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Dhampir Hunter - Chapter Eleven
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Arcane turned the Barbaroi’s words over in her mind, trying to figure out what was going on. All the Barbaroi had told her was that the hunter she sought was from her past and that he shared with her the commonality of dhampir blood. Well that was a big help.
Or a big waste of time. Arcane sighed and scratched her head, wondering what she would tell Eventide and the others. They probably wouldn’t be too happy that she’d dragged them all the way out there for what amounted to less than nothing.
She ignored the small, skittering demons as she strode across the drawbridge, too distracted by her own thoughts to worry about them. The minute she stepped off the drawbridge was pulled up, barring the way into the castle from anyone interested in attempting to enter without permission. Arcane gave the closed gate a dirty look and brushed off the dust that it had kicked up in its swift ascent.
Running a hand through her hair she turned and scanned the land, wondering where her companions could have gone. She didn’t see them, didn’t sense them. And she didn’t like it. “Eventide? Where are you?” She strode out a few steps, looking around. “Shifter? What the hell is going on?”
She took two more steps before her foot his something solid but soft. She glanced down to find Cirrus unconscious with daggers in his body, cuts on his face, and his crossbow a good twenty yards away. The other two companions were nowhere to be found.
How’s that for ironic? I get stuck with the kid who hates vampire...if he’s not dead that is. Shaking her head she knelt down beside Cirrus, sensing for a heartbeat. It was there and stubbornly strong, if not a bit sluggish. “First lets get out of here.” She checked to make sure he wouldn’t die if she moved him, then picked him up and made for a safer area.
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Snap. Hiss. Snap. Crackle.
Cirrus blinked awake, his blurred vision clearing enough to see a roaring campfire. He was propped up on a couple of bedrolls, his coat, and most likely his own shirt, seeing as how he was no longer wearing it. The daggers had been pulled out and bandages swathed his chest.
What happened?
He had trouble remembering. The freaky little girl-demon had said something. And then…that was all her remembered. Inhaling sharply he tried to sit up a bit farther to see more of his surroundings.
“I wouldn’t move too much if I were you. I’m not exactly a healer, but I get the impression that those wounds of yours aren’t the kind you can just brush off after a few hours.”
Cirrus stiffened. “You.”
Arcane glanced up at him from across the fire, easily picking up on the disdain in his voice and mocking him with it. “Yes. Me. It was me who saved you from bleeding to death, so you should just shut up and deal with it.”
Cirrus reached for his crossbow, but it wasn’t anywhere near him. Neither was his sword. “What did you do with my weapons, you filthy dhampir?”
Despite the insult, Arcane smiled sweetly and patted the weapons that lay next to her, wrapped in leather. “Right here. Far enough so that you can’t try something silly, like killing me.” She went silent and returned to sharpening her blade, but kept a careful eye on her disgruntled patient.
“Why don’t you just kill me?”
“I have a name you know. It’s Arcane.” She didn’t look up to him while she spoke. “And I don’t kill unless I have a reason. So, should you give me a good enough reason, then I will gladly dispatch of you and your smart ass mouth.”
“Since when do vampires need a reason to murder?” he spat.
“As you keep reminding me, I’m a dhampir, not a vampire.” Arcane placed her blade down and stepped around the flame, sitting down in front of Cirrus. She cocked her head to the side and watched him. “So what is it? I mean, if you’re going to keep up with the annoying insults, I’d sure like to know why. Did you loose a family member? Your whole family maybe? Vampires snuck in and slaughtered everyone and now you’ve vowed to avenge their deaths by killing anything and everything that isn’t human or doesn’t fall into an easily recognizable social species? Is that it?”
“Shut up, you don’t know anything.”
“It’s always the same old story. ‘Vampires killed my family’ or ‘They were innocent and slaughtered anyways’. Do you have any idea how many vampires were slain in the beginning, back when they fed only when they needed and tried to live in peace? All because humans are easily scared by that which they do not understand. Not that I’m defending the vampires. They’re like every species really, some are good and others aren’t.”
“Why not kill yourself and be done with it.”
She pointed to herself. “Dhampir, NOT vampire. For a hunter, you sure are slow.” She laughed. “Besides, you’re one of the lucky ones.”
“Lucky?” he snapped, rage building within him. “You call this lucky?”
Arcane leaned in, her face inches from Cirrus’. “Yes lucky. I knew of a woman who was snatched from her home when she was fourteen. She was taken to some dark hole by a vampire and raped every night, sometimes multiple times. This abuse went on for a fortnight before she finally managed to escape. She returned to her village only to have the villagers throw her out and disallow her return, regardless of the fact that she remained unbitten. So, pregnant with the child of a vampire, she wandered around for six out of the nine months before she finally found a place to settle down. She gave birth to a young girl, a dhampir, which was just one more thing to put her apart from other people.
Despite that fact that she was raising a dhampir child, a man came into her life when the dhampir daughter was five years old. That man loved both the dhampir and her mother like no one ever had. When the dhampir was twelve years old her mother became pregnant again and it was around this time that the rapist vampire found her and killed her husband. The only reason the pregnant woman got away was because her dhampir daughter fought against the vampire, her own father. The dhampir fled soon after and joined her mother, traveling until they could hide on the outskirts of a friendly village. When the second daughter was eight years old the dhampir left home.
So, what do you think about that sob story? Hmmm? Because its mine and I live with it every damn day and you don’t hear me complaining, do you?”
Cirrus blinked once or twice, amazed at the narration he’d just witnessed. The entire time Arcane had acted like she was telling someone else’s sad tale. Satisfied that she’d successfully gotten her point across, she stood and straightened her pants a bit before striding back over to her spot, this time retrieving a canteen. She tossed it over to Cirrus. “Drink some. It’ll help you sleep and heal sooner.”
“What is it?” he asked suspiciously.
Arcane’s gaze narrowed. “No one’s forcing you to drink it.”
Cirrus could see that the angry glare ran in the family. If he didn’t know better he would’ve thought it was Eve glaring at him. “Fine…and…uh…Thanks…” He took a few drinks from the canteen and it was all he could do not to drop the canteen. He suddenly felt heavy and sleepy as he screwed the top back on, dropping the canteen next to him. “Wha…was that?”
“Just go to sleep,” snapped Arcane, her face passive as she covered him with her own cloak. “I’ll keep watch tonight.”
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