Holding Hands with Hope

Avalon sighed worriedly, brushing back a strand of her wayward red locks. She had checked Sheela's room three times, Linae's and Laurel's twice, and she hadn't seen Fia or Dalani in who knows how long. Red was probably trying to put the moves on Daffodil, the poor naive thing, Marles was probably drunk in the cellar, Ardon was doing only he knew what, and Balinor...
"What's wrong, love?" the Druid himself asked, a look of concern on his face. She was perched on the edge of the bed, and he lay next to her, sprawled out comfortably. A spark of life crept back into her emerald green eyes as she heard his words, and she turned towards him, a small smile on her face, though it was quickly replaced with a frown.
"I don't know where they could be, Balinor...we've both checked their rooms, we've even gone wandering as far as we dare go, and checked the maids' quarters and the kitchens. We haven't found anyone, and barely a sign of them at all. Where on earth could they be? There are so many of us, how could I-we-actually be alone in this great labyrinth of a castle? If we lose each other, then we'll really be lost...oh we're barely hanging on as it is, confusion is around every corner...I think I'm going to go crazy if I stay here any longer!" she finished, balling her hands into fists. Balinor pushed himself up and moved closer to Avalon, wrapping his arms around her trembling form. He sighed.
"I know what you mean, and I feel useless even as a Druid. For some reason my magic keeps going haywire in this castle...well, tell you what. Let's go look in Sheela's room one more time, and if we still can't find her, I'll try a detection spell. We can do this, and we'll all get through it, together," he murmured into her hair, still holding her close. Avalon smiled.
"Alright, I guess I could let you be the hero for once. Let's go, then," she said with a chuckle, pulling him off the bed. He followed her dutifully, and reached for her hand as they started down the hallway, infusing warmth and hope into them both, and perhaps even to the cold gray walls surrounding them.

Things Fall Apart

Sheela was pacing the room furiously, glass lain forgotten in a maroon puddle on the pale carpet. She rubbed at her eyes and swung her hand through the air at phantoms of her frustration. Linae watched, unnerved, feeling the tension building in the room. Laurel hadn't said a word since Sheela had gone off on her, and sat curled up in an armchair, trying to nail the other Ranger with an icy glare.
Sheela stopped abruptly. "So, let me get this straight...you've seen him several times, didn't kill him, and didn't even tell any of us about it, leaving us to wonder about your health and well being but feeling completely alright with putting each one of us in danger, letting that blood-sucking mongrel to roam without a thought?"
Linae thought she could see the frost forming around Laurel's words.
"He. Didn't. Kill. Me."
Sheela whirled on the vampire huntress. "So he has a fetish with you! As if he'd give a damn about the rest of us! We-can-die-too!"
Linae closed her eyes, trying to block out the scene before her. She could feel the very threads that had held them all together coming undone, a flimsy tapestry of trust...unravelling. She pushed the thought away and concentrated, letting her surroundings fade out as she sought the familiarity of her constant companion. She found a flicker; rage, fear; and almost pulled back her mind in shock. Grudgingly she clung on, forcing past the vibrant, pulsing emotions, and suddenly saw flashes of Orion's vision; a strange hallway, a shade, a room... Linae's curiosity melded with Orion's as the scene before him came sharply into focus.
She felt her own shock melting into realization. This was the other vampire Laurel had spoken of, a mirror image of Vrolok.
But which was which?
The unbound vampire was speaking.
"...knew it would work...capture the vampire huntress, and add your eternal weakness to the bait you already couldn't refuse..."
Then this was the foreign vampire...
"...actually have gone soft, haven't you? You can't kill her...I've watched you, and you just can't bring yourself to do it...can't bring yourself to sink your deadly fangs into her smooth, pale throat, forever destroying any chance of the humanity it's so obvious you desperately crave."
Humanity...?
Linae felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach. He was a vampire...but did he still cling to what he had lost? And he thought Laurel could somehow help him...but how?
A little voice in the back of her mind whispered that the huntress should never know what she had just seen, just heard. Even if Vrolok had resisted this long...
She felt the flicker of another mind, there and gone. She waited...an image appeared in her mind, Orion attacking the shade, freeing Vrolok...she felt the tumult of Orion's thoughts, then a single decision.
I don't fear death.
A sudden surge of immense power, rage, pushed back her mind. She gasped, the last image in her mind that of Orion lunging forward, pinning the dark creature before him. She sank to the floor. Her frantic thoughts flitted about; a vampire, the image of Vrolok, the shade...she realized she was afraid. Not just for Orion...the raw power, such unrestrained hatred...she had never felt that in him, before. Had never realized what he was truely capable of. And maybe she still didn't...
Get yourself together, Linae. You've known him forever, there's nothing to fear, he would never... The thought ended itself. How well did she know him? They had travelled together for so many years...but he had never shared his past. Vague answers, all of them, she realized. She had let them go, because he had been her comrade, faithful companion, through thick and thin. But isn't that what mattered? She had trusted these others; people she knew nothing about but their names and occupations; had practically trusted them with her life since she had arrived. She settled her thoughts. Orion was her friend; she knew him, who he was inside; and that was what mattered.
Tentatively, she reached out, seeking his mind. There was a bold flash of defiance, a surge of satisfaction, a glimpse of the shade fading away...something wasn't right.
He turned to look at the vampires, circling, calculating, but the vision she perceived seemed blurry around the edges, unfocused. It felt as if a weight were slowly pressing down...his mind began to slip from her before she realized what was happening.
Orion!
Blackness filled her mind's eye, cold blackness, his presence was gone.

"ORION!"

Of Vampires, Shades, and Shifters

Orion tore out of the room, eyes glowing fiercely with the eerily sapphire hue that never dulled. Ahead, he could feel the shade's presence; it was like a burning under his skin, and it ripped at his soul. It clouded his mind and yet drove him on with a clear and single-minded purpose: destroy the Shade. Conversely, another voice, buried far back with the painful memories of the past but gaining in strength, urged him to do the opposite: join the Shade, assist it, but, more importantly, find its Master. Between the two impulses, he was at an almost complete loss; though he still followed the Shade, confusion and fear replaced his single-minded purpose. He was so involved by the struggle in his mind that he didn't notice that his current whereabouts were unfamiliar; he was following the Shade to a part of the castle that was, at least to most of the guests, unknown. Finally he realized that the Shade had stopped moving, and that was enough persuasion in itself to make him run faster. He stopped suddenly in front of an open doorway, his eyes still fiercely glowing with a strange power; a dark feline shape against the castle's gray walls. Inside the room, a deadly confrontation was taking place. Though the shade was still holding Vrolok, still surrounding him with its dark shadow-like form, Vrolok seemed hardly to notice, for standing in front of him was his own image. His twin, exactly like him in everyway except the most important, and his enemy. Umbrael was smirking smugly, evidently very pleased with himself. He didn't seem to notice Orion at first, who was still paused at the doorway, watching this most curious scene. The powers that were so strong a moment ago, urging Orion to act despite what he had wanted to do, had suddenly faded, distracted as Orion was by the scene in front of him.
"Well, well, well," began Umbrael, still smirking. "I-or, should I say, we-have caught you, my pathetic, confused alter ego." Vrolok interrupted before Umbrael could continue.
"I was never your alter ego, you damned narcissistic fool." Vrolok's voice wasn't raised in anger, but it somehow managed to convey both smoldering hate and fury with a sense of conviction. Umbrael's eyes narrowed slightly, but his voice remained smug.
"Still avoiding fate, I see," he goaded, circling Vrolok as if to emphasize who was held captive, and who was in control. It was then that his black eyes alighted on the panther.
"And...Orion, if I recall right, how nice of you to join us. I'm sure He will be pleased that you've returned of your own accord." Orion's fur bristled and he snarled softly, showing his powerful fangs. He wasn't sure who Umbrael was referring to, but he didn't care for the insinuation that he was in alliance with someone Umbrael knew when he obviously wasn't...unless...with a determination born of desperation, he pushed those thoughts away and focused once more on the conflict in front of him, for Umbrael had turned once more to Vrolok.
"I knew it would work...capture the vampire huntress, and add your eternal weakness to the bait you already couldn't refuse..." Umbrael sneered again. "You actually have gone soft, haven't you? You can't kill her...I've watched you," he whispered, taunting Vrolok still, "and you just can't bring yourself to do it...can't bring yourself to sink your deadly fangs into her smooth, pale throat, forever destroying any chance of the humanity it's so obvious you desperately crave." Suddenly, Orion felt the presence of another mind in his own; just barely a flicker, then it was gone. He eyed Vrolok warily, able to identify his aura. Then it came again, only this time, a simple picture; no words, just an image of Orion attacking the shade while Vrolok, freed, lunged for Umbrael. The mental communication was so basic, barely any conscious thought was needed to use it. Which was probably why, Orion figured, Umbrael had not reacted to its use. Orion understood easily enough what Vrolok wanted; but he hesitated a moment, unsure if helping Vrolok was the right thing to do. He did want to kill the Shade, oh yes, that was easy enough to decide...he supposed that perhaps if he let Vrolok go, the vampires would kill each other...and that would end many conflicts at once...and now that he thought about it, he realized he probably would rather have Vrolok live than Umbrael, though that was due more to an increased knowledge of Vrolok and what he was about rather than an emotional attachment. He discarded the dangers of what would happen if Umbrael prevailed; he wasn't worried about death...And with that final thought, he sprang into action. Though it was the panther who sprang from the ground, it was the oh-so-familiar unicorn who landed, hooves flashing and horn glowing, beside the Shade and released Vrolok from its grasp. It was an almost subconscious shapechange; the Unicorn, a symbol of his defiance, of what he had chosen to stand for after his dark past, and an obvious adversary to the Shade, which had no conscience to speak of. Orion cornered the shade, which was unable to drift through the nearby wall, snared in the magic flowing around the Unicorn, snared in the horn's unearthly light which revealed it for all that it was: simply a servant, with no truly independent mind or will, cloaked in its own evil deeds. Orion was winning his battle, he could feel it; the shade's power was slipping away, undone by the light and by the sheer will - this time truly Orion's and not some other's urging - which it could not understand. Though it shrieked in fury and leeched away Orion's strength and purpose, though it weakened him, it could not do enough to stop him and finally, with one last shriek of disbelief, the Shade lay stilled under Orion's glimmering hooves, and dissipated into nothing. Orion then was only barely aware that Vrolok and Umbrael stood facing each other, ignorant of the fate of Unicorn or Shade, before blackness and an incredibly empty feeling overwhelmed him and he knew no more.

The Deepest Truths

Laurel felt the numb buzz; the only thing clouding her increasingly frantic thoughts; beginning to fade. Her throat was tight; she couldn't find her voice. Vaguely she was aware of Sheela and Linae at her side, words unintelligible and voices soft but fringed with impatience...panic.
She felt cold.
She tucked her legs up against her, huddled with her arms wrapped tightly about her legs, shivering feverishly. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and her eyes were clouded as the scene played itself out agian in her mind's eye...
Vrolok, bent over her, ready bleed her dry...a black shadow, lunging at her love, tearing at him, her voice breaking into an awful shriek...something bright, fierce, tearing at the shade...sudden freedom of her wrists, ankles, a blur of movement...the room, now. It had all seemed to happen in slow motion, then, but now it played itself over and over in frightening speed and repetition. A whirl of questions filled her head, threating to tear her apart. Why had Vrolok wanted to kill her? Why had she screamed?
But she knew the answer to the second question. She loved him. The shock of admitting this to herself, after denying it for so long...and suddenly she knew she had been wrong. He hadn't wanted to kill her. At that moment, when he had looked into her eyes, she had been panicked, and that other had looked just like him...
The other.
"Laurel! What's wrong with you!" Sheela's voice snapped into her thoughts.
"Sheela, calm down, I'm worried too, but she's in shock..."
"There's two."
Sheela and Linae were silent, staring with surprise at the vampire huntress. Linae recovered herself first. "Two? Two what, Laurel?" She tried to keep her voice steady. "Tell us what happened back there."
Laurel's voice was soft. "There's two of them, two vampires."
She heard one of them make a hiccuping sound, and when she turned to gaze at them, there eyes were wide, dumbstruck. Her own filled with conviction. "There are two vampires. Vrolok and another. He knows Vrolok, he kidnapped me and used me as bait. He looked just like Vrolok, but I don't know if it was just an illusion." Her voice tremored. "And Vrolok didn't try to kill me."
She watched warring emotions flicker accross the Ranger's faces, watched them shoot questioning looks to each other. Finally Linae gave a long sigh, weariness starting to show in her fair features. "We knew there were two vampires, or we thought we did. Vrolok told us; we weren't sure if we could believe him, but Orion confirmed it, so we trusted him...then suddenly he was hovering over you, and we all thought he was going to kill you. Then that shade creature attacked," Linae caught the flicker of pain in Laurel's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, "and Orion went after it. He's still out there."
Laurel weighed her words carefully, sensing something coming. "You knew there were two vampires...but you saw Vrolok, and thought you had been betrayed."
Linae nodded. "I didn't have time to think. But all the way through the halls, I kept thinking it just didn't make sense. Why would he lead us to you? Then when you said there were two, I remembered and I was in shock because we had only just found out..."
Laurel smiled softly. There it was. Subtle, she applauded the Ranger for that.
Linae caught the smile. The huntress knew. "You said the other looked like Vrolok. When did you get a good look at his face?"
There was a bitter laugh behind them. They turned to see Sheela, hunched on the bed with a large glass goblet of red wine in her hand. It looked half empty.
"Stop beating around the bush, Linae. You and I both know she knows what we're getting at. See? She's smiling again."
Indeed the huntress had a grin of amusement on her face.
Sheela leaned forward, staring seriously at her. "How long have you known?"
"Not much longer than you have."
The huntress caught the flicker of warning in the Ranger's eyes. "Laurel..."
She looked away. "Since he kidnapped me."
She could feel the Ranger's eyes burning into her. "How did you know?"
Laurel felt her breath catch. That was the trap. Nicely done, Ranger...
"Laurel?"
She tried desperately to think of some excuse, something other than the truth...
"Laurel, how did you know it wasn't him." Blatant. It wasn't a question anymore.
She felt her stomach churn.
"His voice."

A Plan In Action

Laurel had quit struggling against the straps that bound her to the table after her first fifteen attempts at breaking them had failed. She figured she'd give it five minutes, then try again. Umbrael-and his eerie companion-had disappeared over twenty minutes ago, leaving her alone with her fear. She tried to reach one of the knives on her belt again, without luck. "Shikes," she whispered, then gave up waiting and leaned forward into the thick leather straps again, throwing her weight into it. They barely moved. She leaned back and was just about to try again when suddenly, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, heard rusty squeals. She held her breath, heart stopped, hoping it was someone coming to help her and not whoever she-as bait-was intended for. From her position in the room she could see the door, but she couldn't see very far into the corridor, couldn't see if anyone was lurking in the shadows. She didn't hear anything, but then she noticed a peculiar cloud of dust making its way toward her. Her heart stopped all over again, because suddenly, there before her, stood Vrolok. There was no mistaking him; she was certain it wasn't Umbrael, though she didn't know why. "Laurel," he murmured softly, but she realized that he wasn't looking so much at her eyes, but at her neck, her arms. At the blood. She realized with a pang of cold fear that perhaps he was the one they wanted, that perhaps he was in trouble-Before she could finish her train of thought, a shadow blacker than the deep of night detached itself from the corner of the room, swooping down upon Vrolok and Laurel. Just as suddenly, a powerful feline form sprang from the doorway, seeming alien and familiar all at once. The sinister shadow reached the table first, however, and Vrolok was only starting to dissipate into dust when it enveloped him. Laurel screamed without realizing what she was doing, without thinking. She saw Linae and Sheela rush into the room, trying to understand who was attacking who. Indeed, it was hard to tell. The shade was smothering Vrolok, who could barely fight back and seemed unable to disintegrate into his dust-like form. The panther, with eyes glowing like blue fire, was ripping at the shade, and surprisingly enough, his claws seemed to be dealing damage to the incorporeal wraith. Sheela slipped around the fighting trio and hurried to Laurel's side, though Laurel seemed barely to notice. She only saw Vrolok, struggling with inhuman strength and still unable to free himself from the seemingly insubstantial shadow. Sheela cut the leather straps holding Laurel with her dagger while Linae rushed to help Orion; but who did she attack? What was this shade, and why was Orion protecting Vrolok, of all people? Her confusion rendered her unable to help until Orion roared in frustration. The sound was deafening, and infused with magic, it seemed, that woke Linae from her spell and drove Sheela to quicker action. Linae attempted to stab the wraith with her dagger, but to no avail; none of her weapons could harm its ethereal form. Sheela pulled a stunned Laurel off of the table; she seemed oblivious to what Sheela was doing, and offered no resistance nor cooperation. Linae backed away from the furiously fighting trio, unable to offer assistance of any type, and joined Sheela and Laurel. Orion continued to fight like a creature possessed, and Vrolok struggled with equal strength, but it seemed as if the shade could not be destroyed. Linae, Laurel and Sheela could only watch in disbelief as suddenly, the wraith gathered what was left of its energy and pulled itself and Vrolok closer to the nearby wall. Orion roared again, causing the three women to clap their hands over their ears, but the shade had a will of iron, and with one final surge, it pulled itself and Vrolok through the wall. Refusing to give up, for a reason not even Linae could fathom, Orion roared and ran out of the room, attempting to pursue the wraith. Linae tried to reach him, but when she opened a mental connection between them his emotions were so volatile, so full of anger and hatred and resentment and fear that she immediately had to close it again to save herself from being harmed. Shaking her head in shock and fear of her own, she helped Sheela support Laurel, who was finally starting to respond and move on her own, and they all left the room as fast as they could. When they reached the corridor, Linae looked once in the direction that she knew Orion had taken, but with a sigh turned the opposite way, back towards the guest corridors and Sheela's room, where she hoped Laurel could give both her and Sheela answers as to what had occurred in that dark room.

Betrayal?

Orion didn't give more than a heartbeat before he shoved the two women away from the door.
Linae stumbled, tripping over Sheela only a step behind her, and bit back a nasty curse. "Orion! In all of Holy Fath-" Shhh! Be QUIET! He crept silently to the door, a liquid black shadow, and pressed himself as flat to the floor as he could go. What is it? Linae asked, still a little shaken. He could hear it in her thought speech. Well, other than the fact that he just disappeared, I certainly don't see a reason to worry, how about you? Linae was quiet for a moment. Alright, I get it. Can you see what's going on? Orion hesitated. To say honestly...well, he couldn't. He wasn't quite sure what he was seeing. For in the chamber beyond, if his eyes didn't deceive, was Laurel, and about to have a taste of her sweet blood...Vrolok.

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.