My dark lover, a bizarre magician and stone killer

The trio passed the night quietly. Each member of the little party had thinking to
do about their future. They turned in early, made themselves as comfortable as
possible and quickly drifted into a deep slumber. The morning broke beautiful,
bright, the sky was brilliant and the sun warm. Rita roused herself early and left
her two sleepy companions where they lay. She decided to take a little walk and
stretch out her stiff muscles. She had no idea where they were but it was a very
lovely place. The little creek sparkled and gurgled, flush with mother nature's
gentle music. Rita listened to the birds and gazed at the scattered trees. This
place was probably dangerous for them but she felt at peace for the first time in a
very long while. She had a goal, something real to accomplish. The girl knew
deep inside that her latest decision was one she would never regret. It was a
good feeling to have. She walked on quietly, perhaps straying a bit to far from
her drowsy friends, but not feeling any stress about that fact...or any other fact.

Rita sat by the stream and dangled her sore feet in the cool water. She stared off
into the distance at nothing in particular and basked in the warm morning sunlight.
It was good to be alive she decided. There at the foot of a gently sloping hill, and
at that precise moment, everything seemed almost right with the world. Rita even
allowed herself to think about PIssin. He perhaps wasn't really all that bad...just
very rough around the edges. He wasn't husband or father material but still...
Pissin had saved her from being raped, prevented the wildings from eating her,
and then rescued her from the slavers. She was actually pretty deeply indebted to
the mysterious boy. This was the one nagging, worrisome thought that she had
to deal with. She wasn't sure what he expected in return and this was troubling
the girl. Also she wrestled with question of exactly why she had run away with him
in the first place? Rita tucked her knees under her chin and buried her face in her
arms.

The meditating girl remained by the stream for several minutes. At last, and with
a long sigh, she rose to her feet prepared to make her way back to camp. It was
at this moment she noticed him. Perhaps twenty yards away, sitting casually on
the slopping banks of the hill behind her sat a man. She was utterly taken by
surprise and quite uncertain as to how she should react. Her first thought was to
run away as fast as her shapely legs could carry her but instead, for some strange
reason she couldn't fully comprehend, she hesitated. Her unfortunate encounter
with the treacherous Rubaco flittered across her mind but still she fought the
impulse to flee. Perhaps it was something about the man and not the strangeness
of the situation that the girl found herself a part of.

He was young and quite handsome from what she could tell from a short distance.
His hair was very black and wavy. It was somewhat unkempt but fell about his
shoulders in an appealing way. He was dressed in black trousers and vest. His
blouse was crimson and appeared to have been made from expensive cloth. The
man sat very relaxed seemed to be slightly smiling. He was not threatening in any
way despite the long sword that lay by his side. He nodded at the girl and lifted his
hand in a gentle wave. "I decided to wait here and let you notice me first, hopefully
you aren't to frightened to find me here. I mean you no harm lass."

His voice was steady and soothing with an aristocratic accent. Rita became very
aware of a growing internal paranoia but she tried to remain cool. "Who are you?"
she asked. "Where did you come from?"

The man got to his feet and stretched a bit before answering. He yawned, then
replied to the girl's questions. "My name is V," he said. "I know its not much of
a name but nonetheless there you have it. I suppose I am a bit of a tramp at the
moment but I do have a reason for being here. And if I may, what might be your
name dear child?"

Rita was not soothed by the way the man talked. She detected a roguish glint in
his deep blue eyes and his speech reminded her of that foul dastard Rubaco.
"You sound like someone who hails from Fakkum-Kair. When you say that perhaps
have a reason for being here...I'm not sure what you mean. Could you possibly
explain yourself a bit better?"

The young man smiled. Rita noted the he was rather tall and slender, broad at the
shoulders and very narrow at the hips...in a way he reminded her of Pissin. That
was weird she decided. She sensed that this might even be another of Pissin's
tricks. It might not be hard for her companion to change his looks to deceive her.
However, she had no idea why he might do such a thing. On the other hand, she
had no idea why someone would make their head disappear from time to time
either. "I will be very happy to explain but first your name pretty girl...if you would?"

Rita grew even more suspicious...this joker even flirted like Pissin. "Very well,"
she said at last. "My name is Dorothy Jones. Now what is your business here...
and does it concern me in any way?"

"Actually, I am looking for my brother Archibald...I believe that he might be traveling
in this part of the woods. Have you seen anyone dear lass?"

Rita scowled and shook her head...her leg muscles tensed, on the verge of taking
full flight. Still, the young man made no move in her direction. He simply stood
there and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I have never met anyone named
Archibald during my entire lifetime. I'm sure I would have remembered if I had,"
Rita said.

"I see," the man who called himself V replied, appearing deep in thought. "It might
be that you know him by another name...Pissin. I know it is a strange sort of name
that one might call himself. He is very young and wears really weird spectacles to
protect his light sensitive eyes."

Rita tried no to betray her surprise at what the man said. She suspected that he
had detected some expression that had betrayed her. The man's eyes drilled into
her in a most disconcerting way. She said nothing...and that act alone probably
made her seem guilty of hiding something. Rita grew angry at herself for letting
some complete stranger throw her off her stride. She contemplated for a moment
as to what her next move should be. She decided this V character was likely up
to no good. He knew to much. If he really was Pissin's brother only Pissin himself
would know for sure.

"I'll tell you what..," Rita said, hesitating just a bit. "I have several companions
traveling with me," she lied. "You wait right here while I go and ask them if they
have seen or heard of this Pissin fellow. If you mean no harm, I see no reason why
you shouldn't let me go on my way...in return I will make inquiries and then send
someone here to give you any news I come up with."

The man who called himself V simply nodded. "That sounds fair enough I suppose
...after all I am a complete stranger and you are a very beautiful woman all alone
out here away from your companions. What say you return to your camp, Dorothy,
and I will follow at a very safe distance. That way if you learn something you can
call out my name very loudly and I will come at once. You realize of course that I
must trust you just as I ask that you trust me. I have no idea who or what will be
waiting for me back at your camp."

"Very well," Rita said after mulling over his words. "You may follow but only at a
very long distance. And you had better be alone. Some of my friends are vicious
killers and not men to be trifled with. I will explain your situation, and if they are in
agreement you may come into our camp and question them as you wish."

"Thank you for your kindness," the handsome young stranger said. "Shall we go
then?"

Rita's legs felt suddenly weak but she willed them to move. On the way back to
camp she glanced over her shoulder a couple of times and found the stranger had
kept his distance as promised. He sure was an odd man though. Maybe he was
Pissin's brother after all. It was hard to believe that there could be another one like
Pissin. She was not sure the world could handle that, at least not HER world.

When Rita arrived in camp Dupagi was humming a happy tune and preparing
a little something to eat from their meager supplies. The smell of cooking bacon
made Rita's stomach sit up and take notice. Pissin was sitting there looking kind
of bored. When he saw the girl approach the boy jumped to his feet. "So there
you are, I was getting worried. Dupagi said you'd probably just slipped off to take
a dump or something...are you alright?"

Rita shrugged. "I'm fine but we might have a problem. I'm being followed by
someone. He's just over that hill over there. He says he wants to come in and ask
some questions about his brother."

Pissin turned his weird glasses in the direction from whence the girl had just
come. "What the fuck...," he growled. "Why in hell is he looking for his brother
here? Are you sure he's alone? He's probably some asshole scouting out easy
picking for bandits or maybe even Manslynne's scum. Not that there is much
difference mind you. Give me a few minutes, I'll go and find out what he wants
and then kill the jerk."

Rita rolled her eyes despite herself. "Actually, he says you are his brother Pissin.
He calls himself V...does that ring a bell?"

Pissin's mouth flew open wide. "V is here? Now I really want to kill the bastard!"

"Kill you own brother?" Dupagi asked with a shocked expression on her cute
face.

Pissin hesitated, "well, maybe I'll just slice off his hand or pluck out his eye...he is
my brother after all."

"Well, I guess that's the least you could do for family," Dupagi replied...obviously
amazed at her young friend's fury.

Rita's eyes went hard and they flashed at the boy with venom dripping. "What in
fucking hell are you ranting about you idiot! If he's your brother, why can't you at
least exchange a few civil words before you try to mutilate each other?"

Pissin looked frustrated, "you guys don't understand, V is a real shithead. The last
time we got drunk together he slipped something in my drink. I woke up the next
day in a pig sty where he'd dumped me. As if that wasn't enough he stole a nice
fat purse that I'd only manage to steal the day before. And that wasn't enough for
him...he also stole my boots before skipping town with my gold. If I'd had a horse
at the time he would have taken it too no doubt. Man, now I know I'm going to fuck
that bastard up."

"Did he leave you your sword?" Rita asked.

"Well...yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"If he was the total jerk you say he would have taken that too..wouldn't he? He left
you with the means to defend yourself. To me, that means he did care...at least
a little bit. Swords like yours sell for big bucks. Don't you think we should at least
hear what he has to say....if he really is your brother. Although I must say he looks
one helluva lot like you Pissin."

Rita's little speech got Dupagi's attention. She let the frying pan she was holding
slip out of her hand and bang against the ground. "Whoa Rita! Are you telling me
there is another of these studs out there somewhere in the bushes?"

Rita shrugged, "evidently so...but apparently Pissin is hell bound to kill him for
stealing a little money. And its not like Pissin would ever steal anything...duh!"

"Oh please don't kill him Pissin! At least not until I've had the chance to look him
over. Pleeeeezzzeeee!?" Rita felt disgusted at the way Dupagi had of making
herself look so damned easy. She bit her lip from telling her friend to just shut
the fuck up.

Pissin was frowning and his hand squeezed the hilt of his long rapier until the
knuckles had began to turn snow white. "Well, go ahead then and invite the
asshole in. I'm pretty sure you'll be sorry if you do but its your call...I'm in the
minority here it appears."

Then Pissin glowered at Dupagi..."by the way prissy missy, for your information,
V only likes hard anal sex. Hope you can take it sweet thing."

Dupagi stuck her tongue out at Pissin and made a farting noise. "Don't worry
about me. Big or small, doesn't bother me a'tall."

Rita threw her hands up in disgust. She stared back in the direction where the
stranger awaited. The tension in their little camp was suddenly thick like fresh
molasses. As always, it seemed the final decision was hers to make.

"I see nothing wrong with inviting the guy in to talk. Maybe he has some decent
information that we can use about this country we're riding through. He may even
know if any of Manslynne's apes are patroling the area. We could be headed
straight for some cutthroat bandit's domain for all we know."

"Yeah, and most likely V is their leader." Pissin had sat back down, he was still
plenty mad about the recent turn of events but at least he seemed resigned to let
Rita make the calls.

"Very well then, its settled. I'll go fetch your brother and you guys can have a grand
reunion." Rita turned to leave as Dupagi hummed happily. "Ooo, this is so very
exciting," Dupagi declared as she sucked greasy bacon drippings off her fingers.

"No doubt," Rita mumbled under her breath and stomped away to go and fetch
V.

V was sitting down and waiting patiently...not unlike when the girl had first laid her
alert green eyes on him. He flashed his blue eyes at Rita and she barely caught
herself before almost giving him a huge smile. "Come on in...but I warn you that
you'd best be who you claim to be and not some bandit."

"Don't worry your pretty self on my account Dorothy."

"Hmmm, I actually lied to you about my name. It's Rita, not Dorothy."

"A wise precaution and perfectly understandable," V purred. "Shall we then?"

As the two neared the camp Dupagi came out to greet them. She bowed quite
lady-like and offered V her hand. Right on cue he took her fingers lightly in his
and brushed her knuckles with a kiss. "Two incredibly beautiful women out in this
wilderness," he cooed. "What fools I have been for wasting my time in smelly
cities when the country has so much more to offer."

Even as he spoke V's eyes had drifted towards Pissin. "By all things in heaven
and hell...there is my dear brother or strike me dead with lightening!"

"Brother, I am here!" V exclaimed as he walked quickly to where Pissin was
reclining on the grass.

"Yeah, and brother, I am fucked," the boy with the dark glasses groaned, obviously
not pleased.

V extended his hand but Pissin ignored him. "I suppose you are understandably
still upset about our last encounter."

Pissin finally looked up and tilted my head. "Do you think? You fucking dickhead.
You robbed me and left me sleeping with the swine. I would kick your ass right
now for two cents. Fucking cunt."

"I had to leave town that night in a hurry. You were passed out drunk and I couldn't
rouse you to ask for a loan. Besides, I knew you could steal more coin without
much trouble. It was regrettable but I was in quite a jam back there. As for your
boots, I imagine some passing beggar took them while you slept so deeply."

Pissin shook his head. "I guess that explains why you're still wearing them then?"

V looked down sheepishly..."err, maybe I did borrow them. I suppose I was a bit
drunk myself and forgot. You must understand I had so much on my mind. There
were some completely unfounded accusations about me and the wife of some
petty government official and..."

Pissin actually began shaking with rage. "I wasn't drunk that day, you lying dick...
I was drugged. I'm gonna stomp you ass pretty boy." With that pissin yanked off
his glasses, leaped to his feet and suddenly a full blown fight was in progress.

Dupagi yelled and tried to jump out of the way and almost made it. V kicked
at Pissin with his leg and missed. His boot did connect with Dupagi's little ass
and she sprawled headlong over the campfire. Rita screamed and rushed to help
her friend even as the two boys rolled back and forth on the ground grunting and
cursing each other vehemently.

Dupagi squealed in terror like a stuck hog but she was saved by the quick thinking
Rita who threw her blanket over the girl and then lay on top of her...snuffing the
flames. With Dupagi safe, Rita turned her attention to the two combatants. At first
she had thought to try to break the fight up but on second thought she decided to
simply sit there and enjoy the show.

Both boys struggled mightly until they were caked in dust, sweat, and blood, It
was some donnybrook until they exhausted themselves and lay gasping in the
dirt.

Rita clapped her hands, "great show boys. Not something I'd pay to see mind
you...but way out here in the middle of nowhere one can't really expect much in
the way of fine entertainment."

"Those brutes almost killed me," Dupagi moaned, her feelings obviously hurt a lot
more than her lithe body. She wiped away a tiny tear and held on to Rita's arm.
"What kind of wild animals are they anyhow?" She asked...truly dumbfounded.

Rita gave her customary bored shrug. "I think they call them shit eating dogs."

"My hands are burning, I'm going to get blisters," Dupagi moaned pitifully.

"Quick then, run and soak your hands in the creek. It'll help take away the heat."

Dupagi staggered away as Pissin finally caught his breath. He was still plenty
pissed off but to tired to do anything about it...at least for the moment. He found
his dark glasses and put them back on his face. "How in fuck did you find me
here, asshole," Pissin demanded of his brother.

V wiped blood from his nose and struggled to sit up. "I have ways of finding
people you know. It's something I do all the time for a living."

"You're a bounty hunter?" Rita asked, suddenly very suspicious. Maybe he was
planning on taking her back to Minnow Flower.

"Actually no, I am a vampire hunter. Maybe you've heard of me...V the Vampire
Hunter. I'm pretty well known."

Rita felt relief..."that's a pretty catchy name...but no, I haven't heard of you although
the name does sound a bit familiar." Dupagi had returned and leaned forward
to hear the conversation, apparently none the worse for wear after her accident.

Pissin shook his head..."V the Vampire Hunter my ass...he stole that name from
a cartoon."

"What's a cartoon?" Dupagi asked innocently enough.

Pissin shot the girl a look and threw his hands up in a sign of frustration..."how
the hell would I know?" he said.

Dupagi turned to Rita..."see what he does to me?"

"Ignore him sweetheart...that's what I do." V laughed at Rita's comment. "Hear,
hear," he chuckled before continuing. "But to answer your question brother, I
just might have used a bit of magic to find you...old Ranorraka occasionally took
the time to teach me a trick or two...he wasn't all about you all the time dear
brother. Of course I'm not nearly the hot shot wizard that you are."

"I'm no wizard," Pissin grumbled.

"I guess you're not a drunk either," V shot back, a hint of venom in his voice.

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you."

"Would you two please SHUT UP," Rita shouted. "You're grown men, not little
mentally challenged children...right?"

With that exclaimation the frustrated woman sat down. Dupagi followed suit and
the four young people sat staring at each other...this uneasy peace held for
almost a full minute before V spoke again. "So where are you fine ladies bound
for? I might be interested in riding along...I offer you the protection of my sword."

"We don't need your help," Pissin shot back at his brother. "And believe me, his
swordplay is not all that."

"The men that have tasted my steel might well disagree with you dear brother...
if they were alive to do so, unfortunately they aren't."

"We are bound for Nerrynye. I am going to find my son. Unfortunately, as you
can well see...we have only two horses and we ride hard. As you are on foot,
I don't believe I can see how you could ride with us anywhere."

"Nerrynye is a long, long ride and very dangerous." V replied before jamming
two fingers to his mouth and eliciting an extremely loud whistle. Rita was about
to admonish the boy for possibly alerting bandits to their location when just then
she heard the sound of pounding hooves. Suddenly two horses, a brown and a
white came pounding over a nearby hill. Both came equipped with good saddles.
They were extremely fine looking animals, better by far than the ones Pissin
had stolen at Minnow Flower.

Rita, Dupagi, and even Pissin's eyes gaped in amazement. "These are my
animals and very good ones they are." V spoke proudly.

"What are you doing with two...I mean, Rita and I have been riding double and it
would be nice if I...err...I mean...well, that I had a horse of my own. Could I borrow
one?" Dupagi pleaded.

"Certainly, that is...if I am to be invited along on the ride?"

"Oh please guys, can't he come?" Dupagi asked hopefully.

"NO," Pissin almost shouted.

"We do need the extra mount," Rita reminded Pissin. "We have a helluva ride
and it would make the trip that much faster."

"How did you get an extra horse anyhow," Pissin asked.

"Some of Manslynne's thugs spotted me and gave chase. I got away except for
this one clever fellow who found my trail. He was a very good tracker. To bad
he met with an unfortunate accident. One cannot use a horse in the afterlife so
I brought his along should mine go lame. And I thought it possible that you, my
dear brother, might be without transportation when I finally found you."

"Well, thats very considerate," the dark eyed Dupagi cooed. She was finding it
quite difficult to take her eyes off V. He rewarded her attention with a series of
smiles, his strong white teeth flashing in the sunlight like ivory.

Rita was deep in thought, finally she asked a simple question. "All that doesn't
explain why you want to come along with us...we have a very long hard ride and
you don't seem to me to be the kind to take on other people's problems. I would
like to think that you just want to spend some time with your brother, but on the
other hand, something tells me that quite possibly isn't the case either. Still, if
Manslynnes patrols are in the area, we could use your help..but what's in it
for you?"

The strange boy looked long at hard at his brother and then looked deeply into
Rita's eyes. He seemed to be gathering himself. "I offer you my help, my horse,
my sword, and whatever other abilities I might have...and I have a few. And
yet it is I seeking help from you...from my brother. Some time ago, I earned
some coin by hunting down and slaying a vampire. What I didn't know at the time
, this monster was the son of a much, much more powerful vampire. A horrible
fiend called Xssurdinynexes. Now this great and powerful undead thing has
made my death his priority. He chases me even now. I have traveled to distant
lands and many crowded cities to escape but everywhere he manages to seek
me out. It is maddening I tell you! This curse is unbearable. I swear, more than
once I have escaped him but just barely. My time is running out. I have no idea
where he is now or when he will strike, but that time is coming. I am young and
have done many bad things...but I do not wish to die...not like this. The truth is,
my only hope to defeat this powerful fiend is if I have Pissin by my side when the
final showdown comes. I am certain we can prevail together. True, Pissin owes
me little. However, he is my only hope. I come before you all to ask with all my
heart that you help me save my miserable life. That is all, please help me...I beg
of you as a brother. The Pissin I have always known is at heart a good and
essentially decent man, certainly a better man than the one I was. Please say
you will consider my words. I am at your mercy."

This impassioned speech was very unexpected and seemed wholly out of
character for the gallant rougue that they had thought V to be. For a long while
everyone sat in silence, not sure of what to say. Finally, feeling she had to say
something? Rita turned to Pissin. "He's your brother Pissin, your flesh and
blood. For some crazy reason I'm guessing that he might be the only family you
have. Anyhow, I think you are the one who makes this decision. This could get
us all killed but this little quest started because of family. I would be an ass to
expect you to help me find mine at the cost of turning your back on your own"

They waited for Pissin to reply...and waited. Dupagi and Rita glanced at each
other anxiously. V sat with his arms on his knees staring quietly at the ground.
It was a very weird scene. The whisper of a gentle warm day's wind was the only
sound to be heard.

At last Pissin's lips moved. The words were barely audible at first, then gradually
grew louder. "I see no reason why we couldn't continue on to Nerrynye and find
Rita's kid. I made her a promise you see, and I intend to keep it. If V wants to
follow us, well, it used to be a free country. And if this Xerr whatever jerk shows
up he better think about what he's going to do because I FUCKING HATE
VAMPIRES...they SUCK!"

V looked up and nodded solemnly. "Thank you brother," he whispered. "You
will never regret this...I swear on our father's grave."

An impatient and skinny dark haired girl clapped her hands..."yay, I get to ride my
own horse for once!"

Rita shrugged, "now that we got all that worked out, I say we ride. No sense
sitting here on our asses and burning all this pretty sunshine."

They quickly gulped down the bacon which had been forgottena and grown cold.
No one complained though as the horses were saddled and they readied to hit
the road. Rita brought Pissin a wine bottle. "You did good Pissin, here's your
drink."

The boy screwed up his face a little and shook his head. "I'm quitting drinking.
I got to much to do. Fighting really big vampires ain't nothing to do when you're
shitfaced. Save it for yourselves, and give some to V. I'm thinking he could use
a buzz right now."

Rita stood frozen from complete shock. This day had sure been one for surprises.
On the other hand, life around Pissin just didn't seem to fit into any category
one could file under dull or boring.

"Damned Rita, you gonna stand there all morning? Get that beautiful little ass of
yours in gear. Let's ride!" Pissin yelled at her in a way she'd never heard him
talk before. It was kind of a turn on.

"Hell yeah, let's ride fuckers!" she growled in return.

Pissin gave his girl Rita a huge smile, Dupagi squealed in girlish anticipation of
hooking up with V, and one of the horses farted.