“Take me with you!” a sweet but earnest tone cried out from the wagon’s interior.
“A little help, D,” was the appeal that came in due course from Sergei, who was keeping an eye on Lady Ann. “Gordo’s no good to us now, so I’ll have to assist Juke. Would you keep an eye on this little she-devil?”
D turned around quickly, as if to say, Just leave her be.
“Somebody, please help me!” a shrill voice suddenly shouted. “I’m from the village of Ushki. These transport-party men abducted me!”
A stir went through the foremost rank of villagers. Many of the gazes that fell on Juke and D were clearly tinged with suspicion.
“Hey! Shut up, you little idiot!” Sergei said in an attempt to get her to stop.
“Ah! What are you doing?” the girl cried. “How disgusting! Take your hands off of me!”
The grumbling spread through more of the crowd.
D turned and knocked on the door to the living quarters, saying, “Get down here.”
“Gladly!” Lady Ann cried out, her tone so contented, in fact, that she seemed to have missed the sternness in the Hunter’s tone.
“How about the ropes?” Sergei asked.
“Take them off.”
Given the crowd’s distrust, if she had emerged from the wagon tied up, the party would surely have been attacked as the worst sort of deviants.
“Count yourself lucky, little Noble girl—I’m gonna untie you now.”
“Such ignorance—you truly are a simpleton,” the girl laughed haughtily.
“What?” Sergei shouted angrily, but a second later, that anger turned to surprise. “Why, you little devil—you snapped our ropes!”
“I could’ve escaped at any time. After killing you, that is. The only reason I didn’t do so was because I didn’t wish to be parted from my love.”
From the door of the living quarters the little girl dressed in a gorgeous array of colors leapt down next to D, while the villagers let out what could’ve been either gasps or sighs. The sounds spread through the crowd like ripples across the water’s surface, and all the villagers appeared spellbound. As innocent as ever, the girl—Lady Ann—looked around at the foolish people and smiled dazzlingly.
“Everyone looks upon us with such envy, beloved,” she laughed. “Now, shall we retire to the refreshing shade of a stand of trees or a bed of green grass stroked by the evening breeze?”
To all appearances she was a girl of ten. However, no one laughed when she spoke like a grown temptress. But look. A new expression was rising on the faces of the villagers—a dark shadow of terror. For they had guessed what Lady Ann really was.
“She’s a Noble,” someone said, and everyone nodded in unison.
“It’s a Noble!”
“A Noble!”
“Is that young fella one, too?”
“He’s gotta be Nobility.”
“Definitely.”
“No doubt about it.”
As they repeated the same words over and over, the villagers tried to convince themselves. Spears and scythes kept stashed for use against invaders were surreptitiously passed around, and stake-launching guns were cocked. The gray-haired crone, the housewife in the baggy apron, the children in the patchwork clothing all chanted their certainty with weapons in hand and stared at the pair.
The mob inched forward. Neither Juke nor Sergei could move. They knew the slightest provocation could send ordinary villagers into a crazed frenzy.
“It’s gotta be.”
“Gotta be.”
“Gotta be!”
The voices advanced. Then halted.
A gust of admiration and fear sailed across the faces of Juke and Sergei, for D had gone into motion at the same time. This alone had been enough to freeze the movements of more than a hundred villagers. D walked along as if nothing had happened, and just as he was about to collide with the foremost rank of villagers—the mob split right down the middle. Villagers who’d just programmed themselves for slaughter forgot all about it and stepped aside. D went without a word down the path they made for him. Lovely as a blossom, the girl followed along behind him, and before long they’d gone off into the twilight, though the exquisite sight didn’t fade from the villagers’ eyes for the longest time.
Not far to the east of the square was a little forest. A narrow brook flowed through it. The faint light of evening lent a final hint of blue to the water that flowed there.
“It looks like it’s going to be a wonderful night, don’t you think?” Ann said, following about fifteen feet behind D. Multicolored wildflowers were clutched to her chest. Stopping to pick every one she found was what’d put her so far behind him.
“I hope a lot of stars come out,” she continued. “So many more than usual. Oh, dear!”
Without so much as a glance at the jubilant Ann, D had lain down in the deepest part of the forest.
Quickly running over, Ann’s color changed as she peered down at the handsome young man.
“Whatever’s wrong?”
“If you’re gonna make a run for it, now’s your chance. He can’t move.”
Those hoarse words put a grim look in Ann’s eyes.
Descending from the Nobility, dhampirs could operate by day or night, though occasionally the bill for that came due in precisely this form. They were both human and Noble—and those two bloodlines were at war, suddenly sending fatigue far beyond what was ordinary through their whole body. They would lose consciousness, their limbs would grow motionless, and all their vital signs would drop to their absolute lowest limits. They would essentially be comatose. Not even the dhampir in question knew how long it would last. It was up to fate.
“Excuse me—but who are you?” Ann inquired in a sharp tone. Needless to say, her query was aimed at the source of the hoarse voice.
“Now, this is a surprise. You’re more interested in me than you are in getting away?”
“I have no intention of fleeing. I’m now doing everything in my power for that man . . . though he’s terribly frightening. Even having come this far with him, I couldn’t hold his hand. There is no way he could ever love me. But that matters not, as I love him. At any rate, who are you?”
“Think of me as someone he’s stuck with, if you like.”
Trying to get a peek at D’s left hand, Lady Ann leaned forward. She’d knelt down on his right side.
D’s left hand caught her by the throat.
“Ah—just as I suspected . . .”
“Keep away,” a rusty voice commanded, and D shoved Ann back.
Though she landed on her derrière, she quickly righted herself. Not surprisingly, anger burned in her eyes, but the moment she looked at D it immediately faded.
“Why are you so callous? I mean you no harm at all. I merely wished to learn where that unpleasant voice is coming from.”
“You hear that?” D said to the hand resting near his solar plexus.
“Well, she needn’t bother,” the hoarse voice replied.
“Dear me!” Ann said, her eyes going wide. “It’s some kind of unknown monstrosity, just as I suspected. That must be most troubling. I shall rid you of it now.”
Her graceful form burning with a sense of purpose, Ann stood up.
“Hey! Knock it off. It’d be in your best interest to just forget it and get the hell out of here as fast as you can. He’s using you to keep your father in check, you know.”
“I already knew as much,” Ann said, circling around to D’s feet. “And it doesn’t bother me a whit. If my beloved can make use of me, that’s all I could ever want. Could it be that you take exception to being linked to my love?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“How ungrateful of you,” Ann said, her whole face flushed with anger. “He won’t have anything to do with me—though my heart burns for him—yet you, who don’t even like him, have attached yourself to him and cause him all manner of trouble! I simply must separate the two of you.”
Ann�
�s right hand approached D’s left. In it she clutched a yellow wildflower.
“What are you doing?”
While it was unclear whether or not D heard this bizarre exchange, he remained motionless and kept his eyes shut. It didn’t even seem like he was breathing.
Staring intently at the talking left hand, Ann soon gave a decisive nod, saying, “Here!”
The cut end of the stalk stuck out of the back of the hand. And although it was an ordinary flower, it was driven so deep into D’s hand it seemed like it would poke right out the other side.
Just then, an awful cry of pain rang out.
“What’ve you done, you little bitch? Don’t you know what I do for him? Oh, the pain! All my strength is leaving me!”
“I enjoyed doing that,” Ann said, putting one hand over her mouth for a conceited laugh. She was indeed a daughter of the Nobility—that and nothing less.
As she stood with a smile that would’ve left anyone staring in rapture, the yellow bloom before her swiftly took on another hue. First light brown, then red—actually, crimson.
Another roar of agony went up, and as if in response, a change came over the left hand. Its healthy skin tone faded, leaving it a color reminiscent of wax. Something like white steam erupted from its pores.
When that had finished Lady Ann smiled thinly. From the wrist up D’s left hand was withered and desiccated, having been transformed into a veritable mummy’s hand.
“The flower I just picked was another variety of parasitic plant. And now the interloper is no more.”
Smiling lovingly at the slumbering D, the girl said, “You are mine now. Tee-hee, I wonder what Father would do if only he could see us.”
And then she suddenly seemed to realize something.
“Ah, that’s right! If Father were to come now—no! My love must be hidden.”
Ann quickly looked all around, her cute little face colored by fretfulness. Before long she nodded to herself, and with a tense expression she hadn’t exhibited up until now, she left D’s side, went about six feet away, and began to plant the flowers clutched to her chest one by one all around the Hunter. Just like a barrier to shield his body.
“A flower fortress,” Lady Ann muttered.
After she’d finished planting about twenty of them, she snuggled by D’s side. There was a gleam of passion in her eyes.
“I am about to betray my father for your sake. I believe I’m entitled to receive at least this much by way of compensation.”
And then, the lovely but fearsome girl brought her lips closer to D’s face.
__
II
__
If someone possessing a balanced mind had seen it, it would’ve looked like a scene of sweet love. However, Ann’s wish was not to be fulfilled.
The earth moved with rapid tremors, and before she knew it, it rose in waves in a spot some twenty to thirty feet away. Suddenly, an armored individual pushed his way up through rock-laden, thick black soil.
“Father!”
“There’s no cause for alarm. I’ve been worried about you, Lady Ann!”
Though the microphone ruined his voice somewhat, it was still filled with his feelings for his daughter.
“All I could think about was rescuing you as soon as possible, but considering that young man’s abilities, I had to proceed with great caution. This is the same man who even managed to cut through my armor! Are you surprised to learn there was something that could make even your father faint hearted?”
“No,” Ann replied, shaking her head. She, too, was speaking from the heart. “That’s only natural when dealing with him. Even if you had fled with your tail between your legs, Father, I still wouldn’t have been surprised.”
The Duke of Xenon’s reaction was terribly ambiguous. He sensed that his daughter wasn’t the same girl he had known.
“Ann, are you—”
“Might I ask you to be so good as to leave, Father?” Ann said, gazing intently at the area corresponding to the duke’s eyes. “If possible, I’d like you to kindly swear to never again appear before me or him.”
“Are you feeling okay, Ann?”
“I’ve never felt better in all my life.”
“Hmm—and if I said I couldn’t do that?”
“Yes, there would be trouble. Even though you are my father.”
“Would you destroy me?”
“Yes.”
Such an easy conversation it was. And at the same time, such a mind-numbing one.
“You’re presuming that I would allow you to destroy me, are you not?”
“No.”
The man in the exoskeleton was stunned by her flat reply. No, he was positively dumbfounded.
“By my oath—do you love him that much?”
“Yes. I watched him do battle as he fought off the great general blinded. Could it be that you also had a similar encounter unbeknownst to me, Father?”
“I suffered a defeat.”
“I might’ve guessed—oh, but he’s such an awesome individual,” Ann said, her voice trembling. No, her whole body quaked. And the young girl congratulated herself on her feelings of love. She hadn’t yet noticed the desire those same feelings carried.
“Lady Ann, won’t you come to your senses?” The Duke of Xenon’s voice suddenly dropped as he continued, “You are my treasure. If someone else is going to take you from me—”
“You’d rather destroy me yourself? Oh, ho! Could you do that, Father? After the way you loved me so?”
Ann’s words were launched like arrows of derision. Apparently they struck the Duke of Xenon in a vital point, for he let out a low groan and then fell silent.
Just then, there was the sound of voices and footsteps approaching from off in the distance. Suspicious of the rumbling in the earth the duke had caused, the villagers had come running.
“Ann, I will only ask you once more. Step aside.”
“And I will only tell you this once more—I respectfully decline.”
Her hand rose, and a pure white bloom flew at her armored father. Almost all of her flowers had been planted around D, but it was one of three she had left. Astonishingly enough, it didn’t bounce off when it struck the armor, but rather adhered to it. And in the blink of an eye, what should run across the surface of the armor but something like roots!
It was a second later that the armored giant dropped to one knee.
“Lady Ann!” the Duke of Xenon cried out in despair, for up until that moment he hadn’t thought her capable of such a thing.
But the girl was unmoved by his cry.
“Every flower I touch, regardless of type, can suck up any kind of energy,” the girl said, smiling silently. “Be it a person’s lifeblood or the power from a combat suit, a bolt of lightning or the force of a river. And who made me this way, Father? Was it not you? The very thought of it ever being used against you must’ve seemed preposterous.”
“I shall say no more,” said the voice over the microphone, rapidly moving away and mixed with static. “I won’t ask you to return with me, nor to step aside. Lady Ann, accept your father’s tears as he destroys you!”
“And here is my offering to you!”
A second blossom flew, this one yellow, and it jabbed in by the right side of the white flower. Already down on one knee, the armored giant tilted forward even more.
“Father, you have always been kind to me. However, it only stands to reason that a parent should love their child. It doesn’t stand to reason that the child love the parent in turn.”
The sweet but disturbing little girl took a third bloom—a pale purple one—and raised her right hand high.
“You fool.”
At that instant, Ann realized that the voice of the armored giant—the voice of her father—had all of its normal intensity.
The pale purple flower flew. A terrible gleam limned an arc, and before it could even split the bloom, the force of the wind shredded it and the flower blew away.
“Aaaah!�
��
As if to accompany Lady Ann’s cry of pain, bright blood erupted from her left shoulder and the girl bent backward.
“I won’t let you perish. You must suffer a while as punishment for your rebelliousness. D, your life is mine for the taking!” the duke exclaimed.
Ann’s blood fell in drops from the steely blade projecting from the elbow of his armor. It was over ten feet long—could D possibly survive if it removed his head from his torso?
However, just as the duke was about to strike, an unexpected hindrance stopped him. Ann lay supine on top of D, and around the girl all the colors of the rainbow began to writhe before clinging to every part of the armored form. It was the flowers Ann had planted. The way the roots shot across the length and breadth of the armor’s smooth surface was a sight to behold.
Once again, the armored giant staggered. He hadn’t even recovered from the damage dealt to him by Ann’s first two flowers . . .
and now there were nearly twenty of them.
All the while, the voices and the footsteps of the villagers grew steadily closer.
“The humans of this village mean nothing to me; I shall depart for the time being. When next we meet, Ann, your loving father shall drink your blood!”
And then the Duke of Xenon smoothly dropped feet first back into the hole in the ground from which he’d appeared. The dull whir of a motor rang out and the armor rotated as it sank into the bowels of the earth.
At the forefront of the villagers racing to the scene was Juke. Leaving Sergei and Gordo by Rosaria’s side, he’d hurried there.
Seeing the great hole in the ground and D and Lady Ann lying next to it took the villagers’ breaths away. Who among them could’ve imagined that the bloody young girl with her left shoulder split open had fallen fighting to defend the young man of unearthly beauty from her own father? All they felt was a fear of the Nobility and an incomprehensible horror, and they sensed as only the people of the Frontier could that this pair and those they attracted would threaten their peaceful existence.
“Let’s kill ’em,” someone said.
“Kill ’em!” another repeated.
“Yeah, kill ’em!”
It didn’t take long at all for those repeated cries to work like hypnosis, creating a great and abiding purpose. The will to slaughter still burned in their hearts—Juke was powerless to stop them. Even if he were to try to halt them by force, a single firearm wouldn’t do much to deter the villagers plowing forward like a machine bent on murder.
Vampire Hunter D: Dark Road Parts One and Two Page 22