D-77

Chapter 15

Danny stood at the very edge of the rift, looking warily into its blackness. Stellan had jumped down a long time ago, and despite the fact that the sorcerer was a huge ass, she was starting to worry about him. What if someone was waiting for him down there? Would he be strong enough to deal with the danger?

"You can jump after him if you want", Vlad sat at the roots of a tree some distance from the hole. It didn't seem to bother him that his friend had been missing somewhere underground for about an hour now.

"Maybe next time," she sighed wearily.

She was exhausted. She had no idea what time it was, but she knew that more than a day had passed since their arrival in Stockholm. Her eyelids became heavy, and her head began to ache. Throwing the last glance into the darkness of the opening, she went up to Vlad and settled down next to him. She had planned to take a short nap while Stain wandered around in the bowels of the earth in search of the 'key', but decided to take painkillers first.

The vampire helped her find the first aid kit in her backpack, but, to her dismay, there was an empty package instead of the actual pills. Danny cursed and kicked her backpack in annoyance. Vlad's cold hand was immediately on her head, pulling her to his chest. She settled herself comfortably in his arms, allowing him to mold her body however he saw fit.

Under the touch of his cold fingers, her headache slowly faded. But her fatigue persisted, so she yawned widely and closed her eyes in the hope of getting some sleep. She felt her consciousness begin to slowly drift away when she heard a strange pop in the distance. She decided that it was not worth her attention and didn’t even open her eyes.

Seconds later, the air from her lungs was knocked out by Stellan's body landing on top of her. Danny twitched in fright and screamed, but there was nothing else she could do.

Even in her wildest fantasies, she could not have imagined such a thing. She is sandwiched between two strong, handsome men in the forest at night ... Only there was not even a hint of sexy in that. Vlad was cold and hard as a rock. He cursed softly, probably in Romanian, and tried to help Danny and himself out from under Stain, while Stellan (huge and hot as a stove) pressed them both to the ground with his heavy body. His head was pressed against her chest, so when he moved it, his nose accidentally darted into the valley between her breasts.

The blood boiled in Danny's veins. "Stellan, you bastard!" she hit him on the shoulder. "Get off us now!"

As Stain got up on all fours, she gave him a boost by kicking him in the shoulder. Despite his extremely offended appearance, the sorcerer did not become indignant.

"Sorry, lovebirds," grunting like an old man, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the starry sky, "I miscalculated the landing a bit."

Danny snorted, mimicking him, and lay back down on Vlad. They lay silently, enjoying their short break. Stain admired the night sky and counted the stars, running his finger over them like a child. Vlad watched the giant with tenderness. He restrainedly rejoiced at his awakening, absorbing the world around him with all his being. Although the dead dream flew by unnoticed by him, after each of his awakenings, he felt that the world had changed. He fell asleep and woke up in the same cave five times already. And each time he went out into the forest after. He saw old trees die and new ones grow in their place. He knew every leaf and every blade of grass, and at the same time, they were strangers to him. He seemed to be a stranger in his own home, in his native land. And he had no idea exactly how he felt about it.

"We need to go," Vlad said quietly, pulling his friend out of his meditative state and Danny out of her slumber. "Dawn is coming soon."

Stellan got up from the ground and approached the hole. While his companions got up and threw loving glances at each other, he stood on the edge, legs wide apart. He raised his hand over the blackening depth of the pit and began to whisper something. Danny did not see his magic, as there were no special effects, but the opening began to close. After a few seconds, only memories remained of the pit.

"How long do we have to walk to civilization?" Danny shook off her pants and walked over to Stellan.

The sorcerer frowned and pursed his lips. He had no desire to get close to the Inquisitor, whatever the relationship between her and his best friend was. The girl was mortal, which meant that her presence in Vlad's life was limited to a short period of time. Okay, the vampire would grieve for her for a couple of years, before getting back to his immortal life. And if he took his rightful place in the hierarchy of supernatural beings, he wouldn’t have to grieve for her at all. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of beauties will line up to be in his arms for just one night.

His train of thought was severely interrupted by sounds coming from aside. Despite Danny’s sluggish resistance, the vampire pressed her fluttering little body to his, wrapping his arms around her. He gently caressed her lips with his, stopping himself to whisper some nonsense about love. He acted as if he heard what Stain was thinking and tried to show his affection for the girl, to prove him wrong. Stellan got uncomfortable and he hastened to turn away.

Danny tried to stop Vlad's harassment several times. But his slow caresses drove her crazy, making her yearn for more. After another gentle touch of his lips and the touch of his cold fingertips against her skin under the layers of clothes, she gave in and captured his lips with a possessive kiss, pulling him unbearably close to her. She was rewarded with a muffled groan from the vampire's chest. But her kiss only lasted a few moments. Before Vlad could truly savor her taste, her hand clenched into a fist at the back of his head, pulling his hair back. He looked at her surprised.

"We're not alone," she said, licking her swollen lips.

He followed the movement of her tongue and reached for another kiss. She made the grip on the back of his head tighter.

"Cut it out! Otherwise, I will be forced to ask Stellan to conjure me a chastity belt and a knight's helmet with a visor!” she wriggled out of Vlad's arms.

"Yes, please! I beg you, ask me to conjure you a gag, a helmet, and some iron undergarments! Anything that will stop you two going all lovey-dovey right in front of me!” he folded his palms as if in prayer, and leaned towards Danny as she approached him. "Or, I swear on Odin’s name, I'll leave you two in this forest and I won’t even think about how badly the sun will burn my dearest friend's ass."

Danny rolled her eyes and flicked his nose. "Don't be so dramatic, giant. Tell us where we need to go.”

Stain stuck out his tongue at her and squared his shoulders. Rubbing his fingers on the amulet hanging on his wrist, he drew a symbol in the air and took a step back. Nothing happened at first, and Danny even wanted to joke about how someone apparently sealed too much power into the enchanted trinket when the air in front of them sparkled. The sparks got bigger and bigger until they popped like fireworks and turned into a passageway. She tried to see the place where they were to be transported in the resulting arch, but the portal shimmered with different colors.

Stellan stood sideways in the aisle and motioned Danny to the portal. "Ladies First."

Swallowing, she fearlessly stepped into it.

The sorcerer took them to a large wooden building. It reminded Danny of the towers from Russian fairy tales. They were made in a similar style, the whole house was decorated with wood carvings, and even the shutters on the windows were ennobled by someone's skillful hands. She took a fascinated step toward the majestic building, but Stain stopped her, roughly grabbing her by the elbow.

"Where do you think you’re going, Inquisitor?" he pulled her back and handed her over to Vlad. “Do you want my people to tear you to pieces? Your tribe is not welcome here!”

"You're pissing me off." she turned away indignantly.

"Listen, woman, I remember your heartbreaking speech in the cave," he squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed, "but that doesn't change the fact that you reek of the Inquisition. And your tribe has done a lot of damage on my land, and my people are very bloodthirsty towards the ones who did them wrong. So, if you don't want to be hacked to death, and your head planted on the spire of that tower, do as I say. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

They were greeted by bustle inside the house. There were loud screams and the smell of food. A fire burned in the center of the huge room, and a cauldron of bubbling gravy hung above it. Danny felt like she was about to choke on her own saliva. Two wooden stairs went up opposite the front door. Tables littered with food lined the walls. The walls and floors were decorated with animal skins and intricate Celtic weaves. Short people were running back and forth around the room, their height barely reaching Danny to the waist.

‘Dwarves,’ she thought, barely suppressing a smile.

They ran all over the hall. Someone set the table, someone rolled a barrel, quietly muttering something in his beard. The younger dwarfs diligently pestered their older relatives. Everyone was busy, so they did not pay attention to the giants who entered the room. Until one red-bearded dwarf dropped a barrel of mead. He swore and looked sadly at the puddle that had formed, and when he looked up from the spilled mead, he met Stellan's smiling face.

"Drottinn," whispered the dwarf. "Drottinn!" the red-beard jumped up on the spot, tearing off his knitted hat and throwing it right into the puddle of mead.

For a moment there was dead silence in the room. And then all the dwarfs rushed to Stellan, shouting "Drottinn!"

The sorcerer smiled at the dwarves and bowed in response to greetings and joyful exclamations. The dwarves vied with each other to express their happiness at the return of their master, completely ignoring the presence of Danny and Vlad. At first, she even took offense at such a cold reception, but she changed her mind as soon as one of the younger dwarves noticed her.

With a loud yell, the dwarf jumped away from her, pointing a plump finger in her direction, “Inquisitor! Drottinn has been captured by the Inquisitor!"

In the next moment, something unimaginable happened. Despite Stain's protests, the dwarves push him away from Danny and Vlad. They raised their knives and daggers, ready to defend their master if necessary. And then they started coming. Danny had to back away to keep her distance between her and the aggressive dwarves. They were scaring her.

When one of the dwarves decided to attack her and ran to her with a loud battle cry, Vlad grabbed the girl in his arms and jumped up high. The vampire rolled over with his feet up on the ceiling and hung upside down like a bat. Danny gripped him with her arms and legs in fear.

"Stain! Calm them down!” Vlad shouted, trying to outshout the crowd of disgruntled dwarves.

Stellan raised his hands to get the little ones' attention, but they kept squealing and jumping up and down in vain attempts to reach the Inquisitor.

"Silence!" the sorcerer struck the wooden column with his fist, drawing attention to himself. The room went silent. “This girl did not come here to hurt you! She's here to help my dear friend! You are not allowed to harm her in any way! Does everyone understand?"

"But, Drottinn, she is an Inquisitor!" someone shouted from the middle of the crowd.

Stellan looked up at Danny. She didn’t doubt him. She believed that he knew that she was serious back in the cave. And now he would try to explain that she had nothing to do with what the Inquisition and her distant ancestor were doing to his people. She trusted him. She was no enemy to them, and he was supposed to know that.

Stain looked at the dwarfs and sighed. “Yes, she is an Inquisitor. And she didn't come to you to apologize for what her grandfather did. I didn't expect you to welcome her into our home with open arms. I’m only asking you not to hurt her. She might go and tell on you for it and we will get in trouble with her rotten folk again."

Danny's eyes stung. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Or she didn't want to believe it. She never thought that Stellan disliked her so much that he didn’t even want his people to accept her in their home. She hoped that they could become friends someday, even if it would only be for Vlad's sake. But the sorcerer showed her that she had no chance of his good disposition from the very beginning.

“Vlad put me down,” she said quietly, holding back her tears.

The vampire fulfilled her request and wanted to console her, but before he could do anything, Danny hurried out of the house. A ray of the dawn sun flashed in the doorway, stopping Vlad in his impulse to rush after her.

He slowly turned his head towards Stellan. The sorcerer continued to receive greetings from the dwarves, who became sweet and friendly again. Baring his teeth, Vlad approached his friend with lightning speed and pressed him against the column, squeezing his clothes in his fists. Stain hit the back of his head painfully against the wood and hissed.

"How could you say those things about Danny?!" the vampire asked, shaking his friend.

The dwarves squealed something in fright, but they were too afraid to interfere.

The sorcerer's eyes flashed angrily. “Did you think that I would forget about everything that her kind have done to my people only because you slept with her?”

Vlad shook him again. “Stop blaming her for something she didn’t do! Has your hatred blinded you so much that you are able to punish an innocent girl for the sins of her ancestor?!”

"She's still one of them! Even if she is not an Inquisitor now, she is doomed to take on this role in the future!”

"You didn't even give her a chance." The vampire released his friend and stepped away from him. “What makes you better than them? They were sure that they were doing justice. They didn’t know any better and didn’t understand what their mistakes could lead to. But you did. And you let your people burn with hatred for a human whose only fault is that she was born with the Inquisitor's curse."

"Vlad..."

“You were the one who taught me forgiveness. You were the one who urged me to show mercy to my enemies when they committed atrocities on my land. You were the one who stopped me when I rushed to cut off those hands that killed my people, tortured children, and maimed them. So why were you unable to show mercy and forgiveness yourself?” he shook his head and walked away.

"Vlad!"

"I remember where the basement is, Stain!" shouted the vampire without turning around.

Danny sat on a bench not far from the house and ate salted peanuts that she had in her backpack, remembering the mouthwatering smell of gravy with longing. She had already regretted running away from the house because now she had to spend the day all alone. Vlad should have stayed inside so the sun wouldn't hurt him, and she was sure that Stellan and his dwarves wouldn't want to waste their time on her.

Tears flowed down her cheeks again when she thought of the things Stellan said about her. She was unbearably hurt by his words because he unfairly showed such hostility. She hoped that he would hide his thorns sooner or later and they could become friends. But it turned out she was wrong about him. Now she knew that he hated her and would hardly ever want to be on friendly terms with her. Now she hoped that he wouldn’t send someone to kill her in her dream...

She heard the creak of the door opening. A little girl came out of the house and began to look around as if she was trying to find someone. When she saw Danny, she almost ran in her direction. Sanders was taken aback when the child placed a bowl of food and a mug of mead next to her. She looked inquiringly at the girl that was standing nearby as if waiting for Danny to eat to pick up the dishes. Danny was touched by the care of this little girl. Smiling, she reached into her backpack to find a candy bar. She liked children and knew that the way to a child's heart was through candy. But when she handed the treat to the girl, she grimaced and jumped away from her. Danny was puzzled and tried to give her the chocolate again, but the child just looked at her in disgust and shook her head. Sanders tucked the candy bar into her backpack and pushed the bowl of food away from herself. Her appetite was completely gone.

The girl trampled around a little more, and then took the food and headed back to the house with a brisk step. But she froze when she heard a sob behind her. Turning around, she saw Danny pull her knees up to her chest and hide her face in her hands, sobbing. And for some reason it made her feel sad.

Returning to the hall, the girl went up to Stellan and put a bowl and a mug in front of him. The sorcerer frowned but said nothing. He gestured for the child to take the food away. She took the dishes in her hands and took a step back.

"Wait!"

"Drottinn?" she said softly, lowering her little eyes to the floor.

"Did she say anything to you?"

The girl shook her head. "She's crying, Drottinn," the child said sadly before walking away.

For the first time in a long time, Stellan felt ashamed.

Danny felt herself falling asleep. The air around her was beginning to warm up under the rays of the morning sun, but it was still quite cold. She took out a thin raincoat from her backpack and settled down on a bench, putting the backpack under her head as a pillow and hiding under the raincoat. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep, but something was bothering her. She shifted a little, trying to lie down comfortably, but the bench was hard and narrow, so her attempts did not bring the desired result. Sighing loudly, she opened her eyes and saw Ah-Puch sitting in front of her. The reaper squatted next to her and looked worriedly at her puffed face.

"Danielle..." he whispered, stroking her arm through her raincoat.

She looked at him with empty eyes and whispered hoarsely. "Why don't you hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?" the reaper was genuinely surprised by her question.

“My mom captured you. And my father kept you in prison…”

"It's not your fault, Danielle."

She nodded, but a tear rolled down her skin. Ah-Puch caught it and rubbed it between his fingers. He felt the same thing that she did at that moment and he knew what was the reason for that.

He took off his mask, and Danny was faced with a familiar handsome man's face. "I guess I should let you know how I really feel about you."

"I'm not sure that I want to know that..."

“I’m grateful, Danielle. You have been kind to me over the years. You made me stronger..."

"How could I make you stronger?"

Ah-Puch smiled. “People stopped believing in gods a long time ago, Danielle. They stopped praying to us, making offerings and sacrifices in our names. We have weakened. When I got into your father's prison, I was sure that I would be weak and not be able to get out even if I had the chance. But you came. A little girl, with candy in her tiny hand, fearlessly shoving a treat at me."

“This…was regarded as an offering, right? It's like I was praying to you."

The reaper nodded. “Not just me, we are all strengthened because of you, little, fearless Danny. Therefore, we can't let the sorcerer harm you."

"Are you watching over me now?"

"Just a little, Danny," the reaper tucked the makeshift blanket over her.

“Jesus, why did they put you in jail?”

"I couldn’t reap a soul," he replied, looking into her eyes again.

“Why?”

He shrugged.

“And what if you catch it? Will it remove your punishment?"

He nodded. “That's one of the reasons I came here and helped you awaken the sorcerer. Alas, I myself am not able to take the soul from the immortal being.”

Danny frowned, trying to figure out which immortal she was talking about. Her eyebrows slowly went up. "Oh my God! Are you here because of Radu? Is he your lost soul?"

"You've always been a clever child, Danny."

"But how? I mean, you're a Mayan god! The people who worshiped you lived on another continent! How did you end up here and why did you have to shake Radu's soul?"

"I'll tell you a little secret, Danny," he sat a little closer and whispered, "I'm not the god of death, child. Death is the true goddess. And I'm just her tool. And I do her errands. I can take the form of any other reaper, but this one is dearer to me than all.”

"I see. Thank you for the conversation, Jesus, I feel a little better. But I’m really tired and I would like to get some sleep.”

"I'm glad my visit was not in vain." The reaper straightened up and touched Danny's forehead with his fingertips. "Get some sleep, child."

After his words, she instantly fell asleep. The reaper looked towards the house, there stood a little girl on the porch with a patchwork quilt in her hands. Seeing Ah-Puch, she squealed loudly and ran back into the house, leaving the blanket behind. The reaper shook his head and picked up the blanket and covered the sleeping Danny with it.