D-77

Chapter 4

Danny drove to work just like Eric said. Her boss was just about to leave when she burst into his office. The man was about to take his coat off the hanger when she came. She came up with a believable story about why she urgently needed a vacation. She even managed to shed a tear. Ilmars offered her to take the first two weeks of vacation with full compensation. After signing all the necessary papers, Sanders left the cafe. She felt bad about having to lie to her boss. But she knew she couldn't tell him the truth. To her shame, she did not even remember what she said to him in a fit of emotion.

She parked her father's jeep outside the clinic's emergency exit pretty close to the gates and waited patiently for the right time to come. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the CD she had taken from the safe. The old audio system refused to turn on after Danny's first attempt to revive it. While the electronics were trying to get used to the fact that they would have to work, Danny quickly shifted the clothes she had bought for herself in the supermarket from the bag into her backpack. Only after driving quite far from home, did she suddenly realize that she was going on her mission without any spare clothes. She tore off the tags, peeled off all the price tags, and, stuffing everything into her backpack, returned to trying to turn on the audio. This time she succeeded. She studied the disc box carefully but there was nothing on it except for the sign “D-77”. She inserted the CD into the system, lowered the volume, and prepared to listen.

Eric's voice came from the speakers.

E: So, Dragomir, according to the information I have, you went to the Inquisitor yourself and asked to be taken into custody. There were no known violations of the Law of Balance, and you yourself did not admit to anything. May I ask why you asked for a prison sentence?

Danny paused the recording, digesting the information she had heard. After a few minutes, she turned on the recording again.

D: I'm being followed. I have no one to trust. Only the Inquisition can provide me with a safe haven.

E: Who is following you?

D: Enemies of my master.

E: Master, you say? Do you know, Dragomir, that the names of every powerful master who has at least two creatures under their control and is capable of at least a little shaking the Balance, starting from the middle of the fifteenth century, are known to the Inquisition? There had been no open conflict among the masters for many centuries.

D: You're right, doc, the conflicts were hidden from the Inquisition so that you did not have the opportunity to influence the outcome of the battle. My master was unjustly cast down and persecuted for many centuries.

Danny stopped recording again. What the hell are they talking about? Was that a script for a f*****g fantasy movie? It took her a couple more minutes to decide to turn it on again.

E: Where is your master hiding now?

D: I can't tell you that. I’m one of the few creatures who know his whereabouts. That is why I'm being pursued by his enemies. They hope to extract information about him.

E: You don't have to give me his whereabouts. But can you name him?

D: My lord... I am one of the court sorcerers of the ruler of Wallachia, Vlad the Third Basarab.

There was a rustle of paper heard and the sound of a pen falling to the floor. Eric's leather chair creaked.

E: Impossible. Vlad disappeared over two hundred years ago. The Inquisition conducted a large-scale search for Dracula, but there was no trace of him. If the prince had been alive, he would certainly have been found.

D: My master had many allies. Unfortunately, most of them are no longer alive.

E: The Inquisition will provide sanctuary for your master if required. If he allows you to tell the Inquisition of his whereabouts, we guarantee an escort to safety where he cannot be found.

Eric spoke with a stutter. Dragomir chuckled in response to his words.

Sanders turned off the CD and stared off into the distance. Judging by her father's voice on the tape, he really believed in what Dragomir was telling him. Although it sounded like pure madness to her. Who the hell is Dracula? It couldn't be the Dracula, right? What was the Inquisition? If Dragomir's words were just crazy nonsense, then why did Eric react to them like that? Could this be true?

The rest of the time she sat in complete silence, not daring to turn on the disk again. After what she heard, Dragomir seemed even more dangerous to her. Although she couldn't quite figure out what it was about him that frightened her, a nasty lump gathered in her chest at the memory of what she had to do. Suddenly, a disturbing thought struck her. What if all of her father's patients were actually some kind of… sorcerers? Or vampires? Or who knows who?

Danny started up after hearing the alarm ring on her phone. She put the key card in her pocket and ran to the back door of the clinic. Having gone down to the basement, she found the right locker, took the sports bag that was in it (fortunately, it wasn’t heavy), and ran back to the first floor. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, echoing in her ears. She still couldn't believe what she was doing and what her father told her to do. She locked all the exits to the stairs in turn, before reaching the seventh floor. All of Eric's patients were waiting as if they knew that she would come. Or maybe they really did. Without saying a word, Danny grabbed the back of her father's chair and dragged it across to the elevator. She blocked all the ways up except one and was about to go to Dragomir. She grabbed the card key from her pocket when a sudden thought crossed her mind.

"What if…"

She approached the first chamber and attached the card to the electronic lock. The squeak that rang out in the silence seemed deafening to her. The sign changed.

"Anku. Banshee"

Her eyes widened in horror. She slowly shifted her gaze from the inscription to the woman standing in front of her. Anna's face suddenly became much paler, her skin literally turned blue, and it turned black around her eyes and lips. Her hair became long, disheveled. A thick fog covered the floor of her room. When Danny looked down she saw that the woman had no feet.

"Danny," Anna's whisper echoed throughout the floor.

Sanders shook her head and stepped back. Crashing her back into the bars of the opposite room, she shuddered and turned around. Jesus watched closely as she held the key to the electronic lock by his chamber.

"Ah-Puch. God of death"

The man's skin turned dark gray and was covered with cadaveric spots. The lower part of his face was hidden behind a mask in the form of the jaw of a human skull. He had a caiman’s skull on the top of his head, over his tousled brown hair. His blue eyes shone like crystals. He wore only a soft leather loincloth. An ancient scroll was tied to one of his thighs with a leather strap, and a small ax to the other.

Third chamber.

"Oistr. Satyr"

The satyr looked like... a satyr. He had goat’s legs, covered with thick curly brown hair and the body of a man with an exorbitantly large belly. His hair was red and curly. He also had two large twisted horns growing from his hair. His cheerful smile was the same as before. It shone from under his thick red beard.

Fourth chamber.

"Rangrid. Valkyrie"

Regina has not changed much. A whitish scar appeared on the face, starting from the right side of the forehead, crossing the eyebrow, the bridge of the nose, and the left cheek. Instead of the usual hospital clothes, she had shining armor and wielded a heavy two-handed sword in her hands. There was no trace of the fragile young woman’s image that Danny was used to. Regina really looked like a warrior maiden.

Fifth Chamber.

"Nathan. Mage Necromancer»

The severe appearance of the man was complemented by a black cloak. And shadows. He was surrounded by dozens of ghostly silhouettes. Sanders guessed that these were ghosts with whom he had somehow established a connection.

Sixth Chamber.

"Eirena. Ora"

The girl’s appearance did not change as much as one might have expected. Her hair was a little longer than it was before, and her hospital gown was replaced by a dress that looked like it was woven from silver and fell all the way to the floor. It favorably emphasized her swarthy skin. Many precious stones in silver weaves adorned her arms and neck. Ora tilted her head curiously. She was pleasantly surprised by Danny’s reaction.

Danny looked at the last room in horror. The first three of her dad’s patients rightly frightened her, the last three ones calmed her down a bit. And now she had no idea of what to expect from the inhabitant of the last chamber. She slowly approached the room, took the card key to the lock, and froze.

"Dragomir. 3rd level mage”

She peered at the inscription for some time before she found the strength to move her gaze to the man himself. Nothing has changed. Dragomir remained the same. She carefully examined him from top to bottom and back again, desperately trying to see something unusual in his image. She didn't even know what she was looking for. Magic staff? Tentacles? Crystal ball?

"Are you done staring at me?"

Danny shuddered and looked up at Dragomir's smiling face. Goosebumps ran down her spine. He nodded towards the console. She ran to open the door to his room. When the grate moved to the side with a quiet hum, she entered the room and handed him a bag. Her hands were trembling, although she herself did not notice it. With one hand, Dragomir grabbed the strap of the bag that she had brought, and he grabbed her wrist with his other hand. Danny threw her head up to look at him. She was suddenly surrounded by a cinnamon scent. Her nose tickled like she was about to sneeze and a strange warmth spread inside her chest. All of a sudden, all the muscles in her body relaxed and her arms limply hung along it.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Danny." his lips didn't move, but she could hear Dragomir's whisper inside her head. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

Sanders nodded. The fingers on her wrist unclenched immediately. She left the room and looked around the hallway, trying her best not to stare at creatures looking at her from behind the bars. She stood in front of Nathan's room and looked at the ghostly shadows surrounding him for a long time. Somehow, the necromancer was the one who had scared her the least of all. She glanced sideways at Dragomir's chamber, to see him shirtless in his jeans and one knee as he was tying his shoelaces. She saw that he had two tattoos on his back. Her gaze returned to Nathan.

“What does ‘3rd level mage’ mean?”

Before anyone could answer her question, a loud bang came from the other side of the hallway and everyone turned their heads towards the sound. A black cloud appeared out of nowhere and six people emerged from it. Danny stepped back and shielded Dragomir as if she could protect him if needed. Her brown eyes met the green eyes of one of the men emerging from the haze.  Somehow, it was obvious that he was the leader. She swallowed. The man was as handsome as a Greek god. Although, given the latest discoveries, Danny was no longer so sure of the correctness of this formulation.

"I'll have to ask Irene when I come back," she thought.

The man shook his head. His shoulder-length chestnut hair swayed beautifully. His appearance was mesmerizing. When a cold smile formed on his lips, Danny realized that he knew perfectly well what impression his appearance made. That cold smile broke the charm. A woman appeared beside the man. Sanders couldn’t see her from afar because the woman was standing in the shadow of her leader. She could only see her feminine silhouette and long fair hair. The other four people kept a little behind, closer to the black cloud.

“Inquisitor!” The man's voice was low, with slight hoarseness. “We're not looking for a fight! We only need the one we came for. Let us have him and we will leave in peace. I give you my word.”

Danny shook her head emphatically.

“Don't be stupid, Inquisitor! You’re outnumbered! I feel that you are not strong enough to fight against us!”

“I'm not even an Inquisitor!” she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m Dragomir’s girlfriend!”

She heard Dragomir chuckle softly behind her. It seemed like he liked that scenario. Danny was not sure if it was a believable one though. She thought that if she named her secret relationship with Dragomir as the reason for the escape, no one would think that Eric helped them. Moreover, as a father, he would be against their love if he knew about it. What kind of father would let his daughter date a psycho?

“Well, in that case, I advise you to step aside, girl,” the man took a step towards them.

Danny saw how his fingertips began to glow. Fear tightened up inside of her. Suddenly, Jesus' ax flew past the man's head and stuck into the wall next to Anna’s chamber. The sorcerer slowly turned to face the god of death and narrowed his eyes at him. The god raised his chin as if he was challenging the sorcerer. The man hissed and looked back at Danny. His entire retinue followed him as he started to move in her direction. And as soon as they all passed the first two chambers, Dragomir deftly jumped towards the console and pressed the big red button. The bars rumbled down, separating Danny and Dragomir from the people who had come after him. The leader quickly came closer and, grabbing the bars with one hand, tried to reach Danny with his other one. She immediately felt Dragomir's cold fingers gripping her elbow and pulling her to the side.

“Now, now, Emilian,” he stepped back, holding Danny close to him. “Where are your manners? Is it okay to behave like this towards a lady?”

The man growled in response.

“And where is your Shadow, old friend? Did Oliver finally have enough of you and run away?”

“If you think this pathetic piece of metal can stop me…”

“Who do you think I am, Emilian? I am not your master. I am not afraid of seeing your true potential. I know that these twigs can’t stop you” Dragomir smiled unkindly and stepped back to the console. “But they can.”

He pressed each of the buttons in turn and the doors of the chambers began to open. Eric's patients surrounded the intruders with the clear intention of attacking if necessary. Emilian growled again. Four of his men also took up fighting positions, but no one was in a hurry to start the fight.

Danny saw Irena raise her hands, and a bow of light appeared out of thin air in front of her. She took up her weapon and aimed. Before anyone could do anything, a golden arrow pierced into Emilian's back and vanished into his body. The man staggered but managed to keep his balance by grasping the bars with both hands. His head drooped limply, his forehead pressed against the metal bars. Sanders twitched in an attempt to approach him, but Dragomir held her back.

When Emilian looked up at her again, he felt his heartache. His mouth was instantly dry. Any thought of hurting her suddenly seemed monstrous to him. He felt his cheeks blush and his breath hitched at the sight of her. He knew that behind him were creatures capable of smearing his assistants with a snap of their fingers. But he couldn't take his eyes off Danny. Even when his own astral twin attempted to turn him around to face him to check on his condition, he remained motionless. His eyes were fixed on the girl.

“Hey, Ah-Puch!” Dragomir slung his bag over his shoulder. “Give one of them to Nathan!”

Danny saw the death god's eyes gleam with rapacity, and she understood what Dragomir meant.

“No!” she rushed to the grate, but the mage grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards the stairs. “No! Jesus! Don't you dare do it! No!”

She met Emilian's gaze, and he held out his hand in an attempt to catch hers.

When they were at the top of the stairs, Dragomir looked down and let go of the girl's hand. There were four flights of stairs between the floors, fifteen steps each, which formed a fairly wide well.

“Perfect”

He approached Danny and grabbed her by the hips to lift her into his arms, forcing her to wrap her legs around his torso.

“What?..”

“Hold on tight, love.”

Her eyes widened in horror as he stepped towards the railing.

“You are crazy?!”

Dragomir confidently grabbed the railing with one hand, holding the girl by her back with the other, and jumped over the fence. Sanders clutched at the man's shoulders, burying her face in the crook of his neck, and closed her eyes tightly. She was so scared that it seemed to her that time stood still and they were falling forever. She was only able to open her eyes when she felt a light tap on her back.

“You can let go of me, love.”

Danny slowly moved her face away from his neck and looked around. They were on the first floor. Swallowing hard, she looked into the face of the man holding her.

“H-how… How did you…?”

He just smiled and wiggled his eyebrows in a funny way. She couldn't bring herself to loosen her grip.

“Well, why are you still hanging on me like a spider monkey?”

He gently helped her to get on her feet and unhooked her hands from his shoulders. It took her another couple of seconds to come to her senses and remember what they were doing there. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she took Dragomir's hand and led him to the exit. She pulled the handle of the back door, but it was locked. Pulled again - to no avail.

“Crap!” She banged on the door several times with her fist.

“What's the matter?”

"When you pressed the red button, you blocked all the exits..."

They heard a loud bang from above. Danny looked around, trying to find something to open the door. The fire shield, which contained the ax, was located behind the locked door to the first floor, unfortunately. The second bang was louder. Dragomir wrapped his arm around her waist and she was pressed against his body again.

“Close your eyes, love.”

She obeyed and hid her face in his chest, closing her eyes tightly. She heard strange sounds. Some were like squeaks, others were like flapping wings, and then even groans of pain. She wasn’t sure if it was coming from above or if it was just in her mind.

“Don't open your eyes until I tell you.”

She felt a nasty, sticky cold rising up from her feet. It slowly crawled over her body, and when it got to the top of her head, she felt as if millions of ice needles had dug into her. She was not in pain, she just felt very cold, both inside and outside.

“Just a little longer, love.”

A cold wind that had the smell of autumn leaves suddenly blew in Danny’s face. She forced herself to open her eyes only when she felt small drops of rain on her skin. They stood outside their father's clinic, literally two steps away from the locked door that was separating them from their freedom a moment ago. Dragomir staggered, and Sanders barely managed to grab his arm before he fell back.

“Are you okay?”

He blinked a couple of times in confusion before he could focus his eyes on her. One might think that he was drunk.

“Looks like I'm getting old”, he put his hand to his forehead. “Such an easy trick cost me too much strength.”

“Can you walk? The car is near the gate. I can drive it closer if needed.”

Dragomir shook his head.

Danny threw his arm around her neck and led him towards the jeep.

A tall man stood with his back against the wall of the fence about a hundred meters from the clinic. He watched how the girl and the Object emerged from a black whirlwind at the clinic’s emergency exit, how she kept him from falling and helped him to the car that was parked at the gate. He could feel that she was no Inquisitor, so he was shocked to see her put him in the passenger seat with such care. The way she looked into his eyes and held his face in her hands... It was strange. He could say for sure that she lied to Emilian about their relationship. But she wasn't afraid of the Object, which was even weirder. He continued to watch, as he wasn’t able to do anything to stop them. As the car pulled away, he pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket. The flames illuminated his tattooed face and hands. Taking a deep drag on the bitter smoke, he raised his black eyes to the seventh floor of the clinic. Bright lights flashed in the tiny windows every once in a while. Looked like his friend needed help...

Finishing his cigarette, Oliver stubbed out the cigarette butt with his boot and slowly walked towards the clinic.