Aria of Sorrow: The second wave of tears

Written by: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Tenshi looked up at her guests and noticed that the dark man, who had yet to give her a name, had stopped moving all together and was facing away from her. Yoko on the other hand, looked thoughtful and happy.

“The language of flowers… I see you got a bunch of flowers that in turn described parts of Soma.” Yoko said as she sat down beside Tenshi.

“I don’t want you to tell anyone else of that dream… Also tell anyone who asks about the sword that it was broken, I don’t care when just tell them that. Tell them that you called me so I could come and repair it.” Alucard said, still not facing the women.

“Why? Why are you treating this like some big secret? Why are these Cultist killing the boys? What has this got to do with my son? Tell me!” She implored, getting up and walking around to directly face Alucard.

He stared at her calmly, but she didn’t seem to be willing to back down on this subject. “The Cultist have been after your son that’s why the teenagers have been killed. They didn’t know it was your child that they wanted. He carries a heavy burden and if they are given even a hint of that what they want is what he has, they’ll do their worst to him to break his spirit and get that object.” It worked beautifully on getting the woman to back down from him as she became a bit more aware of the situation then just her son being kidnapped. “Those other boys would be considered blessed if they died, Soma won’t receive that luxury if they find out he’s the one they want.”

“Tell whoever asks about the sword that it was broken… ok that you were called to come and fix it… makes sense since you gave it to Soma.” She suddenly seemed to be trying to get in order everything he had told her. “I don’t understand why though… I wanted to have a baby but I didn’t want him to have to suffer.”

‘I wonder how she would respond if she knew that Soma was Count Dracula? Or that the Cult wants him to lose his humanity and return as the Dark Lord…’ Yoko wondered as she guided Tenshi to the desk. “I think there’s something you need to explain to her about this laptop…” She glanced over her shoulder towards the Dhampire.

***

“I’ve been doing some research, these kidnappings are not just exclusively being committed here in Spain. In all the Spanish speaking countries there have been reports of kidnappings.” Yoko said over a cup of tea.

“I’ve heard similar…” Tenshi said, looking down at a plate of cookies.

Alucard drank the last of the tea and stood up. “We’ve been here too long as it is. We’ve told you what we could as you have told us what you could.” He began checking his things for the last time. “I’ve shown you how to reach us and told you some options of what to say when people ask who we are. Also what to look out for in case there are spies lurking. We’ll get in touch with you when we have your son someplace safe again.”

“I understand.” Tenshi said softly, trying to take some strength from the man’s presence. Mr. Arikado seemed so in control that he made it hard to believe that he *couldn’t* get Soma back.

“I know this may sound very harsh or devoid of much humanity but, pray that the kidnappings continue. Should they stop then Soma may well be out of our reach for good.” He told her as he slipped his sunglasses back on his face.

She nodded as Yoko walked along to the door, a cookie stuffed into her mouth. The door was opened and the pair left with a little more then they had come with.

Yoko turned around, waving at Tenshi, the cookie in her hand as the sun finished completely setting. “Don’t worry about the sword! He’s great with swords! Now if he’s as great in bed as he is with weaponry I know a couple of hundred ladies who would like to…” Alucard had whirled around and was glaring hotly at Yoko his eyes red and his fangs just itching to show themselves. “So that’s what I have to do to make you mad… Been wondering what ruffles your feathers.” She said serenely, ignoring his anger even though it was radiating to her senses.

He bit back a snarl as he stalked towards the car she had driven to the house. She unlocked it with a push of a button and he settled into the car as comfortably as he could give his present state.

“Explain to me why you’re driving?” Alucard bit the words out, trying to keep his fangs in his mouth.

“Because Mulder always drove in those old retro X-Files episodes.” She said blithely as she settled in behind the driver’s side.

‘I will stay true to my faith. I will stay true to my faith… But maybe I’ll just nibble her.’

“Father gave this to me before I came here. It’s for you, so load up your laptop and lets see what it has to say.” Yoko said as she pulled out a small CD from inside her inner vest pocket.

“What? No sunflower seeds for this?” he quipped back before opening up his briefcase with the laptop inside.

“I didn’t know you watched the show.” She said with a raised eyebrow as he inserted the CD into the drive.

They drove on in silence for a few minutes while Alucard read the message and Yoko brushed up on her Spanish.

“The churches here may have been compromised.” Alucard spoke up, breaking the growing silence.

“How bad?” She asked, her brows furrowing in concern.

“He writes that there have been discreet requests about ‘working as an outside source that aid the church in its righteous cause’. That it’s been *heard around* that there was a group that managed to stop a Cult leader from unleashing terrible evils upon the world.” Yoko frowned at that remark, the people shouldn’t have known about the shrine save for higher levels like the Father. But she wasn’t prepared for the sudden angered hiss that Alucard gave.

“What?” She asked as she drove off onto a ramp towards the hotel they would be staying at. Alucard generally didn’t hiss unless he was *very* angry.

“They mentioned that part of how the cult leader got so much power was because the church wasn’t enforcing *old fashion* values. Not only that but this person was suggesting recommitting the children. The age setting being late teens so *no one else of impressionable minds follows such folly.*” Alucard fairly bit each word out.

“Another way of trying to find Soma? Since Soma still isn’t very big on going to church, being forced to go might cause a reaction?” She offered as they pulled into the parking lot.

“Or confirm his natural appearance. You can’t tell that his hair is naturally that color from a distance.” He replied solemnly.

“And during the process they would be able to get close enough to him to see that he doesn’t do anything to produce his pale looks.” She parked the car and looked down at the steering wheel while he closed up his case. “Hey Al?”

He turned to look at her, peering over his sunglasses.

“What… What do I tell Mina-chan? We talk often and I don’t know what to tell her about Soma. She’ll ask you know, she already does.” She looked over at Alucard her eyes still filled with concern.

“Tell her the truth. He tried deception once and she hurt him terribly. If she knows to worry then perhaps she won’t insert her socked foot into her mouth again.” He started reaching for the door.

“Al!” she smacked his arm though he ignored that too. He stood outside the car and waited for her while she went digging through her purse. “I got the room key right here… somewhere…”

“Keys.” He replied.

“No, just the one. We can sleep in sin.” She said briefly, looking up to smirk at him. When he didn’t reply she sighed. “Come on you two baited each other for hours on end repeatedly before! Why stop now?” She stared at him when he didn’t answer back. “Aww does Wittle Al miss his Soul Brotha?”

Even in the pale light of the hotel she could see that her statement didn’t garner any response from the dhampire. She smiled faintly though, she could tell just from what she could sense that he *had* winced internally. He did miss Soma. Soma was the first person he had met that shared a similar burden to himself, and Soma had become more responsive around Alucard. Even Alucard responded positively to Soma’s presence after the first few days with the young man.

“Come on then.” She said, trying to be more cheerful as she led the way up the front doors and to the elevators towards the room they would be sharing.

***

Yoko was sitting at a table eating dinner while Alucard sat away working on his laptop looking to see if there was something that Soma wrote in his files. The boy had managed to encrypt a good portion of it. Shaking his head since most of his computer hacking software was still at his office Alucard sat back. There was a way he could go about getting the codes. He reached into his coat and quietly pulled out the vial of blood he had brought. He shut off the laptop with a touch then got up from the chair to go to one of the beds. He sat there his mind reciting the spell he would need to trigger the bloodrite.

Yoko watched from her seat as he began to softly whisper the words needing to set the spell in motion. Starting the ritual by biting into his lips with his fangs to get some of his own blood. He drank both the blood from the vial and his own in a single swallow before falling fully asleep to rest in the bed. She took a sip of water before resuming her meal.

‘Saints protect Soma.’ She thought.

***

He laid in darkness his only thought ‘show me the last few hours of Soma’s life before he lost his freedom.’ Darkness spread itself out for a moment longer, then as quick as a blink he was staring at the ceiling of a room. But not the ceiling to the hotel room, the walls were wrong. No this was Soma’s room, so the spell had taken effect. The first thing that hit Alucard though was how tense Soma felt. His whole body was a knot of tension and anxiety as he lay on the floor in the middle of doing sit ups. The door opened as he laid back down and without even looking over he said simply “hey mom.”

“Soma get off the floor. Dinner will be ready soon.” Mrs. Cruz walked over and stared down at her son with her hands resting on her hips.

“Yes mom.” He sat up looking at her before he pushed himself to his feet.

“Well, you seem to be trying to stay in shape. Found a special someone in Japan?” She asked raising an eyebrow at her boy.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” he replied slyly before going to one of the drawers to pull out a towel. She left him alone at that point and he grabbed a few other things from the room for his shower.

He walked out of his room and went to the bathroom for a shower his senses burning with life. He could feel them. They were all around, circling him like sharks waiting for a moment of weakness to rip him into shreds. His more primal instinct was to go out and face the challenge, hunt them down and show them that not everyone was a helpless victim. But that would only serve their cause.

‘They’re after me. It’s me they wanted in the first place, I can’t just… I can’t just… I… I don’t know what to do…’ He turned on the water and waited till it reached a temperature that he liked. Stripping out of his clothes as he waited his body showing faint scars that he could see clearly. Checking the water once more he stepped in letting the heated water hit his flesh. Nowhere near as hot as a fire demon it was still enough for him as he let himself soak for a while. ‘I guess I could try to reach the others… but I don’t want them to get hurt.’ He thought to himself as he stood there. ‘Who am I kidding? They couldn’t get here by later tonight.’

Normally a hot shower worked wonders on Soma’s disposition, but tonight nothing could get his body to relax. The desire to go out and fight warred to heavily with the need to at least pretend to be a normal human. In his thoughts the realization that Graham’s cult was still active and looking for him was more then enough to give him pause. ‘I can’t do anything… What will happen to mom or dad if I do?’ Images of the worse case scenario ran through his mind. Of what would happen if the world learned he was Dracula incarnate. It made him want to scream. There was little he could do but wait like a condemned man.

He rushed through the rest of the shower trying to force down his pulse. Stalking out of the bathroom he went back to his room and got dressed before his mother called that dinner was ready. She had made one of his favorites, again. Not that it upset him, because it didn’t. Just the realization that this would be possibly his last decent meal in who knew how long, combined with the realization that he couldn’t tell them. He couldn’t tell his parents that this would be the last night he would be with them. After all they would probably call the police. Then it would only further the suspicion on how he could have known he was about to become a target. He took to the stairs that led to the dinning room like a man going to the gallows. Trying to recall and remember every fiber of carpet, every grain of wood in the handrail. He walked into the dinning room while his mom set down the plates; grabbing a handful of cutlery he began laying those for her.

“Oh you don’t have to do that Soma.” She said smiling at him.

Yet he couldn’t match that smile, though he tried. “I know I just want to help.”

He could feel it though; Soma was projecting his power through out the neighborhood picking up the darkness within others. Even more surprising was that he was already figuring out how to key into each spot, deciding if it was a threat or not. The only thing was that Soma was doing it clumsily; he could afford to make some mistakes for now since there wasn’t anyone with enough experience to notice. But one had to be cautious of how one handled the Dark powers held in the hearts of others. It was something that Soma needed to learn and understand.

Dinner was served with quiet talk about possible collages, locations for him to go. But Soma was distracted the whole time, no matter how much he tried he could sense them setting up around the house. It was pointless stuff that Alucard ignored; the information in Soma’s head was of far more value then anything else. He had used his powers to actually create a zombie, though he didn’t do much animating only the parts needed to get verbal information from the corpse. Suddenly the memories became blocked out from his ability to read them. Soma suddenly had decided to block out what was going on and had erected such a strong shield that even Alucard was denied.

***

The phone rang suddenly out of the clear blue. Yoko nearly fell out of her chair as she made a mad dash for the ringing object. She couldn’t afford to have Alucard wake up from the spell. He’d be in such a snitchy mood if he did! And a snitchy Alucard was not a pleasant person to work with!

“Hello?” She answered the phone softly looking over at the dhampire who had yet to so much as twitch from the phone. ‘Good. I get to live a little longer.’

“I’m looking for a Ms. Belnades?” The voice on the other side of the line said. It was a man, possibly a few years older then herself.

“Speaking… Who is this?” she countered as she sat in the chair next to the phone.

“Oh Hello. My name is John LeCarde. I’m in charge of the investigation looking into these kidnappings. I was told that I was to talk to you in order to reach someone named…” he faltered as though trying to figure out how to say something.

“Oh… I know who you’re talking about. But he’s rather busy right now. Quite frankly I’m fond of living so I won’t be able to get him.” She answered. ‘LeCarde? Where have I heard that name before?’ She thought to herself.

“Well… When would be the earliest I could meet with you both?” he asked the faint sounds of office noise simmering in the background.

“I’m available right now… But I would have to get back with you about Arikado.” She replied. ‘Once he gets those codes he may just wish to stay here and go over them after all.’

“Ahh is that how you pronounce it…”

“How did you find out about us?” she asked.

“Our Fathers are good friends.” He replied.

‘Ok so he has connections with the church… maybe that’s why his name sounds so familiar.’ She thought.

“I’ll get my things together… We can meet over lunch tomorrow say about 1pm?” he suggested as she played with the phone cord.

“Sounds fine. My colleague may not be able to come… But I’ll be there.” She replied.

“Good. There’s a nice little eatery about four blocks from where you are staying if what it says on my screen is right. *Mama’s house* that’s what it’s called.” He said. “How will I recognize you?”

***

The air was tainted. That was the first thing that hit him as he sat there working on his laptop in the darkness. His fingers began to type more frantically as he sat there.

I don’t know how to reach you Arikado. It’s to late to reach anyone now and you’ll probably think I was stupid to wait for so long. But I couldn’t let them on to what I am. Who can blame me? I don’t know if you’ll be able to get in here to read this… I’ve left notes on what little I could find out from… from… the dead… My imp says that someone is working the lock to the front door. The air reeks of something making me dizzy even with the cloth covering my nose and mouth… I don’t have much time left. They’re being shipped. Look for shipping records… They’re in the house. I have to send the imp away… Hell they’re moving fast…. I know it’s selfish but… Save me… Please…

He shut down the laptop and closed it as he got up in concern. He summoned his sword and rested on the bed. Under the blankets his arm hanging over the side with the sword hidden from sight, he laid there waiting. His head was growing light from the gas; it was so hard to focus on anything when the door opened. The soft sound of wood brushing against carpet told him it was time.

“Who’s there?” He asked looking up from the bed. That threw them off for a moment before they rushed into the room after him. He coughed from the gas even as he stumbled out of the sheets struggling to get back to his feet. He grabbed a spare piece of cloth and put it over his nose as he tried to get up. Someone got to him from behind turning him in an angle before slamming his fist into Soma’s face. It was too dark to see anyone as he struggled to his feet; they noted the sword and began working to get him disarmed. Pinning him to the wall first while he fought the urge to breathe in the corrupted air and free himself. He managed to kick one of them in the knee loosening the hold just enough to let him free his arm. Slashing out at the invaders though it was impossible to see them, again without using his souls to do so. The gas made his movements more sluggish as he tried to fight against the growing threat. The tip of the sword carved into the wall but he couldn’t tell how bad the damage was. Someone had grabbed his arm and tackled him into the wall, before he knew it someone had ripped off the mask from his face as they repined his arm. They grabbed him by his throat and proceeded to slam his head into the wall repeatedly scrambling his senses even further.

Between the gas and the beating Soma found himself in a slow fall into darkness deeper then what he had just been fighting in. The spell began to loosen its hold on Alucard as it fulfilled the spells requirements.