D-77

Chapter 16

Note. Please forgive me for postponing the publication of the chapter. I have had to deal with some family difficulties in the last few weeks. In this regard, I did not have the moral strength to write or translate the finished material. Sorry again. I hope you enjoy what I have written.

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Vlad didn't sleep a wink all day, primarily because he was so damn mad at Stellan. And he was worried about Danny. He knew his friend was an ass, but he was pretty sure that Stain wouldn't allow himself to humiliate her like that. A fire blazed in the vampire's chest. It had been a long time since he had last been so angry with his friend. He was also angry with himself for not making the wizard follow Danny right away and apologized for saying all of that crap. His heart ached from the thought that his beloved woman was left all alone, offended by his only friend.

He felt that the sun was shining brightly outside and cursed all the gods he knew for it. He felt guilty for not being with Danny and hiding in the damn basement. He felt like he should have gone after her and persuaded her to go with him instead of letting her be alone.

When he finally knew the sun was almost down, Vlad literally jumped out of his hiding place.

The feast was laid in the common hall again. Dwarfs were running back and forth with trays full of food, laying ornate tables. Stellan sat at one of the tables. He was dressed in solemn clothes, his thick hair was braided and a wreath was hoisted on his fair head. The sorcerer looked ridiculous and Vlad barely managed to contain his chuckle as he reminded himself that he was still mad at Stellan. He looked around but Danny was nowhere to be seen.

Stain saw that the vampire had come out of the basement and hurried to him to discuss the situation, but didn’t dare to start the conversation when he saw Vlad's displeased face.

"Where is she?" The vampire's eyes flashed dangerously red.

Stain didn't want to answer. He knew that he might get punched in the face. And the vampire would be right for doing so. Pursing his lips, he nodded towards the door.

“You didn’t even let her enter the house?!” Vlad roared.

The dwarfs froze in their places, frightened into silence.

Stellan raised his hands in conciliation. "Hey, I offered her food, but she refused!"

“Wow, how generous of you…”

The door opened with a soft creak and a girl entered, the same girl who had offered Danny food that morning. “The Inquisitor is not awake yet, Drottinn! I didn't bring the food back this time! I think she will be hungry when she wakes up."

Vlad shook his head and walked outside. Stellan did not dare to follow.

Danny snored sweetly, huddled in a ball on a narrow bench. The patchwork quilt had almost completely slid to the ground, leaving the girl's body vulnerable to the oncoming chill of the night.

The vampire knelt beside her and gently shook her shoulder. Danny muttered something and continued to sleep, hiding her nose under her raincoat. She looked dead tired. Her skin was almost as pale as Vlad's. Dark circles formed under her eyes, and a wrinkle lay between her eyebrows. Her body was shivering slightly from the cold, so the vampire hurried to cover her with a blanket. Oddly enough, that was what woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Hey," Danny said hoarsely, smiling tiredly at him.

"Hi," he sat down next to her, wrapping her more tightly in the blanket. "I'm sorry I left you here alone."

"Don't worry about it, I wasn’t alone," she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Jesus stayed with me until I fell asleep."

"I didn't know he'd do something like that." Vlad's hands wrapped tightly around her waist. “If I had guessed it, I would never have brought you to this place.”

"Hey, this isn't your fault. But I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible. I'm scared of being around a whole nation that hates me so much."

“We can leave right now. There is a safe place nearby, we could spend a couple of days there.” The vampire patted her back, looking off into the distance. "Once Stain has performed all the necessary ceremonies, he will join us and we will continue on our way."

“It’s a pity we can’t send him to deal with your brother along with Jesus.”

“What does Ah-Puch have to do with it?”

She lifted her head and looked at the vampire in surprise. "Don’t you know?"

"Don't I know what?"

“Jesus is imprisoned because of Radu. He couldn't reap his soul, so he was caught as a Balance Breaker. That's the reason he helped us revive Stellan."

Vlad was shocked. During the time that they had known each other, the Reaper never once said a word about the fact that he was condemned because of his brother. And Vlad was curious why. Now the thought of it was firmly planted in his head, and he hoped that he would have the opportunity to find out why his neighbor had hidden such important information from him.

After sitting a little longer, the vampire got up from the bench and headed toward the house. "Wait for me a bit, I'll warn Stellan of our departure," he said without turning around.

As if hearing him, the wizard went out onto the porch. The men froze, each in his place. One stood at the very beginning of the stairs, the second at the top. Stain looked down at his friend and waited for what he would say. He had already prepared himself for a possible fight, but he was hoping for Vlad's indulgence and the opportunity to discuss everything without bloodshed. When the vampire responded to his questioning look with complete indifference, Stellan tensed.

"We're leaving," Vlad told him and turned around to leave the house.

"What?" the troubled wizard rushed after him. "Where are you going?! You can't leave to fight Radu alone!"

"I know it! And I'm not going to go to Romania without you! But I won't stay in your house either!"

Danny carefully folded the blanket and left it on the bench next to the bowl of food, which she was afraid to touch because she suspected that they might try to poison her. She tried very hard to ignore the conversation between Vlad and Stellan, but the men were very loud, as they were slowly approaching her.

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Stain waved his hand in her direction. The amulet on his wrist swayed and sent a blast of hot air towards her, causing Danny to stagger slightly.

The vampire immediately shook him by the shoulders, growling angrily in his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I didn't mean to hurt her!" Stellan threw off Vlad's hands and approached the girl to make sure that the accidentally released spell didn’t harm her. But as soon as he was at arm's length, she jumped away from him in fright, almost tripping over the bench. The man's shoulders slumped slightly. “Listen, woman. I didn't come out here to fight you..."

“She has a name, for f**k’s sake! Would it kill you to try and memorize it?!” Vlad rushed to Danny and looked at her worriedly.

Stellan took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "You may remain within the settlement, Inquisitor." he noticed how she twitched when he called her that, but chose to ignore her reaction and did not correct himself. “There are several empty houses here. If you choose to stay in one of them, I will arrange for it to be brought into proper condition...”

"I'd rather get out of here as quickly as possible," Danny answered honestly, looking up at the sorcerer. "I have no desire to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence."

"I'm sure if you don't abuse the hospitality of my people and leave the house too often, your presence will not disturb anyone," Stellan replied through clenched teeth.

Vlad growled menacingly.

"Wow. If you call that hospitality, I'm afraid to imagine how you accommodate your enemies." Sanders nodded at the blanket folded on the bench. “Be so kind as to convey my thanks to the person who gave me the blanket. If they think it's an insult, you don't have to say anything."

Danny sighed and walked away from Stellan's wooden house. The dwarfs working around squeamishly looked back at the Inquisitor but did not dare to attack her.

Stain certainly felt guilty, but pride and long-standing resentment did not allow him to apologize to the girl. He lowered his gaze to the ground and knocked over the loose soil with the toe of his boot. He was oppressed by the silence that hung with the girl’s departure, but he didn’t dare to break it, fearing angering Vlad again.

The vampire clenched and unclenched his fists angrily, barely holding back the urge to break a couple of bones in his friend’s body. He needed to calm down urgently because otherwise, their further journey would be in jeopardy. Taking a couple of noisy breaths, he looked up at Stellan. “I will take Danny to the Cliffside cabin and stay there with her. Come there when you've had your fill of celebrating your awakening with your people." He followed Danny but was stopped by the sorcerer's grip on his shoulder.

"You don't have to go with her, Vlad," Stain whispered softly.

A new wave of rage swept over the vampire. He nearly spun around to hit Stellan.

As if sensing his indignation, Danny looked over her shoulder and smiled at Vlad. It was so sad and weak that the vampire's heart sank. There she was, his strong and fearless Danny, but broken by a couple of careless words that fell out of the sorcerer’s mouth. Her eyes were still slightly red and her face puffy from crying. Vlad felt the need to console her and take care of her.

"If you want to do something for me, open the portal so that we don't have to wander through the forest until the morning." Pushing Stellan away from him, the vampire approached Sanders and put his arm around her shoulder.

The sorcerer swore, cursing his long tongue, but complied with his friend's request.

He knew with his heart that the girl was not to blame for anything and she did not deserve to be hated. Not by him, not by his people. But the stench of the Inquisition and the Gift seething in her annoyed him so much that he could not control his tantrums and simply broke down on her. He knew that he would have to apologize to the girl, but he didn't want to do it in public.

Nodding goodbye to Stain, the vampire took Danny's hand and they disappeared through the portal.

Sanders was taken aback when a view of the densely forested tops of the rocky mountains opened up in front of her. A cool wind hit her in the face, pouring an unpleasant cold over her wet cheeks. The night sky hanging over the mountains was full of stars, making the landscape look like a picture on a puzzle box. Danny exhaled and her lips curved into a small smile. She had never seen such beauty. It seemed to her that each new place where Vlad took her was more beautiful than the previous one.

Hearing the crackling of wood behind her, she twitched in fright and turned around. Vlad stood on the porch of a small wooden hut with a board in his hands. She tried to strain her eyesight and took a closer look at their temporary dwelling.

Judging by the size, the building included one small room, most likely combined with a kitchen. Sanders didn't count on having a bathroom, so she started walking around the hut, looking for a dry toilet and saw a small outbuilding at the back of the hut. A metal chimney went up from the roof of the extension. Next to the annex, on a fenced piece of land, was a small garden. The beds were already empty, but tiny footprints were visible on the plowed land. Danny carefully climbed over the fence and followed the tracks. A descent into the cellar was discovered on the other side of the house. Deciding that it might be dangerous to continue wandering alone in foreign lands at night, she hurried back to Vlad.

By the time she returned, the vampire had successfully torn off all the boards that had been boarded up on the door. When it opened with a soft creak, he entered the house first. Stepping carefully on the wooden floor, Danny went inside. As she'd guessed, there was a large, skin-lined bed opposite the front door. To the right of the door was a small kitchenette with a gas stove and a sink. There was a wooden table and two chairs in the corner, and a large fireplace against the wall to the left. The room was clean but cold.

Vlad hurried to k****e a fire in the fireplace, after which he disappeared behind the door next to the bed. He returned a few minutes later with a bundle of firewood in one hand and a basket full of groceries in the other. Without a word, the vampire threw the wood on the floor by the fireplace and carried the food to the kitchenette.

While he was sorting out the basket, Danny threw her backpack on the bed and, sneaking up to the man, hugged him from the back. Vlad froze with a can of stew in his hand.

"I'm sorry you had to leave with me," she whispered, pressing her cheek between his shoulder blades.

"Don't be silly, love," the vampire put the can on the counter and turned around to face her. "It's not your fault, Danny. Stain acted like an ass and he's the only one who needs to apologize." His cold lips pressed against her forehead for a second.

"I didn't want you two to fight because of me."

"I know love. You don't have to worry about it. We have to spend a couple of days here, so I'll have time to cool down. ” Releasing Danny from his embrace, he pointed at the food with his finger. “I thought you might be hungry. There are more canned goods in the cellar, so if you want something else…”

"There's more than enough food here, thank you." She looked around at the jars and fresh vegetables the man had brought, and a list of dishes she could cook from them already popped up in her mind.

"Good. All the kitchen utensils are in the cupboards.” He took a step away from her. "I'll heat a bath for you."

As the vampire disappeared through the door again, Sanders emptied the contents of her backpack onto the bed and grabbed her phone. To her surprise, it worked despite her long swim and long absence of recharging. Though, the charge level was extremely low. Finding the power bank in the dark, she connected her phone to it and left it on the dining table, devoting herself entirely to cooking.

After some time, something hissed on the stove, something boiled, and Danny paced around the room with a bitten pickled cucumber in her hand. She considered whether or not she should call Eric. On the one hand, she really wanted to contact her father and tell him how their plan had changed, and how she was shocked by everything she learned. But on the other hand, she understood what a shock this could be for him, so she decided to postpone the call.

When her phone vibrated on the table, she jumped in fright and almost dropped the cucumber from her hand. The caller ID was not determined, which alarmed Danny a little. After a moment's hesitation, she pressed "accept call" and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

The silence was her answer.

*****************

"Hello?"

Emilian breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Danny's soft voice.

Upon learning that many bloodthirsty creatures followed him from Wallachia and went on the trail of Vlad and his companion, the sorcerer was seriously frightened. Oliver found out that someone even managed to collude with the local non-humans, promising to bring the inexperienced Inquisitor to them. He was afraid that someone had already harmed the girl, so he was truly relieved to hear her voice.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Who are you talking to, love?" The vampire's voice came from the speaker.

“Unknown number… Vlad, what are you?… Wait!”

Only some noise could be heard after. The sorcerer closed his eyes and pressed his phone to the lower part of his face.

"So?" Oliver stood in the doorway with a cigarette in his mouth, watching the change of emotion on his friend's face.

"She's alive," Emilian replied without opening his eyes.

Shadow nodded and went into the other room.

Emilia was lying on the bed. She had been suffering from a fever for several days. Her whole body was covered with perspiration, and clothes and hair were unpleasantly sticking to her skin. Most of the time she slept, sometimes she was delirious. Oliver worried about his beloved woman, but he knew that he couldn’t do anything to alleviate her suffering. Emilia didn’t belong to this world, so the significant use of magic weakened her. However, over time, she increasingly fell into a similar state and it was difficult for her to get out of it.

Seeing that the woman was awake, he sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "Morning."

"Hi," she whispered hoarsely. “You look worried. Do I look so bad?"

"You know you're the most beautiful to me, baby."

Emilia smiled weakly and closed her eyes for a second. “How is our troubled kid doing?”

“He worries about the daughter of the Inquisitor. He can't cast spells without you, so he had to use the good old cellphone to contact her. Good thing I got her number while we were at the clinic." Oliver took her hand up to his face and kissed her knuckles. “You are cold. Should I get you another blanket?"

"No need. Lay down next to me."

Kicking off his shoes, Shadow climbed onto the bed and hugged her trembling body to his.

"You didn't tell him anything, did you?" she asked, wrapping her arms around the man's waist.

“About you dying? No, although I should have…”

"You promised me."

Oliver sighed. “I know, that’s why I keep my mouth shut. But I swear, if you lie down again, I will no longer cover up for that delicious ass of yours and tell him how it really is,” he kissed her loudly on the top of her head. "He deserves to find out from you."

"I promise I'll tell Emilian everything before our next run-in with Vlad."

"You said the same thing last time..."

"Do you want to fight over this?" Emilia leaned back against the pillows and looked into the man's eyes.

“Maybe later. There’s something else I wanted to do…”

Leaning down to her face, he covered her lips with a kiss, penetrating his hands under her damp clothes...