Author's Notes: I hope Chapter 17 didn't drive everyone off. We're close to the end now.

Chapter 18

Just Vengeance

In the dining room, Boris shoved Victoria into a chair before tying her arms and legs to it. She glared at him. Whatever influence Dracula had been exerting on her seemed to have vanished the second time she'd seen him attack Diego. Now anger was all but overwhelming her fear, and she was grateful for it. Not even seeing one of the possible fates in store for her in the form of the female vampire she'd seen and recognized as Lupe, a girl she knew only by sight, had done anything more than slightly dampen the rage she felt at having been under Dracula's spell.

The whole day she'd not quite been herself, so consumed with worry over that accursed book, when Diego had been right that it was safer lost. She hated Dracula for taking her feelings for Diego and making her feel like she could only save him by finding that thing. She hated that she hadn't realized what was wrong with the way she'd been feeling. She'd always trusted Diego's judgment on matters of learning and Zorro's on matters of safety, so she should have known to trust him on this.

She should also have known something was wrong when she'd spent most of the day feeling as if she were trying to navigate through a thick fog that only occasionally thinned enough to let her realize how lost she was. The few times she had really felt entirely herself had been when Diego had confessed he was Zorro and whenever he had kissed or held her. Her feelings of love for him and his for her had managed to crowd out that anxiety if only for a short time. She'd felt entirely like herself at those times. It might be wicked, but she wished Diego hadn't been so much of a gentleman. All right, she knew it was wicked— sinful at the very least— but then she'd often had sinful thoughts about him, with or without a mask on. However, it probably didn't really matter that much now that she was tied to a chair and facing death or worse than death.

As she sat there, she was hit with the horrible realization that she must have opened the cave door for Dracula, without knowing it. There was a blank spot in her memory from the last time she'd gone down into the cave until Diego had come down the stairs right before Dracula had appeared. She'd endangered Diego, when she would do anything to save him, and that made her even more furious and more determined to escape.

She twisted around in the chair, relieved for once at the contempt Boris and Dracula had shown. They hadn't searched her, hadn't even bothered taking the bag she'd hung on her belt, convinced she wouldn't be able to do anything. That was a mistake. She began working her hands through the bars of the chair and squirmed around until she could reach under the jacket into the back of her belt. Earlier, she had slipped a bit of metal with a sharp edge to it into it. She'd been kidnapped too many times, tied up too many times, and had no intention of being reduced to being a simple damsel in distress again. Bad enough that she'd been forced to betray her love against her will, she wasn't going to let Diego give away something dangerous to try to save her. Dracula would never let either of them live even if he got the book.

It took her longer than she liked to get hold of the blade and she just barely managed to avoid nicking her fingers. Pulling carefully, she slid it out, almost dropping it once it was free. It took a bit of maneuvering to get it into position, and the ropes were tough. Victoria didn't like to think what else they might have been used to restrain. As she started sawing through them, she could hear the sounds of explosions in the distance.

Diego. That had to be Diego. She didn't know what he was doing, but she was sure he actually had a plan. And she was going to make sure she was free to help the man she loved.

~Z~Z~Z~

Dracula and Boris were standing in front of the hacienda when the explosions went off in the distance, followed by the glare of sparks in the sky.

"I don't know whether he's copying us, or we were copying him. It's probably a diversion, but I can fly there and back faster than he can ride anywhere. Keep an eye outside. The fledgling should be sufficient to guard the inside," Dracula said.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, my lord," Boris replied, then seeing Dracula's expression, shrugged. "As you will."

Dracula turned into a bat and began flying in the direction of the explosion.

Nearby out of easy sight, Diego and Solomon crouched, watching as Dracula began to fly away. "I doubt he will be distracted for very long. We'll have to move quickly," Diego whispered.

"Yes, you will," Solomon said without taking his eyes from Boris. "Go save your lady. Leave Boris to me."

"If we move together, we could take him by surprise."

The moon was nearly full and gave ample light for Solomon to search Boris's stoic countenance and just enough for him to see the barely discernible twitch of his nostrils.

Boris drew his sword.

"No. He already knows we're here. You need to go."

With some hesitation, Diego did as he was bid, stopping for only a moment to look back at the old man. He feared he might not see him again but knew he couldn't let such thoughts distract him now. "Vaya con dios," he muttered and made his way to the back of the hacienda.

~Z~Z~Z~

As Solomon approached, Boris was as unmoving as a statue, but Solomon knew that inwardly, his adversary's mind was racing furiously, planning his attack. At length, Boris's eyes narrowed. To any other man, this would have likely gone unnoticed, but for Solomon, it was all the warning he needed.

Boris lunged madly toward Solomon, sword held high overhead. In a single motion, Solomon drew his sword and brought it up to block the downward strike. Steel crashed into steel, and the force sent Solomon reeling backwards. Quick to press his advantage, Boris unleashed a violent flurry of strikes which Solomon just barely managed to parry.

Solomon was skilled, but Boris was far stronger and clearly trying to bring this to a swift conclusion. The slashing and stabbing grew steadily more ferocious, and just as a scintilla of concern began creeping into Solomon's mind about how much longer he could hold out, Boris swung wild and sent his boot heel slamming squarely into Solomon's chest.

The force of the blow lifted him from the ground and sent him flying back into the nearby garden wall. He bounced off hard and fell to the ground. White circles filled his vision. Struggling to breathe, he could barely hear Boris approaching over the ringing in his ears. When he looked up, there was his adversary standing over him.

"This is the end of it," Solomon spat.

Boris allowed himself a half smile as he raised his sword and brought it crashing down onto empty earth. In a single instant, Solomon rolled aside and swung his own blade, slicing neatly across Boris's right leg.

Boris stared long and hard at the wound. It wasn't deep. It barely broke the skin and drew only a little blood but it burned like a white hot brand and in that instant he realized what had just happened. A chill ran through his body; his legs wobbled; and he fell to his knees. The poison was quickly doing its work, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He looked across where Solomon knelt next to him. His vision was fading fast but was still keen enough to catch the glint of the silver dust particles that coated the blade, the ones he had failed to notice in the heat of battle.

"I should have known," Boris wheezed. "All this time... for... a girl?" Boris breathed heavily a few times and then fell face first to the ground, dead.

Solomon fought to stand but wound up sinking back to his knees. His heartbeat hammered in his ears and though his waistcoat had somewhat softened Boris's kick, his chest still ached and he fought to get his breath back. It didn't help that he was by no means a young man anymore, and for all his skill, this battle following so close on the others had taken its toll on his body. He grew more lightheaded as he eased himself down on his back. He closed his eyes, hoping it would be Diego's and not Dracula's face he would see when he awakened. In between long, deep breaths, he whispered hoarsely, "Her name was Annette."

~Z~Z~Z~

After what seemed like an eternity, the ropes came apart, and Victoria bent to untie her legs. The house was silent, and no one seemed to have heard a thing. However, she couldn't take any chances; she needed a weapon. While there was a heavy candelabra on the table, she thought it would be better to have something wooden. Looking anxiously around the room for a less sturdy chair than the one she'd been tied to, she spotted one near the other end of the table.

Hurrying to grab it, she turned it onto its side and worked on snapping one of the legs off. Though it looked weaker, she had to wedge it under another piece of furniture in order to get leverage enough to break a leg off. She cringed at the loud sound it made when it snapped, but was gratified it had broken off to a very sharp point. She looked and listened for a moment, but the house remained silent. Opening the bag at her belt, she pulled out a garlic clove and held it in her other hand. Carefully, she headed towards the front door. She was almost there when something grabbed her from behind, causing her to drop her stake

Elbowing behind her, Victoria ducked forward and spun around. It was Lupe, who lunged at her, hissing. Remembering the garlic, Victoria brought it up and shoved it hard into her face, twisting and grinding it in. Lupe swung her arms wildly, knocking Victoria's hands and the garlic away. The vampire backed into the door, burn marks appearing on her face, hissing more violently. Victoria hadn't really expected it to burn her, but now the wounded vampire was between her and the door.

Feeling someone coming up behind, Victoria whirled around ready to strike when she saw who it was. "Diego!" she exclaimed.

He had no time to respond as the vampire threw herself forward, growling. The spear he was carrying dropped as he pushed Victoria out of the way of the attack, catching Lupe's arms before she reached him. Victoria went to grab the broken chair leg which was closer to her than the spear but hesitated once it was in her grip, unsure of what to do. Diego pushed back on Lupe who twisted round falling directly towards Victoria. A bloodcurdling shriek followed; Lupe had fallen directly onto the broken chair leg Victoria had been holding. Reflexively, she let go of the makeshift weapon and leapt back, horrified as the vampire continued her fall forward and the weight of her body drove the leg through her heart and out her back. After one last convulsive motion, Lupe lay still. While Victoria hated Dracula, she felt a strange kind of pity for Lupe despite what she'd become.

Diego took Victoria by the arms, looking over her urgently. "Are you all right?" he asked. "They didn't hurt you?"

"No, I was just tied to a chair and what you saw here. Are you all right?" She looked over him for wounds. She didn't know what Dracula had done to him while she'd been unconscious.

"Fine. Was that the garlic?" he asked. "I didn't expect it to cause a reaction like that."

Victoria could almost laugh at his curiosity at a time like this. This was her Diego and her hero. "," she said. "What better weapon for a cook?"

"I can't think of one," Diego said before pulling her close for a kiss that was as fierce as it was brief. "Now, let's get out of here." He grabbed her hand, and they ran for the front door. When they emerged into the courtyard, Victoria ran into Diego as he came to a sudden halt. "Oh no," he breathed.

"What? What is it?" Victoria asked as she moved around Diego's side. She grabbed Diego's arm for support as her legs went a little weak and her stomach twisted into knots as she saw Dracula leaning over Solomon's motionless body.

~TBC~

Tuesday: Chapter 19 - Fire and Ice

End Notes: As I've said, Ghetto Outlaw really got into the character of Solomon, and he was really eager to write the final confrontation between Solomon and Boris, so that is all his. He also helped make sense of the fight with Lupe. I am so grateful for his greater skill with action scenes.

Victoria using the garlic on Lupe was yet another Monster Squad reference, although in the movie it was actually a funny scene because of how it happened.

I know it's kind of cheating to use Victoria's point of view, since I haven't so far, but originally this chapter was going to be a lot more complicated, and I also thought I'd been pretty unfair to her through much of the story, so she gets her chance to escape mostly on her own. Also, she was feeling pretty angry, and I wanted her to have the opportunity to express that even if only in her thoughts.