The vampires inside didn't notice us, but the hounds certainly did. They were the same beasts I had seen in Harkon's castle, with the same shadowy pelts and burning eyes. They started barking viciously as soon as we were in sight, alerting the vampires to our presence. Serana leapt into the fray, reanimating one of the hounds that I had brought down with a well-placed arrow. The rest fell swiftly enough, and Serana met me by the tunnel leading deeper into the cave.

"You fought well this time," she said, sounding both impressed and approving. "Swordplay really isn't your best skill."

I pulled another arrow from my quiver and held it in my bow hand so it would be ready to fire. "If I'm up close and personal with whatever I'm fighting, I like to have my claws. This body is weaker, so I'm better off at a range." I glanced at the death hound following us. "Is it normal for a vampire to be so well-versed in necromancy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not typically. One of my kind can usually reanimate something weak to fight for us, but my mother taught me quite a bit before..."

"Before you were locked up," I said quietly. "That had to hurt her."

Serana's lips thinned, like she was recounting a bad memory. "She wasn't that upset when we left the castle. She kept telling me how sorry she was, and how much she'd miss me, but... It seemed like she was more excited to spite my father than sad to lose me."

I hesitated a moment, before saying, "If it makes you feel any better, I know what it's like to have parents more interested in killing each other than raising you." When she drew a breath to speak, I shook my head rapidly. "We'll talk later. We need to find this Moth Priest."

The screaming was a pretty clear indicator of where the priest was. "The more you fight me, the more you will suffer, mortal!" snarled what I assumed was a vampire. Rounding the corner, I realized I was right, but it hadn't seen me yet.

The Priest was trapped in a strange bubble of foul energy, kneeling. From the set of his shoulders I guessed it wasn't by choice. "I will resist you, monster!" he cried. "I must!"

The vampire laughed scornfully. "How much longer can you keep this up, Moth Priest? Your mind was strong, but you're exhausted from the struggle."

"Must... resist..." the Priest panted, but I could tell he was losing the fight.

The vampire could too. "Good. I can feel your defenses crumbling." His voice turned soothing. "You want it to end. You want to give in to me. Now, acknowledge me as your master."

The voice that came from the Priest was wooden, broken. "Yes, master."

I cursed, knocked an arrow, and loosed it at the vampire who stood with his head tossed back and his teeth bared in a vicious laugh. It struck him right through his exposed neck, and the laughter cut off into a choked gurgle. I crept forward, Serana close behind, but the vampire died without much fuss. The Priest still knelt in the bubble of energy. I reached out to touch it, and hissed when it burned my fingers.

"How are we going to get this down?" I asked, clenching my hand in a fist to try and relieve the sting.

Serana stood from where she had been by the corpse of the vampire and showed me a grey stone lined with greenish crystal. "It's a Weystone focus. If we find where this goes, we can deactivate the field."

I glanced around, and pointed to some steps leading up onto a ledge. "Up there, maybe?"

"Worth a try," she said, and ran toward it.

There was a small pillar of rock with an indent shaped like the stone. She set it down, and the light flashed before disappearing entirely. The Priest rose, and his lifeless eyes gazed up at us. "I serve my master's will. His enemies will pay."

He moved toward the steps, walking stiffly, and I growled in frustration. "We can't kill him. Is it even possible to cure a thrall?"

"The one you killed didn't feed on him," she said quickly. "If you can stun him, the enthrallment should break."

"Hit an angry priest on the head?" I asked, grinning. "Easy."

Not as easy as I would have hoped. Since I was close enough to clout him with the metal grip of my bow, he was close enough to slash me with the dagger. We fell at the same time, him crumpled on the floor and me kneeling with my hand on my side.

"I hate close-range," I panted, pulling my hand away to look at the blood. It wasn't any strange color, and it wasn't too much. I would be fine until we could get to an inn or make camp. "Doesn't bother you, does it?" I asked Serana, waving my hand a bit.

"Animal blood isn't anywhere near as enticing as human," she said, pulling the Priest upright. "I don't have to worry about that with you."

"Oh good." I tore the tunic of the vampire, binding the wound as well as I could through the leather of my armor. The scratch I had gotten in Dimhollow Crypt had already healed, but it hadn't been quite this bad. I'd have to be careful.

The Priest woke soon enough, likely helped by my smacking his face. His eyes flew open just in time to see me pull my hand back to try again. "Wait! Stop! The vampire's hold is broken."

I sat back. "Damn. It's not every day I get to hit someone."

Serana cast a dark look at me before speaking to the Priest. "Are you alright?"

"Quite alright, thanks to you." He stood, groaning with the effort of age. "My name is Dexion Evicus. I'm a Moth Priest of the White Gold Tower. These demons claimed they had some use for me, but they wouldn't say. Likely holding me for ransom, the fools."

"Actually, they needed you for the same reason we do," I said, jumping to my feet and then wincing as the motion had my wound throbbing. "We're from the Dawnguard, and we need you to read an Elder Scroll."

His eyes grew wide. "An Elder Scroll? Remarkable! If I remember correctly, the Dawnguard was an ancient order of vampire hunters, yes?" At my nod, he bowed his head. "I will be happy to assist you with your Elder Scroll. Where shall we begin?"

"Head to Fort Dawnguard, outside of Riften. It's near Stendarr's Beacon." I peered suspiciously at his clothes. "Will you be able to make it there on your own?"

"News of my rescue shouldn't reach the vampires soon enough for them to track me. I'll hurry there." He left in a swish of robes and beard.

I watched him go, fairly certain my face showed as much contempt as I felt. "Scholars. I'd almost say we should go with him, but-" I prodded the gash on my side and grimaced. "Yeah, we'll move too slow."

"Don't you have any healing potions?" she asked, sounding equally both concerned and annoyed.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "Not as such. The whole werewolf thing means that I usually don't have to worry about injuries. The ones I suffer as a wolf heal fairly quickly when I shift back, just not the other way around. Having someone around, and having to go and fetch people like this, means that I don't tend to let her out very often."

She didn't look happy to hear that. "So my being here is a burden for you?"

"That's not what I meant!" I protested. "All I meant was that I'm not used to travelling or fighting like this. Or... getting injured, for that matter." I gritted my teeth as a rising heartbeat made the gash worse. "I'm glad to have you here, and I'll be even happier if you can help me get back to Dragon Bridge without passing out."

Weirdly, that seemed to make her feel better. She held her arm out for me, which I was grateful to have. The blood loss, or the shock of the injury- I wasn't sure which- was worse than I thought, and I was starting to feel exhausted. The cause of the weakness became apparent when I collapsed by a tree just outside the cave.

"Are you okay?" Serana asked, voice high with worry.

"It had to be silver," I said, panting. "I'm not going to be able to make it into town."

She stood on the balls of her feet, like she was ready to run. "I can go to town and get help."

"No!" I groaned, the yell making me dizzy now. "No. You might get attacked."

"Then what can I do to help?" She knelt down by my side, moving my hand from the injury. She let out a gasp when she shifted the cloth. "It's streaked with purple."

I laughed, a husky and quiet sound. "That sounds about right. It must have been a worse cut than I thought." My vision swam as she prodded at it, and it felt like the pain swallowed me up as I lost consciousness.