He caught movement as she moved back further into the room. His focus remained on the vampire before him though as he knew how quick they could move. For a moment the two shifted and made feints as if seeing who would flinch first. It was a brief chess game of half moves, seeing how the other would move then deciding against making the completed move and backing off.


Then it happened, the two came at each other. It was unclear as to what happened, Rikter made a feint with the sword and kicked instead. The vampire blocked her vision and it was only when she crumbled to ash that Nell could see the blade protruding from the boot. Silver?

When his foot came down the point of the blade touched the floor as it was pushed back inside before his foot rested flat against the floor. His attention shifted to her, he smiled an extended a hand toward her as his sword relaxed at his side.

“I hope that I got it right in that you do not wish to stay.”

She watched the rest of the meelee in silent wonderment. Strangely enough though, she never doubted that Rikter would be victorious. He did prove to be more cunning than even she expected. The hidden blade in his boot was evidence of that. Once he dispatched the last of her guards he turned his gaze on her and lowered his blade.

That more than his resumed politeness reassured her that he didn't mean to hurt her. That still didn't mean he wasn't after the same thing his brother was after. He crossed the distance between them and extended his hand to her. He had clearly read the apprehension in her face because he asked her if she did indeed wish be rescued. She appraised him for a second, reminded herself that he was Adalstan's brother and thus could not be human. Still, that didn't mean he was an enemy and he was her only ticket out of this place. She nodded to is his question and replied, "Yes, I would very much like to leave this place. I'm afraid it's charms are somewhat lost on me."

She gave him a playful smile and went to take his hand. She paused just shy of taking it though to give him a serious look. "But do not think this let's you off the hook. I believe that you owe me some explanations for tonight. Let's get out of here first though." She took his hand and let her lead her from the ash strewn room.

He nodded prior to taking her hand. “It wouldn't be something you would have believed until now.” There was a slight grin at that but it would have to serve as an explanation at least for now. He lead her away from the room careful not to go through the piles of ash so they would not leave footprints all over.

It was good for them that the inactive areas had been darker. Save for the occasional window that let in moonlight it was dark enough to sulk about. Rikter seemed to know where he was going to. He kept to the darker areas and they seemed to be going down. Passages were at an angel, they avoided any stairs but she had the feeling of going down a lot.

Finally they came to a wine cellar and he went to a back wall where there was a concealed door.. Once it was opened she saw that it lead into a sewer, it smelled dank from dampness and there had been a walkway either side of grayish water.

There was a hooded lantern just inside the sewer that he lit up. Before leading the way after closing the door behind them. In short order they made their way along coming to a ladder that lead to a manhole opening which brought the pair inside a basement of a building.

The sewer had to have contained just waist water from what she could tell.

“Alright, I think we have a few minutes, questions?”

Nell accepted his explanation for now but, as she took one last look around the room, she wondered about the truth in it. Would she have believed him all those hours ago when they first met? It all seemed so hard to deny now. She let him lead her through the house. She walked in silence as they descended into a wine cellar and from there into a sewer. She moved cautiously, mindful of her skirts, not wanting them to drag through the filthy water and leave a trail for someone to follow.

She was relieved when they finally got to wherever they were going. He directed her up a ladder to a manhole cover which opened into another basement. It was here that he finally stopped them and gave her permission to ask her questions. She really only had a couple big ones. "Alright, I understand why you didn't tell me at first but tell me now. What are you? Your brother already told you aren't like him but you are clearly as old as he is. How is that possible?"

She didn't waste any time, not that he expected her to. “I am human. More or less. Long story short we Hueber come from a line of vampire hunters. On a particular assignment he came into contact with the occult. We dealt with a ton of weird stuff. It was while dealing with that where I became injured, mortally so.

“There had been an elixir we uncovered, the man we had been facing had been in the midst of a ritual, you know the story, guy seeks immortality or power. Adalstan used it on me to save my life. I've aged but it is slight. The elixir regenerates damage at an alarming rate. Unless I'm severely damaged such as caught in an inferno I'll heal from anything that doesn't result in instantaneous death. Breathing is still an issue though and I'm not immortal, more like invulnerable to most minor things and hampered briefly by most of the major stuff.

“The elixir is imperfect though.” It must have been that occultists first attempt at something. Had he used it? Did they simply suffocate the man or was he still out there somewhere. Rikter did not say.

"It wasn't until years later that Adalstan was killed by a nemesis. He thought it would be amusing to turn the vampire hunter and did. He even tried with me but since I kept healing he could not kill me. Eventually he may have figured it out but I escaped and killed him. My brother was not the same after that. He fled and I've been chasing after him more or less. He's a vampire that possesses skills of a hunter. He hasn't been too difficult to find for the most part though he often uses body doubles that wouldn't confuse me if I were in the same room as him but the reports I get that he's here or there wastes my time since he's able to fool others generating false reports.”

She listened quietly, trying to take in his tale but she knew her face was likely giving away her bafflement. She got the jist of it though. Rikter had been made nigh unkillable by an elixir of some kind and his brother had been turned later. That answered her first question. Her second was going to be trickier. Mostly because she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer but she needed to know.

"Do you know why your brother wants me?" She hedged. Really she wanted to know if he too knew about the alpha thing and if that was the real reason he'd helped her tonight. Did he want to use her too? She wasn't sure how her supposed abilities might help him but that didn't mean he didn't know of one. Maybe he just wanted to block his brother from using her. Still, it bothered her that their meeting tonight might have been a contrivance to get at Adalstan.

Rikter nodded. “Kind of. I don't know for sure but given what he's been up to as of late I can make a reasonable guess. He's been obsessed with finding an alpha of a werewolf pack. Not just any but we learned from that necromancer some crazy stuff …

“It has taken him quite some time to track down bloodlines, test people and ultimately fail. What he needs is a descendant of that necromancer, someone that has something remarkable. An alpha, male or female doesn't matter I guess but his tastes have made him focus on females of a particular look.

“Chances are he would have tested you soon and you would end up like the countless others. I'm unsure what he does for a test but the women he gets a hold of turn up dead and mutilated.”

He did not know that she had gone through the test and had passed given the way he was speaking. She was just another person that needed saving. “I believe he desires to turn an alpha. Werewolves cannot be turned. The necromancer's son was a werewolf possessed of his father's tinkering and thus his strain has some sort of unique quality that can be turned. It's the best that I've figured out any way. I didn't really need to figure out his objectives to stop him.”

Nell was relieved to find that Rikter had set out to rescue her without knowing that she was the alpha his brother sought. Nothing he had said gave her reason to suspect that he wanted to find this alpha himself. He just wanted to stop his brother from inadvertently killing anymore innocent women with his scheming. That being determined, she felt she owed it to him to tell him the truth. "Well, I don't really follow all this stuff about alphas and such. Your brother seems certain that I'm the one he is looking for but I don't know if I believe him. He did test me but I didn't passed the time by behaving like an alpha." She paused, trying to piece it together in her mind. "He threw me into a chamber with a werewolf. He says that the creature didn't rip me to shreds because he recognized me as an alpha but... I don't feel alpha. I didn't assert my dominance in that chamber with Luke. I did just the opposite. Maybe the reason I survived was because I didn't run and scream like prey. I tried to act like a submissive wolf."

She sighed in exasperation. It didn't make sense but it didn't need to. All that matter was that she had gotten away. "Thank you, at any rate, for coming for me. I don't know what your brother's true intention were but I know he planned to turn me against my will and use me as his tool. I have no doubt that he would have succeeded if not for you. He has some power over me that I cannot resist. I would have been completely at his mercy so thank you." She smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek to show her appreciation.

She then stood and looked around consideringly. "So, what's the next step then? I guess returning home tonight is out of the question. They will surely be coming after me soon and that will be the first place they look."

He gazed at her in surprise as she revealed that she was an alpha. There were several alpha's. Each pack of werewolves had two, male and female who essentially ran there packs. She had descended from one but not just that had been the one that his brother was searching for which was the real surprise here, not that he had considered her a werewolf at all. The signs had not been there.

It gave him some pause, during which she kissed him on the cheek. He grinned. “You're welcome. I'll admit that this was unexpected. I had reason to believe that my brother would still hunt you down initially but not personally. His minions I can deal with, there is an outside chance that he may come himself if you're that important to him. I'll have to look into all this alpha stuff but being that you survived his test might be all he needed to confirm matters. Anyone else probably would have freaked out when face to face with a werewolf, submissive or not you kept your head and survived.

“If he does catch up with you you'll be killed, changed into his sire. His bride. Powerful or not you would become his thrall more or less. Anyone turned is essentially under the power of their parent. They must obey and can't go against them, at least not directly I have found.

“Our best bet is to get as far away as possible, look into this alpha stuff and use that to trap him, dispatching him.” He extended his hand to her. “First things first, we get you to safety. You're not squeamish, are you?”

She had no doubt, after what Rikter had told her, that Adalstan would continue to pursue them. She figured that meant she obviously couldn't go home, at least not tonight, but Rikter seemed to be saying she couldn't even stay in the city. She frowned at this and looked down at her soiled evening gown. "I'm not really prepared to travel long distance at the moment. This dress will surely attract attention..."

She was going to suggest that they right a safe place to stay the night and go pack her things to leave in the morning. Rikter, it seemed, already had another plan in mind. He held out his hand to her and asked if she was squeamish. She frowned at this and gave his hand a skeptical look. "Tonight I have witnessed a murder, stared down a werewolf, watched you dispatch a room of vampires and followed you through a sewer. What could you possibly think I'd be squeamish about at this point?"

He grinned. “Well, I guess that this won't be so bad all things considered.”

First he lead her out of the building. It was the dead of night, hardly a soul on the street save for women of ill repute or those stumbling home from pubs and the ruffians that preyed on such easy targets. He kept her clear of the dangers, anyone that might have approached kept their distance due to his presence. There was the fact that he was armed too which added a further deterrent to the matter, even if it were primarily with a sword.

It was a decent walk, one that took them to a cemetery and ended in a mausoleum. “Consecrated ground. Rikter and his people cannot set foot here. You said he had a werewolf, which could, but I doubt he has much command of it and even if he does I doubt that he would use it at first until he discerned that we are here. By the time he makes the arrangements we'll be gone.

“It should be safe enough to pass the night. I'll get a few things, shouldn't be long, unless you wish to rough it. Come morning we won't have the vampires to deal with at least during the day.” He explained, waiting on her before deciding what to do from here.

It seemed that they would truly get underway on their journey in the morning. Even if they were tracked here it didn't seem that the vampires could do anything about it. And they could not afford to wait them out.

She gave him a slightly incredulous look with he led them to the cemetery. She understood now why he'd asked if she was squeamish. "My word, I had no idea you were such a romantic." She said with a touch of ironic humor. It was sorta like a romance novel, a gothic romance novel at least. "Are we going to be sleeping in a crypt as well?" She smiled and gave him a wink to let him know she was just teasing.

His logic was sound. If stating on hollowed ground would keep her safe from Adalstan and his goons then she'd happy spend the night there. "If what your brother says is true I don't think sending the werewolf after me will do him any good. My alpha-ness is supposedly not fully awakened but Luke still responded to me. I don't think he will hurt me or capture me for your brother."

“Well, if it's really an issue we don't have to actually sleep,” he grinned teasing her back in light of the situation that they were in. The crypt was ideal in the event of rain and not being out in the opened not that he had considered it an issue really.

If she seemed comfortable staying here herself for a bit he would leave her his gun. Granted it had but a few shots but it was better than nothing. The bullets were silver too. He would keep his sword, fetch clothes and the like returning with a small trunk that had some of her things and food.

He was away for a bit, long enough for her to worry but not too much. “I got a carriage for us arranged in the morning that will pick us up at the west gate. The next city over there's an occult bookshop were we can get a few answers. From there we can make future plans but one step at a time since we're kinda in the dark about things we can't make all sorts of plans.”

She quirked a brow at his lude teasing. She didn't mind though. She shrugged carelessly and shot back. "Then how would we pass the rest of the hours until dawn? I doubt you plans would entertain much longer than 10 or 15 minutes." She gave him a playful smile and then began looking around for a suitable place to stay the night.

They did eventually settle on a crypt to spend the night in, much to her chagrin. She could see the practicality of it but after the night she had she wasn't enthused about spending the rest of it in a stone building filled with dead bodies. At least the one that Rikter had found didn't reek of decay.

He left her alone there for a little while. Which did nothing to ease her nerves. She had been putting on a brave face but it had been a harrowing night. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the gate freaked open again a short while later. It was only Rikter returning though. "Dear God, call out next time and let me know its you. I was ready to conk you with an urn." She put down the China vase she'd pick up a wrapped her arms around herself. She was starting to tremble slightly though if it was from the chill of the evening or fear she couldn't say. Most likely it was both. The night was catching up with her and she was starting to feel the effects of it.

“Ah but what a splendid ten minutes they'd be.” He winked, countering her tease from his initial one. When he returned it had been with a fair number of thinks packed into a trunk. Not just clothes but blankets, some food, candles and such. Essentially most everything that he believed that they'd need. There were even a few shampoos and other soaps there.

“Sorry, I didn't think it would be a grand idea calling out in case a ground's keeper got alerted. We're safe from vampires but the police can still get at us.” He smiled glancing to the urn before moving past her with the trunk.

Setting up a few things he laid out a blanket on the floor, even unhooked his sword and laid it down beside it. Comfort she supposed when he laid down. He was not too worried as far as someone chancing upon them In a sealed crypt they could get away with a little light further on in away from the entrance but he was less concerned with someone wandering about at this hour then making a ruckus that could wake someone up, if there even was a ground's keeper present, he did not know for sure and most cemeteries did not have them now. A few still did in an effort to thwart grave robbers and such but many people saw it as a waste of money.

Rikter behaved like a gentleman aside from those few remarks earlier. He did not attempt anything throughout the night and had been content to pass the night beside her to get to morning it seemed when they would leave their little sanctuary behind seeing that it was not practical to stay here forever.

Other hallowed sites came to mind that may come into play further down the line. Seeing that this was last minute and all it was difficult to arrange a stay in a monastery after all.

Rikter, see would find, did not sleep much. He rested like normal but at the same time he did not strike her as being too worried or worked up over things, relaxed was more like it.