| Trials of Darkness By: The Bard's Apprentice Anime: Night Walker Rating: PG-13 ~Chapter Three~ I slept soundly for quite some time after that. Though, I wouldn’t have if I’d known where Cain was and why. His body may have lain quietly next to mine in Transylvania, but his mind was far away, back in Tokyo. The morning after I left with Cain saw Shido banging furiously on the door of the church. He took no notice of the sun, as it began to rise from behind the skyline. “Open up, dammit! It’s me!” The sleepy gate keeper opened the slide & peeked out. Only a vampire would knock, and one couldn’t be too careful of late. “John, you baka! Open the fucking door and let me in!” “Shido!? What’re you doing back so soon?” The portly monk swung open the door. “Come in, by all means!” Shido didn’t even thank the man, but shot up the stairs, as fast as vampire speed would take him. Upon reaching the third floor apartments, he burst through his own door. “Riho! Riho, you here?!” He tore through the apartment, checking all the rooms. He cursed under his breath when he found the place deserted, and then ran down to check the infirmary. He threw open the door to find a crowd of people sitting around the main room looking low. That stopped him. “What’s going on?” One of the Sisters, still a little surprised by his abrupt entrance, answered. “The Father has been bitten. He’s in intensive care now. We’re here to pray –“ Shido didn’t wait for her to finish, but rushed through the opposite door. He followed the corridor to the last room, where another group was gathered in the hall. He shoved through, despite rebukes, & threw open the door. The monk attending to Father Izawa was so taken aback he almost fainted. Shido rushed to the bedside. “Father! Father, can you hear me?” The priest opened his eyes weakly. He would die soon, nothing could help that; it was obvious from the moment Shido saw his pale cheeks. They’d never get enough blood in him before it was too late. “Father! Where’s Riho?” “I, she was in my . . . office.” He was having great difficulty breathing. “She, her eyes – and the darkness . . . I was in the hall . . .” Shido’s eyes grew. He whispered, “No.” Then, he was off again through the crowd. He stopped short in the doorway to the corridor of offices. Everything was calm – nothing out of place, no presence, or lingering sense of resistance, save that of the priest. He went slowly toward the Father’s private office, fully alert, yellow eyes missing nothing. The room was as pristine as the rest of the offices. He entered, looked around, and finding everything as it should be, closed his eyes and dropped his head. He took a calm step farther into the room and placed his fingertips on the desk, face a mask of control. The room was still, silent. Then his hand tensed, and the fingers curled tightly to become a fist. Shido’s words were calm, quiet even in the silence. “Show yourself.” Darkness overtook the small room quickly. “Gladly,” was the ready deep-pitched response. Cain sat in the chair, watching Shido’s back. “I’ve missed you, dearest.” “Where is she?” Shido remained frozen where he stood, facing the desk. The grit of his teeth was almost audible as he spat out the words one by one. “Safe.“ A fleeting smile crossed Cain’s face as he stood. “Where you can no longer corrupt her.” In less than an instant Shido stood inches from the taller figure, eyes hard and threatening. His voice belied the extreme control he was exercising over his emotions. “I corrupt? Bring her back. Now!” Cain returned the younger vampire’s gaze, his own eyes soft and almost apologetic. “I have very little say in the matter, actually. Riho is with me willingly; and I doubt very much that she will change her mind so easily.” Cain stepped closer and gently laid a hand on Shido’s arm; images flashed across the younger vampire’s mind. Riho sat in one of the deep arm chairs in Cain’s private parlor. She held on her lap a small girl, whose head lolled back, lifeless. Savagely, she sucked the child’s life force from a wound in the neck. The glistening red stained Riho’s clothes, her hands, her face. Riho rested, naked, against Cain’s bare breast. He cradled her with one arm, allowing her to take his blood from the other. Her eyes were closed, her mouth curved in a sanguine smile as she enjoyed the sweetness of pure vampire’s blood. Cain gazed down at her lovingly, holding her with tender care. Riho lay contentedly in the bed Shido and Cain had once shared. She gazed into Cain’s smiling face, much as she once had Shido’s, and then snuggled further into the blond vampire’s embrace. Shido tore away and bit his finger, drawing a sword from the stream of blood produced. “You lie! Riho would never turn to you.” His eyes flashed red with rage. Cain remained calm, his hands now in his pockets. “You may believe as you wish.” He shrugged. “I only show you truth. “I was intrigued that she did not even wait here to wish you farewell. I will see if I can persuade her to return and do so.” He looked up at Shido once more, and then the image began to fade into a non-extant distance. Shido took a futile step forward, raising the weapon. The voice echoed around the returning room: “People meet, and people part. . . . Isn’t that what you are always saying, love?” Cain was gone. Shido fell to his knees in the empty room, the sword dissolving to become a stain on the carpet as it left his limp hand. He’d known the day would come when Riho would leave him. Nothing lasted forever. But to leave him for Cain . . . It couldn’t be. Yet he knew it as truth. He’d felt her there in Cain’s memories, as real as if they’d been his own. There had been nothing of duress in her either, no forcefulness on Cain’s part – she had gone willingly. He could not begin to contemplate the pleasure he’d seen in her face. He bowed his head and rose to his feet. His face had regained its usual stoic composure. He slid his hands into his pockets and returned upstairs. As he passed Satsuna’s apartment on the third floor, the fully-healed vampire glanced up from the TV and saw him. “Hey, Shido!” He jumped up and followed the older vampire down the hall. “Man, good thing you’re back. Weird stuff’s been happenin’ while you were away. You heard about Izawa?” Shido nodded, but didn’t look up. “Sucks, huh?” ‘Suna followed him into his apartment. “He was kinda’ cool. Heh – for a human. “Hey, I bet Riho’s glad you’re back! Where is she, anyhow? I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning – just before they released me from the holding cells down there. Heh. “Oh! You hear about what happened to Riho’s friend, Mikao? Shido?” Shido had stopped mid-stride next to the sofa. He picked up the lacey white garment lying over the back of the sofa and just stared at it for a moment. Then he slowly sat down on the sofa and rested his forehead on his clasped hands. “Shido? You okay, man?” ‘Suna looked around confused. “Where is Riho? . . . Shouldn’t she be hanging all over you about now?” There was a long silent pause. “She’s gone.” ‘Suna almost didn’t catch the utterance. “W-what? . . . Dude, you’re starting a’ freak me out –.” Shido cut him off. “She’s gone and she’s not coming back.” He buried his face in the fabric of the dress. “Go away.” Satsuna went away. |