“You promise?”
I swear on the name of the Sacred Ancestor. And by the honor of the Nobility, I shall keep my word.
The girl’s face flushed crimson with her fighting spirit, and as her brother tilted his head to one side with a less than satisfied look on his face, the carriage suddenly began to slow down. Opening the window and sticking his head out, the boy gasped aloud.
“What is it?” his sister asked, following his lead. “Oh no!” she exclaimed as her eyes went wide.
A purple cloudlike mass floated far off near the horizon, and it was headed in their direction. It might’ve been three hundred feet high, or then again, it might’ve stretched up nearly a mile. With a number of massive knobs piled one on top of the other and fused together into shapes that protruded even further, this mass beneath a blue sky that seemed ready to flee was so disturbing it outstripped any thoughts of majesty.
The shadow of the carriage flickered on the ground from countless strands of lightning that tied the purple cloud mass to the earth below.
“It’s an electric cloud!” the girl screamed as she so eloquently identified the threat.
Though it was said the number of artificial monstrosities the Nobility had scattered across the world was in the thousands or millions, of them all, the cloud creatures that could cover an area of several hundred square miles and reach almost three miles in height were easily one of the five most dangerous. These gaseous masses imbued with life formed into thirteen different varieties, and while the composition varied, the center was usually an eerie mix of toxic gases, while the exterior typically contained a half-million volts of electrical current, acid rain, and winds that brought death and decay. As a result, after one of these had passed, the land was left dead—literally not a blade of grass standing. The only saving grace where every other living thing was concerned was that these things had a short life span. From the time of its formation, the cloud would vanish again within one day and night’s time, as only a composite life form would. To wit—for the twenty-four hours after its creation, it would be death incarnate on a mindless rampage. Toward that end, the Nobility had seeded its gaseous brain with a boundless hatred toward any but its own kind and thoughts of nothing save destruction. As for why they had also given it such a short life span, the clouds and their brutal nature were merely one of their larks—and intended as no more than a brief amusement. The clouds had only been created so they might mock the humans for a while as they ran willy-nilly.
What will we do, D? the baron’s voice inquired, ringing in the Hunter’s ear as he rode along on his mount.
“We’ve got no choice but to run for it.”
Do you think we’ll make it in time?
“That’s hard to say.”
In that case, get everyone into the carriages. You and the woman should go in Miska’s. I’ve already informed her. And let the horses loose.
D made up his mind in an instant. The second he scooped up the young lady from the driver’s seat and loaded her into the white carriage, he slapped the hindquarters of the horses. Already noticeably spooked, the horses raced back down the road they’d come from without a second glance.
The young lady stifled a cry of surprise. Twice as spacious as it appeared from the outside, the vehicle’s interior was filled with white blossoms. Ephemeral and nigh translucent, the petals swayed with every movement of the two new occupants.
No sooner had D closed the door than the sun was blotted out. A yellow cloud of dust billowed up from the road, and every last tree bowed in the same direction—an omen that was a mixture of weirdness and silence.
Death is outside, said the voice from within the coffin. Miska’s voice. The Nobility or the human race—which do you think deserves it more, D?
The blue shadow that filled the vehicle’s interior served as D’s answer. The trees that lined the road were engulfed in flames, instantly transforming them to fireballs.
“I’m scared,” the woman squeaked.
“A hell of a thing this is. Make one mistake and the whole lot of us will be wiped out,” another voice that didn’t belong to any of them muttered glumly, but no one save D heard it.
“Sis!”
“Hugh!”
The children cried as they clung tightly to each other in the blue carriage.
An impossible darkness covered the world, and to the young siblings it seemed like the unfathomable depths of death itself. In a second, lightning focused on the pair of carriages from all sides. The ionized air made it easy enough for the electrical strikes, and the heat they generated instantaneously fused the ground into glass whenever they came into contact with it. Enveloped by this pale illumination, the horseless carriages themselves looked like some sort of bizarre creatures. Even if a monster more terrible than this cloud were to appear, it didn’t seem like it would be able to withstand the same deadly talons that raked the carriages.
__
II
__
After the overwhelming curtain of death had passed, nothing remained but savaged terrain. Smoke curled from each and every stand of trees, and here and there the ground glittered with the bright sunlight where heat had fused it into glass. The two carriages were right where they’d started.
Ten minutes after the monster cloud had moved on, the blue door opened and the two children cautiously climbed down to the ground. Scanning their surroundings with eyes alight with fear and curiosity, they quickly exclaimed, “Mister!” and “There you are!” before racing over to the black-coated figure basking in the sunlight.
Gazing suspiciously at the young lady beside him, the boy then said, “I thought we were goners!”
“Me, too!” said his sister.
The cries of both swam with a sparkling vitality.
“I’m surprised we held up all right. Everything around us got burnt to a crisp!”
As the girl listened to her brother’s remarks, she looked to the carriages behind them and began to say, “They really are incredible . . .” But then she held her tongue. She’d decided that might be taken as some endorsement of the vehicles’ owners.
It was unclear how the Hunter in black viewed the death and devastation surrounding them, or the lively chattering children there in the middle of it who seemed to belong to a whole different world.
“We were saved by the power of the Nobility,” D said.
Regardless of whether that was their intent or not, the pair of carriages manufactured by the Nobility had safeguarded the lives of two beings who still had a future.
“You’re right. They sure did have awesome science. A long time ago, some scientists came to the village where we were born and explained that it was a waste to simply destroy the Nobility’s civilization when we should be making use of it. And I think they were right.”
But the girl was quick to counter the opinion of her impressionable younger brother.
“Spare me any more talk about how great they are. The damned cloud that caused this whole mess in the first place was made by the Nobility, wasn’t it?”
“Well, that is true, but—”
“And we still owe them for Mom and Dad!”
“I know that. It’s just—”
“Just what?!”
Apparently quite scared of his older sister now that she’d bared her teeth, the boy held his tongue.
“By the look of it, the inn up ahead would’ve been destroyed too,” someone stated flatly, the words bringing the brother and sister back to reality. Their eyes came to rest on the young woman who stood there quietly.
“Who are you, miss?” asked Hugh.
“Nice to meet you. Taki is the name. I’m a magician’s assistant.”
“Wow! So, can you do tricks too?”
“A few, I suppose.”
“Great! That’ll make the trip a little more fun. I’m Hugh.”
“You little dope. The inn’s been laid to waste,” the girl said to him, before calmly introducing herself to Taki, saying, “Oh,
I’m May. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“It doesn’t look like the cloud will return or do anything else strange. Get back into the carriages,” D told them.
As the four of them turned around, the carriages seemed to tower there resolutely, and from off in the distance they could hear the hoofbeats of cyborg horses on their way back, almost as if the animals had caught D’s instructions.
As expected, the coach stop by the highway had been reduced to dust. And every village dotting the landscape for several hundred miles had probably met the same fate.
“The next coach to the Capital is at noon tomorrow. Wait here.”
At D’s instructions, the boy and girl looked at each other.
“But—the stop’s weapons and emergency shelter are gone now. If any monsters come, we’ll be sitting ducks!”
“We’ll leave you with weapons.”
“Wouldn’t you be good enough to bring us as far as the next village?” asked May. “We could get off there.”
“It’d be a lot safer for you to stay here rather than come with us. All the monsters have been burnt up. There won’t be a sign of anything for a week.”
Although the Hunter’s assessment was perfectly accurate, the children didn’t know that. The power held by the dark of night was far more real than any spoken promise could ever be.
Why don’t we bring them with us?
“Stay out of this.”
If you’re worried about Miska’s desires or my own, then we’ll simply stay in our coffins. I swear it.
“Neither of you have any idea how strong a Noble’s craving for blood can be,” D responded flatly.
Why do you say that?
“Have you ever been starved?”
The pause that followed was like a little explosion.
“Have you ever wanted to drink human blood so badly you clawed at the walls? Has it ever been so hard to bear you had to bite into your own arm? That’s what hunger is,” D said in a voice the children couldn’t hear. And yet, their eyes were riveted to the face of the gorgeous Hunter.
Have you, D? the baron’s voice inquired.
“No Noble has ever triumphed over the cravings that come from hunger. All who’ve tried have failed,” D replied.
Among the vampires, there were some who found the taking of a human’s lifeblood repulsive, and they endeavored to somehow resist the hateful urge. In the ninth millennium there appeared an individual known as “Gullit the Corrupter” who wrote five hundred volumes on how loathsome he found the act of drinking blood. He tried various means to break himself of the habit, but all attempts ended in failure, and he ultimately disavowed his theories. His writings were subsequently cast on the fire.
For example, what happened to a famished Noble imprisoned somewhere where escape was impossible? Their ageless and indestructible constitution never allowed them to starve to death, so they suffered no physical harm from an exceedingly empty stomach, and their brain didn’t even allow an escape into madness as they were tortured by hunger. During the Nobility’s so-called Age of Conflict, countless Nobles were divided into allied and enemy camps by the fighting, and the most sadistic punishment the victors could impose on their captives was just such an imprisonment. It wasn’t difficult to imagine how cruel it was to be trapped in a heavy-gravity dungeon for centuries while the hunger only grew. When cease-fire treaties were drawn up and the captives were released from the untold depths of the earth, they pounced on their saviors and drained them of their blood.
“You can’t change your stripes. No Noble can, so long as they remain a Noble. It’s the same as humans taking the lives of their livestock. And people will even eat other people.”
How many years had this handsome young man lived, and what had he seen? As D related that terrifying information so stoically, his profile remained stern and diligent.
You are correct, as always. Indeed, I haven’t known the hunger of which you speak, said the voice from the coffin. However, so long as I ride in this carriage, there is no danger of me starving. I won’t lay a hand on the children.
“Please, let’s do that,” Taki added. The young lady must’ve come from an area where the Nobility’s influence had died out long ago. “Leaving such little children out in the wilderness would be like putting a snack out for some monster. Surely you’ll regret it later.”
Nothing you can say will matter in the least.
Everyone turned toward the white carriage. The words she’d practically sneered had reached everyone’s ears.
It is not I or the baron that he fears. It is himself. Did you know that, little human children? Were you aware that this man you trust above all else is a dhampir? A traitor that sides with you and hunts our kind, even though he possesses the same blood that we do.
Neither D nor Taki could see what kind of expression the brother and sister wore, for the clear sky had turned dark in a matter of seconds. This time ordinary lightning flashed, and the wind buffeted D’s face as he looked to the heavens. Even for the plains, the changeability of the weather in this area was particularly fierce.
As clouds of dust eddied away, Miska’s voice coursed out triumphantly, saying, D, were you actually concerned about the baron or myself giving the kiss to them? No, your misgivings are in fact based on your own hunger, are they not? Those children are always around you. You can smell the scent of their bodies. And from it, can you not glean the sweet aroma of their blood? When you do, doesn’t the Noble blood run hot in your veins?
“Get in,” D told the children.
Heaven and earth settled into an endless blue haze. It had begun to rain. The sound of the wind became that of the rain beating against the earth, and all three pressed their hands to their heads while D did nothing. The force of the impact was terrific. Perhaps it was only right that it had no effect on a Hunter so callous he could’ve left children out in such an environment.
Though Taki was about to walk away, the two children didn’t move. As they looked up at D, their faces were blurred by the rain. Whatever expressions they wore couldn’t be seen.
__
Once the group was back inside, the carriages sped off at a fantastic clip in keeping with D’s handling as he sat up in the driver’s seat.
Taki peeked out the window, then her cheeks hardened as she shouted, “We’ve strayed from the road!”
The brother and sister pressed their faces to the windows, too. Though the downpour shrouded everything like a gas, they could still somehow make out that ahead of them lay a black rise that seemed to be some sort of hill.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
Seeing that her brother had turned his gaze to the blue coffin, the girl then nudged his shoulder.
“I’m sure there must be a reason, if he’s the one doing it,” said Taki.
And once they’d raced up a less-than-gentle incline to a height of thirty feet, they knew in an instant what the young woman had meant. In addition to the noise of the rain, there was a low sound like a rumbling from deep in the earth, and it came from the right side of the road.
“It’s a flood!”
Although it was water all the same, it looked like a little mountain of gray. Perhaps there were lakes nearby that had overflowed, or maybe it was the work of water sprites, but the surging gushes erased the road and swallowed up the devastated wilderness without the slightest hesitation. The water reached the hill, and the carriages slipped backward a bit.
But that wasn’t the only reason the three people inside one vehicle let out a scream. The lid of the coffin had opened. Even though they realized the figure who’d risen from it was the baron, the terror of witnessing a Noble’s appearance from his resting place had triggered their basic human instincts.
“Don’t get so excited,” the Nobleman said in a sober tone, his cape spreading like a deep expanse of sea.
Before the trio he’d left frozen stiff could blink their eyes, the figure in blue was gone, and the door closed again, spraying drople
ts of rain in abundance.
__
D could guess who it was that approached him.
Once the baron had taken a seat, the Hunter asked, “What brings you out here?”
“I don’t care to be swept away by that flood. The current is strong, and we can’t afford any further delays.”
“Then get back inside. The sun is still high.”
“Fortunately, the water is only halfway up the wheels. If someone were to support the back end, it wouldn’t slide.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“At this point, I’d like to remind you of our employer/employee relationship,” the baron said with a grin.
D leapt down into the muddy torrent without saying a word. Circling around behind the white carriage without fighting the mighty flow, he braced the vehicle with his shoulder once he was sure of his footing. It stopped moving backward.
The baron lashed out with a whip. Once more, the horses advanced to the crest of the hill.
__
It was two hours later that the waters receded.
When D came over and stood beneath the driver’s seat, the baron told him, “You did a good job.”
“I should say the same,” D remarked as he looked up. “Please hurry and get back in your coffin. It wouldn’t do to have you collapsing up there.”
Though the rain continued to fall, it was still midday. For a Noble, it would be even more brutal than it was for D—his flesh would burn and melt, and yet severe chills would run through his whole body. Indeed, the figure in blue staggered a bit.
A pale light resided in D’s eyes. The sky to the north was brightening. Golden light was peeking out from between the clouds.
As the Hunter’s hand reached over to pull out the stairs, the baron stopped him, saying, “No, it’s fine. I’ve always wondered what the morning light was like—this is a rare opportunity . . .”
His voice crumpled feebly.
Bounding up to the driver’s seat, D scooped up the figure in blue and carried him into the carriage. Once the baron had been placed in his coffin, the lid closed by itself.
Without so much as a glance at the three people who sat there with eyes bugged, the Hunter asked, “Did you see it?”
Vampire Hunter D: Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two Page 12