Author's Notes: 51 reviews. I can't really say how giddily happy it makes me. I thought I'd be lucky to receive 25 for the whole thing, since I honestly didn't think that too many people would be interested in such a strange crossover. I do have plans for another story or two after this one, but there's definitely going to be a gap after this one's finished, as it really is taking all my time as I put the finishing touches on the last chapters. Seriously, I'm still making revisions to each chapter the day before they're due to go up.

Chapter 15

In the Cave

After he spoke, Victoria stared at him silently for a long time, a mildly puzzled expression on her face. As she reached up her hands to touch his cheeks, Diego didn't dare move or do anything but look at her with a mixture of love, apology and regret. She still didn't say anything but instead leaned forward to kiss him lightly, almost hesitantly, on the lips. He barely had time to respond when she drew back for a moment and whispered, "I thought so," before leaning forward to kiss him again. This time he returned her kiss with passion, relieved that she seemed to accept his identity so easily.

His being without the mask made it feel like the first time their lips had met. Diego savored the softness of her skin, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her breath so close. He wanted it to last, but the uncomfortable position they were in forced Diego to break off the kiss.

A little sheepishly, he said, "I hope this means I'm forgiven." He carefully got up from the floor and pulled her to her feet.

"Yes, and I love you with or without a mask," Victoria said with a small smile, but still a trace of bewilderment in her expression. "I've suspected for a while; I've just been waiting for you to tell me. But..."

"What is it?" he asked, a little sliver of fear appearing as she spoke.

"I don't know..." she said slowly. "Just this strange feeling that I had when I woke today, that somehow I was wrong and that you weren't Zorro after all, despite how I felt about you. It was very confusing. Maybe it was because Mendoza said Zorro had broken Sepulveda's arm among other things. Did I mention that?"

Diego was surprised. He knew there had been trouble, but he hadn't thought about what might have happened beyond Dracula's pyrotechnic display. He should have paid more attention. "No, you didn't. I had wondered why they chased me so determinedly," he said, feeling a little guilty, then added, "That's part of the story that I left out. After what happened at Dracula's house I was afraid that something might have happened to you and rode for Los Angeles. Dracula was dressed as Zorro and being chased by lancers who also chased me— twice."

"Twice?"

"Yes, once before I got to Los Angeles, and once after I'd finally managed to check that you were all right."

"You checked on me? I never saw you," she said.

"You were asleep," he said a little defensively. "I didn't want to disturb you. And then I had to run— again. It seems like Dracula is determined to blacken Zorro's reputation. I'm not sure why." A small part of him wondered if that was the only reason he'd gone into Los Angeles, but the fact that Victoria seemed completely unharmed made him think that if Dracula had had another plan, he hadn't had time to implement it.

"Do you think he knows that you're Zorro? Is that why he's doing this?" she asked.

"I don't know. I wish I did. I wish I knew why he was doing any of this. And why he'd travel all this way for one book... that I just... can't... find!" Diego barely kept himself from kicking the trunk.

Victoria grabbed his arms. "We'll find the answers. You are the cleverest man I know in both your identities," she said, before pulling his head down for another kiss, and he forgot all about being angry.

Too soon, she drew back and said in an astonished tone. "I just realized you haven't even had any breakfast today. No wonder you've been in such a bad mood." She picked up his great-grandfather's journals which they'd left outside of the trunk. "I think I forgot to eat too. We can have something to eat and then get back to the search."

Feeling a different sort of frustration, Diego lifted Victoria over the obstacles, and they made their way back to the main part of the hacienda. As they walked, Victoria asked if his father had known his secret.

"Not until the day the Emissary died," he replied. He still had a hard time accepting that Gilberto had been his brother, and another thought niggled under that one but vanished as he tried to grasp it. "Felipe, though, helped me from the beginning."

"I thought so," Victoria said. "I didn't think your father would have said some of the things he did if he knew, or at least you wouldn't have seemed so hurt, and you and Felipe have always been so close. I should have known you couldn't have hidden it from him."

"There have been times I wished I could have. He shouldn't have had to hide his hearing for Zorro's secret." There were so many things he shouldn't have had to do. That none of them should have had to do.

"Felipe can hear?" she asked.

Diego nodded. "Yes, it returned while I was in Madrid. I don't know when; he never seemed to want to talk about it. And it was very useful for Zorro, but it shouldn't have lasted so long. That's part of the reason he went with Father to Monterey. It will be easier to explain when they come back."

"I think you're right," Victoria said with a smile, as they entered the kitchen.

~Z~Z~Z~

After they'd eaten, they returned to the library. Diego looked over the books in annoyance. "I don't know what to do about this. Or Dracula for that matter. I can't even be sure of everything he's done or what he's capable of, and I don't dare ask the lancers for help. They wouldn't really stand a chance against him."

"But we have to do something," Victoria said, looking around, then in a change of tone. "Diego, where is the cave? I know there were stairs leading from it."

Relieved to be able do something other than look at those books, Diego smiled at her and took her hand, though he lost the smile a little as she grabbed up the books with her other arm. "This way." He lead her to the fireplace and pressed the hidden switch. After the door opened, he pulled her through. However, the moment that they were inside and he'd closed the door, he realized that something was terribly wrong. He could hear the clash of steel. Intruders were in the cave.

Gesturing to Victoria to stay where she was, he carefully moved down the stairs, looking cautiously around the corner, just in time to see Solomon skewering a roughly dressed man who had a long knife in his hand; Diego recognized him as the man who'd tried stabbing him in the back the previous evening. There was another body on the floor behind them, lying just in front of his desk.

Solomon turned as Diego entered the room, looking horrified at the sight. No one had ever made it into the cave before, and now two men lay dead.

"What..." he could hardly speak as he looked around at the general chaos around Solomon. Not all that damage seemed to have come from the fight.

"They were Dracula's men. I tracked them here," Solomon said, casually cleaning his blade.

"Did you have to kill them?" Diego asked.

"Yes. They were murderers, and they tried to kill me. I don't let evil men live."

"There should be another way," Diego insisted.

Victoria came down the stairs behind him. He tried to block her view, but she moved beside him.

"I have yet to find one that keeps them from killing again, and I'm not going to debate ethics while under attack. Besides if I let them live they could easily lead Boris back into this cave, and that might prove fatal for you. There are limitations that Dracula has that he hasn't," Solomon said. Then looking at Victoria, he asked, "Is this the lady you were concerned about?"

Diego kept himself between Victoria and Solomon. "Yes, but she's fine. Dracula apparently decided to cause trouble in town dressed as Zorro. The lancers aren't too happy about it."

Solomon said nothing, but simply seemed to be examining Victoria from where he stood as if calculating just how harmless she was.

Diego was watching him warily, but then his eye was drawn over to Toronado's stall, where the horse seemed strangely subdued. He ran over to check him. With some relief it seemed as if he'd been drugged but not poisoned. He knew there were certain herbs that could make a horse pliant and realized that would have been the only way for Dracula's men to guarantee a quiet search other than killing him. Diego stroked Toronado's muzzle, gratitude that his horse was alive only slightly overtaking the anger he was feeling.

He heard Victoria say to Solomon, "You must be the man who saved Diego last night. He didn't really tell me much about it or even who you were or that you knew him in or out of a mask."

"The name is Solomon. There's not much to tell. I'm very familiar with the de la Vegas; I met him once while he was a student in Madrid, and I have a very long memory. A mask was never going to fool me," he said.

Diego turned back and saw that Solomon was scrutinizing Victoria very carefully. "What is it you are looking for?" he asked.

"Signs of the vampire," Solomon said straightforwardly. "He might have done more than just played pranks on your soldiers. I told you; he likes to work through women. Especially those his enemies love. He finds it amusing."

"But he didn't," Diego said, firmly. He wasn't going to trust Victoria to Solomon's ideas of mercy.

"Apparently not," Solomon said, stepping away from her. He looked down at the bodies. "If you'll help me get these outside, I'll dispose of them."

"Like so much refuse?" Diego asked, a bitter tone creeping into his voice.

"Like enemies who are better found far from your doorstep," Solomon replied dispassionately. "Besides having them here will distract you too much, and you are going to need all your wits about you for the next twenty-four hours."

Diego turned to Victoria. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, and he's right," Victoria said, a bit pale as she looked around. "We need to keep your secret safe."

Reluctantly, Diego carried the bodies out of the cave, where he and Solomon draped them over his horse. Once they were secured, Solomon turned to Diego. "I noticed you have a small handheld crossbow. Take these." Reaching into his coat he pulled out a small slotted band containing ten small crossbow bolts, half wood and the other half apparently silver tipped. "You may need them, and don't make the mistake of trying to be merciful. They won't have any mercy on you... or your lady."

Diego took the bolts from him without saying a word. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure he could use them, but then he thought of Victoria. There wasn't much he wouldn't do to protect her.

"I'll return later," Solomon said, taking the reins. "Be careful. They're unlikely to make another move before sundown, but don't underestimate them."

Diego simply nodded his head and reentered the cave, disabling the opening mechanism the moment it closed. He didn't want to risk any more unwelcome visitors. He was sure that Solomon would be wise enough to find a way to signal him when he returned. Checking on Toronado again, he saw that he seemed much the same. Since he didn't know what they'd given to him, he thought it better to let it pass naturally rather than risk making it worse by dosing.

Victoria had almost finished sweeping up the broken glass. Crossing the room, he placed the crossbow bolts on the top of the chest of drawers under where he kept his weapons. He looked around miserably, his eyes focusing in on the blood on the floor. He'd set up warning bells, but he never really thought he'd ever get any closer to discovery than that one time with the bandits who'd robbed Victoria's wagon, the day he'd finally proposed. He got a bucket of water and some rags and started to wipe up the blood.

He would never understand how good men could be so casual about life and death. Though he'd used it as a threat and on occasion had felt it might be the only option, he'd never wanted to kill anyone. His father and Sir Edmund had been soldiers and were far more pragmatic about killing than he ever could be. Solomon was a step further along than even them. He had the burning drive of a fanatic. Diego wondered if he even understood the meaning of mercy in any context outside of "merciful death," but he was also fighting things outside of the range of normal experience. Diego felt as if the world had gone all topsy turvy and his mind was muddled with feelings of anger and helplessness.

His eyes drifted over to Victoria, who was picking things up off the floor. Perhaps he should escort her back to town. She'd be safer there, wouldn't she? It's not like she was that much safer here, but right now, he didn't want to let her out of his sight. He wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to protect her or that he was afraid she'd realize she was better off without him, if she had time to think it over.

Shaking his head to try to clear it of such dark thoughts, he moved over to clean the spot next to the desk. Victoria knelt next to him, placing a comforting arm around his back. He turned and pulled her into a tight embrace, just holding her for a while. He loved her so much it was almost painful. Victoria gently rubbed his back as he held her.

Finally, she said, "Diego, who is Solomon really?"

It was a strange question, but he'd rather answer that than deal with their other problems. "Sir Edmund Kendall's brother," he said. "I don't know if you remember him."

"Of course, I remember; I don't think I'll ever forget how you looked when he died," she said, holding him tighter.

Remembering, Diego said, "He figured it out too... just before the end." Sir Edmund had known him too well to be fooled either. It was strange to think of the long connection between the two families, especially the ones he had only just found out about. As he thought of it, he added, "Apparently Solomon and my great-uncle Teodoro fought the supernatural together." He laughed a little then, just short of hysterically. "I never thought I'd say such a thing." He looked in her eyes; his hand moving up to caress her cheek. "You do forgive me, don't you? For the lies and the pretense? For keeping you waiting so long?" With everything that had happened, he needed this reassurance.

Victoria's eyes were shining. "Of course," she said, leaning forward to kiss him.

He returned her kiss passionately, almost desperately, and she responded with equal fervor. Diego was still off center, though he still had sense enough left to stop before hands and lips started wandering into forbidden areas. Wrapping his arms around her, Diego sat holding her, chin resting on the top of her head, trying to compose himself enough to speak.

"I'm sorry, Victoria," he said, his breathing a little ragged. "These past few days..."

Victoria slid back onto the floor, a little unsteady herself. "I know... for both of us," she said, her voice a whisper. "Maybe we should keep looking for that book."

That suddenly seemed the safer idea. Much safer. "Where? And why? That's the thing that keeps nagging me. I've always believed knowledge was power, but this seems a bit extreme."

Getting to her feet, Victoria said, "Maybe there's something in your great-grandfather's journals that says why the book is so important and gives a clue as to where your grandfather would have stored it." She headed back for the stairs.

Diego leaned back miserably against the desk leg, trying to gather back the tattered remnants of his self-control. He was not dealing with anything well. He had always been able to come up with plans of action, but now he felt confused, angry, and out of his depth. He sat up to grab the bloody rag laying on the floor beside him and stared at it in his hand. The blood of men who died here in this cave. His sanctuary. He couldn't shake the sick feeling that no matter how this all ended, this place would never be the same again. He could wipe away the blood, but its memory would stay on that floor forever..

He tossed the rag in the bucket of water and went to lean back against the desk leg again but this time missed and ended up landing hard on his back under the desk. He could have laughed at this one bit of unintentional clumsiness, if he hadn't knocked the breath out of himself. As he lay on the floor, he heard the thud of books hitting the ground.

"Diego!" Victoria crossed the room and was leaning over him.

Keeping his hands on the floor, Diego said, "I'm all right. Just a miscalculation." He averted his eyes from her as her nearness was doing strange things to his insides. He really wasn't as in control of himself as he'd like to be. Vaguely, he noticed something odd about the underside of the desk— his grandfather's desk— but before he could give it more than a passing thought, the alarm bells began to ring.

~TBC~

Friday: Chapter 16 - Gathering Forces

End Notes: Originally this was called "Intruders in the Cave," but I thought that might be too spoilery. And the other reason for the change of pace last chapter is that I knew I was about to violate the sanctuary of the cave and have Toronado be drugged (after all he wouldn't tolerate invaders).

I know Dracula's been evil in this story, but I wanted to add yet another level to the evil by an invasion of the cave, which has always been Zorro's sanctuary. I also wanted some bloodshed there, and since Solomon has no problems with that, I left it to him. Besides, I thought it would bother Diego more.

I'm also still working on getting comfortable writing romantic scenes of any kind, and considering the strain that both Diego and Victoria are under, I really hoped their scenes worked at all.

And also thanks to Ghetto Outlaw for some help with Diego's and Solomon's points of view.