Alliance, An In the Dark Prequel
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine.
Misha’s Notes- I got two separate requests for a drabble/short fic featuring vampire hunting Diavolos. I couldn’t figure out a way to make that work. Instead, I decided to draw on the “In the Dark” universe that CallMeTippyTumbles and I are creating and came up with a short story featuring Kenna’s alliance with the vampires. This is a rewrite of the attack on Aurelia in Chapters 8 & 9 of The Crown and the Flame, setting it in this particular universe.
Pairing- Very slight Kenna/Diavolos
Rating- PG-13
Summary- Kenna and Diavolos discuss uneasy alliances, both with each other and with the vampires.
Words- 554
Hex was smart, Kenna had to give her credit for that. Aurelia was seen as impermeable, both because of its location and because of its otherworldly inhabitants, but her weapons helped with the first and she’d executed an attack in broad daylight, sending the vampires to the hidden tunnels and leaving the city exposed and vulnerable to attack.
Which was why Kenna was fighting back to back with Diavolos Nevrakis, dodging attacks from the fire users, while occasionally glancing at the sun and calculating how long it would be until the sun set, shifting the advantage back to their side.
“Never thought I’d see the day when I’d be fighting for the bloodsuckers instead of against them,” Diavolos commented as he pivoted out of the way of a burst of fire, surprisingly agile for a man his size.
Kenna knew there was bad blood between the vampires and the Nevrakis family, but then everyone had bad blood with the Nevrakis family, or at least with head of the family. “So you’ve fought them before? The vampires, I mean?”
Her sword made contact with the fire user, catching him off guard.
“A few times,” Diavolos answered, taking advantage of the opening she’d created and disarming their attacker. One down, only a dozen or so left to go. “The worst was a border skirmish a few years where I lost two dozen men.”
“How many vampires?” Kenna questioned, casting a look over the battlefield to see how everyone else was faring.
“Three,” Diavolos admitted, “We out-numbered them a dozen to one.” The defeat still rankled, she heard it in his voice. “I managed to take out one of them and .” He shrugged. “Never thought I’d see the day when I stopped fighting them and started fighting alongside them.”
“That’s kind of how I feel about the Nevrakises,” Kenna told him with a grin as they moved toward the next target who was already aiming at them.
He returned her grin as they dodged the attack, “you have to admit, some of us are charming.”
Much too charming if Kenna was being honest. She’d only known Diavolos a couple days and it was already hard for her to remember that he was a Nevrakis, especially when they were like this, fighting side by side, totally in sync.
“The same could be said of the vampires,” was Kenna’s rebuttal, “have you met Annelyse?”
Diavolos’s response was a noncommittal grunt as they moved forward, co-ordinating their movements to disarm yet another opponent. Kenna glanced at the sky. Only a few more minutes.
Kenna wasn’t the only one checking the sky and Hex’s orders became shriller and more frantic as the sun slowly started to sink, the Fire Users increasing their attack and aiming attack after attack at them.
Kenna stumbled as multiple attacks were aimed at her, bracing herself for the blow that never came. Instead a strong arm circled her waist and lifted her to safety.
She glanced up at Diavolos. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he told her lightly, his eyes meeting hers briefly, his gaze holding an intensity that was at odds with the lightness of his tone.
Before Kenna could respond, the sun set in the sky, bringing night with it.
She felt Diavolos let out a sigh of relief, echoing her feelings.
“Time’s up, rules change.”
- End
