A Renegade’s Jeremiad

Chapter 10: The Siege

April 29th. 5:20 PM

Moon: First Quarter

Sirus and Nick huddled close, keeping an eye on each other's backs and the remaining hunters, including Jim, formed barrier lines next to the two men as Clarissa led the charge. Duncan continued to tear through the main bulk of all the packs, the wolves' bites only creating skin-deep wounds in his hands as he lobbed them like dolls. Clarissa then paused and pointed to a cave at the most southern point in the region. "There!" Clarissa exclaimed, "That cave is where the bloodsucker took Henry." Clarissa then turned her back and began to walk away. "Hey! Where are you going?" Nick asked, "Doesn't Henry need you?" Clarissa faced Nick, her eyes tearing up. "He does," Clarissa whimpered, "But I'm out of place here. I will die if I stay much longer…" Clarissa sniffled, struggling to steady herself as her body shook. "I'm sorry, but I can't go any further," Clarissa cried out, her tone trembling, "Please! Save him. Save Henry! I know you won't do it for me, not after how I acted. So do it for him! Do it for the one you call a friend." Nick didn't say anything more, but he gave Clarissa a nod, which was enough encouragement for her to run out of Ebony Fang territory and back to her pack without harming any of the hunters. After this process, Sirus shouted, "Mr. Willis! I need your eyes. Find me that cave the wolf pointed to." Nick began to walk in the direction Clarissa pointed out, taking over her role of leading the group to the location while they continued to hold off the werewolves.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was inspecting Henry. The time had long passed for the implanted vampirism to take over Henry and drain his humanity. Yet, he was still human, fully breathing and feeling like any living being. 'What sorcery is this?' Vanessa mused, 'It should've only been a few hours, how has my darling not been turned yet?!' The rumbles in the cave began to quicken, scaring Henry which motivated him to press into Vanessa's embrace. 'I suppose I'll have to fight off those intruders myself! Still, I find myself… nervous? No, this feeling runs deeper,' Vanessa thought before looking down at Henry. Vanessa concluded, 'At least I know what is causing me to feel like this.' Vanessa kissed Henry's forehead to comfort him before having him cling to her back as she began to work in the cave.

Outside the cave, Nick managed to lead the group to the entrance. "It has to be here," Nick stated, "This is the only cave at this spot." Sirus nodded his head before turning around to give new orders to his subordinates. "All units!" Sirus barked, "Fall in line! Defensive formation! Nothing gets in or out of this place!" The surrounding hunters formed a curved line of infantry at the outside of the cave. Red hunters were at the front, ready to clobber when needed, orange hunters got their weapons ready and were eager to strike. The green hunters, Jim included, lingered at the sides while the three blue hunters, aimed at the potential targets that could assault the front line. The one yellow hunter clinically monitored the health of the infantry line, ready to heal the others at a moment's notice. There were no purple hunters. When Duncan arrived, Sirus stared at him head on. "Hey, I need you to keep doing your thing. Be our first line of defense while Mr. Willis and I explore in that cave," Sirus ordered. Duncan scoffed, "Only orders I take are from Marcus, old man. So, for his sake, I'll play along… for now." Sirus blinks slowly, unimpressed with Duncan's brutish comment. After a moment, Sirus commented, "Of course. Now, if you don't mind, we're heading in." Sirus marched into the cave with Nick following behind. "Does the second in command irritate you, Master?" Nick asked. Sirus sighed, an undertone of exhaustion hinted under the action, before answering, "You wouldn't believe how accurate that is…"

Nick and Sirus navigated the cave carefully, with Sirus stopping and guiding Nick through multiple points. "This cave is unsound…" Sirus commented. "Do you believe it is a trap?" Nick asked. "It is akin to a last resort. Don't fall behind, Mr. Willis," Sirus answered. Throughout the descent, Nick and Sirus remained on alert, watching each other's backs and the terrain to see if they could spot Henry and get him out quickly. But then, Nick heard a scuttling sound and immediately acted. "Jump!" Nick exclaimed. Sirus and Nick then jumped over a panting Vanessa, who hissed at them, fangs bared. "Leave. Now," Vanessa threatened, "Or I'll tear you both apart!" Sirus scowled, glaring at Vanessa with a steely gaze. "You must be the vampire that's pursuing Henry," Sirus stated accusingly. Vanessa sneered before stating, "Indeed. Henry belongs to me. And none of you filthy hunters will lay a hand on him!" Nick's face paled as he finally recognized Vanessa's glare, seeing the twisted nature of her gaze. "You disgusting parasite! Where's Henry?!" Nick shouted furiously. Vanessa laughed mockingly, intentionally getting in Nick's face with red, glowing irises. Vanessa stated tauntingly, "Oh Nick… You and that pathetic bag of fur will never see Henry again!" Sirus, in a fit of retaliation, activated his blue hunter energy, his old sclera turning blue and his pupils forming the crosshairs of a crossbow as he focuses on Vanessa silently. Vanessa merely glanced at Sirus with a smirk before laughing haughtily. "I wouldn't attack recklessly if I were you. This cave will fall to rubble if either of you inferiors make a wrong move~" Vanessa asserted arrogantly, "Now, I suggest you two leave before I rip out your-" Vanessa was suddenly interrupted by some shuffling occurring in the background, causing a frail, pale-skinned Henry to emerge, his irises now a deep shade of crimson as he pulled himself along the floor of the cave. Vanessa froze, recognizing she was too loud and accidentally lured Henry over. "Nick? Master Sirus… Is that you?" Henry rasped.

Vanessa's lips pressed into a thin line before turning to call out, "Everything is fine, darling. Stay out-" Sirus cut off Vanessa by shooting a scattershot of blue hunter energy into Vanessa's back, critically injuring her. Henry's eyes widened when he saw Vanessa hit the ground, shaking like a leaf. In that moment, Henry had a flash of insight; he cut his palm and held it out to Vanessa, his irises glowing a faint red. "Vampiric ability…" Henry croaked, "Crimson Infusion!" The red fluid left Henry's palm in streams before entering Vanessa's wounds. The damage done to Vanessa was healed instantly, causing Nick to jump and Sirus to scowl. Vanessa rose to her feet, cackling as vampiric power flowed over her body like a river's current. Her eyes became crimson voids as her vile essence swirled in them, creating black spirals in her eyes. "This…" Vanessa proclaimed rapturously, "This is power!" Vanessa then zipped around the cave, catching Sirus and Nick off guard, yet with their combined intellect and skill, they managed to withstand this berserk state of Vanessa's with a few gashes and deep cuts, though they were severely weakened without their internal life fluids keeping them stable. Vanessa's empowered state left her, yet despite this, she chuckled in satisfaction at her work. Seeing this, Henry raised his palm again. "Crimson infusion!" Henry shouted, letting his life fluid flow into Nick and Sirus, healing their physical wounds. Vanessa pivoted to glare at Henry. 'What have you done?!' Vanessa thought, 'Wait… Oh, blast it all! His pitiful humanity is still intact!'

Sirus and Nick rose to their feet, their wounds closing up quickly as skin tingled with all the nerve endings returning to their regular positions. Nick, however, felt dim and congested. "Ugh… What was that…" Nick pondered aloud before attempting to use his hunter energy, only to find that the vampiric essence that Henry infused into him had diluted its potency. Nick thought, 'Oh no…' Sirus however, when he saw this, smirked as a plan began to form his mind. "Mr. Willis," Sirus whispered, "Buy us some time!" Nick nodded, before straining to bring out his green hunter energy, his now hourglass pupils being faded and distorted due to the dilution, as he faced Vanessa head on. Sirus, on the other hand, disappeared into the shadows while Nick took up Vanessa's attention.

As Nick glared at Vanessa, in spite of the pitiful sparks that fizzed off him, she maintained a neutral face while staring at Nick with a motionless, frigid glare, similar to that of a dog. "Do you believe I care for your resistance? Henry belongs to me, not you or any other lowly human," Vanessa claimed. Nick chuckled before giving Vanessa a silent, smug look, as if to say: Does it look like that matters to me? Nick then stretched out his hands, forcing his green sparks to spin around him. "Time to finish this," Nick croaked out. Vanessa started to smile menacingly. "You lack the means to harm me," Vanessa stated before grabbing Nick's neck, dragging him close as the green sparks bounced off her pale skin. "See?" Vanessa inquired, "You have no power here." Vanessa began to squeeze. "And since you've decided to ignore my warning, I'm going to personally…" Vanessa trailed off, noticing a stand of blue hunter energy floating in the air. Vanessa turned back to Nick, who grinned like a fool. "Sorry, I couldn't quite hear that. What were you saying?" Nick asked with a smarmy tone. Vanessa snarled, "Are you mocking me, you little rat?" Nick paused, not expecting Vanessa's furrowed brow and reddened face. "What? What are you looking at, you nuisance?" Vanessa inquired pressingly. "Your face… How is it moving like that?" Nick asked. With a forceful roar, Vanessa threw Nick at the cave wall, glaring pointedly at him, her dead eyes glimmering with unshed tears. Vanessa began to ramble, "A childish human like you could never understand what I feel. You can't comprehend the transcendent movements in my heart. You can't possibly comprehend how I've suffered alone. All my years without intimacy, without love. How would you-"

The cave suddenly shook, causing Vanessa to stop as her eyes widened. 'What?' Vanessa pondered, turning around. What she saw was an intricate web of blue hunter energy connected by at least forty-five spinning orbs vibrating at such a high frequency that the air around them began to transmit a high-pitched sound that was echoing through the cave and weakening its structural integrity. Sirus stepped out of the shadows, his face unmoving and demeanor collected. "I wouldn't continue your rambling if I were you, vampire," Sirus stated plainly. "Are you mad?!" Vanessa exclaimed, no longer focused on Nick, "You'll bring this whole cave down on us!" Sirus smirked, aware of Vanessa's new focus on him. "Not quite," Sirus pressed, "This is my strongest attack. Under normal circumstances, this structurally unsound cave would've fallen apart by now. But thanks to Mr. Sunsword…" Sirus maintained his smirk as Vanessa's eyes widened in realization. Vanessa's heart began to race, her breathing rapidly picking up pace as she quickly looked around, trying to find Henry. When she saw him, Henry was in Nick's arms while Nick's green hunter energy had returned to its normal potency thanks to him burning out all of the vampiric essence that Henry put into him.

Vanessa hissed, "Release him!" before vaulting at Nick. However, Sirus's web then collapsed onto Vanessa, the webbing cutting into her skin, the orbs burrowing into her like drills as she slowly fell apart. Pained shouts and strained groaning left Vanessa's lips as she struggled to withstand the attack, unable to move. Henry, despite his weakness, attempted to leave Nick's grasp while Sirus channeled his hunter energy to remove all remaining vampiric essence in him. "No!" With tears trailing down his pale face, Henry shouted, "Stop it! Can't you see you're hurting her?! Please stop!" Sirus, having regained his strength, smacked some sense back into Henry. "Mr. Sunstone," Sirus stated, "I understand you felt close to her, but she was a parasite who was leeching off of you. And you aren't looking all that well yourself. Please, let us heal you." Henry, whimpering and sniffling, curled into Nick's embrace, swallowing his pride as he allowed Nick and Sirus to carry him out of the cave. Yet, the moment Sirus and Nick had convened with the others, from the depths they'd fled, they heard shallow, ragged breathing echo through the cave as the vibrations ceased and from those depths, a hoarse voice shouted, "HENRY! COME BACK!" That was the moment the hunters all ran, for the danger was not at rest.