Fan Fiction ❯ Past and Present ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

"You really should be more careful out there," Tanim admonished Raziel, as she carefully stitched closed a wound on his back. He chuckled softly and then stopped when she smacked on the head. "Don't move." He wished the numbing salve she had put on his wound had also been put on his head. For such a fragile looking female she could hit quite hard when occasion warranted it.

Around them healers worked diligently upon wounded fighters, while assistants scurried about with surgical equipment, bloodied bandages and water. Everyone moved about with frantic urgency as the latest injured arrived with the aid of fellow soldiers. He noticed several sheet covered bodies pushed unobtrusively against a wall, more valiant men and women who would never rise to fight again.

"Almost done."

He would kill every single vampire in Nosgoth. They had no place in the world. They were nothing but filthy parasitic fiends devoid of compassion or humanity. The sight of their vile faces twisted in agony filled him with righteous ecstasy. Never before had he felt more alive. Never before had he been so sure of his convictions. They would pay for every human lost in today's battle. He would take reparations from their moldering flesh.

"Sit up. I don't want you to do anything strenuous for a week or you'll rip out the stitches," Tanim said giving his shoulder a pat.

"Anything?" he asked huskily.

"If those stitches that I worked so hard on come out, I will make sure you won't be moving for at least a month." The prim look on her tired face set him laughing.

"I believe you." He caught her arm and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "On the roof tonight." She glanced around, a light blush staining her cheeks, and then ducked her head in acquiescence.

"I hope the stars are out." She caressed his face briefly before dashing off to assist another patient. He watched her for a moment, her graceful yet hurried movements and the way she blew wisps of hair from her face. Every moment he spent with her he could see a little more of his future. Tanim had sown a longing for a family within him. He hadn't told her that, but she was too observant not to know.

For a moment he wished that he could lay down his sword, but then duty reasserted its importance and he pushed the distracting thought aside. There would be time for such domestic fantasies once all the vampires were gone.

~ ~ ~

Sprinkled across the arching dome of heaven, stars coruscated lazily between silent drifts of clouds. Raziel emerged to find Tanim already waiting for him. She lay upon her back and gazed peacefully at the night's sky. A tender smile tugged his lips upwards as she reached up as if she wanted to grasp hold of a star.

"Reaching for the stars, healer Tanim?" She laughed and lowered her hand.

"Just thinking." She rolled over and smiled with welcome up at him. "I wish we could always watch the stars together."

"And why couldn't we?" he inquired as he sat next to her. She placed one pale hand on his knee and raised herself slightly to receive his kiss.

"I just wish the fighting was over. Then we really could watch the stars every night."

"Even when it rains?"

"Especially when it rains," she laughed.

"You are crazy, Tanim. Crazy and wonderful." Sighing happily, she rested her head in his lap. Absently he stroked her dark hair, letting it run like liquid darkness through his fingers. "This war might be over soon."

"What? Why…how?" He avoided her curious eyes and instead stared purposefully across the snow-covered moor below the fortress.

"Lord Moebius has found a way to enter the aerial lair of Janos Audron."

"I see."

"He says if we kill that parasite then the rest will fall shortly thereafter."

"I see."

"Tanim, then the war will be over. The parasites will perish without the life force of their progenitor, or so Moebius says."

"Please don't talk about the fighting, Raziel," she murmured softly. He glanced down and met her tired eyes. "I will be glad when it's all over, though." A soft smile curved her lips for a moment before fading.

"When the vermin are dead, we will take a walk on the moor and watch the stars."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

~ ~ ~

I left the spectral realm to find Tanim knelt before me. Kain and the Reaver were gone, but my mortal body and former love remained. She cradled him, me, and rocked back and forth, all the while sobbing silently. She barely acknowledged my return.

"No, Raziel, no," she sobbed as she rocked my corpse and lay kisses upon the rapidly cooling flesh.

I stood there and my voice died. What could I say to her? I had killed and damned her one true love and by doing that I brought our fate full circle. No, not quite full circle, if Kain was to be trusted. Something had changed, but not this sad moment. I could hate Kain all over again. Not that I had ever stopped hating him completely.

"You promised we'd watch the stars on the moor. You said everything would be over." Her anguished voice swung my attention back to her. She traced the features of my mortal self with a carmine hand. As her bloody fingers smeared my life's blood upon my face, his actually, she let loose a wrenching keen.

I stepped towards her and her pained eyes focused on me. I expected, almost hoped, to see hate reflected in those purple discs. Gods, she still loved me as him. She really couldn't differentiate between us.

"It didn't work did it?"

"What?" My voice came out in a startled squawk, as she suddenly addressed me.

"Killing Janos Audron didn't stem the vampiric tide, did it?" She laughed quietly, the beginnings of madness tingeing her dulcet voice. I shook my head. "Then all you did, all the fighting, was for nothing."

"Tanim." I crouched before her and tried to remove her grip on my other self's corpse. She refused to yield it to me and I could only take it by breaking her fingers. I couldn't do that. I couldn't inflict more pain on her.

"Go, Raziel. You are not mine here. I can't have you," she told me coldly, lovingly. I obeyed her, obeyed the unwavering love and anguish in her expressive eyes.

"I am sorry," I murmured, turning away.

"That's alright. I still have something to live for." I looked over my shoulder and saw her gently place my corpse upon the ground. While I watched, she protectively placed her blood-smeared hands upon her stomach.

My mind rolled upon this revelation and all I could do was flee, run away like the coward I was. As I raced through the fortress, I could hear her singing mad little lullabies to the unborn child in her womb, my child in her womb.

~ ~ ~

Thank you for reading this fic. I hoped it was enjoyable for you. I think it will be finished in another chapter or so. After that I do have some vague ideas for a sequel, but it probably won't happen because I'm lazy. Anyway, please review with any ideas or comments.