CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Varanus was not surprised to see her son creep his way forward toward danger, though she was both disappointed and exasperated by it. She had done her best to coax him back before he could be seen or could do anything foolish, but she had been answered with nonsensical hand waving.

As the wind grew and the shadows plunged the chapel in darkness, Varanus found herself transfixed by the ritual unfolding before her. A curious numbness fell upon her shoulders, and her ears tickled to half-heard whispers in the dark. As if in a dream, she watched the proceedings unfold with fascination, almost overwhelmed by a kaleidoscope of miniscule sights and sounds that, were she not Living, would surely have escaped her notice. The very air seemed to glisten. The fire smelled of roses. Unseen hands tugged at her hair.

And then suddenly the oppressive darkness fractured and fell away. Erdelyi lay on the ground, bleeding from his stomach. Friedrich’s friend Stanislav slumped between the two men who held him as blood spurted from his throat. Julius stood next to the dying man, holding aloft a bloody knife.

Varanus heard her son screaming and turned in time to see him rush toward the altar, firing his pistol wildly. The cloud that had hung about Varanus’s senses was gone, leaving behind a hideous mixing of sounds and smells that dizzied her: salt and sulfur, roses and the groaning wind, the crackling of the fire and the scent of lotus blossoms. She glanced at Iosef and saw him slowly blink and shake his head. He had been overcome just as she had been.

But the immediate concern was Friedrich. His mad rush took Julius and the others by surprise, and some of his wild shots hit one of the men holding Stanislav. The man fell, clutching his chest, and Stanislav’s body tumbled onto the ground beside him. Still, the moment of surprise would not last. The second attendant released Stanislav’s arm and reached inside his robes for a weapon, as did Von Steiersberg.

Without thinking, Varanus charged into the center of the chapel and made for the chancel, turning her path to intercept Friedrich. Men behind her started shouting. She looked back and saw the remaining guards rushing to meet her, firing their pistols. Then she saw Luka and Iosef counter-charging toward the men and left the matter to them.

Friedrich reached Julius a few moments later and aimed his pistol at Julius’s head. Julius blinked a few times, and he smiled as Friedrich pulled the trigger on an empty magazine. Julius lunged forward and stabbed with the bloodied knife. Startled, Friedrich stumbled backward, step after step, as Julius advanced at him, thrusting and slashing with such rapid movements that Friedrich could not even block most of the attacks, though he tried desperately to do so; it was all that Friedrich could do to dash backward and save himself the same fate as Erdelyi and Stanislav.

Varanus reached them and threw herself against Julius, knocking him to the ground. Hot with anger and confident that she had him within her power, she loomed over him for a moment and raised her fist, ready to pummel him into pulp. But she paused as she caught Julius gazing back at her, his expression triumphant and his eyes bright.

Both eyes. Both whole. Both bloodless.

“How…?” she began.

The sting of metal in her side caught her attention, and she looked down to see the sacrificial knife buried to the hilt in her body. It burned like fire, and the sight of it made her strangely dizzy. And had she been mortal, it would certainly have been a fatal blow.

How foolish of her to let her guard down. She had not even noticed him draw back his arm to strike.…

Then she heard gunshots and felt bullets tear into her back. One of the attendants had reached them, a smoking revolver in his hand. Varanus had not expected such an immediate response. As the attendant shot at her, Varanus leapt upon him, striking, clawing, and gouging until he stopped firing and his pistol fell limply to the ground.

The scent of blood was pleasant. Varanus’s head swam and she licked her lips. The fog that had overwhelmed her before had been reduced to a haze, but that haze still dulled her senses. Only the brightness of blood was clear, but that was all the direction she required.

She was drawn away from her fury by the sight of someone running past her in a flurry of black and crimson. Gasping for air, Varanus looked up, and her eyes focused on Julius as he dashed for a doorway on the far side of the chapel. He paused a moment just before the threshold, and his eyes grew wide as Varanus stood and gazed at him. Strangely, a smile crossed Julius’s face, and he looked at her with the same desire he had shown her so many times before over the past months. Then Julius was gone, fleeing into the darkness.

Varanus stood and swayed a little as the shadows whispered around her. Through the blood fog, she formed the thought of her son. She turned and saw Friedrich standing too. There was a gash along his forearm where Julius’s knife had struck him, but he was otherwise unharmed.

“Stay out of sight,” Varanus growled at him.

“But I—” Friedrich protested.

“Stay out of sight!”

Varanus needed to know that her son would be safe from his own impetuousness, but she was not about to let Julius escape her vengeance. Nor was she ready to risk him reaching home and raising the alarm.

Still muddled by whispers and bloodthirst, Varanus ran for the door and into the darkness beyond.

* * * *

Past the chapel, Varanus followed Julius through a tangled series of chambers and passages, tracking her prey by smell as much as by sight or sound. Despite the fragmentary starlight that crept in through the crumbling roof, the way was incredibly dark, even for the Living. Varanus thought it a miracle that Julius could see well enough to keep ahead of her without stumbling, but perhaps this was a route he had planned beforehand, and he knew the way even blind.

Varanus tried to follow him by sound as well, but the air was thick and her ears were clouded. Even running, Julius’s footsteps were all but silent. Only the dull thumping of his heart could be heard, and it echoed from the very stones, surrounding Varanus and pressing against her with every beat.

But by smell she knew him and she could track him. His pleasant fragrance drew her onward through the castle, drawing a great circle that was surely intended to elude her. It was not enough. She smelled him clearly, and she followed him without pause. He would not escape.

At last, Varanus came to the great hall. She wondered if Julius intended to flee all the way back to the chapel, but it was not so. As she crossed into the hall, she saw Julius waiting for her, standing in the center of the room, lit by a haze of starlight that shone out against the darkness. The sight of him standing there made Varanus halt a moment. When she approached him, it was with caution. Something was not right here.

Julius smiled at her. He slowly removed his headpiece and ran his fingers through his hair. For a little while they stood there, watching one another across the room, their eyes slowly entwining, gaze with gaze, until there was nothing in the empty space but the two of them.

“Well, here we are, Fräulein,” he said softly.

“Indeed, here we are, Fremder,” Varanus agreed.

“I feared that you would not be able to follow me,” Julius told her. “I had begun to hope.… And I was afraid that hope would be unfounded.”

“A curious thing to hope for: dying,” Varanus noted.

“There are worse fates.”

“True,” Varanus admitted, “but none so final.”

Julius ran his fingertips along the top of the horned skull he held.

“I knew that there was something special about you,” he said. “I knew from our first meeting. I saw you atop the stairs and I…I saw Her.”

“Her?” Varanus asked. She was not entirely certain what he meant, but she could hazard a guess, and it was not one she cared to make. Not after the display in the chapel. “Pronouns are dreadful things, Julius. Whom did you see when you saw me?”

Julius’s smile grew a little wider. “I think we both know of whom I speak, Fräulein.”

“A lady prefers not to comment on idle speculation,” Varanus replied.

She took a step toward him, and Julius matched it with his own.

“A pity,” Julius said. “There are such things I had planned to show you.” He sighed. “But Franz and Istvan have ruined all that with their plotting and foolishness.”

“You are the one who tried to murder me,” Varanus said.

“True.” Julius frowned. “I regret that. But I suppose it is just as well that I did.” His frown softened and he smiled again, genuinely pleased. “That was what showed me my suspicion was correct.”

“Trying to kill me?” Varanus asked, taking another step forward. Again, it was matched by Julius.

“Oh yes,” Julius breathed. “You should have fallen before us and died in a moment. And yet, you killed three men and shattered my skull with your bare hands before you succumbed.” He absently touched the side of his head where it had been injured. “If not for the grace bestowed upon me, I would have died. That you savaged us so brutally before your death was incredible enough, but then you rose from the dead! A miracle among miracles!”

Julius advanced toward her now, his empty hand outstretched as he gazed at her longingly, his eyes filled with wonder and admiration.

“You rose from the dead,” he repeated. “You followed me here in time for the ceremony, like one who is called to a greater purpose. You were shot and stabbed, and yet you stand here before me whole and alive! There is but one way that can be.”

Varanus shook her head, astonished by the madness in Julius’s words and the seductive fervor in the voice that spoke them. Finally, they reached each other and stood there within arm’s reach. Varanus wanted to take him there and then and slaughter him for all that he had done, but something stayed her hand: something in his eyes, that glinted as if in moonlight as they looked into hers.

“I am not your god,” she told him coldly.

This only made Julius smile all the more. “I think you do believe that,” he said. “And yet, clearly do I see Her in you and you in Her. All my life when I have sung praises and shed blood, it has been to you, only I did not know it until tonight.”

Varanus exhaled deeply and said, “I am going to kill you, Julius. You tried to murder me, and you tried to murder my son. You do not harm my blood and live.”

She had expected her words to shake him out of his maniacal adoration, but they seemed to delight him even more.

“I know,” he said. “I am honored, Goddess, to have been chosen for such a blessed end.”

“I am going to kill you because of what you did,” Varanus insisted. “This is not a blessing. This is retribution.”

Julius chuckled and touched her cheek tenderly. “You speak your words, Goddess, but with Her voice. In this moment, you might believe that this is your revenge. I another moment, you will remember your true intention.” He grinned at her, showing his teeth. “To live for you has been an honor. To die for you will be doubly so. May my death sate your hunger, and may your blessing fall upon my house and all those who shall come after me.”

A shiver ran along Varanus’s spine as the room returned to her and with it her senses. She grabbed for Julius, but he darted backward into the shadows. Varanus advanced further, knowing that he would be there, but she found nothing but air. Confused, she turned this way and that, searching for him.

She found him behind her as she heard him murmur in her ear, “And do not fear, I will not go quietly. I will give you sport before I give you my blood.”

Julius kissed her on the cheek, and as he did, Varanus’s body jerked as she felt him plunge his knife into her lower back and then rip the blade out again. She turned and grabbed for him, but again she was met with shadows. Turning around and around, Varanus stared into the darkness, searching every corner of the hall, but still there was nothing. The shadows crowded around her, smothering her and tugging at her. In the feeble light she could see nothing.

She felt a sharp pain blossom in her side. She saw Julius’s smiling face inches away from hers a moment before he withdrew again. Again she grabbed for him, and again there was nothing but emptiness between her fingers. Then came another stab, another smile, another retaliatory blow that found only shadows.

“How is this possible?” she gasped, lashing out blindly as her ears and eyes strained to catch a hint of anything in the dark, any indication of where Julius might be and from where his next attack would come.

Instead of Julius, Varanus saw Korbinian appear from the shadows. His face and body were drenched in blood, and he looked at her sadly, forlorn at his inability to help her.

“All things are possible, Liebchen,” he said, “as long as we have faith.” Blood trickled from between his lips with each word. “It is in faith that the impossible becomes possible.”

“You are not helping,” Varanus growled.

A moment later, Julius appeared from the shadows beside Korbinian. There was a flash of movement, and Varanus felt the knife cut her across the cheek, slicing almost to the bone. She jerked back and grabbed for her face, startled as much by the surprise of seeing Julius and Korbinian standing next to each other as from the pain. By the time she recovered, Julius had disappeared again.

Then she realized that Korbinian had vanished too.

“I am doing my best, Liebchen,” Korbinian said from behind her.

Varanus turned to address him just in time to see Julius appear again and drive his knife into her chest, plunging it upward beneath the ribs and only just missing her heart. Having seen Julius as he came at her this time, Varanus recovered from the surprise quickly enough to strike a solid blow against Julius’s temple as he drew out his knife. His eye began bleeding again and he grinned at her.

“What you give, you take away,” he said happily. “As it should be.”

Varanus lunged at him, but he backed into the shadows and again vanished.

“I am doing all that I can, Liebchen,” Korbinian said, appearing a few paces to her right. “What more can I do?”

Varanus glanced toward him and she understood. Indeed, what more could he do? And what more did he need to do? He told her all that she needed to know.

She reached out with her hand as Julius appeared from the darkness where Korbinian had been standing and charged at her, his knife held overhead ready to be plunged into her neck. The force of his charge carried him right into her grasp, and Varanus grabbed him by the throat. Julius gasped and froze as her fingers tightened. He smiled and dropped the knife.

Hungry and tired from injury and exertion, Varanus flung Julius onto the stone floor. She knelt over him and snatched up the knife. The blood was pounding through his body, and its intoxicating rhythm surged through his warm flesh and into her, his heart beating against her thighs.

“I said I would give you sport,” Julius murmured. “What I would not give to die for you a thousand times, but once will be enough.”

Varanus pressed the knife to his throat. She was trembling with hunger and excitement. Her pulse was almost strong enough to feel. In the empty space between her own slow heartbeats, Julius’s heart pounded quickly, and together their blood and bodies met in a kind of dance, beat for beat.

“I am not your god!” Varanus snarled, though she found herself almost breathless.

“I think you do believe that,” Julius repeated, his eyes wide with awe and admiration. “But I see you now as I have only ever glimpsed you before! That which I have seen hinted at through smoke, now it is before me in moonlight and it is glorious.”

Varanus shook her head as Julius’s eyes became unfocused as he gazed at her and through her and beyond her. His fractured skull had taken his reason just as it would soon take his life. But Varanus did not intend to let him escape so easily. She plunged the knife into his throat. The blood that spurted out smelled sweet and tantalizing, more pleasant than any she had ever smelled before. An illusion born of hunger, surely.

But as Varanus placed her lips against the wound and drank, she found that the taste was better still: sweet and strong and dizzying, a liquid ambrosia that sated a hunger she had not known until tasting its cure. She drank and drank, feeling Julius’s warmth flowing through her as her flesh tingled with delight at its touch. She realized that she wanted nothing in the world as much as the taste of that blood, that life, that death.

Filled but not yet sated, Varanus sat up with a moan and threw back her head, gasping for air she did not need to breath. Blood stained her lips and throat, and her hair fell about her shoulders, writhing in the shadows that clung to her. She loomed over Julius and looked at him, licking her lips and struggling to fight off the delicious dizziness that had taken her.

She saw Julius still smiling at her, delighting in his own slaughter. As the light in his eyes faded into oblivion, he whispered:

“I see you, girl in sable. I see your horns of starlight and your eyes of night. Take me.…”

And then Julius died and there was only silence.