Jill’s breath came in ragged gasps as she continued to run, Jack beside her, running effortlessly. The night air was brisk and a light breeze cooled the beaded sweat on her forehead. She didn’t sweat nearly as much as when she’d been human, but then if she were human she suspected she would have died a couple hours ago. Jack had started her running, what had to have been, hours ago and he’d been running right by her, the entire time, completely unfazed by their fast pace and extremely long distance. At first, she’d been amazed by the condition of her body, and the ease at which her legs ate up the miles, seemingly without effort, but now she was quickly running out of strength.

Before her stamina began to fail her, Jack had been detailing the many different aspects of being a vampire, explaining her newfound strength and endurance, fielding different questions, correcting superstitions and generally giving her a sort of introductory course about vampirism in general. Topaz had also run with them, chatting easily, until they passed a small village a fair distance from Jack’s mansion. Jill had no idea how fast they were actually traveling, but it was far faster than the normal human foot speed. They had been running for what she assumed was nearly an hour at that point, so she had absolutely no idea how far away from the house the village was. Once they neared Topaz excused himself saying that he was going to check up on things. Jack nodded and told him to give the residents his regard. Topaz slowed to a walk and turned toward the village as Jack and Jill had continued on.

“Why is he going to check on the village?” Jill asked, smiling brightly as she continued to enjoy the feeling of the cool night wind in her hair, and the thrill of simply running through an open field with no signs of physical exertion. More and more she was thinking this change might not be such a bad one. Jack was still smiling knowingly, as if a joke were being played on her that she didn’t get yet, but she wasn’t going to let him dull her enjoyment of the night. Yet, there was also something else in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place.

“This is one of three small towns in the immediate vicinity. All are under my protection.” Jack answered, with a matter of fact tone of voice. “We like to check up on them every now and again. Just to make sure they are doing alright. I’m sure that you noticed the world isn’t very safe for humans at the moment.” Jill’s mind flashed back to the horrifying images of Raff chasing her, his rage and bloodlust as he ran her through with his blade.

“So, you just protect them?” Jill asked, curious. Almost unconsciously she noticed and stepped over a hole in the ground. She smiled to herself, taking note of another one of the advantages she had. No wonder humans had lost the planet, even with all the advanced weapons they had at one time. She was only beginning to feel a slight fatigue in her muscles at this time, but she barely noticed it as she pumped her arms, noticing again how her feet barely seemed to touch the ground, light and agile.

“We have a sort of arrangement.” Jack explained. “Vampires need blood which we have to get from humans. Unfortunately the supply of humans has diminished sharply in the past couple centuries, mostly due to overfeeding by moron’s like our dear friend Raff.” His eyes darkened with anger momentarily but it quickly passed. “Older, more powerful vampires can take blood from a human without biting or killing them and preserve it in magical decanters. In return for a few volunteers every few days to perform this procedure on, I protect all the people in the land near my mansion.”

“And by volunteers you mean ‘forced’.” Jill stated, a little bitterly. Once again Jack’s eye’s flashed with anger.

“No.” Jack’s voice was thick with anger. “We force nothing or else we’re no better than Raff. We have an honest understanding with these humans because if both our species are going to survive then we are going to have to learn to work together sooner or later.” Jack sounded honestly offended and Jill wondered if she might have overstepped herself. “If you still doubt me you can talk with the three men who contributed to our dinner tonight. They are recovering in the guest quarters on the first floor. Vallov will show you when we get back.” Jack remained silent and brooding for some time after that, leaving Jill to wrestle with her guilty conscious.

She had once again made an assumption about Jack’s character based her prejudices instead of the evidence at hand, and she imagined that Jack was getting tired of it and she honestly felt bad about lashing out at him again. They ran in silence for some time, moving further and further away from the house, the moon rising higher in the sky, illuminating the empty country side with its cold silver light. While Jill was still impressed with her new vitality, she began to notice that it was quickly starting to fail her, as her pace dropped, her breath began to quicken and her legs started to throb, sweat beading on her brow, until she was gulping in air, just trying to keep moving. Since Jack had stopped talking to her she was wondering just how far he was going to make her run and although he kept her pace, he gave no sign that he was tiring or wanting to stop. He didn’t make eye contact, didn’t seem to notice her in the least.

Finally, Jill decided she had enough and stopped, collapsing to the ground and laying on her back, enjoying the feel of the cool earth on her bare arms and legs. Jack stopped just as she did and looked down at her, smiling once again. Jill continued gulping in air as her heart pounded in her chest, staring at the starry sky above her. Soon, her breathing slowed and her heart returned to something of its normal rate, she rolled over her side, looking up at Jack. “Just how much farther do we have to run?” she asked apprehensively. She now realized what Jack and Topaz had been smiling about, seeing Jack, standing there, looking for all the world as if he’d just stepped out the door of his house, smiling that same self satisfied, mysterious smile she was getting so used to.

“What?” Jack asked innocently. “Are you tired? You should have spoken up sooner!” The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable and Jill felt her anger well up. Maybe she had been giving him too much credit.

“Fine, Jack. Play your games. Ha ha.” Jack wasn’t the only one with a firm grasp on sarcasm, although Jill’s voice carried far more acid to it. “Great. So we’ve had our little ‘lesson’, can we go back now? Maybe at a walk?” She could think of nothing grander that sliding into a nice hot bath and soaking her aching muscles. It was no where near what her pain had been earlier that night, but she was definitely feeling the effects of the run.

“What? So early in the night?” Jack asked, sounding mightily disappointed. “Besides, tonight’s lesson is hardly over. Tell me, aren’t you curious about anything?” He moved a couple steps closer to her and crouched down so his face was much closer to hers. The wind blew wisps of his long black hair close to Jill’s face, tickling her nose. She moved her head away from the mild annoyance, wondering what Jack could possibly be talking about, when another strand of hair fond her ear and she jerked her head to the other side in annoyance, in doing so, looking directly at Jack, and noticing again his utter lack of fatigue, sweat or other signs that he’d been participating in any sort of athletic activity.

“Actually, yes.” She said uncertainly, looking for any sign that he was winded at all. “Did you even feel that run?” Jill was genuinely curious now. Oh, she’d noticed it, but she had never considered it. It just seemed to make sense that he was older, and thus able to do much more. He’d told her that age had a great deal to do with a vampire’s power, but there were also other factors that he hadn’t gone into at the time. Jack reached out his hand to help her into a sitting position as he sat down as well, stretching his legs and using his arms to prop him up as he leaned back. Jill sat cross legged, looking at him as he answered.

“Not a bit.” He said proudly, smiling wide, almost as if he was mocking her. “Would you like to know why?” Jill was getting annoyed, but she sensed that they were getting to the real meat of what he’d brought her out to learn tonight, and her curiosity was much stronger than her irritation with Jack. Besides, she seemed to have mostly recovered in a very short amount of time, which she found rather pleasing.

“Sure. Why?” Jill said, still with a touch of sarcasm to her voice, yet she found the corners of her mouth turning up in response to Jack’s laid back attitude at the moment. Two minutes ago Jill could have sworn that he was angry with her, but now it was like nothing had ever happened. She had absolutely no way of knowing if he were actually angry with her and putting on his standard Jack ‘Darkness’ routine, or if he were jerking her chain. Of course, given her limited exposure to Jack he could easily be doing both at the same time. Or he was just crazy.

Jill spent the next hour listening to Jack explain the ins and outs of Mana and magic: where it came from, how it was used, what you could do and what you couldn’t. From shadow manipulation and flight, to increased endurance and raising the dead to be Drones. Finding out that Vallov was Jack’s guardian set that issue to rest in her mind, but much of what Jack was telling her she didn’t have the faintest idea how to go about doing, and said as much.

“Don’t worry.” Jack reassured her. “We’re starting extremely simply, using just a little Mana to increase your endurance. Without Mana, after a run like that you’d only be able to go, maybe half the distance before you’d collapse again. This time, you’ll be able to run all the way back and not even feel it.” He paused a little, thinking. “Much.” Jack was quite pleased with how much she paid attention. Both Maila and Topaz had been somewhat distractible when they’d been Fledglings. He laid out the process for increasing her endurance to Jill in simple steps, ones that she’d be able to apply later, taking her through a few exercises first to acclimate her to the feel of her own power. She proved to be surprisingly adept at finding and accessing her Mana so they were ready to head home much sooner than he thought they would.

Daylight was still hours off, so Jack didn’t see any problem with starting off a bit slower. He had a strong feeling that Jill would quickly catch hold of the principle and they could most likely make the journey back home in about half the time. He hoped Topaz had finished his journey into town and returned home to take care of Maila. He really wanted to impress upon Topaz the responsibility that came with the act of making another of their kind. Something he was learning about firsthand himself.

Jill did pick up on Jack’s lessons quickly. As great as the thrill of feeling her new body in action was, the thrill of the energy coursing through her, making her even stronger and faster was better still. She could feel the Mana that Jack had told her about coursing through her veins and by only using a small amount an entire new realm of possibilities opened up to her. Before she been running light and agile, barely touching the ground. Now, she devoured the distance of the fields in an intense sprint, leaning forward into the run, the force of the wind rippling her clothes with her hair streaming out behind her. She felt no exertion at all as she ran, smiling wide, almost laughing with joy. It was the closest she had felt to being free and safe in her entire life. She remembered last night, flying to Vallov’s palace with Jack, and wondered how it felt to leave the ground altogether. She looked down at her feet and wondered if she could do it. Maybe with just a little push of Mana …

“Not quite yet, love.” Jack said from beside her. Jill just about fell over from the shock. She had known that he was right there, running beside her, but what surprised her was the large, honest smile on his face and in his eyes. No shields or barriers, no spooky facades, nothing but honest happiness. He ran fast and easy, with his long, jet black hair streaming far behind him, his arms relaxed at his sides as opposed to pumping, looking just as relaxed as if he were reclining in a chair in his mansion. Yet, there was the open emotion on his face, emotion no monster could ever show, and Jill felt ashamed once again for assuming too much and too ill about him. Noticing Jill’s attention, Jack suddenly seemed to remember himself, his eyelids drooping just a little and his mouth reverting to his usual mysterious, slightly threatening smile. “One step at a time. First we run. Then we fly.” Even his voice was different again, darker, colder.

Jack almost felt embarrassed but it was just too much to hide at the moment. Jill’s elation was plainly written on her face, even more so than when she had first begun to find out just how much she’d changed at the beginning of the run. He’d felt it then as well, watching her being happy for the first time since she’d been changed. Her smile … so like hers. Emily. The name echoed in his mind and he tried to force it out. He tried so hard, as he had for all the long years of his life since Orlock had found him, destroyed his life and recreated it anew in darkness and pain. The pain that name caused him was so much greater than having Orlock reach inside him and squeezing. It was only with a supreme effort of will that he had kept the tears out of his eyes.

Orlock had always chided him for holding to tightly to his human life. That is, if chiding meant being bent backwards over a hot metal pole and having whatever patterns pleased Orlock at the time carved into his stomach. He’d tried so very hard to forget, to never speak or think the names, but the awful truth was that even the terrible Jack Darkness would still weep for his dead wife and child when no one was looking. He had grown very adapt at hiding it, masking his sorrow with a cold indifference in front of Orlock to avoid the torture. No matter how strong the man is, being ‘raised’ by the Demon King would change any person. Some days Jack thought of how remarkable it was he had escaped with his sanity intact at all. Well…most of it.

From the moment he saw Jill though, that name had been bouncing around in the back of his mind. He was fully aware that she was not Emily, nor would she ever be, but he could not have let her die. For the entire night he had been struggling, wondering if he had actually saved her, or damned her. Seeing her smile for that first time had warmed a place in his soul that he thought was long dead. Seeing the outright joy on her face had been something entirely different. That smile was like a ray of sunshine cutting into an entire life filled with endless night and he basked in it for a while until he noticed her trying to fly. They were running fast enough that she would most likely break her neck if she fell. Nothing fatal to a vampire, but highly unpleasant, as Orlock had shown him many times. What he hadn’t realized was just how wide his own smile had grown, nor how open it was. He recovered himself fairly quickly, but if he allowed such a lapse in front of Orlock the price would be quite unpleasant.

The pair of vampires ran without tiring for some time and soon arrived back at Jack’s mansion. They had run the rest of the way in awkward silence, each one focusing on their own thoughts, Jill, in particular, focusing on keeping the Mana applied as Jack had shown her. Now she stood in front of the doors with Jack, breathing a little heavily but otherwise not feeling anywhere near as exhausted as she had been earlier. There was still the thrill though, of having done something completely new, utterly strange and alien, yet so right and exhilarating. Jack just stood silent beside her, once again dark and mysterious as ever.

“You should stop using your Mana now.” He said calmly, casually picking a bit of grass off his shirt. The moon had long since set, leaving them only with the light from the stars to see by and Jack seemed to melt into that darkness, only the paleness of his skin and the slight red glow of his eyes stood out against the dark. Jill realized that she was still putting Mana into her muscles and stopped. She was pleased to learn how quickly it had become second nature to use her Mana in such a simple way. Maybe it’s because I have a good teacher. She thought randomly, looking at Jack, almost for the first time, seeing past the darkness around him.

“Well,” he said easily. “I’ve had enough for one night. Let’s go in and relax for a while before the sun comes up.” She followed Jack up the steps and went inside as he held the door for her and followed her in. They went into Jack’s large sitting room and fell into separate chairs. Jill noted just how comfortable the chairs were as she sank into the deep cushioning. Despite the comfort, her muscles were beginning to hurt with a dull pain, much like she would have expected to have after a long run, but also slightly akin to the pain she’d felt when waking up earlier that night, although not as serious. She rolled her neck and arm to work some of the pain out and get her protesting muscles to quiet down.

Jack looked up from a book he had picked up, noticing her rubbing her shoulder muscles. “Ah.” He said simply, getting up and leaving a confused Jill alone in the room. He returned a moment later with a glass, half filled with thick, dark red blood. Jill didn’t even realize she was hungry until Jack handed her the glass and walked behind her chair. As she raised the cup to her lips (with a certain amount of anticipation) she felt Jack’s hands on her shoulders, gently massaging her sore muscles. She breathed a sigh as she felt relaxation flow from Jack’s fingers down through her body and she let her head fall back as Jack silently worked her back and neck. It was a physical effort just to raise the glass to her lips and take another revitalizing drink of the warm, coppery liquid. Soon, she just set the glass down on the table next to her, laid her head back and let Jack work. She didn’t know how, but just from rubbing her back and neck, all her muscles seemed to feel better. Jill almost thought she would drift to sleep, when Jack hesitantly lifted his hands from her.

“Feel better?” He asked, looking down into her half closed eyes, a lazy smile touching her lips.

“World’s better.” Jill replied, lifting her head back up and reaching for her glass again. “Thank you.” She took a drink and set it back down on the table, followed by a generous stretch. Jack went back to his seat and stretched as well, relaxing into the thick, red cushions of the chair. He had just picked his book back up when Jill’s voice broke the silence again. “I’m sorry.” Jack put down his book and looked up in mild surprise. Jill’s head was lowered just enough so that her bangs hung over her eyes.

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” Jill repeated, “For what I said earlier tonight. It was rude and wrong of me to say.” Jack could tell it was not easy for her to say. For the second time that night he let his armor drop and smiled softly.

“I accept your apology, though you shouldn’t need to.” He said quietly. “I remember how things were when I was a Fledgling. I probably should not have expected to win you over, in two nights.”

“No.” Jill said shaking her head and meeting his eyes. Her eyes seemed to glow fiercely with regret. “I all but called you a monster, like you refer to Raff and I had no call to. I’ve never felt better in my life, than I have tonight and I do have you to thank for it, so thank you as well.” Jack bowed his head a bit, slightly embarrassed.

“You’re welcome.” He said simply, not knowing what else to say, although he did look back up at Jill, catching her eyes and holding them. They sat their like that for several minutes, smiling in mutual embarrassment at the sudden change in atmosphere. Each tried to find something, anything to say, to break the awkward silence, but nothing seemed to come to mind. The sound of the door opening and closing drew both their attention as Topaz walked inside and stepped into the sitting room. Jill looked quickly back at Jack but the distance was back in place as he waved at Topaz.

“I thought you two would be headed to bed by now.” He said casually. “Sun ups in about 30 minutes; you can tell me how things went with lessons tomorrow night.” He gestured over his shoulder at the window.

“Hmmm…” Jack stood up in one graceful motion. “I suppose it is about time we turned in for the day. It’s been a busy night.” Jill stood as well, feeling a slight weariness start to take over her body. She could feel the day coming a bit more acutely than the two older vampires and yawned, stretching her arms out to the side.

“Definitely time to get the kids to bed.” Topaz said grinning at her. She shot him a scowl and stuck out her tongue. Topaz raised one eyebrow and looked at Jack in surprise, as if to say ‘What happened to her?’. Jack merely shrugged and walked out of the room toward the stairway that led up to their rooms, followed closely by Jill and Topaz. When they reached the top of the stairs Topaz immediately plodded off down on corridor towards his room as Jack turned to face Jill.

“You did an excellent job tonight.” He said quietly, smiling honestly. Gently he took one of her hands. “I’m glad that you’ve come to live here. I’m sure you’ll be part of the ‘family’ in no time, if you choose to stay. Good day.” He finished, much in the same way one would say ‘Good night’, but raised her hand gingerly to his lips. Jill’s mind flashed back to Orlock when he had done much the same thing in his castle, and almost recoiled but something stopped her. A single, soft kiss on the hand, and Jack lowered her hand and let go as he turned around and left her standing in the dark hallway, her head filled with a thousand different thoughts as she shuffled tiredly back to her room, undressed and flopped on her bed. She was barely able to pull the covers over her before she fell asleep, just as the first rays of the sun crested the eastern horizon, wondering if being a vampire was the least of her problems as one finger idly stroked the spot where Jack’s lips had touched her.

Chapter 6 – Duties 

Jack slept restlessly that day, something quite unusual for him. His sleep was plagued with bittersweet memories of Emily and his daughter, from so very long ago. He could never remember much after he would awake with a sharp intake of breath, except for the blood at the very end, the crimson color shifting and changing into the shape of a pair of eyes, staring into his soul. Orlock’s eyes. When night finally came again Jack’s head felt fuzzy as he lay still in his bed, confused at the images that had visited him during the day. It had been well over a hundred years since he had last dreamed and when he had they were terrible nightmares from which he couldn’t wake. They were yet another one of Orlock’s subtle reminders of who was the Sire, and who the sireling.

He wondered if this might be the same thing, if Orlock were once again playing with his mind, instructing him in the folly of getting close to someone, anyone. Jack smiled at that. Was he getting close to someone? The notion was slightly humorous. That only after a few days the mighty Jack Darkness might fall for a frightened, struggling little sireling, his own none the less. He laughed scornfully at himself at the mere notion of something so ridiculous. Of course he cared for her, but much the way a father might for a child. He was showing her concern and a bit of kindness, that was all. Granted, her uncanny resemblance to Emily did bring back old memories, and had even caused him to go against his better judgment and bring her over, but it went no further than a physical resemblance.

These thought’s and more ran through his mind as he lay, staring at the ceiling, still as death itself, barely breathing. One might have even thought he was dead, if it wasn’t for the slow rise and fall of his chest under the thin covers and the dull red glow of his eyes in the inky darkness. There were no lights in his room, it was as dark as pitch but he could see perfectly well. He found the darkness soothed him, calmed his mind and helped him rest. Ever since he had gotten out on his own, he enjoyed having his own space, away from everyone. One time in his life, he remembered being afraid of the dark, scared of the monsters that it hid, now he found amusement in the fact that he was the scariest thing creature the shadows concealed. No matter how deep the shadow though, he couldn’t run from his thoughts, and they persisted. He counted off a thousand different reasons that Jill could only be his sireling, yet at the end a single thought crept unbidden into his mind. What if she’s already more?

Grunting in frustration he shoved the thought from his mind as he through off the cover and rolled out of bed with the grace of a cat. He walked on silent feet to the closet where he selected his usual; black. He exited his room, still brooding, wearing fine black trousers, made from some wondrous fabric he couldn’t name, and a black silk dress shirt. He smiled to himself, considering the luxury that he now lived in considering how he’d started. As always, thoughts of Emily and of Orlock were linked, tied together by the years Orlock had spent breaking him, then mending him, only to break him again, occasionally just to see how many times he could be broken. Jack winced at the memory as he walked silently down the hall and shook his head to clear his thoughts. His mind was still fuzzy though, from lack of sleep. He actually still felt tired, but sleeping all night wasn’t really an option, so he walked silently through the kitchen. No one seemed to be out of their rooms yet, which wasn’t surprising.

Jill, he’d noticed, seemed to like a little time to herself when she first got up, Maila was the same way, which probably meant it was a girl thing. Topaz on the other hand did prefer to sleep in. Some evenings he didn’t join them until well after midnight, which slightly annoyed Jack. Granted, it was safe for them to be awake after the sun rose provided they stayed in the house most preferred to be asleep as soon as the sun rose. There was some mild discomfort in remaining awake, but not a lot. It often got easier as a vampire got older as well, but even so, wasting the nighttime hours seemed somehow sacrilegious to Jack. On days when Jack was feeling especially mischievous he would send Vallov to wake Topaz, the results of which were often heard throughout the entire house as the Drone enjoyed grabbing hold of the mattress and flipping it quickly, throwing Topaz out of bed at high speed. Jack actually chuckled as he was pouring himself a half glass of blood to clear his head, remembering once when Vallov had gotten overenthusiastic and accidentally thrown Topaz out the window. Swearing quite loudly Topaz had almost broken down the front door and stormed back in, completely naked and covered in dirt. A small war ensued shortly thereafter between Vallov and Topaz, involving a variety of practical jokes on the part of Topaz, and violent responses from Vallov. Jack had put a stop to it when Topaz had been knocked through his forth wall, while Vallov smirked down at him, his cape covered from the waste up in some sort of mysterious green slime that had never really come out. Jack was convinced he could still smell it in some parts of the house.

Jack drank his blood in silence, slowly sipping from the crystal goblet, alone with his thoughts. When he finished his head felt much better and the weariness had drained away. Apparently a bad day of sleep could throw off even a vampire as old as him. Yet, it was getting later and there was still no sign of anyone moving about. He suspected Maila was still sulking in her room, something that was disturbing him more and more. He considered going to play with Jill’s mind some more, grinning wickedly as a dozen different things popped into his mind, but he immediately shoved it out of his mind. He was her Sire, not her good buddy, no matter how much he enjoyed seeing her smile. He shook his head in anger again forcing the thought from his head. Left with but one option he climbed the stairs again with the intention of walking towards Topaz’s corridor, but he heard a loud knocking sound coming from the direction of Maila’s room, which indicated Topaz was down that way, since Jill had no reason to be at Maila’s door and Topaz was… well, Topaz.

As he rounded the corner he saw Topaz lean back against the opposite wall and slide down in defeat, looking dejected, which was odd for Topaz. He looked up to see Jack walking down the hallway, his hands clasped behind his back, frowning. The shadows seemed to play around his feet, making the hall way seem darker, in spite of the flickering torches. The dark seemed to follow Jack around when he was annoyed or angry. “Well?” He asked simply, looking down at Topaz, his eyes glowing brighter in the dark.

“She’s locked herself in her room, won’t talk to me at all.” Topaz replied, anger touching his voice, his eyes glowing green in the dark. Topaz may not have had his abilities and powers, but a moderately powerful vampire in his own right. Jack didn’t doubt that he could have made it on his own if he so chose, but had stayed partially because of Maila, partially because of Jack. Jack was almost positive that in a real fight Topaz would be able to beat Raff, in fact, given Raff’s cowardice he was sure of it. It must have been difficult for him to deal with Raff’s lasting effects on the one person he’d been close to in a very long time. Jack also rather strongly suspected that he was still harboring feelings for Maila, deep down. He’d always been disappointed when he had stepped aside and let Maila go to Raff.

“So?” Jack said indifferently. Apparently it was time to deal with all the children. “What are you doing just sitting there on the floor for? Feeling bad for yourself? I thought you had a bit more spine in you than that.” Topaz’s eyes flared with anger as he stood up in a flash, staring Jack in the eyes, his fists balled at his side. “What? Angrier now? Who are you angry at? Me? Perhaps Raff for violating Maila’s mind and free will? Or maybe, you’re mad at yourself for not stopping it when you could have?” Jack was angry himself, and he finished with a fair amount of acid in his voice. His words struck home though and Topaz took a shocked step back as he rolled the words over in his mind, realizing that Jack was completely right. “She’s your sireling, your responsibility. Now, she is honestly in trouble and she doesn’t know it. Are you going to let a closed door keep you from doing what we both know has to be done?”

Topaz looked away from Jack, shame replacing the anger he had felt moments before. He stayed silent for a few moments, mulling over Jack’s words as Jack stood and looked at him, still and silent. The only sound in the hallway was that of the flickering torches as Topaz mapped out what he needed to do now. Jack knew what had to be done; it was just a question of whether Topaz would have the courage to take the initiative. Finally, Topaz looked Jack in the eyes again, this time with new determination rather than anger. “Fine.” He said, standing straight again, a touch of anger still in his voice. “If I can remove Raff’s influence, that’s what I’m going to do, but I don’t really know how. Give me a hand?”

Jack smiled, pleased. Determination and confidence weren’t much good without common sense to back them up. Topaz realized that without knowledge of what he was about to do, he was more likely to drive Maila insane than help her. “I’ll guide you and lend you some of my power. It is best you do it.” Jack explained patiently. “As her Sire you have a connection that you need to remove Raff’s magic. I could remove it through brute force, but it would most likely damage her. With your natural bond to her, and a little strength from me, she should completely recover, most likely over night.” He paused, putting a finger to the side of his head and closing his eyes, as if thinking. “Although I’m not entirely sure what her mood will be when she wakes up. She may very well hate you more than she does now.” Jack looked him in the eyes again, completely serious. “Still willing to take that chance?”

“Yes.” Jack could see the pain in Topaz’s face when he considered the possibility of losing her permanently, but he was willing to risk that for her. Truth be told once Raff’s influence had been removed from Maila her feelings would be her own again and she’d probably be much more herself than she’d been in a long time. Jack had just wanted to know how serious Topaz was.

“Well, then. What are you waiting for? I’ll sorely miss my door but its been a while since something was broken around here.” Jack smiled wickedly. Tonight was definitely going to be interesting. Not only that but now he could get his mind off of Jill for a little while, or at least get his thoughts back under control before he saw her again. Topaz turned around resolutely and walked in front of the heavy oak door. Jack was right, it was a nice door. Sturdy, polished to a wonderful shine and despite its age it looked as new as the day it was made. Unfortunately, wood is not proof against the strength of a vampire. The frame splintered and the hinges gave way as Topaz’s kick took the door in the very center. Normally, he would have just kicked a hole straight through it, but it was a very well made door after all.

Free of the frame the heavy wooden door toppled and fell inward, landing with a hollow thud on the thick carpet of Maila’s room. She stood at the far corner, cowering, her hair disheveled and a slightly crazed look in her eye. Jack frowned, seeing, what was likely, the effect of being away from her ‘master’ for too long; a sort of mental withdrawal. His eyes narrowed in anger at Raff as he saw one of his own suffering because of his selfish actions. Maila began screaming several things at them, and sadly, there would be more screaming long before they were finished. Jack hoped that someday he could repay Maila’s pain to Raff, or perhaps he’d let Topaz do it. In the end Topaz might be able to dream up even more suitable punishments than he could. An interesting thought indeed. 

Jill had spent the past half an hour wondering the hallways, just exploring the different parts of the house. Most of it she found extravagant, yet still in good taste. Jack seemed to have a sense of style that reflected his personality, suave and sophisticated one moment, while slightly off kilter the next. She remembered walking into one bedroom where all the pictures were upside down and there had been a mattress propped up with old, fragile looking chairs. It was so out of place that Jill couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted the design. She found another bedroom done entirely in black. Everything in the room was black, from the drapes to the bedspread to the carpet. It was a deep pitch black that seemed to suck all light into the room and trap it. Oddest of all there were several picture frames on the wall, all of them holding a pitch black canvas. Jill had shut the door on that room quickly, just because of the sheer creepiness.

She wondered where Jack and the others had gone to as she explored the house but she suspected there was some sort of business to attend to that didn’t immediately concern her. For a change, she decided that she wasn’t going to assume the worst. That is, until she made her way to the basement. It was built entirely out of cold, grey stone with no lights, torches or otherwise to give reprieve from the gloom. Thankfully she had no problem seeing as she moved down the stairs and out into a dank corridor that smelled of old water and mold. A faint dripping echoed from somewhere down the stone hallway. There were a couple rooms off the corridor but not much more than that. The basement clearly did not take up the entire foundation of the house. The first door she opened was a simple pantry, the shelves empty save for a tangling of spider webs.

She walked back out into the damp hallway and confidently opened the second door, expecting another deserted pantry. Instead she found a large empty room, save for chains hanging from the wall and ceiling, with nasty looking manacles at the end of each one. In the corner a white skull sat atop a pile of bones, its empty eye sockets staring at her amidst the bones of its owners former limbs. Her mind ran through a thousand scenarios as she stood frozen in place, staring at the tiny dungeon in the basement of her new home. Though she could see just fine the dark suddenly became much more pressing and she quickly shut the door tight and leaned her back against the far wall as her mind raced, her imagination trying to find some explanation for this. Finally, reflecting on the previous days events she concluded that all wasn’t as it seemed, and she at least should ask Jack before she jumped to any horrific conclusions. Knowing Jack he wouldn’t even deny it if the place was used for torture and would be able to make it seem perfectly normal for a vampire to have a torture chamber in his basement. What else would you expect to find really?

Just as she turned to head back upstairs and retreat out of the increasingly frightening basement a scream of pain ripped through the house; an obviously female one. Jill felt as if her heart had leapt into her chest as she jumped straight up about a foot in the air, quickly spinning around to look behind her when she landed. Convincing herself that there really wasn’t anyone in the old dungeon she quieted her racing heart, just as another scream tore through the house. This time, she could tell it wasn’t from the basement but from upstairs. Taking the stairs 3 at a time she ran all the back to the upper corridors where another scream pierced the formerly quiet darkness of the house. Running down Maila’s hallway she saw a door completely off its hinges, lying on the floor in the blue carpeted room that Maila occupied. Vallov was standing just inside the doorway though, blocking entry as he watched what was happening inside impassively. Jill came to a stop right in front of Vallov, who seemed to acknowledge her presence with a disinterested sigh. When she tried to look around him, he moved out of the way giving her access to the room.

What she saw moderately horrified her. Maila lay on the floor, her eyes closed, apparently asleep but she could see her eyes moving furiously beneath the lids as if she were having an intense dream. Her face was drawn and paler than normal, her hair was wild and disheveled and she was muttering incoherently, occasionally crying out in pain. Jack and Topaz kneeled above her, Topaz with his forehead pressed against hers, eyes closed in deep concentration. Jack’s eyes were closed as well, although they were directly aligned with Maila’s, as if he were staring right at her. Maila didn’t scream again, but there were tears coming from her closed eyes running down her cheeks.

“What are you doing to her?!” Jill shouted angrily running over and grabbing Jack by the shoulders, moving him suddenly breaking whatever contact he had with Maila and Topaz. Instantly Topaz grunted as if a large weight had just been placed on his back. Quickly Jack resumed his former position despite Jill pulling him. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re hurting her!” Jill remembered their discussion about Maila the other night. Jack had told her that it would be painful for Maila but she hadn’t dreamed it would be this bad. It looked as if they were killing her.

“This is the way it has to be, Jill.” Jack said calmly, not moving a muscle, his voice sounding far off and distant, keeping all his concentration on his task. “Please, wait outside if you can’t watch quietly. Take a lesson from Vallov.” He was trying to joke, but there was a strain in his voice. Jill could almost sense the amount of power he was using, and heard the effort he was going to. Gently she released her grip on his shoulders and moved back quietly to the back of the room, and stood silently by Vallov as she watched, wishing there was something she could do to help. 

Jack was very surprised. He’d been expecting Jill since the first scream and knew more or less that she’d get involved, so her sudden appearance wasn’t what surprised him. No, what had him concerned was the level of sophistication that Raff had shown in insinuating his influence on Maila. While a little of her original personality had been allowed to break through, almost her entire will had been subjugated by the little good for nothing, although it was done very subtly. Jack had only thought him capable of acts of brute force, but the intricacy and completeness of the magic was impressive, if not infuriating. Most likely Raff had been at work the entire time, cementing his hold on Maila, making sure she couldn’t break free on her own, or with help.

Yet, just as Jack had underestimated Raff, so had he underestimated Jack and Topaz. Things weren’t easy at all for Topaz, as he was younger and not experienced in this manner of manipulating Mana, plus the precise nature required a constant concentration that was almost painful for him. Add to that the pain they were inflicting on Maila and Topaz was struggling to continue, which was perhaps something Raff had counted on, though Jack doubted Raff was that forward thinking. Jack slowly and methodically directed Topaz how to use his Mana to slowly strip Raff’s will from Maila, one piece at a time. His first attempts had been rough and unrefined, causing the initial screams as white hot pain had shot through her head and echoed into theirs. Jack was quite pleased to feel an answering echo of pain, a long distance off as that same screaming pain was echoed in Raff’s mind.

Hearing that echo, Jack began to prepare a little piece of vengeance for his former ward. It would be a while yet before he was able to implement it so he sat still, and maintained his concentration, lending Topaz just enough power to sever the strands of Mana clinging to Maila. Time passed slowly, one hour, then two passed as they worked, completely focused. Maila only cried out one or two more times when Topaz’s mind slipped for a second but her pain was greatly lessened as Topaz became more adapt. Jill stood silently, watching from the other side of the room, the entire time. Jack could sense her eyes on him the entire time, twin points of light in the darkness. For some reason her presence eased the tension in his mind and allowed him to focus more. It was an interesting sensation.

Ok, Jack, Topaz’s voice echoed inside his mind. They had been communicating telepathically the entire time, making things much simpler as Jack could demonstrate the finer points to Topaz. Topaz’s preexisting influence over Maila as her Sire had been crucial in freeing her will from Raff without damaging her mind, will or personality. So far there had been absolutely no signs of damage. I think this is the last bit, I can’t see any more of Raff’s Mana. Jack looked long and hard, only seeing that last piece of Mana. He’d used his own Mana to make it visible, allowing them to remove it, bit by bit and now there was only one tiny piece, looking like a small thread connecting the minds of Maila and Raff. Jack smiled cruely.

I see it. Leave it for a moment. I have some business to take care of. Topaz almost glanced up breaking his concentration. Inside his head he could hear and feel Jack’s anger, and the promise of pain in his voice was unmistakable. He’d heard Jack sound like that a few times and it always gave him the chills. He was a nice enough guy most of the time, well, for a crazy man, but when he got angry, he could let loose one hell of a beast.

The nice thing about the sort of magic Raff had used, was that it’s a two way street. Much as it linked himself to Maila, it also linked Maila to him and it was a simple matter for Jack to follow that single strand of Mana all the way to where Rendal was holding Raff. Jack’s Mana flew across the miles, following that one tiny strand all the way back to its owner. He grinned evilly as the jolt of his magic connected his mind to Raff’s, only there was no back and forth. Jack held Raff’s mind in a viselike grip, feeling a sudden unknowing panic begin to well up inside his victim.

Hello Raff. Jack’s thought echoed through Raff’s terrified mind. Then, the screaming began in earnest. 

Several minutes later Jack told Topaz to cut the final thread of Mana from Maila and as he did she relaxed almost instantly. Her eyes stopped moving beneath their lids and her breathing slowed as she fell into a deep sleep. Jack and Topaz opened their eyes, both exhausted, physically and mentally from expending so much power for such a long period of time. Both of them fell back from where they had been kneeling, suddenly breathing heavily, the exertion catching up with them in a sudden rush. Jill rushed over and knelt next to Jack. “What happened? Are you alright? Is Maila ok?” There was a rush of questions that Jack just wasn’t able to deal with at the moment so he just nodded while he caught his breath, promising to explain everything after he’d had a bit to drink.

Jack had Vallov take Maila into another bedroom, one without a broken in door. He and Topaz regained most of their composure rather quickly and collapsed in a couple thick chairs in the sitting room, Jack snapped his fingers absentmindedly and a fire sprang up in the fireplace, filling the room with a cheery flickering light. Thankfully he wasn’t entirely drained from their little ordeal, although he might have overdone it a bit with his visitation to Raff, even if it was Mana well spent. Jill had disappeared out one of the doors but she quickly returned with two half full glasses of blood, which Jack and Topaz gratefully took.

Once again, Jill was full of questions which Jack and Topaz were happy to field, pointing out Raff’s many character flaws and finally revealing that he wasn’t really dead, which was why it had been crucial to remove his influence from Maila and further assuring her that Maila would be a much more pleasant vampire in a day or two at most. Jill was very relieved the news but began peppering them with many more questions about their relative histories. Topaz was more than willing to go into great, sometimes exaggerated detail about his past, while Jack remained somewhat enigmatic about events before he found happened across Topaz. Vallov had joined them in the sitting room, and at Jack’s prompting took a seat in one of the larger chairs though he sat with his back straight as a rod, not relaxing at all. Jack just seemed to be happy that he wasn’t constantly looming over everything, as usual, and they returned to their conversation.

Jack was amazed though. Jill seemed like a completely different person tonight. Even Maila had taken much longer to adjust to her new state of living before her real personality began to peak out. Granted, Jill and Maila were vastly different people and Jack was beginning to understand Jill much better. At her core Jill was a survivor. She’d been on the run most of her life, moving from one place to the next, always changing, continually adapting to a world that changed just as fast around her. She’d never had permanence, or security before. Jack wondered if perhaps that security and stability was not extremely attractive, even if it came at a bit of a price. Jack could definitely relate to the desire for a home, and he found himself admiring the strength she was showing, just being able to accept what she was a few nights after she’d been turned. Perhaps Orlock had been right when he said she would do well. Maybe even he didn’t know how well.

Jill’s eyes caught Jack’s several times over the next couple hours as they sat in the firelight, relaxing and talking. Each time he seemed to be deep in thought, looking straight at her, but as soon as she met his gaze he smiled and looked away, starting up some random conversation with Topaz. Vallov, though, seemed to notice and wore a strangely self satisfied smirk, although he didn’t say a thing, or even make a sound. Jill definitely found the silent giant creepy, but no less creepy than anything else, and not quite as creepy as Jack. Oddly enough, creepy wasn’t quite so disturbing anymore. In fact, she was considering trying her hand at it sooner or later, perhaps to surprise Jack. Reflecting on creepy she remembered a question that she had wanted to ask before everything became crazy.

“Why’s there a skeleton in the basement?” Jill asked randomly, expecting to see both Jack and Topaz’s head whip around as if she’d found out some dark and dirty secret. Instead Topaz just shrugged.

“What? Steve?” He asked, looking in the air trying to remember. “Far as I know he’s been here since we moved in.” Jack nodded in agreement, leaning back further in the chair.

“I figured that a dungeon needs a good skeleton. It just wouldn’t be a proper dungeon without Steve.” Jack explained. Jill was relieve to hear that it wasn’t anything dark or sinister, and now that she thought about it, a real dungeon really did need a skeleton.

“And the chains?” She probed again.

“Extremely useful for hanging up bastards like Raff.” Jack answered whimsically. “Next time I find him I think I’ll redecorate by splashing his blood around a bit. The room could use some color.” Jack smiled, his fangs and general evil appearance made him look a lot like a predator, hoping to catch its prey. He laced his fingers as he sat, thinking of all the horrible things he could do to him to properly repay him for tonight. Jill, was suitably weirded out by the entire display but Topaz too was wearing that same predatory smile.

“They’re much easier to beat when they’re chained to a wall. Their heads make the most satisfying noises when you slam them into the stone too.” Vallov broke his long standing silence, speaking with suitably deep voice, although it was tinged with a sort of cheer. He sported that same self-satisfied smirk that Jill had seen earlier. The comment though, was so unexpected and out of the blue that all, save Vallov, laughed long and hard, Vallov looking as if he didn’t understand the joke.

Jack found himself once again enjoying Jill’s high, clear laugh, reflecting again at the amazing change they had seen over just the past two nights. This time though, he forgot to stop the thought’s dead and let himself really appreciate this new woman who had dropped into his odd little family, as if by sheer providence. He was about to make a snide comment about Vallov when a loud knocking came from the front door.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it this time.” Jack said, wanting to stretch his legs anyway. The knocking continued at random and annoying spurts until he got to the door and opened it. Jack groaned out loud as he saw Ren standing in the doorway, her head tilted at an odd angle and her eyes glittering with whatever insanity she was exhibiting today. Ren took one look at Jack, and faster than he could react lunged at him, seemingly with no reason at all, but with Ren that was at least 3 different reasons in itself. Not wanting to take a knife in the stomach Jack threw up a hand to ward off any blows that might be coming, yet instead of a weapon or her fists even Ren opened her mouth and bit down hard on Jack’s forearm and didn’t let go. She dug in with her canines, all the while making little growling noises. Jack winces as he felt her fangs bite into his arm, but at the same time gave off an air of annoyance.

“What in the world are you doing you quarter-wit lunatic?” Jack asked with a supreme air of annoyance as he held his arm straight up, lifting Ren off the floor so that she was dangling from Jack’s arm by her mouth. She made several noises in the back of her throat that may or may not have been a response, or just more of the oddities that this particular vampire existed. He experimentally shook his arm back and forth in an attempt to dislodge her but she remained firmly clasped, still growling like a dog worrying a bone. “VALLOV!!” Jack called, summoning his drone to help. He could just tear her head from her body, but then he’d still be curious as to why she was at his house, hanging from his arm by her teeth, in his doorway. Curiosity was not something Jack dealt well with.

Vallov came into the room like a force of nature, grabbed Ren by the back of the neck in one hand while bracing the arm she was biting with his other hand. Through sheer brute strength he finally got her loose, though there was a good deal of growling and she had dug her teeth even deeper. By the time it was over Jack’s black silk shirt had half of the left sleeve gone, with a slight chunk of his arm gone, blood dripping down his arm. Jill and Topaz had since come in to see what the matter was and stood staring at Jack’s wound and Vallov holding the snarling Ren, who seemed to be struggling in Vallov’s grasp.

“Set her down, Vallov.” Vallov himself growled, looking menacingly at Ren as he set her roughly on the ground. “Alright Ren, you’ve had your fun. Why are you here and why did you feel it was necessary to take part of me back as a souvenir?” Jack asked as he raised his hand for her to see. Jill went a little pale at the sight of the wound but Topaz didn’t seem too worried about it.

“What Jacky? “ she said, her voice high, the intonation changing at odd intervals. “Now I have to have a reason to come over and chew on your arm? I’m hurt.” Her insane grin changed into a mockery of a frown for a second then, shifted to serious and she narrowed her eyes. “But you’re right, this isn’t purely a snack call. I don’t like other people torturing my prisoners! I’m supposed to do that! It’s my job! Mine!” Jill was utterly wierded out by this display of insanity. She had guessed several minutes ago that this stranger was perhaps a few nuts shy of a fruitcake, but she couldn’t have guessed it was this bad. Ren moved her body at seemingly random intervals, never staying still, nor moving with any rhyme or reason. Everything about her screamed of nut case. “Do you know how disturbing it is to have your prisoner starts screaming at someone else’s torture?”

“Look, Ren.” Jack said casually, putting one hand over his injury to stop the bleeding and start the healing. “We were just clearing up some old business with Raff, and I thought I’d drop in to pass on our regards. I promise, it will never happen again.” Jack smiled wide and friendly. “In fact, I think that since I won’t be doing this again, you should get back and make up for lost time! You know, remind Raff that you’re still in his life.” Jack did his absolute best to be enthusiastic, hoping that if he could get Ren to play along she might leave to go hurt Raff some more. That way, everyone won. Ren seemed to consider this, cocking her head and overplayed scratching her head in thought.

“You’re right Jacky!” she concluded happily, smiling wide and flashing her fangs. “He’s probably forgotten all about me thanks to your rude visit! I’ll make him remember though, he’s such a simpleton though.” Ren’s emotions were fluctuating randomly, going from happy, to annoyed, back to happy all in the same breath. “Bye, eviscerate you later Jacky. Bye drone-type-thing!” She waved as she dashed out the front door and out into the countryside, eventually lifting off the ground in a type of wobbly flight that Jack though would definitely lead her into the ground several times before she got back to her resting place. Jack breathed a deep sigh of relief, and was surprised to see Vallov do the same as he slumped just a little. It was good to know that even Vallov found Rendal as annoying as he did.

“Damn…” Jack said, inspecting his healing arm. “I liked that shirt.” With that he closed the door and walked back into the sitting room, where he picked up his glass and threw back the last drink left in the goblet and walked out of the room to the kitchen for some more, leaving a highly confused Topaz and Jill standing in the hallway looking after him.