Vampire Hunter D: Stolen Sunlight

Chapter 24

D rode through the afternoon and into the night with Leigh curled up against him. She had woken up at one point, but D didn't move to allow her to get back onto her own horse and she wasn't going to ask if he was alright with the arrangements.

It was sometime after darkness had fully fallen that Leigh noticed they were winding through towering piles of rubble. She finally decided to speak up for the first time since her outburst. "Are we... is this the complex you visited?"

"Yes, it has been cleared and, for now, I believe it will be the safest place until you can finish the task you started." Leigh was unsure if a vampire compound would really be the safest place, but she was sure D must have had a reason for that belief, so she didn't push further. She was already sore all over and wanted out of the saddle, even if she was in D's lap.

D finally stopped in front of the largest pile she had seen yet. He helped her down before heading up what seemed like a path. She realized as they climbed through the rubble that he must have already cleared the path the last time he was there. She was glad as it made it easier on her already screaming body. As they finally made it to the darkened staircase into the interior, D placed a hand on her arm to keep her from falling.

Once they entered Leigh was made uncomfortable at the sight of the long room when it lit up at their presence. It looked too much like the room she was kidnapped from for her to relax. The only thing that kept her moving was the fact that D was by her side. He led them to one of the doors along the wall. It opened to a long hall filled with closed doors. He didn't go far down that hall before he picked a door to the right which opened up to a room that had probably been living quarters at one point. It was a small room but there was a bed along with several other trappings you would find in a single person dorm. She wasn't sure if any of the facilities worked still, with the whole upper portion of the building being in ruins, but currently the only thing that mattered was the bed. Even though she had slept for part of the afternoon, she felt exhausted.

D seemed to have understood her need without her having to ask. He moved through the room quickly to presumably make sure there was nothing hidden before moving back to her side. "You should sleep. We can assess everything when you wake." As exhausted as Leigh was she was still touched by his apparent concern. She gave him a quick hug that seemed to take him by surprise before thanking him and heading for the small bed. She noted that he took up a position in a nearby chair but that was the last thing she noticed before falling asleep again.

When Leigh finally woke again she opened her eyes to see D still in the same spot he had been when she fell asleep. She was going to reach out to him but was brought up short when she moved and most of her body protested violently. His gaze was drawn to her when she couldn't keep in a hiss as she sat up. She noticed the look of concern he gave her when she moved, and she tried to reassure him. "I'm just a little sore, I'll be fine though. Trust me, this is nothing compared to being kicked by a horse."

He looked entirely unconvinced, only raising a brow at her attempt to make light of it. "And you have been kicked by a horse?"

She hadn't really thought he would dig into the correlation and blushed slightly at the memory. "Yeah, when I was a kid, but I'd rather not go into it." She was glad the subject had been derailed, so she tried her best not to wince when she stood to keep him from worrying too much.

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she was still stiff and moving slower than she normally would have. Her muscles were sore, but more than that she could feel the multitude of bruises on her arms and face with every movement, not to mention her head ached. He was at her side as soon as she was on her feet. "If you feel up to it, we can go to one of the libraries. I can see what I can find here while you finish the translation."