It was nice being alone for a bit.
Not that Alucard liked me roving the woods on my own, but I needed permission to cast wards in a territory ruled by a reclusive forest spirit who detested vampires and the like as much as he detested night creatures. I told him to hang back and wait for me, which he did reluctantly. He trusted I wouldn't be stupid, and that I was more than capable of dispatching a few night creatures.
Luckily the forest spirit was more than happy to let me do my thing if it meant repelling demons from shitting and otherwise putrefying his turf. "Perhaps you can dispose of the roaming stragglers not far east of here. Near the dead oak." The spirit hissed in the ancient tongue. "You'd do me a big favor, Watcher."
"I'm sure I can handle them." I twirled my staff and set off. I found the dead oak, and night creatures tormenting a small caravan of refugees.
"Shit!" I wasn't expecting this! How desperate were these people to travel in such close proximity to Dracula's castle? It's not as if they couldn't see it rising far above the trees like an ominous mountain. My mind raced, wondering if I should signal Alucard and wait for him to come help.
No. They'll all be dead by the time he makes it here. It's time to put everything I've learned and remembered to work.
I pulled back my right sleeve, outreaching my arm with my runes gleaming white and cast a bordering wall of holy flame around the three carts. drawing it wide as it pushed back against the screaming groundling and singed the wings of the airborne gargoyles. The refugees screamed expletives and curses. Some crossed themselves while others prayed for a miracle.
That'll keep them from getting close to the caravan. Now to take them out from afar.
"Look! Up on the ledge!!" A woman cried pointing at me.
"It's a witch!" Screamed another. "God help us!"
Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag.
I leapt from the cliff and walked through the flames, cloak billowing and hood concealing my face. Staff in hand gleaming like the sun. The poor refugees cowered pitifully. Mothers clutched their children to their breasts and old men gripped rosaries to their hearts, tremoring prayers. At this point they were more terrified of me than the night creatures screaming from the bordering flames. "Be not afraid."
"Not any closer demon!!" A brave man confronted me waving his torch.
"No! I'm not a demon!" I waved my hand up. "I'm not a demon! The opposite actually." I pulled back the hood revealing my face. " See! Just a woman! An Arcane mage here to help you."
"Mages deal in witchcraft!" The man spat unconvinced.
" Mages deal with the inherit magic within the earth and elements. Arcane mages specifically with Holy Light Magic. Not black magic, there's a difference!" I deflected the claws of a divebombing hellbat screaming and burning from the holy light of my staff. "See? I deal with the good stuff, you want me to destroy these things or not?"
A fleaman dived at me, rightfully getting vaporized. "Stay within the flames! The fires won't harm you but it will keep those beasties from getting close!" I turned around and ran, heat simmering against my skin as I confronted the hoard of demons.
A minotaur lunged aiming his spear at my stomach, though I blocked his attack with a quick thrust of my staff and drove it up his jaw. Seeing he was unbalanced I knocked him to the ground with my staff, slashing him across the legs with my silver sword and sending him collapsing face first into the dirt. I blasted him in the brains while he was down.
A sharp stab pricks my back as the gargoyle took the advantage, slashing at me with his claws pushing me back with his tail towards the barrier. His initial attack wasn't enough to draw blood, but it was enough to stir up the fierce battle blood in my veins.
The gargoyle was blown back by dazzling shots from both staff and palm, dodging here and there from the explosive bursts as the tips of his wings are singed. When it came at me again I blasted him violently against the stone wall. He was jolted by the electric field I summoned and lay there stunned. Though he wasn't down for the count, he quickly regained his footing, gliding across the ground wings splayed and spear pointed.
I sent him crashing backwards with the blunt force of my staff, summoning a divine light to stun him and pummeled him mercilessly into the dirt. He could not land a proper blow on me since his eyes were momentarily dazed so I overtook him, striking my staff with the precision and power of any sword and decapitating him with ice.
The massive werewolf charged like a bull, hoping to grab hold of me and slam me face first into the ground. His claws managed to swipe me in the chest, making me scream and nearly double over. Fuck!! Blood rage stirred from the inflicted wound. Without even knowing I was capable of it, and without even discovering it while training, I swung up my staff feeling a jolt of energy run up my arm as a blue beam of light erupted from the earth and shot the unfortunate foe right through the face.
"Serves you right, shithead!" I cussed at the collapsed beast with a gaping hole up his skull. His lizard-like companion charged as his companion who I repeated the same action with more might and potency.
All that was left was the Malebranche, a more powerful demon with higher intelligence. He attacked with calculated blows, seeing when I was about to strike and swooping out of reach when I moved to attack him. its shots dug into my skin biting me like embers. I repeated my upward beam strike, stunning him in place and racing for the attack.
"I will not go down easy, Messenger." He snarled beneath his concealed face miraculously blocking a heavy blow.
You're still going down nonetheless."
The demon hissed a curse between its teeth jabbing its spear. "Is that the best you can do?"
"No." I warned with the fire blazing in my heart. "This is." Raising my staff to the skies I let my divine light channel through, erupting from the staff in an explosive firework. A shattering boom echoed in the air and a crackling burst of red littered the skies around me, its powerful blast defeating my foe at once. The Malebranche's wings burned in white fire before immolating the screaming demon completely.
"You gotta me kidding me!" I snarled at an oncoming swarm of fleamen hopping their way with teeth bared and axes raised. Only one way to take care of fleas. I fled them, tracing my staff in the ground while running. From the caravan carts it must've looked as if I was running away with my tail between my legs. Couldn't be less from the truth.
I whistled at the fleamen, drawing their attention with shots from my staff. When I appeared to be surrounded, I gave a determined smirk and with both hands , struck my staff into the ground activating the glyph. Light 'em up! The signs and curves glowed. The heat of my glyphs burned across my body and my vision cast in grey . Every night creature within the circle was blasted. Screaming in agonizing murder as their skin and muscles sloughed off, leaving nothing but piles of charred bones.
"And that's that." I sighed, turning to the caravan carts and their stunned onlookers. Pride of a good deed swelled in my heart. Defending humanity from the forces of Hell. This is what I was meant to do.
"It's alright." I approached. "You're safe now." I instinctively gripped the hilt of my sword when I heard the unsheathing of others. "Stay away from us sorceress!" An armored guard warned. The other men had their weapons at ready shielding the woman and children. All of their eyes, armed or not, cast on me in fear and hatred.
"No you don't understand! I wanted to help! I'm not-!" I grimaced doubling over clutching my belly. When I drew away my hand, it was stained with blood.
"She's wounded, get her bandages!" A lanky boy exclaimed, ushering everyone in his cart to help. When nobody did he jumped in himself and raced to me with bandages despite the warning cries of his fellow.
"Thank you." I nodded relieved. " I need ale. Do you have any?" He quickly retrieved a small flask of ale, which he was surprised to see me pour on now bloody slashmarks on my chest. "To keep the infection away." He gave me a bewildered look. "Keep the blood from getting poisoned." I stated. Getting a longer look at him I noticed he was a particularly small boy and thin from not enough food, his tattered clothes ages old and his feet dirty from the river mud. But his brown eyes bright and hope as he gaped in amazement at the injured mage cloaked in white.
"Tell your folks the nearest village is twelve miles southeast of here." I pointed my staff at the valley ridges. "Between those two ridges. I you ride now, you'll make it by nightfall. I placed a heated hand against my injures and walked away.
"Wait!" The boy grabbed my sleeve. "Come with us!" I turned my head to his caravan. All eyes pinned on me in stark terror. "No, I'm not wanted. Take care of yourself, and travel by the rivers." I ran off, gliding down the valley on cape wings. I landed at the sound of crows erupting from the trees in a flurry of feathers and caws. On a large branch a long distance away, a great bat roosted. Its wings folded around its body and its reflective glowing eyes staring at me. Shit did I miss one? The bat flew off when I aimed my staff at it in the direction of the castle .
....
Thank goodness Alucard wasn't around when I returned to the castle. I hurried into the infirmary, bandaging myself and further disinfecting the wound. Once I was sure the bandages weren't noticeable beneath my shirt I headed into the study as per normal, where my partner waited.
"Good evening." Alucard's voice hummed from the sofa. "All is well?"
"Very well." I plopped next to him, refraining from gritting my teeth when a spike of pain ran up my belly. Easy you nitwit, you'll agitate the wounds and rouse his suspicion.
"How was scouting today? Did that forest spirit give you trouble." I nestled into him as I normally did. The key is to act normal and he won't notice. "Not at all, he was more than happy to let me fortify his woods against hellbeasts."
"Good." Alucard nodded. "The night creatures are becoming more cautious. Their attacks increase in strength and savagery, but I've noticed they've been taking great lengths avoiding the castle. Your wards have been holding up."
"Or they've finally gotten the memo seeing their buddies staked around the perimeter." Alucard chuckled. "That too. I'm proud of you, my darling. You've become so strong." He wrapped his arms around my midsection like he always did when we rested together in the study. Though this time I winced involuntarily from the scratches. "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay." I responded casual. "I'm just a little painful from the bleeding."
"Bleeding?"
"You know, the Moon bleed. Those cramps are a bitch."
"I see." Alucard draped his hands onto mine. " I'll make you a soothing tonic in the infirmary and tend the wound you're trying so hard to conceal while we're there." I jolted up from my seat, feeling my heart uptick.
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?" Alucard growled. " I can smell the blood under your clothes fresh as a slain beast, and your elevated heartbeat would've otherwise given it away."
"All right. I'll admit it." I confessed. "A night creature took a swipe at me while I was on patrol, but I disinfected the wound and bandaged it with antibiotic herbs. I didn't want you to worry."
"Is that so?" Alucard questioned. "I'm glad you cleansed the wound before infection took hold. The refugees must've been grateful for your heroism to sacrifice a flask of ale on your behalf."
I jolted of my seat, runes prickling down every inch of me. "You couldn't have known."
"Oh but I do." Alucard stood crossing his arms. He was my lover, but in moments like this I realized how imposing of a figure he truly was if you crossed him. "I watched it all. I saw how you confronted the night creatures attacking the caravan and destroyed them using your wits and magic. You saved those people's lives, and I'm proud of you for that.....yet....." He narrowed his eyes and I froze as if a dagger pierced my chest.
"You exposed yourself to the outside world." Alucard growled. "Revealed yourself to creatures that wish you harm and people who aren't ready to learn of your existence. Word will spread like wildfire of a Light Mage protecting these forbidden lands, drawing unwanted attention and dangerous prying eyes. 'I'm not demon, the opposite actually'? You might as well have shown your glyphs. What were you thinking?"
I winced from the harshness of his voice. "I was thinking I had to help them. They were being attacked and would've been killed if I didn't step in!"
"Then step in from afar!" Alucard snapped. "Use ranged attacks! Draw the night creatures away and destroy them in a trap . You're smart, you could've easily done that. Don't go crashing in like a hairbrained hero claiming you're a savior."
"That was the first thing I did, but the creatures were so hellbent on attacking the refugees, nothing short of better meal would've averted their focus!" I defended.
"So you used yourself as bait." Alucard snarled. "Brilliant! You put yourself in direct peril! That's something Belmont would have done."
"That's exactly what a Belmont would've done." I snapped. " Taken the risk to save someone's life knowing they could make it through to the end! Guess where their selflessness to fight and defend the helpless came from? "
"The Belmonts are gone." Alucard snarled. "All but one, and it's because he's too stubborn and pigheaded to die. They were repaid for their kindness in bloodshed in betrayal, and I'll let myself be staked in the heart before I allow the same fate befall you."
He bared his fangs in a grimace. "As much as you think yourself the immortal guardian, you still have much to learn. No more of this foolish bravery! Should we encounter any unfortunate caravans again, you are to stay away and let me deal with it. I can shapeshift so I'm not recognized."
"What if I'm alone?" My glyphs pulsed.
"You leave and alert me. Do not engage at all."
"That's bullshit!" I snapped, walking angrily towards the fireplace. "I can't help at all? Just turn a blind eye and let people get slaughtered, even when I'm fully capable of defending them? I'm a Watcher, the legions of hell should be fleeing me."
"You are the last of your kind." Alucard glared. " A celestial locked in a human form that can be injured or killed. You cannot risk your life playing the knight in shining armor."
"I'm not playing!" I whirled around with a sharp cutting gust. "You think I'm doing this because it's a game? I was created to watch over humanity . My purpose is to guard and defend mankind from the forces of darkness. I can't just stand back and let people get killed when I'm able to protect them. Especially when they're traveling through our lands seeking refuge. "
"And what good will it do for them if you are slain?" Alucard countered.
"I won't get killed, I promise I'll be more careful from now on."
"Just as you were careful this time." Alucard gestured my bandage. "You are very lucky it wasn't a deep wound, but you will carry a scar. The next time you may not be so fortunate.''
"Again. I'll be careful."
"So sure of yourself are you?" Alucard quipped. "You really are a Belmont."
I blasted him across the room with a swipe of my staff. The glyphs burning across my body and a fire ignited in my chest. When my grey sight faded I glowered at Alucard laying crashed against the dented wall more stunned than hurt. I dropped the glowing staff, blood pulsing through my body staring blankly at luminescent glyphs on my arms, utterly stunned. Alucard grunted. struggled rising up, brushing off the splinters and wood chunks while staring at me peeved.
"I thought we were equals." I clenched my rune glowing fist. "And we'd face the world together! What was the point of training me when you only want to hide me away ?"
"The point was teaching you how to defend yourself!" Alucard rasped. " To keep yourself alive if I'm not there." The anger extinguished from his eyes. "I never meant for you to become a savior."
"Then I guess you don't know what a Watcher is."
Alucard softly spoke my name, but I picked up my staff and walked out before I did anything else destructive. The clawmarks stung beneath the bandages, but paled in comparison to the fiery anguish in my chest. I've never gotten into a fight with Alucard before, let alone lashed out at him.
"It was wrong of me to strike him, but if he thinks I'm just going to stand back if I see someone in trouble, he truly doesn't know me." I vented to the Librarian afterwards.
"You carry a hero's heart." The Librarian said, sorting his books on the shelves. "But he is right, you are a celestial in a mortal's body, you cannot afford to be reckless." He blinked his glowing eyes. "You are wounded."
"Yeah. I got clawed by a werewolf. It's not deep and I'll be fine. At least he didn't bite me! Can you imagine?"
"You must take caution."
"I know." I shrugged. "I got the lecture already."
"My apologies." He bowed. "I meant no ire."
"I know you didn't." I lowered my hackles. "I'm sorry."
"All is well." The Librarian pushed a book in its proper spot on the shelf, unoffended. I enjoyed watching him sometimes, organizing the tomes and reading through them making sure they were in the right place, especially when I wasn't having the best day. "Even in human flesh you are still an angel at your core. Forms change but the inner nature does not. Ice and fog are different forms, but they are still water."
"What about you?" I asked. "Do you still feel a part of you is human?"
" I am no longer human." The Librarian answered plainly. "My soul was tainted by Hell and the Forgemaster's magic that resurrected me. You are still water, but my water was polluted and no longer its pure nature."
"I still see the humanity in you." I said. "When you work, the flicker in your eyes when you're skimming through books, the precision of how you organized them was of human nature and not a demon's. Sometimes you stop and read a book or scroll for no other purpose than just to read them. You remember it don't you? Your life when you were human."
He blinked his nictitating membranes. " I remember things. They are like dreams more than vivid memories, never the entire thing. Perhaps it is in those dreams that are the remains of my humanity." "I know the exact feeling." I folded my legs on the chair. "What do you remember of your old life before you went to Hell?"
"Moments patched together."
"Just like mine." I realized. "Could you tell me? If you don't mind."
The Librarian nodded. "I was a Librarian in my mortal life as I am now. In a city named Alexandria. I worked in a great library once renowned for its knowledge across the seas, though by my time it had since seen better days. Its vast tomes moved to other cities, and its walls crumbling into decay. Yet we held immense pride tending to the books and scrolls that remained, knowing we were the keepers of history, and that the library would endure as long as we stood as its keepers."
He shook his head. "We were wrong. Invaders raided our city and set torch to our library, burning it to the ground. Most of that knowledge kept for centuries turned to smoke and ash. I could not watch everything I held dear burn to nothing, so I risked my life, rushing in and out into the inferno taking arm-fulls of valuable books and scrolls until by body was burned and my lungs filled with smoke."
"I managed to save a good deal of information that would have been otherwise lost, but I died from severe burns soon after I was pulled from the flames. Next thing I knew, I was in Hell, where I remained until the Forgemaster resurrected me into a decayed corpse. Isaac searched for one who could tend books in order to preserve this vast tome, and his spell picked my soul like a grape from the vine. I have remained here ever since."
"That's an incredible story." I nodded. "I don't understand why you were sent to Hell. You gave your life saving precious knowledge that would've been lost forever. You literally kept going into the inferno to preserve as much as you could. I don't see that worthy of damnation."
The Librarian sighed, making a whistling noise. "I didn't save what really mattered. As I rushed into the burning library again and again, I ignored the cries of my fellow librarians. I let them die as I sought out what I believed was irreplaceable. I could have stopped to help them, even if it cost me my own life, but I valued parchment over people."
In the flicker of the firelight, the Librarian's eyes glimmered my reflection. "No material possession, be it the grandest jewels or the rarest of scrolls, is worth more than human life. A lesson I learned too late."
He picked up the book on the table and shut it. "Fortunately not for you, Mal'ahk. You are a servant of the light and a protector of mankind. The wounds you bear are evidence of your inherit nature." I winced, gritting my teeth. The wound was bleeding again through my bandages. "Shit, I thought I stanched the bleeding. Night creature injuries are a bitch to heal. No offence."
"None taken." The Librarian fluffed his feathers. "I must ask you to leave. I may be more civilized and less inclined to savagery than my brethren, but I still possess the instincts of a night creature. The scent of your blood.....stirs restlessness within me. It also distracts me from my tasks."
"I see." I slowly got up. "Thanks for being honest. I'll leave you to it." I picked up my staff leaning on the table. "And...thank you for telling me your story."
The Librarian blinked his nictitating lids. "You're welcome. Perhaps you are correct and there is a shred of humanity within me. For no demon has ever shared pleasant company with an angel."
.....
I took it slow walking to the infirmary. When I made it, I sat my but down in the familiar stool, setting up the bandage rolls preparing to treat my wound. "Son of a biscuit-eating bitch." I hissed through gritted teeth, pressing a disinfectant soaked cloth to the claw-marks.
"No wonder so many die from night creature claws, they bleed out to death." My skin prickled as I murmured a spell over the wounds meant on clotting the blood. "It was worth it to rescue those people. They may not have appreciated my efforts, save for one, but at least they'll live another day."
I sat up straight, hair prickling inside my ears at the slight stirring of air . "The wound is not severe." Alucard observed quietly. "But it is deep enough where it will need stitches. Come, sit here and I will mend it for you."
I reluctantly followed him to a bed, sitting against the frame watching him collect suture material. His bruises healed as if they were never there, and no evidence of the splinter cuts shown on his skin. Luckily SOB with his healing factor. I envied him sometimes.
"This may sting." Alucard warned soaking a clean rag with ointment. "But only for a moment as it cleans out the wound and numbs the skin. Here, you may hold my hand." I took his hand, gripping it hard and shuddering from the stinging before feeling nothing . "Do you feel any pain?" He poked the area with the needlepoint. "No." I murmured. "Good." He nodded and got to work.
I watched mesmerized by the finesse and naturality of how he sutured the wounds. The way his hands worked, swift yet precise, you'd think he were doctor who'd done it a hundred times. I wondered if Lisa taught him to stitch injuries, if she was as gentle as him.
Gentle. That truly described Alucard in everything he is around me. Every movement he made, every gesture, every word he spoke to me, was done in gentleness . Even when angry he never spoke with a harsh biting edge, and it wasn't because he perceived me a delicate flower. He yearned for someone to be gentle around, to care for and nurture so he could heal his grieving heart. Someone who could reciprocate that gentleness and nurturing without stabbing him in the back.
And I blasted him across the room in a fit of rage.
"I'm sorry I lashed out at you." I apologized quietly. "I was angry, but that's no excuse. I hope I didn't hurt you too badly."
"You didn't." Alucard stroked my cheekbone. "All is well." He looked over the closed sutures with approval. "That should do it. The sutures are absorbable and the wounds will be fully closed within a week." He touched a bare hand to my forehead. "We need to be alert for fevers. If you feel chilled or unwell, alert me immediately. I won't allow you to succumb to infection."
"Thanks Doc." I nudged with a smile. "Now I'll have a scar just like yours."
"Indeed." He touched the pink gash-mark where Dracula clawed him. Compared to him, the night creature clawing was merely a paper cut. Alucard spoke my name with severity. "These patrols need to end. It's become too dangerous for you to venture out into the forest alone"
I gripped the edge of the bed. "You said you wouldn't restrict me."
"That was before this little incident with the refugee caravan."
"I said I would be more careful. I found chainmail in Dracula's armory, it's a perfect fit and it'll protect me on top of the Glaring Cloak's magic."
"It's not the night creatures I'm afraid of."Alucard hissed. "It's humans. The stupid, ignorant humans who will not hesitate to harm you because they fear you. You saw how they repaid you for saving their lives, they cowered back and cursed you as a sorceress."
"They didn't understand I meant to help." I countered. "They've never seen anyone like me before, I'd be scared of me. I'll also admit the light spell may have been overwhelming to witness, but how else was I gonna kill a hoard of demons jumping at my throat?"
"Regardless, they were afraid of you, and often hatred stems from fear of things they don't understand. Had the refugees not been stricken senseless from terror, they may have reacted."
"I could've taken them easily if it came down to that." I remarked.
"No you wouldn't." Alucard bared his fangs. "You would've pitied them and refuse to fight back. Don't deny that's how you would respond." The retort caught in my throat, he was right. I didn't have it in me to hurt people who lashed out in fear. No more than I could beat a starved biting dog in fear of its life.
"You're right. I would try defusing the situation by proving I was a friend, or worst case, run." I ran my palm down the glyphs on my other arm. "I don't care if they're afraid of me, let them think whatever the hell they want. As long as they're safe. As long as I can protect them using my innate gifts. I don't need them to be grateful, if it means they can live another day and sleep soundly at night, that's more than enough for me."
Alucard took a long exhausted breath. "Another woman I loved shared the same mentality." His eyes closed grimacing. "She wanted to help those in need who could not help themselves and protect the defenseless using her gifts. She died for it. Because humans feared what they didn't understand, their thoughts twisted by false accusations, they murdered her in cold blood. If you believe for a bloody second I will let history repeat.........."
Blue veins bulged from his clenched knuckles. "I cannot lose you the same way I lost her. You don't understand the cruelty of mankind. Their immense capacity for wickedness. I know you want to protect the humans, but they are undeserving of it. They are stupid, vicious, spiteful, and evil. A stain upon this world."
I couldn't believe I was hearing this out of his mouth. I gripped my staff stunned, it was as if for a moment Alucard was possessed by the wrathful soul who once haunted these halls. "Trevor isn't any of those things. Neither is Sypha, or the couple who found me, or the Speaker Elder , or Vivian, Evelyn, or Mary and the rest of the Speaker train who took me in . Not Aurelius or Leon and the Belmonts after them. Certainly not the Whisperer girl who led me to the Unicorn that saved your life."
"They are a few."
"There are more than a few, Alucard." I responded shaken. " You sound just like him." Alucard's pupils shrunk in pain. "I understand him now. He lost the light of his world, and I will not lose mine." "You won't." I declared. "If you keep searching darkness that's all you'll ever see. There is light if you just look."
"I will try on your behalf." Alucard lost the hardness in his gaze. "I still stand by my decision these patrols and ward castings through the forest must end. I sense the strength in the spells and hear demons crying at night from purified water. You've done more than enough to protect these lands."
"What about people passing through?" I asked . "The wards you've casted have already repelled the majority of night creatures who may have otherwise preyed on them, the humans will have to fend for themselves. Their lives are not our concern."
"I can't stay back and watch if I see people in trouble, Alucard."
"Then don't go looking for it!" Alucard clicked his teeth sternly. "You need to stay hidden from them."
"Staying hidden isn't who I am." I shrugged exasperated. "My choir guarded humanity for eons. My brothers and sisters died protecting them, and I'm the only one left to tell of their sacrifice. If I turn a blind eye and hide away, I dishonor their memory and go against everything they stood for. Everything that I stand for." I curled my hand into a fist. "What's the point of having my powers and memory back if I can't use them do good in this world?"
Alucard retracted his fangs and spoke in a softer tone. "I understand." He placed his hand over mine and held it firm. "You have a heart of gold the kindest soul. I know you want to help people, and it's a part of you that is unchanged, but it cannot be like this. Humanity isn't ready for you yet. Even Belmont spoke it as truth, that's why he didn't want you accompanying him and Sypha to Targoviste."
My heart sank knowing he had a point. "Do you think they will ever be ready?"
"I do ." Alucard responded honest. "A time will come where you are needed and your gifts are cherished by others, but it is not a moment you seek out. It seeks you, and it is your choice to answer the call."
"Wow. Powerful words." I shivered . "Did you just come up with that on the fly?"
"No." Alucard chuckled smiling. "My father told that to my mother, who in turn told me when I was younger." He stroked my hair. "Now I'm telling you."
"Dracula said that? I'm getting chills." My glyphs prickled. "It's like Speaker knowledge." "It truly is." Alucard said. "Passed down through generations."
"How will I know that moment has come?" I rested into him. "I suppose you'll know it in your heart." He wrapped his arms around me careful as not to touch the sutured skin. "But for now, you have already done an incredible job. I doubt any night creature will step foot in this forest with the magic and spirits at your aid."