Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (34 page)

         "Kyrian is not here
and I do not want you to meet with him."

         Chalice crossed her arms
in front of her chest. "You can't keep us apart. We love each other."

         Helena became angry.
"Love? That is a big word. I don't believe that you know the actual
meaning of it. Take my warning and stay away from my son."

         "Why? That's not
your decision to make, it's Kyrian's," Chalice retorted harshly. Her
nervousness increased.

         "You take advantage
of his inexperience and try to use him for your own purposes."

         "You smother him and
don't want to share him. That's all. My intentions are pure. With me, he gets
everything he wants."

         "Well, if your
intentions are so pure, then tell me the truth. What were you doing in the
Quartier
Latin
that night? I am sure you remember. You stood beneath the light of a
street lamp."

         Chalice paled and froze.

         Helena nodded. "Yes,
I have seen you, just as you have seen me. So, tell me, what kind of game are
you playing?"

         Chalice took a step back,
trying to get some distance between herself and the huntress. "I don't
know what you mean."

         "That night, when I
saw you standing there. That one night is etched into my memories. I'm asking
myself, what a nice girl could have been doing there at that late hour? And in
one of the town's most notorious quarters no less."

         Fear rose inside Chalice
and she didn't know what to answer. Finally, she stuttered helplessly,
"I... I'm not a prostitute... if that is what you mean..."

         "No, no, I really
don't mean that. I mean that you should tell me to whom you belong?" The
huntress watched her intensely, trying to gauge her reaction.

         Beads of sweat formed on
Chalice's forehead. "To... to whom I belong?"

         "Are you going to
deny that you have been to this house before our family arrived here?"
Helena's eyes hardened. Challenging, she stared at the young woman.

         "What?" Chalice
screamed, fear written all over her face.

         "Is it not true that
you use Kyrian to spy on me and sabotage my work?"

         "What... what are
you talking about?" Chalice's eyes darted nervously around.

         "Who are you
really?"

         Nothing could hold
Chalice back any longer and she bolted, running as fast as she could.           The
huntress followed her. But in the deep forest she lost her trail, and Helena
stopped the unsuccessful chase. "I do not have much time. I need to act
right now."

         She didn't notice that
Michel had watched the scene from the window. He smirked and waited calmly for
her return. The candles and the fire had been extinguished in a wondrous way.
Motionless, the police chief stood beside the window and stared at the fading
sun. "Tonight, my beautiful huntress, we will finally meet. It will be the
beginning of the end." He straightened his coat and left the room.

         In the hall, he said
goodbye to a very surprised Monique, before walking to his carriage and driving
back to Paris.

*****

         Badly upset, Chalice
crouched in a hole beneath a fallen tree. She panted for breath and her face
was red from exertion. Sharp pain in her sides tortured her and one thought
echoed through her mind.
'She knows... she knows everything... what shall I
do?'
Panicked, she tried to form a clear thought. Her whole body trembled.
"I have to put all on one card. I need to talk to Kyrian, before his
mother does." Gasping, she crawled out of the hole and stumbled on to find
the young man in time.

*****

         Helena hurried up the
stairs to the library, carrying a tablet with the tea utensils. She put on a
friendly face and entered. The scent of freshly brewed mint tea filled the
room. For a moment, she was confused. "Why is the fire out and where is
Michel?"

         Helena set the tablet on
the table. Her gaze fell on the window and she realized the great view one had
of the herb garden and the forest behind it. "Hmm... Michel must have seen
the scene. He probably thinks I am chasing her. Hopefully, he will not do
anything thoughtless. Now I wish he would have stayed here, for his own
safety."

         Agitated, she began to
pace. "I have to wait for Kyrian in order to get some news. He should be
back by now."

         At a hurried pace, Helena
left the library and went to her chambers to prepare for the upcoming night.

*****

         After having spent the
whole day at the
Quartier Latin
, Kyrian was making his way back to the
castle. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. A mere second ago, he had been
thinking about Christine and there she came, running towards him on the street
that led to Paris.

         Dexterously, he slid off
Nightshade's broad back and ran to her.

         Chalice fell right into
his arms and embraced him fiercely. Harsh sobs shook her body. Kyrian held
her. His fingers combed through her long, disheveled hair and he tried to calm
her down. "Christine? What happened?"

         "Your mother... oh,
Kyrian... she hates me... even though I never did anything to her..." she
managed through her tears. "She said things... horrible allegations... why
does she hate me so?"

         "I do not think that
she hates you. She just doesn't know you." Kyrian soothed.

         "No, no! She hates
me, I know it... I've seen it in her eyes..."

         The young man grabbed
Nightshade's reins and took her hand. "Come on. I will escort you
home."

         "I... I don't have a
home."

         Kyrian stopped walking.
"What do you mean? You have to live somewhere, sleep..."

         "I'm an
orphan," Chalice admitted in a small voice and looked at him innocently
with her doe-brown eyes.

         Kyrian felt his heart
clench. "But where are you spending the nights?"

         Chalice looked at the
ground to hide the wide, triumphant grin. She knew she had him. No matter what
she would say, he would believe her. Quickly she put on a sad expression as
Kyrian lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "You can tell me. I will not
judge you," he promised lovingly.

         Hesitatingly, she said,
"At the
Quartier Latin
. The rooms are cheap there. Sometimes, I
carry out tasks for people and they give me a place to sleep." Chalice
noticed his horrified expression and added, "Believe me when I say that
I'm not proud to live like that."

         "That's not it. My
mother was right. She saw you there."

         "Yes, I was
there," she admitted. "Some dark creatures were chasing me. I've
never seen anything as weird and scary in my life. I don't know what they
wanted from me and then they just disappeared."

         "Why didn't you
explain this to my mother?" Kyrian wanted to know. Holding hands, they
slowly followed the road to Paris.

         "Because she
wouldn't let me!" Chalice blurted, unintentionally fierce.

         Silence ruled after her
outburst and Chalice tried hard to come up with something to say. She let go of
Kyrian's hand, wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his
strong shoulder. "I don't want to be alone anymore, Kyrian. Only with you
by my side, I feel safe."

         Hearing these words made
his heart jump for joy. He placed a small kiss on top of her head. "I will
protect you. Come what may, against all odds."

         "What... what about
your mother?" Chalice inquired softly, inwardly tense about his answer.

         "Leave that to me. I
will take care of it. Go to the
Quartier Latin
and get your things
together. I will come soon and get you. I can't allow that you have to stay
there another night." With a serious expression, Kyrian climbed on
Nightshade.

         In the fading light, he
didn't see the triumphant sneer on her face, nor could he hear her thoughts.
'It's
done, my Master. The Sunlions are turned against each other.'

         "How are you going
to find me?" Chalice asked, looking at him like a lost child.

         Kyrian wrinkled his forehead
in thought, so she gave the answer herself. "Wait for me at the abandoned
Palais? You know the building?" Gently she placed her hand on his leg.

         The young man shook his
head. "No, this place is too dangerous at this time of night,
Christine."

         Chalice took his hand and
kissed it softly. "Don't be concerned, nothing will happen to me. You are
going to back soon, promise?"

         "I promise,"
Kyrian answered. He pulled hard on the reins and Nightshade reared up, before
they galloped back to the castle.

         Chalice watched him
leave, until he was out of her sight. She giggled madly and went on her way to
Azrael. "Everything is happening as you wish, my Master."

*****

         Carefully, Skylar opened
the door to her mother's chambers and peered around the corner.

         Helena stood at her
table, reading a letter. Casually, she said, "Come in, Skylar. The
corridors are cold and drafty."

         Wearing a white
nightgown, her daughter padded on bare feet to the bed and jumped in, snuggling
deep into the soft covers. "Are you going away tonight?" Skylar asked
fearfully.

         Helena folded the letter.
"Michel sent a messenger with a letter. I just don't understand..."

         Skylar guessed her
mother's thoughts. "You mean because of earlier, when he was gone so
quickly?"

         "Not only that. He
was acting so different, so
strange
. He writes that he wants to meet me
at midnight in the
Quartier Latin
... at the abandoned Palais. He must
have discovered something. Perhaps he managed to do what I couldn't; to follow
Chalice and find her hideout." Lost in thought, she looked at her
daughter, who gazed at her questioningly. Helena didn't tell her that she
suspected Chalice and Christine to be one and the same person. Instead, she
mentioned, "I fear that something might happen to him there."

         Skylar's fear increased.
"Maybe he found out something and now he does not know what to do with his
knowledge?"

         "You mean he knows
about the existence of vampires?"

         Skylar nodded and wrapped
the warming blanket tighter around her body.

         "That would be
disastrous. It could mean the end of his life," the huntress said
seriously and clenched her hands impatiently. "If only Kyrian would come
back. I am worried about him."

         Creaking sounds came from
outside.

         Hurriedly, Helena left
the room to investigate, but there was nobody. Restless, she closed the door
and made a decision. "I will ride to Paris right now, to prevent a tragedy
from happening." The huntress fetched all the important utensils, which
she would need. At last, she put on her weapon belt and took the holy sword.

         With growing anxiety,
Skylar watched her every move. "Mama, please, don't go," she
whispered fearfully. "I have a bad feeling..."

         Helena sighed, went to
her and sat down on the bed's edge. She reached out and tenderly stroked
Skylar's hair. "I will be back soon. And when your brother returns, do not
let him leave the house again, yes?"

         Skylar nodded obediently.

         "You are my good
girl." Helena smiled and kissed her lovingly on the forehead. "You
can sleep here in my room, sweetheart. Goodnight, my precious child and dream
something nice for me, alright?"

         Skylar forced a small
smile to her face. "Goodnight, Mama." She watched her mother leave
the room and whispered, "Please, be careful."

*****

         Covered in black from
head to toe, Azrael strode through the dark streets of Paris. No one was about
in the alleys, except for some beggars, prostitutes and other creatures of the
night. As soon as the night fell, everybody sat entrenched in their houses,
fearful of further attacks from the
Heart Taker
.

         His ebony cane's metal
tip clicked on the cobblestone street and an icy wind blew around the corners,
but the vampire didn't mind the cold. Azrael entered the abandoned house that
served as his hideout. He took off his cape and gloves. From beneath his vest,
he pulled out a small, carved marionette. It had the form of a skeleton with a
big read heart painted across its chest. The marionette was a souvenir from the
puppeteer's daughter, whose blood had quenched his hunger tonight, at least for
the moment.