Bloodlines: Severed Ties

Chapter 34: Splitting Off - Darian and Aliyah

"Are you serious?!" Darian whisper yelled as they hurtled out the door with Aliyah in their arms. He then released Aliyah, causing them to stumble down the stairs before regaining their footing at the base. They looked up, startled by Darian's outburst.

"What do you mean? The man asked me a question, and I was going to answer," Aliyah said plainly. Darian rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh, before grabbing Aliyah's wrist and walking them down one of the nearby hallways. He then turned Aliyah around, so their back was to the wall.

Darian looked left, then right, trying to see if anyone was nearby. When he was satisfied the coast was clear, he leaned in close to whisper with Aliyah.

"We can't let anyone know it's... That guy!" Darian said, still not one hundred percent sure no one was listening in to their conversation.

"Why not? He may be able to help Sylvia," Aliyah argued back. Their expression was not so calm anymore. Instead, a mixture of anger and confusion was plastered on their face. They kept trying to understand the ways of the humans, and yet everytime they were told what they were doing was wrong. Human interactions were exhausting.

"I'm sure he could. Or he could punish Sylvia for you know, being related to the bad guy," Darian talked back, his face inches away from Aliyah's. Aliyah paused, stroking their chin as they thought.

"I suppose," they replied, "but I think you are missing the point."

Darian seemed slightly offended at this, stepping back away from Aliyah.

"Missing the point?" Darian was flabbergasted, one brow raised with a hand on his hip.

"Yes. My understanding is that Hunters know the most about monsters, correct?"

"Yep."

"And this place has the total collection of Hunter knowledge."

"Right...."

"So I have concluded," Aliyah said, spinning on one heel to begin pacing back and forth. They had one hand behind their back, the other raised in the air with their digit finger outstretched.

"Go on," Darian was mildly amused at this faux detective before him. Truth is, he knew Aliyah was smart. Book smart, that is. It's the common sense and social awareness that they have a lot of work to do. But, he would pin that down to spending their whole life away from humans.

"That if anyone or anything had information on how to turn a vampire back into a human, it would be here," Aliyah concluded triumphantly. They had a big grin on their face, pleased with their deduction. Darian smiled, nodding with a hand on their chin.

"There were an awful lot of books in that library," Darian stated. Aliyah was on to something, that much was clear. But they had to keep this thing hush hush, especially considering they had no weapons to defend themselves should something go awry.

"If we can find out information, Sylvia would be so happy," Aliyah whispered, their eyes going slightly foggy with love. Darian sighed. He wondered if Zane looked like that when he thought about Darian...

No, snap out of it! He thought to himself angrily. Zane probably never thought of him, why would he? To Zane, Darian is just a fling, a volatile and sexy fling that fizzled out as quickly as it began. But still, Darian couldn't help but think of him. Often.

"You're a good partner, Aliyah," Darian said, clapping Aliyah on the back. Aliyah let out a soft oof at the force of Darian's large hand, but recovered swiftly to answer back with a smile.

"There you two are," Zalla's voice boomed through the hall, causing Aliyah and Darian to jump from fright. They both turned, to see her standing in the corridor. Like Darian, she too was barely able to fit through the hall with her broad shoulders. The shield on her back didn't help either.

"Jesus woman, for such a large person you sure are quiet!" Darian exclaimed. He wondered if she had actually heard anything they were talking about, but knew if she had she would have grabbed their asses and hauled them away to her boss. She's always been a stickler for the rules.

"Hunters are taught how to walk silently, irrespective of their size," Zalla retorted. Darian wasn't quite sure if that was meant to be a joke or not, but regardless neither Aliyah or himself laughed.

"Anyway, I've been looking for you two. Need your help on an... Errand," Zalla waved a dismissive hand, turning on her heels in assumption that she would be followed. Darian and Aliyah exchanged looks, Darian's being a slightly pissed off one, before reluctantly following the Palladin warrior.

"What sort of errand?" Aliyah asked.

"We need supplies. There's a particular ingredient that's only found in the lowest tunnel, so we need to go get it," Zalla said. She was leading them back to the entrance of the Sigil, winding through the tunnels. As it opened up to the main platform, she took a hard right, leading them down a series of stairs.

"Does this count towards my community service?" Darian muttered angrily. He understood he would be punished for his actions, but didn't exactly see community service in the form of helping Zalla as worthy of his time. This woman irritated him to the ninth degree, even if he knew she didn't feel the same way about him.

"I can see to it that it does," Zalla nodded stiffly. After a set of stairs, Darian noticed that they opened up to another set of tunnels. Each level, however, was closed off. The brick work had crumbled, sealing what he assumed to be a tunnel where carts could traverse. Remnants of the previous cycle, he wondered what they had been used for. Supplies? People? Who knows, maybe they used it as some form of sport.

There were four platforms, each deeper than the other but all sealed off by a collapsed ceiling. The deeper they went, the damper the atmosphere grew. It was slightly muggy, with a distinctive mossy smell.

Finally, they arrived at the last platform. This one was unique to all the rest. The columns holding it up were covered in lush, green moss. The floor had spots and patches of greenery, in the form of ferns, ivy, and even a small tree, doing it's darnedest despite the lack of sunlight.

"This feels more like home," Aliyah said with a great big sigh. Darian looked over at them, to see them staring up in awe at the ceiling. He too looked up, to see dozens of glowing bugs dancing above them. Their blue light illuminated the cavern, and cast a beautiful hue on the surroundings. Darian looked back down, to see something else was unique about this place.

The tunnels were very much still functioning, and very much open.

"You know, some say these tunnels lead all the way to Castle Doom," Zalla declared loudly as she marched ahead.

Darian stared down the tunnel, with only darkness staring back. He chuckled at the thought, but couldn't help an uneasy feeling building in his stomach. It was an oddly specific thing to state, and he didn't intend on finding out if it was factually correct.

He quickly turned and followed Zalla further onto the platform..