Fan Fiction ❯ The Vampire Hunter II: Bloodlines ❯ Chapter 20

Chapter XX

Gabrielle and Clark entered the eighth Gate and paused just outside the tunnel. The room was fairly large, and Clark did a quick count of the sarcophagi that filled the chamber. There were twelve, and she and Gabrielle would have to walk between the huge stone coffins to get to the sealed exit on the other side of the room.

"Is that the way out?" Clark asked as she pointed at the stone door.

"Yes, but it's not going to open for another fifty-eight minutes. The doors are on a timer. They open at five minutes before the end of the hour and then close at five minutes after," Gabrielle explained.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Clark asked.

Gabrielle suddenly caught a faint sense of vampires in the vicinity, as if the scent had been carried by the wind, but it was so weak that she figured the vamps had to be pretty far away. They were probably part of the next challenge, which meant they didn't pose an immediate threat. She shrugged her shoulders to ease the tension that had begun to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"I'm not sure," Gabrielle said slowly, as she looked around the room. "Each hour contains a challenge from one of the books concerning my father's mythological journey through the Underworld during the night. I know the texts, but Cynthia has been pulling trials from the different books at random, and she's taken a lot of liberties with her interpretations."

"And none of the books agree on what happened when?" Clark asked knowingly.

Gabrielle nodded.

"Exactly."

"Well, do you remember anything about twelve coffins somewhere?"

Gabrielle shook her head.

"Nothing's coming to mind," she replied.

The grinding of stone drew their attention back to the entrance, and they watched as the heavy slab removed their only exit. When they turned back around to take in the room again, they both saw that the sound from the tunnel had covered the sound of the lids on the sarcophagi sliding to the side.

In only a few moments, vampires dressed in tattered mummy wrappings sat up from their stone prisons and jerkily climbed over the sides to land on the floor. They quickly spotted the First Born and her human and immediately rushed to attack.

Clark drew her blade and slashed at the first few that came at her, while Gabrielle flung her attackers into the nearby walls or tore into their flesh with her teeth and claws. Whenever Clark got the chance, she drove stakes into their hearts to make them stay down, but the savageness of their attacks, as well as the obvious lack of intelligence, made Clark realize the vampires were insane from blood deprivation. There was no telling how long they'd been imprisoned in their tombs, and they were desperate for Clark's fresh blood, not to mention Gabrielle's.

"Look out!" Gabrielle called, as she noticed one of the vamps sneaking up on Clark from the side, but then she had to focus on her own attackers again.

Clark felt a searing pain along her upper right arm and glanced down to see a deep gash exposing muscle almost to the bone.

"Ah, shit!" Clark swore in pain, as her fingers lost their grip on her sword and it fell to the ground.

Clark twisted to get out of the way of several grabbing hands. A quick look around showed she'd let herself be maneuvered into a corner. She grabbed a stake from her back with her left hand and flung it at one of the vampires, but he managed to bat it away before it could land in its mark. She gingerly used her right hand to draw her long knife from her upper left arm and passed it over to her left hand, holding it ready, as the four remaining vampires closed in.

"Gabrielle?! I could really use some help here," Clark tried to request calmly.

"Just a moment," Gabrielle called back, as she looked at the three vampires she still had to contend with.

"Take your time," Clark said sarcastically and swiped out with her knife to try to keep the insane vampires at bay.

Gabrielle sent her fist through the heart of the nearest vampire, and he dropped to the floor in a heap of dirty rags. The other two took advantage of her momentary preoccupation and jumped onto her back and side. As the first held onto her arms, the second sunk his fangs into her neck. His sudden ecstasy was quickly replaced with a scream, as Gabrielle ripped him away from the blood source and threw him over her shoulder to the ground. Her foot stomped through his chest and crushed his heart in an instant, as her body automatically healed the puncture wounds at her neck to stop the loss of blood.

The last vampire finally seemed to come to his senses for a moment, and he turned around to run away, but there was nowhere to hide. Fortunately for him, Gabrielle had more important matters to attend to, and she let him go for the time being, as she hurried over to Clark.

Clark was in trouble. She'd lost her knife when she'd stabbed one of the vampires, and it had gotten stuck in his ribcage as he'd yanked himself away from her in pain. She was kicking and punching as hard as she could, but they'd finally managed to each get a limb, and they were all attempting to hold her still long enough so that they could get a clean shot at her flesh.

Just as Clark felt hot breath on her skin, a scream from behind pulled the vampires' attention away from Clark. A muffled crunch told Clark that Gabrielle had just thrown one of her attackers into the wall several meters away. With one of her legs free, Clark kicked out and landed a bone-shattering blow to the jaw of the vamp holding her other leg. Gabrielle wrapped an arm around his chest and squeezed, breaking through his ribs and crushing his lungs and heart in a matter of moments.

Now that both of her legs were unfettered, Clark used the leverage of her lower body and renewed her struggles against her two remaining captors. In only a moment, Gabrielle was there, and she pulled the two vamps away from Clark. She slammed them into each other so hard that their heads practically exploded from the force of impact of skull on skull.

Clark pulled two stakes from her back and pushed them into the hearts of the two vampires lying at her feet. She handed Gabrielle a few more, and Gabrielle staked the few vampires she hadn't already completely killed. Clark followed her, but as Gabrielle staked the last vamp, she stopped, her face wrinkling in confusion.

"What is it?" Clark asked, her voice a little strained from the pain flowing through her upper arm.

"There should be one more. I let him go so I could come help you," Gabrielle explained.

Clark started to reply, but Gabrielle held up a hand for her to remain quiet, as she listened for where the last vamp could be. A few seconds later, Gabrielle began walking forward and stopped in front of one of the sarcophagi. She looked over the four-foot tall side and found the vampire huddled in a corner of the coffin. He looked up, and Gabrielle could see the terror in his eyes. He knew he was about to die.

Gabrielle held out her hand.

"It won't hurt. I promise," Gabrielle said quietly.

She couldn't sentence the tortured vampire to a living death in this place the way Cynthia had, but she also couldn't trust him not to attempt to feed on her or Clark. She'd felt his kind of hunger only once in her life, and she'd killed indiscriminately because of it. She knew the only peace she could offer him was death.

His eyes slowly registered understanding, and he reached out to take her hand. Gabrielle helped him over the side, and he willingly turned his head to offer his neck to her.

Gabrielle glanced over at Clark for a moment and immediately felt sick at the look of jealousy she saw on the human's face. Her own eyes pleaded for understanding, and finally, Clark nodded her acceptance and turned away. As Gabrielle lowered her fangs to the vampire's neck, she heard him whisper "thank you," and then she was feeding on him.

The blood returned her to almost full strength, and as she lowered him back into his coffin, she ripped out his heart to make sure he stayed dead. She wiped off her hands and walked over to Clark.

"Here, let me see," Gabrielle said quietly and took Clark's injured arm into her hands.

Clark stood still while Gabrielle healed her arm, sealing the pieces of muscle back together and closing the skin over the mended wound. When Gabrielle was done, Clark worked her arm in a circle several times, but she felt no more pain.

"Thanks," Clark said gruffly and headed for the exit, which wouldn't be opening for another half hour; their battle with the vampires had ended fairly quickly.

"Clark?" Gabrielle questioned.

"What?" Clark threw back over her shoulder, as though nothing was wrong.

Gabrielle sighed. She knew Clark was hurt. They'd had this conversation several times, but they'd never come to any kind of resolution.

"I'm sorry," Gabrielle offered hesitantly.

Clark's shoulders slumped in defeat, and she slowly turned around.

"I know. I'm sorry, too. I know I'm being stupid. You have to feed to live. I just... I want you so much, Gabrielle. Sometimes, I think I'm insane. I'm the Vampire Hunter, but I can't stop thinking about having you drink from me. I want to feel that... that connection... with you. I want to share that with you," Clark finished and shrugged her shoulders, as she studied the floor.

"So do I," Gabrielle replied seriously. She gathered her courage and continued. "If Cynthia hadn't..."

"I know," Clark cut her off and groaned in disappointment. "I could've killed her for interrupting us like that," Clark said, remembering how close they'd come in the alley. "Of course, now I wish we'd just gone back to my hotel room," Clark smirked, finally coming out of her bad humor.

"I meant..." Gabrielle studied Clark and took a few steps forward.

Slaves tended to give off a slightly different sense than untouched humans. She'd been sure that Cynthia was telling the truth when she'd insinuated that she'd fed on Clark. And when she'd seen the marks on Clark's neck, she'd just assumed the worst. But Gabrielle couldn't sense any connection to a vampire from Clark.

"What?" Clark asked at Gabrielle's strange behavior.

A vampire had to be physically touching a human during the feeding process for the telepathic/telekinetic link to be established between the vampire and her intended slave. If Cynthia had simply licked the blood from her fingers after beating Clark, she wouldn't have been lying about drinking Clark's blood, but Clark would have remained free from Cynthia's control.

"That bitch!" Gabrielle cursed.

Clark's eyes went wide. She couldn't remember ever hearing Gabrielle swear like that before.

"I can't believe I fell for that," Gabrielle muttered to herself.

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked in confusion.

Gabrielle shook her head.

"I thought... I thought she fed on you," Gabrielle admitted.

It took a moment, but then Clark reached up to her neck to feel for any puncture wounds. Gabrielle shook her head again.

"No, I healed them already."

Clark dropped her hand.

"Okay. So, when were you going to tell me about this?" Clark asked angrily.

"I thought you knew. Slaves always know. And the only antidote would have been for me to feed on you to override her pull. But I didn't want that to be the reason we..." Gabrielle trailed off.

Clark lost some of her anger.

"You're sure she didn't...?" Clark pointed at her neck.

"Yes. There's nothing around your energy to link you to another vampire. It's just you," Gabrielle reassured her.

Clark let out a breath.

"Good. I already have enough reasons to stake her. I don't need another one."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement.

"I think I need to sit down," Gabrielle declared and found a wall to settle next to.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked worriedly, as she sat beside Gabrielle.

Gabrielle nodded again.

"Yes. I just thought..."

Gabrielle didn't know what she'd thought, but the loss she'd felt when she'd believed that Cynthia had violated Clark in such a personal way had been so intense. The intimacy shared between a slave and her vampire master was legendary, even among those who thought it was evil and disgusting. Which was one of the reasons that most Hunters feared it so much that they requested to be shot and staked if they were ever fed on.

It was also one of the reasons why Gabrielle was so wary of feeding on Clark, even though she wanted to more than she could say. But she wanted Clark's unadulterated love, not blind devotion. Gabrielle wondered if Cynthia's plan had been to force Gabrielle into feeding on Clark in order to drive a wedge of doubt between them.

"It's okay," Clark's voice broke through Gabrielle's thoughts, and she turned to look into the clear blue eyes of her human companion. "I'm still... I'm still yours, and I always will be," Clark promised quietly.

Gabrielle smiled.

"You do realize I'm immortal. Forever really is forever with me," Gabrielle pointed out.

"It better be. I don't turn my life upside down for just anyone," Clark said seriously.

As they stared into each other's eyes, Gabrielle slowly leaned in, and Clark didn't hesitate to remove her half of the distance between them. Their lips barely brushed against one another, and Clark brought her hand up to cup the side of Gabrielle's face, while her other hand found Gabrielle's waist. Clark's blood was pumping hard through her veins, and she needed to anchor herself somehow or else be washed away by the flood.

Gabrielle felt the warm calloused hands of the Hunter against her skin and sank into the sensation. Images of Clark putting those hands to more carnal uses caused Gabrielle to moan, and she gently extended her tongue to taste Clark's mouth, as her passion increased.

Clark parted her lips to invite Gabrielle in and began sucking on the wet muscle as soon as she could wrap her mouth around it. With just a few tender nudges, Clark maneuvered Gabrielle down the wall and onto the floor. They naturally fell into a position with Clark's thigh between Gabrielle's legs, and Clark pulled at Gabrielle's lower back and butt to bring her even closer.

"God, I want you, Gabrielle," Clark groaned in between kisses.

It was a statement of fact, rather than a request for fulfillment. There was no way they were going to do anything more than what they were currently doing in such a horrible place. But the respite they found in each other was sorely needed, and for a few minutes at least, they managed to forget where they were and took solace in their love for each other.

Eventually though, they came up for air and checked the clock to discover they only had a few minutes before the door was supposed to open. They traded knowing smirks, as they quickly got to their feet and rearranged their clothing to a semblance of order.

Clark wrapped Gabrielle in her arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Gabrielle," she whispered.

"I love you, too," Gabrielle whispered back.

Gabrielle felt like she wanted to cry. Clark sensed it, and she squeezed Gabrielle a little tighter before pulling back to look at her face.

"I'm okay," Clark promised once again.

Gabrielle nodded. There was something she wanted to ask, but she wasn't quite sure how to put it. She didn't know what Clark's reaction would be to such a proposition.

"What is it?" Clark asked, seeing the hesitancy on Gabrielle's face.

Gabrielle took a moment and then looked up into Clark's eyes.

"If something happens to you... If I can't heal you..." Gabrielle shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want... I shouldn't even ask," Gabrielle said quickly and started to pull away.

Clark held on, and Gabrielle let herself be restrained by the much weaker human.

"Just ask me," Clark encouraged gently.

Gabrielle took another breath and gathered her courage.

"If the choice is between letting you die and Gifting you, what do you want me to do?" Gabrielle finally got the words out.

It was a few moments before the question finally sunk in, but then Clark's mind was spinning. Her gut reaction was to tell Gabrielle to let her die. But when she considered being in the same position herself, she didn't know if she could do the same for Gabrielle, even if Gabrielle ended up despising her for going against her wishes.

"I don't know," Clark finally replied on an exhale. "I don't want to be a vampire, but..." Clark trailed off, completely at a loss for words.

Gabrielle nodded.

"I just... I don't want you to hate me," Gabrielle tried to explain her reason for asking. "It was so hard before, but I didn't know what your love felt like then. Now I do, and I don't think I could live like that again. I've never been in love before. I've loved my friends, and I've been... involved... with others, but this... I've been alive for thousands of years, but I feel like I didn't start living until the night I kissed you for the first time." Gabrielle reached up and held Clark's face in both her hands. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Dana. Absolutely nothing."

Clark felt tears forming in her eyes, but the moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of grinding stone as the door began to rise. Clark wiped at her eyes and sniffed a little.

"This conversation isn't over," Clark declared. "We'll talk more after we figure out what we have to do next. Okay?" Clark requested.

Gabrielle nodded. This really wasn't the place to try to have a long, drawn out conversation.

With that settled, Clark jogged away to retrieve her fallen sword and knife. She also took back her stakes and then grabbed a torch and lit each of the bodies on fire to keep them from coming back to life.

Sometimes, if the damage from the stake wasn't severe enough, and that stake was then removed, the heart could eventually repair itself over a few hundred years, effectively bringing the vampire back to life. It was a little problem the VHA had learned about through centuries of hunting vampires, which was why fire was the preferred method to permanently destroy them, even though most Hunters relied on their stakes exclusively.

Clark checked her work and then came back to stand in front of the passage with Gabrielle. With the stone fully raised, they walked into the tunnel.