24
For Aaron, the trip back to the Guild seemed longer the usual. He couldn't know if it passed minutes or hours, if they were still walking in the woods near Acuna, or it were the ones around the Guild. His senses were weak, he couldn't hear properly. And he was damn hungry. Weak, but hungry, and couldn't do anything until they arrived. So, having no strength to complain or fight back the gunslinger that was carrying him, Aaron simple sighed, moving a bit to see Nidhoggr slipping on the ground, carrying Lucian over the machine.
The wolf was still tied up with the ropes the boy created. He was furious, looking with anger at the gunslinger that was holding Aaron on his arms. Lucian growled again, but no one paid attention to him. After all, he was tied up. Lucian was surprised to see how strong those ropes were, he didn't imagine that Aaron's dark energy developed so fast. But then again, the kid learns fast. He growled again when his body shivered, his eight eyes closing for a moment. Lucian could smell his mate, that delicious scent Aaron was starting to create thanks to the dark matter in him. His hair shot up, his pupils dilating. Lucian started to struggle again, Nidhoggr having a hard time maintaining balance. The wolf was reacting to his natural instincts of mating, being Full Moon close but since he didn't have control over those reactions, he couldn't behave himself.
"Watch out behind there!!", shouted one of the gunslingers to the ones that were far in the back of the group.
Aaron felt the gunslinger that was carrying him turn around. He opened his heavy and tired eyes and locked them over Lucian, who was slowly spreading the ropes with his intense strength. The wolf was on his feet now, his legs shaking under the pressure the ropes were doing on him.
"You!!", shouted Oyan to the one that was holding Aaron. "Get the fuck away from the wolf!! I can't risk the boy getting hurt or killed!!"
Lucian's ears twitched as he heard the man's voice. He showed his teeth and fangs, crouching and growling angrily. He tried to walk but the ropes tightened hard around him, forcing Lucian to fall on the ground again, feeling how those ropes were circling his body and cutting the flesh underneath the fur. But couldn't help it. That scent his mate was creating without knowing... Did Aaron know how crazy that scent was making Lucian? The wolf growled, sniffing the air again letting that scent penetrate all his senses. He tried to move again, but his body was starting to ache from being tied up. Giving up, Lucian let Nidhoggr slip under him and keep the pace towards the Guild. Oyan calmed himself when he saw that his spy had control over the situation, but asked himself what made the wolf suddenly react that way.
Machine King separated from the group as it sneaked towards the barrier, going through it effortlessly, slowly putting Lucian on the ground as it reached one of the walls to stay there. Nidhoggr stepped outside the machine and walked towards the prisoner, watching his dilated pupils. The vampire boy hummed, knowing why Lucian suddenly had reacted the way he did. Oyan might want to know but, as soon as he discovers it's only because of the mating season, would care less about him. But Nidhoggr was concerned. Mated vampires were fifty percent more aggressive than normal vampires, but Lucian could rise that cipher without problems at an eighty percent. He couldn't leave him in that beast form since Oyan would probably want to ask him question and, doing it in the outside and with such size was going to be rather dangerous for the gunslinger.
Once again, he stuck his hands into Lucian's body, moving them until they grabbed the hilt of Vanargandr. Slowly, Nidhoggr dragged the sword from the vampire's body, hearing him moan in pain as the edges of it cut his skin. When the weapon was finally out of Lucian's body, his form begun to shrink, returning to the human form he always had. The ropes, amazingly, didn't lose up. As Lucian's shrank, the ropes did the same, adjusting to the smaller form.
"I'm amazed by that power.", said the vampire boy once Lucian returned to his human form, with Casket Armor and all. Vanargandr dissolved in air, the dark matter returning to the vampire's original body. "So, your mighty strength ended up being your mighty weakness?"
"Just shut the fuck up already.", growled the other vampire, his body shivering, something that didn't go unnoticed by Nidhoggr, who smiled.
"What's up with you and your body?", asked in a naughty tone. "Is it because Full Moon is close, or because the boy is starting to create his own aroma with those dark powers?", Lucian's eyes shone in a bright red light, but didn't reply to the question. "Do you want to spend those nights with your little boy?"
"...Are you willing to let me free? I can do whatever I want once the ropes and chains are broken.", said the man, grinning.
"Oh, you wouldn't if I were you.", Nidhoggr smiled like him. "Remember he is still human, and I have a bunch of drugs awaiting to be used."
Lucian suddenly stood up, but couldn't walk. He growled, showing his teeth and fangs.
"For your own good, you better not lay a single finger on him!!", ordered the vampire, his hair spiking up, just as it did when he was a wolf.
"Then you will do whatever we want."
"I only listen to Aaron.", said Lucian, hissing. "He is the only one that can control and boss me around."
Nidhoggr giggled.
"We will see."
The vampire boy helped Lucian walk inside the Guild, were Oyan ordered to lock the man up in one of the dungeons, while Aaron was placed in one of the jails that still had a nice bed where he could lay. Alexander was called to help and was relieved to see that the boy was still alive. They put him on the bed and covered him with the sheets and blankets, turning on an electric oven and warm up the cold jail. Aaron needed desperately a blood transfusion, at last to pass the night. In that state, he was not going to survive much more without it. Nidhoggr explained the situation to Oyan, and he acceded that he and Alexander went to see Lucian to ask if he knew Aaron's blood type.
"Wouldn't be easier if you just take a sample of his blood?", asked the leader.
"I don't want to risk my life.", answered the spy. "If he founds a little scratch on that boy, believe me, everyone will be soon knocking on Hell's doors."
Nidhoggr didn't expect Oyan to care about that, but a sudden frown made him think that he was starting to think twice before doing things. Asking Alexander's company, both of them walked towards the dungeons, opening the door from the one where Lucian was staying. The entire basement floor was damn cold, there was water filtrating from the stoned chambers. And since it was all underground, there were no open windows that lead outside, except from the one on the metal, heavy door. From it, a tiny ray of light from the lanterns hanging from the ceiling of the hallway went through it, but it wasn't enough to light everything in it.
The spy opened the door and turned on single light bulb in the room. Its light wasn't that bright since those dungeons were used to keep vampires. Bright lights, to some of them, hurt their skin and they needed them alive and conscious to answer questions. Lucian didn't seem to mind the lack of light, or the total darkness. He was on the floor, his arms up, hanging from a hook near the ceiling. The ropes were still around his body, but Oyan also ordered to put some heavy and strong chains. His head was low, not looking up when Nidhoggr called him. The vampire boy sighed and moved closer. He knew the man was awake and had to be careful. He didn't know what Lucian could do.
"I need to know what is the boy's blood type.", explained Nidhoggr. "He lost more than half of his blood in tieing you up with this rope.", continued, hoping that Lucian would react. And he did. The vampire lifted his head a little, watching him with his left eye. "I'm going to do some blood transfusions, but I need his blood type."
"I assume you are going to put some sort of strange drug in the transfusion, right?", asked in a unusual calm voice. Nidhoggr got surprised at hearing Lucian's soft voice.
"Yes, I am. But only to restore the boy's energy and blood circulation."
"He is O negative.", answered Lucian, smiling.
Alexander gasped and Nidhoggr's eyes widen. The O blood group was the global giver; it could give blood to anyone, but needed the same blood type in order to survive. And there weren't too much people with that strange blood type. The vampire boy looked at Lucian.
"Are you fucking kidding me?", asked, angrily. The smile of Lucian was something that he never liked about him. It made Nidhoggr feel uneasy.
"No, I'm not.", he laughed. "You can make him a little scratch to see it for yourself if you don't believe me.", he laughed again. "But a little scratch, you heard me? Anything bigger than that, and you will be dead."
"But if Aaron is O negative, how are we going to help him?", said Alexander to Lucian. "It's very rare for a human to be that blood type and for it it's going to be really hard to keep him alive if we don't know a human that has the same blood as him."
"Ernest is O negative too.", answered the vampire. "And I think Dumas was also an O negative type when he was still human. But now that he has changed...", he laughed again.
Seeing that Lucian wasn't going to talk anymore, both of them left. Nidhoggr thought a way how they could bring Ernest alone or ask him to give some of his blood for the boy. They didn't know where they were hiding and Aaron didn't have much time. Until they come up with something, Nidhoggr put a IV with plasma and some drugs to keep his body working. He was a bit cold, but with the plasma and the blankets, he should be fine for a few hours.
Alexander talked with Oyan about the situation and the leader agreed that they needed to ask Ernest's help to keep the boy alive, but asking was going to be trouble. The gunslingers and the vampires weren't going to let him go, thinking it was a trap. They could also use the same boy as an excuse. Ernest loved the boy like his own son and was going to do anything to help him. But, how are they going to contact the man if they didn't know their place? Alexander said that he would take care of that and, with Oyan's approve, he left the office and explained everything to Nidhoggr before going to the Guild's roof. Once there, he waited for a soft breeze to create a similar spell, carrying his message. He let it go inside the breeze and waited for its return. Reaching the Hideout will take at last an hour and, knowing Ernest, he was going to be at the Guild's doors in less than that.
Meanwhile, Oyan decided to start his questioning with Lucian. They had some time before the message reached Ernest and the man deciding to go or not. Nidhoggr had his medical kit filled with syringes and glass bottles with the drugs he normally used in interrogatories. He didn't know if they were going to affect Lucian in anyway. It could be that he was the same as Alexander, that the drugs didn't affect the Terrennial. If it was that way, then Oyan would more likely going to use the boy as an effective drug against the vampire, knowing that Lucian wasn't going to risk Aaron's life for anything.
Oyan went to the dungeon along with Alexander, Nidhoggr, Recher and Merclar. The five of them entered and Lucian lifted his head, smiling at their sight. He mostly looked at Alexander and Nidhoggr, ignoring the other three as they dragged some chairs to sit. Oyan took his and sat in front of the vampire, with the chair turned so he could put his arms over the back of it. His red hair was now dirty after the two fights he had in a row and his pinkish eyes were glimmering. The vampire smiled, showing his fangs. The chains produced a soft sound when Lucian sat on his knees.
"Hello.", said the vampire, narrowing his eyes. The smile was still on his face. "Pleased to meet you."
"No.", answered Oyan. "The pleasure is mine.", he laughed. He knew vampires had another view when they were chained against a wall and held captive, but Lucian seemed to be enjoying it for some reason. "I guess you had a nice time these two nights, right?"
"Oh, yes!", exclaimed. "I never had so much fun in years!"
"Not even when you were still human and gunslinger?"
Lucian seemed offended by those words. His smile faded and closed his eyes, before opening them again.
"Those were other times, my friend. I was coming out from a tight situation and I only helped Trinity because he was a very close friend.", answered. He groaned when he started to feel that his arms were getting numb. Not enough blood was circulating there.
"What tight situation?"
"It's something I prefer to not talk about, since it gives me a huge headache and some painful memories I rather keep buried.", a sharp slap came across his face as Oyan hit him but, instead of feeling angry, he was delighted. Lucian looked at the auburn man and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't what you wanted to hear, right?", another slap came from the other side of his face.
"For your own good, you should answered those questions and say what I want to hear, like you just said.", Oyan stood up, dragging the chair and leaving it in the middle of the room. "What tight situation?", asked again.
"I rather not talk about it.", another slap came. "You can hit me all you want, but I'm not going to tell you.", he was calm, quiet. Oyan remembered when Alexander came the first time to the Guild when they captured him. They behave quiet the same. He looked at the Terrennial, who was helping Nidhoggr in filling some syringes.
"So, Trinity was a close friend of yours, right?", Lucian nodded. "How did you meet him?", he knew that the vampire wasn't going to answer the previous question but, hoping the drugs would affect him, he continued.
"Oh, it's a long story. He was a friend from a friend.", explained the man. "Like I said, he helped me through that tight situation and convinced me to join the Guild to become a Gunslinger."
"How many vampires are in Ernest's army?", Oyan changed the subject suddenly. Lucian noticed it, and asked himself if the man wanted to confuse him and then ask a question out from the blue and catch him with it. But the vampire was too cautious and Oyan didn't know that.
"Mm...", hummed Lucian. "Around... one thousand. But with the ones you killed tonight... Well, it's still a high number."
"What about those armors?", Oyan started to walk around the room. "Our bullets bounced on them, barely burning their clothes over them."
"They were made thanks to an especial man that helped us."
"Who? Alchemy Sheridan?", Lucian grinned and the man took that as a 'yes'. "So, he is helping you in this."
"No.", said the vampire. "He only made us the armors; he doesn't take part in this at all. He hates vampires, after all."
"Then, how in the hell he helped you?", this time, Recher asked. Nidhoggr gave an angry sigh to which Alexander answered with a small giggle.
"Because we helped him four years ago.", said Lucian. "He is a good man, quiet scary sometimes though."
"And what about him?", Recher pointed Alexander, who lifted his head. "I don't really like him at all.", Oyan sighed but didn't say anything. He knew that he couldn't convince Recher when he was being as stubborn as this. "He was part of your group, why he left?"
"You ask him.", answered Lucian, smiling. "I'm not inside his head to know what he thinks and how he acts. If you want answers, then you should ask him instead of me.", he laughed. "But maybe Betelgeuse can tell you after he brain-washed him, or because Froggy used too much drugs that fried his brain."
Oyan raised his eyebrows at the sudden nickname, but didn't mind it. After all, Betelgeuse was a giant red star in Orion's constellation, and perhaps the vampire gave it because of his red hair. Recher started to insult the man because of the lack of proper answers he was giving, but Merclar shut him up by hitting the shorter man with the handle of his favorite revolver on his head.
"What about Dark Terrennial Nero?", said Oyan. Lucian lifted his head and looked at him, not understanding his question. "You turned into what you are now because of the curse that went to your body thanks to the fusion with the Dark Terrennial. But if it that was the case, then you should have been transformed into a vampire in the instant the Terrennial had invaded your body.", with a joyful expression, Oyan saw how he was making Lucian uncomfortable about this. "And you left the battle field without any type of amulet that protected you from the curse! You went for one, instead!", the exclamation made the vampire jump in his place. Lucian admitted that he was starting to feel nervous. "There is no way you could have bear the curse for more than one day if you weren't already a dhampir.", he smiled, watching Lucian turn his head, avoiding his gaze. "In other words, you were already a dhampir before Trinity hired you."
"Maybe.", was the only thing that Lucian could say.
"But if that's true, then that means you were the son of a couple that consisted in a human and a vampire.", continued Oyan, walking around the room, not leaving Lucian's gaze when he lifted his head once more. "And you look near your twenties. The last war was eleven years ago. You still had that youthful appearance back then.", Oyan walked to him. "You are older than you look; you have more years than anyone in this room, probably."
"Maybe.", said again the vampire.
"Why a dhampir let a gunslinger hire him to fight against his own race?"
"Humans fights against their own race.", answered Lucian. "Black and whites fight because whites think they are better than them; just for the skin color. Mulattos, the mix between black and white, they are also in war with either the blacks or the whites, mostly the whites, for the same reason I just told you.", the vampire licked his lips. He was getting a bit thirsty. "Vampires and dhampires aren't that different from humans. Noble vampires hate dhampires because of their imperfection, of their incomplete form, of not being completely vampires. Whites hate mulattos because they aren't completely white. They are... tainted with unworthy blood, unworthy genes.", he sighed, resting on the wall behind him. "What's the difference with humans? We are all the same within inside, dead or alive, we are all the same."
"So, you hated vampires? That's why you listed in the Guild? Or it was only to return Trinity's favor?", asked Oyan.
"A little bit of both."
"Why you hated vampires?", said the man, sitting again on the chair, that he previously dragged towards Lucian. "Have they done something to you?"
"As they have done it to you.", answered Lucian with a smile. Oyan closed his mouth, his eyes fixed on the vampire's. "Your... father.", he laughed under his breath. "Poor little devil. He died at his best friend's hands... in front of your crying mother.", a hard slap came and made contact with his right cheek. "Poor little devil, that not even his son was brave enough to help him..."
"Shut the fuck up!!", cried Oyan hitting him, this time with his full fist.
"A son that made up his mind and entered the Guild to avenge his father!!", continued Lucian. "But you went far from that, you decided to kill every vampire! Ones that never bothered you, that didn't know you, that didn't know what happened in your family!!", a second fist came this time, on his other side. "You are just angry still because you couldn't help your father when you had the chance!", the vampire started to laugh. "You fucking coward! You couldn't do anything to save him!! Coooward!!", he continued to laugh, feeling Oyan's hits on his stomach. "Yes! Keep hitting me! Make that anger go away!"
"You know nothing what happened decades ago!!", yelled the man, kicking Lucian's head. Alexander gasped under his breath and Nidhoggr hoped that Oyan didn't kill the man. "Don't talk if you don't know!!"
"Oh, I know more than you think, Betelgeuse.", he moved closer to the man, their faces only millimeters away from each other. Oyan looked straight into Lucian's red eyes. "I can see through you, Betelgeuse.", whispered, smiling. "And I see a scared child, a scared child fearing to do the same mistake he did twenty five years ago.", he growled softly. "If you keep this up, you will end up killed and your father's revenge will be forgotten."
Oyan stood up, not answering. He turned around and looked at Nidhoggr and Alexander, who were waiting. On the other side of the room, Recher and Merclar were doing the same. He turned his eyes to Lucian, who was smiling. What was that man? He knew vampires could read human's thoughts, but that was from deeper scars, buried very deep in his brain. How could Lucian know about that? No one knew about his past, not even his closest men or the North Guild members. Only his mother, but she was back in the Northlands. Lucian could never meet her if he stayed in the Eastland, and he didn't know of anyone who could tell him about it. Oyan found himself in a dead end when he asked about Lucian's impulses. What he said was right, but it doesn't explain other thing.
"If you hated vampires so much, why you let the curse take your body?", asked after a few minutes of silence. "You perfectly knew that, by taking your eye-patch off, the dark powers would have free will upon your body. And yet, you went to train with your weapons, you took off your eye-patch, knowing that the curse was slowly gaining terrain.", he sat once more on the chair. "And from what my spy told me, at first you were irritated by it but then, you changed your mind. You were happy about it, you were anxious, you couldn't see the moment to finally transform into a vampire.", he put his arms over the backrest of the chair. "Why would you let yourself transform in something you hated?"
"One of the things I let myself transform was because it was pointless to keep fighting after so many years.", answered Lucian. "I had to accept the type of person I am and not reject it, as I have been doing this whole time. I honestly thought I could control the curse with the help of the weapons, that by liberating it in those weapons, the curse would slowly disappear.", the vampire sighed, his hard gaze became softer. "I made a terrible mistake when I went training, but it also made me realize that it will be not only hard for me, but also for Aaron.", Lucian looked at Oyan. "After I returned from my training, I started to feel sick, to vomit all food I ate, to not being able to drink anything besides water. I couldn't let myself weaken. Who would protect him, then?"
"One of the reasons was Trinity's son?", asked surprised the man. Lucian nodded. "But you still could protect him as a human."
"My friend, how little you know about vampirism.", said the vampire smiling. "Once the curse is in the body, it's only matter of time until it strikes. You can't remove it; you either live with it, or you let it consume your body.", he laid on the wall. "I choose the second, since the first is too hard, and you suffer a lot. But not only you, also your friends, your family, your mate. Everyone suffers from it. I couldn't risk having berserk spasms, attacking the first thing in front of me, having a sudden bloodlust, having a sudden mating season.", he shrugged. "When a human is infected with the curse, the best thing it can do is let it take it over its body."
"And lose all your precious human's memories?"
"It's up to oneself if you want to keep them.", explained Lucian. "Most humans panic when they are bitten by a vampire, and that is what the curse looks to easily destroy them. If a human is strong of mind, then its memories will stay intact even if it had been transformed into a vampire. But since most humans are weak in mind...", he left the sentence unfinished, knowing that Oyan understood perfectly. "There is... this book my mate has been reading."
"A book?", repeated the man.
"Yes, a book.", answered Lucian. "It's a book about vampires, dhampires. It explains a lot about vampire nature, how vampires react at each Moon's phase.", he smiled. "You should read it. It will make you know more about us, and perhaps it lets you think a way of beating us since your barbarian way isn't exactly working.", Alexander was about to say something, but Nidhoggr stopped him from screwing up his undercover. The Terrennial closed his mouth and continued listening.
"What about the Beasts?"
"Beasts?"
"Vanargandr and Jormungandr.", specified Oyan. "How could you summon them?"
"With spells, with my power."
"But how? You must have an incredible amount of energy to do so, and I don't think you are like that.", said the man.
"Well then... That's a secret."
After that last sentence, Lucian didn't talk anymore, even when Oyan started to abuse him physically. The drugs didn't have any effect on him, like Nidhoggr foreseen, so there was nothing to do until Aaron was feeling better. It was already three in the morning and everyone was tired. The gunslingers left the dungeon along with the Terrennial and the vampire boy, which went towards Aaron's jail and finding the boy awake. He was resting still, looking at the IV and the little drops of the saline solution that came from the bigger bag, went through the small, flexible tube, to his arm and finally, to his blood stream.
Aaron smiled at both of them when they entered, and Alexander asked to one of the rookies who were guarding the door to bring some food. Nidhoggr watched the IV and fixed a bit the needle in Aaron's arm.
"How do you feel?", asked the vampire boy.
"So weak.", said the boy. "I never felt like this before."
"You shouldn't have used that attack.", Nidhoggr sat on a little stool next to the bed. "It almost killed you."
"But at last I stopped Lucian, even if with it Oyan captured us.", Aaron sighed deeply. Talking was draining his strength faster than he thought of. "Are you Froggy?"
Nidhoggr blinked in confusion. He looked at Alexander, who nodded, and the vampire boy slipped his mask and showed his face to the boy, who smiled.
"Yes, I am."
"I'm Aaron. Pleased to meet you.", he tried to sit but with the IV stuck in his arm, he couldn't move. Alexander helped him and put the pillows behind his back so the boy could sit comfortably. "It's rare to see that a vampire is helping the gunslingers."
"I could say the same to you.", answered Nidhoggr.
"But our situation is different from yours.", Aaron put his hands over his lap and sighed a second time. Once he reunited the necessary energy to continue, he said; "You are a single vampire helping a whole community. We are a whole community fighting."
Nidhoggr stopped to think about that. Yes, he was helping Oyan in his fight, in his vampire massacre. Why? It was all after the last war. Years ago, he awoke in a dungeon, much as Lucian was now. He was tied up, beaten up near dead. He had some broken bones, bandages all over his body. His glasses were broken too, but being a vampire, he could easily see without them. Then, he smelled blood. And then he saw a man beheading a vampire that turned to ashes instants later. His body tensed up, his pupils dilating. He was captured and going to be killed! Nidhoggr couldn't find his voice, his muscles didn't obey his words of moving, of running, of escaping from that massacre. Now that he was wide-awake, he could hear the screams from other vampires, from the cries they made, from the curses, from the preys.
He was next.
Nidhoggr sighed several times, watching the gunslingers come and go. Then, it hit him. How he ended like that? He remembered being fighting with Dumas, but he go severely damaged by the solar guns from the East Gunslingers, and fell, he fell on the ground, he could smell his own blood. He lost consciousness, and perhaps was dragged to that dungeon. What happened with master Ratatosk? Was the war over? Did his master kill Dumas? Did Dumas win? What happened? Nidhoggr tried to not move, hoping the gunslingers wouldn't notice he was awake. He needed a way to get out of there, but his body was aching in pain. The wounds he had, they were severe. He cursed under his breath; he didn't know what to do.
As he thought, minutes passed. Minutes become hours, and hours days. The vampires held in the dungeons were decreasing, and he was still tied up, in that jail, with no one there. His wounds were slowly healing up. The cuts and deeper wounds were already closed. And he was still there. After a week inside that jail and when every vampire had been killed, he was fully recovered. He was healthy again even if he was as hungry as hell. He had thought a way of getting out, but now he was curious to why they left him alive.
Finally, after being at last a month in there, they took him out. Nidhoggr could see that he wasn't in the East Guild as he thought at first. The hallways and the dungeons were different, the lights, the doors, the stairs, everything. If he wasn't in the East, where he was then? The gunslingers dragged him across the corridors and went downstairs, to a darker dungeon than the ones he was staying and immediately knew it was a torture chamber thanks to the multiple chains hanging from the walls, whips, electrical devices, to name a few. Nidhoggr bit his bottom lip as he was hanged from one of the many chains, knowing that he was going to suffer quiet a bit from something he barely remembered. He remembered master Ratatosk, Dumas… and that was all. He knew the fight, the minutes before losing consciousness, some noises, and loud ones. The sky… the dark sky over him. Nidhoggr shook his head. Why he couldn't remember? Did he hit his head that hard when he fell?
He knew it was going to be the worst time he ever had. Ratatosk was bitchy, but rarely tortured his minions unless they had pissed him off real bad. The vampire boy looked up as a red haired man entered in the chamber. He was around his twenties, tall and lightly tanned. He wore a different type of uniform from the ones in the East. That made Nidhoggr sees that he wasn't in the East anymore, though he didn't know how he ended up outside it. He swallowed hard when he was left alone with this young man. The vampire boy saw him pick up a weird knife that used to tear his clothes and leave his torso uncovered. Nidhoggr's barefoot feet were also chained soon after the clothes fell on the stoned floor. Now, he couldn't move at all, he couldn't fight back even if he wanted. Nor even bite. Being that glued to the wall wasn't good for him.
"I guess you are asking yourself why we let you live this long.", started the man as he examines some whips over a table, not so far from the prisoner. "One of our men recognized you as one of Ratatosk's minions.", Nidhoggr gripped his teeth and feasted his fists. He was going to suffer, and suffer a lot. He just hoped his mind would work this time. "And we need all the information you have about him."
"Master Ratatosk is dead, I assume.", said the vampire boy, hissing and showing his fangs to the red haired man.
"Yes. Apparently, Earl had killed him after Trinity and his gunslingers fought him before.", the man picked up a short whip. "What a coward. Taking advantages of his own master like that…"
Nidhoggr cursed Dumas internally. He had never liked the horned man at all and often picked up fights with him in the middle of the corridors from Ratatosk's castle, which lead to severe punishment from the crimson haired vampire. But the man wasn't alone; he had three powerful vampires with him and was probably going to rule the planet for a few years before someone rose from the ashes from this war to stop that man. Nidhoggr thought who would do that, if the gunslingers failed in their mission. But his thoughts were blocked when a hard hit met his torso. He hissed, his eyes glowing in a bright red as he frowned, gripping his teeth, and showing his fangs. The human had hit him! The red haired man did it again, and Nidhoggr growled.
"Now, tell me your name.", ordered.
"You wouldn't believe…", spat the vampire boy, aching in pain. What had that whip that made his skin so sensitive? It was starting to hurt quiet a lot, and it wasn't even a deep wound; just a scratch.
"Why not?"
"…I don't remember my name.", Nidhoggr cried again when the man hit him five times in a row, all of them on the same place. The vampire boy feasted his fists, digging his nails in his palms. "I don't remember my name!!", screamed when a second assault came. "I swear I don't remember it!"
"Oh, come on!!", shouted the man, hitting again. "Do you expect me to believe it?!"
"How did your man found me?!", asked the boy, but a sudden and unexpected hit on his lips made him flinch. His mouth started to ache in pain and he couldn't rub it or do anything to ease that pain. Not even his saliva did enough work to minimize the damage.
"I do the questions here.", the man put the whip on his left shoulder. "And since you are a vampire, we can keep you here all the time we want until you have no further use for us, if you keep denying the information we need."
Nidhoggr sighed, as he saw the whip being lifted in the air again. And the sound of leather hitting flesh, of his own blood pouring from the wounds, of his sweat rolling on his face. He was angry. Angry because he was captured, angry because Dumas killed Ratatosk, angry because his master couldn't achieve what he and all the ones following him wanted. But mostly, he was angry because he was captured by a human, and was being tortured by one. His pride didn't let him accept that idea. He rather dies than being captured by human's hands. And yet, he didn't die. He was left alone, on a pool of his own blood to be found, healed and tortured again. It was going to be a long time until he could finally escape from that prison.
He stayed in the North Lands for five months. Five months of intense physical and mental abuse. All that time, he wasn't able to drink a single drop of blood and, because of it, he sometimes had bloodlusts and had to be chained down and tranquilized with drugs. In all that time, he hadn't said a single word that pleased Oyan, the man that was in charge of his 'interrogatory'. Nidhoggr was telling the truth, but being the human Oyan was and he being the vampire he was, didn't believe a word from him. The vampire boy didn't mind that part since it was logical for a human to not trust a vampire. But if he was saying all the same things over and over again, some one should have some sense to actually think the prisoner wasn't lying. Nidhoggr had hopes, but died soon as he heard that they were going to 'sacrifice' him, since he no longer had utility. It wasn't a surprise, either. He knew that sooner or later they would try to get rid of him, but he wasn't going to let them have that pleasure.
Nidhoggr had a plan, a good one actually. He had developed some immunity to the tranquilizer that the gunslingers gave him everytime he had a bloodlust. When they shot him with it, he forced his body to calm down and fake the drug was affecting him while, in truth, it wasn't doing anything. He was going to use that to his advantage and finally, escape from that place.
The occasion was a good one. Oyan and a group of numerous gunslingers were going to take care of a group of rebel vampires that night. That left the Guild with little men to take care of the prisoners, especially Nidhoggr, that was their most important one. The vampire boy let his beast instincts take control of his actions and soon, he had five or seven gunslingers over him trying to shot him. Nidhoggr fought back, growling and trying to bite them with his long fangs. Then, he felt the needle shot his left arm. He started to fake his tranquility, seeing how they stood up, confident. Nidhoggr pulled his chains that broke. He also broke the handcuffs that were restricting his hands from any free movement. The men were stunned, they were weaponless, they couldn't fight back as Nidhoggr jumped on them, killed them, ate them with his bloodlust.
The rest was easy. Being small and being a night creature, his prison break was easy to complete. Once he was outside the Guild, he run as he never did before, jumping on the roofs to prevent being seen by Oyan's men or any other creature that disliked vampires. And he soon made it to the East city, but what surprised him the most was that it was near midday. He looked up and saw a starry, dark night sky. What happened to the Sun? Where it went? But Nidhoggr didn't stop to think about it. He needed to gain some friends or allies now that he was free and prepare himself to return to Oyan and make him pay for what he did to him and his other fellows.
Back in the present, Alexander and Aaron were watching the silent vampire boy as he cried. Warm tears were slowly falling from his bright, red eyes. His mind was lost in the memories of his past, of a promise Nidhoggr made to himself that forgot. Being focused in Oyan's jobs for him, he forgot about it. How could he forget that promise? He had returned to Oyan to send him a trap, to trick him, to kill him for everything he did to him and his kin.
Nidhoggr turned his head to Aaron, who was watching him in silence. He lifted a gloved hand and took the glove off, drying his tears with his wrists. So many things happened in those eleven years, so many things he wanted to do but forgot. He was so immerse in the Guild's work that his priorities had step back a bit.
"Would you believe me if I told you a story?", asked the vampire boy to Aaron, breaking the long silence that prevailed in the room for who knows how much time.
The boy blinked and looked at Alexander. The Terrennial was as clueless as he was.
"What type of story?", whispered the young gunslinger. He had almost fallen asleep from the awkward silence and the IV, which was half way through.
"Would you?", asked Nidhoggr again, this time, looking at Aaron with his teary eyes. Tears kept coming from them, as he couldn't do anything to stop them.
Aaron smiled sadly. He had a feeling the spy needed to get rid of certain pain from years ago.
"Yes, I will.", answered. Alexander smiled too, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Nidhoggr copied their gestures.
"Thank you.", he dragged the stool a bit closer to the bed. "Well, it all begun eleven years ago, just when the last war broke…"