"Well. You're just going to have to join me now, aren't you."

The last thing Kaiou had really expected in this bizarre journey was happening now. If anyone was going to sexually assault her, by rights it should have been one of the men. Kyle, maybe. Not that she would have minded that too much, but this – this was just pissing her off.

It was bad enough, really, that she was taking advantage of Grove. That was kind of gross. He was all skin and bone. Maybe he was Tsukai's type, but it just didn't do it for Kaiou.

Neither did the uncomfortably rough way Leila had tied her wrists together and to some random piece of jutty metal in the tank. And the way she had been spread-eagled was equally uncomfortable, mainly because a cramp was forming in her left hip and thigh, and she was tied too well to shift in a way that relieved the pain.

All other things considered, she probably would have enjoyed this, if it wasn't for Grove's self-pitying weeping, and Leila's obvious inexperience – or lack of interest in the mutual pleasure of another woman. Tch, selfish.

As things stood, Kaiou was quite unhappy. Leila had a beautiful body, but that expression on her face was not doing her any favors. Kaiou yelped as Leila's unkempt nails scratched her on the inside, not a pleasant sensation. She tried to tell her to watch the nails, but the gag made that difficult. That was another thing that bugged her. Some nasty rag stuffed in her mouth! It tasted like sweat and ass. Or worse, sweaty ass.

Leila was once again just getting into her fun time when the door to the tank creaked open and a cheerful Tsukai bounded in, his arms full of ripe coconuts.

"Look what I fou - " Shock spread across his features. Several loud thuds echoed in the suddenly silent tank as he dropped his armful of randomly placed fruit, and a choking sound escaped him.

Unsettling Futures

By Jamie Carlson (a.k.a. Cardinal Syn)

and (the real) Nida Richards
Chapter Ten:
"Breaking Point"

"Goddamn it!" Borgov violently kicked the corpse of his horse.

It had been showing some signs of trouble for a while, but they didn't have time to stop and rest. And now, the poor creature had finally given up the ghost, collapsing on the forest path. Kyle rolled his eyes.

"You sure as hell aren't getting my horse. You can walk back to town and get a new one."

Borgov threw his brother a steely look, then sighed and rubbed the back of his massive neck. "Sonovabitch... Fine. You guys go on ahead, we don't have time to dawdle. Don't kill her before I get there though, you hear me?"

The last part was shouted at the quickly retreating backs of his younger brothers. Snorting in disgust, Borgov unhooked his saddle bag from the horse and thew it across one shoulder. He had just clenched a cigar between his teeth when a sudden rustling sound caught his attention. Hands poised to light the cigar, he stared, dumbfounded, at the two figures that emerged from the brush.

"Alex". And that furry bastard who was traveling with Count Meier Link. Neither of them looked too happy.

It clicked as he looked from Nida's cold golden eyes to Mashira's burning orbs.

"So. I get the feeling you heard more than you should have."

"I get the feeling you killed a perfectly good horse!" Nida/Alex snapped, losing all pretense. Her voice was back to normal, just a little higher in pitch than her usual "Alex" voice. They were going to kill Charlotte and, even worse!, he had killed a horse! Unforgivable!

Borgov was taken aback by this a bit, and even Mashira tossed Nida an uncertain glance, wondering if the horse took higher precedence than Charlotte to this creature. Realizing that yes, it did, he simply shrugged mentally and returned his attention to Borgov.

Mashira appreciated Borgov's skill, his muscles, the way he clenched that long, tantalizingly shaped cigar in his teeth... but he couldn't forgive the plot against the lady Charlotte.

"Do you always kill the women you are hired to rescue?" Mashira's accusatory tone made Borgov twitch a little. He paced back a bit as Mashira began to stalk toward him, muscles bunching for a spring. He knocked a bolt into his wrist-mounted crossbow.

"Hell no! But.. this girl's different. I'm sure she'll be happy to die, knowing we're gonna kill that sumbitch vampire lover of hers! Hell, who would want dead dick anyway? She's out of her gord!" Borgov sneered cruelly. The sneer vanished, however, when he felt a sharp, sudden pain in his heart. He looked down.

The tip of one of his own arrows protruded from his chest. The razor-sharp edges were more than a match for the leathers he wore. Eyes widening, he turned slowly to stare at Nida. When had she moved?

She stood behind him now, arm still raised from firing the bolt. Her expression was as blank and cold as a statue of the angel of death. He finally really noticed her more feminine features – the long lashes around the golden brown eyes that seemed to narrow like a cat's, the faint hint of breasts peaking up underneath the black vest she wore, the slender build of her neck - and the last thought in Borgov's mind as he dropped dead to the floor was how it was such a pity he hadn't gotten a chance to bang the little tomboy.

Mashira looked down at the corpse, throughly disappointed. Neither had he had an honorable, bloody fight with that man, nor had he had an honorable, bloody romp with him. What a waste.

"I realize that he was going to die anyway, but that wasn't an honorable way to end his life," Mashira commented casually.

The wolfman's eyes followed Nida's movement as she plucked the cigar from the ground where it had rolled away from Borgov's open mouth. She brushed it off and broke off the end Borgov had bitten down on, turning it around to stick the other end in her mouth. Around the unlit cigar, which tasted pleasantly of tobacco and some sort of flavor that didn't make her gag (which she appreciated, as it would have ruined the effect), she said to Mashira:

"Fucker killed a perfectly good horse."

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Tsukai did the only thing he could really think of in the moment.

Coconuts began flying through the air.

Leila cursed and rolled leaned out of the way of an incoming nut. The coconut struck Kaiou on the forehead instead. A screech followed by rapid angry mumbling erupted around the gag. Leila reached for her weapon, dodging the volley of coconuts and turning her back on Tsukai.

Out of fruit to throw, Tsukai roared and bum-rushed the naked woman. Leila turned and drove her fist into Tsukai's solar plexus, sending the younger man reeling back, mouth dropped in surprise. Air rushed from his mouth as he fell back and collapsed, curling around his midsection. Pain lit his eyes as he looked up at Leila with naked hate.

Leila smirked, retrieving her gun and aiming it at Tsukai's head.

"This is going to be one hell of a mess to clean up before the boys get home."

A strange rasping cry ripped through the air as Grove tore himself free of the tie around his hands, skeletal frame lurching toward Leila. Startled, she turned toward him, pulling the trigger on her air-compression gun.

The sound was like a small, wet explosion. Kaiou stopped struggling and snarling against the gag and stared, tawny eyes wide and round. Tsukai's expression turned from hate to horror as Leila slowly lowered the gun.

Grove now sat with his back against the side of the tank, legs folded uncomfortably, head lolled downward as he gazed uncomprehendingly at the soccer-ball sized hole where his heart and lungs were. A deep dent of similar shape, dripping in gore, was visible through the hole in his chest.

Grove's bruised eyes slowly moved from his damaged chest. The feverish light of his gaze began to dim as his eyes met Tsukai's own.

Grove began to slide sideways leaving a trail of gore on the tank wall. Time seemed to slow as Tsukai stood, his eyes never leaving Grove's as the wasting man slumped to his side.

The strained silence finally broke, an enraged roar ripping through Tsukai's throat as he slammed his wiry frame into Leila. Caught off guard, the woman toppled to the floor. Her grip on her gun was firm, but Tsukai pinned his weight on her gun arm. Leila snarled and bucked, trying to rid herself of his weight.

She managed to roll him off, but he was on her again in a flash, before she was able to level the gun. It fired, tearing through the jutting metal Kaiou was tied to.

The blast had freed her hands, but metal shards left scratches in her arms and face. Angry and frantic, Kaiou shook off the shredded ties and began the painful process of leaning sideways enough to catch the leather that bound one foot and then the other. Her eyes flicked from her bonds to the struggling duo in the middle of the cramped space, avoiding looking at the bed where Grove lay. The smell of the gore was making her nauseous.

Leila managed a well-placed blow to Tsukai's jaw, sending him reeling back. Before she could bring the barrel of her gun down on his head, Kaiou grabbed her gun arm. The two fought as Leila scrambled to her feet, Tsukai standing drunkenly a few feet away. He was covered in bruises and a scratch under his left eye bled freely.

He looked to Grove again. As he searched for any trace of life in Grove's blankly staring eyes, there was a flash of white light in his head.

Grove, whole and youthful, stood before him in the light. He was smiling a serene, secret smile. He floated naked in the soft white light. Tsukai could only stare at the man in astonishment, unsure of what was happening.

Grove held out his hand to Tsukai, who hesitantly took it. Grove pulled him close, wrapping lean, strong arms around the slightly shorter Tsukai. He said something, but no sound came from his lips.

He kissed Tsukai then, and the boy felt a thrill of electricity through his whole body. He felt as if thousands of soft hands were caressing his skin and his soul at the same time. Equal parts familiar and strange, he wanted the feeling to continue. He thought he could hear laughter, soft and masculine...

He watched what happened next through eyes that were his but were not.

Leila had slammed Kaiou up against the wall. The younger woman cursed and flopped to the floor, hand to the back of her head. Leila turned back toward Grove/Tsukai, breasts heaving as she drew in harsh breaths, winded by the struggle. Smirking, she raised the gun to point it at Tsukai, but paused in the action, the smirk dissolving as her mouth gaped.

"Grove?" she whispered hoarsely. Tsukai wondered how he must look. He could see the faint ghostly light in Leila's stunned blue eyes as she stared at him, faltering.

"Leila..." Tsukai whispered in a voice that was not Tsukai's. "It seems that.. the Markus Clan... has reached its end... For a while... I did love you, dear Leila..."

"What the hell are you saying? I – you know I didn't mean to shoot you! You attacked me!"

"Leila... I'm so tired... of hurting people..."

"Grove!"

"Our brothers.. won't last. Not against him... you didn't see it, Leila... These children... they were a brief light in our darkness... and it's time for us to move on.." Tsukai's arms raised, an expression of ecstasy spreading across his face. Small balls of light began to form around his frame, which had begun to float inches above the floor. ".. to the next life."

Kaiou screamed and lowered her head as white-hot beams of light sliced through the air above her, burning small holes in the rear of the Markus' tank. Leila's naked body was penetrated repeatedly by the brilliant shafts of light. The gun fell from numb fingers as one of the points of light entered and exited her head.

As Leila's lifeless body fell sideways and landed atop the body of Grove, Tsukai felt a last brief, regretful sigh pass his lips. The ghostly feeling of a hand passed against his cheek.

He felt his heart break as the love he never would know faded form the world of the living, leaving him cold and desolate inside.

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Lilium's lips parted, but she couldn't force her voice out. Standing alone there, no one to back her up, no one to be brave for, she finally felt afraid. Afraid of that cold man and the ease with which he could kill.

He was the picture of loneliness – a grave-looking young man, looking to be barely over eighteen, but with a heavy weight that aged him in her mind. Darkness clung to him, cobwebs on a discarded mannequin. The horse he sat on shifted its head, seeming more alive than even its rider.

She tried again, her voice finally coming in a trembling whisper.

"Stop hunting them."

Lilium wasn't entirely sure what she expected. Perhaps that he would ignore her and ride past, or maybe even cut her in half for standing in his way. He simply sat on his cybernetic horse, staring down at her. The miasma he gave off seemed to cause a breeze that pushed the small wildflowers and low grass of the clearing away from them.

Finally, he spoke.

"Why do you want to protect them?"

Lilium rocked in place, the force in his words – the burning hatred, confusion – sending her reeling before she caught her balance. His eyes were practically glowing under the wide brim of his traveler's hat. Rage directed at her and nothing and everything all at once rolled over her. Her hand went to her heart as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Unconsciously, her hand went to her neck, feeling the small pinpricks remaining from the single bite she received from Meier Link.

"Why do you want to kill them? No – that isn't fair, I'm answering with a question. I want to protect them because I... I can feel it, I can feel his love for Charlotte. I can feel how he means it when he says he wants to live a happy life with her!" Her voice was getting higher in pitch. Tears were falling now, but she wasn't aware of them. "I can feel how sad he is when he acknowledges that they're hoping for a dream, that reality can't be as beautiful as they're hoping – and I want it to be beautiful for them!"

Lilium took several steps toward D. His horse shied, startled by the angry woman marching toward it, skirts swirling.

"I want to protect him because he was kind to me. He was angry at Mashira for taking me, angry at Caroline! He wanted to send me back, but... I wouldn't go. He was dying and I don't know how to explain it but I could feel it like countless cells in his body were gasping for air, crying in pain."

She was sobbing now, and had to stop to calm herself. She looked scared, not of D but of herself, of what she had been feeling since she had arrived in this world.

"I want to help them... because I would just die if it were me. It's too sad."

"You're a naïve child."

"You're a prick."

"You - " suddenly D was twisted around in his saddle, sword unsheathed, and a grayish, misty mass was floating lifelessly down, the red core of it split in two. It evaporated as Lilium stared, dumbfounded.

"What the - "

"Devourer Mist. We're being surrounded. We need to get out of the forest." D said simply, turning back toward her and urging his mount forward. He was by her side in a second, reaching to her. Lilium stared at his hand like she didn't know what it was.

"I haven't decided yet if you are a slave to Meier Link. Either way, you are not a threat to me, not really. I am going to take you with me, and we will resolve the matter later. Or, you can stay here and let the Mist take you."

Lilium grasped his hand and felt her stomach drop as he hauled her up to his horse. He positioned her side-saddle, his arms holding her in place. She shifted so that her knee was hooked on the saddle horn. Her hands immediately twisted into the mane of the horse.

"I h-hate heights!" she shrieked as they lurched forward, past two of the strange gray mist-monsters that had begun slowly creeping across the path out.

"Where are we going?"

"To your friend, Nida."

Lilium started.

"You just... you saved me, and now you're taking me to Nida?"

"Only until I know for sure whether or not I should kill you."

Lilium just smiled. He could deny it all he liked, but she had felt it – the tiniest ping of worry when he realized they were being surrounded. Worry for her.

Amused, Lilium shut her eyes against the wind as they seemed to reach speeds only a car should be able to match, and held tightly to the horse's strangely silky mane. Though she may have been with the man who may kill her at any moment, she felt safer than she had all day.

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Nida and Mashira had been discussing how best to kill the rest of the Markus Brothers when they turned to the sound of hooves. Nida cried out in surprise and joy when she saw Lilium, pale and clinging desperately to D's horse.

"LIL! And he got you on a horse!"

"Niiidaaaaa!" Lilium practically whined, opening her eyes long enough to confirm her friend was there. When D pulled his horse up next to Nida and Mashira, Lilium began wriggling in his grasp. He looked at her quissically, and she blushed.

"I – horse, afraid of – of heights!" Lilium panted, sweating. Watching her was like watching a kitten wriggling in the hands of a human when it didn't want to be held. D dropped his reigns and shifted one arm around her, turning with her. They both landed on the road, Lilium's feet touching down a fraction after D's.

Lilium was shaking when Nida came over. Lilium's eyes roamed the road where they had stopped, and froze on the carcass of Borgov. She turned gray and suddenly threw herself away from D.

She ran to the edge of the trees and, holding her hair back, retched into the bushes.

Grimacing at the stench of vomit, Mashira wrinkled his nose. "I take it the sight of this death pushed her over the edge then." He turned to D. "Did you bring her here so you could kill all of us at once?" he snarled.

"He hasn't decided..." Lilium's voice was weak and she giggled drunkenly. She stayed by the edge of the forest, her hand over her mouth and back to Borgov's corpse. "What did he do, Nida?"

Wet eyes met Nida's calm golden orbs.

"They're gonna kill Charlotte, and he killed a perfectly good horse."

"What?" Lilium spun around, shock widening her eyes. Mashira moved swiftly next to her, steadying her with an arm around her waist. He handed her a small flask of water, and she distracted herself by rinsing her mouth out.

"They plan on murdering both her, and my Master," Mashira muttered. "We need to get to the castle as quickly as possible. This detour may have already given the rest of the Brothers Markus the time they need."

Mashira looked to D then, studying him.

"Well. I don't think it's going to benefit anyone for us to fight here and now. If you make a move toward Lilium or the Master, I will try and strike you down. For now... I feel it is best that we meet up with the Master. Charlotte is everyone's main concern at this point – you for your money, us for protecting her."

"Agreed."

The single word surprised everyone. D agreeing? That was... unusual.

"I can run the length there. Nida and Lilium, please ride together behind D – if he allows." Mashira threw a look at the Hunter. "I will follow behind to make sure nothing is coming up behind us." Mashira's body shifted as he spoke. He took a form similar to a traditional wolf-man, with a second wolf's head snarling in his middle. Lilium reluctantly let Nida help her atop Nida's horse.

D did not argue with them. As soon as the two girls were ready, he took off like a shot toward the fortress. Dusk began to creep around them as they traveled, and they pushed forward as fast as they dared, pausing rarely to let the horses – and the height-shaken Lilium – rest briefly.

None could shake the horrid feeling growing in their guts.

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The urgency they felt kept the travelers silent as they neared the fortress. Nida noticed Lilium begin to shake as they drew up to the edge of the dried out moat that had once surrounded the massive, gray building. It looked like central courtyard that had been expanded and enlarged to thirty times the normal size, with high outer walls.

"Something feels wrong," Lilium mumbled quietly. Nida frowned and turned toward D, who was sitting three feet to her right, staring silently at the building.

"Are we on the wrong side? I don't see a bridge," Nida commented, turning her attention back to the dark, silent fortress.

"I smell my Master," came Mashira's gravelly wolf voice. Lilium jumped and looked down to the right, where Mashira had drawn up next to Nida's horse. She had no idea why the animal hadn't shied the minute the wolf-man had come near it.

"Other side then?" At Mashira's nod, Nida guided her horse to follow him. D drew up behind, still silent.

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What waited for them was a sight that would burn itself into their memories for the rest of their days.

Night had fully fallen. Lights atop the battlements of the fortress burned brightly in the sky. As they had followed the moat, perimeter lights had flickered to life, practically guiding them. A very dim glow could be seen from the pendant around D's neck.

The other side of the fortress looked much like the main side, with the addition of a long steel and other, less easily identified metals stretching across to the gaping maw that was the doorway to the inner courtyard of the fortress.

Atop the high battlements, over the several-story-high doors, was a figure lit by harsh spotlights. It was naked save for shreds of what had once been a beautiful yellow dress, tattered bits brushing against skin that was pale and creamy save for the cuts and bruises visible on her body.

The four drew up slowly. Mashira was literally frothing with rage – saliva dripped from both his main and secondary mouths (which was rather icky, but no one really noticed). Standing at the edge of the bridge was a shape Lilium and Mashira knew well, and it was nearly howling in agony.

"CHAAAARLOOOOOOOOOOTE! NOOO! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE!"

Meier was radiating a miasma to battle even with the freakish aura D himself could emit. The horses shied and whinnied, and D and Nida had to calm them before they threw their riders.

"Oh god – Charlotte?" Lilium whispered, horrified. She rode behind Nida, arms clutching the older woman's torso in a vice grip. She gazed up at the still figure, fear and agony twisting in her gut.

"Mei...er..."

It was a murmur barely heard over the rattling breeze that flowed around them and Meier's anguished cries. Silence fell.

"That's right, bitches, she's still alive!"

One of the spotlights swiveled to reveal the face of Kyle Markus. A maniacal grin split his long face, cast in harsh shadow from the light. He held his throwing knives in his hands, but otherwise his pose was relaxed. His shirt was missing.

"I gotta tell you, this has been one of the funnest missions I've ever been on! Never had such a sweet piece of ass before!" Kyle cackled as he walked above where Charlotte hung from the battlement and reached down, roughly grabbing her breast. The woman screamed, tears catching the light as they fell.

"MONSTER!" both Lilium and Meier cried in unison. Lilium dropped awkwardly from the horse and stumbled toward the bridge. She seemed in pain, holding one hand to her heart and the other lightly to her temple.

Meier himself was pacing back and forth at the edge of the bridge. Lilium couldn't see why the Noble lord couldn't simply walk across.

"I will cut out your heart and feed it to hell hounds!" Meier Link raged, his fangs fully bared, eyes glowing a hot, angry red. "I will not touch your disgusting, filthy blood, but throw your body into the nearest pit of Mints!"

Briefly startled out of her agony, Lilium threw him a questioning look. Mints? Were mints fatal in this world? She was glad no one had offered her any.

"Yeah, you rage on you blood-sucking parasite! Because you know what?" Kyle yanked back on a handful of Charlotte's hair and held a knife to her throat, balancing on his stomach as he leaned over the apparently rather thick battlement wall. "I can kill her long before you make it past the motion sensors. Best part? They're set to trigger arrows to fire right into her face. In her FACE! The only place I DIDN'T bruise! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Meier froze in place, still as death. Lilium placed a hand on his arm, trying to will him calm. He was insane. Kyle Markus was insane. "Here, let's have the lovely lady talk to all of you nice people!"

He forced Charlotte's gaze down upon Meier and Lilium, where the two stood motionless, staring up in horror.

"M-mei-err," Charlotte whimpered. "I.. please, don't... risk yourself... I love you. Please just... go... Leave before they kill.. you.. Ah~!" Kyle jerked her head back to stop her from talking any further.

"Hey, Alex – you little fuck – you seen my brother Borgov around?" Kyle called to Alex/Nida in a most amiable voice. "That looks like one of his cigars in your mouth, you little thief."

"Yeah. I took it when I killed him."

Yet again a silence descended on everyone. Kyle's face went from psychotic to disbelieving, then slowly twisted into anger. His hand was still curled in Charlotte's hair.

"YOU DID WHAT YOU LITTLE FUCK? YOU LITTLE BASTARD? Where the fuck is he? Where is my brother? Where-" Snap.

Seemly just as surprised as everyone else, Kyle looked down. His hand, caught in Charlotte's hair, had been jerking around as he moved. He had slid backwards to stand up, and her hair had gone with him. Her head now hung at an odd angle, and she gurgled once before life left her eyes.

"Well, shit."

"!"

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Lilium was thrown back as Meier leapt onto the bridge, unheeding now of the threatened weaponry. The arrows Kyle threatened never showed, but flood lamps with cross-shaped metal plates placed over the massive bulbs burst into being. Sizzling and screaming in agony, Meier Link jumped back, landing near the fallen Lilium, whom Nida was helping to her feet.

His cloak was burning, and Mashira – now more man than wolf – used his vest to pat out the flames, desperate to save the situation somehow. His master was still alived – that mattered.

"Master, where is Caroline?"

No response, Meier was baring his teeth at the ground, evidently trying to control himself. Tears of blood tracked down his death-white visage.

"Master... let us retreat to the carriage for now, please, Master. We will discuss how to dispose of them from there. We need to ... retrieve her." Mashira looked up in sadness at the remains of Charlotte, so suddenly dead, hanging lifeless from the battlement.

Lilium appeared in as much shock as Meier, and Nida and Mashira lead the two back to the edge of the forest, back on a trail that lead to the carriage. D stayed behind, examining the fortress.

Kyle had disappeared inside, evidently acutely aware that his human shield was now useless.

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Meier was a pool of darkness from his cloak, kneeling next to the carriage, feeling his grief over Charlotte. He had finally managed to tell Mashira that Caroline was somewhere the castle, trying to disable the defenses. He hadn't heard from her in a while, so when he had gone to check on the fortress at dusk, he had found Charlotte there, hanging from cables from the wall of the fortress.

That was only moments before the others had arrived, brining nightfall with them.

Lilium sat on the step of the carriage, staring dumbly at the dark woods around them. She was in shock, having seen the death of the woman Meier had been trying to go to. She could feel it now, all the pain and suffering from Meier. Her own pain. Mashira's sadness. Nida's anger.

It all seemed to weigh on her at once. She began to breathe too quickly, panic swelling up inside of her. She stood and began walking back toward the fortress, somehow determined to do something, when D stood suddenly before her.

"There is nothing you can do on your own. Just stay here."

Lilium's hollow eyes searched his face until she found his own, under that dark traveler's hat. Suddenly, something inside her snapped, broke under the weight of the emotions she felt.

She plunged down into his mind, into his memories. The dark-haired woman, asking him to understand how she loved his father – the pretty dark-haired woman with the whips, offering herself to him, being rejected – some crazy dark-skinned woman dressed like a hooker stabbing him with a stake – and finally, Him. A dark figure, similar to D in features, laughing, laughing.

There was a singing of metal, and the sound of it piercing cloth and flesh. Lilium came back to herself and looked down to see Meier Link kneeling before her, D's blade in his heart. Mashira was at his side, horrified. Nida was running toward them from where she had tied her horse near the carriage, shouting.

She looked up and saw surprise and a brief flash of something else – shame? - in D's features before they became stone again.

Finally understanding what had just happened, Lilium helped Mashira ease Meier Link off of the blade.

"Meier! No, Meier – please be okay, please tell me he missed your heart!"

"Ah... No, my dear.. my heart... has been pierced." Blood gushed past his lips. "Mashi..ra."

"Yes, my Master."

"Please.. if our contract can be still fulfilled in this way... guard Lilium as long as she is in your care. Take her... to safety."

"Yes, my Master. Our contract will allow this."

"Charlotte..." Lilium froze as Meier's hand found her face. His eyes were unfocused. Her tears landed on his cheek as she leaned over him. "Charlotte... I am ... so sorry for failing you. My beautiful... love. I wanted... to give this to you." His hand, moving painfully slowly, slipped into a pocket of his doublet, then came out with the string of pearls and crystals. He offered it to Lilium. "Please, take this my love. I wanted you to... have it..."

Hesitating, Lilium took the string of pearls.

"Meier.. I..." Lilium closed her eyes, braced herself. She then smiled. With all her heart she smiled. "Thank you my love," she whispered. She leaned down and kissed Meier tentatively on the lips, softly. "Don't be sorry. I love you and that is all that matters. We can..." She paused to sob. "... be together now."

Meier smiled, and then died. Lilium knelt there with him for several moments before finally standing awkwardly. There was now blood staining her white dress.

Before anyone could speak, a sultry voice flowed down to them from the trees above.

"It's a pity. The Barbarois usually don't fail in their duty, but there were extenuating circumstances this time."

Mashira looked up, directly to the source of the voice. Caroline dropped down to the ground between Lilium and the carriage.

"Since he's dead, our contract is over now. We can go home, Mashira."

"I agreed to guard Lilium."

"Do as you please, but I'd like to take a bit of revenge for Benge. And this annoying little girl is part of why he's dead." Caroline lurched toward Lilium, but Mashira blocked her path.

"I am taking my duty responsibly."

"Idiot! We are Barbarois! We only serve the people of the night!" Caroline leaped over him, landing near Meier Link's corpse. She threw it one disgusted look before again reaching for Lilium. The human girl backed away and dove into the carriage.

"Not so fast, honey." Caroline leaped and landed atop the carriage, causing it to rock. Her body began to meld with the material, and as she sank inside, spikes began to grow and jut. Lilium screamed, finding her way out cut off by the spikes.

"Caroline...," Mashira snarled. He bunched his limbs, then leaped atop the carriage, grabbing hold of Caroline's head and yanking it off her body. It had become soft and pliable, so separating that part from the rest was easy.

Caroline screamed, her head solidifying into whatever the carriage was made from. Mashira looked at D.

"She is not dead. Will you please cut her head open?" He tossed the head in D's direction. With a flick, Caroline's head was bisected.

"What the hell?" Nida exclaimed. "In the last fifteen minutes three people just died. What is this, the Day of Death or something?"

Lilium was crying softly in the carriage. Caroline's body, lacking her will, became loose molicules and dripped into pools of liquidy metal under the carriage. The spikes melted away. Mashira climbed into the carriage and took Lilium into his arms, carring her back out. Lilium's arms twined around Mashra's neck, and she cried into his shoulder.

"This is my fault," Lilium wailed. "She was right. I am so sorry – I should have let Meier make you take me back to Gaelin!"

"Meier chose to die."

Lilium lifted her head from Mashira's shoulder to look over at D, who was re-sheathing his sword.

"I lost control and attacked you again. Meier deliberately blocked the blow with his heart. He could have defended you in any number of other ways, but chose instead to impale himself. My reaction time was slower than normal. It would have been easy for him to prevent his own death, and yours."

D turned and walked over to his horse, and began unpacking the tools he would need to go in after Kyle and Nolt, and retrieve something of Charlotte's to bring to her father and brother to prove her death.

Lilium let Mashira set her down, and wandered over to Meier's body. She knelt and closed his eyes, placing his hands over his chest. She looked up at Nida, a firm resolve in her dark eyes.

"I want to help kill them. I want to help kill what's left of the Brothers Markus."

Author's Note: Wooooooo second to last chapter. I hope this was okay. Very violent. And poor Charlotte. :(