Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (38 page)

         Andrej ignored this
allusion and pointed the metal tip of his spear at the vampire. "Isn't it
the truth that always young, beautiful humans are chosen? What other reason
could there be, huh?" His flat hand hit the table. Andrej was sure that he
would neither lose the word duel nor the fight. He walked around the table,
facing the vampire.

         Lilith indicated a bored
yawn. "A fatal mistake from your side. No, there is a complete different
reason. Can't you imagine why vampires prefer young humans?" At the same
time, she started an attack.

         Andrej dodged the blows,
crawled under the table and rolled to the other side, where he jumped to his
feet again.

         Lilith leapt over the
table without touching it and came to stand right in front of him. "It is
because of the memories. Young humans do not have so much of them, which makes
the drinking of blood easier. Seeing Andrej's questioning face, she explained,
"Their thoughts, memories and fears continue to live on inside of
us."

         Andrej was stunned. He
could have never imagined it like that. "I don't know if I should ask this
question, but why no children?"

         Lilith smirked.
"Children can't handle the amount of blood loss and would die. We are no
monsters."

         Andrej contemplated that.

         Lilith used his
carelessness for another heavy blow. Her rapier met the spear with such force
that Andrej staggered backwards. Stumbling over a foot stool, his arms flailed
wildly while he tried to regain his balance.

         Unyielding, Lilith went
after him, until he lay prone on the floor.

         With great effort, Andrej
managed to bring up the spear to protect his body from the next blow. Suddenly
the astonished young man had two pieces of wood in his hands. Still on his
back, he grumbled, "You're taking this fight very seriously, aren't
you?"

         "Always."
Lilith felt superior and placed her blade against Andrej's throat. She had
noticed how he had sucked up every piece of information she had revealed.
"On one hand, humans are disgusted by us. On the other hand, they are
drawn to us... like moths to the flame." She retreated a bit and added impatiently,
"Get up already!"

         Andrej tensed his muscles
and leapt to his feet. At the same time, he brandished the spear's halves to
hit her in the back of her knees and make her fall.

         The young vampire saw it
coming, jumped high and flipped. She landed gracefully on the table.

         Andrej thrust the metal
tip at her.

         She had no problem
dodging the halfhearted attack. "Is that all you can do?" Lilith
sneered.

         The next strike was aimed
at her feet and so she somersaulted off the table. Andrej followed her movement,
but wasn't fast enough. Lilith landed behind him and kicked him in the back of
his knees. It didn't hurt much, but was very effective. Andrej's legs gave out
and he fell to the floor.

         Lilith's sword rested
against his throat once more. "You like lying on your back, huh?" she
taunted.

         Andrej lay panting on his
back, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each gasping breath. He stared
at the triumphant expression on her pale face.

         "The images of your
fears are as ancient as we are. Scary stories about seductive, bloodsucking men
and women. Living dead, who are spreading fear and horror. I am asking myself,
how are humans able to sleep at night with this?"

         Andrej's eyes flashed as
he retorted, "If one gets to know you, you aren't so scary at all."
Before the vampire realized what the tall man was intending, he grabbed her
ankle and pulled her off her legs.

         With an angry scream
Lilith stumbled and the rapier slid from her hand. She braced her fall, turned
and was back on her feet.

         Meanwhile, Andrej had
risen, took the spear half with the iron tip and stepped behind Lilith, before
she was able to retrieve her sword. His free hand grabbed her arms, twisting
them on her back. He aimed the metal tip at the vampire's heart and smirked.
"Now, where were we, Your Lowness?"

         Lilith hissed angrily.
Never before had she been touched by a human in that way. She writhed in his
grip, but couldn't get free. "We relish the privilege of immortality,
while all you have left is the terrible uncertainty of your approaching
end."

         Andrej loosened his grip
and Lilith freed herself, bringing some distance between herself and the tall
man. "I'd call it fortunate ignorance of the own death," he replied
calmly and added, "Looks like I won."

         "Perhaps I let you
win?"Lilith was already at the door when she turned around and smiled.
"Sometime, I'd like to fight with you again." Then she disappeared.

         "To have the cheek
to claim that!" Andrej gasped in surprise. "To even suggest that she
let me win." Deep inside, he felt small doubts rising.

*****

         Motionless, Sadden sat in
her high chair, staring at the yellowed pages of a leather-bound book in her
lap. The letters began to blur as her mind wandered off unintentionally. Her
friend's words still echoed in her ears. The door creaked open and Sadden
jerked.

         Andrej entered the room,
a dark expression on his face. He took a seat opposite her.

         "So? How did it go?
Who won?" Sadden wanted to know, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the
book.

         Andrej inhaled sharply.
"You know, I really am glad that your friend Zephriel only has one child.
If I imagine there were two like Lilith, making my life hell..." He ran a
hand through his hair. "Such a... such a spoiled little brat!" Andrej
grumbled.

         Sadden didn't say
anything.

         As he finally looked up,
he was startled. Sadden's usually sparkling eyes were gazing at him in profound
sadness. "What's wrong, Sadden?"

         She shook her head.

         Concerned, he leaned
forward, reaching for her hands. "Did something happen while I was at the
village? What's bothering you?"

         "Nothing,
Andrej," she replied, withdrawing from his touch.

         He wrinkled his forehead.
"But..."

         Sadden raised a hand to
cut him off and turned back to her book. "Please. I do not wish to talk
about it."

         Andrej was stunned. It
didn't happen often that Sadden rebuffed him like that and refused to answer.
He was her closest confidant and they talked about everything. Frantically he
thought about what could have happened. Uncomfortable silence ruled, until he
burst out, "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry that Lilith and I don't
get along well, but as long as she doesn't change her attitude..."

         "Perhaps you need to
change your attitude as well," she interrupted, shut the book and went to
the window.

         The young man was
completely confused. "What do you mean by that?"

         Her gaze fixed on the
snowy woods outside, she said, "When you look at me... what do you
see?"

         "Sadden, what kind
of question is that?"

         "Just answer
it," the vampire pleaded.

         "I see my best
friend and closest confidante. A human being with whom I..." he stopped as
he realized the slip of tongue.

         She turned around, her
eyes still sad. "I am not human, Andrej. I am but a vampire. I drain other
creatures off their blood to prolong my own existence."

         Tortured, her friend closed
his eyes as he was reminded of his own words. For a moment Andrej hid his face
in his hands and a heavy sigh escaped him. "I'm so sorry. It was stupid to
say something like that. Please, forgive me. It wasn't meant to refer to all
vampires. You are different."

         Sadden forced a small
smile to her face, before she turned back to the window.

         "Really, you have to
believe me," Andrej persisted and rose also. He went to her, placing a
hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings in any
way."

         "Let us not talk
about it anymore," she replied, patting the hand that rested on her
shoulder.

         "Alright."
Andrej went back to his seat and waited for Sadden to also sit down, but the
vampire didn't move an inch.

         "Hey, how about a
game of chess?" he asked, breaking the silence.

         "It is late. Are you
not tired? You had a strenuous day."

         "So what,"
Andrej dismissed the comment. "Are you scared that I'll defeat you this
time?" The challenge voiced, he placed the game board on the table and
pulled out a small, wooden chest, which contained the chessmen. Andrej began to
put the hand-carved figures on their positions. He looked at Sadden, who still
stood beside the window. "Now what? Do you want me to beg on my knees? You
still owe me a return match from the last time."

         The vampire relented and
went back to her chair. As her eyes fell on the board, she noticed that she was
to play with the black figures. Questioning, she raised an eyebrow.

         "You always play
with white and win, which makes me suspect there is something strange going
on," Andrej explained, grinning widely.

         Sadden smirked. "And
you think if you play with white it will change anything to your favor?"

         Shrugging his shoulders,
he replied, "Could be. Let's find out, shall we?"

         "So be it. I take on
your challenge. But you are aware of the saying 'White begins, black wins', are
you not?"

         "This saying never
came true for us, did it?" He reached for a figure and made the first
move.

         Shooting him a
sympathetic glance, Sadden mocked, "Ooh, Andrej, your first mistake."

         "You're just trying
to make me lose my composure, but this time, you will be unsuccessful in that
attempt," he announced and waited for her move. "Yes, victory will be
mine this time." Andrej laughed triumphantly and a bit arrogantly.

         "Do not be so sure
of yourself." Sadden extended a hand to move her figure. She stared at the
chess board and paused as the black and white fields blurred in front of her
eyes and merged into each other. Unintentionally, her mind went on a journey,
and she was unable to prevent it.

         Sadden saw herself
surrounded by thick, gray fog. From a distance, she thought she could hear
Andrej's concerned voice, but she couldn't understand the words. The fog slid
open like a curtain and a bright light blinded her for a moment, before it
disappeared and her mind was cast in darkness.

         Eventually the darkness
faded. Slowly some creatures appeared, at first shadowy and distorted, but with
each passing second the image became clearer. Sadden could see a majestic
lioness that lay in the grass, basking in the sun, her fur shining as golden as
the sun itself. A cub was curled up between her mighty front paws, sleeping
peacefully.

         The idyllic picture was
abruptly disrupted. The lioness leapt up, took a protective stance over her cub
and growled threateningly.

         Derisive laughter rang
out and the lioness whirled around. A hyena had appeared from the shadows and
started to circle the mother and her offspring.

         Suspiciously eyeing the
newcomer, the lioness made sure to keep the scavenger far away from her child.

         At lightning speed,
something moved in the grass towards her. Something big and black, with glowing
red eyes. A huge cobra threw itself at the lioness, drawing her into a fight.
Quickly the reptile snaked around her body and wrestled the feline predator to
the ground. The lioness roared and writhed, but the snake tightened its grip,
cutting off her air supply. The resistance of the proud cat became weaker and
weaker.

         Meanwhile, the small lion
cub tried to flee.

         The path was blocked by
the hyena that kept pushing back the cub again and again, until it lay
exhausted on the ground.

         Sadden wanted to help,
but she could only watch helplessly what happened next.

         The large cobra reared
its head back and plunged its pointy fangs deep inside the lioness' chest. The
cat arched and roared in pain. Grating, the snake broke through the ribs and
ripped out the pounding heart.

         The tiny cub sat up and
lifted its head to the sky. A cry erupted from its throat. The piercing, scared
scream of a girl. "Noooo! Mama!"

         Sadden felt her pain deep
in the core of her body and soul.

         A young lion, his mane
not fully grown yet, entered the scenery. Outraged beyond all else, he jumped
at the snake that hurried to crawl away. The lion followed it.