So tygati wrote a story
Dec. 1st, 2006 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrIn point of fact, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tygati has written several stories.
However, I am referring to her Darkness series: Darkness, Darkness Falling, Darkness Calling, Darkness Rising, and The Lure of Darkness.
I was Most Displeased when the pretty boy in the last story did not get his own boy toy. Tygs said he was being stubborn and would not budge on the matter. I said well I'll take care of that. She said I could. So I did.
There were days, Alexius thought sourly, where he would give anything to be nothing but a poor peasant struggling to plant something or carve something or—or—
Get drunk.
Yes. That sounded perfectly wonderful right now.
Since when did vampires live in the middle of swamps?
The most hideous, foul-smelling, ends of the earth swamp he’d ever heard of or come across or dreamed up in the nightmare he still had occasionally about that bog monster.
He was a vampire Hunter. He was a Lacroix Hunter. The best vampire hunter to ever grace the Lacroix name, which meant he was the best vampire hunter in the world. Or would be, if he wasn’t currently being defeated by a vampire’s gods-forsaken swamp.
Alternately wading, heaving, ducking, and climbing his way through the disgusting swamp, Alexius allowed himself to daydream of what it would be like to see Ciaran torch the whole blasted thing.
The image was a pleasant one. It even made him smile. Until he tripped on some unseen rock and wound up all but drowning in the swamp. He came up sputtering, spitting, coughing, and voicing every last curse he could think of or make up.
Nothing in the world tasted fouler. Not even the tonic his mother had made him take as a child to ‘strengthen growing boys.’ Come to think of it, there was a similarity in the aftertaste…
He shook the thought off before it could take root and give him more nightmares.
Gritting his teeth – first spitting out a foreign object at which he did not look too closely – Alexius reminded himself one last time of his heritage, his status, his duties and how utterly stupid he would look and feel if he had to tell everyone he never made it to the door because the vampire lived in the middle of the Hell Swamp.
The Lost Swamp, the villagers had called it. Lost His Mind In the Swamp was maybe more like it. Heaving a sigh, Alexius remembered the faces of the desperate, pleading villagers, the reward they’d probably sacrificed more than a few meals to scrape together, the shy, nervous way the town chief’s wife had shown him the room where he could sleep – obviously their own room, while they’d slept in the front room. It wasn’t the sort of town to have an inn, or even a tavern.
Which was just as well, because he sensed that after having to go through this swamp not once but twice – he wouldn’t be lucky enough to find a different way out, oh no – he would sorely be tempted to indulge himself to the point of not waking up for a very long time.
He wondered if ‘for my sanity’ counted as a ‘great need’ to justify going to hide in Ciaran’s castle for a week or twenty.
Though why he thought ‘sanity’ and ‘Ciaran’ belonged in the same sentence, he wasn’t certain. Maybe he’d swallowed too much swamp tonic.
Banishing the idiotic thoughts, Alexius focused on getting through the swamp – and that required plenty of concentration. By the time the ground turned stable and dry, he had fallen twice more, taken his frustration out on a dark toad dumb enough to pick a fight, sent three whistle snakes to join the stupid toad in the afterlife, and vowed upon his ancestors that he was going to shove the entirety of the swamp down the vampire’s throat.
To begin with.
When he finally reached the castle, hidden in mist a mile or so out of the swamp proper, Alexius felt…disappointed. All that fuss and frustration and the castle itself was the most decrepit thing he’d ever seen in his life.
It was in awful condition. Positively decrepit. He had been expecting, maybe even hoping for, some grand, austere manor impervious to the ravages of time as befit the Lord of the Castle.
Alexius wondered morosely if he could just go home…then he remembered home meant back through the swamp and he wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Perhaps the vampire would permit him a bath first.
Probably not. Wondering just how badly the swamp had addled his wits, Alexius forced his thoughts back to where they should be. The vampire inside was a powerful one – he had been dominating this remote region of the country for centuries. No one could remember a time when he wasn’t around.
Always there were two attacks every few months or so – older vampires not needing to feed terribly often. Always on the same night, never more than a few minutes apart. Peculiar feeding habit, most vampires only drank from one victim per feeding, but not too unusual. He’d killed a vampire a few years ago that liked to make a banquet of his feeding – little girl for an appetizer, a nice boy for soup, a burly man for the main course, and a delicate maiden for dessert.
That one still stalked his dreams.
Heaving another sigh, Alexius unsheathed his sword – cleaned it off, gods grant him mercy the smell – and stalked toward the castle thinking of all the ways he could make the vampire inside suffer.
The decrepit state was only external, Alexius realized as he shoved open the door and stepped into the entrance hall. Inside everything was perfect, or so very close to that it may as well be. Black and red tile formed the floor here, with a black marble table upon which stood a vase of blood-red roses. They gave the air a hint of sweet that was quickly being drowned out by the odor coming off the swamp which still clung to him.
A wide staircase curved up to the second level, but Alexius was far more interested in the sounds he could just barely hear from further down the black and red hallway. Reaffirming his grip on his sword, he pressed on, marveling that there would be activity in the late afternoon – getting through the swamp had taken far longer than he liked.
As he drew closer the distant sounds resolved themselves into the clash of steel against steel, mingled with challenges and boasting cries. He reached the source of the sound and slowly pushed the door open, tensed for whatever might come—
Except the sight that greeted his eyes.
Not one but two vampires dueled back and forth across an enormous ballroom bedecked with sparkling crystal, silk and velvet drapes, a pristine floor of warm gold tile. The vampires were far more…interesting, yes that was the adjective. Not beautiful. Not impressive. Interesting.
Identical. Pale skin and long red-gold hair, dressed in tight black breeches and white shirts on which the laces were loose. Knee-high black boots. The only difference between them was that one wore his long hair neatly tied back with a black ribbon. The second one’s hair tumbled free, and Alexius spotted a black ribbon cut in two pieces some feet away from where the vampires currently dueled.
“Ha!” Shouted the vampire with bound hair, lunging forward, his rapier sliding past the second vampire’s guard and slicing the top of his sleeve before his brother recovered enough to drive him back. The duel continued, and Alexius stared, captivated.
Interesting. That’s what they were. He’d seen hundreds of beautiful vampires. Breathtaking, even. These two were no different. There was nothing special about the way they seemed to dance as they dueled, nothing special about the way they smiled and taunted each other and—uh oh.
The vampire with unbound hair turned, blocking another strike, and his eyes fell in Alexius’s direction, widening as they took in the Hunter. His brother snapped around to see what had caught his attention.
Both vampires then burst out laughing, barely able to keep hold of their swords as they bent over with the force of their laughter.
Beneath the muck and grime that covered him, Alexius’s cheeks burned with shame and humiliation. So what if he probably looked completely and utterly ridiculous! It wasn’t his fault these two idiots lived in the middle of the Swamp Not Even Hell Wanted.
Snarling, furious, Alexius threw himself into the room and attacked the vampires, who were still chuckling as they began to parry and dodge his attacks. Belatedly, Alexius realized it had been dumb to attack them together, without the element of surprise – and his boots still slick with mud and grime, fine for the hall outside but as he turned to dodge one attack and block another he realized the ballroom floor was a bit too slick.
He realized this as he slipped, fell, and cracked his head hard against it. Right before he passed out.
When he woke, it was to the scent of soap, lavender, and beeswax. Warm, he was so incredibly warm. The awful beds in drafty rooms that were his life had never felt like this. A thousand nights spent sleeping on the hard ground or in his saddle did not even come close the soft warmth that surrounded him. Alexius didn’t want to open his eyes and return to reality, he wanted to stay right where he was and never move again.
That, however, he could not do. Memories of the vampires – twin vampires, he’d never in all his years of Hunting heard of such a thing – flooded his mind, as did his graceless fall. As well as the way they’d laughed. His cheeks burned with remembered humiliation and Alexius finally opened his eyes.
He was in a bedroom, as he’d rather suspected from the bed in which he lay. A large bed, the black curtains around it tied back with silver cording, black coverlet and sheets pulled up to his chin. Around him the room was mostly dark, curtains tightly drawn at the wide window, only a candelabra nearby and the crackling fire to cast light. He could see a chair, a wardrobe, and over by the window a long chaise lounge.
What he didn’t see were his weapons.
Stranger still, he was clean. That was the soap and lavender he smelled. Someone had cleaned him up.
He wondered who, and why. Certainly not the vampires? Even Oliae would just as soon leave him to suffer if not made to behave by Ciaran. Alexius threw back the blankets – then immediately squeaked and pulled them back up again.
Change of plans. First he found his clothes, then he would find his weapons.
The sound of the door opening made him tense, for right now he was well and truly defenseless. Hunter or no, he was not fighting with his bare hands while he was naked. If he absolutely had no choice, then when he retold the story he was going to lie through his teeth.
Not that he’d ever planned to tell anyone he lost a fight because he slipped on pond scum and a ballroom floor, but now the story was going to be completely rewritten instead of just creatively edited. Hunters had to maintain an air of awe and whatnot, after all.
“You’re awake.” The vampire was dressed as he had been before, in the same dark breeches and white shirt, hair neatly pulled back. He held a tray with one hand, and strode to the bed to set it down beside Alexius.
Alexius stared between them in confusion, contemplating his chances now that he had one vampire alone. What if he lost another fight? Did he really want to fight a vampire naked and suffer further indignity by losing?
His battered pride could only take so much.
Besides, the sheer bizarreness of the situation demanded further investigation. Plus whatever was under the lid of the tray smelled so good…why was he considering accepting food offered by vampires? Come to that, why were vampires offering him food?
“What’s going on here?”
The vampire chuckled and slid down on the bed to sit next to him. Alexius recoiled, vainly trying to ignore his own nudity, the sheer awkwardness of being naked in bed with a vampire right beside him.
Truly, whatever gods he’d angered he was very sorry. Probably the Swamp Gods, if such a thing existed. Wasn’t his fault swamps were awful, hideous things.
“No one has ever actually made it through that swamp, you know,” the vampire said casually, as if the entire situation were perfectly normal. “You should eat before it gets cold. Eren gets mad when his food isn’t properly appreciated – and letting it get cold definitely counts as not properly appreciated. Trust me.”
Alexius glared. Or tried. From the way the vampire started laughing, he clearly was only succeeding in looking stupid. Again. He could hear his Lacroix ancestors crying in shame and cursing his name.
Mercifully, the vampire didn’t bother to explain why exactly he was laughing, merely pushed the tray a little closer and pulled the cover away with a flourish.
He couldn’t tell if the gods had forsaken him or not – to have vampires serve up what had to be the best breakfast he’d ever seen. Hunters ate well enough, as often food for the duration of the mission was the most that the smaller villages could manage by way of payment and thanks. ‘Well enough’ however was a far, far cry from the feast laid out in front of him. Eggs, sausage, oat-cakes…
“Since when do vampires cook?” Alexius demanded, cheeks burning as his stomach betrayed him by growling. “You drink blood. Food is superfluous.”
The vampire merely grinned. “Plenty in life is superfluous. Doesn’t stop humans or beasts or demons from enjoying it all. What’s your name, Hunter?”
“Why should a vampire wish to know my name?” Alexius asked stiffly, more certain than ever that he was being set up for some awful game that was going to end in his death and involve lots of suffering before hand.
Though if he got that breakfast first…
“My name is Levent, my brother is Eren,” Levent said, leaning in far closer than Alexius rather thought he should be. “You are in our bed, naked, and being offered food. After invading our castle and attempting to kill us. By this point giving us a name could not possibly do any harm.”
Levent’s voice was way too…interesting, yes, interesting for Alexius’s peace of mind. If he had any sort of piece of his mind left. Clearly not. “Alexius,” he said, licking his lips nervously. He hadn’t been this unsettled since his first solo as a Hunter. Since the day he’d actually found the Dark Castle and Lucien.
He bet Lucien wouldn’t be fazed to wake up naked in a vampire’s castle. Lucien would probably just kill them and go home. Probably wouldn’t have fallen three, four, however many times in the swamp either.
“Alexius,” Levent repeated, as if tasting the name and finding it pleasing. He leaned closer still, until the scent of lavender and copper that clung to him was impossible to miss. Did all vampires smell this way? Why had he never noticed before what a vampire smelled like?
Maybe because usually he was fighting for his life not his sanity and clothing. Ah, now that was a good question to ask and he really should have thought of it sooner. Nearly nose to nose with the far too – strange – Levent, Alexius did his best to glare coldly. “Where are my clothes?”
“We threw them out.”
“What!” Alexius bellowed, causing Levent to recoil in surprise and finally give him some room to breathe which he suddenly realized had been rather difficult until that moment. “You can’t—what—why—argh!” He closed his eyes. “What is going on here?”
“What is going on here,” said a voice just like Levent’s save for a slightly more commanding note, “ Is that my brother needs to remove himself from that bed and you need to eat your breakfast before it gets cold!”
“Told you,” Levent muttered before he obediently slid off the bed and strode across the room to join his brother. “Alexius, Eren. Eren, Alexius.”
Eren lifted one delicate red-gold brow. “Alexius what?”
Barely hiding a wince, sighing that he would not get to attempt the breakfast even if it was poisoned, Alexius answered the question – what was the point in lying at this point? “Lacroix.”
“Hmm…” Eren muttered. “Eat your breakfast.”
Long resigned to the fact that either his life could not get much worse, or that it could be but there was little he could do about it, Alexius shrugged and obeyed. His eyes widened as he took a bite of the oatcakes – smothered in butter and honey and oh if this was poisoned or cursed or whatever then he would quite happily go to his death.
“Well at least someone appreciates my cooking,” Eren said.
Levent snorted. “I do believe I made it quite clear how much I enjoyed the quail last night.”
Alexius looked up. “It’s very good. I still don’t get why vampires bother to cook or eat. First time I’ve met or even heard of vampires with such eccentricities.”
Eren shrugged. “Does it really matter? Do you like the oatcakes? How are the sausages?”
“It’s good. Great. I’ve never had food like this before,” Alexius said before he could tell his mouth that it wasn’t supposed to be having conversations with vampires. He was a vampire Hunter. These two were the reason for the little bag of coppers and a few silvers the villagers had given him. “I would really like to know what’s going on here?” He blinked as something else dawned on him. “What time is it?”
Eren chuckled softly, a sound Alexius found himself listening far too closely to considering it meant he was being laughed at yet again. He fought the urge to scramble away as Eren sat down on the edge of bed – he’d already seen how fast the other could move, sneaking in and sneaking in until they were close enough too – Ruthlessly cutting off that thought before it could form, Alexius swallowed down the rest of the oatcakes with fervor.
“It is breakfast time,” Eren replied. “You are here, alive, because you are the first to make it through the swamp, Alexius of the notorious Lacroix bloodline. I have never seen a Lacroix.” Just like that long, pale, delicate fingers were stroking Alexius’s cheek, making him jump and choke on his food, bending double to cough desperately for air.
The faint chuckles he heard this time didn’t appeal at all. His cheeks burned with shame. Why must he continuously look stupid in front of these two? Some Lacroix he was.
“As I was saying,” Eren said when he sat up, fingers going again to touch his cheek, cup his chin and force Alexius’s head up. “I have never seen a Lacroix. Much prettier than I would have suspected.”
Was it possible for his cheeks to get any redder? Alexius jerked away from the vampire’s touch. Honestly, what had he done so wrong? He bet Lucien never suffered these sorts of embarrassments as a Hunter…though on that note he wouldn’t put it past Oliae and Karai to try. That made him feel slightly better, though not by much. Ciaran probably didn’t do this to Lucien…and why in the name of all the hells was he making that a parallel?
Furious with himself, vowing to retire if he ever got out of this mess, Alexius morosely finished his breakfast and waited in silence for the vampires to continue humiliating him.
“I suppose we should give you clothes,” Levent said from where he’d taken the chaise lounge by the window. “Seems a pity though, brother…”
“A pity indeed,” Eren said. “Still, humans do get cold.” He picked up the tray and slid off the bed. “There are clothes that should fit you in the wardrobe there. When you are dressed, you may find us in the green salon downstairs – two doors before the ballroom.” He smirked briefly, then with a last parting glance the twins vanished.
He gave up. Whatever. Until he found his weapons and – or – a way out, he may as well just go along with whatever the strange vampires were plotting. It might get him more food and if worst came to worst he wouldn’t have to worry about telling everyone he was retired could they please leave him alone.
Waiting a few more minutes to ensure he was alone, Alexius then slid from the bed and toward the wardrobe Eren had indicated. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that there was nothing weird or fancy or over-the-top in it – so many vampires had the strangest notions of what sort of clothing they should wear.
Oddly enough, the clothes did fit. Not what he would normally wear – no armor, no rough homespun, no hand-me-down that was so old there were patches to hold the patches together…he wasn’t even certain what the fabrics were. Nothing he’d ever be able to afford. The breeches were soft though. The shirt was equally so, smooth and warm were it brushed against his skin. A couple minutes of fumbling and he found the rest of what he needed, even a pair of boots that fit…with eerie perfection.
All questions could wait until he found the vampires again.
Heaving one last sigh, Alexius reminded himself that he had once survived a Lord of Darkness. Barely, but that was beside the point. If he had survived that, he could survive this.
Outside his room – the room, gods above it wasn’t his – the hallway was, not to his surprise, perfect. Purple and dark cream, the walls a rich brown wood, sconces covered by thin purple glass, paintings here and there of dark woodland scenes, mountains and moonlight…as he wandered through the castle, having no idea where he was going than ‘downstairs and then find the room two doors before the ballroom’ Alexius could not help but stare in wonder at the sheer beauty of the castle.
Truly, he’d never seen anything like it. If only he could explore…
Dismissing the idle thought, he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the splendor around him and focused on finding the stairs.
Twenty minutes of wandering later, he alighted upon the door he thought was the right one. He started to grab the handle, then froze. Etiquette. Was he supposed to knock? Then he rolled his eyes. Why in the hells was he thinking of etiquette at a time like this?
Clearly he really and truly had swallowed too much tonic water from the Swamp of Weirdness.
Grabbing the handle, Alexius all but shoved the door open and stepped into a room – a salon – that was as beautifully appointed as the rest of the castle, this time in green and gold. Levent was stretched out on a long sofa, showing off all too well his long legs and just how loosely the laces of that shirt were done up. Eren sat nearby in an armchair, right ankle propped on his left knee, tail of his hair spilling over one shoulder, the black ribbon holding it back just visible.
Thinking back to the ballroom, for some reason Alexius sensed it was Eren who’d lost his ribbon…Levent seemed to be the more relaxed of the two, and the type to do something as ridiculous as cut a hair ribbon in the middle of a duel.
“Ah, good. I thought you’d find it with no trouble,” Eren said, motioning him to take a seat. “We thought you’d be more comfortable talking here, rather than upstairs.” A brief smirk shaped his lips, which Alexius was not looking at. “What do you think of our home?
“I want to know what’s going on,” Alexius said, sitting down only because standing while they sat made him feel awkward.
Eren shook his head and slid his brother an amused look. “He has your patience.”
“Developing your temper,” Levent retorted. “Why all this talking?”
“I can see I’m the only one with anything resembling patience around here.”
Levent slowly sat up, tossing his hair back with a quick jerk of his head. He sprawled back against the sofa, arms stretched out across the back. “Until you get angry, anyway. Can’t we just get on with it?” His eyes, a pale, honey gold that Alexius hadn’t until then noticed, flashed with some emotion he didn’t quite get. “We should have done it my way.”
“Your way,” Eren said with a delicate snort, “is the reason the villagers fear vampires.”
The statement brought reality crashing back down hard on Alexius’s head. Levent started to respond to the jibe, but Alexius’s sudden standing stopped him. “You’re vampires,” Alexius said, ignoring the expression on their faces at his words. “I should be trying to kill you and free the villagers, not sitting here talking! Where is my sword?”
“What makes you think we’re going to tell you now?” Eren asked dryly. “We haven’t done anything to the villagers, other than the usual and we’ve been drinking for a little over six hundred years. It’s a little late for them to start complaining now.”
Alexius shook his head. “No. Last night you killed two of them, left them completely dry. That won’t be tolerated.”
The look of shock that filled their faces stopped him short.
“Killed?” Eren frowned. “We didn’t feed last night.”
Levent shook his head in confusion. “We have a couple of months yet before we need to feed.”
Alexius frowned, torn. He wanted to believe them, and that just infuriated him. Hunters killed vampires!
Of course, Hunters also killed Dark Lords. They weren’t supposed to sleep with them. Alexius had privately always thought Lucien was doing rather well for a man who’d spent more than a thousand years breaking the ‘do not consort with the enemy’ rule.
He forced himself to remember that just because Ciaran and Lucien worked, that didn’t mean it was possible for him. Something like that happened once, and the fact that he was seriously considering these sorts of things with twin vampires did not speak well of his mental state.
Stupid Swamp of Insanity.
“So you didn’t kill the boy and girl last nigh?” Alexius ask, finally feeling himself slide into Hunter mode as the memory of the dead, bloodless children surfaced in his mind. “You’re the only vampires in this area. They were quite clearly the victims of vampires.”
Eren shook his head more forcefully. “No. We would never kill those from whom we drink. There’s no reason to. It’s absurd.”
“Vampires often kill their victims,” Alexius replied. “Even the older ones, like you, who feed less often.”
“Maybe, but well…” He restlessly curled and uncurled his hands.
Eren sighed. “We’re different.”
“Different,” Alexius repeated. So they were lying to him, and now were trying to make up a story to cover it all up. Why did that thought depress him?
“Yes,” Eren replied, starting to look cross. He fell silent a moment. “We’re not proper vampires. We’re dhampirs.” He waved a hand toward the curtained window. “It’s the reason we can be up and about in the daylight. Full sunlight is a bad idea, that’s why we live in the swamp. It plus the mist prevent direct sunlight.”
Alexius strode to the window and yanked back the curtains. Dim, but definitively daylight. They had given him breakfast…there had still been sunlight when he’d made it through the Forsaken Swamp…
Dhampir. Something he’d heard of. Everyone had heard of it. Given the slant of his own thoughts that he was desperately trying not to acknowledge, that it was true did not surprise him.
If anything, he was surprised that it had taken two decades of Hunting and a million ancestors before he finally encountered or heard of anyone encountering the legendary offspring of a forbidden union between vampire and human.
Realization flashed. “Is that why you can cook? I mean why you eat?”
“Yes,” Levent said. “We need food like any human would…and every now and then we need pure human blood.” Something like a shadow flickered briefly across his face, gone so quick Alexius wasn’t certain he’d seen it or made it up.
“It was our mother who was the vampire,” Eren answered the question before it could be asked. “Our father…” All right, that time Alexius did see the shadow that passed over both their faces. More like a thundercloud.
Alexius tilted his head, looking between them. “So…what can dhampirs do and not do? What do you have from each half?”
“Immortality,” Eren said slowly, as if surprised they had convinced him so easily. “As already stated, we need both food and blood. We can travel in daylight, but too much direct sunlight makes us ill and can eventually kill us. Shape shifting isn’t possible…something about the human blood, we think, makes it impossible to change. We can use magic, though it’s not as powerful as a full vampire’s would be. Strength, of course, is enhanced – the human aspects take well to that, as well as heightened senses.”
Closing the curtains back, Alexius nodded and immediately turned his thoughts to the more pressing questions. Who had killed the children? They had both been young, just thirteen and fourteen respectively. Not a drop of blood, not enough to speak of anyway.
His thoughts broke off as the twins stood up, the levity from earlier vanished completely. They strode toward the door and Alexius frowned. “Where are you going?”
“To find out who is framing us for these awful murders; who is daring to harm our village.” Levent glowered. “We have always cared for the village, taking only what we need and keeping everyone else out.” The anger shifted to bitterness, twisting his pretty face. “How typical of humans to turn so fast.”
Alexius frowned. “They were upset you know; they thought perhaps something had finally driven you over the edge. They didn’t call for a hunter lightly.”
Eren shrugged. “We will find out who is doing this,” he said.
“I’m coming with you!” Alexius said. “I was hired to kill the vampire killing the villagers and I intend to do it. Give me back my sword and I’ll find the real culprit and leave you in peace.”
Suddenly the twins smiled, sharing a look that made Alexius suddenly nervous. He froze halfway to where they stood before the door. “Oh, you’re not leaving. Sadly, business has gotten in the way but after we’re done it’ll be right back to play.”
“Play?” Alexius, taking a step back.
Then suddenly he was surrounded. Alexius thought maybe he might have squeaked, though he certainly hoped not, and then his world was nothing hands that were being far too familiar with his person and mouths that attacked his like he was supper. Or dinner. Whatever came after breakfast.
He tried to pull away, but wherever he went he only encountered dhampir.
Just as suddenly it all abruptly ceased, leaving him way too hot and yet far too cold. Alexius tried to gather his wits and stared. “I—Y—stop that! I’m a Hunter. You’re vampires. Dhampirs. Whatever! Twins! Argh!”
“A very fine Hunter,” Eren said with a wink.
“A very tasty Hunter,” Levent said, licking his lips. “We’ll be back.”
Just like that they were gone. Alexius blinked, stared, glared, then swore colorfully and stomped from the room. The hallway, of course, was empty. He had no idea where they’d gone.
By the time he got back through the Swamp That Led to the Secret Eighth Level of Hell they would probably be finished with discovering the real killer. In the meantime, he could run screaming through the halls in a state of panic and no one would be around to watch when he finally ran straight into a wall and knocked himself blissfully unconscious.
It would also work out the state of tension in which the two vampires had left him.
Why in the seven – eight – hells was he…no, why were they…how did he get himself into this situation?
Adamantly refusing to go back to his – THE – bedroom because that would be admitting he might need some privacy, Alexius dredged up thoughts of the Damnable Swamp, his grandmother bathing, and blizzards as he began to wander aimlessly through the castle.
His feet took him through more salons, a dining hall bigger than his house, a library that was perhaps the grandest thing he’d ever seen, and a gallery that made him rethink his opinion of the library.
The gallery was huge. Two or three dining halls could fit in it. Was the castle really this big? Alexius shook his head in wonder and began to walk through.
Paintings of every size and subject lined the walls up and down the gallery. Doors were tucked cleverly away, barely visible, leading to still more paintings. Landscapes, portraits, still life, images that evoked so much movement Alexius wondered that they didn’t burst from the canvas.
He could spend hours, days, weeks, months, years just looking at the paintings, examining them for every last detail, memorizing every stroke. Even now he wanted just to stop and stare at each one for hours upon hours. Only his burning curiosity to see everything he possibly could before he eventually had to leave – before he left, not had to leave because that implied – Alexius cut himself off before he had to take drastic measure and test his head against the nearest wall.
Nearly at the end of the gallery, and he wondered how long it had taken him, was a final door that he noticed only because he stared for several minutes at the large painting right above it – a portrait of a demon with hair and eyes that looked like flickering flames.
Alexius knew who that was. All too well. His hand went automatically to his left shoulder, where his scars had begun to throb in memory. This Lord of Darkness hadn’t been responsible for them…but seeing him still brought up the memory. How many people could say they’d seen not one but two Lords of Darkness and lived to tell the tale?”
He saw the door as he finally dropped his eyes, and curiosity drove him forward for this one was not open as the others had been. He tested the handle and wondered why he was surprised to find it unlocked. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.
This room wasn’t as…cheerful wasn’t quite the right word, but the lightening mood of the rest of the gallery was lacking here. Not for any obvious reasons…just…there was a deep coldness here that had nothing to do with temperature.
Immediately upon entering the room was an image of a beautiful woman who could only be one person – Levent and Eren’s mother. She had the same red-gold hair, though it fell in thick curls around her head, the same bright smile and pale honey-gold eyes. If not for the fact that they’d told him she was a vampire, Alexius would not have known from the portrait. Dressed in an old-fashioned green gown, wearing pearls and emeralds, she looked like a long-lost princess.
Alexius shook his head in amazement. Truly the swamp had destroyed him. He was either dreaming, slowly drowning in the muck and filth, or dead and gone to whichever level of hell applied to Fools Who Traipse Through Swamps of Poison.
Tearing his eyes away from the vampire’s portrait, he turned his eyes to the rest of the room, eyes landing on a portrait of the twins themselves. So much for distracting himself. In the painting, the twins were outside, sitting before a tree with moonlight and stars above and behind them. One sat upon the roots of the great tree, staring off into the distance with a faint smile on his face. The other stood beside him, one hand on his hip, staring off in a different direction. It might have been a cold image except that the twin sitting just barely leaned his head against the leg of the other and the free hand of the standing twin rested softly atop the head of the one sitting. Eren, he bet, was sitting. Levent would never sit still for very long. Strange that he thought that so confidently.
They wore much the same clothes they did now – dark green jackets the only real change. In the bright moonlight, they had an other-worldly air about them. If their mother was a princess long ago lost to time…these seemed to be the forlorn knights searching for her.
He really had lost his mind. When did he start to think such whimsical thoughts? Sighing softly, Alexius tore himself away from the image of the twins and turned to the last wall.
And stared.
What…what in the hells was his great-uncle doing on the wall? Alexius shook his head furiously back and forth, then rubbed his eyes. Blinked. Stared some more.
He wasn’t seeing things. It really was his great-uncle. Dead now, of course, very few Lacroix had survived the attack by the Lord of Darkness…just enough the Lacroix line would survive, if they all had lots of children who also had lots of children.
Which still left him wondering what his great-uncle’s portrait was doing here. Younger looking by at least a decade, and dressed in the sort of tunic and hose that had not been worn for hundreds of years. Handsome, though his features were not Lacroix – great-uncle Tebrey had married into the family, a rare but not uncommon practice in those days, especially as he’d had no family of his own… He would have thought the man simply an ancestor, but he had that faint scar down the right cheek, from where he’d been attacked by a goblin as a boy.
Alexius would have to ask the twins about it when they returned.
That, of course, reminded him of why he was here distracting himself. Kept in the house like a child while the twins ran off to earn his pay! Turning sharply on his heel, Alexius strode back into the main gallery and all the way down to where he’d started, wending his way through the hallways until he reached the library. If he could not suitably distract himself there…with what must be thousands upon thousands of books, he’d better find a distraction.
When the twins got back, he was going to kill them. Or at least severely beat them.
He woke to the sound of voices whispering quietly, memories flooding as he twisted on the long sofa where he’d fallen asleep in front of the fireplace in the library. Slowly sitting up, Alexius yawned and sleepily looked over the back of the couch at where the twins stood in quiet conversation. “You’re back.”
The conversation broke off and the twins looked up at him with a smile. “Yes,” Eren said. “We took care of the little upstart invading our turf. We left the body where the villagers would find it, which should clear things up pretty well.
Great. Now he’d have to give the money back. Even the most shameless hunter…all right, so a shameless hunter would have no problem keeping the money. Alexius wasn’t shameless though, he was a grand and noble Lacroix. He couldn’t keep the money. Ah, well. He would make do.
Provided Levent and Eren let him leave with some clothing, anyway. Otherwise he suspected he’d figure out what was worse than trekking through the Swamp of Infinite Torture.
The thought made him shudder.
“You should have let me do it,” he said.
“No,” Eren said. “This is our territory. Maybe with that vampire dead, everyone will remember that.”
Levent smiled and began to undo the buttons on his jacket, and it finally struck Alexius that they were wearing jackets – deep green. The paintings flitted through his mind then, and he opened his mouth to ask about them when he suddenly found the twins not halfway across the room but right next to him on the sofa.
Their hands were being far too familiar again and he was rather annoyed with himself for letting them. Fruitlessly he tried to pull away, gain some control. “What—Why—would you let me speak!”
“Now why should we do that?” Levent asked, chuckles warm against Alexius’s throat. One of his hands trailed down the length of his thigh, then slowly back up. Combined with Eren’s touches to his chest, the second pair of lips fastened to his ear. Alexius was finding it harder and harder to do anything but as he was told. “We like you better this way and we’ve been good long enough. You lost the fight, so you’re our captive.”
Alexius started to argue that, but his protest turned into a startled gasp, then into a long moan, as the twins continued their assault. “This—isn’t—I’m…a vampire hunter.” He was grabbed gently and then shoved back to rest between’s Eren’s thighs, his back to Eren’s chest and when in the hells had he lost his clothes and they were twins and this wasn’t supposed to happen outside his head so surely had to be dreaming and not virtually under attack and—
He gave up, moaning defeat into Levent’s mouth as it covered his, devoured his, burying his hands in soft, thick red-gold hair, writhing against the bodies he was pressed between, wishing all his losses were like this.
If he wasn’t going to wake up, then he may as well enjoy the dream while it lasted. Maybe the Swamp of Strange but Sexy Dreams was good for something after all.
When he woke again, it took him several minutes of lying buried in pillows and blankets and sandwiched between what felt suspiciously like two bodies before he could recall that they had eventually made it to their bed and that by ‘they’ he meant himself and two people and ‘their’ meant those two people were in fact twin dhampirs.
Gods above, he hated waking up.
Alexius sat up, biting back groans as every ache screamed of its existence, bringing back memories of the previous night that made his face burn. He looked on either side of him, the idea that all his memories were real, that everything had actually happened, that he felt tired and sore and was red in the face for very good reasons, surreal and overwhelming.
Levent was sprawled, stretched out as far as his long body could go, one arm bent over his head, the other stretched out across Alexius’s lap, his long, fiery hair seeming to be everywhere. The blankets were pulled up to just shy of his shoulders, and Alexius swore his face would catch fire, the way it burned as he saw the marks on Levent’s neck, one of which he’d put there.
Hastily looking away, he stared instead at Eren, who was always calmer and more focused than his brother – always. Levent got wild, Eren got…intense. Together…even now Alexius was finding it hard to breathe.
Eren slept on his side, head pillowed on one arm, the other stretched across Alexius’s chest until he’d sat up – now it rested with Levent’s in his lap. Somehow, his hair was still mostly neat, or at least not fanned out everywhere.
Alexius licked his lips nervously, not certain what to do. He was still tired, but now that he was awake he wasn’t likely to go back to sleep. Could he get out of bed without waking them? Should he just lie down and wait for them to wake? Was he…did they… He sighed softly at himself and forced the thought through. Would they expect him to leave now? What exactly was he, beyond their “captive”?
Swallowing another sigh, Alexius slid back down to lie staring up at the dark blue canopy. Most of the room was dark blue, accented with dark woods and deep browns. The blankets were warm, the twins warmer, and even if he wasn’t going to sleep again he could just lie…offhand, he could not remember a time in his life when he had just lie around. Always there were chores, training, work, traveling…
He rather liked this, even though he felt horribly lazy and guilty and…which ring of hell was reserved for a vampire hunter turned lazy dhampir captive? Fifth or sixth, maybe.
Fingers moved on his stomach, then warm lips trailed lazily along his left shoulder. “You’re awake early,” Levent murmured, voice thick and heavy with sleep, the words barely intelligible. “How can you be awake? I’m still tired.”
“Hunter,” Alexius replied, smiling, something in him easing with the joking. He turned his head to look at Levent, staring into the honey-gold eyes. “Stamina. Endurance. Helps us survive battles with vampires.”
Levent chuckled sleepily and slid close enough to plant a kiss on Alexius’s lips. “I’m fairly certain you just insulted me, but I’m not awake enough to know for sure or particularly care.” He cuddled closer still, fingers sliding lazily across skin. If he’d had the energy, Alexius would not have minded some exploring of his own, but for the moment he was more than content simply to luxuriate.
A second hand joined Levent’s, Eren stirring on Alexius’s right side. “Good morning, my brother. Good morning, our lover.”
That one single word should not have made him as happy as it did, but like Levent’s jests it settled his anxiety. Made him feel like he was a bit more than a plaything…even if he probably was, and there was no reason to want any of this, let alone more. He’d hardly been around them long enough to know what he wanted, or why. He didn’t even know much…
Oh.
He’d forgotten his question.
The hands on his chest suddenly moved lower, shoving the blankets away entirely, and Alexius abruptly decided his questions could wait just a little longer.
Breakfast was very nearly the most perfect thing ever created. Only the sex before breakfast was better, though Alexius felt embarrassed just thinking such a statement. He well and truly had lost his mind in the swamp. That was the only possible explanation for his behavior, for being here at all.
How else did you explain the night he’d had, the morning he’d had, to culminate with eating a breakfast made by a dhampir while his twin took far too much pleasure in eating a cinnamon bun right across from Alexius at the small table in the breakfast room.
“So what shall we do after breakfast, captive?” Eren asked.
Levent answered before Alexius could. “We should go back to bed.”
“You’re not the captive,” Eren said. “Alexius?”
Alexius blinked at him. “I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on and why and how it happened. Don’t ask me questions.”
The twins laughed. Eren winked at him. “You’re the only one to make it through the swamp, which we of course admired even though you looked quite silly – there is an easier way, you know. Otherwise, you’re attractive, don’t mind being shared…”
No, they could share. Alexius hastily dropped his eyes to his breakfast before he did or said something stupid. “So what’s the easier way through the swamp?”
Chuckling softly at him, Levent answered. “White mushrooms. There are patches of white mushrooms that show where it is safe to walk. Follow those and you can get in or out of the swamp with fair ease.”
“Yet no one has ever managed it but me?” Alexius asked skeptically.
Eren smirked. “You can’t see them unless we tell you about them – that’s the spell that keeps everyone out. Until you, anyway.”
“I was always told I could be stubborn,” Alexius said, trying not to fidget beneath the twin honey-gold stares. After all they’d done in one night and that morning, he should no longer be embarrassed by mere stares.
Levent leaned across the table and kissed him softly. “So what do you want to do?” he asked as he sat back in his chair.
“I told you not to ask me questions,” Alexius said, stabbing at a piece of sausage. He struggled to think. Once upon time, thought had been something of which he was capable. “Oh!” He looked up eagerly. “I saw the gallery yesterday. Could we look through it again? I knew nothing about most of the paintings…and that reminds me of a question I had for the one.”
Eren smiled in amusement. “What is that?”
Levent groaned. “It figures he’d like your cursed paintings.”
“Be quiet and finish your breakfast,” Eren said. “What painting were you curious about?”
Alexius laid his fork down. “I saw the room at the very end…the one with you, and who I guess is your mother…” He trailed off as tension filled the twins faces. “I…I’m sorry. Should I not have gone in there?”
“It’s all right,” Eren replied. “Our mother painted those, so we can’t bear to get rid of them, even the one of him.” The last word was nearly snarled.
“That was actually my question. Who is that? He looks exactly like my great-uncle Tebrey.”
“What?” Eren asked sharply, suddenly seeming to loom more than simply sit close. “How did you know our father’s name?”
Alexius recoiled from the anger that filled their eyes, swallowing nervously and standing up. “Ah—that was the name of my great-uncle. He married my great-aunt years ago. Married into the family…”
Levent grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him hard, grip painfully tight. “Where is he? You have to tell us!”
Struggling to get free, Alexius gasped out the answer as Levent continued to shake him, not liking the blazing fury in his eyes. “D-dead. Killed when Lord Baharazel was summoned.”
“He can’t be dead!” Eren said, slamming a fist down on the table as he stood up. “That’s not possible! Where is he?”
Alexius looked at them, feeling lost, wondering who these two were that had replaced the twins he though he’d known.
Which only went to prove how stupid he was. “I swear to you, my great uncle is dead. I buried him myself. He was destroyed by the illness that came upon the winds as Baharazel’s power spread across the land.” His hand went automatically to his left shoulder, which ached both from the memory of the claws that had nearly destroyed it and the forming bruises left by Levent’s hard grip. “I was nearly killed myself.”
“Dead…” Eren said faintly, looking angry and devastated. Levent’s expression was a mirror – then both twins screamed in rage and stormed from the room.
Leaving Alexius alone, feeling cold and just as devastated. What had he done wrong? Why were they so angry? They disliked their father, that much was clear. He gingerly touched the bruises on his shoulders, not willing to pull back his shirt to see how extensive they were. Moving his shoulders at all would be a pain for the next few days.
Especially going through the swamp. Obviously…he’d somehow worn out his welcome. They hadn’t been happy with him and his news of Tebrey at all. He should never have fallen into the whole mess anyway. He was a Vampire Hunter. Just because a Demon Hunter and a Dark Lord somehow managed to fall in love didn’t mean the same thing would happen with a Vampire Hunter and a vampire. Dhampir. Twin dhampirs.
He was an idiot. It was time to go.
Leaving the kitchen, Alexius cautiously but quickly made his way through the immense castle up to the bedroom where he’d so recently been in bed with Levent and Eren. The room still smelled like sex, like them, and he nearly couldn’t enter it to fetch his things from the wardrobe – they had shown him his stuff before going to breakfast.
Somehow he didn’t think they’d miss the clothes he wore, though it made him feel somehow cheap to keep them. Still, he was a beggar when the job was done and he went home. That left few choices.
The weight of his sword was familiar, comforting and despised in equal measure. Hesitating a moment, Alexius at last shrugged and fumbled through the wardrobe ‘til he found a sturdy cloak. Bundling it up, he threw it into a bag a few more minutes of searching found, then strode from the room and to the main hall. His footsteps echoed on the red and black tiles, and the opening of the door seemed painfully, hideously loud to his ears.
He looked back only once, then forced himself not to again. Try as he might, though, his feet would not increase their pace. As if they kept hoping they would soon be stopping.
No one, however, called to stop him. Had he not just spent the past day or so in it, he would have thought the castle empty.
As he stepped from the mist, the Swamp of Misery loomed before him, as putrid and disgusting as he remembered. Except – white mushrooms dotted it here and there. He hesitated, then wondered why he was hesitating. It wasn’t as though he had anything to lose. Everything that mattered was already quite lost, though he was utterly confounded as to how.
Settling his pack, half tempted to take the hard way just to see if he’d get eaten or something, Alexius finally sighed and trudged forward, following the path marked by white mushrooms. His shoulders ached where the straps of his pack dug into them, an inescapable reminder of why he was leaving, torturing him as he slowly made his way through the Swamp of Foolish Hunters.
He must have inhaled too much swamp air, Alexius thought. There was no other reason he could hear someone calling his name. Why was it taking so long to get through this wretched swamp? Had it taken this long before?
There. He heard it again.
Was someone calling him? Who would bother?
He refused to think of who he wanted it to be. They’d been angry, furious…yet so cold at the same time. It wasn’t his fault Tebrey was dead…
“Alexius!”
Startled at the proximity, Alexius whipped around, eyes widening as they landed on something he hadn’t thought to see again. “Levent.”
“You bloody idiot, we’ve been looking everywhere. What are you doing? Why aren’t you back home? At the castle?”
Alexius blinked – then glared. “You didn’t want me! You were furious!” His hand went defensively to his shoulder. “So I left.”
Levent’s face clouded with misery and he drew close, hair sliding over his shoulders only to be pushed impatiently back – the ribbon which usually held it back absent. Perhaps lost in the swamp, Alexius guessed.
He yelped in surprise, hand flying to his sword, as hands grabbed onto him from behind and spun him around – barely did he see Eren before he was being kissed hard enough he could feel his lips bruising. Eren made a sound like a growl as he deepened the kiss, taking possession of Alexius’s mouth, not releasing him until it became necessary to breathe. “Idiot,” he said softly, letting him go. “Why did you run off?”
“You were furious,” Alexius said, hating the way his tension eased as Levent’s arms curled around him from behind, soft lips nuzzling his throat. “I…didn’t think you wanted…”
Eren kissed him again, this time more softly, almost tenderly. “We’re sorry. We overreacted.”
“What happened, exactly?” Alexius asked. The better question would be why was he allowing himself to so easily be taken back in? He should be throwing them in the swamp, running for his life, relieved to be gone – instead he really wanted nothing more than to be dragged back to the castle and resume his place as captive. He liked being a captive. Of these two, anyway.
The twins shared a look, and Alexius could feel Levent’s arms tighten.
“Our mother…” Eren stopped, frowned briefly, then continued. “She was kind, for a vampire. It was from her we learned simply to take what we need, nothing more, and to do it in a way that we do not kill the humans. Most vampires do not care, as you would know all too well. One night…fresh from hunting, she met a priest on the road who had twisted his ankle too badly to continue his journeying. She took him home, liking his smile, his charm, his humor. The days of his recovery stretched on into weeks, until finally the priest had no choice but to resume his life. He promised, however, that he would return to her when he had extracted himself from his life.”
Levent picked up the narrative. “A few years later, our mother began to grow concerned. So by night she split her time between caring for the two children that had come from her time with the priest, and searching for her mortal love. She found him – happily married and a highly respected priest and mage in a village nearly a month’s journey – for humans – from her home. Enraged, heartbroken, she attacked him…”
“She lost,” Eren said. “Somehow, he bested her – to this day we do not know how a mere priest was able to defeat a seven hundred year old vampire. She managed to get home, as badly injured as she was, and died telling us all that she could about him and what had passed.”
“We wanted to search for him, but we were barely six. By the time we were old enough and strong enough to start hunting, he’d vanished. All this time we’ve been searching…and he’s dead.”
Alexius couldn’t bear the sorrow on Eren’s face, which he knew must be echoed on Levent’s. He held his arms out, not certain what else to do, gasping is surprise when Eren immediately stepped into them.
The three of them stood together for several minutes, clinging together, oblivious to the swamp around them. Finally Alexius broke the silence, unable to restrain the one burning question he still had. “If he was human…shouldn’t he have died a long time ago?”
“Mother gave him a ring,” Levent said quietly. “It grants immortality to its wearer. She said she won it from a red-headed Lord of Darkness in a dice game.” He laughed briefly. “We never could get the truth out of her.” His breaths were warm, soft, as he sighed against Alexius’s throat. I’m sorry I hurt you, Lexi.”
Lexi. Alexius blinked. He’d…no one had ever called him by a nick name before. “It’s all right,” he finally managed when he remembered he was supposed to reply. “I…I can understand. I would have done the same.”
“Come back home?” Eren asked.
Alexius smiled. “Yes. Home would be nice. Even if it is the middle of this nasty swamp.”
tygati has written several stories.However, I am referring to her Darkness series: Darkness, Darkness Falling, Darkness Calling, Darkness Rising, and The Lure of Darkness.
I was Most Displeased when the pretty boy in the last story did not get his own boy toy. Tygs said he was being stubborn and would not budge on the matter. I said well I'll take care of that. She said I could. So I did.
In Darkness Thrive
There were days, Alexius thought sourly, where he would give anything to be nothing but a poor peasant struggling to plant something or carve something or—or—
Get drunk.
Yes. That sounded perfectly wonderful right now.
Since when did vampires live in the middle of swamps?
The most hideous, foul-smelling, ends of the earth swamp he’d ever heard of or come across or dreamed up in the nightmare he still had occasionally about that bog monster.
He was a vampire Hunter. He was a Lacroix Hunter. The best vampire hunter to ever grace the Lacroix name, which meant he was the best vampire hunter in the world. Or would be, if he wasn’t currently being defeated by a vampire’s gods-forsaken swamp.
Alternately wading, heaving, ducking, and climbing his way through the disgusting swamp, Alexius allowed himself to daydream of what it would be like to see Ciaran torch the whole blasted thing.
The image was a pleasant one. It even made him smile. Until he tripped on some unseen rock and wound up all but drowning in the swamp. He came up sputtering, spitting, coughing, and voicing every last curse he could think of or make up.
Nothing in the world tasted fouler. Not even the tonic his mother had made him take as a child to ‘strengthen growing boys.’ Come to think of it, there was a similarity in the aftertaste…
He shook the thought off before it could take root and give him more nightmares.
Gritting his teeth – first spitting out a foreign object at which he did not look too closely – Alexius reminded himself one last time of his heritage, his status, his duties and how utterly stupid he would look and feel if he had to tell everyone he never made it to the door because the vampire lived in the middle of the Hell Swamp.
The Lost Swamp, the villagers had called it. Lost His Mind In the Swamp was maybe more like it. Heaving a sigh, Alexius remembered the faces of the desperate, pleading villagers, the reward they’d probably sacrificed more than a few meals to scrape together, the shy, nervous way the town chief’s wife had shown him the room where he could sleep – obviously their own room, while they’d slept in the front room. It wasn’t the sort of town to have an inn, or even a tavern.
Which was just as well, because he sensed that after having to go through this swamp not once but twice – he wouldn’t be lucky enough to find a different way out, oh no – he would sorely be tempted to indulge himself to the point of not waking up for a very long time.
He wondered if ‘for my sanity’ counted as a ‘great need’ to justify going to hide in Ciaran’s castle for a week or twenty.
Though why he thought ‘sanity’ and ‘Ciaran’ belonged in the same sentence, he wasn’t certain. Maybe he’d swallowed too much swamp tonic.
Banishing the idiotic thoughts, Alexius focused on getting through the swamp – and that required plenty of concentration. By the time the ground turned stable and dry, he had fallen twice more, taken his frustration out on a dark toad dumb enough to pick a fight, sent three whistle snakes to join the stupid toad in the afterlife, and vowed upon his ancestors that he was going to shove the entirety of the swamp down the vampire’s throat.
To begin with.
When he finally reached the castle, hidden in mist a mile or so out of the swamp proper, Alexius felt…disappointed. All that fuss and frustration and the castle itself was the most decrepit thing he’d ever seen in his life.
It was in awful condition. Positively decrepit. He had been expecting, maybe even hoping for, some grand, austere manor impervious to the ravages of time as befit the Lord of the Castle.
Alexius wondered morosely if he could just go home…then he remembered home meant back through the swamp and he wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Perhaps the vampire would permit him a bath first.
Probably not. Wondering just how badly the swamp had addled his wits, Alexius forced his thoughts back to where they should be. The vampire inside was a powerful one – he had been dominating this remote region of the country for centuries. No one could remember a time when he wasn’t around.
Always there were two attacks every few months or so – older vampires not needing to feed terribly often. Always on the same night, never more than a few minutes apart. Peculiar feeding habit, most vampires only drank from one victim per feeding, but not too unusual. He’d killed a vampire a few years ago that liked to make a banquet of his feeding – little girl for an appetizer, a nice boy for soup, a burly man for the main course, and a delicate maiden for dessert.
That one still stalked his dreams.
Heaving another sigh, Alexius unsheathed his sword – cleaned it off, gods grant him mercy the smell – and stalked toward the castle thinking of all the ways he could make the vampire inside suffer.
The decrepit state was only external, Alexius realized as he shoved open the door and stepped into the entrance hall. Inside everything was perfect, or so very close to that it may as well be. Black and red tile formed the floor here, with a black marble table upon which stood a vase of blood-red roses. They gave the air a hint of sweet that was quickly being drowned out by the odor coming off the swamp which still clung to him.
A wide staircase curved up to the second level, but Alexius was far more interested in the sounds he could just barely hear from further down the black and red hallway. Reaffirming his grip on his sword, he pressed on, marveling that there would be activity in the late afternoon – getting through the swamp had taken far longer than he liked.
As he drew closer the distant sounds resolved themselves into the clash of steel against steel, mingled with challenges and boasting cries. He reached the source of the sound and slowly pushed the door open, tensed for whatever might come—
Except the sight that greeted his eyes.
Not one but two vampires dueled back and forth across an enormous ballroom bedecked with sparkling crystal, silk and velvet drapes, a pristine floor of warm gold tile. The vampires were far more…interesting, yes that was the adjective. Not beautiful. Not impressive. Interesting.
Identical. Pale skin and long red-gold hair, dressed in tight black breeches and white shirts on which the laces were loose. Knee-high black boots. The only difference between them was that one wore his long hair neatly tied back with a black ribbon. The second one’s hair tumbled free, and Alexius spotted a black ribbon cut in two pieces some feet away from where the vampires currently dueled.
“Ha!” Shouted the vampire with bound hair, lunging forward, his rapier sliding past the second vampire’s guard and slicing the top of his sleeve before his brother recovered enough to drive him back. The duel continued, and Alexius stared, captivated.
Interesting. That’s what they were. He’d seen hundreds of beautiful vampires. Breathtaking, even. These two were no different. There was nothing special about the way they seemed to dance as they dueled, nothing special about the way they smiled and taunted each other and—uh oh.
The vampire with unbound hair turned, blocking another strike, and his eyes fell in Alexius’s direction, widening as they took in the Hunter. His brother snapped around to see what had caught his attention.
Both vampires then burst out laughing, barely able to keep hold of their swords as they bent over with the force of their laughter.
Beneath the muck and grime that covered him, Alexius’s cheeks burned with shame and humiliation. So what if he probably looked completely and utterly ridiculous! It wasn’t his fault these two idiots lived in the middle of the Swamp Not Even Hell Wanted.
Snarling, furious, Alexius threw himself into the room and attacked the vampires, who were still chuckling as they began to parry and dodge his attacks. Belatedly, Alexius realized it had been dumb to attack them together, without the element of surprise – and his boots still slick with mud and grime, fine for the hall outside but as he turned to dodge one attack and block another he realized the ballroom floor was a bit too slick.
He realized this as he slipped, fell, and cracked his head hard against it. Right before he passed out.
When he woke, it was to the scent of soap, lavender, and beeswax. Warm, he was so incredibly warm. The awful beds in drafty rooms that were his life had never felt like this. A thousand nights spent sleeping on the hard ground or in his saddle did not even come close the soft warmth that surrounded him. Alexius didn’t want to open his eyes and return to reality, he wanted to stay right where he was and never move again.
That, however, he could not do. Memories of the vampires – twin vampires, he’d never in all his years of Hunting heard of such a thing – flooded his mind, as did his graceless fall. As well as the way they’d laughed. His cheeks burned with remembered humiliation and Alexius finally opened his eyes.
He was in a bedroom, as he’d rather suspected from the bed in which he lay. A large bed, the black curtains around it tied back with silver cording, black coverlet and sheets pulled up to his chin. Around him the room was mostly dark, curtains tightly drawn at the wide window, only a candelabra nearby and the crackling fire to cast light. He could see a chair, a wardrobe, and over by the window a long chaise lounge.
What he didn’t see were his weapons.
Stranger still, he was clean. That was the soap and lavender he smelled. Someone had cleaned him up.
He wondered who, and why. Certainly not the vampires? Even Oliae would just as soon leave him to suffer if not made to behave by Ciaran. Alexius threw back the blankets – then immediately squeaked and pulled them back up again.
Change of plans. First he found his clothes, then he would find his weapons.
The sound of the door opening made him tense, for right now he was well and truly defenseless. Hunter or no, he was not fighting with his bare hands while he was naked. If he absolutely had no choice, then when he retold the story he was going to lie through his teeth.
Not that he’d ever planned to tell anyone he lost a fight because he slipped on pond scum and a ballroom floor, but now the story was going to be completely rewritten instead of just creatively edited. Hunters had to maintain an air of awe and whatnot, after all.
“You’re awake.” The vampire was dressed as he had been before, in the same dark breeches and white shirt, hair neatly pulled back. He held a tray with one hand, and strode to the bed to set it down beside Alexius.
Alexius stared between them in confusion, contemplating his chances now that he had one vampire alone. What if he lost another fight? Did he really want to fight a vampire naked and suffer further indignity by losing?
His battered pride could only take so much.
Besides, the sheer bizarreness of the situation demanded further investigation. Plus whatever was under the lid of the tray smelled so good…why was he considering accepting food offered by vampires? Come to that, why were vampires offering him food?
“What’s going on here?”
The vampire chuckled and slid down on the bed to sit next to him. Alexius recoiled, vainly trying to ignore his own nudity, the sheer awkwardness of being naked in bed with a vampire right beside him.
Truly, whatever gods he’d angered he was very sorry. Probably the Swamp Gods, if such a thing existed. Wasn’t his fault swamps were awful, hideous things.
“No one has ever actually made it through that swamp, you know,” the vampire said casually, as if the entire situation were perfectly normal. “You should eat before it gets cold. Eren gets mad when his food isn’t properly appreciated – and letting it get cold definitely counts as not properly appreciated. Trust me.”
Alexius glared. Or tried. From the way the vampire started laughing, he clearly was only succeeding in looking stupid. Again. He could hear his Lacroix ancestors crying in shame and cursing his name.
Mercifully, the vampire didn’t bother to explain why exactly he was laughing, merely pushed the tray a little closer and pulled the cover away with a flourish.
He couldn’t tell if the gods had forsaken him or not – to have vampires serve up what had to be the best breakfast he’d ever seen. Hunters ate well enough, as often food for the duration of the mission was the most that the smaller villages could manage by way of payment and thanks. ‘Well enough’ however was a far, far cry from the feast laid out in front of him. Eggs, sausage, oat-cakes…
“Since when do vampires cook?” Alexius demanded, cheeks burning as his stomach betrayed him by growling. “You drink blood. Food is superfluous.”
The vampire merely grinned. “Plenty in life is superfluous. Doesn’t stop humans or beasts or demons from enjoying it all. What’s your name, Hunter?”
“Why should a vampire wish to know my name?” Alexius asked stiffly, more certain than ever that he was being set up for some awful game that was going to end in his death and involve lots of suffering before hand.
Though if he got that breakfast first…
“My name is Levent, my brother is Eren,” Levent said, leaning in far closer than Alexius rather thought he should be. “You are in our bed, naked, and being offered food. After invading our castle and attempting to kill us. By this point giving us a name could not possibly do any harm.”
Levent’s voice was way too…interesting, yes, interesting for Alexius’s peace of mind. If he had any sort of piece of his mind left. Clearly not. “Alexius,” he said, licking his lips nervously. He hadn’t been this unsettled since his first solo as a Hunter. Since the day he’d actually found the Dark Castle and Lucien.
He bet Lucien wouldn’t be fazed to wake up naked in a vampire’s castle. Lucien would probably just kill them and go home. Probably wouldn’t have fallen three, four, however many times in the swamp either.
“Alexius,” Levent repeated, as if tasting the name and finding it pleasing. He leaned closer still, until the scent of lavender and copper that clung to him was impossible to miss. Did all vampires smell this way? Why had he never noticed before what a vampire smelled like?
Maybe because usually he was fighting for his life not his sanity and clothing. Ah, now that was a good question to ask and he really should have thought of it sooner. Nearly nose to nose with the far too – strange – Levent, Alexius did his best to glare coldly. “Where are my clothes?”
“We threw them out.”
“What!” Alexius bellowed, causing Levent to recoil in surprise and finally give him some room to breathe which he suddenly realized had been rather difficult until that moment. “You can’t—what—why—argh!” He closed his eyes. “What is going on here?”
“What is going on here,” said a voice just like Levent’s save for a slightly more commanding note, “ Is that my brother needs to remove himself from that bed and you need to eat your breakfast before it gets cold!”
“Told you,” Levent muttered before he obediently slid off the bed and strode across the room to join his brother. “Alexius, Eren. Eren, Alexius.”
Eren lifted one delicate red-gold brow. “Alexius what?”
Barely hiding a wince, sighing that he would not get to attempt the breakfast even if it was poisoned, Alexius answered the question – what was the point in lying at this point? “Lacroix.”
“Hmm…” Eren muttered. “Eat your breakfast.”
Long resigned to the fact that either his life could not get much worse, or that it could be but there was little he could do about it, Alexius shrugged and obeyed. His eyes widened as he took a bite of the oatcakes – smothered in butter and honey and oh if this was poisoned or cursed or whatever then he would quite happily go to his death.
“Well at least someone appreciates my cooking,” Eren said.
Levent snorted. “I do believe I made it quite clear how much I enjoyed the quail last night.”
Alexius looked up. “It’s very good. I still don’t get why vampires bother to cook or eat. First time I’ve met or even heard of vampires with such eccentricities.”
Eren shrugged. “Does it really matter? Do you like the oatcakes? How are the sausages?”
“It’s good. Great. I’ve never had food like this before,” Alexius said before he could tell his mouth that it wasn’t supposed to be having conversations with vampires. He was a vampire Hunter. These two were the reason for the little bag of coppers and a few silvers the villagers had given him. “I would really like to know what’s going on here?” He blinked as something else dawned on him. “What time is it?”
Eren chuckled softly, a sound Alexius found himself listening far too closely to considering it meant he was being laughed at yet again. He fought the urge to scramble away as Eren sat down on the edge of bed – he’d already seen how fast the other could move, sneaking in and sneaking in until they were close enough too – Ruthlessly cutting off that thought before it could form, Alexius swallowed down the rest of the oatcakes with fervor.
“It is breakfast time,” Eren replied. “You are here, alive, because you are the first to make it through the swamp, Alexius of the notorious Lacroix bloodline. I have never seen a Lacroix.” Just like that long, pale, delicate fingers were stroking Alexius’s cheek, making him jump and choke on his food, bending double to cough desperately for air.
The faint chuckles he heard this time didn’t appeal at all. His cheeks burned with shame. Why must he continuously look stupid in front of these two? Some Lacroix he was.
“As I was saying,” Eren said when he sat up, fingers going again to touch his cheek, cup his chin and force Alexius’s head up. “I have never seen a Lacroix. Much prettier than I would have suspected.”
Was it possible for his cheeks to get any redder? Alexius jerked away from the vampire’s touch. Honestly, what had he done so wrong? He bet Lucien never suffered these sorts of embarrassments as a Hunter…though on that note he wouldn’t put it past Oliae and Karai to try. That made him feel slightly better, though not by much. Ciaran probably didn’t do this to Lucien…and why in the name of all the hells was he making that a parallel?
Furious with himself, vowing to retire if he ever got out of this mess, Alexius morosely finished his breakfast and waited in silence for the vampires to continue humiliating him.
“I suppose we should give you clothes,” Levent said from where he’d taken the chaise lounge by the window. “Seems a pity though, brother…”
“A pity indeed,” Eren said. “Still, humans do get cold.” He picked up the tray and slid off the bed. “There are clothes that should fit you in the wardrobe there. When you are dressed, you may find us in the green salon downstairs – two doors before the ballroom.” He smirked briefly, then with a last parting glance the twins vanished.
He gave up. Whatever. Until he found his weapons and – or – a way out, he may as well just go along with whatever the strange vampires were plotting. It might get him more food and if worst came to worst he wouldn’t have to worry about telling everyone he was retired could they please leave him alone.
Waiting a few more minutes to ensure he was alone, Alexius then slid from the bed and toward the wardrobe Eren had indicated. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that there was nothing weird or fancy or over-the-top in it – so many vampires had the strangest notions of what sort of clothing they should wear.
Oddly enough, the clothes did fit. Not what he would normally wear – no armor, no rough homespun, no hand-me-down that was so old there were patches to hold the patches together…he wasn’t even certain what the fabrics were. Nothing he’d ever be able to afford. The breeches were soft though. The shirt was equally so, smooth and warm were it brushed against his skin. A couple minutes of fumbling and he found the rest of what he needed, even a pair of boots that fit…with eerie perfection.
All questions could wait until he found the vampires again.
Heaving one last sigh, Alexius reminded himself that he had once survived a Lord of Darkness. Barely, but that was beside the point. If he had survived that, he could survive this.
Outside his room – the room, gods above it wasn’t his – the hallway was, not to his surprise, perfect. Purple and dark cream, the walls a rich brown wood, sconces covered by thin purple glass, paintings here and there of dark woodland scenes, mountains and moonlight…as he wandered through the castle, having no idea where he was going than ‘downstairs and then find the room two doors before the ballroom’ Alexius could not help but stare in wonder at the sheer beauty of the castle.
Truly, he’d never seen anything like it. If only he could explore…
Dismissing the idle thought, he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the splendor around him and focused on finding the stairs.
Twenty minutes of wandering later, he alighted upon the door he thought was the right one. He started to grab the handle, then froze. Etiquette. Was he supposed to knock? Then he rolled his eyes. Why in the hells was he thinking of etiquette at a time like this?
Clearly he really and truly had swallowed too much tonic water from the Swamp of Weirdness.
Grabbing the handle, Alexius all but shoved the door open and stepped into a room – a salon – that was as beautifully appointed as the rest of the castle, this time in green and gold. Levent was stretched out on a long sofa, showing off all too well his long legs and just how loosely the laces of that shirt were done up. Eren sat nearby in an armchair, right ankle propped on his left knee, tail of his hair spilling over one shoulder, the black ribbon holding it back just visible.
Thinking back to the ballroom, for some reason Alexius sensed it was Eren who’d lost his ribbon…Levent seemed to be the more relaxed of the two, and the type to do something as ridiculous as cut a hair ribbon in the middle of a duel.
“Ah, good. I thought you’d find it with no trouble,” Eren said, motioning him to take a seat. “We thought you’d be more comfortable talking here, rather than upstairs.” A brief smirk shaped his lips, which Alexius was not looking at. “What do you think of our home?
“I want to know what’s going on,” Alexius said, sitting down only because standing while they sat made him feel awkward.
Eren shook his head and slid his brother an amused look. “He has your patience.”
“Developing your temper,” Levent retorted. “Why all this talking?”
“I can see I’m the only one with anything resembling patience around here.”
Levent slowly sat up, tossing his hair back with a quick jerk of his head. He sprawled back against the sofa, arms stretched out across the back. “Until you get angry, anyway. Can’t we just get on with it?” His eyes, a pale, honey gold that Alexius hadn’t until then noticed, flashed with some emotion he didn’t quite get. “We should have done it my way.”
“Your way,” Eren said with a delicate snort, “is the reason the villagers fear vampires.”
The statement brought reality crashing back down hard on Alexius’s head. Levent started to respond to the jibe, but Alexius’s sudden standing stopped him. “You’re vampires,” Alexius said, ignoring the expression on their faces at his words. “I should be trying to kill you and free the villagers, not sitting here talking! Where is my sword?”
“What makes you think we’re going to tell you now?” Eren asked dryly. “We haven’t done anything to the villagers, other than the usual and we’ve been drinking for a little over six hundred years. It’s a little late for them to start complaining now.”
Alexius shook his head. “No. Last night you killed two of them, left them completely dry. That won’t be tolerated.”
The look of shock that filled their faces stopped him short.
“Killed?” Eren frowned. “We didn’t feed last night.”
Levent shook his head in confusion. “We have a couple of months yet before we need to feed.”
Alexius frowned, torn. He wanted to believe them, and that just infuriated him. Hunters killed vampires!
Of course, Hunters also killed Dark Lords. They weren’t supposed to sleep with them. Alexius had privately always thought Lucien was doing rather well for a man who’d spent more than a thousand years breaking the ‘do not consort with the enemy’ rule.
He forced himself to remember that just because Ciaran and Lucien worked, that didn’t mean it was possible for him. Something like that happened once, and the fact that he was seriously considering these sorts of things with twin vampires did not speak well of his mental state.
Stupid Swamp of Insanity.
“So you didn’t kill the boy and girl last nigh?” Alexius ask, finally feeling himself slide into Hunter mode as the memory of the dead, bloodless children surfaced in his mind. “You’re the only vampires in this area. They were quite clearly the victims of vampires.”
Eren shook his head more forcefully. “No. We would never kill those from whom we drink. There’s no reason to. It’s absurd.”
“Vampires often kill their victims,” Alexius replied. “Even the older ones, like you, who feed less often.”
“Maybe, but well…” He restlessly curled and uncurled his hands.
Eren sighed. “We’re different.”
“Different,” Alexius repeated. So they were lying to him, and now were trying to make up a story to cover it all up. Why did that thought depress him?
“Yes,” Eren replied, starting to look cross. He fell silent a moment. “We’re not proper vampires. We’re dhampirs.” He waved a hand toward the curtained window. “It’s the reason we can be up and about in the daylight. Full sunlight is a bad idea, that’s why we live in the swamp. It plus the mist prevent direct sunlight.”
Alexius strode to the window and yanked back the curtains. Dim, but definitively daylight. They had given him breakfast…there had still been sunlight when he’d made it through the Forsaken Swamp…
Dhampir. Something he’d heard of. Everyone had heard of it. Given the slant of his own thoughts that he was desperately trying not to acknowledge, that it was true did not surprise him.
If anything, he was surprised that it had taken two decades of Hunting and a million ancestors before he finally encountered or heard of anyone encountering the legendary offspring of a forbidden union between vampire and human.
Realization flashed. “Is that why you can cook? I mean why you eat?”
“Yes,” Levent said. “We need food like any human would…and every now and then we need pure human blood.” Something like a shadow flickered briefly across his face, gone so quick Alexius wasn’t certain he’d seen it or made it up.
“It was our mother who was the vampire,” Eren answered the question before it could be asked. “Our father…” All right, that time Alexius did see the shadow that passed over both their faces. More like a thundercloud.
Alexius tilted his head, looking between them. “So…what can dhampirs do and not do? What do you have from each half?”
“Immortality,” Eren said slowly, as if surprised they had convinced him so easily. “As already stated, we need both food and blood. We can travel in daylight, but too much direct sunlight makes us ill and can eventually kill us. Shape shifting isn’t possible…something about the human blood, we think, makes it impossible to change. We can use magic, though it’s not as powerful as a full vampire’s would be. Strength, of course, is enhanced – the human aspects take well to that, as well as heightened senses.”
Closing the curtains back, Alexius nodded and immediately turned his thoughts to the more pressing questions. Who had killed the children? They had both been young, just thirteen and fourteen respectively. Not a drop of blood, not enough to speak of anyway.
His thoughts broke off as the twins stood up, the levity from earlier vanished completely. They strode toward the door and Alexius frowned. “Where are you going?”
“To find out who is framing us for these awful murders; who is daring to harm our village.” Levent glowered. “We have always cared for the village, taking only what we need and keeping everyone else out.” The anger shifted to bitterness, twisting his pretty face. “How typical of humans to turn so fast.”
Alexius frowned. “They were upset you know; they thought perhaps something had finally driven you over the edge. They didn’t call for a hunter lightly.”
Eren shrugged. “We will find out who is doing this,” he said.
“I’m coming with you!” Alexius said. “I was hired to kill the vampire killing the villagers and I intend to do it. Give me back my sword and I’ll find the real culprit and leave you in peace.”
Suddenly the twins smiled, sharing a look that made Alexius suddenly nervous. He froze halfway to where they stood before the door. “Oh, you’re not leaving. Sadly, business has gotten in the way but after we’re done it’ll be right back to play.”
“Play?” Alexius, taking a step back.
Then suddenly he was surrounded. Alexius thought maybe he might have squeaked, though he certainly hoped not, and then his world was nothing hands that were being far too familiar with his person and mouths that attacked his like he was supper. Or dinner. Whatever came after breakfast.
He tried to pull away, but wherever he went he only encountered dhampir.
Just as suddenly it all abruptly ceased, leaving him way too hot and yet far too cold. Alexius tried to gather his wits and stared. “I—Y—stop that! I’m a Hunter. You’re vampires. Dhampirs. Whatever! Twins! Argh!”
“A very fine Hunter,” Eren said with a wink.
“A very tasty Hunter,” Levent said, licking his lips. “We’ll be back.”
Just like that they were gone. Alexius blinked, stared, glared, then swore colorfully and stomped from the room. The hallway, of course, was empty. He had no idea where they’d gone.
By the time he got back through the Swamp That Led to the Secret Eighth Level of Hell they would probably be finished with discovering the real killer. In the meantime, he could run screaming through the halls in a state of panic and no one would be around to watch when he finally ran straight into a wall and knocked himself blissfully unconscious.
It would also work out the state of tension in which the two vampires had left him.
Why in the seven – eight – hells was he…no, why were they…how did he get himself into this situation?
Adamantly refusing to go back to his – THE – bedroom because that would be admitting he might need some privacy, Alexius dredged up thoughts of the Damnable Swamp, his grandmother bathing, and blizzards as he began to wander aimlessly through the castle.
His feet took him through more salons, a dining hall bigger than his house, a library that was perhaps the grandest thing he’d ever seen, and a gallery that made him rethink his opinion of the library.
The gallery was huge. Two or three dining halls could fit in it. Was the castle really this big? Alexius shook his head in wonder and began to walk through.
Paintings of every size and subject lined the walls up and down the gallery. Doors were tucked cleverly away, barely visible, leading to still more paintings. Landscapes, portraits, still life, images that evoked so much movement Alexius wondered that they didn’t burst from the canvas.
He could spend hours, days, weeks, months, years just looking at the paintings, examining them for every last detail, memorizing every stroke. Even now he wanted just to stop and stare at each one for hours upon hours. Only his burning curiosity to see everything he possibly could before he eventually had to leave – before he left, not had to leave because that implied – Alexius cut himself off before he had to take drastic measure and test his head against the nearest wall.
Nearly at the end of the gallery, and he wondered how long it had taken him, was a final door that he noticed only because he stared for several minutes at the large painting right above it – a portrait of a demon with hair and eyes that looked like flickering flames.
Alexius knew who that was. All too well. His hand went automatically to his left shoulder, where his scars had begun to throb in memory. This Lord of Darkness hadn’t been responsible for them…but seeing him still brought up the memory. How many people could say they’d seen not one but two Lords of Darkness and lived to tell the tale?”
He saw the door as he finally dropped his eyes, and curiosity drove him forward for this one was not open as the others had been. He tested the handle and wondered why he was surprised to find it unlocked. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside.
This room wasn’t as…cheerful wasn’t quite the right word, but the lightening mood of the rest of the gallery was lacking here. Not for any obvious reasons…just…there was a deep coldness here that had nothing to do with temperature.
Immediately upon entering the room was an image of a beautiful woman who could only be one person – Levent and Eren’s mother. She had the same red-gold hair, though it fell in thick curls around her head, the same bright smile and pale honey-gold eyes. If not for the fact that they’d told him she was a vampire, Alexius would not have known from the portrait. Dressed in an old-fashioned green gown, wearing pearls and emeralds, she looked like a long-lost princess.
Alexius shook his head in amazement. Truly the swamp had destroyed him. He was either dreaming, slowly drowning in the muck and filth, or dead and gone to whichever level of hell applied to Fools Who Traipse Through Swamps of Poison.
Tearing his eyes away from the vampire’s portrait, he turned his eyes to the rest of the room, eyes landing on a portrait of the twins themselves. So much for distracting himself. In the painting, the twins were outside, sitting before a tree with moonlight and stars above and behind them. One sat upon the roots of the great tree, staring off into the distance with a faint smile on his face. The other stood beside him, one hand on his hip, staring off in a different direction. It might have been a cold image except that the twin sitting just barely leaned his head against the leg of the other and the free hand of the standing twin rested softly atop the head of the one sitting. Eren, he bet, was sitting. Levent would never sit still for very long. Strange that he thought that so confidently.
They wore much the same clothes they did now – dark green jackets the only real change. In the bright moonlight, they had an other-worldly air about them. If their mother was a princess long ago lost to time…these seemed to be the forlorn knights searching for her.
He really had lost his mind. When did he start to think such whimsical thoughts? Sighing softly, Alexius tore himself away from the image of the twins and turned to the last wall.
And stared.
What…what in the hells was his great-uncle doing on the wall? Alexius shook his head furiously back and forth, then rubbed his eyes. Blinked. Stared some more.
He wasn’t seeing things. It really was his great-uncle. Dead now, of course, very few Lacroix had survived the attack by the Lord of Darkness…just enough the Lacroix line would survive, if they all had lots of children who also had lots of children.
Which still left him wondering what his great-uncle’s portrait was doing here. Younger looking by at least a decade, and dressed in the sort of tunic and hose that had not been worn for hundreds of years. Handsome, though his features were not Lacroix – great-uncle Tebrey had married into the family, a rare but not uncommon practice in those days, especially as he’d had no family of his own… He would have thought the man simply an ancestor, but he had that faint scar down the right cheek, from where he’d been attacked by a goblin as a boy.
Alexius would have to ask the twins about it when they returned.
That, of course, reminded him of why he was here distracting himself. Kept in the house like a child while the twins ran off to earn his pay! Turning sharply on his heel, Alexius strode back into the main gallery and all the way down to where he’d started, wending his way through the hallways until he reached the library. If he could not suitably distract himself there…with what must be thousands upon thousands of books, he’d better find a distraction.
When the twins got back, he was going to kill them. Or at least severely beat them.
He woke to the sound of voices whispering quietly, memories flooding as he twisted on the long sofa where he’d fallen asleep in front of the fireplace in the library. Slowly sitting up, Alexius yawned and sleepily looked over the back of the couch at where the twins stood in quiet conversation. “You’re back.”
The conversation broke off and the twins looked up at him with a smile. “Yes,” Eren said. “We took care of the little upstart invading our turf. We left the body where the villagers would find it, which should clear things up pretty well.
Great. Now he’d have to give the money back. Even the most shameless hunter…all right, so a shameless hunter would have no problem keeping the money. Alexius wasn’t shameless though, he was a grand and noble Lacroix. He couldn’t keep the money. Ah, well. He would make do.
Provided Levent and Eren let him leave with some clothing, anyway. Otherwise he suspected he’d figure out what was worse than trekking through the Swamp of Infinite Torture.
The thought made him shudder.
“You should have let me do it,” he said.
“No,” Eren said. “This is our territory. Maybe with that vampire dead, everyone will remember that.”
Levent smiled and began to undo the buttons on his jacket, and it finally struck Alexius that they were wearing jackets – deep green. The paintings flitted through his mind then, and he opened his mouth to ask about them when he suddenly found the twins not halfway across the room but right next to him on the sofa.
Their hands were being far too familiar again and he was rather annoyed with himself for letting them. Fruitlessly he tried to pull away, gain some control. “What—Why—would you let me speak!”
“Now why should we do that?” Levent asked, chuckles warm against Alexius’s throat. One of his hands trailed down the length of his thigh, then slowly back up. Combined with Eren’s touches to his chest, the second pair of lips fastened to his ear. Alexius was finding it harder and harder to do anything but as he was told. “We like you better this way and we’ve been good long enough. You lost the fight, so you’re our captive.”
Alexius started to argue that, but his protest turned into a startled gasp, then into a long moan, as the twins continued their assault. “This—isn’t—I’m…a vampire hunter.” He was grabbed gently and then shoved back to rest between’s Eren’s thighs, his back to Eren’s chest and when in the hells had he lost his clothes and they were twins and this wasn’t supposed to happen outside his head so surely had to be dreaming and not virtually under attack and—
He gave up, moaning defeat into Levent’s mouth as it covered his, devoured his, burying his hands in soft, thick red-gold hair, writhing against the bodies he was pressed between, wishing all his losses were like this.
If he wasn’t going to wake up, then he may as well enjoy the dream while it lasted. Maybe the Swamp of Strange but Sexy Dreams was good for something after all.
When he woke again, it took him several minutes of lying buried in pillows and blankets and sandwiched between what felt suspiciously like two bodies before he could recall that they had eventually made it to their bed and that by ‘they’ he meant himself and two people and ‘their’ meant those two people were in fact twin dhampirs.
Gods above, he hated waking up.
Alexius sat up, biting back groans as every ache screamed of its existence, bringing back memories of the previous night that made his face burn. He looked on either side of him, the idea that all his memories were real, that everything had actually happened, that he felt tired and sore and was red in the face for very good reasons, surreal and overwhelming.
Levent was sprawled, stretched out as far as his long body could go, one arm bent over his head, the other stretched out across Alexius’s lap, his long, fiery hair seeming to be everywhere. The blankets were pulled up to just shy of his shoulders, and Alexius swore his face would catch fire, the way it burned as he saw the marks on Levent’s neck, one of which he’d put there.
Hastily looking away, he stared instead at Eren, who was always calmer and more focused than his brother – always. Levent got wild, Eren got…intense. Together…even now Alexius was finding it hard to breathe.
Eren slept on his side, head pillowed on one arm, the other stretched across Alexius’s chest until he’d sat up – now it rested with Levent’s in his lap. Somehow, his hair was still mostly neat, or at least not fanned out everywhere.
Alexius licked his lips nervously, not certain what to do. He was still tired, but now that he was awake he wasn’t likely to go back to sleep. Could he get out of bed without waking them? Should he just lie down and wait for them to wake? Was he…did they… He sighed softly at himself and forced the thought through. Would they expect him to leave now? What exactly was he, beyond their “captive”?
Swallowing another sigh, Alexius slid back down to lie staring up at the dark blue canopy. Most of the room was dark blue, accented with dark woods and deep browns. The blankets were warm, the twins warmer, and even if he wasn’t going to sleep again he could just lie…offhand, he could not remember a time in his life when he had just lie around. Always there were chores, training, work, traveling…
He rather liked this, even though he felt horribly lazy and guilty and…which ring of hell was reserved for a vampire hunter turned lazy dhampir captive? Fifth or sixth, maybe.
Fingers moved on his stomach, then warm lips trailed lazily along his left shoulder. “You’re awake early,” Levent murmured, voice thick and heavy with sleep, the words barely intelligible. “How can you be awake? I’m still tired.”
“Hunter,” Alexius replied, smiling, something in him easing with the joking. He turned his head to look at Levent, staring into the honey-gold eyes. “Stamina. Endurance. Helps us survive battles with vampires.”
Levent chuckled sleepily and slid close enough to plant a kiss on Alexius’s lips. “I’m fairly certain you just insulted me, but I’m not awake enough to know for sure or particularly care.” He cuddled closer still, fingers sliding lazily across skin. If he’d had the energy, Alexius would not have minded some exploring of his own, but for the moment he was more than content simply to luxuriate.
A second hand joined Levent’s, Eren stirring on Alexius’s right side. “Good morning, my brother. Good morning, our lover.”
That one single word should not have made him as happy as it did, but like Levent’s jests it settled his anxiety. Made him feel like he was a bit more than a plaything…even if he probably was, and there was no reason to want any of this, let alone more. He’d hardly been around them long enough to know what he wanted, or why. He didn’t even know much…
Oh.
He’d forgotten his question.
The hands on his chest suddenly moved lower, shoving the blankets away entirely, and Alexius abruptly decided his questions could wait just a little longer.
Breakfast was very nearly the most perfect thing ever created. Only the sex before breakfast was better, though Alexius felt embarrassed just thinking such a statement. He well and truly had lost his mind in the swamp. That was the only possible explanation for his behavior, for being here at all.
How else did you explain the night he’d had, the morning he’d had, to culminate with eating a breakfast made by a dhampir while his twin took far too much pleasure in eating a cinnamon bun right across from Alexius at the small table in the breakfast room.
“So what shall we do after breakfast, captive?” Eren asked.
Levent answered before Alexius could. “We should go back to bed.”
“You’re not the captive,” Eren said. “Alexius?”
Alexius blinked at him. “I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on and why and how it happened. Don’t ask me questions.”
The twins laughed. Eren winked at him. “You’re the only one to make it through the swamp, which we of course admired even though you looked quite silly – there is an easier way, you know. Otherwise, you’re attractive, don’t mind being shared…”
No, they could share. Alexius hastily dropped his eyes to his breakfast before he did or said something stupid. “So what’s the easier way through the swamp?”
Chuckling softly at him, Levent answered. “White mushrooms. There are patches of white mushrooms that show where it is safe to walk. Follow those and you can get in or out of the swamp with fair ease.”
“Yet no one has ever managed it but me?” Alexius asked skeptically.
Eren smirked. “You can’t see them unless we tell you about them – that’s the spell that keeps everyone out. Until you, anyway.”
“I was always told I could be stubborn,” Alexius said, trying not to fidget beneath the twin honey-gold stares. After all they’d done in one night and that morning, he should no longer be embarrassed by mere stares.
Levent leaned across the table and kissed him softly. “So what do you want to do?” he asked as he sat back in his chair.
“I told you not to ask me questions,” Alexius said, stabbing at a piece of sausage. He struggled to think. Once upon time, thought had been something of which he was capable. “Oh!” He looked up eagerly. “I saw the gallery yesterday. Could we look through it again? I knew nothing about most of the paintings…and that reminds me of a question I had for the one.”
Eren smiled in amusement. “What is that?”
Levent groaned. “It figures he’d like your cursed paintings.”
“Be quiet and finish your breakfast,” Eren said. “What painting were you curious about?”
Alexius laid his fork down. “I saw the room at the very end…the one with you, and who I guess is your mother…” He trailed off as tension filled the twins faces. “I…I’m sorry. Should I not have gone in there?”
“It’s all right,” Eren replied. “Our mother painted those, so we can’t bear to get rid of them, even the one of him.” The last word was nearly snarled.
“That was actually my question. Who is that? He looks exactly like my great-uncle Tebrey.”
“What?” Eren asked sharply, suddenly seeming to loom more than simply sit close. “How did you know our father’s name?”
Alexius recoiled from the anger that filled their eyes, swallowing nervously and standing up. “Ah—that was the name of my great-uncle. He married my great-aunt years ago. Married into the family…”
Levent grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him hard, grip painfully tight. “Where is he? You have to tell us!”
Struggling to get free, Alexius gasped out the answer as Levent continued to shake him, not liking the blazing fury in his eyes. “D-dead. Killed when Lord Baharazel was summoned.”
“He can’t be dead!” Eren said, slamming a fist down on the table as he stood up. “That’s not possible! Where is he?”
Alexius looked at them, feeling lost, wondering who these two were that had replaced the twins he though he’d known.
Which only went to prove how stupid he was. “I swear to you, my great uncle is dead. I buried him myself. He was destroyed by the illness that came upon the winds as Baharazel’s power spread across the land.” His hand went automatically to his left shoulder, which ached both from the memory of the claws that had nearly destroyed it and the forming bruises left by Levent’s hard grip. “I was nearly killed myself.”
“Dead…” Eren said faintly, looking angry and devastated. Levent’s expression was a mirror – then both twins screamed in rage and stormed from the room.
Leaving Alexius alone, feeling cold and just as devastated. What had he done wrong? Why were they so angry? They disliked their father, that much was clear. He gingerly touched the bruises on his shoulders, not willing to pull back his shirt to see how extensive they were. Moving his shoulders at all would be a pain for the next few days.
Especially going through the swamp. Obviously…he’d somehow worn out his welcome. They hadn’t been happy with him and his news of Tebrey at all. He should never have fallen into the whole mess anyway. He was a Vampire Hunter. Just because a Demon Hunter and a Dark Lord somehow managed to fall in love didn’t mean the same thing would happen with a Vampire Hunter and a vampire. Dhampir. Twin dhampirs.
He was an idiot. It was time to go.
Leaving the kitchen, Alexius cautiously but quickly made his way through the immense castle up to the bedroom where he’d so recently been in bed with Levent and Eren. The room still smelled like sex, like them, and he nearly couldn’t enter it to fetch his things from the wardrobe – they had shown him his stuff before going to breakfast.
Somehow he didn’t think they’d miss the clothes he wore, though it made him feel somehow cheap to keep them. Still, he was a beggar when the job was done and he went home. That left few choices.
The weight of his sword was familiar, comforting and despised in equal measure. Hesitating a moment, Alexius at last shrugged and fumbled through the wardrobe ‘til he found a sturdy cloak. Bundling it up, he threw it into a bag a few more minutes of searching found, then strode from the room and to the main hall. His footsteps echoed on the red and black tiles, and the opening of the door seemed painfully, hideously loud to his ears.
He looked back only once, then forced himself not to again. Try as he might, though, his feet would not increase their pace. As if they kept hoping they would soon be stopping.
No one, however, called to stop him. Had he not just spent the past day or so in it, he would have thought the castle empty.
As he stepped from the mist, the Swamp of Misery loomed before him, as putrid and disgusting as he remembered. Except – white mushrooms dotted it here and there. He hesitated, then wondered why he was hesitating. It wasn’t as though he had anything to lose. Everything that mattered was already quite lost, though he was utterly confounded as to how.
Settling his pack, half tempted to take the hard way just to see if he’d get eaten or something, Alexius finally sighed and trudged forward, following the path marked by white mushrooms. His shoulders ached where the straps of his pack dug into them, an inescapable reminder of why he was leaving, torturing him as he slowly made his way through the Swamp of Foolish Hunters.
He must have inhaled too much swamp air, Alexius thought. There was no other reason he could hear someone calling his name. Why was it taking so long to get through this wretched swamp? Had it taken this long before?
There. He heard it again.
Was someone calling him? Who would bother?
He refused to think of who he wanted it to be. They’d been angry, furious…yet so cold at the same time. It wasn’t his fault Tebrey was dead…
“Alexius!”
Startled at the proximity, Alexius whipped around, eyes widening as they landed on something he hadn’t thought to see again. “Levent.”
“You bloody idiot, we’ve been looking everywhere. What are you doing? Why aren’t you back home? At the castle?”
Alexius blinked – then glared. “You didn’t want me! You were furious!” His hand went defensively to his shoulder. “So I left.”
Levent’s face clouded with misery and he drew close, hair sliding over his shoulders only to be pushed impatiently back – the ribbon which usually held it back absent. Perhaps lost in the swamp, Alexius guessed.
He yelped in surprise, hand flying to his sword, as hands grabbed onto him from behind and spun him around – barely did he see Eren before he was being kissed hard enough he could feel his lips bruising. Eren made a sound like a growl as he deepened the kiss, taking possession of Alexius’s mouth, not releasing him until it became necessary to breathe. “Idiot,” he said softly, letting him go. “Why did you run off?”
“You were furious,” Alexius said, hating the way his tension eased as Levent’s arms curled around him from behind, soft lips nuzzling his throat. “I…didn’t think you wanted…”
Eren kissed him again, this time more softly, almost tenderly. “We’re sorry. We overreacted.”
“What happened, exactly?” Alexius asked. The better question would be why was he allowing himself to so easily be taken back in? He should be throwing them in the swamp, running for his life, relieved to be gone – instead he really wanted nothing more than to be dragged back to the castle and resume his place as captive. He liked being a captive. Of these two, anyway.
The twins shared a look, and Alexius could feel Levent’s arms tighten.
“Our mother…” Eren stopped, frowned briefly, then continued. “She was kind, for a vampire. It was from her we learned simply to take what we need, nothing more, and to do it in a way that we do not kill the humans. Most vampires do not care, as you would know all too well. One night…fresh from hunting, she met a priest on the road who had twisted his ankle too badly to continue his journeying. She took him home, liking his smile, his charm, his humor. The days of his recovery stretched on into weeks, until finally the priest had no choice but to resume his life. He promised, however, that he would return to her when he had extracted himself from his life.”
Levent picked up the narrative. “A few years later, our mother began to grow concerned. So by night she split her time between caring for the two children that had come from her time with the priest, and searching for her mortal love. She found him – happily married and a highly respected priest and mage in a village nearly a month’s journey – for humans – from her home. Enraged, heartbroken, she attacked him…”
“She lost,” Eren said. “Somehow, he bested her – to this day we do not know how a mere priest was able to defeat a seven hundred year old vampire. She managed to get home, as badly injured as she was, and died telling us all that she could about him and what had passed.”
“We wanted to search for him, but we were barely six. By the time we were old enough and strong enough to start hunting, he’d vanished. All this time we’ve been searching…and he’s dead.”
Alexius couldn’t bear the sorrow on Eren’s face, which he knew must be echoed on Levent’s. He held his arms out, not certain what else to do, gasping is surprise when Eren immediately stepped into them.
The three of them stood together for several minutes, clinging together, oblivious to the swamp around them. Finally Alexius broke the silence, unable to restrain the one burning question he still had. “If he was human…shouldn’t he have died a long time ago?”
“Mother gave him a ring,” Levent said quietly. “It grants immortality to its wearer. She said she won it from a red-headed Lord of Darkness in a dice game.” He laughed briefly. “We never could get the truth out of her.” His breaths were warm, soft, as he sighed against Alexius’s throat. I’m sorry I hurt you, Lexi.”
Lexi. Alexius blinked. He’d…no one had ever called him by a nick name before. “It’s all right,” he finally managed when he remembered he was supposed to reply. “I…I can understand. I would have done the same.”
“Come back home?” Eren asked.
Alexius smiled. “Yes. Home would be nice. Even if it is the middle of this nasty swamp.”
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 03:07 am (UTC)And, the swamp. I so love the swamp. I am tempted to go back through and count exactly how many names that swamp has. *beam*
Mmm... twins...
*off to drabble the dice game, snicker*
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 03:49 am (UTC)stolenborrowed characters. ^_____^I love the swamp. ::grin:: And the way it's name changed with Alexius' moods slayed me. From the Swamp that Not Even Hell Wanted to the Swamp of Strange but Sexy Dreams? ♥ Brilliant.
Ah, lessee, favorite bits:
The vampires were far more…interesting, yes that was the adjective. Not beautiful. Not impressive. Interesting. Heh. yes, just keep telling yourself that. ^___^
Beneath the muck and grime that covered him, Alexius’s cheeks burned with shame and humiliation. - Just because it hurt so lovely every time he thought they were laughing at him.
Hunter or no, he was not fighting with his bare hands while he was naked. If he absolutely had no choice, then when he retold the story he was going to lie through his teeth. - Inspiring of a gigglefit. ::grin::
And I like how Alexius is all, Lucien is the greatest ever, he'd never slip in the swamp, when he so would, and probably . XDD
Alexius said before he could tell his mouth that it wasn’t supposed to be having conversations with vampires. - Yes, silly Alexius, you should always have conversations with your mouth before you have them with other people. ^___^
His cheeks burned with shame. Why must he continuously look stupid in front of these two? Some Lacroix he was. - Again with the so lovely angsting. ::pets him:: Poor dear, but they'll make it better. ::grin::
Alexius tried to gather his wits and stared. “I—Y—stop that! I’m a Hunter. You’re vampires. Dhampirs. Whatever! Twins! Argh!” - I don't really think this one needs explanation. ::Grin::
Provided Levent and Eren let him leave with some clothing, anyway. Otherwise he suspected he’d figure out what was worse than trekking through the Swamp of Infinite Torture. - That's right, always look on the bright side there. ::dies:: See, the trip there could've been sooo much worse.
Levent got wild, Eren got…intense. Together…even now Alexius was finding it hard to breathe. - la, between that and the lead-up scenes... *___* Definitely a 5-heart rating. Definitely. ♥♥♥♥♥
So ::cough:: in short, lovely. ^____^ I love the twist with the Great-uncle, and the twins' rage and Alexius' down-trodden (and swampy) self, and the entire thing really. ^___^
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 04:36 am (UTC)La, cannot be tonight, though. Work at 0900. >_< Shall have to set a reminder for my days off.
I have to say though, my favorite part in this was all the random names he managed to come up with for the swamp. Clever and funny and I giggled myself silly--so that D was giving me o_O looks.
And thankees. I needed a laugh. ^_^
bah, don't wanna work tomorrow...
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 08:09 am (UTC)Then suddenly he was surrounded. Alexius thought maybe he might have squeaked, though he certainly hoped not, and then his world was nothing BUT hands that were being far too familiar with his person and mouths that attacked his like he was supper.
Oh yeah, love that sentence. Love the paragraphs. Going to go back to reading now!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-02 10:03 pm (UTC)Good lord, that is hot. *blinks* Yes, that is all.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 02:56 pm (UTC)I loved the plot, and weaving together bits from the other stories. Tygs makes good sandboxes, yes?
Now I want to see Alexius bring them to visit the others! And maybe find himself and immortality ring? Greedy, I know, but I hope one of you continues their story... *is hopeful*
*uses puppy eyes for good measure*
*________________________________________________*
Date: 2006-12-03 05:18 pm (UTC)2) *dies giggling* I love the swamp and Alexius's difficulties with it. Poor Man. Nature's out to get him, and he's out to out-stubborn it.
3) Twins. Gorgeous. Threesome. Gyah! *melted happy puddle of incoherency*
4) Poor Lexi. You always manage to pull that right heart string just as I want to shake someone. When he left the castle thinking that he'd just been an amusement for the twins? ;______________;
5) So CUTE! I love that even though he knew their father, they could care less in the end, because it's him that they love and they aren't willing to let that get in the way.
6) You rock muchly. *tackle hearts*
no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-03 10:44 pm (UTC)As for the fate of the ring, she told me that great-uncle was buried with it. What happens to it next... nobody knows... ^.~
no subject
Date: 2006-12-10 12:24 pm (UTC)*huuuuuuuugs*
no subject
Date: 2007-02-12 04:05 pm (UTC)Very funny story! I loved the Swamp of Misery, Swamp of Weirdness, Swamp of Foolish Hunters repetition. Made me giggle. But it also had a delightful, delicate touch of angst. Pretty.
I did notice two typos: ' “So you didn’t kill the boy and girl last nigh?” Alexius ask, finally feeling himself slide into Hunter mode as the memory of the dead, bloodless children surfaced in his mind. ' 'Nigh' should presumably be 'night', and I think 'ask' needs to be 'asked'
Also, what are they doing with a picture of Azragael? Is he the redheaded lord of darkness she won the ring off? I assume I'll find out by reading the rest of Tygati's stories, anyway.
Thanks for writing!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-17 11:45 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for writing that!
Off to see if the threesome ever get to visit Ciaran and make Karai blush.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-01 12:45 am (UTC)awesome
Date: 2008-07-03 07:10 pm (UTC)