Chapter Twelve: Miracles
Belladonna and Leila could only watch as the two men fought a useless battle. Both of them had lost something dear to them; for one, a lover...for the other, his own flesh and blood, his son. Grief was the only thing fueling them, now.
"I wish there was some way we could stop them. This is so pointless." Leila murmured, sadly.
"I know...But there's nothing we can say or do that'll convince them to stop...The only ones who could, are the ones that are lying at our feet dead now." Belladonna agreed, flinching when the edge of Meier's left 'wing' slashed at D's abdomen; narrowly missing him as the Hunter leaped backwards away from him.
"If only you were still here, Dirk! You could've stopped them!" Belladonna thought, hopelessly, as she gazed at the strangely still features of the young Werewolf Hunter; not even bothering to look when the castle began to crumble around them.
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With a deadly grace that could only be attributed to vampires and dunpeals, Meier Link and D fought against one another as dust and debris started to fall around them. D winced when he felt a sharp stab of pain from his abdominal wound; and felt his grief only double when the memory of how he'd gotten it returned to taunt him. It had been in the defense of Dirk and Belladonna that he'd received the injury in the first place...and now one of them was gone.
"I really should have died that night." D thought, as he uttered a growl, and kept fighting. Meier seemed to notice when D stumbled a little, and could smell blood coming from the dunpeal...and it wasn't Dirk's.
"He must have been wounded before coming on this hunt and it is bleeding again. I truly regret getting Dirk into such grave danger...I know how much the boy meant to you." Meier mused, as he watched D's face in the midst of their battle. The dunpeal's eyes were showing even more emotion than he was used to seeing; in effect showing him just how rattled to the core D was at the loss of his son.
"You struggle to resist this nature of ours, but it can't last forever, D. The urge for their blood is stronger." Meier murmured, when he and D were close enough to exchange words, and yet not be heard by the two women who now watched them. He knew that this sort of comment usually angered his former friend and comrade...this time, however, his own hopelessness was reflected in D's steel grey eyes.
"If that day comes...then another will hunt me. It's as simple as that." D replied, as he shoved Meier back, and swung his blade at the vampire's head when he was off balance. His blow never landed.
"What?.!" both Meier and D wondered, as they stared at their weapons. They seemed to float in midair; held back by invisible hands in order to prevent them from striking at one another. Then a scent started to come to D's nostrils...a familiar scent that almost made him drop his sword.
"The scent of blood...Dirk's blood! B-but how..." D's mind yelped, as he watched in morbid fascination as the blood he had smelled began to drip down the entire length of the blade.
"What the blazes is going on here?.!" Meier also wondered, becoming bewildered when he felt a slight tugging on his left arm at the same time.
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"Hey, do you see that?" Leila asked, when she'd noticed that the two men had stopped fighting and were now staring at one another.
"See what?" Belladonna questioned in turn, confusedly.
"Take a good look at the dunpeal's sword." Leila said, bringing to the other Huntress' attention the odd event that was taking place right in front of them. Belladonna's eyes widened when she saw what Leila had noticed.
"Blood! But I don't remember either of them getting a blow in!" Belladonna said, bewildered by this turn of events.
"Funny thing is...I don't either." Leila muttered, as they continued to watch the pair's faceoff closely.
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D's breaths were coming in shaky gasps, as he continued to stand there with his sword trapped in what seemed to be an invisible barrier. In front of him, Meier also stood, seemingly frozen by the bizarre occurrence. With blurring vision, D closed his eyes; struggling to control the pain that was starting to surge through him, now that his adrenaline level was going down.
"D! This scent! It's coming from right in between you and the vampire! Somebody is here between you two!" Left's mental voice shouted, barely being heard by his host as he said that.
"But who could it be? We both know it couldn't be..." D replied, opening his eyes slightly when he thought he heard a sound come from between him and Meier.
"...ad!...Dad...!" a voice cried, desperately, as the invisible hand that held the sword back almost gave way under the pressure that was coming from behind it. "C'mon! Snap out of it!"
"Have I finally gone insane?" D wondered, as something briefly appeared between them. It appeared to be a youth that was in his teens, with grey eyes and dark hair. He had looked disheveled, and vaguely panicked.
"D! It was Dirk! I saw him! He's right between you, holding your sword back!" Belladonna screamed.
"She's right, dunpeal!" Leila said, then added, "And there was somebody beside the vampire that had appeared for a moment as well!"
"Could it be?" D mused, as he slowly backed away, lowering his sword as he did so. Meier also lowered his weapon, and felt it when someone wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Dirk." D softly called, and watched as an outline of the young Hunter appeared, and when it slowly filled itself in; revealing a relieved-looking Dirk Lang standing there.
"DIRK! You're alive!" Belladonna cried, as she rushed over; nearly tackling the quarter-vampire in her relief.
"Glad to say that I am, 'Donna." Dirk said, smiling as he briefly hugged her back, "But you might want to watch yourself; my right hand's been pretty badly cut."
"I don't care! It tells me that you're alive! You're not dead!" Belladonna said, as happy tears poured down her pretty face. Dirk sighed, but his smile didn't fade in the slightest.
"That might not be the case in a few minutes, 'Donna, if I keep bleeding like this." Dirk stated, calmly; but with a joking tone hidden somewhere in his voice.
"Why?" Belladonna asked, confusedly.
"I had to give Charlotte a blood transfusion." Dirk said, getting a disbelieving look from Meier as a result.
"You mean to say that the girl is still alive, as well?" Leila asked, incredulously. Dirk nodded.
"She's clinging to Meier right now." Dirk stated, grinning when a very faint blush appeared on Meier's usually pale features, and he looked down. Almost immediately, the illusion surrounding the girl fell away, revealing a very-much-alive Charlotte Elbourne.
"I...I don't believe it..." Meier muttered, as an overjoyed smile appeared on his face.
"Meier! I'm here! I'm really here!" Charlotte assured him, as the vampire swept her into a grateful embrace.
"I thought I'd lost you...I..." Meier whispered, as he buried his face in her chestnut hair and breathed in her scent. Charlotte only sighed gently and held him even tighter against her in response to her beloved's overwhelmed state.
"It seems...the last of Carmilla's illusions were meant to drive us both to our deaths on each other's weapons." D thoughtfully murmured, as Meier looked up at him and quietly agreed.
"Yes...An illusion to induce madness...and we fell right into it. It seems I owe you an apology, old friend." Meier said, getting a look on his own face that bordered on concern when D wavered a little bit, and caught himself on Dirk's shoulder. D only managed to nod his understanding, and then collapse. With a collective yelp, all of those within the crumbling ballroom rushed to D's side. Dirk's eyes widened when he saw a puddle of blood forming beneath his father, and as harsh coughs brought up even more.
"D, can you hear me? How did this happen...?" Meier asked, as he slowly levered the severely wounded Hunter into a sitting position. D grimaced.
"Listen, we can find out the answers later. For now, let's get the hell out of here before this whole place falls down on top of us." Leila said, as she placed a hand on Meier's shoulder to get his attention. The vampire nodded in agreement.
"Right. I can carry at least three of you. Dirk, think you can manage to keep up with me?" Meier asked. He got a nod from the quarter-vampire for an answer.
"But how do you propose to carry us? You don't have three pairs of arms, do you?" Leila questioned, skeptically.
"I will carry you and Charlotte on my back, since I need my arms free to move D. From the looks of things, his wounds are graver than I'd first thought." Meier stated, as he kneeled and allowed both women to grab onto his shoulders.
"Okay. Which way now?" Dirk asked, confusing his companions when he didn't even look at Meier when he'd asked the question.
"We'll lead the way, young one. You and yours' just need to concentrate on keeping up." a regal male voice replied, as the phantom owner of it appeared in front of all of them, with a female ghost at his side.
"All right! Lead the way!" Dirk shouted, as he took off after the ghosts.
"I don't believe this...We're actually going to be chasing shadows to get out of here." Leila grumbled, as she held on for dear life to her former enemy's shoulders.
"Don't knock it till you have tried it, Lady Markus. After all, we couldn't have asked for a better guide in order to get out of here safely." Meier murmured, as he raced alongside Dirk towards the exit.
"Why is that, Meier?" Charlotte asked, curiously. Meier gave them a semblance of an ironic smile over his shoulder, before returning his attention to the winding hallways before him.
"One of those ghosts, my love, is that of the Vampire King himself." Meier replied, noticing when Leila almost lost her grip, and then held on even tighter than she had before.
"You have got to be kidding me...you mean he is leading us all out?" Leila queried. Meier nodded.
"The original killer of the Bloody Countess has returned from the grave to protect his bloodline...and it includes young Dirk." Meier said, quietly.
"That actually...explains a lot..." D managed, painfully.
"I'm sure it does, sir, but don't try to speak right now. You're too badly hurt." Charlotte urged; hazel eyes worried when she saw just how much difficulty D was having just breathing.
"It sounds like he's got a hole in one of his lungs...and his heart doesn't sound very clear, either. I hope his old stake injury hasn't reopened...It could be deadly if it has." Meier mused, then shouted, when they were finally outside, "Make for my carriage! It's built to withstand this sort of thing! Hurry!" There was no argument from anyone as they all bolted for the vehicle, and dove inside it just as the structure they had just escaped from collapsed behind them.
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"Damn. He's worse off than I'd thought."
Was Leila's comment, and the collective thought of the remainder of the group, when she, Belladonna, Charlotte, and Dirk finally had the chance to see to D's wounds. The Dunpeal Hunter's shirt was soaked with gore; a testament to how horrible Carmilla's torture had been. His recent injury was bleeding again, but the most frightening part about his condition was that a lot of his older wounds were as well. All across his chest, stomach, and back, there were deep gashes; a hint on how rough his long life had been.
"Dunpeal or no, even he won't last long if he keeps bleeding like this. Charlotte, do you know how to sew?" Belladonna asked. Charlotte seemed taken aback by the question, but nodded, nonetheless.
"Good. I'm going to have to ask you to help stitch his wounds closed. Dirk." Belladonna said, turning her attention to the waiting quarter-vampire.
"What can I do to help?" Dirk in turn asked.
"I think your dad was carrying some blood capsules in his saddlebags. Go and get them." Belladonna ordered, getting a slight salute and a brisk nod before Dirk disappeared into the darkness outside the carriage.
"The kid sure has recovered quickly, for having just given blood, himself." Leila muttered, as she watched him go.
"I think it is just adrenaline fueling him now, Lady Markus. Once things calm down, then he will probably sleep for the next couple of days." Meier murmured; as he gazed wearily and a little bit worriedly at the wounded Hunter.
"True. And I'd say the same for you, if you didn't look like you were about to fall asleep on your feet." Leila replied, getting a wane smile from Meier in answer to that.
"I'm inclined to agree. But there are still a couple of hours of darkness left. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know." Meier stated, addressing all three of the women with that remark.
"Okay. We will." Belladonna promised, before returning her full attention to the injured Hunter, and getting started on the tending of his wounds.
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When D opened his eyes, quite a while later, he found himself in an unusual position.
"Am I laying on someone's lap?" D wondered, foggily, as he gazed up at the person his head and shoulders were reclined on, and felt himself freeze.
"Take it easy, Dunpeal. I'm not going to shoot you over something you had no control over." Leila said, smirking wryly at him in response to the almost panicked look he'd given her.
"Why...?" D managed to whisper.
"Belladonna had said that you need to be kept in a reclined position till you're able to breathe normally again. That damn hole in your lung almost did you in." Leila stated, then added, "You had everybody here worried that you wouldn't pull through."
"How long have I been unconscious?" D asked, quietly; remembering to keep his voice low so it wouldn't irritate his injured lung.
"About four days. I'm amazed by how much of a gentleman that Vampire really is. He and Dirk even helped me give Grove a decent burial." Leila mused, sadly, as she remembered that it had been Grove's spirit that had rescued her from the changed Borgoff Markus. D only offered her a very slight smirk for that.
"You'd best watch it. Meier Link is quite the lady killer." D muttered; hardly resisting the snicker that escaped from between his lips when a grumbled 'I heard that.' came from inside of the coffin. This was accompanied by some giggling from Charlotte (who was also inside of the coffin) and a low laugh came from Dirk and Belladonna from their seat across from him and Leila.
"I'm glad you have decided to hang on, D." a female voice said, as the ghostly owner of it appeared next to D, and smiled lovingly at him.
"Doris..." D muttered, stunned to see her there.
"There is so much I wish I could tell you, D, but I don't have too much time left. You see, I have been following you and Dirk since our son found you. When you both accepted that job to bring the young lady home, I was so troubled by it that I continued to follow you both. It wasn't until Dirk was within the castle that I was able to make contact with him...And even then I had needed the help of your father to do it. I'm relieved that you have both come through it alive, and I wish you nothing but the best as you continue living. Who knows? Our paths may cross again, one day." Doris' ghost said, with a gentle, yet very sad, smile.
"Thank you, Doris...for watching over us." D whispered, as the woman's ghost began to fade away.
"Always remember, D, that I love you and Dirk very much...And I will always be watching over you, even if you can't see me." Doris said, as she brushed a hand against D's face, then turned and did the same to Dirk, before fading away completely.
"And, I believe, it is time I took my leave as well." another spectral voice stated, as the owner of it appeared before those in the carriage.
"Is the ship still in workable condition, Sire?" Meier asked, from within the casket. The Vampire King's ghost nodded.
"It can still make the trip, if that is what you were so worried about." The Vampire King replied, turning when Belladonna uttered a disappointed groan.
"And I was hoping you'd tell us more stories about when D was young!" Belladonna said; giggling when D's expression deadpanned and he gave both ghost and casket a scathing look.
"What did you tell them, Meier? Father?" D asked, edgily. An almost mischievous grin briefly graced the Vampire King's face, before he answered his seething son.
"What you don't know, won't hurt me" the Vampire King chuckled.
"What he said." Meier muttered, then added, "I have no real desire to die by your sword, or by dirty looks, thank you."
"It's almost too bad I won't live as long as you guys will. This is the most interesting conversation I've heard yet." Leila mused aloud, getting a confused look from D in the process.
"What do you mean? Charlotte is mortal as well." D said, voicing his confusion on the matter.
"Not anymore, Dad...Y'see...that blood transfusion I gave her...from my blood...had an unforeseen side-effect...She's now a quarter-vampire as well." Dirk explained, uncertainly. There were a few moments of stunned silence, before D muttered something under his breath that sounded positively nasty.
"Before anyone even asks, I am not translating what he'd just said." Meier said, seeming quite surprised by his friend's mouth.
"Oh, for a bar of good lye soap!" The Vampire King stated, equally as shocked by D's vocabulary.
"Who wants to live foreveeeeerrrrr?" Marv sang, in his usual off-key tone.
"Put the soap in Marv's mouth, please." Dirk grumbled.
"SHUT UP, MARV!!!!!" the rest of the group shouted, before the sword's mouth was firmly taped shut again.
Author's Note!
Almost to the end of the story! Epilogue coming up!
Gemini14