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Isabella’s estate was a smaller version of Gregor’s. Her mansion was similar but had only two stories instead of three. It was ominously quiet and no movement could be seen from the building or grounds as we pulled into the driveway. Gregor’s van followed us closely enough that I could see his concerned expression when I turned to stare over my shoulder. His driver’s face was stony and grim.
Crows, up way past their bedtime, lined the low stone fence that ran down either side of the driveway. They seemed to stare right at me as we drove past. A stiff breeze ruffled their feathers. One gave a low caw that sounded like a prophecy of doom.
Shivering, I turned my attention to the grounds. They were well kept but no late night gardeners toiled away at their duties. Twice, we drove over suspicious dark spots on the gravel driveway. The remains of vampire guards? I was pretty sure they weren’t simply oil slicks from leaking cars. Not with the empty clothing and dropped weapons that accompanied the stains.
Twin doors made of dark red wood that might have been mahogany, stood open in a parody of invitation. As we stepped out of the car, we spied more suspicious moist patches on the driveway and steps. Gregor joined us as we hesitated at the entrance. His brows drew down and he shook his head as his contingent of guards drew short swords. “That will not be necessary, gentlemen,” he told his uneasy men. “The damage has already been done, I fear, and the culprit is long gone.”
I agreed with his assessment of the situation. If anyone had survived, they had fled from the scene. Luc and I followed Gregor when he stepped inside. Signs of battle could be seen throughout the entryway. The imposter had fought her way into the mansion and up the staircase, going by the gouges and tears in the wallpaper where stray sword blows had landed. Once immaculate wooden balustrades had been splintered in places and hacked apart in others. Puddles and empty clothing of the fallen marked the carpeted staircases as we made our way up to the second floor.
We followed the path of destruction to the end of a hallway. Uselessly, several vampires had tried to guard the bedchamber of the mistress of the estate. Pushing open the remaining half of the door, Luc stepped over their vestiges and into the ornate bedroom. The furniture was a bit girly and fussy for me. My tastes didn’t tend toward so much pink and pillows with frills on them. Isabella’s clearly had.
A gigantic four poster bed showed clear signs of a struggle. Feathers littered the bed and floor from a pale pink pillow that had been stabbed to death. Satin sheets in hot pink had been sliced right through to the mattress. A filmy nightie, pink of course, lay in the middle of the bed. Streaks of black gore splattered the walls. The spreading blemish on the linen must have belonged to the late Isabella. A heavy gold necklace and multitude of rings were scattered throughout the mess.
“Isabella put up a hell of a fight,” Gregor said and I believed I detected grief in his gaze before he averted his face.
“Where would she head next?” Luc asked grimly. His hand was clenched around his sword hilt in a white knuckled grip.
Rousing himself from his despair, Gregor didn’t have to contemplate long. “The Stravovsky estate would be the next place to attack.”
“I don’t suppose they have a phone?” I muttered.
“As a matter of fact,” Luc said as he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket, “he does. I only hope our warning will not come too late.”
Gregor and I listened in on the conversation, able to hear both sides easily enough. Luc warned a guard at Stravovsky’s place that the imposter was on her way. Fortunately, she hadn’t arrived yet. It was too late for her to attack now, dawn was too close. She would arrive not long after nightfall was his guess. The guard replied that he would make sure the place was fortified and that they would try to hold on until we got there.
Igor arrived as the conversation wound down. He gave me a curt nod and Gregor a more respectful one. Geordie was nowhere to be seen. He was probably hiding out in the car. I wished I could join him and leave the hunt up to people better equipped to deal with it than I was.
“We missed her,” Igor said flatly as Luc hung up the phone.
“We’ll get her tomorrow,” was Luc’s grim promise. A glance was enough to warn Gregor to keep my identity a secret. Everyone would find out about me soon enough. Too soon for my liking if we did catch up with the imposter tomorrow night. Then the screaming and fleeing would begin. Gregor’s lips twisted wryly, indicating that he would keep his peace, for now.
We all chose bedrooms in Isabella’s empty mansion to spend the day in. Luc didn’t follow me into the room I’d picked as I’d secretly hoped he would. He gave me a distracted smile and headed down the corridor. He obviously wasn’t in the mood for naked acrobatics. Shutting the door, I slid the bolt then wondered if I should leave it unlocked in case he changed his mind. The thought that Geordie was slinking somewhere around the mansion prevented me from unbolting it. I didn’t want to wake up with him in my bed again. Once had been enough.
Tired but restless, I wandered over to the window and drew the curtain. Boards had been nailed over the glass from the inside. I remembered seeing shutters on the outside as we’d driven up. Isabella hadn’t taken any chances. The curtain was thick and was backed by heavy sun-blocking fabric. After one quick peek, I’d picked this room because it didn’t have girly frills. It was decorated in shades of soothing green. I could use some soothing right about now. It had been sorely lacking in my life lately.
I felt the dawn coming and hurried over to the bed. Stripping down to my shirt, I slid beneath the covers and waited to fall asleep. The sun rose, heat baked against the triple layer of protection on the window, but I didn’t drift off. Lying there, wide awake, I wondered what the hell was going on. Just like an ancient vampire, I could now resist the magic that made us die at dawn. It hadn’t just been a once off as I’d hoped.
For several hours I lay in bed, worrying about the future. Then I grew bored. Closing my eyes, I willed myself to sleep. It worked and I fell into a doze. A dark and disturbing dream formed.
Luc stood before me wearing an expression of misery. His sword was in his hand with the tip resting on the floor. He said something to me but it came out without sound. Then the silver blade was in the air, swinging at me in a deadly arc. It moved too fast to be avoided even if I hadn’t been rooted to the ground with shock.
The blade connected and my head flew through the air. It bounced on a white marbled floor and rolled for a few feet before coming to rest at an angle where I could see my body. I watched as my body fell to its knees in slow motion. Several vampire lackeys fell on it with their swords swinging. Dark red blood flew as they dismembered my limbs. My mouth opened but the scream I wanted to voice remained silent.
Choking on my dream scream, I started at a knock. “Natalie, it is time to go,” Luc said through the door.
“Be there in a minute,” I called back, forgetting that yelling wasn’t necessary with our enhanced hearing. By the time I was dressed, I had calmed down. It’s just a dream. There’s no way that is going to happen to you. Luc might be destined to behead me but I was fairly certain he wouldn’t let anyone hack my body to pieces afterwards.
Geordie made an appearance when we gathered in a large dining hall on the first floor. He looked as sullen as ever but flicked me a small smile. He’d upgraded his weapon from a meat cleaver to a short sword but didn’t handle it with any more confidence.
“We will head directly to Strovovsky’s estate,” Luc was saying to the gathering. “It should only take us an hour to travel there. If we are lucky, we will find the imposter still on the grounds.”
“Why do you call her that?” one of Gregor’s men asked. “I saw the holy marks on her hands. She is Mortis.” Superstitious fright ran through the crowd. I felt the beginnings of panic stirring amongst them.
“I assure you, she is not,” Gregor said and put a hand on the frightened man’s shoulder. “She has only one of the signs and they could be easily manufactured.” The vamp allowed himself to be soothed and relaxed under the calm stare of his boss. “She ran from holy water just as fast as you or I would.”
“You mean the real Mortis is immune to holy water?” one of the other men asked in dismay. I sure am, I thought cheerfully but hid my private glee. There are lots of things that don’t hurt me. The couple of things that could hurt me very badly were sunlight and having my head chopped off. My brief good mood evaporated at the reminder.
“Yes,” Luc responded. “She will also be able to handle holy objects and fire will have no effect on her.”
“How do you know this?” the second guard asked.
“He has read the same texts as I have,” Gregor interjected smoothly. “The Prophet’s ramblings have been documented on the few occasions he has made sense. The Councillors have copies and make them available to Lords and Ladies who wish to read them.”
I hid my amusement at the paltry explanation. I had possession of a text that no man, save Luc, had ever seen. The prophet’s journal was currently hidden in the boot of Luc’s car, alongside the book about the demi-god. Something fluttered at the back of my mind about Alexander’s book. An idea had been niggling in the back of my mind. It tried once more to form but then we were on the move and I had to shelve it. If it was important, it would come back to me. We had a more immediate problem to deal with right now. It’s time to take down the imposter. I mentally cracked my knuckles in nervous preparation.
By sticking to twenty kilometres above the speed limit, we made it to Strovovsky’s place in less than an hour. Sounds of mayhem reached us as our vehicles bolted through the open gates one after the other. A fight was raging within the mansion. Luc slammed on the brakes and we skidded to a halt on the loose gravel. He was leaping out of the car and opening the back door to reach for his weapon before I’d even unbuckled myself. Sword in hand, he was first through the smashed front doors.
Following much more slowly, Geordie and I allowed the group to precede us and brought up the rear. Eyes wide and solemn, Geordie looked more human than vampire in his fright and even younger than his mortal years. “I do not like this, chérie,” he whispered and huddled closer to me.
“Me either, Geordie.” Since I was almost twice his age in mortal years, I felt I should at least try to be braver than he was and headed inside.
Noisome blotches, empty clothing and dropped weapons made temporary headstones where the inhabitants had fallen. Entering a large sitting room, equipped with impressive antique furniture, I halted at the sight of our quarry. Luc, Igor, Gregor and his six men surrounded a lone female. So, that’s my imposter, I thought with grim fascination.
We were exactly the same height, I noticed straight away. She was as slender as me but infinitely more deadly. Dressed from head to toe in black leather, she looked like a fifteen year old boy’s wet dream. Long midnight black hair was held back in a high ponytail. Throwing knives hung from a belt slung low over her hips. I was relieved to see my dream had been only partially true; her black leather suit was the same but her face wasn’t made of shadow. Her famous spear twirled in a deadly circle as she dared the men to close in.
Luc lunged forward then danced back as the wickedly sharp spear suddenly arced in his direction. Igor dived in and slashed at the imposter. With a girlish laugh, she back-flipped gracefully out of his reach then playfully shook a finger at him. “You’ll have to do better than that,” she taunted. Not just her dark eyes were oriental, her accent was as well.
Foolishly, one of Gregor’s men took a chance and rushed the imposter. Moving with lightning speed, she whirled in a tight circle and chopped the man’s sword arm off. Screaming in agony, he clutched at his sluggishly spurting stump. Gregor uttered a wordless cry as the imposter almost casually spitted his man through the heart, ending his agony and his life.
Taking the flask I’d picked up off Gregor’s floor out of my back pocket, I uncapped it. I’d had the vague idea that it might come in handy and now it would. Lobbing it in a high arc, I yelled out a warning: “Fire in the hole!” I’d always wanted to say that but had never imagined I’d use it in a scenario like this.
Startled, Luc, Igor and Gregor looked back at me over their shoulders. Luc saw the object spinning through the air and went into motion. Faster than I’d ever seen a vampire move before, he dove at Igor and Gregor, knocking them out of the way.
Turning in mid-air, liquid sloshed out of the flask and splashed on one of Gregor’s men. Smoke rose, he shrieked and began stripping off his pants. The imposter whipped her gaze up to the flask, spear held ready. Finally realizing that death was flying at her and that her spear would be of no help, she turned to run. The flask of holy water hit her squarely in the back and it was her turn to scream. I expected her to disintegrate but she defied my expectations. Crashing through a boarded over window, she was gone.
“After her!” Igor roared. Geordie threw a panicked glance at me then ran for the window. The others were still picking themselves up when Geordie jumped. Strangely, I was right behind him. We landed on the dewy grass three floors below with twin thumps. My legs didn’t shatter on impact when I hit the ground as I’d half expected them to. I was constantly surprised by how much damage my body could take and keep on ticking.
Geordie brandished his sword, turning in a frantic circle as he searched for the imposter. I had my hands empty, ready to use the holy marks. They were a far more effective weapon than a sword would be with my utter lack of training.
Spying footprints in the grass, Geordie pointed. “Quickly, she went this way!” The last thing I wanted to do was follow the crazy cow but off I went anyway. We found her discarded leather suit, still steaming from the holy water, about fifty feet away. Her bare, delicate footprints led to a small woody area then disappeared.
Luc and Igor caught up to us as we halted dejectedly. “She got away,” I explained apologetically.
“How did she survive the holy water?” Geordie asked.
“The leather suit protected her well enough,” Gregor answered as he ambled toward us. The suit, a ruined mess now, hung gingerly from his fingertips.
“So, she’s running around out there naked?” I asked then sniggered. Geordie shared my humour even if the others didn’t. We sobered when Igor directed a frown at us and lifted his hand in warning to his protégé.
“She’ll have backup clothing,” Luc said, eyes searching the woods for our quarry. “We should hurry. She’ll be heading for the Comtesse’s estate next.”
Gregor didn’t look happy about possibly saving the Comtesse and I agreed with him wholeheartedly. The praying mantis had made me strip down in front of the whole Court the one and only time we’d met. I was planning on having words with that bitch once everyone knew who I really was. She’ll be grovelling at my feet then, I gloated inwardly and mentally rubbed my hands together. I couldn’t imagine anyone that arrogant actually grovelling but in my fantasy she did a pretty good job of it.
“Are you coming, chérie?” Geordie called. I had been so wrapped up in thoughts of revenge that I hadn’t noticed they had all left.
Running to catch up, I automatically checked that my cross was in its usual position nestled in my butt crack. It was fairly securely wedged in there and I hardly even knew it was there anymore. You could get used to almost anything over time.
Our small convoy of cars took off from Strovovsky’s place. I assumed the man himself was dead because no one had introduced us. The few guards who had survived had fled upon our arrival.
We travelled along rough country roads with almost reckless speed. We’d left any major cities behind us long ago. The Comtesse must like her privacy when she left the Court. It made sense for undead nocturnal creatures to shun humans. Except when they needed food. I wouldn’t be surprised if the praying mantis had a stable of ‘volunteer’ human cattle just like Vincent had. If so, I hoped they were housed in better conditions than in a cold dungeon cell.
The Comtesse’s estate was a two hour drive away. We didn’t see any cars ahead of us during the journey but I could almost feel the imposter’s presence. I really wouldn’t mind it if she took down the Comtesse but I felt a duty to at least try to stop her. It was my job to decimate vampirekind, not hers. Yeah, if anyone gets to whack the living dead, it’s going to be me.
Keeping his foot to the floor, Luc drove with grim determination. I drank in his profile, his straight nose, his pasty white skin, his inventive lips and was stricken with a sudden bout of grief. I’d never been in love as a human and didn’t even know what the feeling was like. I felt something for Luc but had no name for it. Infatuation would probably be the closest. He was handsome, foreign, enigmatic and for a brief time, he had been mine. But I sensed that was all about to change. I glanced away so he couldn’t read my expression when he turned his head.
“We will be there soon,” he said and I wasn’t comforted by that knowledge. My destiny was rushing at me too fast. All I wanted to do was savour my existence for just a little while longer.
Luc pulled into a long driveway and I saw a dazzling white castle in the distance. Lights blazed from the lower levels. The upper levels, where the bedrooms were, would be shuttered. As we drew closer, we saw no signs of panic. A pair of guards stopped us halfway down the driveway. “Lord Lucentio,” one said in amazement as he bent to look into the car. “May I ask why you have appeared unannounced?” He seemed nervous about questioning vampire royalty but he had a job to do and was determined to do it right. The Comtesse would probably have his skin removed if he failed in his duties.
“Some dumb cow who thinks she is Mortis is on her way to cut you all to pieces,” I replied pleasantly.
“We are here to try to stop her,” Luc said with a frown in my direction at my choice of wording. Whoops, I’m being uncouth again.
Exchanging looks, the guards abandoned their posts and ran toward the castle. One was screaming like a superstitious peasant of old; “She has come! She has come to kill us all!”
The castle was beautiful yet imposing and I had only a few moments to study it as we sped past the sprinting vampire guards. Four towers rose toward the cloudy night sky. A thin moon was revealed for moments at a time then hidden again by thick clouds. The grounds were extensive and perfectly groomed. That was all the time I had for gawping before we lurched to a halt.
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