Chapter 31 / 37
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
Zechs and Duo warily followed Rook through the gates into the castle courtyard. The courtyard was an odd but strangely beautiful picture. A very faint dusting of frost covered the dark stone, but the thick snow that covered the outside world appeared to have been more or less diverted. The courtyard was a picture of dark gray, black, and white...excepting for an explosion of roses, most of them blood-red but some so dark as to be almost purple. The fountain in the center of the yard had no water in it, but could have been a thing of beauty. There was a sense of dark, gothic majesty about the place.
The interior of the castle was much warmer and no less grand. The ceilings were high and sweeping. A thick red carpet graced the floor. Several vases of the same large roses stood on stands about the room. The entire place was lit by torches. It took Duo a moment to realize why the torches seemed out of place. // Hey...those are metal rods. What the hell are they burning? //
Rook noticed Duo's gaze and chuckled. "Ah. Don't worry, the torches are magical. It's not real fire. It simply fits the decor better."
By this point they had been escorted to a sitting room. The whole place was done in grand if gothic fashion, the only major color sticking out of the dark scheme being various patches of red. The furniture in the sitting room was crafted of intricately starved and thickly padded stone. It was surprisingly comfortable. Rook settled down comfortably in a large armchair and Duo and Zechs hesitantly sat on the couch across from him.
"You guys make everything out of stone here?" Duo quipped, looking about.
"Yes," Rook responded with a faint grin. "Well. My parents did when they built this place long ago. I've no reason to change it. A bit dark, but still elegant. It suits me."
Zechs leveled his icy gaze at their host. "How did you survive the massacre outside your walls? I've seen no one else. Are you here alone? What defenses do you possess?"
Rook was silent for a long moment. "Alone...yes. I am alone now." With a soft sigh he closed his eyes. "They came to my walls to kill me as they have killed my family slowly over the years. At first, I thought you two were part of their most recent team. I nearly killed you both, but something about you intrigued me."
Duo squinted at Rook. "Wait a minute. There were at least a hundred fresh bodies out there..."
"One hundred and twelve." Rook responded flatly.
"So how the hell are you still here? I mean, I'm damn good, but I can't get in a fight with over a hundred guys and win."
Rook sighed and gave Duo a tired smile. "Young master Maxwell, some things are best left unknown for now. I take a risk with you because there is something strange about you both. Should I think either of you play me false or that you are in league with the crow-fodder outside my gates, I will not hesitate to have you join them. However, it was something you said that made me spare you. You claim to be the God of Death."
"And you claim to know Death personally. What gives?" Duo asked with a defiant squint.
Rook smiled slightly. "You really can't be from around here. Good. Since the Binding, no one is permitted to even mention the True Gods."
"Binding?"
"Yes. A demoness with powers great enough to defy the gods...and beauty enough to make men weep or go mad for the sight of her...came to this world sixteen years ago. She cast a spell that bound the gods themselves in stone. The Earth began to die, the suns exploded, and the world was plunged into endless winter. She claimed to the people that the Gods had abandoned them, and she was the one true deity. She provided them a false sun, had her faithful distribute plants that could survive the winter and thrive in this winter. Any who did not embrace her or dared so much as speak of the True Gods was put to death, silenced."
After a long moment of silence, Zechs spoke. "And you know Death how?"
Rook chuckled. "Back to that, I see. Yes. I'm a personal friend of the Death Goddess, and her highest ranking cleric."
Duo stared at Rook incredulously. "Goddess?"
"Oh yes. Ara'Saris is every inch a woman...although sweet and cuddly she's not. She is a warrior, born to a race of warriors. Terrible and beautiful...and actually not so bad, once you get to know her. Most people mistakenly assume that she is fearful and dreadful because of the job she was forced into...but they simply don't understand. Death is merely an inevitable part of life, a part of the cycle of existence. To live, to die, to be reborn to live again or to rest with all the rewards or punishments of one's time."
"So you're a death priest? You don't look very priestly, and this isn't much of a church."
Rook couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, no...I'm no priest. I'm a cleric. There's a difference. The priests worship, and they pray...but the powers they draw ultimately come from within. Mine are given to me straight through my Goddess. I am a conduit for her power. As she's currently bound, however...I cannot channel any of said power."
"Okay...supposing I believe all that...and after some of the shit I've seen, I just might. How did you defend the castle against all those guys if you have no divine power and you're here by yourself?"
Rook eyed him for a long time, something sparking briefly in his eyes. "With my bare hands. Come here, young master. I would show you something." So saying, Rook gracefully got to his feet. Duo swallowed a bit and approached him. Something about Rook's eyes was arresting, captivating...he shook his head abruptly, trying to clear the suddenly fuzzy feeling in his mind.
"Okay...what'd you wanna show me?"
"I wish you to make an attempt to kill me."
"Eh? What? Man, you've been an alright host, if a little weird, and I may not look it but I'm highly trained. I don't want to hurt you." Duo shifted uncomfortably.
Duo never saw Rook move. He had no idea what occurred in the fraction of a second after he said that, but suddenly his back hit the wall and he was across the room, held aloft by his throat. Rook's eyes were no longer blue at all, but a stormy, glowing violet flecked with gold. He gave Duo a feral grin and Duo almost fainted. A pair of long, sharp, slender fangs curled down over Rook's lip.
Zechs was up in an instant, enraged. He leapt at Rook with an angry growl of his own and almost swallowed his tongue when Rook caught him with his free hand, stopping his momentum dead and depositing him roughly on the ground. Rook then lowered Duo to the ground.
Duo gave him an angry glare and pulled out his knife, then scowled. "Wh...What the hell..."
Rook eyed him calmly and Duo felt the will seep from his body, suddenly leeched out of him as nothing but those glowing amethyst eyes seemed to exist in his world. Without even thinking, he listened to the quiet whispers filtering into his subconscious...whispers that told him to put his knife away and take Zechs back to the couch to sit down. Duo hauled his lover back to the couch in a trance.
Rook settled into the chair opposite them and released his hold on Duo's mind. The braided teen blinked several times and swore viciously, shaking his head. "What the FUCK was that?!"
Rook smiled at him, feral and beautiful and more than a little frightening, but there was no air of threat about him any longer. "I was merely making my point."
"You have fangs."
"Most vampires do. Rather makes life more difficult if you don't."
"You're a fucking vampire? Feast on blood, melt in the sun, burn from crosses, allergic to garlic and can't cross running water? All that shit?"
Rook arched one elegant eyebrow, watching as Duo made sure Zechs suffered no bumps from his abrupt meeting with the hard floor. "Ah...you're from THERE." Here he chuckled. "In answer to your questions...I AM a vampire, one of the Iyrinyx. The Iyrinyx are of the second highest order. The sun is uncomfortable but I won't melt. Running water presents issues for any undead, but I can cross if my need is dire enough. I do feast on blood. I can move faster than your eye can follow and am strong enough to break stone with my bare hands. I cannot be harmed by metal or stone unless I've drank the blood of the dead, and then my infirmity is only temporary. I am immortal and very, very old. However, I still have yet to figure where your world's mortals have come up with half of their superstitions regarding my race. My kind does not naturally exist there."
Duo gave Zechs a somewhat lost look. "Ugh...my head is spinning. This is too much."
"I am assuming you'll wish to go back to your world."
Duo and Zechs both shot suddenly very interested looks at their dangerous host. "You can send us home?"
"Mm...my powers of travel are rather limited. As I said, I'm a cleric and my Goddess is out of commission. However...I know many people and am owed favors. If you wish to stay the night, I shall make a few inquiries and see what I can do to help you."
"Wow...that'd be awesome!" Duo said with a grin. Zechs was more subdued and suspicious, but he couldn't deny his hope that Rook's offer was genuine. "Oh...hey...we have a friend from our world with us too. Well, he's not with us exactly. We left him in a cave south of here."
"Why would you do that?" Rook inquired.
"Oh. Er...he's watching over this dragon kid we kinda stumbled upon. The poor kid's crippled and was starving to death because his brother is supposed to take care of him but he vanished. And since there's like...a dragon that appeared in our world recently...well. Maybe you can bring us home and bring his brother back, then everyone is happy."
Rook frowned. "If it is as you say...the dragon in your world might not still be alive."
"Huh? Why not?" Duo asked, suddenly frowning.
"Your world...is a world not based on magic. Your ley-lines sleep and do not drive the world. Dragons are creatures of magic. If they are removed from magic, they will slowly die. I must make haste." Rook stood abruptly. Duo noticed that his eyes had gone back to a sparkling sapphire blue and all trace of his fangs was gone. // I'll have to ask him about that...wow. A real live vampire...first dragons, now vamps...// "There are guest rooms down the hallway to your left, choose any you like. I will see you on the morrow. I must contact some people and see if I cannot arrange your transport home." Rook paused and eyed them both for a long moment. "How...did you get here in the first place?
"A tornado sucked us up and dropped us here." Duo responded with half a grin. "Who knew?"
"Ah...a rift. Well, I'll have to figure out what's causing that, too, or you may end up back here, but find someone far less friendly than myself. Or something." Rook bowed swiftly and politely. "As I said...the guest rooms are down yonder hallway. There is a small cupboard near the table...it will provide you with food and drink. Simply imagine it and open the doors. I bid you a good eve." Rook smiled and then seemed to shrink. When the transformation was complete, he stood before them as the bird he claimed as his namesake.
Without further ado, the rook flapped glossy black wings and hopped to a window, then vanished.
Duo and Zechs gave each other a long look. Zechs finally spoke.
"I can face down a Gundam without fear. I can face down impossible odds, veritable armies on my own. I can face social dinners with my sister and dignitaries. There are many things I can do. But dealing properly with all this...I'm afraid I'm feeling quite drained."
"I hear ya, Zechsy..." Duo responded with a half grin. The grin slowly grew wider. "I know a way to make you feel better..."
Zechs smirked at Duo's saucy grin. "You little demon, is that all you think about?"
"What, don't you like eating dinner?" Duo asked innocently, standing and bouncing to the door towards the guest hall.
Zechs chuckled and followed him. "I hope that's not all you have in mind."
Duo shivered as his lover's purr sent a tingle up his spine. "Of course not...I have to leave room for my ... dessert."
By the time they got to their room, food was the last thing on either of their minds.