Life of Blood [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel followed after Merlin, not at all arguing with this plan. “I don’t think rope is going to cut it so well anymore,” Gabriel had intended just that originally, to then cut the dhampir free at the last moments before the deal went through, when the trap was going to be sprung.


Now he wasn’t so sure about her grip on her own self-control. She was struggling with it already, and he was starting to worry about how this could all go wrong. At first, he’d been more worried about Carla, but now that he saw Esmeralda he had less doubts about her. It was clear she didn’t just think of humans as slaves or food. She saw more in humanity than that. The dhampir hadn’t been wrong.


The dhampir, though…if she starved herself like this, even if it wasn’t in her nature to be ravenous, Gabriel knew she’d become that. ‘And blood will be spilt.’


~***~


Merlin and Gabriel understood, immediately. They didn’t linger and make Evaline’s hunger all the worse, but went to their task. Evaline brought the pillow up again, brought her knees up to her chest, and then rested the pillow on them before bringing her head down to press her face against it.


‘Inhale.’ Nothing but the scent of that pillow and the building. ‘Exhale.’ It was difficult to keep that quiet. She wanted to scream and tear something apart. She supposed that might be good, later, but it also might prove to be terrible. Evaline wanted to assist the rebels in combat, but right then she wasn’t so certain it was a good idea. ‘Patience. Wait and see.’ She told herself, and forced her body to relax.


She did not need to be tensed to spring.

 

[NightNurse]

Carla let out a sigh, watching Esmeralda as the blonde frowned.


"Why exactly did Hercine kill you friend?" The human asked. Carla paused for a second, her expression saddening.


"Hercine thought that Diana was going to lead an uprising against him.. among the other humans." The vampire explained softly. Esmeralda nodded slightly. Carla tucked some of her hair behind her ear, her eyes narrowing down at the ground.


"But she wasn't going to?" Esmeralda questioned. Carla just shook her head. Diana would have told her if she was planning something like that. She had known that Carla would have helped. Carla had never been a fan of Hercine's, even before he wronged her. The vampire had irked her.


"So she was ruined because of an unfortunate misunderstanding." Esmerlda said, clearly thinking outloud. "For being a rebel. Well, Carla, if you want to be clever in your revenge, then Hercine should be ruined for the same reason Diana was." Esmeralda grinned a little then. "I think you're influencing me, you know." The human chuckled softly. "I'm getting quite good at coming up with schemes and things." Carla smiled a little then.


--


Merlin looked over at Gabriel as the other man mentioned rope. "I don't think so either." he frowned slightly. "I thought that would be easiest, but we can't have the dhampir getting loose and killing somebody." He let out a soft sigh.


While serving up a starving and weak dhampir to Hercine would seem more convincing, (After all, why would a prisoner be in good condition?) having the dhampir attack and possibly kill one of his people because she was starving was something that Merlin did not want to see happen.


"We have to use chains." Merlin said. "And then hope for the best when it's time to free her for the trap."

 

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel gave a nod of acceptance at the idea of chains. “All right, I know where some of those are,” chains weren’t tied. Chains were locked. That would add to the difficulty. He walked into one of the buildings where bags were left behind, unpacked, and started to dig through them. Eventually, his hands came to rest on the chains, and he pulled one out, along with a couple of locks to put between the links to hold it all together. He didn’t forget the keys.


In his mind, he was trying to compose the best way to go about it as he nodded to Merlin and then started to walk back to where the dhampir was. “I can get them on her, you can…make sure she doesn’t do anything.”


She was more or less where she had been left, and she didn’t lift her head to see them. “Can I approach now?” Gabriel asked.


Evaline took a deep breath and held it. Then, she lifted her head, noted the chains, and nodded. Her evident distaste of the chains shone in her eyes, but she understood why it had to be this way.


Gabriel’s steps were still slow in the approach, measuring each gain to judge her reaction, but there was no incident to worry over. “Okay, hands behind,” and Evaline followed the instruction, struggling to hold her breath for longer. The chains were not too cold, at least. Just metal, and heavy.


There was an inhale through the mouth, surprise, when she felt that metal wrap around her neck, after a lock had been secured at her hands. Gabriel couldn’t see it from his vantage points, but the fangs elongated. They would be retracted before he ever saw.


Gabriel did see the muscles tense, and he lifted one hand to press on the spot between her shoulder blades, as if it might help if she decided to strike. He said, “Balance. Chains are heavy. This will keep them in place.” He locked just a single strand of links around her neck, and then grabbed a hold of the trail that led up to it, “Up.”


And up Evaline got.

 

[NightNurse]

The plan that Carla and Esmeralda came up with was messy and they both knew it. Although for being a rushed, whispered plan, thought up while being surrounded by human rebels ready to kill at any given second, this wasn't the worst thing Carla and Esmeralda had come up with. Carla could tell that Esmeralda was a little nervous herself. The woman kept to herself, not normally involving herself in matters of humans vs. vampires.


Except, of course, when very once in a while Carla would come along and ask Esmeralda for help. Carla didn't think that her friend minded. The vampiress was very careful to keep the human out of harm's way. Carla already carried the guilt of too many deaths that shouldn't have happened; Esmeralda's blood would not be on her hands. Figuratively, that is, as Carla had drank from Esmeralda a few times in the past.


"Okay, after I'm done delivering the message, I'll come right back." Esmeralda promised. "But I won't be able to get back before your meeting with Hercine." The blonde frowned slightly. Carla just shrugged.


"That's fine." The vampiress said. She paused for a second. "Es, don't die, okay?" She said quietly. "If anything goes wrong, you get away, got it?"


Esmeralda nodded. "Don't get yourself killed either." The human said, giving Carla a pointed look. And then she left, turning and running back in the way that she came. Carla watched her friend go, finally turning away when she could no longer see or hear the human.


--


Merlin followed Gabriel to the building where the chains were and then back to Evaline in silence. He looked over at his fellow rebel when Gabriel suggested that Merlin watch Evaline while she was being chained up.


"Alright, good thinking." He said, pausing at the doorway that led into the building. He put one hand on his blade, ready to draw it at any sign of trouble. He watched the dhampir, noticing her obvious distaste of the chains. That didn't surprise Merlin at all.


Watching the dhampir be chained up, he noticed when Evaline's fangs elongated. Merlin drew in a sharp breathe, about to draw his blade when the dhampir seemed to get herself back under control. Merlin watched Evaline stand up before looking to Gabriel.


"Okay... let's go." He said, stepping aside and motioning for Gabriel to take Evaline out in front of him. Despite the dhampir being chained up, he was still weary, although he knew that she really couldn't do anything now.

 

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel kept one hand around the center chain and led Evaline out. She didn’t try to bite or fuss much, though he could see her twisting her hands in the chains. She gave one tug, and Gabriel knew that wasn’t at all near her full strength. She was clearly testing things. He wasn’t sure if he ought to advise her to cease, or if she was testing for the safety of all of them.


He wasn’t brave enough to ask, either.


Evaline was mentally cursing her own state as she walked—not of being starved and bound, but the dhampir one. Vampires didn’t need to breath, so they could avoid being bothered by the smell of blood when it didn’t suit them. She, on the other hand, needed to. ‘To breathe and to drink blood. To prefer shadows.’ Times like these, she did consider her ‘blessing’ more of a curse.


Gabriel led them back to where they’d left Carla, and Evaline bowed her head. Somehow, it was worse when vampires saw her this way. She remembered the smugness of a few too well.


Gabriel glanced around, then asked, “Where did your friend go?” Though he knew that probably wasn’t relevant right then, considering they had other places to be. “Do we need to wait for her?” He decided was a better question, considering time was of the essence. Being late would not be in their best interests. Hercine would have more time to prepare.

 

[NightNurse]

When Carla heard the other approach, she turned around the face them. Her eyes wandered over to Evaline, and for a second her expression turned sympathetic as she watched the dhampir. Carla didn't particularly enjoy seeing anyone bound in chains, especially when the person bound was somebody who had saved her life. When Gabriel asked her about Esmeralda, Carla looked over at him.


"Esmeralda has people at her home, friends of hers. She went to make sure that they stayed put until the meeting with Hercine was over." Carla lied to the others. They wouldn't have any reason not to believe that. "She didn't want them getting themselves found and killed, or worse. We don't need to wait for her." The vampiress informed them. "If she decides to come back and help, she knows where we'll be."


Merlin glanced around them as well, making sure that there was nobody listening to them. He didn't think there would be, as he had scouts posted, but he figured that Hercine would have scouts as well. If the human friend of Carla's had found them, he didn't want to chance a vampire finding them too. As far as Merlin was concerned, they were currently in enemy territory, even if the land belonged to a human.


He looked over at the vampiress as she informed them that Esmeralda had left. "Okay." He said, looking over at Evaline for a second. He hoped that she wouldn't loose control and try to escape the chains. This situation was messy enough as it was.


"We need to get to the meeting place." He said. "It's almost time."

 

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel accepted Carla’s words without much question. It made perfect sense, after all. Esmeralda had come to find out what was going on, and could now report back to those with her to make sure no one did anything stupid. “All right,” Gabriel said, almost at the same time as Merlin spoke his ‘okay’.


He nodded to Merlin’s idea, too. “Yeah, better early than late at this point.” He felt his hand tighten around the chain, and asked, “Is everyone already set in position? Can we just walk there?” He wasn’t sure if there was any more organizing to do. He certainly hoped not.


The dhampir hadn’t been terribly talkative before, but there was a terrible unease to her absolute silence now that he didn’t like. He could tell she was not breathing as much. No doubt, her desire not to talk came from a desire not to breathe, as well. Talking sort of required breath.

 

[NightNurse]

Merlin looked over at Gabriel. "Yeah. Everything is all set up." He informed Gabriel. "We're within walking distance to the meeting place, so, yeah. We can just walk over." Merlin had made sure that the rebels were just far enough away from the meeting place to be well hidden, but close enough to get there quickly.


Carla shifted her weight from one foot to the other, watching the others. She was feeling a bit impatient, and she was worried about Esmeralda. The human wouldn't be going very far into the city herself, she had contacts that did that, but that didn't mean that Esmeralda wasn't in danger. Quite frankly, Carla didn't know what she would do if something happened to Esmeralda. Out of the people that Carla cared about, Esmeralda was all the vampiress had left.


"I think we should try and get there before Hercine." Carla said, pushing away the dark thoughts. "Try and establish some form of control over the situation, you know?" Of course, they didn't really have much control over anything at the moment. They could plan all they wanted, but something could still go wrong. Carla wouldn't be in control until her plan was put in action. She couldn't wait.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Well, we can try,” Gabriel consented, “C’mon, let’s get moving then.” He moved a hand forward to touch Evaline’s shoulder and saw the way she flinched. However, when logic returned to her mind and not irritation at the touch, she understood to walk forward. Gabriel wasn’t going to let go of the chain, and he wasn’t going to walk in front of the dhampir.


After all, it was the fangs that were the threat.


They didn’t make it there before Hercine, but they made it unmolested, “Well, well.”


Evaline growled as she heard the lord click his tongue on the roof of his mouth. He was not alone, and no doubt, more than the four vampires visible were present. Hercine was obvious, the blonde vampire in the center with the golden epaulettes on his shoulders. “I almost didn’t believe you.” His eyes passed over Gabriel, whom he remembered seeing, “It’s a rare day a human would want to hand over another rebel for just money.”


“It’s a dhampir,” Gabriel made sure to sound cold, and pleaded with whatever deity there was when he gave a strong push forward.


Evaline stumbled forward, but didn’t fall. “She does look a bit like Lord Adal,” he remembered him, of course. Irksome scum who commiserated with the humans. He knew if it were true, she’d be worth a fortune to others. He’d make back any sum he gave…not that he really intended to give over anything. It was all for show.


Evaline wasn’t paying him much attention. ‘Not one single human.’ She was frustrated with Hercine’s guard, and again pulled at the chains. She imagined she could break them. Hoped she could break them.


“The money?” Gabriel asked, when he noticed Hercine’s gaze shift towards Carla.


It wasn’t recognition that played upon his face, but curiosity to see another vampire present—another with the humans. It made him doubt the dhampir was the infamous Adal if so many were willing to get rid of her, but it didn’t matter either way, he supposed. His attention shifted back to Gabriel, “Right,” he motioned to one of his guards, who stepped forward with a bag.

 

[NightNurse]

Carla was silent as the group walked to the building, too consumed with worry for Esmeralda and going over her secret plan to make any small talk. Once they got to the meeting's location, Carla's hands curled into fists at the sight of Hercine. Anger flared up inside of her, but she forced herself to calm down. Forcing herself to relax, she remained silent. It took all of the willpower that the vampiress possessed not to just lunge at Hercine and stab the vampire right then and there.


'Be patient.' She told herself. 'Giving yourself away wouldn't do any good. You don't want to make things worse for yourself.'





Arriving at the meeting's location, Merlin's eyes wandered around the building. He studied Hercine and the other vampires closely. At Hercine's words, Merlin huffed.


"She is not one of us." He stated simply. When Gabriel pushed Evaline forward, Merlin watched tensely. As the dhampir struggled against the chains, his eyes narrowed.


"Watch it, leech." He warned, sounding harsh, just like he needed to.


When Hercine's focused his gaze on her, Carla tensed, not moving or saying anything. She hoped more than anything that the vampire wouldn't recognize her. The rebels finding out that she had lied about knowing Hercine was inevitable. However, it would be better for Carla's secret plan if this happened after she already had more control over the situation. After all, if somebody tried to kill her for lying, things would end up being bloodier than they had to be.


When Hercine didn't appear to recognize her, Carla let out a soft sigh of relief. The vampire just looked curious. That made sense. After all, she was a vampire among the company of human rebels.


"Well, this is quite the predicament you've found yourself in." Carla said, directing her words at Evaline. However, her words were directed at Hercine. He had said those exact words to her one hundred years ago. "I guess I might see you in another life, if I'm unlucky." These words were filled with disgust.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘This is a life you will have to go through alone, and for that, I am sorry.’


Bloodlust had a way of dementing one’s mind, though Evaline fought for sanity tooth and nail, reminding herself with every harsh word that it was only an act, rather than a justification to attack. Not that she could. ‘Maybe.’ She straightened out her posture as Hercine advanced and Carla then spoke.


Hercine froze prematurely, realizing why the vampire was of particular interest to him. He had a good memory, and it all clicked into place. “Carla?” A wicked grin came to his lips as he turned his gaze back to her, “Wait,” he stayed his hand for his guard, “We’ll double our offer for her.” Hercine said, wondering if they’d give her up as easily as they gave up the dhampir.


“Triple,” Merlin said immediately. “She’s worth twice what a dhampir is.”


“Fi—” the chains shattered, first the center one, pulled apart by a stretch, and then the ones at the dhampir’s hands. Hercine had the sense to move out of the way when the dhampir lunged at him, and he dared to shout, “They’re the ones that chained you up.” Since he could see she was starved. If he could redirect her attention, perhaps it would be enough.


Indeed, Evaline's gaze shifted to her supposed allies.


Hercine shot a glare at the humans, “You thought that would hold?” He sounded a bit outraged, though he supposed humans wouldn’t know any better.


Honestly, he had thought it would, until it broke.

 

[NightNurse]

When Hercine recognized her, Carla felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. 'Wonderful.' she thought sarcastically. "Yeah, it's me." She said through gritted teeth. She wanted to stab him, if for no other reason than to make him stop grinning. "I would say that it's nice to see you again, but it's really not." The vampiress narrowed her eyes when Hercine offered the rebels more money in exchange for her. She was hardly surprised.


"Oh, I don't think so." She glared. "I would rather die than be anywhere near you." She shot Gabriel a dirty look.


Merlin narrowed his eyes at the vampires, immediately more wary of Carla. She had lied about knowing Hercine. Of course, she seemed to hate him, so chances were slim that she had lied to protect the vampire. Unless she was pretending. Merlin was about to say something when he heard the chains holding Evaline break.


'Son of a bitch.'


Turning quickly to face the dhampir, he drew his blade as Evaline stopped mid-lunge at Hercine, and looked over at the humans. She was obviously more starved than Merlin previously thought.


"Oh, dear." Carla said softly, watching Evaline with a concerned frown. Merlin tensed, narrowing his eyes.


"Don't do anything stupid." He warned. If it really came to it, he would kill her. Although that might mess things up with their fake deal with Hercine.

 

[Lucyfer]

There was sanity clawing at the back of Evaline’s mind, but there was hunger and irrational anger there as her wrists still felt the way the metal had chilled her. ‘Seconds. This will take seconds.’


Merlin spoke his warning as Evaline felt the fangs extend, cutting into her bottom lip as she kept them hidden behind. ‘Come on!’ She growled at herself, though Gabriel flinched at the sound. When she lunged at Gabriel, Hercine let out one, sharp laugh.


It died in his throat when Gabriel ducked, and Evaline tore the sword from the sheathe on his back. She whipped right around and sprinted at one of Hercine’s men, taking the head clean from his shoulders before he knew what to do.


The others wouldn’t be caught off guard so easily, and there was the sound of a gunshot from somewhere in the trees, but Evaline didn’t see where it was aimed. Her bloodlust had channeled itself into wrath, something far more manageable when directed appropriately. Besides that, the vampire blood that spilled was nauseating, weakening her own hunger with its sickening scent.


Gabriel knew the fight had begun when he heard the gunshot go off. It didn’t strike him, so he moved back and drew the slender blade he kept from its place on his back, hidden behind the jacket he usually wore. He hadn’t wanted to appear armed.

 

[NightNurse]

Merlin watched the fight unfold, raising his sword in a defensive stance. When Evaline lunged at Gabriel, Merlin took a few quick steps forward, ready to kill the dhampir if he needed to. However, when Evaline did not harm Gabriel, but grab a sword, Merlin didn't move. He watched the dhampir, glancing around at the others every couple of seconds, waiting to see what she was going to do.


"Evaline, the humans are not your enemy." The leader insisted. And then he watched Evaline behead one of the vampires. At least that hadn't been somebody on her side.


As the sound of gunfire could be heard and Evaline beheaded the vampire, Carla took a few quick steps back. Her eyes widened slightly, glancing at the now headless corpse of the vampire guard. She pulled her sword out of it's sheathe. She looked around the building quickly. There was nobody here was a visible gun.


'Please be Esmeralda, please be Esmeralda.'


"Sorry I'm late!" Carla's shoulders slumped with relief at the sound of her friend's voice. Esmeralda had missed whoever she had been aiming for, as nobody seemed to be suffering from a bullet wound. Not yet, anyway. The vampiress turned slightly, watching Esmeralda enter the building, gun in hand, but freeze at the sight of Hercine and his remaining guards. And then the human looked over at Evaline, and her eyes widened.


"Hey!" Carla called out, snapping Esmeralda back into thinking clearly. "Give me a gun." Esmeralda darted over to Carla, pulling a second gun out of the waistband of her pants. She gave it to Carla, who immediately turned and shot the hand gun. This would be quicker than using her sword. She knew it wouldn't kill the vampire, but it would make the guard quite harmless for the time being.


The bullet sailed through the air before arriving at it's final destination.. which was between one of Hercine's vampire's eyes. She watched the vampire fall backwards with a groan, before slowly looking over to Hercine. Esmeralda stood by her, now silent, ready to shoot if anyone came at her.


"You son of a bitch." Carla growled at Hercine, her eyes narrowing. For the most part, Carla wasn't paying much attention to Evaline. She was more consumed with her rage and hatred directed at Hercine.

 

[Lucyfer]

The blade centered Evaline in more ways than one. Unarmed, she felt more like an animal, but with a sword, she was able to act disciplined. It was a grounding tool, and a rather effective one. Though she was riding the high of blood lust as she stepped back from an arrow fired at her from the trees, she was aware.


That vampire in the tree was the next to fall when Evaline used the long blade like a missile and skewered the vampire. It fell back, blade through its heart. It wasn’t thick enough to kill the vampire, but it was enough to put it down. Evaline finished the job when she retrieved her blade. Off with another head.


The third head rolled as Gabriel finished the job that Carla had starting, darting forward to cut the head off the vampire, before he had to dive away as one of Hercine’s guards went swinging at him. He rolled into a standing position again, and paled as he saw that was not a standard sword. That was a greatsword, and his blade was going to be useless if he tried to guard or fight against that thing.


Not to mention, Gabriel didn’t exactly have the speed of a vampire. By the time he had risen to his feet, the guard closed what distance he gained and swung again.


Evaline wasn’t paying attention to that.


When Carla cursed at Hercine, his second remaining guard backed up, and fled. Hercine might have made a smart comment to Carla were it not for that. Instead, he turned to shout at the guard’s back, “Get back here you cowar—” and he cut himself off when he saw the dhampir. Fortunately for him, he wasn’t unskilled in fighting. Gauntlets were a constant part of his attire since they served as part of his weapons. The nails on each were sharpened like blades, and they could stop blades. He caught the sword in his hands before it could harm him.

 

[NightNurse]

Merlin lunged at the vampire near Gabriel. He knew that his blade wouldn't do anything against the vampire's. He also knew that he wasn't fast enough to behead the vampire before he struck Gabriel. A killing blow took a little longer than one intended to just slow the vampire down. So Merlin changed his position, stepping to the side of the vampire, and swung his blade near the vampire's hand, the one holding the sword.


With a sickening noise, Merlin's blade ran through the vampire's wrist, severing it from the arm. The greatsword clattered to the floor. So did the vampire's hand.


Another vampire ran into the building, straight at Esmeralda. The blonde shot, hitting the vampire in the chest but not killing it. Carla finished that one off, momentarily ignoring Hercine and swiftly beheading the vampire. It's head thumped to the floor in front of Esmeralda, who scowled. The human was quite squeamish. Carla found that hilarious, considering that Esmeralda had killed many vampires. Mostly in self defense, but still. Carla imagined that her friend was probably thinking something alone the lines of 'This is why I like to stay home.'


"See, that one was smarter than the others." Carla commented, watching the guard run away with a slightly amused smirk, despite the fact that they were in the middle of a fight. She watched Hercine catch Evaline's blade. Raising the gun, Carla shot. She hit Hercine in the shoulder. The bullet went through.


"I'm going to destroy you, you know." She called out. Maybe if she distracted Hercine, Evaline could strike him. Carla moved forward towards the vampire and the dhampir, letting the gun fall to the floor and raising her sword.

 

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel was pleased that he’d been saved, and the relief showed on his face. With the vampire disarmed, Gabriel stepped off to the side and thrust his blade forward. The vampire, however, caught it in his hand. He didn’t seem to care about the blood that started to spill as he kicked Gabriel far from him.


He tossed the blade aside and rounded on Merlin. He only had one hand, but it wasn’t a great concern right then when his life was in danger. He wasn’t a coward, either. He lunged at Merlin with the intent to tackle the rebel and open his throat with his teeth, which had the tale-tell glisten of venom on them.


Hercine had pulled Evaline forward with the intent to push those sharp nails of his gauntlet into her chest and rip her heart out, but the shot from behind distracted him. The epaulette took the entirety of the damage, but the force of it was enough for him to take a quick look back.


Evaline ripped her sword from his grasp in that instant and he redirected his attention. A blade was more of a concern than a gun. He didn’t allow Evaline time to get her bearings. He rushed forward and took a swipe at her weapon arm, raking the claws along the flesh of her upper arm and drawing forth blood. He caught the glimmer of a second blade and noticed too late to spare himself from all the damage that Carla had a weapon.


Even so, he did attempt to move out of the way, disengaging from Evaline.

 

[NightNurse]

Merlin watched as the vampire caught Gabriel's blade and then kicked the rebel aside, scowling. He tried to determine when he could get in there and kill the vampire without getting himself killed. When the vampire turned towards him, the leader was momentarily distracted by the obvious venom on the vampire's fangs. The knot in his stomach twisted around, and when he struck, he missed.


Well, he didn't technically miss. But he didn't kill the vampire either. The blade went into the vampire's neck at an awkward angel, going all the way through rather than severing the head from the neck. Merlin's eyes widened, and he jerked his hand in an effort to pull the blade out of the vampire's neck. After a sickeningly long second, the blade came free, and Merlin was able to swing again and kill the vampire.


Esmeralda turned around just in time to watch Merlin killed the vampire. She paled slightly, willing herself to focus. 'Come on, don't get yourself killed.' She thought, following after Carla, half backwards, watching for anyone approaching.


Carla came up to Hercine and stabbed at him, jabbing him in the back with her blade. She glanced at Evaline. After making sure that dhampir wasn't dead or dying, she returned her attention to Hercine.


"This meeting was a trap, by the way." She said, spinning him around to face her. Determining that the claws on his gauntlets were her biggest problem at the moment, she stabbed at his hands.

 

[Lucyfer]

Gabriel managed to pull himself up, and saw Hircine grab the sword that had just punctured his back. The metal-covered fingers laced around it after Carla had stabbed at his hand, and he looked bemused by her apparent target. “Too bad for all of you,” was his response to Carla’s words, not intending to show his fear.


Hercine tried to pull the sword out of Carla’s hand, moving his other hand to grab hold of the blade.


Of course, Evaline took advantage of this. With Hercine’s hands occupied, she drew herself together and swung again at him. This time, the swing was true. The speed and force behind the strike removed his head. Evaline turned her blade downward immediately after, and plunged it into the ground. It went several inches into the dirt so that she could rest on her knees, and she placed her forehead against the hilt.


The scent of vampire blood helped negate the thirst, but now that the battle was over, she knew sanity and survival instincts would return. She shut her eyes, and forced her body to relax.


Gabriel let out a breath of relief, “That was all, right?” He asked aloud. He almost laughed, happy with the success. His mistrust of the two women faded a bit under the realization that they had both helped, and ended the lives of other vampires there. He didn’t think they would have taken the game this far if they were just toying with the rebels.


No, the two of them had to be on the side of the rebels.


“One escaped,” Evaline pointed out. She wasn’t sure it mattered, right then.

 

[NightNurse]

Merlin let out a long sigh as the battle ended, looking over at Hercine's beheaded corpse. This had gone well, considering that Hercine was now dead. He didn't say anything for a moment, catching his breath, looking over at Gabriel as he spoke.


"Let's hope so." Merlin commented. He looked over at Evaline as she pointed out that one of the vampires had escaped. He had noticed that as well. He frowned slightly. "I guess if the one that escaped causes anything, we'll have to deal with it."


Carla's eyes widened slightly as she watched Evaline kill Hercine. She hadn't had time to react to the vampire trying to grab her blade before Evaline had killed him. She didn't move for a long moment, staring down at the corpse of Hercine. She ignored everyone else, finally looking over at Evaline when she mentioned the escaped vampire. Carla shrugged.


"Merlin is right, I guess." She said absentmindedly. Esmeralda wandered over to Carla, obviously very relieved that the fighting was over. For now, anyway. Esmeralda watched the dhampir. Having never actually met a dhampir in person before she was a bit curious.


"Thanks for saving Carla, by the way." Esmeralda said to Evaline. "I appreciate it."


Merlin frowned at the vampiress. "Hercine recognized you." He said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "But you said that you didn't know him." he pointed out. Carla turned slightly to look at the rebel leader.


"And?" She asked with a shrug. "Who I know, or.. knew," she glanced down at the corpse. "is personal. And in this case, it really didn't matter if I knew Hercine."

 

[Lucyfer]

Evaline gave a curt nod when she heard Esmeralda’s words of gratitude, but did not respond to them verbally. The cool metal was a comfort in the environment where an argument was brewing. She shut her eyes as the accusations flew.


“It might have been—”


“You saw they hated each other,” Evaline snapped, “If nothing else that should show that Carla is not with the vampires who behave like Hercine, and those sorts are your enemies. Drop it.” Evaline pushed herself back up to her feet, brushed the silver hair back behind one ear. “Can I safely assume you’re not going to recapture Carla?”


Evaline wanted to leave. She needed to leave. This hunger was the reason she hated to stay in groups of humans. She had only come to this group to see Carla released. If that was going to be done, then she could leave.


“Er…Yeah. Yeah, I don’t think we plan to keep her hostage,” Gabriel shot a glance to Merlin, hoping he wasn’t overstepping his bounds in saying as much.

 

[NightNurse]

Carla looked over at Evaline as the dhampir defended her. "Thank you!" She said, pausing when Evaline mentioned her being recaptured. The vampiress paused, and Esmeralda frowned.


Merlin let out a sigh. Okay, so Carla probably wasn't on the side of vampires like Hercine. He paused thoughtfully when recapturing Carla was brought up. He looked over at Gabriel, finally nodding. "I see no reason to recapture her." he said. Carla didn't comment. The vampiress glanced around the building. The vampire officials should be here any minute. Which meant that it was time for Esmeralda to leave.


"Es, get out of here." Carla said, turning and facing her friend. The blonde didn't protest. She knew that plan, and it was already agreed upon that Esmeralda would not be involved any more than she had been.


"Try not to die." She said, taking off. Merlin watched her go, a confused expression gracing his features.


"Why did you tell her to leave?" He asked, turning and facing Carla. The fight was over. Or so he thought. Carla didn't have time to answer before more vampires entered the building. There were over a dozen of them. They were not Hercine's people.


"If you want to live, drop the weapons." One of the vampires called out. Carla quickly dropped her sword and held up both of her hands in a sign of surrender. Merlin glanced around, unsure and angry about what was going on. What had Carla done?


"Do what they say." Carla murmured, looking at the others. Merlin didn't move. "Do what they say!" She repeated, raising her voice. Merlin saw the guns being aimed at the group. He slowly lowered his blade and dropped it on the ground. Him getting himself shot wouldn't do any good. Although he hated surrounded, there was a chance that he would escape this if he cooperated. His people couldn't do anything with a dead leader. A shamed one, however, would still serve his purpose.


"Who are you?" The vampire asked, looking between the group. His eyes landed on the dead vampires. "Who are you?!" He repeated again, too shocked at the sight of Lord Hercine's body to stutter out anything else.


"My name is Carla Davenport." Carla said, glancing over at Evaline. At the moment, the dhampir's identity was a concern. "This is Alana Montgomery." The vampiress continued, before Evaline had time to say anything.

 

[Lucyfer]

Evaline planned to leave when Merlin admitted that Carla wouldn’t be recaptured. She moved to holster her sword, though kept her hand on the hilt. She wasn’t sure how she was going to go about hunting, but she knew she needed to get far away from this group. Hercine’s manor seemed like the place to run to, for there it was probable there was at least some human servant. Evaline hoped she’d be able to avoid ripping their throat out.


As she started to walk to leave the clearing, though, Es ran. The confusion was palpable, as was the rising tension.


As Esmeralda cleared the area, the authorities showed up.


Evaline didn’t even bother to try hiding her fangs. They were bared in an instant and she crouched into an offensive stance. Orders to disarm were given, but Evaline didn’t plan to. She knew what would happen to her. Carla seemed completely aware of what was happening, and it made Evaline reconsider the trust she’d just earlier put in her.


Gabriel also reconsidered it. “What the hell is this, Carla?!” He demanded, but threw down his weapons. He didn’t want to get shot, not now. Of course, he also didn’t want to go with the authorities. They’d find his brand, they’d figure out he was an escaped slave, and he’d be executed.


It was his fear for the others that caused him to disarm. Merlin didn’t have to die. He wasn’t marked. He might still live. Gabriel just had to make sure not to draw attention to himself, and get the vampires firing.


Carla answered and introduced Evaline and herself—though for Evaline she used a different name. Gabriel observed the look that Evaline shot towards Carla, and he couldn’t quite make it out. It was too cold to be any anger he understood, but there was also a subtle appreciation.


Then, the dhampir drew that sword and moved to strike. “Ev—Lana!” Gabriel shouted.


There was a single shot from one of the authorities, and it made its mark in Evaline’s leg. Weakened already by hunger, exertion, and blood loss, Evaline toppled forward and let the sword fall from her grip. She didn’t fight to get up again. ‘You don’t understand.’ She wanted to tell Carla for her lie. ‘They wanted me dead just because….’ Or it had seemed that way, once upon a time.


Gabriel was quick to straighten his back, and he spoke as a gun pointed itself down at the dhampir. "I'm Gabriel," he introduced, and motioned, "This is Merlin." They had asked who they were. Well, that's who they were.

 

[NightNurse]

Carla didn't even look at Gabriel when the rebel asked her what was going on. There was no good way to answer him, not with the vampire authorities surrounding them. Carla spun around to face Evaline as the dhampir moved to strike out at the authorities, and then was shot. Carla winced.


"Alana!" She called out. Evaline dying wasn't a part of her plan. Luckily, the shot wouldn't be fatal. Although the state that the dhampir was in just got a lot worse. Merlin moved forward slightly, before freezing. He watched Evaline fall to the ground and scowled. He couldn't get himself shot. He had to be smart about this. When Gabriel introduced them, Merlin didn't say anything. He looked at the authorities, trying to determine if they were planning on executing the entire group right then and there.


"Okay..who killed Lord Hercine?" The vampire asked, looking among the rebels and the dhampir. He didn't look at Carla. She was a vampire, so why would he suspect her?


"I did." Carla said, barely glancing at the gun that was now aimed right at her. "Look, before you shoot me, please let me explain." She said, staring at the vampire intently. She took the blame for Hercine's death because it would be easier to convince the authorities that she was telling the truth, even though she wasn't, if she had done something as drastic as to kill another vampire. Evaline was a dhampir. These vampires might be biased against her because of this. And Evaline had already tried to fight them. The authorities probably didn't need another reason to kill the dhampir.


Merlin looked at Carla, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't entirely sure why she confessed to killing Hercine. Carla hadn't killed Hercine. Even if she was trying to protect Evaline, she could have just said that one of the rebels did. Merlin was quite confused, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to make matters worse than they already were.


"Why the hell would you kill him?" The vampire asked, looking bewildered and angry.


"Hercine was not the vampire that you think he was." Carla said. She didn't look even a little afraid, about the authorities or the gun aimed at her chest. She couldn't let herself get freaked out in these sorts of situations. "He was a traitor.. he pitied humans." She said, her voice filled with complete disgust. The other vampires looked confused.


"Wait a minute.. weren't you exiled?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Carla, who just nodded. "I thought I recognized you! Why should we believe anything that you say?"


"I was exiled because I suspected that Hercine was on the side of the humans. I voiced these suspicions. There were vampires who knew that I suspected Hercine." She lied. "And before you ask, Hercine didn't just kill me because it would look awfully suspicious if I died right after accusing him of being on the humans's side, wouldn't it?"

 

[Lucyfer]

Evaline hated everyone present, and those absent. Her eyes remained open, but they may as well have been closed. She stared forward, unseeing, and listened without reacting. Carla took responsibility for Hercine, and Evaline took in a breath to remind herself of that poisonous scent. ‘Not true.’ Carla was trying to cover for them. Evaline knew that when a false name was used, but she didn’t trust that it would do much good.


Her fangs dug into her own lip and it bled. It was a focus point, though, something to keep Evaline from slipping too far into her thoughts, or from losing them. That was still the greater risk. Her fingers twitched to reach out for her sword, but she resisted.


Gabriel knew his expression showed immediate confusion when Carla confessed, but then it was masked. He didn’t know what game Carla was playing at, not even when she claimed that Hercine pitied humans. ‘What role do we play? Is she selling us out?!’ In the strangest way. Were they working with Hercine in this story that Carla was weaving, then?


He was tempted to speak up, but kept himself quiet. He couldn’t hold the poker face, but perhaps his concerned look towards Hercine would be read according to Carla’s lie. Of course, he also cast those wide eyes to Evaline, to Merlin, to Carla, and to the vampires around, clearly at a loss for what to do. He wanted to run, and that urge grew with each second, but he kept himself stilled. ‘Come on now. She might be trying to save us all….’


He had to keep faith.