An Uneasy Alliance

The bat flew down the corridor, gliding silently over the cobbled stone floor. Orion's hooves, however, clacked loudly on the stones and faintly echoed. This is no good. Anybody with ears will hear me and escape by the time we reach them. I'm going to shift to a smaller form, he said to both Sheela and Linae. At least, until we get wherever batboy is leading us. Linae agreed, and both Rangers kept running, trying to keep up with the bat, which flew surprisingly fast in the narrow hall. He made a sharp left. The vampire's scent is mixed with another's now, Shifter. It is Laurel's. Orion glanced at a door they passed as he ran, distracted from changing by Vrolok's message. What do you know, Batboy, I think you're right. That door was the one I left her at when I went to find Linae and Sheela. Vrolok grumbled to himself. Of course I'm right, you idiot. Orion would have responded with an equally sarcastic comment, but he was in the process of changing forms. One second Linae and Sheela saw the glowing shape of the unicorn running in front of them, the next, the unicorn lost all of its color and seemed to turn into air. They could still faintly make out the outline of the unicorn, but then it flowed together, mane waving, horn shrinking, until a new shape was formed. Then he was an owl, flapping broad, quiet wings, keen eyesight able to pick out the bat flying ahead.
"Wow," Sheela commented, impressed.
Thank you, thank you very much, Orion responded smugly.
Show-off, Vrolok muttered.
I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say, Mr. I-can-only-turn-into-a-bat?
Don't you ever just SHUT UP?! Vrolok demanded, fed up with the arrogant sarcasm of the shifter. Orion considered the question.
There have been a few rare cases. But we can talk about that later, because right now we really should be focused on finding Laurel and this new blood-sucker and whatever else this absolutely charming castle has in store for us. Vrolok seriously considered stopping there and choking the shifter, but, as tempting a thought as it was, he was more concerned with this new vampiric threat. And, said a little voice in the back of his mind, you're worried about her. The huntress. He told that little voice to shut up, wondering for half a second if it wasn't Orion talking and not his own mind, but rapidly dismissed that thought as well. Finally the scent trail turned, down a flight of stairs that were hardly noticeable in the faint light of torches. Vrolok changed into his normal form in the narrow passageway that he could see led to a single door, and motioned for the two Rangers to be quiet. They crept down the stairs cautiously, looking at the old, formidable door that was barely visible at the end of the hall. Orion shifted once more, this time into a large black and tan panther. The scent is much stronger here, Vrolok commented. Especially Laurel's. The strange group of four approached the door noiselessly, but when they reached it Vrolok turned toward them. I think I should go first. I can be even more unnoticeable than your shifter-friend, and if I spot anything unusual I'll come back and warn you. Almost immediately he heard Orion's laughter in his mind. He glared at the panther.
You honestly think we're fools enough to believe that? he asked, incredulously. More like, if you find anything unusual or dangerous inside you'll be sure to let it kill us before you attempt to deal with it, and after that, if you find Laurel, you'll-here he stopped, evidently unsure of what Vrolok would do. Vrolok smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile. I'll make her leave me alone, he finished simply. Whether or not those words were true, he thought to himself, he could figure out later. Much later, when his enemies did not surround him.
So, what exactly would you have us do, Oh Wise and Sarcastic One? Vrolok asked mockingly. Not that I guarantee I'll listen to you, understand. Orion barely heard Vrolok's voice, suddenly distracted by something else. It was almost as if he felt something in the room beyond the door they were standing in front of. And it was not a good feeling. His hackles rose and his sapphire eyes seemed to glow with an eerie light.
Vrolok, can you sense anything-a vampire, perhaps-in the room? he asked, for once abandoning his typical sarcasm. Vrolok looked thoughtfully at the panther, then back at the door.
I'm sorry, did I miss something? You trust me now? he said, but nonetheless closed his eyes, concentrating, and began to probe the area, searching for any life. As his mind reached farther into the room, he felt the heat and heard the heartbeat of something that was unmistakably alive, unmistakably human. For a second he thought he felt the flicker of something else, too, but then it was gone and though he searched for it, he didn't find anything unusual again. He withdrew the vampiric part of his mind back into his body and opened his eyes.
There's definitely a human inside. I couldn't sense anything else, he said, figuring that if there was something else inside the room, he would be able to escape it and let these fools deal with it themselves. He doubted any vampire could hide from him that well. Orion glanced at Vrolok, not believing him for a second. He paused, unwilling to put Linae - or Sheela, or anybody else besides Vrolok, for that matter - in danger. Finally he said, privately to Linae and Sheela,
I don't trust Vrolok. I don't know what's behind that door, but I swear there's something there that's...not right. Not that anything in this cursed castle is exactly right, but this doesn't even feel human. Nonethless, if Laurel is in there...He trailed off, though the two women could easily finish his thought. If Laurel was in there, they couldn't abandon her to who knows what. Vrolok look impatiently at the two women. Well? he asked, speaking in their minds, clearly wanting to enter the room. Orion spoke for them.
Alright, we'll go in, but you and I will enter first. If there's anything in that room besides Laurel, Linae and Sheela don't come in. And if you try to hurt them or put them in harm's way, my fangs will find your throat. Make no mistake about that, Vampyr, he snarled. Vrolok was astonished at the Shifter's incredible hubris. Imagine, thinking that he, some ordinary shifter, could kill an immortal? But before he could make a retort, Orion's last word sunk into Vrolok's brain. Spoken by a regular human, he wouldn't have even noticed it. But Orion said it differently, in an accent that Vrolok couldn't quite place and which seemed to give power to the word. He kept his face blank, showing no emotion, but he couldn't help thinking that there was more to this strange shifter than first met the eye. He hoped all of these remaining castle guests were killed off soon, so that he could act without worrying again. With one glance back to ensure that the Shifter, Linae, and Sheela, were ready, he reached for the old doorknob and every so gently turned it. Carefully he opened the door, but it protested, hinges squealing. Sheela winced, and the group tensed, but nothing moved in the room. Vrolok opened the door all the way and then immediately disappeared, leaving Orion, Sheela and Linae standing in the open doorway alone.