BEAUTY AND THE MONSTROUS CLOUD

CHAPTER 5

I

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Clear weather spread almost magnanimously across the blue vault of the heavens, but after looking up at it for a while, it seemed to loom over them, so the brother and sister sitting up in the driver’s seat quickly turned their eyes forward. For a split second, their vacant gazes rested on the handsome young man in black at the reins of the cyborg horse riding along just to the right of their seat.

It was near noon the next day. The wide central road ran across the major artery to the Capital about twelve miles ahead. And it was there that D and the children would part company.

“Say, mister,” the girl said to D.

When the Hunter turned just a bit in her direction, she continued in a low voice, “Those other two—they’re Nobility, right? What in the world are you guarding them for?”

It came as little surprise that her tone was both slightly unsettled and somewhat accusatory. To any boy or girl raised on the Frontier, the Nobility were no more than blood-crazed fiends.

“The pay is good,” D replied.

Though his response was the sort of thing that would crush a child’s dreams, the girl didn’t seem to bear him any ill will. For as long as she could remember, she’d known in the marrow of her bones that people did whatever they had to do to survive. She also sensed a bit of humor in D’s reply. Apparently he behaved a bit differently than usual when dealing with children.

“You mean to say you’ll do anything as long as there’s money to be made?” she asked with delight while a flicker of emotion played on D’s lips.

“That’s right.”

“In that case, would you take us as far as the Capital?”

“I’m headed in a different direction.”

“We’ll wait for you at an inn on the thoroughfare. We’d wait there forever for you if need be—wouldn’t we?”

“You said it!” the boy added with an enthusiastic nod. “Anyway, Sis and I have our act. We can make some money there while we wait. So you can go take all the time you need to earn your wages without worrying about us.”

“Maybe I will,” D replied. Though what emotions were in his heart as he spoke remained a mystery.

“But you know something, Sis? I don’t hate that fella in the blue.”

“Don’t you go calling a Noble ‘fella’ now!”

“But he’s been kind to us, hasn’t he? He went and let you and me ride in his carriage. Ordinarily, he’d have just drunk all our blood!”

“Well, he didn’t do that because he’s around,” the girl said, her pudgy cheeks inflating even more as she gazed at D in infatuation.

“You might have something there . . .”

“How about the woman then?” the girl snapped.

“Oh, I’m none too keen on her.”

They were referring, of course, to Miska.

No matter what D made of the pair’s discussion, his expression was devoid of any hint of emotion, as always.

After the giant was slain, the baron and D had gone to check out Miska. They both suspected that one of the many possessing spirits that frequented the Frontier might’ve taken hold of the Noblewoman. In comparison to his supposed power, the giant had proved incredibly frail in the end. They had to wonder if perhaps the giant had merely been a vessel and that the true form—the spirit—had transferred over to Miska when she opened the wall and set him free. Her mysterious weakening, the mad scream she unleashed when the giant appeared—these might be clues. It was quite plausible that the only reason she’d been unharmed was because something like that had taken place.

Though Miska hadn’t fully recovered yet, they took her from her coffin and conducted tests as to her physical and mental state using extremely sensitive equipment carried by the baron’s carriage. However, the tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The testing equipment wasn’t malfunctioning.

“She seems to be okay,” said the baron.

“Is that what you think?” D inquired.

“Not quite. This equipment can measure anything down to a quadrillionth of the level of a normal psyche. It’s conceivable that this could be something below that.”

D was slumped back against a carriage wheel, looking down at Miska. The test had taken place outside.

“What do you say to disposing of her?”

“Occasionally I get the feeling I never should’ve hired you. Is human blood so cruel?”

“It’s not limited to humans.”

“Though Nobles may have their differences with their fellow Nobility, the bonds of friendship and respect are usually maintained. I firmly believe that. Your Noble blood couldn’t possibly allow you to say such a heartless thing about this young lady.”

“It may be that human blood is kinder.”

“Preposterous. I pride myself on being something of a student of the human race. I’m fully versed in both their virtues and their vices. And you would be hard pressed to shake my faith in the belief their kind is inferior to us.”

“It’s a matter of fact, not faith. Had you been more observant in your studies, you might’ve reached a different conclusion.”

The Noble in blue and the Hunter in black—for the first time, something dangerous flowed between them.

“Enough already,” Miska said, her pained voice dispelling the tension. “Do not speak of the human race before me . . . At any rate . . . are you satisfied now?”

The baron nodded.

“In that case, would you be a dear . . . and dispose of those filthy swine?”

Her trembling finger was pointing at the brother and sister.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why ever not?” Miska asked as the eyes in her haggard face became lakes of malice.

“Human or not, we can’t just leave these children to shift for themselves. We shall drop them off tomorrow in someplace convenient.”

“You mustn’t . . . Though you’ve sworn not to touch them . . . they can’t come with us . . . If I were in your position . . . I would leave them right in this very spot.”

“Kindly return her to her coffin,” the baron told D.

Although Miska’s whole body trembled with resistance until the black arms lifted her up, she lost consciousness before D started over to the white carriage.

When D returned, the baron was standing beside the children. Turning and seeing the Hunter, he furrowed his refined brow.

D’s coat had black smoke billowing from it.

“Defense systems?” he asked.

D nodded.

The defensive mechanisms incorporated into Miska’s coffin had determined that D was something other than a Noble. His whole body had been pierced by laser beams of a hundred thousand degrees.

“You must forgive me for putting you in such a situation. I completely forgot you’re a dhampir,” the baron apologized. And apparently he meant it.

“Don’t worry about it. Only half of them went off,” D replied, his words leaving the baron silent.

Fortunately, a hint of blue had begun to mix with the eastern sky. The baron returned to his carriage.

“Once day breaks, we’ll be off. Load your baggage into this carriage,” D told the children.

“Sure,” the boy replied, throwing a look at the Noble in blue before he dashed off for his bags. His eyes had a calm hue to them.

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“What did you talk with the Noble about?” D asked as he rode alongside the carriage.

“Nothing important,” the boy replied.

Hastily tossing her head from side to side, his sister said, “That’s a lie. He asked us where we were born, and where we’re going.”

“Like I said, nothing important,” the boy countered firmly, slightly backing away from the imposing and pudgy face before him.

“He asked if we liked the Nobility.”

To a child, that must’ve seemed an important question.

“I see. And what did you reply?”

“I told him I hate them,” the girl answered peevishly. She was in love with D.

“I didn’t answer,” the boy said rather sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you say you hated them?!” his sister exclaimed.

“Well, he’s a good-looking guy, and his eyes were so kind.”

“Kind eyes, eh?” said D.

“That’s right. And kinda sad, too. Like yours, mister.”

Beneath the blue sky, a pair of gorgeous young men moved on—one inside a coffin, the other on the back of a horse. Both with sad eyes. But perhaps the real question was whether or not D’s eyes were kind.

“Now look what you’ve gone and done—you had to go and say he was just like a Noble, and now he’s clammed up.”

“Hey, that hurts!”

The girl had furtively got hold of her brother’s thigh and given it a twist, and the boy entered into a mute struggle with her. As they were silently wrestling, they suddenly looked forward.

“Oh, my,” the girl gasped, her brother still tugging madly at her cheek. But on noticing that D had grabbed hold of the reins and stopped the carriage, the boy also gasped in surprise.

“Use this,” D said, dropping a large rifle across their laps before he galloped forward.

To either side of the road were sandstone plateaus over thirty feet high. On the road a hundred feet ahead, a girl with blond hair stood in a daze. What’s more, on her back she had a giant purple toad that was as ugly as sin. Noticing D, the girl took a few unsteady steps forward, then fell like a log. But at that very moment, the toad got off her and scrambled up the nearby rock face, disappearing from sight in no time.

Quickly dismounting, D took the girl’s pulse. Her long, thin eyes opened a crack. Her beautiful but anemic countenance looked familiar. She was the same young lady who’d been working with the magician by the side of the road back before they’d crossed the swamp.

“Help . . . me . . .” the girl said, barely wringing the words from her throat. But on seeing D’s face, her eyes didn’t fail to go wide. Even a patient at death’s door would undoubtedly react the same way.

“What’s wrong?” asked D. He could tell the girl’s condition was merely the result of shock and fatigue.

“That toad . . . has been after me . . . forever . . . Please . . .”

“It’s already run off.”

This only served to put more dread on the girl’s face.

“I can’t believe it . . . That it would finally . . . let me go . . .”

Not even asking whether she could stand or not, D lent the girl his shoulder as he put her back on her feet. Placing her in the saddle, he took his horse by the reins and returned to the carriage.

What’s going on? the baron asked, the words drifting to D in a tone only he could hear. Apparently the Nobleman must’ve heard the commotion.

Explaining the situation, D added, “She’ll go with us as far as the next inn. Although I would like to put her in your carriage.”

That’s fine, the baron replied.

However, when D tried to get her into the vehicle, the girl started crying and screaming like she was out of her mind. One glance told her that the carriage belonged to the Nobility.

“Stop! Don’t put me in with a Noble—I beg of you!”

Struggling as if for her very life, she certainly appeared to be sincere.

“Okay, you two get in there, then,” D told the brother and sister.

Though the girl was quick to voice her complaints, her brother was brimming with curiosity as he said, “Sure thing!”

Eyes sparkling, the boy climbed down out of the driver’s seat all by himself.

Left no alternative, his sister followed reluctantly.

Loading the spent girl into the driver’s seat, D then started them moving forward again. Although he thought the toad would come leaping out at some point, there wasn’t the slightest trace of it anywhere.

Taking a capsule from his saddlebags, the Hunter offered it to the exhausted girl. Staring at it dazedly, she apparently gave up any hope of getting additional aid as she weakly took the capsule in hand, put it in her mouth, and chewed it. With vitamins, minerals, and sedatives among its nine hundred ingredients, the capsule brought life and color back into the girl’s face in no time—less than five seconds, to be precise. Though such capsules were expensive, a traveler crossing the Frontier without them might as well be naked.

Letting out a deep breath, the girl straightened herself.

“Thank you,” she said with a polite bow.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can get off at the next inn.”

The girl was left at a loss for words. The fact that a gorgeous and muscular young man wouldn’t want to look after a woman like herself came like a slap to the face.

“Who . . . who exactly are you?” she managed to ask about five minutes later, with despair and anger still churning in her features.

There was no reply.

“This is a Noble’s carriage—so the person guarding it would be . . . But you don’t look like that’s the case at all . . . By any chance, are you D?”

“Where did you hear my name?”

Caught in his stare, the girl’s cheek flushed carmine.

“Through the grapevine. They say there’s a beautiful Hunter out on the Frontier. But what would a Vampire Hunter be doing guarding Nobles’ carriages?”

“One of them hired me.”

“To protect him from humans?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“But isn’t that the complete opposite of what you do?”

“Perhaps.”

“You don’t say much, do you?” the girl said, not realizing that in fact that was quite a lot for him. But it looked as if D had ignored her remark.

“Yesterday, I saw you just outside the village of Shamuni. Not that you’d remember me. I was working as a magician’s assistant.”

Discussion of the girl’s personal situation dissolved into the stark sunlight. At some point the cliffs had vanished, and flat green expanses lined the road ahead. The grass was billowing in waves, thanks to the wind. The creak of the wheels went out like a mumbled song.

And there were those inside the blue carriage who also saw and heard these things. The brother and sister stared at the luxurious coffin secured in the center of the vehicle with a somewhat distressed look on their faces. After all, there was a Noble inside it. Though that much was obvious, the sense of incongruity was stronger than that of fear because the impression left by the occupant when they’d seen him the previous night was one of elegance and kindness, and because D was watching over him. But in the end, when a Noble’s resting place was right in front of them, the primeval and almost instinctive fear that’d been hammered into the children from the day they were born couldn’t help but rear its ugly head.

“It’s kinda creepy, Sis,” the boy whined.

“It’s broad daylight now, so there’s not a chance of him coming out,” the girl assured him. “But it’s all your fault for going on about what a wonderful fella he is.”

“That’s got nothing to do with this. It’s just that coffins give me the creeps.”

“Don’t worry. You’ve got me here, and we’ve got that guy outside, too.”

“Yeah, but still,” the boy protested.

Where do the two of you come from? inquired the shady voice that echoed through the siblings’ heads.

“What’s it matter to you anyway?” the girl shot back. “You try anything funny, and we’ll tell that guy outside.”

I wouldn’t want that, the voice in their heads replied in a tone laced with irony. I’m not quite sure whether I could beat him or not.

“Like there’s a chance in hell of you ever beating him!” the girl said, inflating her cheeks indignantly.

Jabbing her elbow with his own, her brother said, “Don’t be so blunt about it.”

Apparently he was more of a realist. Ordinarily women were predisposed to be that way, but it seemed that having taken to the road with such a strong personality at an earlier age, he’d developed his outlook to some degree out of sheer necessity. However, given the dazzling acrobatics he’d unveiled back on the ship in the swamp in their hour of need, he undoubtedly had every bit as much nerve as his sister when the situation called for it.

“I’m just saying . . .”

Getting a tight grip on his sister’s hand as her eyes bulged in their sockets, the boy replied, “A town in the western Frontier called Liddell. Ever heard of it?”

Can’t say that I have. What kind of place is it?

“You’re just full of questions, aren’t you, mister? It’s just this little town out in the middle of nowhere. It’s the safest place thereabouts, but on the other hand, it’s also real quiet and boring. There were beautiful plains and a waterfall on the edge of town.”

Why did you leave?

“Because our father and mother died,” the boy responded in a tone that made it seem as if that were the perfectly natural answer.

If you don’t mind my asking, how did they happen to pass away?

“They were out in the swamp catching fang shrimp when a snake dragon did them in. The folks in town told us what happened. One of the village bigwigs took us in, but he worked us like slaves. So we lit out of there and got picked up by a carnival that tours the Frontier. We had the whole acrobatics thing down pat in three years.”

That’s quite an accomplishment.

“You’ve never even seen our act, so don’t be so quick with the compliments,” the boy said, waving his arms at the coffin in a way that was terribly adult. His face alone remained appropriate to his age, with a grimace that was both childish and endearing. Fearless he seemed—but in fact, he had merely learned to use his own cheer to master his fear.

“But enough about us. You’re a Noble, aren’t you, mister? So how come you let us ride in your carriage without doing anything to us?”

“He’ll get around to it—just wait,” his sister said with surety.

“If he was gonna, he’d have long since done it.”

“He can’t do a thing with that tough, handsome guy out there.”

You may be right about that.

The girl hadn’t intended for her scathing remarks to be overheard, and she slapped a plump hand up over her mouth.

“Where are you headed, mister?” the boy promptly inquired.

The village of Krauhausen.

“That’s pretty far off. Know someone there, do you?”

My father is there.

“Your father? Lucky you! I bet you’ll get to play and stuff. You sure got it good!”

“Knock it off,” his sister told him, and this time it was his turn to get elbowed.

“What was that for?!” the boy said, pursing his lips sourly. Seeing how his sister’s face had grown red as the setting sun, he snorted and turned away in disgust.

“I like you, mister, but I don’t care too much for that woman in white,” the boy said.

Why is that?

“Well, she comes off pretty harsh for a woman, and she doesn’t have much by way of charm. If every woman were like that, there wouldn’t be any sweetness left in the world.”

Well, we couldn’t have that.

“And there’s something kinda funny about the way she looks at folks. Those are the eyes of a loony.”

You think so?

“Yep. I don’t know if she’s your girlfriend or what, but that’s the kind you’d do well to drop as fast as you can. For what it’s worth, I’m a pretty mean judge of women.”

I’ll keep that in mind.

“Think nothing of it,” the boy said, his chest puffed out as he looked down at the coffin. He was beaming.

A slap resounded from his cheek. The acrobatic genius probably hadn’t been able to dodge it because he’d been distracted, and also because the blow had come from a fellow genius.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

His angry gaze was greeted by a chubby face swelling with an ever more intense wrath.

“What the blazes do you think you’re doing, sucking up to the Nobility?!”

“I wasn’t sucking up to anyone!”

“You were so!”

“Was not—” the boy protested, his body quivering as he tried to strike back at his sister.

There’s no reason why you should like the Nobility, but do you hate us so badly? asked the voice from the coffin.

The girl’s body quaked as if from madness. “Oh, I hate you. I hate your guts! You, your kind—”

The girl hiccuped. Though she wasn’t exactly sobbing, every time her shoulders shook, a little sound escaped her.

“My mom and dad were—”

“Huh?!” the boy suddenly cried out in a tone not merely of surprise but of utter disbelief as he stared at his older sister. “That’s a lie!”

“No, it’s true. It’s the truth, I tell you!”

“It can’t be. They said Mom and Dad were both killed by a snake dragon.”

“That’s just the story the villagers told you, but this is the truth. What really happened is that Mom and Dad made it back alive—or at least pretending to still be alive. They both complained about how cold they felt, and they sat in front of the heater without moving a muscle. Not saying a word, just staring into the flames. They didn’t even look each other in the face. And they were never like that before. Even when they were in different rooms, they were always calling out to each other and making all kinds of racket. I was feeling kinda sad, so I went over and tried talking to them. I said, ‘Mom and Dad, what’s wrong?’ And then—”

Her brother had a bewildered look on his face.

“And then, they told me, ‘Get out. Don’t look at me.’ ‘Hurry up and get away from us.’ They told me to take you, Hugh, and get out. I wondered what was wrong with them. I knew that muddle mold could mess up someone’s head, and I thought maybe that’s what had come over them. So then I circled around in front of them. Their faces were stark white. Even with the heater burning there, their faces were as cold and pale as Lake Aida. But there was one thing that was red—crimson, even. Their lips. Both of them had lips so red it looked like blood had welled up to fill them. I realized the truth right away. I don’t actually remember what I said then. The next thing I knew, you were still asleep but I held you in my arms and I was outside the house. Sheriff Gidari and a bunch of volunteer deputies were around me and were talking something over, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I watched the house burn. Our house had always seemed so tiny, and it seemed strange how huge the flames were. Later, Gidari told me Mom and Dad had been attacked by a Noble out in the swamp. Someone had seen it, so they’d all come over to the house. And that was the last time I ever saw them.”

The boy was looking out the window. Blotches of shade slid across his pink face. They were the shadows of the trees that adorned that side of the road.

“You’re also a Noble, right? Boxed up in your posh coffin, and going out each and every night to drink human blood. To be honest, I never wanted to ride in your carriage. Even now, I’d like nothing better than to put it to the torch.”

That would be rather inconvenient, the baron’s voice remarked. I’ll have to ask you to refrain from setting that fire for a while. Until I’ve attended to my business, that is.

“You mean to tell me I can torch it after that? Ha! There’s not a chance of that happening, so stop yanking my chain.”

If you come along, I see no reason why you couldn’t.

The boy turned and looked at the coffin in amazement.

However, I’ll give you an honest fight, too. How does that sound?

The blood drained from the girl’s pudgy face. She turned to her younger brother. His expression told her not to do it. That decided it.

“Fine. I’ll put you down for sure. You’d better wear an iron plate over your heart if you don’t want me to put a stake through it.”

That’s sound advice. How about you?

The boy needed a few seconds to realize the Noble was addressing him. He was still dumbfounded by his sister’s utter recklessness.

“I—”

“Naturally, he wants in on it too. The two of us have nothing but each other. Isn’t that right?” the girl said, glaring at her brother with an intensity normally unimaginable.

“Sure,” the boy said with a nod.

You seem rather devoted to your sister, the voice from the coffin remarked, and the tone seemed to be tinged with laughter. Very well. Although the two of you must part company with us soon, no matter where you should happen to go, I will call on you once my business is settled and you shall show me exactly what you’re made of.

“You promise?”

I swear on the name of the Sacred Ancestor. And by the honor of the Nobility, I shall keep my word.

The girl’s face flushed crimson with her fighting spirit, and as her brother tilted his head to one side with a less than satisfied look on his face, the carriage suddenly began to slow down. Opening the window and sticking his head out, the boy gasped aloud.

“What is it?” his sister asked, following his lead. “Oh no!” she exclaimed as her eyes went wide.

A purple cloudlike mass floated far off near the horizon, and it was headed in their direction. It might’ve been three hundred feet high, or then again, it might’ve stretched up nearly a mile. With a number of massive knobs piled one on top of the other and fused together into shapes that protruded even further, this mass beneath a blue sky that seemed ready to flee was so disturbing it outstripped any thoughts of majesty.

The shadow of the carriage flickered on the ground from countless strands of lightning that tied the purple cloud mass to the earth below.

“It’s an electric cloud!” the girl screamed as she so eloquently identified the threat.

Though it was said the number of artificial monstrosities the Nobility had scattered across the world was in the thousands or millions, of them all, the cloud creatures that could cover an area of several hundred square miles and reach almost three miles in height were easily one of the five most dangerous. These gaseous masses imbued with life formed into thirteen different varieties, and while the composition varied, the center was usually an eerie mix of toxic gases, while the exterior typically contained a half-million volts of electrical current, acid rain, and winds that brought death and decay. As a result, after one of these had passed, the land was left dead—literally not a blade of grass standing. The only saving grace where every other living thing was concerned was that these things had a short life span. From the time of its formation, the cloud would vanish again within one day and night’s time, as only a composite life form would. To wit—for the twenty-four hours after its creation, it would be death incarnate on a mindless rampage. Toward that end, the Nobility had seeded its gaseous brain with a boundless hatred toward any but its own kind and thoughts of nothing save destruction. As for why they had also given it such a short life span, the clouds and their brutal nature were merely one of their larks—and intended as no more than a brief amusement. The clouds had only been created so they might mock the humans for a while as they ran willy-nilly.

What will we do, D? the baron’s voice inquired, ringing in the Hunter’s ear as he rode along on his mount.

“We’ve got no choice but to run for it.”

Do you think we’ll make it in time?

“That’s hard to say.”

In that case, get everyone into the carriages. You and the woman should go in Miska’s. I’ve already informed her. And let the horses loose.

D made up his mind in an instant. The second he scooped up the young lady from the driver’s seat and loaded her into the white carriage, he slapped the hindquarters of the horses. Already noticeably spooked, the horses raced back down the road they’d come from without a second glance.

The young lady stifled a cry of surprise. Twice as spacious as it appeared from the outside, the vehicle’s interior was filled with white blossoms. Ephemeral and nigh translucent, the petals swayed with every movement of the two new occupants.

No sooner had D closed the door than the sun was blotted out. A yellow cloud of dust billowed up from the road, and every last tree bowed in the same direction—an omen that was a mixture of weirdness and silence.

Death is outside, said the voice from within the coffin. Miska’s voice. The Nobility or the human race—which do you think deserves it more, D?

The blue shadow that filled the vehicle’s interior served as D’s answer. The trees that lined the road were engulfed in flames, instantly transforming them to fireballs.

“I’m scared,” the woman squeaked.

“A hell of a thing this is. Make one mistake and the whole lot of us will be wiped out,” another voice that didn’t belong to any of them muttered glumly, but no one save D heard it.

“Sis!”

“Hugh!”

The children cried as they clung tightly to each other in the blue carriage.

An impossible darkness covered the world, and to the young siblings it seemed like the unfathomable depths of death itself. In a second, lightning focused on the pair of carriages from all sides. The ionized air made it easy enough for the electrical strikes, and the heat they generated instantaneously fused the ground into glass whenever they came into contact with it. Enveloped by this pale illumination, the horseless carriages themselves looked like some sort of bizarre creatures. Even if a monster more terrible than this cloud were to appear, it didn’t seem like it would be able to withstand the same deadly talons that raked the carriages.

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II

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After the overwhelming curtain of death had passed, nothing remained but savaged terrain. Smoke curled from each and every stand of trees, and here and there the ground glittered with the bright sunlight where heat had fused it into glass. The two carriages were right where they’d started.

Ten minutes after the monster cloud had moved on, the blue door opened and the two children cautiously climbed down to the ground. Scanning their surroundings with eyes alight with fear and curiosity, they quickly exclaimed, “Mister!” and “There you are!” before racing over to the black-coated figure basking in the sunlight.

Gazing suspiciously at the young lady beside him, the boy then said, “I thought we were goners!”

“Me, too!” said his sister.

The cries of both swam with a sparkling vitality.

“I’m surprised we held up all right. Everything around us got burnt to a crisp!”

As the girl listened to her brother’s remarks, she looked to the carriages behind them and began to say, “They really are incredible . . .” But then she held her tongue. She’d decided that might be taken as some endorsement of the vehicles’ owners.

It was unclear how the Hunter in black viewed the death and devastation surrounding them, or the lively chattering children there in the middle of it who seemed to belong to a whole different world.

“We were saved by the power of the Nobility,” D said.

Regardless of whether that was their intent or not, the pair of carriages manufactured by the Nobility had safeguarded the lives of two beings who still had a future.

“You’re right. They sure did have awesome science. A long time ago, some scientists came to the village where we were born and explained that it was a waste to simply destroy the Nobility’s civilization when we should be making use of it. And I think they were right.”

But the girl was quick to counter the opinion of her impressionable younger brother.

“Spare me any more talk about how great they are. The damned cloud that caused this whole mess in the first place was made by the Nobility, wasn’t it?”

“Well, that is true, but—”

“And we still owe them for Mom and Dad!”

“I know that. It’s just—”

“Just what?!”

Apparently quite scared of his older sister now that she’d bared her teeth, the boy held his tongue.

“By the look of it, the inn up ahead would’ve been destroyed too,” someone stated flatly, the words bringing the brother and sister back to reality. Their eyes came to rest on the young woman who stood there quietly.

“Who are you, miss?” asked Hugh.

“Nice to meet you. Taki is the name. I’m a magician’s assistant.”

“Wow! So, can you do tricks too?”

“A few, I suppose.”

“Great! That’ll make the trip a little more fun. I’m Hugh.”

“You little dope. The inn’s been laid to waste,” the girl said to him, before calmly introducing herself to Taki, saying, “Oh, I’m May. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“It doesn’t look like the cloud will return or do anything else strange. Get back into the carriages,” D told them.

As the four of them turned around, the carriages seemed to tower there resolutely, and from off in the distance they could hear the hoofbeats of cyborg horses on their way back, almost as if the animals had caught D’s instructions.

As expected, the coach stop by the highway had been reduced to dust. And every village dotting the landscape for several hundred miles had probably met the same fate.

“The next coach to the Capital is at noon tomorrow. Wait here.”

At D’s instructions, the boy and girl looked at each other.

“But—the stop’s weapons and emergency shelter are gone now. If any monsters come, we’ll be sitting ducks!”

“We’ll leave you with weapons.”

“Wouldn’t you be good enough to bring us as far as the next village?” asked May. “We could get off there.”

“It’d be a lot safer for you to stay here rather than come with us. All the monsters have been burnt up. There won’t be a sign of anything for a week.”

Although the Hunter’s assessment was perfectly accurate, the children didn’t know that. The power held by the dark of night was far more real than any spoken promise could ever be.

Why don’t we bring them with us?

“Stay out of this.”

If you’re worried about Miska’s desires or my own, then we’ll simply stay in our coffins. I swear it.

“Neither of you have any idea how strong a Noble’s craving for blood can be,” D responded flatly.

Why do you say that?

“Have you ever been starved?”

The pause that followed was like a little explosion.

“Have you ever wanted to drink human blood so badly you clawed at the walls? Has it ever been so hard to bear you had to bite into your own arm? That’s what hunger is,” D said in a voice the children couldn’t hear. And yet, their eyes were riveted to the face of the gorgeous Hunter.

Have you, D? the baron’s voice inquired.

“No Noble has ever triumphed over the cravings that come from hunger. All who’ve tried have failed,” D replied.

Among the vampires, there were some who found the taking of a human’s lifeblood repulsive, and they endeavored to somehow resist the hateful urge. In the ninth millennium there appeared an individual known as “Gullit the Corrupter” who wrote five hundred volumes on how loathsome he found the act of drinking blood. He tried various means to break himself of the habit, but all attempts ended in failure, and he ultimately disavowed his theories. His writings were subsequently cast on the fire.

For example, what happened to a famished Noble imprisoned somewhere where escape was impossible? Their ageless and indestructible constitution never allowed them to starve to death, so they suffered no physical harm from an exceedingly empty stomach, and their brain didn’t even allow an escape into madness as they were tortured by hunger. During the Nobility’s so-called Age of Conflict, countless Nobles were divided into allied and enemy camps by the fighting, and the most sadistic punishment the victors could impose on their captives was just such an imprisonment. It wasn’t difficult to imagine how cruel it was to be trapped in a heavy-gravity dungeon for centuries while the hunger only grew. When cease-fire treaties were drawn up and the captives were released from the untold depths of the earth, they pounced on their saviors and drained them of their blood.

“You can’t change your stripes. No Noble can, so long as they remain a Noble. It’s the same as humans taking the lives of their livestock. And people will even eat other people.”

How many years had this handsome young man lived, and what had he seen? As D related that terrifying information so stoically, his profile remained stern and diligent.

You are correct, as always. Indeed, I haven’t known the hunger of which you speak, said the voice from the coffin. However, so long as I ride in this carriage, there is no danger of me starving. I won’t lay a hand on the children.

“Please, let’s do that,” Taki added. The young lady must’ve come from an area where the Nobility’s influence had died out long ago. “Leaving such little children out in the wilderness would be like putting a snack out for some monster. Surely you’ll regret it later.”

Nothing you can say will matter in the least.

Everyone turned toward the white carriage. The words she’d practically sneered had reached everyone’s ears.

It is not I or the baron that he fears. It is himself. Did you know that, little human children? Were you aware that this man you trust above all else is a dhampir? A traitor that sides with you and hunts our kind, even though he possesses the same blood that we do.

Neither D nor Taki could see what kind of expression the brother and sister wore, for the clear sky had turned dark in a matter of seconds. This time ordinary lightning flashed, and the wind buffeted D’s face as he looked to the heavens. Even for the plains, the changeability of the weather in this area was particularly fierce.

As clouds of dust eddied away, Miska’s voice coursed out triumphantly, saying, D, were you actually concerned about the baron or myself giving the kiss to them? No, your misgivings are in fact based on your own hunger, are they not? Those children are always around you. You can smell the scent of their bodies. And from it, can you not glean the sweet aroma of their blood? When you do, doesn’t the Noble blood run hot in your veins?

“Get in,” D told the children.

Heaven and earth settled into an endless blue haze. It had begun to rain. The sound of the wind became that of the rain beating against the earth, and all three pressed their hands to their heads while D did nothing. The force of the impact was terrific. Perhaps it was only right that it had no effect on a Hunter so callous he could’ve left children out in such an environment.

Though Taki was about to walk away, the two children didn’t move. As they looked up at D, their faces were blurred by the rain. Whatever expressions they wore couldn’t be seen.

__

Once the group was back inside, the carriages sped off at a fantastic clip in keeping with D’s handling as he sat up in the driver’s seat.

Taki peeked out the window, then her cheeks hardened as she shouted, “We’ve strayed from the road!”

The brother and sister pressed their faces to the windows, too. Though the downpour shrouded everything like a gas, they could still somehow make out that ahead of them lay a black rise that seemed to be some sort of hill.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

Seeing that her brother had turned his gaze to the blue coffin, the girl then nudged his shoulder.

“I’m sure there must be a reason, if he’s the one doing it,” said Taki.

And once they’d raced up a less-than-gentle incline to a height of thirty feet, they knew in an instant what the young woman had meant. In addition to the noise of the rain, there was a low sound like a rumbling from deep in the earth, and it came from the right side of the road.

“It’s a flood!”

Although it was water all the same, it looked like a little mountain of gray. Perhaps there were lakes nearby that had overflowed, or maybe it was the work of water sprites, but the surging gushes erased the road and swallowed up the devastated wilderness without the slightest hesitation. The water reached the hill, and the carriages slipped backward a bit.

But that wasn’t the only reason the three people inside one vehicle let out a scream. The lid of the coffin had opened. Even though they realized the figure who’d risen from it was the baron, the terror of witnessing a Noble’s appearance from his resting place had triggered their basic human instincts.

“Don’t get so excited,” the Nobleman said in a sober tone, his cape spreading like a deep expanse of sea.

Before the trio he’d left frozen stiff could blink their eyes, the figure in blue was gone, and the door closed again, spraying droplets of rain in abundance.

__

D could guess who it was that approached him.

Once the baron had taken a seat, the Hunter asked, “What brings you out here?”

“I don’t care to be swept away by that flood. The current is strong, and we can’t afford any further delays.”

“Then get back inside. The sun is still high.”

“Fortunately, the water is only halfway up the wheels. If someone were to support the back end, it wouldn’t slide.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“At this point, I’d like to remind you of our employer/employee relationship,” the baron said with a grin.

D leapt down into the muddy torrent without saying a word. Circling around behind the white carriage without fighting the mighty flow, he braced the vehicle with his shoulder once he was sure of his footing. It stopped moving backward.

The baron lashed out with a whip. Once more, the horses advanced to the crest of the hill.

__

It was two hours later that the waters receded.

When D came over and stood beneath the driver’s seat, the baron told him, “You did a good job.”

“I should say the same,” D remarked as he looked up. “Please hurry and get back in your coffin. It wouldn’t do to have you collapsing up there.”

Though the rain continued to fall, it was still midday. For a Noble, it would be even more brutal than it was for D—his flesh would burn and melt, and yet severe chills would run through his whole body. Indeed, the figure in blue staggered a bit.

A pale light resided in D’s eyes. The sky to the north was brightening. Golden light was peeking out from between the clouds.

As the Hunter’s hand reached over to pull out the stairs, the baron stopped him, saying, “No, it’s fine. I’ve always wondered what the morning light was like—this is a rare opportunity . . .”

His voice crumpled feebly.

Bounding up to the driver’s seat, D scooped up the figure in blue and carried him into the carriage. Once the baron had been placed in his coffin, the lid closed by itself.

Without so much as a glance at the three people who sat there with eyes bugged, the Hunter asked, “Did you see it?”

No, a pained voice responded.

Even after D left without saying another word, the three faces brimmed with dissatisfaction while golden light showered in on them as if to chase off the rapidly dwindling patter of the rain.