Vampire Hunter D Fan Fiction ❯ God of Death ❯ Chapter 7: The Catacombs ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 7 : The Catacombs

The sun was just beginning to rise as Melissa awoke, sitting upright in bed. She listened carefully, wondering if the dhampir Hunter was awake. It was silent within the small shack. She climbed out of bed and examined her wounds in the mirror. Thanks to D’s excellent care, the gashes were now ridges on her flesh. Another series of scars, another reminder of the harsh reality of the life she led. She slipped into her leather bodysuit and laced the leather bodice over it. Looping a belt around her waist, she slipped three knives into it. Silver was a rare item on the Frontier so she’d sacrificed all her jewellery so she could plate her weapons. A core of steel inside blessed silver. It might not kill vampires straight away, but it hurt them severely. Her sword was neither silver nor steel, but it was very effective for slaying the leeches that roamed the Frontier. She threw her cloak over her shoulders and fastened it swiftly, thankful that she didn’t have to wear cumbersome skirts when she went hunting. After that was done, she turned to the mirror and inspected herself. She nodded with satisfaction and walked out of the room.

D was standing by the window, watching the sun first rays paint the snow-capped mountains a pale rose. He turned to her, taking in her attire.
‘Are you sure you should be up so soon?’ he said. Melissa walked to the fireplace and picked up her sword from its mounted shelf.
‘The vampires will stop at nothing to take Verna,’ she said, sheathing it. ‘And I don’t plan to sit around and wait for Titus to try and turn me. I’m taking the fight to them.’
‘Then you need my help.’
‘I can handle this alone.’
‘You don’t know where their lair is hidden in the catacombs,’ said D. ‘They have most likely sealed the entrance to the ruins since we were last there.’
‘There is another way in,’ she said. ‘I remember a passage leading through the Obsidian Caverns. I didn’t go much further than halfway, but it seems to lead straight to the catacombs. I can take that way and take them out.’
‘What about Lizbeth?’
‘Lizbeth was fortunate last time.’ Melissa glared at the pain that stabbed her. ‘She’s not going to get a second chance.’

D suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. She gasped at how strong his grip was and wondered if his vampiric nature had once again taken hold. But she did not see the bloodlight in his eyes nor the ghastly visage of the vampire in his countenance. In spite of his expressionless face, there was urgency in his grip. She looked at him.
‘I don’t doubt your abilities, Melissa,’ he said. ‘But you can’t hope to fight Titus and his coven alone.’ There was a strange light in his icy eyes. ‘I’m going with you.’
Melissa glared at him for a moment, but then her expression softened and she laughed. ‘Actually, I was hoping you’d follow me anyway. This town can’t afford to lose their Hunter and I don’t think you’d want the job opening.’
A slight smile curved D’s lips and it shocked her beyond belief. It was the first time he had ever smiled since he’d come to Verna and she felt a sense of elation and pride that she was the one to bring it out. She returned the smile and gestured for him to let her go. He released her and she turned to the window.
‘The Obsidian Caverns are far from here. A week or two’s walk judging by my last trip there.’ She lowered her head. ‘But that is time that we can’t afford to lose.’
‘How long if we ride?’
Melissa frowned for a second. ‘Two or three days.’
D turned on his heel and walked to the stables. The Huntress followed him and then went to the stall where her horse was kept. She opened the door and met a terrible sight.

Her horse lay on the ground, its blood painting the walls and the inside of the door. It had been ripped open from neck to tail and its entrails were strewn across the hay-covered earth. The horse’s mouth was wide open in a silent scream, frozen in the last moments of its torment.  Melissa felt an intense rage bubble up inside her and boil over as she took in the scene.
‘FUCK HER!’ She slammed her fist into the door, not caring that it bled from scraping the rough wood. D heard her cursing and walked over to her. He took in the carnage with the same calm demeanour and he knelt down to examine the carcass. He saw strands of red hair sticking to the horse’s skin and nodded to himself as he rose to his feet.
‘It was a female vampire,’ he said.
‘That blood-sucking bitch!’ Melissa snarled. ‘This has to be Titus’ doing. He’s trying to slow us down.’ She looked at D. ‘It appears we will have to walk after all.’
D didn’t respond but walked outside the stable. The young woman frowned as she followed him to the thicket behind the stable. He slipped inside and she peered into the thicket. She stared in astonishment. D’s horse was there, tied up to the tree. He untied the bridle straps and led his horse out into the clearing. Melissa shook her head in disbelief.
‘How did you-?’
‘Old habit,’ he replied. He mounted his horse and held out a hand to Melissa. She took it and D pulled her up behind him. She hesitated for a second, but then put her arms around his waist. D flicked the reins and the horse took off. Galloping didn’t seem to be the appropriate word for this horse. It was running so fast that it seemed to fly across the plains, its mane and tail streaming in the wind. Clearly there was some kind of magick at work, but whether it was the horse or the rider she couldn’t tell.
Nevertheless, they reached their destination by nightfall, which astonished the young Huntress to no end. D reined in his mount and smoothly dismounted. He turned to help her down, but she brushed his hand aside, dismounting on her own. She loosened her sword in its scabbard, prepared if anything should hinder their progress.  She picked up a length of wood and held her hand over the tip. A flash of light and the branch became a burning torch.
‘The passage is deep within the Caverns,’ she said. ‘Past the Crystal of Darkness.’
‘Crystal of Darkness?’
‘You’ll see.’ She turned to him. ‘I don’t know if the passage is still safe. The Purifiers might have come across it, which means it could be heavily guarded.’ She turned back to the gaping maw of the Caverns. ‘Let’s go.’
She strode into the caverns, melting into the darkness. D followed silently, his sword loose in its sheath. The caverns were black as pitch: their rough walls, polished like glass, flashed and glittered red in the light of the flickering flame she held aloft. It was bitterly cold and she drew her cloak tight around herself. She risked a glance at the dhampir, but D did not appear to be affected by temperature like she was. His paraffin beauty seemed to gleam in the dim light, all else blending into the darkness. She wondered what it must be like to roam the shadows with the lust for blood so near the surface. She shook herself roughly, pushing the thought aside.

‘Are you all right?’ D must have seen the gesture. How could he have not? Melissa turned to him and then shook her head.
‘It’s nothing.’ She held her torch higher and noticed it was already burnt down halfway. ‘The Crystal isn’t far from here. I can feel the energy from it.’ She pressed on and turned a corner. D followed and stopped beside her, gazing straight ahead.
Standing tall and alone was a dark crystal pillar. It seemed to be like the walls for it was black as pitch. Melissa doused the flame, casting them both into darkness. Suddenly the crystal was illuminated with a brilliant dark purple light that flooded the caverns. The crystal gleamed, a spectrum of the darkest rainbow glittering in each and every facet on its surface.
‘The Crystal of Darkness,’ said the beautiful Huntress. ‘When light shines on it, it looks like part of the Caverns. But in the darkness, this is its true appearance.’ She approached the crystal and lay her hand on it. ‘I found the metal from which my sword was forged in these caverns.’ She drew her sword and D saw that, unlike the other nights he seen it, it gleamed with the same dark light. She looked up at the crystal. ‘I don’t really believe in Fate and what may transpire because of her intervention, but I do believe it was her will that I was drawn to this place. It’s a safe haven to me. I come here more often than anywhere else. It’s the only place I felt I truly belonged.’ She was surprised at herself. She never told anyone of this place. All of her old friends had turned on her when they heard about her kill on the battlefield. All she had was herself. But for some reason, she felt comfortable telling the Vampire Hunter, which only meant one thing.
Her trust for D was absolute now.
At first when he told her that he was dhampir, it invoked mistrust in her because of what blood ran through his veins. But now she didn’t care that he was half-vampire. She knew he could be trusted. She felt it. She shook herself again and turned to the crystal once more.
‘The passage is there, directly behind the crystal.’ She gestured to the dark hole in the wall the crystal illuminated. D silently brushed past her and walked through the entrance, disappearing into the shadows. Melissa followed, her sword in hand. It was dark in the passage, but the crystal’s eternal dark light helped them navigate the roughly hewn tunnel without much difficulty. She noticed that there were no vampires here. She should have been relieved, but it only made her more anxious. D on the other was as calm as he’d been when he discovered her horse’s carcass. Aside from the fact his sword was loose in its sheath, there was nothing to indicate that the absence of resistance troubled him. They turned the corner and stepped out into a torchlit corridor. The Huntress had been right.
They were now in the catacombs.
D turned his head slightly. ‘Where did the passage take us?’
Melissa thought about that for a moment before shaking her head. ‘I don’t know. I have only been down here once and I only explored the passage to the halfway point.’ She shrugged gracefully. ‘I guess that means we’ll have to figure this one out for ourselves.’
Naturally the dhampir did not respond to this but pressed forward. She followed behind him, her sword drawn and held tightly in her grip.

The catacombs were desolately silent. And that didn’t sit well with the Huntress. She knew this place had been deserted for years but even so, this place was a perfect haven for vampires. So where were they? Her green eyes roved the shadows, the hairs on the back of her neck bristling. Something was definitely here, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint the location of the source. She glanced sidelong at D, but the dhampir showed no sign of disturbance. He was a creature of the darkness, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the shadowed tunnels posed little threat to the dhampir Hunter. Staring at his profile, she couldn’t help nut wonder what it was like for him. To live a life where he was hated and cursed by both humanity and Nobility…….it must have been one of the hardest lots to be dealt. Icily gleaming eyes shifted to her, meeting her gaze briefly. She felt her face grow warm and she tore herself away from her study of D. Have a little self-control over your emotions, she admonished herself privately. Don’t make it so damn obvious! She cleared her throat softly before brushing past the dhampir, taking point in their foray.
They came to a fork in the catacombs. Both ways seemed fraught with peril but unless they made a decision, they would never find the answers they sought out. What they would find however….
‘I will take the right,’ D said abruptly. Melissa was shaken out of her thoughts by his low voice and turned to him.
‘So I take the left,’ she replied with a nod. ‘If we find anything, we will use these to signal each other.’ She dipped her hand into her coat and pulled out two round objects. They seemed to be perforated on eight sides and there was a small gleaming switch in the centre. Flash grenades; a valuable asset to have when living life on the Frontier. The light that emitted from them when triggered was so intense that even one accustomed to staring into the sun would have to shield his eyes from the glow. The dhampir Hunter nodded, taking one of the grenades and stowing it in his cloak. She gripped her own tightly before stashing it within the pouch concealed in her coat. She nodded curtly to the dhampir and turned on her heel to begin her search when a strong, flawless hand grabbed her arm. She turned to stare at D who was looking at her steadily.
‘If you run into trouble, you make sure you use that,’ he said. ‘These catacombs could be the very lairs we’re searching for instead of the answer to where Titus is located.’
‘I’m aware of that, dhampir,’ she replied with an even tone. D merely nodded, well aware of what this girl was capable of.
‘Melissa, please be careful in there.’
Her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets at the grave tone in his voice. Was D concerned for her? It was hard to believe any kind of emotion could be displayed by the gorgeous youth. However in spite of her shock, she felt her heart grow warm and tears prick at her eyes. For someone to express such kindness and compassion towards her was a rarity she’d stopped hoping for all those years ago. Now it seemed that craving had been sated, giving her greater reason for not only herself to survive, but D as well. A soft smile curved her lips, the first she’d given in the time he’d been in Verna before slipping out of his grasp and melting into the shadows of the waiting darkness.
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