of the earth piled on top of him.

"Wait a moment...I passed out before I could finish...Who...?" D wondered, vaguely, as he opened his eyes and looked around. About three feet away, someone sat close to the opening of the cave; gazing out at the steadily falling rain.

"Belladonna?" D silently asked, jerking slightly when the sound of a gun being cocked, and pointed at him, came to his ears.

"Definitely not her...The Markus woman, then." D amended, as his vision cleared, and revealed Leila.

"I'm just trying to stay dry, here. When the rain stops, I'll be gone...from here and from you." Leila muttered, coldly. It took a few moments for D to collect enough of his strangely fragmented mind and say something to her, but, when he did, it was to point out something he'd noticed before, yet hadn't had the chance to say anything about earlier.

"I think...I can guess...your problem...Your family was the victim...of vampires." D managed, softly, against his protesting throat. Leila's expression darkened.

"You don't know anything about it." Leila snapped, angrily; not even looking in his direction as she said that.

"All right...Perhaps I don't." D murmured, wincing when the effort of speaking continued to hurt his throat. Leila sighed, then reached up and pulled her comm-link away from her ear, rubbing the tender skin afterwards in order to restore blood flow.

"You're a weird one, you know that? Despite being a dunpeal Hunter and all that that entails...How did you and the kid know about my mother?" Leila asked, as she started to relax a little bit.

"You called out for her before...Didn't you?" D responded, quietly. Leila nodded.

"When I was little, a vampire came and kidnapped my mother. My father and a few others went after it in order to rescue her, but the vampire killed them. After a while, my mother returned...but she wasn't my mother anymore. She'd been changed. The villagers stoned her to death while I watched...Afterwards I left my home town and joined up with the Markus Brothers. I wanted to be a Hunter, to avenge my parents' deaths. Since then I have seen many terrible things; lives destroyed, families devastated, hopes crushed...and every time it seems, a vampire was to blame." Leila explained, sadly.

"I can see why you chose do it...But the life of a Hunter is no kind of life." D stated, turning his head slightly to look at her with his somber grey eyes.

"It's the only life I'm any good for, now. And it seems that it's the only life you have ever known...So, I suggest we make a pact. Since we're both in it for the long haul, whoever dies first, the other can bring flowers to their grave. How's that?" Leila asked, then added, with a sad smile, "It's the rain...makes me sentimental...I don't even know why I care so much, it's just that I love flowers...and I don't think I'll be getting any. I'm all alone, after all...We did have that much in common, you and I. We were both Hunters and were both alone...At least until you found that kid, anyway...Oh well, I'm being silly. It doesn't really matter."

"I'll do it...I'll bring you flowers if I survive this...but I don't expect to." D replied, as Leila's smile faded, and she gave him an almost chagrined look.

"Oh stop! I didn't really mean it when I said all that! And anyway, I don't really understand why you keep doing this." Leila muttered, in exasperation. Pain flitted across D's handsome features, and it wasn't in response to his physical wound.

"It's because I'm a dunpeal. I don't get to have a life...not like you." D whispered, with sad envy in his voice as he started to close his eyes again.

"Then what about your son?" Leila asked, "Wouldn't you call being a father 'having a life'?"

"In some ways, yes. Dirk is the one bright point in my life, after so many years of darkness...I fear for him, especially, since he could be taken away at any time." D answered, as genuine worry emerged in his eyes, before exhaustion and pain forced him to relinquish his hold on consciousness once again.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Dirk inwardly swore as he did what he could to follow the carriage in the midst of the pouring rain.

"If there's anything worse than this, I need to avoid it! It just had to rain after I got split up from Dad and Belladonna!" Dirk mused, angrily, knowing that he was in a tight spot, right at that moment. He knew the carriage was somewhere close by...but he just didn't know where at this point.

"All you need now is for one of them to find us before you find them." Marv muttered.

"Don't give 'em any ideas, Marv." Dirk grumbled, irritably.

"Too late." another voice murmured, as the owner of it emerged from the murky darkness.

"Oh...crap..." Dirk mumbled, when he found himself face-to-face with Meier Link.

"I need to have a word with you, young Hunter." Meier said, coolly; managing to keep from smirking when Dirk gave him an incredulous look.

"Why? What's there to talk about?" Dirk asked, warily. Meier only sighed.

"All will be explained after we are both under cover. Is that agreeable to you?" Meier questioned.

"I guess so...Just don't try to hypnotize me and have me kill my father, okay?" Dirk muttered, getting a deadpan expression from Meier in response.

"I am not Magnus Lee, so have no fear of that." Meier replied, as he led the way to the carriage, where Charlotte waited with what appeared to be some towels in hand.

"Thanks." Dirk murmured, after he and the vampire were well within the confines of the vehicle and had received some of the towels from the young woman. Charlotte gave him a gentle smile.

"You're very welcome." Charlotte said, as Meier pulled out an extra chair and motioned for him to have a seat. Dirk did so, but kept his sword within hand's reach at all times.

"You don't need to be so wary, Hunter. Meier won't hurt you." Charlotte said, gently, when she'd noticed how uneasy Dirk seemed to be.

"I may only be a Vampire Hunter in training, Miss Elbourne, but I was a Werewolf Hunter first...and both trades require vigilance, first and foremost." Dirk murmured, then added, "I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"You are your father's son, all right. D said something very similar, a long time ago." Meier stated, thoughtfully, getting a surprised look from Dirk for that.

"How would you know that he had, sir?" Dirk asked, uncertain whether or not he was actually allowed to address Meier by name. Meier smiled, at this point.

"My castle was the one of the few places your father would come to rest for a while after difficult hunts. In fact, he even came after the hunt in Ransylva...The poor sod looked like he'd been to hell and back." Meier murmured, as he remembered the rough condition the infamous Vampire Hunter had been in when he'd arrived at the gates that long-ago evening.

"My mother and uncle had told me how difficult that battle had been on him. I just didn't realize that anybody else knew." Dirk said, thoughtfully.

"I do indeed...And I also know that it is very rare for him to take such a personal interest in an employer." Meier agreed.

"It is?" Dirk asked, now curious as to what this vampire knew; even though a small part of him was trying to remind him that he was supposed to be hunting this person! Meier smiled vaguely, and nodded.

"Your father isn't the kind of man who allows people to get too close to him, for the main reason that he knows that he'll outlive them...and the bloodlust would make a long-term relationship impossible." Meier murmured, as an ancient sadness emerged in his garnet eyes.

"Ever since my path had crossed with Dad's, I had the feeling that such a thing might have been the case...Otherwise, he would never have left Mother's side." Dirk mused, aloud; somehow finding it very easy to trust the much-maligned vampire before him.

"Marv, can you sense anything bad about this guy? Is there anything malevolent towards humans within him?" Dirk telepathically asked.

"No. Can you?" Marv replied. Dirk mentally shook his head.

"Nope. It's weird...Really weird...I don't smell any blood on him at all." Dirk mused, wondering if his hunch about something malign setting Meier up to take the fall for what had happened to the village earlier was true.

"And, if it is, where is this road taking us?" Dirk wondered, as an uneasy feeling settled itself firmly in his gut; silently foreboding the horrors to come.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Belladonna was well and truly soaked, by the time she found where D and Leila were sheltering.

"Double-damned rain! Shit!" Belladonna cursed, as she ducked into the cave, and made a move to sit down; stopping when Leila warned her against it.

"Wouldn't sit there, if I were you. The dunpeal's right there." Leila murmured, as Belladonna looked down, stifled a yelp, and sidled quickly away from where D now lay; her face turning an interesting shade of crimson while she did so.

"You could've warned me sooner, ya know!" Belladonna grumbled, as Leila snickered at her expense.

"You were too busy cussing like a sailor to have noticed, even if I had." Leila replied, her comment belying the vague look of concern that was in her blue eyes. Belladonna noticed this, and gave her a curious look.

"What's wrong?" Belladonna asked, despite her indignance at the pseudo-insult the other Huntress had thrown at her.

"He's still got a high fever...Even Heat Syndrome doesn't usually last this long." Leila said, as she motioned to D, and as Belladonna put a hand to his forehead, and quickly recoiled when she felt the heat emanating from his pale skin.

"Damn, you're right! He's burning up! I thought his temperature had seemed too high earlier...But I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or not. Dirk and I had been afraid that he would overexert himself." Belladonna admitted, as she took what appeared to be a bandanna from her pack, held it out in the rain for a few moments, rung out the excess water, and then placed it on D's brow.

"A wound on his side had reopened earlier, and he'd lost quite a bit of blood before I got to him. He might be sick as a result of that, and having been in the sun too long." Leila suggested, watching as Belladonna removed the dirt that covered D's injured side, and inspected the bandaging job that Leila had done.

"You did a good job tying it off. It looks like it's stopped bleeding...but I can't be sure. It'll be too dangerous to move him until his fever cools." Belladonna stated, as she replaced the soil, and then sat back down; this time beside Leila.

"True." Leila agreed, as a somewhat comfortable silence fell over them. It remained that way for almost an hour, and it was broken when Belladonna snickered and shook her head.

"What's so funny?" Leila asked; curious despite herself.

"You sure did a number on that Barbaroi woman...Eww." Belladonna muttered, faking a shudder while she was at it. "Extra crispy."

"That was an accident...At least, the lightning part was, at any rate." Leila replied, actually smirking a little bit and laughing softly at the disgusted face Belladonna had made when she'd said that.

"So you say...If I had even attempted that, the lightning would've struck me instead!" Belladonna muttered, getting a soft laugh from Leila in response to that. As the hours wore on, Belladonna slowly breathed a sigh of relief when she found that D's temperature was beginning to return to normal.

"Hopefully we'll be able to catch up with Dirk soon...I've got a bad feeling about all this." Belladonna silently mused; keeping her misgivings to herself for now, but intending to tell D of them later.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Charlotte could only smile softly as the young quarter-vampire dozed. He had arranged a simple sleeping pallet on the floor of the carriage, and was using a seat cushion as a pillow, and his cloak as a blanket.

"He was more tired than he cared to admit..." Charlotte mused, as she brushed delicate fingertips against his youthful face.

"So much for vigilance, eh? The kid's out like a light." Mashira muttered, as he entered the carriage as well; his disgust for the inclement weather very easily seen.

"I guess it is safe to say that he trusts us, somewhat." Meier murmured, as he also gave Dirk a rueful glance, from over the book he was skimming through; his mind still too burdened to really concentrate on it.

"I wonder what will be waiting for us when we get there? For some reason, I feel some foreboding...Should I have even tried this?" Meier wondered, as he gazed at the strangely tranquil scene before him; trying to hide the uneasiness that had returned to him with a vengeance.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

The morning had dawned, cool and clear, when D roused up, and slowly got his bearings. Across from him, Belladonna and Leila slept; so he took extra care not to disturb them as he got up. He grimaced when a brief stab of pain lanced through his wounded side, but endured it as he went about the business of getting ready to move on. By the time he had finished the task, the two Huntresses were beginning to stir.

"You sure you're even supposed to be up, Dunpeal? You'd lost quite a bit of blood yesterday." Leila said, as she and Belladonna left the shelter, and walked over to him.

"I can't afford any vacations...paid or otherwise." D murmured, wryly, as he tightened a strap on one of his saddlebags, and prepared to mount.

"Still, don't you think you should eat something? Help replenish the blood lost?" Belladonna asked.

"I'm not exactly human, Miss Collins, so I can go a bit longer without eating." D stated, then added, "I'm a little more concerned about Dirk, at this moment. We need to catch up with him as soon as possible."

"Do what you want, dunpeal. It's your life. But with that rainstorm we had last night, they can't be too far ahead." Leila said, getting nods of agreement from the pair as D mounted his horse, and waited for Belladonna to do the same.

"True enough." D agreed.

"We're even now, dunpeal. Tell your son that, next time you see him." Leila stated, watching as the pair started to ride off.

"I will." D promised, before putting the spurs to his horse, and galloping away.

"Take care." Belladonna said, before she hurried after the disappearing sire of Dirk Lang. Leila nodded, then put the key in the ignition of her bike and started the engine; she had a long ride ahead of her as well, and her adoptive brothers, she knew, were probably a bit anxious about her by now.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"The long and winding roooad..."

"Marv, shut up."Dirk grumbled, irritably; swatting at the sword from where he lay (he'd put it within arm's reach the night before for his own peace of mind).

"Thaat leads, to your door..." Marv continued to sing, in his usual off-key voice; getting grumbled profanities from Dirk.

"And thus, all four Beatles are rolling over in their graves..." Meier muttered, from within his coffin, as Charlotte giggled and shook her head.

"I'd be inclined to agree with ya, sir, if I knew what you were talking about." Dirk mumbled, as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"That was some of the worst singing I have ever had the misfortune to hear...It sounded like Benge getting strangled by Charlotte, while getting dismembered by the Terror of Collinsport at the same time." Mashira added, from his seat on top of the carriage.

"I'm crushed!" Marv said, with false hurt in his voice.

"I wish you had been." Dirk retorted, then asked, "What time is it?"

"Five o'clock P.M. Frontier Standard Time. You slept the whole day away, kid." Mashira stated.

"Sheesh...Didn't realize I was that tired! Why didn't somebody wake me?" Dirk asked, confusedly, as he got up and started getting his gear together.

"It would have been wrong to wake you up, when you obviously needed the rest." Charlotte said, gently; getting a thoughtful look from Dirk in answer to that.

"You're as kind as your father had said you are...The fact that you are sharing that kindness with somebody like him amazes me even more." Dirk said, as he nodded to Meier's casket for added emphasis.

"Do you think I'm a fool for falling in love with Meier too?" Charlotte asked, with an almost crestfallen look in her hazel eyes. To her surprise, Dirk shook his head.

"My mother always used to tell me that you really have no say in who your heart chooses. She chose my father, the infamous Hunter D, and remained in love with him for the rest of her life. You chose Meier Link, and intend to stay by his side for as long as you can, right?" Dirk said, as the girl across from him gave him an almost disbelieving stare.

"Yes! But...I didn't think a Vampire Hunter would see it that way..." Charlotte murmured, getting an abashed smile from Dirk for that.

"Well, I'm still in training, as I'd said. Who knows? Maybe I'm just not meant to hunt vampires, and should stick to hunting werewolves instead." Dirk admitted, then added, "And I can't deny what my eyes have seen so far." Before Charlotte could think to ask why Dirk thought that about her and Meier, the carriage came to a screeching halt.

"What the heck's goin' on now?.!" Dirk wondered, as he unsheathed two of his knives, and stood in front of Charlotte to protect her. From his position, Dirk could hear what was going on outside, and his heart almost froze when he heard the voices of two of the Markus Clan's members.

"Damn. Not good." Dirk thought, as he watched the door get yanked open, and as one of the men entered.

"Well, well, what have we here? Two birds with one stone!" Kyle, as that particular Hunter happened to be, sneered, as he eyed both Dirk and Charlotte.

"Stay behind me, Miss Elbourne." Dirk whispered, as he tensed and readied himself for some close-in fighting.

"So, you have sided with the enemy, eh, kid?" Kyle asked, his eyes hard and angry as the youth guarded both girl and vampire carefully.

"What if I have? What's it to you?" Dirk questioned, in turn.

"It means less competition for us. Right, Borgoff?" Kyle said, as the grizzled leader of the clan growled his agreement.

"Right." Borgoff muttered, as he kept his gaze on Mashira. A split second later, Dirk heard a pained howl, and a distant splash; signaling that the Barbaroi had just gotten taken out. And, only a heartbeat later, Dirk let out a yelp himself, as Kyle's weapon neatly sliced his left shoulder open; spraying a fine amount of blood onto Charlotte's shocked face.

"Now, MOVE ASIDE, mixed breed!" Kyle snarled, as he shoved Dirk to one side, and grabbed Charlotte's wrist.

"She's still human! Come on! NOW!" Kyle ordered, as he forced the girl to get out of the carriage and walk over to where Borgoff stood waiting. Dirk's vision swam as he tried to stanch the bleeding in his shoulder wound; blearily looking up when the coffin opened, and Meier got out and gave him a look of concern.

"D-don't worry about me. They've got Miss Elbourne!" Dirk gasped, when the vampire had given him something to help stem the bleeding a bit.

"Don't worry. I will get her back." Meier growled, as he eyed the open door, and the evening sunshine beyond it, with determination and even anger in his deep red eyes.

"Don't do it...You won't last long out there, even if you are powerful!" Dirk said, seeing now that the love between this vampire and the human girl he'd been talking to only moments before was shared...and very real.

"I've got to. Charlotte is the only light I've got...I can't lose her." Meier replied, then added, "Someday, you will understand what I mean."

"I think I already do." Dirk mused, as he watched, helplessly, as Meier bravely stepped out into the sun...and when flames started erupting from him.

Author's Note!

Okay, I think this chapter turned out 'all right'. I can only hope that it didn't seem like a whole lot of rambling! As always, read and review, please!

Gemini14