Murphy's Law

Chapter 78

They stared up at the immense castle with some trepidation. Though Sirius and May had already seen it, the former Legionnaires were somewhat intimidated. "Weapons at the ready," Cary murmured to them. "They can't have missed that boat."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the front gates opened and a swarm of vampires poured out to face them. Several of the gargoyles guarding the bridge broke out of their stone shells to join the fight, and if it wasn't for the familiar uniforms of the ex-Legionnaires, Sirius would have hardly known who to aim his spells at in the chaos that ensued.

They cleared the bridge in minutes, with minimal casualties to their own side. One of the soldiers had been bitten, and though his assailant had been destroyed before he could be completely drained, he was alarmingly pale and bleeding out fast. Sirius worked quickly to stop the bleeding. The soldier gave him a surprised look when he realized who was healing him. "Oh come on, I'm not completely heartless," Sirius scoffed.

"He wouldn't be with us otherwise," Alastar added in a teasing tone, laughing when the elf gave him a rude gesture in response.

"Stay put," Cary ordered when the soldier tried to get back to his feet. "You're of no use in this state."

"But I'll just be a sitting target here-"

"...Not if we move you to the watch tower," Cary said, looking around.

"I'll help him, sir. I'll catch up once he's out of sight."

"Very good. Let's keep moving!"

The Knight led the way, prepared to catch any vampires lying in ambush with a Fire Breath Shout. Sirius found himself wishing he'd pestered Kitty harder to teach him that sun spell- there were many more of them waiting inside. After clearing a path, Alastar urged them onward. "You three go find Harkon and stop him," he told them. "We can handle the riff raff."

"Are you certain?" Balthazar asked, unable to hide his worry.

"Absolutely," Alastar assured. "We'll have the castle under our control in no time." Balthazar hesitated for a moment then nodded, motioning for May and Sirius to follow him.

"I think I know where we'll find him," he said as they hurried through the halls, dodging attacks from his kin. May put each of them down quickly enough with a bolt from her crossbow. "It's not going to be an easy fight; he most likely retreated to the cathedral the moment he realized we were here. There's a blood fountain in there- easy access to fast healing- and he's had a thousand years to perfect some powerful spells he was only just starting to experiment with when Mother locked me away. There's no telling what he's capable of now."

They arrived at the cathedral doors. May reached over to put a hand on Balthazar's shoulder at his hesitation. He glanced up, meeting her concerned look. "I can do this," he promised. "It's... hard, but it's the right thing. Harkon hasn't been my father for a long time now."

"If he ever was," Sirius muttered, and pushed the doors open, striding in with confidence. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to find, but it certainly wasn't the hideous creature that hovered in the center of the large room. Harkon's gaze was on Balthazar as he followed Sirius in, with May coming in behind him.

"So you've returned," Harkon purred, "and with some new pets. Have they been keeping you entertained?"

"You know why we're here," Balthazar said, voice impressively even.

"Of course I do. You disappoint me, Balthazar. You've taken everything I provided for you and thrown it all away for these... pathetic beings."

"Provided for me?" Balthazar gaped. "Are you insane? You destroyed our family! You've killed other vampires! All over some 'prophecy' that we barely understand!" He shook his head. "No more. I'm done with you. You will not touch them."

"And you..." Harkon growled as he turned his attention to the two elves that flanked Balthazar. "It seems I have you to thank for turning my son against me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he'd return with hatred in his heart."

"I'm not sure 'hatred' is the right word there," Sirius pointed out. "But that's all you can feel so that must be all anyone else can feel, right? Hatred and ambition and pride. And if you really want to 'thank' someone for 'turning him against you', try thanking yourself first."

Harkon narrowed his eyes at Sirius. "I grow weary of speaking to you and my traitorous son. I'll give you a single chance to turn over the bow to me. There will not be a second."

May pulled the bow from her back, tightening her grip on it as she prepared for a fight. "Never."

"Very well then, you leave me no choice!" Harkon didn't waste even a moment, throwing a spell at them that nearly knocked the three of them off their feet. May threw a hand out to catch Balthazar as Sirius immediately returned fire, casting lightning bolts at the vampire lord with a vengeance.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine," Balthazar panted. "More surprised than anything." He called upon his own magic and began casting ice spikes alongside Sirius' spells. May nocked one of the Sunhallowed arrows to the string, but even with her excellent aim, she had a hard time actually hitting her target- Harkon moved fast, and constantly, and repeatedly dispersed himself into a swarm of bats that practically teleported about the cathedral, they moved with such speed. But the two mages were managing to wear him down, and she soon got her chance when he paused by the blood fountain to try to recover, just as Balthazar had warned. He cast a shadowy shield around himself that their spells couldn't penetrate- but the blessed arrows could. She loosed the arrow, and winced at the blinding flash and explosion that resulted as it shattered Harkon's ward. With a breath of relief she noted that it didn't seem to have affected Balthazar, who stood just far enough away not to get caught in it.

But Harkon wasn't down yet. He drew his sword and rushed at Sirius, who let out a pained shout as the blade bit deep into his arm. "Don't stop!" Sirius ordered as she moved to help him. "Don't let up! I'm fine!" She nodded and continued to fire. Balthazar hovered protectively over him as he tore off his ruined sleeve to tie around the cut and stop the bleeding. Injury temporarily managed, he got back to his feet and began casting again.

Slowly, they finally managed to wear him down, and with a final shot from Auriel's Bow, he fell. The three companions flinched away as he exploded with a shower of blood, and Balthazar nearly retched. May and Sirius were quick to usher him back out of the cathedral, where he promptly dropped onto the steps and began to sob. May sat down next to him, pulling him to lean against her and let him cry against her shoulder as she sang softly to him. Sirius plopped down on Balthazar's other side and winced as he peeled the fabric off of his wound, the blood already starting to dry and make the material stick. He cast a healing spell on it, sighing in relief as skin and muscle slowly knit back together. "I don't think I ever want to have to do that again," he remarked, tone light, managing to pull a faint laugh from his vampire friend. He turned to look at Balthazar. "Will you be alright?"

"...I think so," the vampire managed. "You?"

"Better already." He paused, and listened. "It's quiet out there."

"Which means our side won," Balthazar sighed with relief. "Otherwise... Well. You don't want to know what you'd be hearing."

"I'm sure I don't."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Alastar called softly so as not to startle them, "but I was hoping one of you might have a potion of Cure Disease on you. Cary got hit with... more than a few doses of their venom." Balthazar winced.

"I think I still have one on me," Sirius said, shrugging off his pack to dig through it. Sure enough he found one tiny red vial, and tossed it to the Knight. "Any other casualties?"

"A few other bites that look like they contracted sanguinare vampiris, but all a low enough dose we'll get back to Sky Haven Temple before it gets serious. Watevra will be able to handle that no problem- she probably already has a few doses ready as it is. Still, we shouldn't waste time. You three ready to go?"

"...You're letting me come with you?" Balthazar asked in surprise.

"Of course we are. You're one of us now."

"One of you..." Balthazar smiled. "I like the sound of that."