Work Text:
The chateau lay desolate in the overgrowth that had taken it. The townspeople had fled years ago, fearing a darkness they believed had overtaken the island. Indeed something had been placed here that did not belong. A bitter coiling of a deep seeded rage seeped within the earth infesting it with bramble and thorn. Like a protective warding they twisted up the crumbling paint flecked walls of the building.
The thick brush crunched beneath the lone figure’s heavy boots as he approached. He had no reason to fear what lay here. In fact it was the rumors of this once prosperous town being abandoned that brought him here.
The moment Jack had heard of a town mysteriously being left behind as it was overtaken with an ominous presence he felt a warm beat thump in his still chest. Could he even dare to hope? Grasping at a thread that could so easily snap and send him plummeting into the deepest despair if he could not succeed in what he sought. He feared he couldn’t handle another dead end. It would shatter his very being to feel that loss all over again. But if it was what he had hoped he’d loath himself for eternity for not looking.
That night stood out in his mind as if it was the only memory he would ever have again. The keep, the explosions, his screams as the person he had loved was stolen away from him as he searched blindly through the flames.
‘They feared you; they knew your power was the only one to rival their own. Talon knew you would stop them.’
Twilight had long since passed into night by the time he arrived at the doors to Chateau Guillard. Jack’s shadow fell over the wooden entry to the castle. Oak and iron barred trespassers from entering, but he’d already come this far, nothing could keep him from his quarry now.
A well placed kick and the door shuddered, dust cascading from its frame. ‘It’s here, it has to be, he has to be.’
The coffin; Gabriel only used it when traveling. It would protect from prying eyes, and the sun's burning rays until they reached whatever destination they sought. He and Jack would curl around each other and sleep in its large wooden frame, safe and secure. What was once their sanctuary was now Gabriel’s prison. Talon had made sure of that.
‘They couldn’t kill you so instead they subdued you, locked you away.’
Another determined kick sent wood flying as metal fixtures snapped from their hinges. The thick must of damp and disuse swirled about him, assaulting his senses. ‘So in your stead I have hunted them, stopped them every way I could. All the while they have kept you from me.’
The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He could sense the danger that lay beyond the threshold. It was the same sensation he had felt many times in the past. With each of his previous excursions there had been traps and foes alike, each set in his path to destroy him, or deter him from searching. None have succeeded so far.
If Jack was ever going to stop it would be his decision to make, no one else's. Gabe had always said he was a stubborn one. That ghostly warmth spread in his chest once again, that bittersweet twist of hope and despair. Perhaps if he failed again he might let himself succumb to one of the traps within the chateau. Death would be a sweet release to this eternal torment of feeling lost, left behind, forever searching.
Crouching down he checked for traps gently skating his fingers along the door’s destroyed frame. Nothing; the entryway was devoid of traps. However, that didn’t mean he was in the clear. Peering harder into the dark he could just make out an abnormality in the floor, the slightest raise in a single tile. A pressure release, easily avoidable but a good sign that he had been expected to find this place at some point.
Standing; Jack made sure to avoid the tile as he entered, keeping an eye out for any other devices. The place was well decorated in fixtures of centuries past; in its prime it was perhaps a good place for gatherings and lavish parties. Now it sat as a ghost, its vaulted ceilings and decayed furnishings left to rot in the silent halls. Marble staircases leading in different directions made the place feel like a maze.
With a huff Jack was unsure of which way to go. One thing was for sure: if he had to search from the attic to the basement he was going to do it. With that in mind he looked to the stairs running along the right wall to the second floor. Nothing looked out of place; at least he wouldn’t have to worry about falling through a weak step.
Cautiously he ascended the stairs, his steps eerily loud in the void of silence. A few steps and he noticed some frames of old paintings along the wall. Feeling it odd that the home wouldn’t have been picked clean of such precious artifacts he glanced to see what the first frame was holding. A reflection of his crimson clothing poised on the stairs with the banister behind him greeted him. A mirror.
Like a shot something struck his ankles, wrapping around them. Caught off guard Jack slammed into the banister as he reached for purchase so as not to fall down the steps. Within seconds a searing shock charged through his bindings causing him to lose his grip. The world spun as he tumbled down the stairs heavily hitting each one on the way down. Air was punched from his lungs as he writhed. If he were capable of screaming from the pain he would but the only sound he could make was a stuttering grunt. His muscles seized and burned with each passing second as he desperately tore at the confines around his legs. Gripping the cords he fought against the searing agony, tearing the bindings apart with his vampiric strength.
With electricity no longer coursing through his body he fell limp on the cold marble, his hands numb and throbbing with exertion. His lungs struggled to draw in air as he rolled onto his back. Enchanted mirrors aside he made a mental note not to try the stairs again.
Sitting up with a grunt, Jack looked around the space again. Tracking the stairs he can see they lead to a loft. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined the far wall of the space. Jack had come across some hidden compartments behind similar facades before. None held what he was searching for, but with this being his only thread to follow he was going to be thorough. He had to, for Gabriel.
‘I’m coming, Gabe.’ Tracking the path he’d take to the upstairs loft he got into position. Effortlessly he dashed and leapt, kicking off the banister, making sure to avoid the mirror, and scaling up the railings along what he could now see was an upstairs office. His feet hit the floor of the loft and he sighed in relief that there weren't any traps set off. Examining the new space a large wedding portrait caught his eye.
Stepping closer he took in the worn hues of the happy couple. The man with a thin mustache gazing down lovingly upon the adoring bride in his arms. Jack’s eyes grew pensive, his hands balling into fists. The bride in her white dress looks coyly at the artist as her and her betrothed’s picture is being painted. He didn’t know the man in the painting but the woman he was more than familiar with. Talon had dispatched her many times to hunt him down. She was a cold and vicious adversary, flushing him out of any shelter he could find. In their last confrontation he had gotten the upper hand and disposed of her. Nearly losing his own life in the process.
His eyes get drawn down to the bronze plaque at the painting’s base. ‘Gerard and Amelie Lacroix.’ Something nagged at the back of Jack’s mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
He turned from the portrait to face the book shelves. It wouldn’t take much effort to dislodge them with his strength, but his muscles still ached from being electrocuted. Either way he set about dismantling the large wooden fixtures.
Wood splintered and flew under his firm grip, while they were well made they were old and worn down by time. He worked from one end of the wall to the other, ripping the shelves out and tossing them haphazardly behind him. Soon nothing was left but barren wood panels. Jack knew this trick. Racking his knuckles on each section of wall he waited to hear any difference in the sound they made. One panel had a slightly different pitch to it than the others.
Smiling in triumph Jack moved to kick in the wall with his heel. The second the wall collapsed on itself long metal spikes shot out from ballistas hidden behind the barrier. Each one driving themselves through different points along Jack’s body, the force of it slamming Jack into the railing behind him.
He cried out, feeling his skin and insides begin to blister at each point of entry. Silver. While touching silver typically left a burning rash, internal contact was far more excruciating, and took longer to heal. Choking on his own blood he gripped the shaft of the first bar, feeling the stinging rash already spread along his palms. Gritting blood-stained teeth, he took a deep breath and pulled. With an agonizing slowness that came with a sickening squelching suction he drew the first spike from his shoulder. The rod clattered to the ground beside him as it fell from his red, and now bloody fingers.
One by one the pile of spikes grew beside him, each one leaving him just a bit weaker than the last. For the first time Jack wondered if he would make it out of there. If he’d die before ever finding Gabriel. ‘And wouldn’t that be a tragedy?’ He thought bitterly to himself.
With his wound now only oozing a slow trickle of blood he got back to his feet. Perching himself on the rail he dropped to the floor below with a grunt, the landing jarring his wounds. He still had enough fight left in him to check the basement.
Jack knew from experience that mansions like this had basement access either through the kitchen or a side entrance connected to the house. He could see the entryway to the kitchen from where he stood. Slowly he made his way to it and peeked in. The room looked as dilapidated as the rest of the chateau. Cobwebs were strewn all around the kitchenette and cold fireplace. By the table Jack spotted a set of stairs leading down.
Wearily he shuffled down them, feeling the blood loss taking its toll. Two flights of stairs lead him to a pair of large cedar doors. Hesitantly he tried the handle to find it locked. Learning from his previous mistake he would only try to kick in one of the doors. Stepping back he threw his foot at the door only for it to slide down its wooden surface. ‘Dammit.’ He wasn’t going to stop now, his body’s need for blood be damned. He was going to search this home if it was the last thing he did.
Moving to the base of the steps he threw his shoulder into the left door. Both he and it fell into the room a shower of glittering dust catching the light as it fell. Jack sucked in a breath instantly regretting it. Needles of pain shot down his throat and blossomed in his lungs. The dust stung and burned his eyes. Hundreds of little silver shavings burrowed into his eyes causing his sight to blur.
Howling Jack clutched his face, blood pouring forth from his eyes and mouth in an attempt to flush the toxic shards from his system. Upon opening his wounded eyes all he could see was a blurry room. Then he spotted it. It was scratched and chipped from age, but Jack knew that casket that lay past iron lattice gates. Now to see if it truly held within the man he sought.
Stumbling to his feet Jack limped his way to the cage like wine cellar doors. Like before he checked along the iron gate that barred him from his lover’s coffin. Inches from the ground he felt it, a cord of metal strung across the bars. Following the wire he found what it was connected to, ‘another explosive?’ It seemed no matter what he found, Talon was going to blow him up regardless.
In a fit of rage and anguish he pounded on the gates. ‘How many centuries have I searched, how many tears have I cried? My life has become the purist definition of hell without you.’ Part of him wanted to rip the iron doors open and let the resulting explosion carry him to oblivion.
Gathering his wits he reached back down. The rigging was pressure sensitive; had he missed this everything would have been for naught. Deftly he cut the tension of the wire with one of his sharp claws. A beat of silence, and then another. It would seem that he had disarmed the trap.
Flinging the gate open with a resounding protest of old metal Jack tentatively stepped into the space. There was now nothing between him and the resting place of his beloved. His body shook with anticipation of what he would find in the box that lay before him. It was larger than he remembered.
With trembling fingers he reached out and touched the once polished and lacquered purple heart wood. It was now dull and chipping with age, gashes from mistreatment marred the surface. Jack’s blood boiled at the thought of it. ‘How dare they.’ Putting a cap on his anger he reverently ran his fingers along the lip of the coffin. The ivory and copper iconography of the Reyes clan still glinted in the ebony inlay.
Swallowing thickly, Jack braced his hands under the lid and threw it back. With a crack and a plume of dust one of the hinges broke causing the lid to land obscurely on the ground.
With his heart in his throat Jack peered down into the open chamber. There lay Gabriel Reyes as beautiful as the night they met, his once rich brown skin now pallid gray. It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Crimson tears stung Jack’s eyes and he had to fight back the urge to weep. He would lament about his trials later, in the arms of the vampire he loved.
Bringing his own wrist to his mouth he bit into the soft flesh with his fangs pulling in a mouthful of blood. Leaning over the edge of the casket he pried Gabriel’s lips open with his own. The life giving blood passed between their open mouths in the sweetest of kisses. Jack ensured that not a drop was wasted; he had already squandered copious amounts of blood for this victory.
Drawing back he lovingly combed his fingers through the thick dark locks of Gabriel’s hair, admiring their still silky texture. “By blood we live and by blood we are bound.” Jack recalled the words Gabe spoke to him soon after his turning all those nights ago.
Gradually a healthy blush spread across Gabriel's skin. Jack knew he would awaken at any moment. Stepping back he took a knee beside his lover and waited.
Dark lashes fluttered open, scarlet eyes taking in the stone ceiling in confusion. Memories of flames and screams still rang in his head, the phantom sensation of hands grabbing at him, dragging him to his coffin while he fought to get away.
The familiar flavor lingering in his mouth soothed his thoughts. He’d recognize the smoky smooth fullness with hints of vanilla citrus of Jack’s blood anywhere. If hors d'age cognac were a person it’d be his Jack.
“Jack!” Gabriel shot up, panic once again rising to the surface. When Talon had raised the keep Jack was nowhere to be found.
“I’m here.” Jack called in that smoky gravel voice Gabriel knew so well. The relief that was building inside his chest died the second Gabriel laid eyes on Jack’s form.
Blood coated the front of Jack’s clothing, the smell of it telling Gabriel that it all belonged to Jack. Eyes tracing along the ruined fabric, noting the holes in multiple sections, his brows furrowed in concern the more he took in. Jack’s skin was pale, his handsome face smeared with blood, his eyes rimmed red. Jack’s vibrant blue eyes, which were once alight with a steely internal strength now looked haunted, though relieved.
Was this really his Jack? What could have possibly happened for him to look like this? How long had he been locked away in an induced torpor?
The look of horror on his lover’s face was definitely not what Jack had hoped to instill upon their reunion. It couldn't have been helped, what with all Jack had just gone through in the chateau above.
"When Talon stole you from me I did everything I could to find you. It's taken so long…"
"Where are we?" Gabriel looked about, taking in their surroundings.
"Château Guillard."
Gabriel’s eyes snapped back to his progeny. "This is Gerard's home. Is he here?"
It hit him then, the portrait, that feeling of familiarity when he read the plaque. Gabriel had mentioned his friend Gerard to him once long ago but he hadn’t been able to put a face to the name.
Knowing the woman in the portrait had been a part of Talon, Jack could only guess as to what fate had befallen Gabriel’s friend.
Silently he shook his head. No, Gerard was not here though he wished that he were. Gabriel didn't deserve any more loss.
Jack's crestfallen expression told him everything. A pang of guilt ran through him. If Gerard hadn't been one of his closest confidants would the charismatic Frenchman have lived a full life?
Now was not the time to focus on what ifs. With an outstretched arm Gabriel bid Jack to come closer. "What on earth have they done to you?"
Jack moved slowly so as not to aggravate his wounds. "It doesn't matter now. You're here, that’s all I could have hoped for."
The gentle touch of Gabriel’s hand on his cheek drew a shuddering sob from Jack's lips. He nuzzled into Gabriel’s palm, breathing in his sweet and spicy scent. The smell and feel of his beloved sire was enough to ground him to the moment. This wasn’t a dream, or an illusion, Gabriel was here, he was awake. Jack had found him at last.
Having Jack closer and seeing the toll his body had taken had him seething. Even with Jack looking at him with those adoring blue eyes, all he could focus on was the bloody red stains around them. "Your eyes…"
"Silver shards." Jack's sight was still blurry but he could see well enough. "It's healing though." He relayed to Gabriel.
Pressing their foreheads together Gabriel swore an oath to Jack. "If there is any of Talon left, we will hunt them together." With his hands cupping Jack’s face he pulled his lover in for a tender kiss. "First we need to get you fed."
Jack’s dead heart fluttered; he was no longer alone. He had Gabriel at his side once more, and there was nothing that could come between them again.