Somewhere In Between

Title: Somewhere In Between
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating (this chapter): PG
Category: Original Fantasy, "Fate" storyline
Pairing (this chapter): Victor/Caspian (but not really)
Warnings (this chapter): Slight language, implied yaoi/slash
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my YahooGroup to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Status: Complete
Story Notes: This story contains characters that were first introduced in "Fate". However, it is not really necessary to have read "Fate" to understand this story. In fact, you may like Victor better if you haven't read "Fate". As for those of you who have read "Fate"? No, Shayne and Lexi will not be showing up in this fic. Maybe in later stories (Victor has a long back story), but not this one. Also, I have a general outline for this story, but everything isn't set in stone yet. Just like with "Perceived Perceptions", I'm sure that some things will not go as planned. So, the warning lable above is just a general guide, I really don't know for sure where this fic will go. Just a warning, if you're squicky about some stuff (don't worry, there won't be beastiality or scat or anything too extreme) then read the warnings at the start of each chapter. However, I know from experiance, that most of my regular readers can handle anything that I throw at them, so I'm not too worried about any of you. Either way, I hope you enjoy the fic...

Somewhere In Between

Chapter Sixteen: A Fork in the Road

Victor sat with his back against a bale of hay, his hair loose about him, with the sleeves of his crisp white shirt rolled up to just above his elbows. His eyes were closed, and his face was slack, an easy smile playing across his pale lips. He felt completely and utterly at ease, for once, and that made him very grateful for the solitude of the stables at such a late hour. His only company was a small sable puppy who gnawed on the fingers of his right hand while it's brother tugged at his pants leg with single minded determination, their sister frolicking about the stable chasing after a jamfly. His mother's lycanthropic blood had given him a telepathic bond with most of the animals that he came into contact with, and since puppies were far less complicated than scheming sorceresses and self-absorbed nobles, he was finding his favorite hound's newest litter to be far better company than those within the castle walls. Although, in defense of his fellow immortals, not a one of them had ever tried to make off with his shoe with hopes of burying it in a mound of dirt.

"Still got a soft spot for all things cute and cuddly, Vic?"

"It would explain why I keep you around, would it not?"

"Bite me." Caspian responded playfully, chuckling low in his throat as Victor cracked one dark eye open to give him an appraising glance. The noble looked around the small stable with a smile, taking in the puppies as well as his friend's relaxed stance, before seating himself on the bale of hay near Victor's head. He winced as a thick piece of straw poked painfully into his thigh, but after a little rearranging he soon found a comfortable position lounging back against the old boards of a stall, and once settled he stretched his hand out to run his fingers through the dark locks of hair that now lay just within reach.

"Move a little closer and I just might."

Caspian would have said something teasing and flirtatious, as was their custom, but he found himself interrupted by a pitifully high-pitched bark that sounded more like a squeak than any sound that a proper hound would make. He looked down to see that the little puppy who had been messing with Victor's feet now had it's eyes fixed firmly on him, a look of determination in those golden depths, it's front paws up on the bale of hay as it attempted to climb the seemingly insurmountable height.

"What in the world is that thing's problem?"

Victor shrugged carelessly, a soft smile playing on his lips once again, easily reading the puppy's hostility towards his companion. "Probably thinks that you are after my shoe as well."

"Your shoe?" Caspian wondered, snarling at the little creature, baring his fangs and laughing when the puppy instantly scrambled backwards and went racing off for the relative safety of a far off stall. "What would I want with your shoe?"

"What indeed?"

Seeing as he no longer had any idea of where the conversation was going, Caspian dismissed the puppy with a shake of his head, his crimson hair fanning across his face and obscuring the bemused smile that played across his full cupid's-bow lips. "Speaking of cute, how is your darling Tamara doing these days? Have you made her your lamb yet?"

"Mara is well." Victor answered, wondering if he were misinterpreting the slight hint of jealousy that he detected in the older vampire's voice. He also wondered if he was completely awful to be more than a little pleased by it. "And, yes, I have made her my lamb. It seems to be a situation that is working quite well for the both of us."

"To each his own." Caspian waved dismissively. "Not that I would want that kind of responsibility, with a human no less, but if it makes you happy then who am I to question you."

"I am no longer a child, Caspian. And neither are you, for that matter." Victor looked at the other man, upside down from his vantage point beneath him, smiling at the childish look on his friend's face. "I don't think that we should run screaming from any and all sense of responsibility anymore."

"If you say so."

"I do say so." Victor teased, raising his hand above his head to stroke Caspian's cheek, smirking when sharp fangs nicked at his fingertips as they ran across barely parted lips. "Very mature." When a pink little tongue poked out to lap at the slighted digits in apology Victor's smirk grew until it was a smile that bared his fangs and lit his eyes with mirth. "Cass, my sweet little devil, always as kind as you are cruel."

"Yes, and always yours." Caspian agreed, sliding down from his high perch to rest beside his friend, his head laying on the larger man's shoulder as he nuzzled his neck just above the open collar of his shirt. "Even if I do have to share you with a silly little blond girl-child."

"Tamara is indeed very dear to me but you, my Caspian, will always be my other half." And they both knew that it was the truth as Victor pulled his arm out from behind him and wrapped it around Caspian, pulling him closer to his body. "Besides, you are not the only one who's had to share as of late."

"This is true."

"So, how goes your hunt of the ever elusive Cream Telen?" Victor asked, trying to mask his nervousness and apprehension as to the answer. Every other source had, as of yet, given Victor little to no information. He needed the foreign fellerian to have given in to Caspian's charms and to have told him something. Anything. "Have you gotten anywhere with him yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I have."

"And?"

Victor didn't like the sudden tenseness that overcame Caspian's small frame, it did not bode well for their search for the truth, but the next thing that came out of his friend's mouth was the last thing that he had expected to hear. It left him staring, wide eyed, blinking slowly but not at all certain that he had heard Caspian correctly. "Did you know that fellerian's have barb-like ridges on their penises similar the common house cat? It makes sex with one very interesting indeed." When Victor continued to stare, obviously at a loss for words, Caspian burst into a fit of giggles at his friend's expense. "You should see the look on your face, Victor. It's priceless."

"You're stalling." Victor finally said, brows furrowed and lips set in a thin line, not at all liking the uncontrollable laughter that continued to spill out of Caspian. "What the hell did that cat tell you that you do not want me to know?"

"Listen, Victor..." Caspian said, sobering instantly, "I don't think that this information is exactly reliable, even Telen didn't think that it was accurate, so it's not really important. We can keep looking, someone, somewhere will know something more than what he was able to tell me."

"Caspian."

"There are several versions of this prophecy, from all over the realm, so who knows which one is the right one."

"Caspian." There was a warning in the utterance of his name this time. A warning that compelled him to press on despite his better judgement.

"You know that I don't like her very much," there was a plea in his voice, as if begging Victor not to make him say this, but the determined look in the dark vampire's eyes told Caspian that Victor would settle for nothing less than a complete retelling of what he had learned from Telen, "but I know that Sorrel loves you and would never do anything to hurt you or your sister."

That one word, sister, brought about a change in Victor. He sat up straight, eyes harsh, voice becoming a deep growl. "What does this have to do with Lennora?" Victor demanded, grabbing Caspian by the shoulders and shaking him, as though that would make the information flow more freely. "What did he tell you about my sister?"

Caspian exhaled heavily, finally giving in and telling Victor exactly what the realm-jumper had told him after their most recent encounter. "According to the version of the prophecy that Telen heard, and there's no telling if it's true or not, Sorrel had to manipulate more than just nature when she helped to birth you. If you really are the Kokkonor then you had to be born as a twin, or you'd never be able to come into your rightful power, and you'd never be able to complete your destiny." Caspian looked at Victor one last time before bowing his head, unable to meet his best friend's eyes when he told him the worst of it, silently apologizing for things that were beyond his control. "The prophecy says that the Unifier's mirror half has to be sacrificed in order to set things in motion."

***

"Sorrel!"

Caspian had to run to catch up to Victor, the other's scent barely leaving a trail, the sound of his footsteps even fainter. He had been caught completely off guard when Victor had leapt up from the ground and stormed off towards the castle with preternatural speed, and only his heightened senses had enabled him to track the other vampire at all. However, when the hallways that they traveled became familiar, and he realized where they were headed, Caspian wondered if following would be a good idea at all. This was the last place that Victor needed to find Sorrel considering the state that he was in and the information that he had just been given.

"Sorrel, dammit, where in the Seven Hells are you?!"

"Victor," Caspian tried to reason with his dark haired friend, wanting desperately to grab onto him and drag him away from the direction that he was headed, but knowing that it would only make things worse, "I told you that what Telen said might not be true. Maybe we should just go back outside and-"

"Do not try to stop me, Caspian." He didn't pause when he said this, nor did Victor spare a glance at the smaller man, instead he remained focused on a single door at the end of the hallway. His nostrils flared, his eyes narrowed, as a cruel smile formed on his lips. He had found what he sought. "It all makes sense now. The way that Sorrel has been behaving as of late. The way that she has always treated Lennora, in fact. The rumors. The things that Tamara has let slip when we are together. Everything."

"Victor, this isn't-" The rest of what Caspian said was lost beneath the sound of the heavy door slamming with force against the stone wall, the ancient wood splintering from the force of the impact.

"What in the world are you going on about, my pet?" Sorrel seemed unfazed by Victor's outburst, and if she was at all surprised when the door blew inward then she did an excellent job of keeping her shock hidden. "Whatever it is, must you be quite so loud about it? I assure you that I can hear you perfectly well without you shouting my name at the top of your lungs, even from all the way across the grounds."

"Get the fuck away from my sister!"

"Language, Victor dearest." There was a hint of confusion in Sorrel's slate grey eyes, but other than that she remained utterly calm as Victor stalked towards her, and even when he wrenched his bewildered twin away from her the most that she did was shoot a questioning look in Caspian's direction. When she failed to receive an answer, either from the young noble or from Victor himself, she at last gave in and questioned the vampiric-hybrid, "Now, are you going to tell me what this little outburst is all about or do I have to guess?"

"I'd say that the mongrel's finally lost what little mind he had to start with." A spiteful voice said from the far side of the room, and only then did Victor notice that not only had Sorrel been in the room with his sister, but Talfryn and Lorcan were as well. The sight of the other two vampires brought a growl to Victor's throat, and he pushed Lennora behind him and into the corner, shielding her with his body as he attempted to keep an eye on familiar faces that had suddenly become enemies. "Either that or he's developed a death wish."

"Big brother, what's going on?" Lennora's voice sounded faint from behind the bulk of her brother's body, but the distress was evident none the less. "What are you doing?"

"Hush, Lass," Victor said, his eyes still scanning the room nervously. "I'll keep you safe, do not worry."

"Safe from what?" Sorrel asked. "I see no threats in this room, far from it in fact, so you'll have to enlighten me as to what you think is going to happen to your darling sister while her family surrounds her."

"I am her only family." Victor hissed. "And I know what you have done, Sorrel. Do not try to play the innocent with me any longer."

Lorcan had been watching silently from a distance since the moment that Victor had burst into the room, but at the young vampire's accusing words the older man suddenly grew tense, his rust brown eyes becoming wide behind the reflective barrier of his spectacles. Victor failed to notice the change, thinking his long time protector and tutor above suspect, but his body language said that Victor's words did not leave him nearly as confused as Sorrel was feigning to be.

Talfryn, on the other hand, was painfully obvious when he gave a nervous laugh and an uneasy shrug. "Like I said, Mother, he's lost his mind. Can't you use a spell to knock him out or something? He could be dangerous."

"Quiet, Talfryn." Sorrel didn't take her eyes off of Victor as she spoke. Coal black and storm grey locked and held, the rest of the room all but forgotten. "Victor wouldn't hurt anyone in this room. As I said before, we're family." Her next words were just for Victor. "Family never harms family."

"You are right, Sorrel." There was hesitancy in his voice when Victor spoke. He had always viewed Sorrel as family, more of a mother to him than the woman who gave birth to him, but recent events left him to wonder if it had all been a lie. Still, he wanted to believe her. He might not have been a child any longer, but a part of his heart sill belonged to the woman who'd raised him. "But you have kept far too many secrets from me as of late for me to believe in you with the blind faith that I used to give to you."

"Everything that I have done has been for you, Victor, you and your sister. To keep you both safe." Sorrel implored. "I've only ever wanted my precious children to be happy."

"Happy?" Victor balked. "How could lies ever make me happy, Sorrel?"

"Not everything was a lie." Sorrel implored. "If you would just tell me what it is that's caused this sudden change in you, what it is that I'm supposed to have done, maybe then I could better defend myself against your accusations."

"I think you know what this is about."

"Oh, I am quite certain that this has something to do with all of this business of the Kokkonor." Sorrel made a valiant effort at seeming flippant, smiling and attempting a light laugh, as though she were merely indulging one of Victor's childish demands. However, even to her own ears the laughter sounded false, and she knew that the smile would never quite reach her dark eyes. "But I'm afraid that, beyond that, you'll have to give me a little more to work with, Darling."

"Tell me that it isn't true." Victor's voice sounded small, even to himself, and he had to choke down the rising fear that suddenly filled every fiber of his being before he could go on. He wanted to believe in Sorrel, wanted to believe that she would never harm him or his sister, wanted to believe that she really had kept information from him only to protect him. But if she hadn't, if what Telen had said was true, Victor didn't know what he would do. And he wouldn't be able to content himself with lies any longer either, because he knew Sorrel too well not to be able to tell when she was lying directly to him. Her answer to his plea had the potential to change everything. To ruin everything. "Tell me that you did not create my sister just to use her, as nothing more than a tool, in order to bring about some sort of change in me? Tell me that you did not bring her into this world... just to take her life? Tell me, Sorrel, that you would never do that to us!"

TBC ...