Chapter Twenty-Six

Protection

Thump…

…

Thump…

Her heart beat so slow, he wasn't sure they'd make it to the medics in time to save her. 'Then again,' Mika thought, clutching the broken form of Juliet to his chest as he raced through the dark caverns, 'She was truly dead less than five minutes ago.'

She had been dead, run through by his very sword, which he now realized he had left in that torch lit cavern with Larten and Darren after scooping Juliet from the elder Vampires arms and back-tracking through the tunnels as fast as he possibly could. He vaguely remembered hearing his companions shouting behind him, but he continued on, sure they would follow, knowing he needed to move as quickly as possible. It had taken the trio hours to reach the bowels she dwelled within, but he was determined to make it back to the halls of Vampire Mountain while her heart still beat. With one strong arm he held her against him; with the other he climbed steep drops, tracked the footprints left behind on their trek down, and desperately moving between his mouth and Juliet's torso, trying to close the wound with his healing saliva; but time was fleeting, her heart was weak, her body leaving a trail of blood as they moved.

Mika was still reeling from his own actions, from the rage he felt as he skewered the woman on his blade. His emotions were in turmoil, his stomach reeling with the need to vomit. As he watched her bleed, as he held her and cried, he felt so much loss. 'This is my chance,' he thought. 'My chance to save her, to make amends.'

The Hall of Final voyage grew nearer, from the sounds of roaring rapids, and he saw torches at the end of the tunnel before him. He grew wary, remembering it was torchlight that first lured them to Juliet-Jewel's trap, and he pondered the idea of there being more than one intruder in the mountain. However, there was no time to worry about an ambush. He would destroy anything in their path, protecting the precious life in his arms. He emerged into the cavern and nearly ran into Arrow and his group of trackers on his way to the tunnel.

"Mika!" He yelled, surprised, taking in his fellow Prince's appearance, there were bruises forming on his pale face from where Jewel had assaulted him, but he did not bleed, though he was covered in it. "Who are you carrying?"

Suddenly Juliet began moaning and hissing as if she was being burned. All the Vampires in the cave looked at her, clutched to Mika's chest as one would a child.

"Is that girl the one who stole from my stores?" Seba Nile, appearing from within the group of Vampires that surrounded him, asked.

Before Mika could respond, the moans turned to agonizing screams, and she began to writhe in his hold. Stretching and kicking and spilling blood fresh blood upon the floor.

Mika shook his head. "No time, she's bleeding out. I must get her to the medics!" he pushed past his elder, who only stared after him as he ran out of the tunnel. Seba looked to his Prince, getting the go-ahead to follow after Mika instead of continuing down to track Darren and Larten.

"Get some answers out of him." Arrow grumbled, entering the low tunnel and leading his party forward.

Dashing through the halls, and following the sounds of screams, Seba caught up with Mika as the Prince careened around the corner and into the medical hall; a small cavern with 'beds' carved out of the walls, a few hammocks hanging from the ceiling, traditional medical instrument trays, and maneuverable curtains to separate them all; hollering for any and all of the Vampire medics to come to him. There were only three in the room, and they came running at the Prince's call.

"What has happened here?" The elder medic called, assisting Mika as he laid the woman on a stone slab carved from the cavern wall. Juliet was screaming like a banshee, thrashing and kicking and bleeding more and more with each passing moment.

"She's been gutted!" another remarked, pulling over the tray of instruments. The sound of the clanging metal on metal caused the woman to screech even louder, and every Vampire in the hall covered their ears in shock.

"Where did you find this one?" asked the elder, pushing Mika out of the way and surveying the still bleeding wound. Though Juliet writhed under his scrutiny, eyes clenched tight, the third Vampire medic held down her arms, the second her legs, trying in vain to dumb their inhuman strength and keep her from worsening the wound.

"It doesn't matter, just save her!"

Seba reached for his Prince, pulling the fretting Vampire away from the healers to do their work. "You can't help them, sire. Let them be, you've given your order." Begrudgingly Mika allowed his elder to grasp his arm and lead him out of the hall. Juliet's screeching could be heard round the corridors, and numerous Vampires were in the hallway searching for the source of the noise. One look from Mika ver Leth, his eyes dangerous, his pose deadly, and they scattered back into their rooms, not in cowardice, but intelligent enough to know when a situation demanded space.

Seba let his Prince walk out of his grasp, following mutely as he paced the hallway outside of medical. The woman was still screaming, the medics shouting over her. There was a call, and one of the medics stepped out of the hall, his robes covered in blood. Mika began storming toward him, but the man only looked at him briefly before walking briskly in the opposite direction.

"Where the hell is he going?" Mika spat, gesturing after the Vampire in question. Seba merely shrugged and allowed Mika to get back to his frantic pacing, coughing gently when the medic reappeared with two other Vampires. Mika rushed them before they could enter the room. "What is going on? How is she?" he grabbed the medic's arm and held him against the wall. "Why the hell did you leave?" his voice was steel, rising above the screams from around them.

The medic growled under his breath, motioning for his companions to enter the room. "She is fading fast, but somehow holding on." He shook his head. "She continues to bleed without stopping. Judging by your clothes and the trail of blood along the corridors, she has been bleeding for some time, and as I said, shows no sign of stopping." He slowly wiped his hands upon his robes, smearing still-wet blood upon the blue cloth. "Priority has gone to closing the wound, however I'm sure you've noticed that she's still screaming, meaning she's still awake, still writhing and continuing to tear it open."

"Have you tried our knock-out gas?" Seba interjected quietly.

The medic nodded. "Made her quiet for a bit, but she went right back to it, while Jorl's face was still within biting range, too." He sighed. "We're thinking she'll need a stronger dose. Also, we'll need more saliva to close the hole once it's been cleaned, so I brought in Raj and Grey to help out with gassing and healing." His eyes flicked to the doorway. "I should really…"

Mika released the Vampire, motioning to the entrance. "Yes, please. Help her." The medic disappeared into the room, and Mika slumped against the wall, sliding to the floor. He cradled his head in his gloved hands. "Save her, please, save her." His body was ridged against the cold stone, and he sat for what felt like hours, buffeted by the sounds of Juliet's screaming, careening off the walls and into his head, echoing over and over in torturous song, until finally they stopped. It seemed the extra gas had worked. He raised his head and sighed, unaware that he had been quietly whispering to himself: 'Forgive me, Juliet. Forgive me.'

"Sire," Seba said, quietly reaching for the younger Vampire, and using his shoulder as leverage to sit beside him. "Would you care to tell me how you came to be in this situation?"

The Prince slowly inhaled, clearing his mind of the current situation. It suddenly occurred to him that he was having the woman who had attempted to kill him assisted and healed by the best medics in the mountain. He could not lie to his people, or to his fellow Princes, especially since there had been witnesses to the altercation, Darren Shan and Larten Crepsley, who may have already told the story to Arrow as he ventured in to investigate their disappearances. He knew that according to their laws, and attempted assassination of a Prince was merited by death. He also knew that no matter what, he would not let that happen.

"I'll start from the beginning."

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

"The next thing we knew, she was crawling up the end of Mika's sword, bleeding, laughing, whispering… dying..."

The words hung heavily in the air.

Arrow stood, dumbstruck, in the center of the cavern, looking blankly between Larten Crepsley and his apprentice, and Arrow's fellow Prince, Darren Shan, whom had just finished his tale of the day's events. Easily, he had followed the trail of blood into the mountain's deepest corridors, finding himself pressed tightly against walls and crawling on hands and knees before encountering the domed room. Larten and Darren were still there, investigating the packs in the dark corners of the cavern, and a large pool of blood sat ominously in the center of the floor, a testament of truth to the young half-Vampire's story.

The torches that had been set up in the cave flickered eerily; Arrow's trackers had already combed the adjoining tunnels whilst Darren relayed the tale, and now they stood, awaiting the Prince's judgment, though admittedly Arrow didn't know what to think.

The firelight flickered upon the steel of Mika's long-sword, and Arrow walked towards it, picking it up and examining it in his hands. Mika was large, bulky and even a bit taller than the average Vampire, and as such he'd needed a specialty sword made for him. He cherished it, polished it, and sharpened it to perfection. This was years ago, Arrow remembered, turning the blade over and over, noting how there was blood stained to it from its stint on the ground in disuse, even if only for a few hours.

Judgment should be sound, swift. She attacked him, she dies. That is what he should say right now, that is what the law would say right now. Arrow was known for being vicious, ruthless in his punishments and his decisions. He was never tentative, like Paris Skyle, or diplomatic, like Mika, he trusted his instincts. If something didn't smell right, it was usually wrong. Tried and true, this method had worked for him for decades, but just now, in this very moment, with this one case.

Why was he hesitating?

This woman, this Jewel or Juliet or whatever the fuck her name was, had attempted to kill a Vampire Prince. Her punishment should be death, regardless of her species. Her trespassing was reason enough to kill her.

"Do you ever think about your wife?"

Yes. Her fair skin. Her clear eyes. The wrinkle upon her nose when she laughed.

"Do you ever think about your wife?"

Her pale skin, ripped from her neck, her arms. The lifeless eyes. Blood drained from her entire body.

How he would give anything to go back to that night, to save her, to leave with her, to be with her one last time.

"You'll never forget her. Centuries will go by, and you'll still love her." That is what he had told Mika ver Leth. The honest, the painful, the pure truth. There were no second chances. That is the finality he had tried to tell Mika when he'd been tormented by the memories of his lost love, a feeling that Arrow knew all too well.

Just like that, realization hit.

"What's in those bags?" he asked, pointing with Mika's sword to the pile hidden in the back of the cavern.

"Clothing, foodstuffs, mechanical… gadgetry." Larten replied.

Darren nodded. "Yeah, there's like three cases of ammo, and a load of books too. Who knows how long she'd been down here."

Arrow grunted. "Pack it up, bring it up top. Somebody douse these torches!"

Immediately the group of trackers set to work, picking up and hauling the duffels and knapsacks from behind Larten and Darren. The bald Prince turned to leave, but was caught by Darren's hand.

"Arrow," the young Prince started. "What does this mean for her?"

It was clear to Arrow that Darren did not agree with killing the woman. He had grown up in a civilization where the mad were contained, treated, some cured of their afflictions, whereas Vampires killed the insane. He looked down at the boy- no, the man; as it had been years since Darren had first been blooded, he was in his twenties now, though still his body looked to be fifteen, perhaps sixteen; and knew without a doubt what a strong heart he held within him. "It means she'll have a chance to decide her own fate." He said evenly, his dark eyes meeting Darren's. Though his fellow Prince did not look relieved, he dropped his hand and nodded, allowing Arrow to leave.

Mika had been given a second chance with his loved one, Arrow realized, a second chance that defied natural explanation, and he, for one, would let him have it. But judging from the reaction this 'Jewel' had to him… he let out a soft chuckle. As he'd said, she'll get to decide her own fate.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Seba's silence after hearing Mika's tale was interrupted by the resurgence of screaming from the medical hall. Mika was on his feet in milliseconds, furiously rushing into the room.

"What has happened? What did you do?" he barked, glaring between the five men.

The original three medics were once again struggling to hold her down without harming her, further damaging her wound, or allowing her to further damage her wound. Mika's presence in the room was very obviously agitating them, as they growled against the woman's thrashing.

"She wakes up near instantly! It took all five of us to knock her out… that much gas should have kept her out for at least seventy-two hours!" the head medic explained. Juliet screamed, wrenching against them, her body contorting, arched and twisted. Mika could see that they'd stopped the bleeding, the gash on her stomach was closed, but blood still pooled under her, probably from her back.

Noticing his gaze, a medic spoke up, "We were in the process of turning her over to mend the other side when she snapped."

At his words, Juliet's screams died down, and her eyelids twitched with movement. "Snap… snap… snap…" she whispered. The vampires in the room stopped their struggling as she stilled, and all eyes moved on her pale frame. "The boards… oh god, the beams, they're coming down… it's close, so close. Get out… get out…" she coughed, wincing, "Can't breathe. Can't see. Can't breathe. Oh god, oh god it's coming down!" she screamed brokenly, her voice hoarse, beginning to thrash again. "It hurts!" another scream, cut off mid-way. Every medical Vampire in the room rushed to her side.

Mika watched in horror as Juliet's battered body began shaking uncontrollably. "What's happening?" he demanded, trying in vain to see through the crowd of Vampires.

"Sire, you need to leave." One said, pointing to the exit.

"I'll not leave while she's in this state!"

"SIRE!" the medic barked. "She's going into shock, losing a lot of blood all at once. You're only in the way now, and we need all the room we have. GET OUT."

"Is there anything I can do?" Seba asked, watching with Mika's outrage written clearly in his posture.

"Those spider webs of yours, they help close wounds?"

Seba seemed to consider the question before answering. "They may help."

"Collect some."

The elderly quartermaster nodded and left.

"And I?" Mika growled.

"GET. OUT."

Vampire Prince or not, Mika knew the finality in the order, and walked briskly out into the hall to begin his pacing once more, when Arrow came around the corner.

"Still screaming, I hear." He motioned to the entrance. "Should I bother looking?"

Mika stilled, sighing loudly. "I do not have time for this, Arrow."

The bald Prince crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Make some. Darren told me the story. She tried to kill you. She should be staked."

Fists clenched, Mika yelled. "You'll do no such thing!"

Arrow tensed, a ripple of tension moved through his body. "You're right," he growled. "I won't, but Shan told every tracker I brought down there as well. Generals. They'll want action. They'll want explanation." He shook his head, "I know I would."

Mika held his head in his hand. "Darren, that fool…"

The elder Prince grunted. "Don't fault the boy, Mika. You think nobody would ask where you found this woman or why we allow her in the mountain?"

"Are… we allowing her in the mountain?"

Their eyes met. Never before had Arrow thought Mika ver Leth anything less than a capable, intelligent, fearsome Vampire. Looking at him now, his face gaunt, wracking his brain and wringing his hands in hopes of saving a woman he'd loved a lifetime ago… Arrow recognized just how large their age difference was. He never thought he'd be the one rationalizing, predicting, and formulating plans for his fellow Prince. How many times had Mika ver Leth told him to use his head and not his fists? How many scenarios did Mika ver Leth come up with in war councils? Yet here he stood, quiet, contemplative, questioning. He was seeking his elder's approval, something he rarely would admit to doing. Arrow already knew his answer to the question, but there were two more Princes to convince before anything was set in stone. That and a roomful of outraged Generals, if the muttering's he'd heard on his way back up with his trackers could be trusted. A child Prince who had shown courage and intelligence in the face of overwhelming adversity was one thing, a screaming woman who'd tried and failed to assassinate two Princes and a well-respected former General was another completely.

But in Mika's situation, would he not do the same thing?

"We are, now come. We must return to the Hall of Princes. There is much to discuss." The bald Prince began to walk away, but stopped as Mika did not continue on with him. "Mika?"

"She's in pain, because of me." He sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair. "I cannot leave."

"I think you can, or have you forgotten that you are a Vampire Prince?" Arrow frowned. "You gave those medics an order, and by law they must obey. They'll do everything they can to save her until there is nothing else."

Mika rubbed the back of his neck in agitation. Arrow was right, they needed to consult Paris Skyle, calm the Generals, formulate a plan. What kind of plan? Hell if he knew, but there was one thing he knew for certain, he would not let Juliet down again.

"Forgive me," he conceded. "Let us go."