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Blood Feud	By : Nakkinomiko Category: +S to Z > Vampire Hunter D Views: 1908 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Hunter D or its characters. I make no money from this fic.

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Raphael Danrich tested the shackles around his wrists, and hissed when they would not give at all under his weakened touch. His anger at the moment was overshadowed only by the gnawing hunger that was burning like fire through his vampiric veins. He hoped to the God that had cursed him that the townspeople stayed well clear of him, because if the Barbarois that still lurked nearby didn’t kill them, the chances were he most certainly would. He knew the Hunger well enough to know that it would make him latch on to the closest living thing the first chance he got, his best intentions be damned. The possibility of doing harm to any of the good people that lived there made him almost physically ill--he loved these people and wished them no ill.

A good portion of the townsfolk had gathered just outside the gate, their expressions fearful, and more than one of them showing signs of wanting to rush to his aide. One young lad even made to step forward, but Raphael had made eye contact across the fifty yards or so that separated them and had managed to give his head one violent shake. Thankfully, his message had been loud and clear, and the boy had stopped. As much as Raphael dreaded the now rising sun, he couldn’t let any of them be slaughtered by the Barbarois he knew were watching. He tried to pull at the chains that trapped him to the iron pole driven deep into the ground but he couldn’t even manage to move them much. They were heavy iron, and he was impossibly weak.

Oh, for a few drops of blood, he thought grimly. It would be all he’d need. Just a few drops and a great deal of his strength would return, and he’d be able to free himself. Of course, that would require someone getting close enough to give it to me. A laugh rattled free from his dry throat, harsh and full of despair. That was a problem, wasn’t it?

“I’m going to die here,” he whispered to himself. The realization was stark and sudden, and filled him with sorrow. Who would watch over the town when he was gone? Who would keep the children safe from the predators that stalked the night? He stopped struggling with the chains and sat heavily upon the hard-packed dirt. Despair washed over him like a suffocating cloud, and he was just resigning himself to his fiery fate when a voice called out to him from within the gate.

“Don’t give up hope yet,” a female voice admonished.

Raphael looked up towards the crowd gathered at the gate, and after a moment the people parted slightly and two figures stalked past them. His breath caught in his throat as they paused just past the crowd. For a brief moment his hunger fogged brain thought that he was looking at an angel, for the creature was certainly beautiful enough to be an angel! Even from a distance he could see her beauty shining in the gray light of predawn. Her fair features were almost aristocratic in nature--well defined cheek bones and a delicate nose and pale pink lips. He couldn’t tell what color her eyes were at that distance, but her hair . . .her hair made his fingers itch, because he wanted to touch it. It was pale blonde and shone like corn silk, and Raphael was willing to bet large amounts of money that it was luxuriously soft to the touch.

“I must be already dead,” Raphael found himself calling back, “For surely you are an angel!” He winced at how terribly harsh his voice sounded. His throat was so dry and constricted with hunger that he could hardly recognize his own voice. He heard several of the townspeople make distressed sounds, and again, some of them shifted as if they would cross the distance to where he was shackled.

The woman blushed slightly and shook her head.

“No,” she called back. “I am a Hunter.”

Raphael blinked once as his hunger-fevered brain tried to make sense of that.

“A Hunter?” Was she there for him? The thought made him laugh, suddenly, a sound that apparently startled several of the townspeople, for several of them fairly leapt at the sound.

“Something funny?” the woman drawled. The sound of steel ringing against steel drew his attention to her hands, and she was drawing twin blades from sheaths hanging from her belt.

“I would think that a Hunter would want more challenging prey,” he called back. He shifted on the ground so that he could lean against the post he was chained to. His body was trembling with the effort of trying to keep himself upright.

“I do,” she replied. “I’m here to rescue you.”

Raphael was stunned into silence for a moment, and then he couldn’t help the amused sound that suddenly left him. “That just can’t be so,” Raphael called back, laughing again.

“For someone that may very well die in a few moments, you are certainly jovial, aren’t you?” She called back, and he could hear dark amusement in her voice. “Why can’t it be so?”

“I’ve always been the jovial sort,” Raphael replied, a thin smile stretching his lips. He was sure he presented a rather terrifying sight--starved vampires often looked like pale walking skeletons. And he was starved. “And the reason it can’t be so is that I just do not have that kind of luck, madam!”

“Perhaps your luck is about to change,” she returned. “Don’t you think, D?”

Raphael noticed her companion, then, and he felt a thrill of recognition. He’d never met the infamous Dhampire before, but his reputation certainly preceded him, and Raphael knew he was looking at the infamous Hunter D. The man was just as beautiful as the legends said he was. The Hunter was now drawing his sword as he gave a slow nod.

“I certainly hope so,” came the calm, quiet reply. “How many are there out there?” D called to him.

It took Raphael a minute to comprehend that D was asking about the hiding Barbarois. He shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. At least one, but probably more.”

“I don’t care how many there are,” the woman said. “We’re getting him out of there.”

Raphael could only stare in wonder at the woman. Her determination was admirable, and as far as he could tell, she didn’t even seem to be afraid. He’d never met a human that was so fearless before. Even the humans that trusted him in the village were still wary of him--but this woman seemed to not care that he was a vampire, nor did she seem to mind that her Hunting companion was Dhampire. He hadn’t even been properly introduced to her yet, and he was already fascinated.

“Are you ready, then?” she asked D. She was already crouching into a battle stance, the fluid movement of her muscles visible beneath the tight-fitting leather she wore.   Impossibly, Raphael’s mouth went even drier at the sight. She was . . .amazing . . .and he hadn’t even seen her fight yet!

“Yes,” D replied, and he stepped away from her and started to circle outward and around to the opposite side of the post.

“Then let’s do this,” the woman said. “Sunrise is only ten minutes away at best. We’re running out of time.”

Indeed, we are, Raphael thought, and he glanced nervously at the ever lightening Eastern sky. And as D and the woman Hunter began to ready themselves for the attack, Raphael began to do something he’d not done for several dozen centuries.

He prayed.

*****

Raina took a deep, calming breath before she started to take slow steps towards the chained vampire. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she took one, then two, then three steps. Her instincts were screaming danger, and the urge to turn and run was very, very strong. The truth was, she’d been dreading this moment, the first Hunt since her father had died. The very foundation of her self-confidence had been rocked by her father’s death, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t going to freeze at a crucial moment and get them all killed.

“Raina.” D’s voice was soft, barely audible across the way. “You can do this.”

She started slightly as he said the words. Had he been reading her mind?

“Is that your name?” Raphael called out to her. “Raina?”

She blushed slightly as she nodded and continued to slowly stalk closer to the post. She’d never met a full-blooded male vampire before, and it was somewhat disconcerting how she could almost feel the power rolling of the creature, and that was with him completely starved! What would he be like once he’d fed and completely recovered? The thought made her swallow nervously. Her friend Madeline had been a very commanding presence . . .but she had the feeling that Raphael’s presence was going to be much more so. He was watching her now, his eyes luminous green in the gray light, and she found herself staring back. He would be handsome when he’d fed, with well-chiseled features and a wealth of rich auburn hair. He’d be so damn beautiful . . .

“Raina, concentrate.” D’s voice cut through her distraction like the blade he carried, and she found herself blushing again even as she looked away from Raphael and nodded.

“Sorry,” she muttered to no one in particular, and she forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand.   She and D continued to stalk closer to Raphael, each step slow, and both watching all sides from the corners of their eyes. Her nerves were starting to fray--they’d covered half the distance, and still no sign of the Barbarois. They were there. . .Raina knew they were there . . .but why weren’t they attacking?

“They’re moving,” D hissed at her suddenly. “Below you!”

It was the only warning Raina had before she felt a subtle shifting of the earth beneath her feet. Instinct took over, and she executed a back flip just as the ground where she’d been standing exploded up and outwards. She landed and instantly settled herself into a low battle stance, her knees bent and ready for action and her swords at the ready. The creature that emerged from the ground was classifiable as a cross between a snake and a worm, and it was nearly twelve feet long and an ugly mottled brown color. Red eyes glared at her from either side of the creature’s head, and its mouth was round and full of several rows of sharp needle teeth. The teeth were daunting, but did not command the respect that the twelve inch stinger at the end of its tail did. The dirt hissed and bubbled where the stinger’s venom pooled on the ground. She wasn’t overly surprised when it spoke to her in a gurgling voice.

“Go home, human, or you will die here.”

“I can’t do that,” Raina returned calmly. “You know I won’t.”

“Ah, yes . . . She must be a vampire lover.”

Raina didn’t turn her head to see where the second voice came from . . .to do so would have given the creature in front of her an opening.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Raphael inquired.

Raina couldn’t stop the slight smile that crossed her features. She’d always imagined other vampires as being stuffy, snobbish types, but Raphael was proving to be anything but. She was starting to realize that the man’s wit was nearly as sharp as her swords.

“You can shut up now, vampire scum,” the second Barbarois hissed. “or I’ll just kill you now.”

Raina caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and a split second later she heard Raphael gasp in pain. She chanced a quick glance in his direction, and her lips pressed together in anger at the sight of a dagger protruding from the vampire’s right arm, just below his shoulder. It was not lost on her that the wound wasn’t even bleeding--he was that starved for blood. Raphael fell silent, the only indication of what he was feeling was the fire of hate in his emerald eyes.

“There are only two,” D said suddenly.

“Good,” Raina said. She bared her teeth in a mocking smile. “One for me. One for you.” She did not question how D knew there were only two--no doubt his vampire half gave him heightened senses. She trusted him.

“You underestimate us, human,” the snake creature hissed at her.

“No, I do not,” she said. “I know better than anyone just how dangerous the Barbarois are. But I will not let this vampire die, and if I have to go through you to save him, then I will. I will not hesitate to kill you, if it comes to that.”

“It goes both ways, Hunter,” the second Barbarois hissed. He came into her line of vision then. For all practical purposes he appeared to be human, until she looked more closely at his eyes. They were cat’s eyes, yellow gold and narrowed as they gazed back at her. “We will kill you if you insist on freeing this vampire. It has been decreed that he must die.”

“By whose orders?” D asked.

“Nice try, Dhampire, but I’ll not answer to the likes of you!” The cat-eyed Barbarois looked sideways at his companion. “You take the Dhampire. I want to teach this human bitch a lesson.”

Raina wasn’t sure whose hissed displeasure at the statement was the loudest--her own, D’s, or Raphael’s.

“I would rather think that it would be Miss Bitch to the likes of you,” Raphael hissed sharply.

“I’m going to cut your tongue out when I’m through with her,” the Barbarois retorted. Steel rang against steel as he drew a wicked looking blade from the scabbard at his side. It was easily twice as long as Raina’s katana and double edged. The snake creature had moved so that it was facing D now, and it seemed to be waiting for the other’s signal before beginning its attack.

“Not if I cut yours out first,” Raina hissed. She charged the Barbarois, not willing to wait any longer for the creature to make the first move. The sun was dangerously close to rising and Raphael was running out of time.

Steel clashed against steel, and Raina grunted as her crossed swords caught the brunt of the Barbarois’ downward slash. The blow vibrated down her arms and rattled her teeth, but she didn’t back down. She gave a sharp battle cry and put all her weight into shoving her opponent backwards and away from her.

“Not bad for a human,” the Barbarois hissed. “but you’ll have to do better than that!” He rushed her, and his speed was astonishing.

Raina barely managed to block the blow, and then she spun away. He was on her again almost instantly. Raina clenched her jaw and blocked each blow with swift precision before she counter-attacked. The Barbarois was good, and much faster than her. A worm of self-doubt coiled tight in her stomach at the realization. Was she going to be able to beat him?

A sharp scream made the Barbarois pause in his attack, and he snarled slightly when he looked over and found that D had slain his partner. The snake creature lay upon the ground, its tubular body split neatly in half, entrails steaming and blood soaking into the hard packed earth.

“You’re next,” Raina informed the remaining Barbarois smoothly. “You never had a chance, no matter how great you think you are.”

Her words visibly angered the Barbarois, and as Raina hoped he would, he charged her in a blind rage. Raina stood her ground, and waited until the man lunged and then leapt at her. She allowed herself to fall backward then, her breath leaving her in a sharp exhale as her back hit the hard ground. None the less, she stabbed upwards with her blades as the Barbarois’ momentum sent him sailing over her prone form. She felt the tug of flesh as her katana sank deep in the Barbarois’ gut, and then it was raining blood. Raina rolled to avoid the worst of the spray.

The Barbarois fell to the ground with a solid thud, and was still. Raina got up slowly, her back aching from the fall, and her eyes ever on the body lying between her and Raphael. She made sure her katana were firmly in hand before cautiously approaching. As she got closer she saw the pool of blood spreading out beneath it.

It’s dead, she thought. It has to be. No creature outside of a powerful vampire can lose that much blood and survive! She felt herself relaxing a little as she neared the body.

“Cautiously,” Raphael warned her.

“Excuse me?” She drew up short and stared at him over the creature’s body.

Raphael’s smile was dark. “He lives. I can hear his heart beating.”

Raina felt a jolt of horrifying adrenaline hit her system, and at that very moment the Barbarois moved. A heavy hand shot out and snagged a wrist and tossed her in Raphael’s direction. Raina cried out in pain as her shoulder hit the post Raphael was chained to.   The sting of it radiated all the way to her left wrist, and she found herself dropping the katana she held in that hand to the ground.

“Oh, God,” she moaned. “My shoulder’s dislocated!” She couldn’t move, for the pain, and she was more than aware of the Barbarois now bearing down on her.

“Die, human bitch!” The Barbarois hissed as he leapt for her, intending to kill her with his bare hands and claws.

“I think not.”

There was sudden movement from Raphael, and then he was between her and the charging Barbarois. Raphael opened his arms as wide as the chains would allow and embraced it as it bowled into him.

“No!” The Barbarois screamed.

“Oh, yes,” came the smooth reply. Raphael struck then, his mouth open wide and his fangs elongated from his deep hunger. The Barbarois howled in pain as Raphael sunk his teeth in deep and began to drink his fill. It was over in less than two minutes, and the Barbarois’ body fell to the hard packed earth with a thud. Time seemed to stand still as Raphael turned to face her.

He was horribly beautiful, just as Raina had known he would be, even with blood staining his chin and the front of his shirt. He moved towards her, and her sharply honed Hunter’s instinct had her lifting her sword lightning quick so that the point of it was pressed to Raphael’s chest right about where his heart would be. He was utterly terrifying, beyond anything she’d ever encountered before. She’d never seen a creature move as fast as Raphael had a moment ago, nor had she ever witnessed a creature drained dry so quickly.

Raphael froze, and after a moment he smiled slightly. “Will you kill me, now that you’ve rescued me?”

Raina’s breath hitched in her throat at the sound of his voice now. It was warm and rich--like dark amber honey--and it made her cheeks heat with a blush. She still did not lower the sword, for she was suddenly very afraid of this creature, and not because she feared for her life, either. Raina was nearly twenty-eight years old, and never in her life had a member of the male species affected her as this one was. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her insides felt like they were going to melt.

“I assure you, Raina, I have no intentions of harming you. It would be most ungracious of me.” Raphael’s voice held amusement now, and his luminous green eyes were laughing at her. “You did, after all, rescue me.”

“You . . .” she paused and swallowed hard before slowly lowering the sword.   Her voice was a barely audible whisper when she tried to speak again. “You are positively overwhelming.”

He actually grinned at her then, his fangs gleaming in the ever growing light.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said. He looked down at the chains binding him to the pole. “I think I’ve had more than enough of these,” he hissed. Long, elegant fingers lifted and pulled first one shackle off and then the other. He did it effortlessly, as if the wrought iron was no more substantial than soft butter.

“My, God,” she breathed. “You’re . . .”

“In-human?” He smiled again. “I am a vampire, after all.” He moved closer and knelt next to her. “I have the distinct feeling that you’ve never seen a vampire before.”

“No, I have,” Raina said. “My best friend, Madeline, was a vampire.”

Raphael went still for a moment at her words and looked her in the eye. “Was?”

“I was unable to save her from the Barbarois trap.” Raina’s eyes filled with sudden tears. She looked away and down at the ground, ignoring the pain the movement caused. Grief welled within as she thought of Madeline, and subsequently her father. Cool fingers slid beneath her chin and gently turned her head and lifted her chin so that Raphael could see her eyes again.

“You cared for her very much,” Raphael whispered.

Raina gave a minute nod, afraid that if she spoke she’d really begin to weep. Raphael said nothing, but the way he gently caught her tears and wiped them away with his fingers spoke volumes. He gave her a slight smile before he turned his attention to her wound.

“Let’s have a look at that shoulder,” he said. Before she realized what he was doing, his fingers were unzipping the collar of her cat-suit far enough that he could pull the fabric back and get a look at her shoulder.

Raina blushed deeply as the lace of her bra was slightly revealed, but Raphael seemed not to notice. The same fingers that had a moment ago so ruthlessly rent iron shackles now gently probed at her shoulder joint. Raina hissed as he hit a tender spot. She turned her head enough so that she could see her flesh out of the corner of her eye. Angry bruises were already forming across the top of her shoulder, and the joint was swollen.

“Actually, I don’t think it’s dislocated,” Raphael said after a moment. “The flesh and muscle is severely bruised, but as far as I can tell, the joint is sound. The bruising and the swelling are causing most of your pain.”

“Well, that’s good, I suppose,” she muttered. A dislocated shoulder might have put her out of commission for good.

“Raina, are you well?” D crouched next to her, opposite Raphael.

“I think I’m going to live,” she said. The pain was excruciating, though, and if the expressions on D’s and Raphael’s faces meant anything, she was hiding it badly.

“We have to go,” D said. He looked over at Raphael before glancing at the Eastern horizon. “The sun is coming. There’s not enough time to make it to the castle, but we’ve had the innkeeper prepare our room so you can stay there until the sunset this evening. And there should be donors waiting, if you still have need.”

“Oh, I think I’m satisfied for now,” Raphael said. “Barbarois blood is disgusting, but it’s powerful none-the-less. I will not need blood until late this evening.”

D gave a nod and returned his attention to Raina. “Can you walk?”

Raina thought about it for a moment, and then decided that the only way to find out was to try. She shifted, and when it didn’t make her shoulder hurt too bad, she clenched her teeth and attempted to stand. That hurt. A pained gasp left her lips as she felt herself swaying slightly. Hands steadied her, and then she gasped again as she felt herself being swung upwards.

“Why walk, when I can easily carry you?” Raphael tucked her close to his body, one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her back, just as a groom would do when carrying his bride over the thresh hold.   “Comfortable?”

“Ah. . . Yes,” Raina managed. She was blushing furiously, and this close to the vampire she could feel the strength in him, both the physical and the supernatural. She glanced sideways at D and found that he was watching, but his features were expressionless as he watched Raphael carry her towards the inn. It gave her some measure of comfort that D wasn’t protesting her treatment, or the fact that she would be spending time alone in Raphael’s company. Raina had the feeling that if D had thought for even a moment that Raphael might harm her, he would have never let the vampire get close to her.

“Let’s get you to the inn and get that shoulder taken care of,” Raphael was saying.

It sounded like a very good idea to Raina. Even more desirable was the thought of a bed. She hurt, and the fight had nearly exhausted her. Sleep seemed like the best course of action to her now, and one she intended to follow through with.

*****

TBC
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Blood Feud