Chapter Three
The night ended without incident and Rhea returned unharmed. Jol notified the town that they were going to Castle Morreau. The town's inhabitants would have to defend themselves from anything that came while its monster hunters were gone; the mayor argued with the plan at first, then said that he would get started hiring new hunters as soon as he could since the team would all be dead before they even got inside the castle. There wasn't much conversation after that.
Rhea stood at the foot of Eve's freshly dug grave while she waited for Jol and Gerhardt. There were no tears. Only anger. She tossed a single Frontier daisy across the moist dirt.
D approached and stood next to her. The sun was coming up over the horizon.
"Do me a favour," Rhea murmured after a moment of silence, scowling. "If I fail... if I get bitten, kill me. And make it quick. I don't want to be a thrall. My brothers won't be able to do it."
D, as usual, was silent.
Rhea sighed. "You don't talk much. Is every other vampire hunter like you?"
"No," D replied. "And you'll only get bitten if you wander off. Stay close. Nobles are far more dangerous than what you're used to dealing with. Don't let your guard down."
She gazed at his features, bathed red from the light of the sunrise. He had an unearthly beauty to him. "I won't."
Across the complex, only the faint sounds of the family's livestock could be heard, stirring from their slumber as the sun rose. Then, the sound of a door opening. Gerhardt emerged from Jol's home, and Jol swiftly followed suit. They both wore bodysuits similar to what Rhea had on, but they were set up to suit each individual's needs. Gerhardt had his retractable staff attached to his belt. It could extend up to forty feet instantly. He also had a short knife in his boot and a stake gun packed in a holster on his hip. Jol had a hooded cloak pulled around him; he was the most susceptible of the three to sunlight. He also had two laser blasters. He didn't want anything else.
"Off we go!" Gerhardt shouted as he came outside. "D, my friend, we'll guide the way there. Once we arrive we'll be relying on your expertise."
D nodded.
"Okay. Move out," Gerhardt commanded. The group of four entered the pasture to retrieve their horses, mounted, and headed out to make the painful sunlit journey to Castle Morreau.
The castle itself was concealed from view by an overgrown forest that surrounded it nearly completely except for a wide, straight road that led through the trees towards the main gate. On the outside the castle appeared to be decrepit and crumbling as many of the ancient abodes of the Nobility were. It was a reminder to all who viewed it that the Noble influence on the world was fading but that the Nobility were still a presence to be feared on the Frontier.
"Doesn't need much of an introduction," Jol muttered as he glared at the castle. "Castle Morreau. D, time for you to take over." He was sweating profusely. The sun was torture for Jol, and it was now directly overhead. Gerhardt and Rhea were uncomfortable but managing without issue. "The sooner we're inside, the better," he panted.
"We'll enter through the main entrance," D stated plainly and began to guide his cyborg horse directly towards the castle. There was no indication of fear or uncertainly on his fair features.
"D, you daft bastard," Gerhardt stuttered in disbelief. "You think Lord Aviel's just gonna let us stroll casually up to his front door? You got a death wish?"
"You said that you haven't located the bodies of your missing family members," D said calmly. Gerhardt nodded. "He's clearly collecting you all alive for a purpose. He has no reason to cause you harm here. It's in his best interest to allow you in."
The siblings looked at each other but said nothing. D's guidance was sound.
"D," Gerhardt addressed him finally. "I can't really argue, buddy. But if you're wrong – and we all get killed and this bastard is the one that ends up surviving - I'm gonna come back from the grave and then I'm gonna bring you back from the grave and I'm gonna kill you all over again. Understood?"
"You are welcome to try," D murmured, and pressed on. "Follow closely."
Rhea whistled and her mount followed D's. Gerhardt and Jol followed afterwards after exchanging dubious glances.
As the group of four passed down the forest road they heard neither birdsong nor the sound of any other animal – only the sound of hooves as their horses pressed forward. No natural beasts remained there, just the genetically engineered predatory monstrosities that the Nobility had manufactured long ago. Every so often a pair of eyes would glare out from the forested darkness at the travellers but nothing ever ventured out into the road. It appeared that D was right. No harm would come to the family of monster hunters on their way inside.
They soon arrived at the main gate, the doors of which parted immediately upon the group's arrival. They then entered into a courtyard which was in a terrible state of disrepair. There were towering statues of beautiful Nobles and unidentifiable beasts missing heads, arms, torsos; dense, rotten gardens, fountains full of unidentifiable sludge, stone partitions crumbling into dust. It was as if no one had resided there for hundreds of years.
Gerhardt spit on the ground. "Filthy, cursed place," he grunted.
Then, a deafening creaking sound. The group of four oriented themselves to the front door of the castle, which was now open.
In the doorway stood the three missing siblings – Turin, Rodha and Toro.
