𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 ⌜𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿⌟

22. 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗛

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 22. 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗛, 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘

𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗦 the sun finally hid behind the last hill, leaving the old city in pure darkness. Children ran past you, laughing and waving as they split apart, heading their separate ways to return home to their parents. Vendors still lined the street, still trying to sell the last bits of the morsels before they had to return to their own homes to prepare for the next day. Women walked past, balancing jugs of water for their family's nightly baths on the tops of their heads.

The jingling from the reins brought your attention back to the mare at your side. She shook her head, wiping her feet on the ground. You made sure the hood was snugly pulled over your head before leading the horse forward, emerging out of the shadows. You felt your cloak sway behind you, the sound of the horseshoes clicking against the broken concrete road rising in the air.

You stuck your foot into the loop, pulling yourself up before swinging your leg over the other side of the saddle. You gathered the reins in your hands, making the horse move forward. You glanced down at the name of the city written on a scrap of paper, tearing it to shreds before letting it flutter to the ground.

You felt the eyes of the city's residents boring into you. Everyone stopped what they were doing, pausing to watch as you came to the center of the road and pulled on the reins, halting the horse. They all stared at you as you scanned over them.

"You all know who I am after," You stated, making them glance at each other. "Send him forward, or I will raid every home looking for him."

It only took a moment for a group of men to walk away. A few moments later, they returned, dragging a thrashing man behind them. He was kicking and jerking in their grips, fighting against them. He only shut up when they threw him to the feet of the horse.

"Stupid motherfuc—"

He cut himself as he looked up, meeting your vermillion gaze. He immediately scrambled to his feet, looking at you with wide eyes. He stammered around his words, trying to form a sentence. You rolled your eyes.

"Cut your shit and get on the horse. We haven't got all night."

He shakily nodded before doing as told, climbing onto the horse. You snapped the reins, making the horse jerk into motion. Once you had gotten away from the town, you began to speak.

"So you're one of his disciples?" You asked.

He swallowed hard. "Only as an undercover agent," He replied. "The Speedwagon Foundation cut a deal with me."

"Well, you're going to cut one with me," You said, glancing over your shoulder. "Where is he?"

"I-I can't just—"

In a flash, you'd stopped the horse, making her buck up with a loud neigh. The man yelled in surprise before falling back, hitting the ground with a loud thud. As you calmed the horse, you turned to face him, staring down at him with a glare.

"You'll tell me, or I'll tie you up and leave you for the sun to eat at you," You threatened.

"Alright, alright!" He yelled, shielding his hands over his face. "I know where Dio is!"

"Then talk, you fucking moron," You spat. He sat up.

"There's an old mansion, about ten kilometers that way," He said, pointing to the north. "It should only take fifteen minutes or so. H-He hides there with his subordinates."

"Get on," You said.

"W-What?" He said, looking up at you.

"I said get on the damn horse," You said. "You're coming with me."

"I-I didn't agree to that!" He shouted. "If Dio finds out that I told anyone, he'll—"

"Leave you be," You interjected. "Dio will do nothing to you if I say so. So get on the horse. If you lie to me, I'll kill you."

"H-how did you even find me?" He asked. "The Speedwagon Foundation swore to keep my identity a secret!"

"They are the ones who told me," You replied.

"Y-You work with them?" He asked. "Y-You're a vampire too! But what do you want with Dio? He'll kill you before you can even dare speak to him! People don't just show up to Dio!"

You didn't reply.

When you had left New York, you'd immediately boarded a boat run by the Speedwagon Foundation. They informed you of everything they knew about Dio's whereabouts. They told you about this man, whose name was Raziel, and how he was connected to Dio. They gave you everything you needed before you were on your way to find him.

He'd been hiding out in the middle of Egypt, where the foundation had suspected Dio had ended up. You tracked Raziel down, which led you to where you are now.

"He'll kill us both," He muttered, watching as you slid down from the horse, gazing up at the old mansion.

"We'll see about that," You said, walking towards the door.

"W-What are you doing?!" Raziel hissed, grabbing your arm. "Y-You can't just waltz through the front door! Do you want to die?!"

"I'd love to see him try and kill me," You replied, pushing open the doors. He chased after you as you walked inside, and was immediately met by a man holding a gun towards you.

"And who do you think you are, walking right in like you own the place?" He asked, twisting a toothpick around in his mouth. "Take that hood off yer face!"

His eyes widened when you flashed past him, brushing past him with quick speeds. When he got over his shock, he whipped around to face you, only for your hand to grab his wrist, breaking it instantly. He cried out, falling down onto his knees in front of you. Your nails pierced his wrist, breaking past his skin, drawing blood.

You felt a presence behind you. You turned around, releasing the man's wrist as you did. A figure loomed at the top of the stairs, but you knew exactly who it was. You didn't need to see his face to know.

He caught the dagger just mere centimeters from piercing his throat. He looked down at the blade, his amber eyes widening when he saw the familiar hilt. It made everything rush back at him, as if he hadn't been thinking of it for the last 90 years.

When his lips were on yours, everything else seemed to fade away. You didn't care about anything else. This was what you'd been waiting for. What you had been searching for. What you had been anticipating. It was here.

His arms wrapped around you, gripping the back of your cloak tightly, making the hood fall from your head. Your hair fell to frame your face, your hand coming to rest on his cheek. You slid your hands into his hair, the soft golden locks just as you had remembered them.

Slowly, your lips pulled away from his.

"Your lips still taste like candy," He whispered.

"I went through hell to get here," You whispered. "And thats what you say to me?"

"You've got a terrible sweet tooth, love," He chuckled.

"God, I should fucking kill you, wanker," You grumbled, feeling his lips melt against yours once more.

"You would have done so 90 years ago," He said.

"I tried,"

"But here you are," He whispered. "I...I thought you were dead. All this time, I thought you were dead."

Your hand trailed to his cheek, brushing over his cheekbones. "I'm here, Dio. And I don't want to be anywhere else."

"I've missed you," He said, kissing your knuckles. "Dearly, my love, I've missed you so."

"Then don't let me go."

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 22. 𝗘𝗡𝗗
𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 11 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 2021
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