D-77

Chapter 12

Danny and Vlad were walking around Stockholm holding hands. They might seem like a couple of tourists traveling lightly. The streets of the city were almost empty at night. The passengers of the ferry they'd arrived on dispersed quite quickly because they had very little time to contemplate the beautiful city. The couple kept bumping into various supernatural creatures, some of them paying their respects to the Inquisitor, but most of them simply pretended they had no idea who she was.

Danny really wanted to walk around Gamla Stan - the old city. She repeatedly stumbled upon photographs of this place on the Internet and she madly wanted to visit a place saturated with the spirit of the Middle Ages. She even managed to find this place on the app on her phone, but Vlad pulled her in the opposite direction from the old city.

"Where are we going?" she asked irritably, putting her phone in her pocket.

"We follow the signs," the vampire replied mysteriously.

"What signs?"

Smiling slyly, Dracula let go of her hand and stood behind her. He put his hand on her stomach and pressed her back to his chest, his other hand held her chin. "Look ahead, love." With a fluid movement of his hand, he turned her face so that her gaze changed direction and rested on a strange figure in the distance. " Do you see it?"

Danny nodded. It took her a little time, but she managed to make out a huge white raven, sitting proudly on a lamppost and busy cleaning its feathers. As if sensing her close attention, the bird suddenly raised its head and began to turn it around. People calmly passed by a beautiful creature, not even looking in his direction.

"Why is no one paying attention to it?" she was sincerely surprised. She followed the company of people who passed a meter from the pole with a raven and completely ignored his presence with her gaze.

"Because they can't see him." Vlad took her hand again and led her towards the lamppost on which the raven sat.

As they got closer to the bird, Danny felt delighted. She felt like a child who was about to see something unusual. The feeling was like impatience in anticipation of a tour when one still doesn’t know if they will like what they see, but they already want to jump up to the ceiling with joy. She remembered that feeling all too well. Her two favorite days of the school year were the days they were taken on field trips as a class. And even when it turned out that a crowd of thirty hyperactive children would spend the day in the company of an unbearably boring tour guide aunt, looking at long-dusted stuffed animals or faded parchments, Danny enjoyed the trip. Unlike her classmates, who dragged their feet along the old parquet floor and whined about how they could solve problems in geometry better, she cheerfully walked between the exhibits, eagerly peering into every detail, every feature of historical value, so that later she would tell her father and aunt.

As they approached the lamppost, she tilted her head up to get a closer look at the bird, but the raven was nowhere to be seen. This surprised her because, throughout the whole journey, she did not take her eyes off the amazing creature. Only when she was under the lantern itself, did she close her eyes, because the bright light from the bulb blinded her for a second. She did not hear the flapping of wings and did not see the silhouette gradually receding from her, which could only mean one thing. The magical bird vanished into thin air.

"Where did it go?" she yanked her hand out of Vlad's and stepped back a couple of steps to look at the pole from a short distance. To her surprise, the silhouette of a huge raven began to emerge from the top of the lantern. Danny took a couple more steps back, and the silhouette became clearer, the bird began to look like a ghost. When she looked through his translucent body, she had the impression that she was looking through the lens of her father's glasses - the silhouettes were blurry, and the colors were a little smeared.

The vampire sat down on a wooden bench and watched her with interest. Danny walked from side to side, now approaching the lantern, then moving away from it. Even though they didn't have much time left, Vlad allowed them to spend a few precious minutes contemplating the magical raven created by Stellan. He didn't tell her that just a few hundred meters away, the exact same raven was sitting, cleaning its feathers in the same way, and just waiting for the vampire to pay attention to it.

After waiting for her to admire the wondrous wonder, Vlad led her to the next sign. They wandered from raven to raven for a long time until they found themselves in a dark alley between two old stone houses. Stellan's last raven was in no hurry to dissolve into the air, unlike its predecessors. The proud bird spread its snow-white wings and waved them menacingly as Danny and Vlad approached it. After a little trampling on the spot, the raven soared up and began to circle over their heads. Sanders felt the vampire's cold hand rest on her lower back and forcefully press her body against his. When she looked up at his face, he pointed upward with his eyes. Feathers began to fall from the wings of the bird, turning into bright sparks on the fly, which began to dance in the air, surrounding Vlad and Danny. It was like a moment from a Disney cartoon when some kind sorceress began to conjure, shaking sparkling fairy dust from her magic wand onto the future princess. The glow grew brighter, and when her eyes began to water because of it, she hid her face on the vampire's chest.

Opening her eyes, Danny found herself standing on an antediluvian wooden pier. She began to look around and, to her surprise, saw that the city landscape had been replaced by mountains. They stood on the bank of the river, surrounded by forest and rocks. "Another teleportation trick?" Sanders peered into the vampire's smiling face.

"Not a trick, but a complex, multi-step spell," he elaborated. “Never underestimate Stain’s efforts. He is touchy and very vindictive. He will remind you how you insulted his magic until the end of his days.” He sat on the edge of the pier and dangled his legs over the water.

She sat down beside him and looked down at the water surface. “So…we came here to wait for your friend?”

Vlad shook his head. "My dear Danny, if it were so easy to meet him, I'm afraid he would have been killed by my brother's assistants long ago."

“Why are we here then?” she peered into the night landscape, trying to capture all the beauty that appeared before her eyes. She made a note to herself that she would require Vlad to travel to these beautiful places if they were to survive.

As if catching the train of her thoughts, the vampire took her by the hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “We're waiting for the guide, love. He will take us to the mermaid’s grotto."

Danny shrugged, the cold wind was licking the skin on the small of her back unpleasantly and crawling under her clothes, causing her skin to be covered with goosebumps. “A little clarification,” she turned to face the vampire, “what kind of mermaids are you talking about? If they look like princess Ariel from the cartoon, then all is cool, all is great, point your finger where to go, and I move out! But if you are talking about drowned women from Slavic mythology, you are on your own.”

The vampire smiled broadly and shook his head.

When the wind blew again, Danny crawled closer to Vlad and clung to his side. It didn’t protect her from the cold, because he himself was like an icicle. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed his cheek against her hair. It seemed to her that they were completely alone. Not a soul for hundreds of kilometers from the creaky pier and the quiet murmur of the river. The night sky was illuminated by the stars and Her Majesty the Moon, they were reflected in the waters of the river with dancing sparks on its surface. Sanders took a deep breath and stared into the distance.

She was calm. For the first time in days, she was truly calm. And not because she knew that no one was chasing them, she still doubted that the sorcerer had returned to his master. Vlad's presence inspired this calmness in her. She'd only felt so relaxed before with Eric, but never with a stranger. Neither her ex nor the few of her suitors, no one had given her such complete peace before.

And certainly, no one was able to light the fire inside her with a mere touch the way Vlad was. Under the touch of his icy fingers, her insides began to burn. She was a little sorry that after the vampire gave her pleasure, she literally did not find the strength to return the favor. Danny clearly remembered how Vlad pressed her to the bed with his body and how his hard c**k pressed into her ass. The mere memory of it made her feel hot. Feeling herself blush, she buried her face in the crook of the vampire's neck.

He felt that she shared his desire to become one. Gods, no writer on earth could describe how he wished he could lock himself up with Danny somewhere at the end of the world and make love to her until all of their strength ran out. Covering every cell of her skin with kisses, holding her beautiful body in his hands, catching her moans with his lips, and taking her, taking her endlessly, strongly, sensually...

Alas, their wish was not destined to come true. Not yet.

They were distracted from obscene thoughts by the fog rising over the river, the silhouette of an approaching boat darkened in the haze of it. Easily swaying on small waves, she swam to the pier.

Vlad was the first to get to his feet and gave Danny a hand, helping her up.

As the boat docked at the pier, Sanders recoiled from it, seeing what the fog had previously hidden. It was not really a boat, it was a longship, and it was in a terrible state. All its boards were rotten and covered with algae, its outer part was honestly reclaimed by mussels, sticking to the boards almost to the very rusty shields. Instead of a dragon's head, a huge snake sat on the nose of the ship. Seeing the passengers standing on the pier, he stuck his forked tongue out of his mouth and licked the air next to Danny. And he clearly didn't like what he sensed. The serpent hissed and opened his mouth, but Vlad stood in front of him and did not allow her to be harmed.

"Jörmungandr", the vampire confidently looked into the huge yellow snake's eyes. " Don't you dare."

The snake hissed angrily and made another attempt to rush at the girl, but Vlad turned out to be more agile and hit him on the nose with his fist. Jörmungandr shook his head funny from side to side and blinked a couple of times. When he managed to focus his eyes on the couple again, he hissed.

"That is not what we agreed on, bloodsucker." A low whisper touched Danny's ears through the snake's hiss.

"We agreed on two passengers," the vampire replied calmly, intertwining his fingers with Danny's.

"You brought an Inquisitor!" the serpent struck the water with his tail and brought his huge head closer to her.

"I'm not an Inquisitor," she said, barely able to keep her voice from trembling.

"You stink, girl," he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “You are the blood of his blood, even if you are not an Inquisitor yet, you have no choice. You will become one of them and you will do things worse than those that your forefather did."

Danny looked at Vlad questioningly.

"The first Inquisitor killed his brother Fenrir under a very dubious pretext," the vampire explained, tightening his grip on the girl's hand. "Since then, Inquisitors have not been favored here."

She nodded and shifted her gaze to the snake. “I feel sorry for your brother, but I will not apologize for what my ancestor did. Also, I won't apologize for having the First Inquisitor's blood in me. Being his descendant was not my choice.”

The snake was silent.

"As I told you, I'm not an Inquisitor and I don't know if I ever will be."

“And I already told you that you have no choice! What do they teach you in school, you stupid people?” Jörmungand tilted his head slightly to the side. “Remember, little one, there is no way to reject the Gift. And if you have the Gift, you are an Inquisitor."

"I'll find a way to reject it if I feel the need to do so," Danny replied stubbornly.

The serpent closed his eyes as if smiling and turned to Vlad, “I like her. Stubborn and strong. She will be of use.” He returned to his original position, wrapping his scaly body around the longship's nose. “Get in! Mermaid’s Grotto is not close! And you need to be there in time before dawn..."

Vlad easily picked up Danny in his arms and jumped onto the ship. After examining the bare deck of rotten boards, she stood up, leaning her back against the stump of the mast. The vampire took off his jacket, spread it on the floor, and sat down on it. He invitingly patted the seat next to him, motioning for Sanders to sit down. With a sly smile, she stood in front of him and spread his legs apart with her foot. Having freed enough space, she plopped down in front of Vlad and lowered her back on his chest. A moment later, strong arms wrapped around her body.

Despite the chill, Danny dozed off in the arms of the vampire. While she was peacefully snoring in his arms, the longship cut through the water surface, rapidly approaching the coveted grotto. Jörmungandr turned around several times to discover the tenderness in the vampire's gaze directed at the girl. The serpent was dismayed that an old acquaintance of his would suddenly develop feelings for someone after so many centuries of absolute loneliness. He hated the Inquisitors with all his being and knew that Vlad also did not have tender feelings for them, because once they betrayed his trust and refused to help when he tried to resolve the conflict with his brother peacefully. But, seeing that Dracula found the strength to forgive the Inquisition, and even burned with love for the descendant of the First Inquisitor, Jormungand decided to give the girl a chance.

Vlad woke Danny up when the Drakkar swam to the appointed place. She peered at the mountain landscape and the coastline but did not see a hint of a grotto. Saying goodbye to the snake, the vampire picked her up in his arms and jumped down onto a thin strip of sand. When Danny turned around to look at Jörmungand for the last time (and she had no doubt that they would never see each other again), he nodded to her, as if saying goodbye. Danny was numb. She watched the longship disappearing on the horizon.

“Why did the First Inquisitor kill his brother?” her eyes were still looking for the image of a Drakkar on the surface of the water.

“Fenrir attacked the troll village. Destroyed them.” The vampire shrugged. "That's why he was executed."

Danny did not comment on this. She tried again to find the grotto, but there was not even a hint of it. Sanders twirled in place, walked a little along the coast, but found nothing but rocks and sand. She returned to Vlad. The vampire had already taken off his boots and rolled up his pants to his knees. Obviously, he was about to enter the water.

"What are you doing?" she stood with her arms folded across her chest and her head tilted to one side. When the wind blew from the direction of the river, she shivered and moved a step away from the water.

The vampire smiled slyly. "Have you ever dreamed of meeting a real mermaid, my dear Danny?" He stepped into the water and looked over his shoulder as if telling her that he was now waiting for her.

Sanders pulled off her shoes and socks, rolled up her pants carelessly, and walked over to Vlad. He held out his hand to her and together they went a little deeper. Danny's feet cramped from the cold, but she continued to stubbornly move forward, squeezing Vlad's hand tighter in hers with every step. When the water reached her mid-thigh, a woman's face appeared on the surface directly in front of her. Danny recoiled in fear, and if Vlad had not managed to hold her by the waist, she would have fallen into the river. Laughing loudly, a girl emerged from the water. Drops of water rolled down her milky-white skin, long coal-black hair fell right down to the very bottom, covered with silver scales. The mermaid stared at Danny with her golden eyes, her plump red lips curved into a grin. Sanders felt like an ugly duckling again, compared to a mermaid, she could hardly pass for a roach. The girl was outrageously beautiful.

The mermaid looked at Vlad and bowed to him. “My Lord.” Her voice was soft and enveloping her ears like liquid honey. Swimming a little closer, she wrapped her arms around the vampire's neck and pressed her bare breasts against him.

He shook his head and tried to push the beauty away from him. She pouted offendedly, but obeyed and swam closer to Danny. Sanders tried her best not to kill her on the spot. The mermaid was clearly amused by her reaction.

"My lord brought the Inquisitor," she chuckled slyly, "And as soon as Jöri let her into the longship?"

"Stop fooling around," the vampire said sternly.

"As the Lord commands," she bowed again.

Vlad came out of the water to take their things.

Danny wanted to go with him, but the mermaid held her hand. "The Lord's companion is very beautiful," she said, smiling. "I could make a mermaid out of her." She swam close to Sanders and took her face in her hands. “She would make a very beautiful mermaid, they would bring her the best treasures...”

Suddenly, the mermaid's wrist was squeezed by the vampire's hand. Danny shifted her gaze to Vlad, who appeared next to her and was a little scared of how intimidating he looked. His eyes burned red, a wrinkle lay between his furrowed brows, his lips curved into a grin. The mermaid squeaked in fright and lowered her gaze.

Dracula turned to Danny. “Never listen to what she tells you. This cheat would convince anyone to go with her, and then drown and sell the body to sea reptiles for treasure.”

The mermaid snorted and snatched her hand from his grasp. "I wouldn't do that to her! She's beautiful! I would love her!”

"Alas, you're only allowed one kiss," Vlad's arm wrapped around Sanders' waist and pressed her against his body, showing off their close relationship. "Only one," he repeated, "the rest of them are mine."

And, as if confirming his words, he touched his cold lips to her warm, slightly weathered. Danny turned away, blushing to the very tips of her ears.

"Let's go," the vampire whispered hoarsely, pressing his lips to her ear.

"Wh-where?" she asked without looking up from the water.

The mermaid giggled again and grabbed Danny's hands. She pulled the girl deeper and, for some reason, she followed her. As if charmed, she plunged deeper into the water, unable to resist the playful pressure of the mermaid. Before they dived into the water, the mermaid ordered her to hold her breath, but Sanders barely had time to obey before the mermaid dragged her underwater. They didn't swim much before Danny's body reminded her that the water in the river was actually cold. She felt her limbs convulse and her lungs burn from lack of oxygen, and she tried to pull her arm out of the mermaid's grip to float to the surface. But instead of letting her go, the mermaid pulled her hard on herself and dug into her lips. She kissed Danny hard and passionately, pushing her long tongue deep into her mouth and holding her head with both hands. At first, Sanders tried to break free but gradually calmed down, feeling her chest fill with air. Taking advantage of the girl's relaxation, the mermaid directed her palm to her chest, trying to penetrate her playful hand under the girl's clothes. Danny shook her head and tried to swim away from the mermaid. She pouted her lips again, offended, but let the girl go.

Vlad swam up to them and, taking Danny by the hand, began to help her move forward. Sanders had never dived in open water before, so she looked around with interest. As if in a cartoon, fish swam past them. Now and then, the faces of creatures unknown to her were shown from the algae. Some of them greeted Vlad, and some hid with a bored look. When Danny felt her lungs begin to demand oxygen again, she tugged at the vampire's hand and tried to explain her condition to him with gestures. Shaking his head, Vlad pointed to a gap that was a couple of hundred meters away. Sanders nodded and they swam a little faster.

As they emerged from the water, Danny looked around and realized that they were in some kind of cave. Before they could reach the rocky shore, the mermaid grabbed her head in her hands and quickly kissed her on the lips. Waving goodbye with her silvery tail, the mermaid disappeared under the water. Ignoring Vlad, frozen in surprise, Danny wearily hobbled to the shore and lay down on the rocks. She needed a moment to rest.