Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (42 page)

         "Please, don't be
scared. Show yourself. I want to get you to safety."

         Skylar was torn and
didn't know what to do now.

         Chalice's watchful eyes
roamed all over the room, trying to find something in the darkness that would
give away the girl's hideout.
'Damn it. She has to be here somewhere.'
She walked around, searching in every corner. "Skylar, please come out. We
have to go and find Kyrian, or any other person to help us." Chalice
strained her ears, but nothing. There was no sound.

         Skylar trembled harder,
because the voice was so close to her, which meant that the person was directly
in front of her hideout.

         Chalice lost her patience
and decided to play her last card. "Skylar, little one, please, show
yourself. Your mother is terribly wounded and I don't know how long she can
hold on..."

         There, a tiny whimpering
sounded behind her. Chalice whirled around and her eyes fell on the hatch. She
knelt, opened it and looked directly into the tear-streaked face of Helena's
daughter. Chalice reached for her and pulled the pale, shivering girl into her
arms. "Hey, everything is fine now, little one. Come with me, we have to
get help."

         Skylar held her back as
Chalice wanted to drag her to the main stairs. "No, we cannot get out
without him seeing us. We have to find another way."

         Chalice pulled her dagger
and brandished it in front of the girl's face. "If the vampire tries
something, I'm going to kill him!"

         All color drained from
Skylar's face. Wide-eyed, she stared at the woman she knew as Christine.
"How do... how do you know that he is a..."

         Chalice inhaled sharply
after her slip of tongue. "Doesn't matter. I'm tired of this game
anyway." At lightning speed, she forced the shocked girl back, threatening
her with the dagger.

         "Christine, what's
going on? What are you doing?"

         Not answering, Chalice
grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, pushing against her to press the
girl into the wall. She took out the curtain string, intending to tie Skylar's
hands behind her back.

         The girl writhed and
fought her tooth and nail.

         "Stop wriggling so
much! You won't be able to escape from me!"

         Skylar doubled her
efforts to get free and for a moment it looked like she would indeed succeed.

         Chalice curled a hand to
a fist and rammed it hard against Skylar's kidneys.

         Crying out in pain, the
small girl sank to her knees.

         "I told you, you
won't be able to escape from me," Chalice announced happily, binding her
hands without further problems. Then she pulled her up. "Now we go
downstairs, and I recommend that you behave. My Master is waiting for
you."

         Skylar gazed into her
eyes and saw the madness glowing in their brown depths. "Why are you doing
this, Christine?"

         Chalice grinned widely
down at her. "There is no Christine. My name is Chalice."

         "You evil
backstabber! You have betrayed us all!" Fury rose inside Skylar and she
spat into the woman's face.

         "You won't do that
again!" Chalice shouted and slapped her hard across the face.

         The girl tumbled back
with the force of the blow.

         Chalice grabbed her
nightgown and pushed her in direction of the stairs.

         Skylar collided hard with
the banisters and lost her balance. With her bound hands, she couldn't find a
place to hold on and fell to the floor.

         Again, Chalice pulled her
to her feet and pressed the dagger against her cheek. "Listen up! We will
go downstairs to the hall, where my Master is waiting anxiously for your
arrival. Don't try any tricks. Otherwise, you will have a very painful meeting
with my steely little friend here," she said. To emphasize her words, she
ran the cold tip of the blade against Skylar's throat. "You don't want
that, do you?"

         Slowly, Skylar shook her
head.

         Chalice sneered. "I
thought as much. Now move!"

         With the dagger pocking
her back, Skylar stumbled down the stairs.

          Azrael's companion
shoved her roughly along. As they reached the hall and climbed the last few
steps, Chalice whispered into her ear, "Not one sound out of you, or I
kill you, understand?" Pushing hard, Chalice forced her to her knees.

         Frightened and silent,
the girl's eyes followed the fight between her mother and the vampire.

*****

         Kyrian's heart raced and
he spurred Nightshade on while they galloped up the pebbled way. Two carriages
stood directly in front of the entrance. The big castle doors were wide open
and the candles, which burned in the hall, illuminated the night.

         He frowned as he
recognized the small black carriage. It was the one Christine used when she
came to visit him. The young man saw a shadow on the way. Before the black
stallion came to a full stop, Kyrian jumped off his back. A motionless body lay
there. Kyrian knelt next to it and turned it over. His heart nearly ceased
beating. It was Monique. The fear was still etched into her features. Kyrian
swallowed hard. He looked at her throat and found the cause of death, a huge
bite wound.

         Frightened, he scanned
his surroundings and found another corpse on the stone steps. Weak from his
ride, he stumbled over and recognized Jean, whose body was covered with wounds
and also had the bite marks. "They wanted to flee..." Kyrian mumbled.

         Slowly it dawned on him
in what kind of situation he had brought the castle's inhabitants and his own
family. His heart clenched in his chest as he thought about his mother and
little sister.
'Mama! Skylar!'

         Ashamed and scared, he
tightened his grip on his crossbow. Then he heard the sounds of the horrible
fight, which was taking place inside. Kyrian gathered all his courage, raced up
the stairs, taking two steps at the time, and stormed into the brightly lit
hall.

         He found his mother
clashing swords with an overpowering opponent. To Kyrian it was like a
nightmare, as if Helena was fighting a black shadow. She had been badly wounded
already and Kyrian noticed that she was fighting hard to survive. Without
thinking, he raised his suddenly trembling arms, lifted the crossbow and fired.
Unfortunately, Kyrian missed the target he had aimed for. With a splintering
sound the bolt bore into the wood, next to Azrael's shoulder. The fight came to
a halt as the vampire hesitated.

         "Kyrian!"
Skylar shouted.

         At the same time, Chalice
leapt from the stairs she had been sitting on. She cried out in fear, "My
Master!" Pushing Skylar to the floor, she hurried towards Azrael.

         "Master?"
Kyrian repeated, regarding the tall, dark and dangerous man with the beard and
the piercing black eyes. Now that he saw him for real, Kyrian gulped hard.
"You are..."

         "Count Azrael, the
First of the Serpentes Clan," the vampire announced and mockingly bowed in
Kyrian's direction.

         The young man's eyes were
resting solely on the blonde woman and his voice trembled as he realized the
terrible truth. "You are his subordinate? You are Chalice?"

         "Ahh, the light went
on,“ she gibed before hiding behind a marble column, averting her face.

         Shock was evident on
Helena's face. "Run, Kyrian!" she shouted, panicking.

         But the young man stood
as still as stone. His world had fallen apart.

         The huntress could say no
more, because Azrael started another attack. He wasn't impressed by Kyrian's
appearance and continued to rain blow upon blow on Helena.

         As good as she could in
her condition, she used the holy sword to counter his strikes. She didn't stand
a chance against Azrael's two-sword-technique. Helena managed to parry a final
blow that was aimed at her head. Because of the force Azrael used for his
attacks, she felt strong pain running up her arms and shoulders.

         Scared for her mother,
Skylar cried out. Once more she tried to loosen the ties that held her hands.
It was of no use, she couldn't free herself. Tears were running down her
terrified, pale face. Her wrists were raw and the rope had turned red, but
still the girl didn't give up. Skylar fought the pain that welled up and ground
her teeth. The rough fibers rubbed and burned in the open flesh of her wrists.
Her desperate attempt to free herself didn't stay unnoticed.

         Chalice turned to her,
shaking her index finger at Skylar. "Uh oh, you naughty little girl."

         In that moment, Skylar
managed to slip her hands from the loop, jumped at Chalice with the courage of
desperation and tried to choke her.

         Caught off guard by the
girl's sudden move, the blonde fury stumbled and both of them crashed to the
floor.

         Skylar sat on her stomach
and pressed as hard as she could.

         Chalice was stronger,
bucked and pushed her off. Gasping for breath, she hissed, "You naughty
brat! You will pay for that!" She glared at Skylar and rubbed her sore
throat. Chalice scrambled up and stumbled over to the girl that was kneeling
dizzy beside the stairs.

         "Do you need a hand
to get up?" the fury snarled. Chalice grabbed her nightgown and pulled the
girl up. She shook her so hard that Skylar's head collided with the marble
column nearby. Pain exploded in her skull and she groaned. Unconscious, she
sank down on the stone steps.

         "Oops," Chalice
giggled and looked around, but nobody had seen it. Her Master, Helena and
Kyrian were still fighting. Releasing a relieved breath, she said, "That's
just my luck that no one is paying attention." She sat down beside the
motionless Skylar and continued to watch the fight with interest, looking
through the banisters' spaces.

         Azrael grabbed the
huntress' wrist.

         A jolt went through
Helena's shoulder and she thought her arm was being pulled from its socket.
Another stronger yank followed and she was hurled across the marble floor. A
dull, pulsing pain overcame her abused body. Helena felt herself growing numb.
She desperately tried to gather her strength. The roaring in her head grew
stronger and Helena was close to losing consciousness. Lying on the cold floor,
her trembling fingers touched the back of her head and came back bloodied.
Groaning, she sank back and lay there, unmoving.

         Smiling, Azrael announced
satisfied, "You fought well, Huntress. Even though it was clear from the
beginning that your resistance would be in vain."

         "Mama!" Kyrian
shouted. On his knees, he slid towards the holy sword and picked it up. With
shaky legs, he came to stand in front of Azrael.

         The vampire laughed,
greatly amused. "A child like you wishes to fight me?"

         "I'm
not
a
child!" Kyrian exclaimed furiously.

         The vampire's eyes
widened playfully. "Ah yes, of course. You already got to prove what a man
you are. How was he doing for his first time, Chalice?"

         Kyrian's face flushed
deep red, his heart beating so fast, it was about to burst. Screaming, he went
after Azrael, his sword a blur as it came down again and again upon the mighty
vampire, who dodged the blows easily.

         As he grew tired of
Kyrian's attacks, the vampire ended the unequal duel. With great force, he
rammed his elbow against the young man's shoulder.

         Kyrian stumbled back
against the wall and slid down, the pain burning in his body.
'I'm not
strong enough, I can't do it...'
Kyrian blinked and shook his head, trying
to clear his dizzy mind.

         Grinning, the vampire
left him where he was and strode to Helena.

         She had managed to rise and
crouched on the floor.

         Azrael knelt beside her
and pulled her into his arms without resistance.

         Helena cried out as
Azrael thrust his teeth deep into her throat, making her feel pain like she had
never felt before in her entire life. Her back arched and she writhed in his
grip to get free, but it was of no use.

         Azrael's eyes glowed in
pleasure with the taste of her warm blood. Savoring the moment, he closed his
eyes and broke the connection, licking the blood off his lips. Stroking the
dying woman's silky, golden locks, he opened his eyes once more and breathed in
her scent. "I couldn't resist your temptation. The smell of your blood is
so uniquely seducing, Huntress. It's making me hungry for more." Blood was
on her lips and he took his time to kiss each drop away. "It is a pity
that I will have to kill you, my beautiful Huntress. Still, it will make you
happy to hear that your heart will always be with me." His hand moved from
her throat to her chest, where he could detect her faint heartbeat. "You must
understand, everyone has to make sacrifices and I need the power of your blood.
Please, don't be mad at me. Maybe it will be a consolation to you that I
promise to take good care of your daughter."