Dacaen's Story part 6/7

by Leontien

Okay, if you missed a part, or just the entire story, E-mail me at
edenadvance@yahoo.com

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Crichton stood up as he heard footsteps approaching him, but when he saw
that it was D'Argo, he sat back down.

"How is she?" D'Argo asked, looking at Aeryn's sleeping form.

"Still no change. Dacaen better hurry up, because this can't be good for
Aeryn. It can't be good for anyone." John replied.

D'Argo sat down next to John. "I have seen this before with
Peacekeepers…" he said softly.

"Living Death?" John asked.

D'Argo nodded. "A sort of Living Death. It was on a planet, a long time
ago. It was strange, because it was freezing on the planet. It couldn't
have been Heat Delirium."

"What happened?" Crichton asked, looking at him.

"We fled, afraid for whatever had done this to our enemies. I never
heard if anyone dared to go back to that world."

"She'll be alright. Dacaen will save her and kill those… things that are
doing this to her." Crichton said. "Or otherwise, I'm going down there
myself to finish it, no matter what Dacaen said about staying here."

D'Argo looked at his friend. "I'll go with you John. I will never let
you go alone into a battle."

*******

After a short hike, Aeryn and Dacaen reached a familiar looking castle.

"We won't be able to undo whatever happens next." Dacaen said to Aeryn,
who nodded in return. He handed her a sword similar to the one he was
holding in his other hand. "These swords were made on my homeworld,
which has been destroyed by the beings we're about to fight, some
centuries ago."

"This is the only way to kill them?" Aeryn asked.

"No, there's another way, but there are too many sacred rituals
involved. It would take to long." He replied. "Follow me, and stay
close." He said, starting to walk towards the castle's entrance.

"Dacaen, wait… I have a question." Aeryn said, stopping him. "Why me?"

Dacaen looked at her for a moment before answering. "You're special,
Aeryn. You're not like other Peacekeepers or Sebaceans for that matter.
I could feel it everytime I saw you. You're like me, half Sebacean, half
of those beings that live in that dwelling."

"No that isn't true. I'm a Peacekeeper, a Sebacean…" Aeryn spoke.

"Do you believe that dren? I know that deep inside you, you have the
knowledge to destroy these beings, because you can understand them."
Dacaen replied.

"How would you know?" Aeryn asked.

"Because they trained me for it. Years ago, when I was still living on
my homeplanet, in the village where I was born, one of the Elders taught
me how to sense others like me." Dacaen explained. "I can teach you how
to do the same. At least, if you'd want me to." He said. "Now, we must
go." He walked towards the giant door. Aeryn eyed the sword she was
holding, then followed Dacaen warily.

When they entered the building, the door closed behind them
automatically. Both of them turned around at the sound of the door
closing, which resonated throughout the long hall. After the sound had
died out, Dacaen looked at Aeryn.

"Are you ready?" He asked the ex-Peacekeeper.

"I am..." Aeryn answered, but when he turned around, she laid her hand
on his arm. "Dacaen," she started, "when this is over, I want to come
with you. I want you to train me..." she said.

"Are you sure? Are you ready to leave Crichton? To leave Moya and your
friends?" Dacaen responded. "Think this through and when we've
accomplished our mission, tell me what you want again." He said.

********

They encountered the first being sleeping peacefully in the hallway.
Dacaen moved forward, sword in his hands. The being, sensing movement,
opened his eyes, just as Dacaen was about to strike. It hissed at his
assailant and then let out a howl of pain as the sword connected with
his skin, then bone.

Aeryn watched as the now dying vampire vaporized. Where it had stood, a
small pile of dust-like substance remained.

"What happened?" she asked, staring at the being's remains.

Dacaen didn't answer the question and took a torch out of the wall
instead. He kneeled next to the remains of the killed vampire and held
the torch near it. It burst out in flames, leaving the floor charred.

"When they are dying, they turn to dust, but their essence, their spirit
remains behind, lingering until it can return to another body. By
destroying the ashes, their spirit is destroyed." He said, turning
towards Aeryn. "It is important that you remember this." He continued.
"Come now, there are only two more left." He said, turning around and
jogging to a large door. Aeryn glanced once more at the burned spot,
before she followed Dacaen through the door.

Aeryn and Dacaen had walked for about five minutes when they reached a
stairway. They could hear some sort of incessant wailing coming from
above. Aeryn looked at Dacaen questioningly.

"It's one of the vampires. They know we're here and that we killed one
of them. We have to be even more careful now, if we want to succeed." He
said and proceeded to go upstairs.

When they reached the first level, Aeryn looked around. When she saw
nothing, she signaled Dacaen, who came to stand next to her.

"There's nothing here." She whispered to him.

"Are you sure? What do you instincts tell you?" Dacaen asked.

"That there's nothing here. I didn't see anything, so there's nothing
here." Aeryn replied. "Let's go." She said and moved to go to the next
level. When she saw that Dacaen wasn't following, she moved back to him.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked impatiently.

"There's something here." He said, not looking at Aeryn. "I'm sure of
it, I can feel it." he said.

"Dacaen, the sound is coming from above us. I say that we go upstairs
and we kill the source of that irritating sound." Aeryn said, moving
back to the stairs. "We can always come back later. It's not like we
have much choice anyway."

Dacaen nodded and followed Aeryn upstairs where the second being was
mourning for the loss of the killed vampire. When he saw the two aliens
entering his room, he became angry and his wailing turned into roaring
as he jumped upon Dacaen.

"Aeryn!" Dacaen called as he fought desperately to get the vampire off
of him.

Aeryn moved towards Dacaen and the vampire to help her friend. She
struck the vampire with her sword, but it did no good. Then she
remembered the bottle Dacaen had given her after they went through the
portal. She tried to open the bottle, but when she didn't find a way to
open it, she threw it on the floor, shattering the glass. Luckily, it
had the desired effect, because the vampire drew back as far away as he
could. Aeryn kneeled down next to Dacaen, who was bleeding heavily.

"Dacaen..." she said, but Dacaen silenced her.

"Aeryn, it's up to you now. I'm not going to live much longer." He spoke
softly.

Aeryn shook her head. "No, you can't abandon me here. I don't know what
to do, how to kill these beings." She said.

Dacaen handed her his sword and reached for his bag. "You have the
knowledge to destroy them. Deep inside, you know how to do it. In the
bag is everything you need." He said, coughing up some blood.

Aeryn was silent for a moment.

"Dacaen, how do I get back to Moya? The bottle is broken..." she asked
the dying man.

"The portal..." He said, "when you have killed the last being, their
world... their reality will collapse. You have to get to the portal
before this happens. When you go through the portal, your spirit is free
and will find its way back to Moya." He explained. He coughed a few more
times, before he closed his eyes. Immediately, Aeryn listened if he was
still breathing. When she was sure that he was still breathing and had
just lost consciousness, she stood up, picked up Dacaen's sword and
moved towards the vampire.

The vampire was still in the same corner as it had been after Aeryn had
thrown the bottle on the floor. When Aeryn advanced on it, it let out a
hissing sound and leaped towards her, baring its fangs. As they tumbled
to the floor, the vampire let out a howl and jumped back. When it was on
a safe distance from Aeryn, it observed the cut she had made in its
abdomen, which was bleeding heavily. Seeing its injury only made it
angrier and with its last power, it jumped forward and slashed Aeryn's
arm. Then, it stumbled back and fell against the wall. It sat there,
staring numbly at its assailant. Then, it turned to dust, similar to the
other vampire.
Aeryn picked up the torch Dacaen had dropped when he was attacked, and
lit the dust, like Dacaen had shown her. She waited until the fire had
died out and a burn mark remained, before turning back to Dacaen. When
she had reached the dying man, she kneeled down. Then, she looked at the
gash on her arm, where blood was swelling up and slowly trailing down
towards her hand. She examined the cut, and seeing that it wasn't life
threatening, she turned back to Dacaen.

"Dacaen," she started, "there's only one left." She said. "I'm going to
get you back to Moya safely..." she continued. Then, she picked up the
bag and the weapons and with one hand, she began dragging an unconscious
Dacaen towards the stairs.

TBC