RBC06.50 - Marcella, Vampire Mage (17 page)

I could tell by the look on Rosalinda’s face she wanted to fight too.

“I know just how you feel,” I told her. “We all want to go. Let’s get you cleaned up, or otherwise they’ll smell you coming. Sarah, oh good, will you.…”

“No need, Katrina, the baths have been prepared, food and drink are on the way, and I’ve sent for clean outfits. Their Watchers have been notified, except Rosalinda’s new watcher.”

“What do you mean?” Rosalinda asked. “New Watcher? Where’s Joseph?”

I had forgotten she didn’t know.

“I’m so sorry, Rosa. The night the fledglings.... They overwhelmed him…I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, miss, but at least it will be a comfort to you to know that Katrina took care of two of those that did this,” said Sarah.

“You did?” Rosa said through her sobs.

“Yes, my training served me well, as it will all of you if need be. Now take your baths and eat. You’ll need your strength. Thank you Sarah.”

“Of course, Katrina.”

Then she guided them into the dressing rooms.

CHAPTER FOUR

Thomas returned a moment later. I had almost forgotten he was my Watcher now. How strange it felt to be attended by someone other than Quinn.

“All the Watchers are here—two inside, three of us outside.”

“Thank you, Thomas. They can watch the girls, but I want to be at the Council rooms.”

“Your father left orders for me to keep you here!”

I gave him a withering look that stopped him in his tracks. “Shall I go alone, or will my Watcher be going with me?”

On our way to the Council chambers, I noticed that there were now several guards posted around Luena’s quarters, including specially trained palace guard—vampire guards—whom I recognized as ones we had brought with us. Father was already talking strategy with Philepe. Gunter and Quinn were huddled with them, pointing at maps and discussing final details.

“I need to speak with you, Father.”

“Thomas, what did I tell you?”

“She’s your daughter, sir. She was determined to come with or without me.”

I saw Quinn hide a smile as if acknowledging that he knew just what Thomas was going through.

“All right, you’re here now, what is it?”

“What of Damien, Father? He hasn’t been implicated in this, and we have no proof he’s involved. All we know is that he was out there in the forest when we were attacked, nothing more.”

“Why are you defending him now? You’re the one who called him a traitor in the first place. He’s being guarded; we have no time to deal with him or his sister now. Either make yourself useful or go back to your room.”

Why
was
I defending him? Was I really that gullible? If Luena was knee-deep in this, why wouldn’t he be? They were so close…or were they? I had to admit I was confused by him, the way he was the other night. Father was right, of course; there was no time to worry about him now. This might be all over before breakfast if we could still surprise them.

As parties arrived at the Council room, they were told of the recent developments and given their assignments, then sent to be armory to draw weapons, as needed and were told to gather at the gate. Everyone was organized and on task as the gravity of the situation sunk in. We were split up into two different assignments. Most were going to the encampment in the forest, with a smaller group, including Thomas, Quinn, and myself, going through the shed entrance, our orders were to clear out the rooms and corridors as we went. Vampires first in of course, we’d check with all our senses, divide up as need be, and with luck meet Father’s party at the river.

Father’s forces raced out the west gate. Ours ran together to the back wall and to the weapons shed. Quinn unlocked the door and we charged in. The spears had held. Quinn and Thomas dislodged them and pushed the pallet aside with a thud. I fully expected fledglings to rush out, but there was nothing. We neither saw nor sensed a thing.

“This is a bad sign,” I said under my breath.

Philepe and Gerhardt headed down the stairs, and I went next.

“The girls were in a room off the corridor on the right, but the fledglings came from the center archway,” I said, pointing straight ahead.

With our swords at the ready, we started forward. Quinn and Thomas were behind me with torches.

“Ricardo, you and Momar go into the last corridor,” said Philepe.

We moved cautiously but quickly forward, checking the many side rooms. Suddenly the corridor opened up into a huge circular room with arched doorways all the way around it. We heard the sounds of many boots coming from a corridor on our left and braced for a fight. We were relieved when Ricardo came through the opening.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Not yet,” replied Philepe

“Now what?” Gerhardt asked.

Before we could answer, I cried out, “They’re coming!” They poured out of each of the corridors across from us, yelling and hissing, with weapons drawn. Ricardo and Momar took positions left, we stayed right.

“Don’t let them get behind us!” yelled Philepe.

We started mowing them down right and left. The fledglings were not well trained, but they were strong, and there were so many of them that there appeared to be no end to their numbers. They were as fast as we were, but our superior training was allowing us to make quick work of them. We heard someone yelling orders to them from out of the darkness, but even with my vampire vision, I couldn’t quite make him out. The Watchers had come into the room with torches. Once skirmish had begun, the torches were abandoned, tossed about on the floor. Now they were making the room glow and casting shadows of the fight on the walls of the room. We met the fledglings head on and after a few minutes of intense fighting, their numbers dwindled and finally stopped coming through the archways. Two of the crazed attackers charged me from the front, and one came at me from my left. I leapt, executing a high, double footed kick, hitting the larger one square in the chest. Then as he fell to the ground, I turned in midair, and with a twist reached out, and sliced the second across the throat. I had seconds to land and duck before piercing a third through the heart. As I turned to finish off the Fledging that has been the recipient of my kick, I found that he had risen, but before he could flex his sword arm, Quinn lopped off his head.

“I was coming to save you. And once again I see you could save yourself,” he said, panting and drenched with sweat.

“Sorry to spoil your fun,” I said. “Let’s get the rest, and maybe I’ll even save one for you.”

“You’re on.”

Our swords clanged, as we engaged two more fledglings and shortly two more went down.

“Go back, go back,” the leader yelled, as he ran in through the archway directly across from the one we had come through. The last of the fledglings retreated into whatever corridor was closest to them.

“We can’t let them get away!” yelled Philepe.

We directed that two Watchers stay and make sure the dead stayed dead, while the rest of us charged on. From what we could tell, only six remained alive, including the one who seemed to be the leader.

“We’ll have to split up,” I shouted as I ran.

Ricardo and Momar went left, Philepe and Gerhardt went straight, and I went right.

“We have to catch them before they get to the river!” I yelled to Quinn and Thomas.

I took a deep breath and sensed that the two on our side were still ahead.

“They’re close.”

I sense their closeness just in time to duck as one jumped out of an opening on my right. Quinn quickly swung his sword and split the fledgling’s head open. As he fell, Thomas divided his crushed skull from his shoulders.

“One more!” I yelled.

I could smell water now. The river wasn’t far, and as expected, the corridor opened onto the bank of the river. I could see brush moving on the other side of the rushing water.

Without thinking I leapt across the water in one stride and ran after the fledgling through the brush. I slowed, trying to sense where he had gone. It was then I realized I was alone, having forgotten that Quinn and Thomas would be forced to find their own way across the river. My enemy was close; I could smell him. Then from above, he dropped right on me. He knocked me down and my sword flew out of my hand. We wrestled on the ground; the fledgling’s eyes wild with the look of a rabid dog whose intent was to tear out my throat. Now the impossibly strong fingers found my throat and began to squeeze. I thrashed and fought, but the fledgling continue to squeeze. My vision narrowed, and I began to see bright flashes. Just as I was about to lose hope, I saw two hands grab the fledgling’s head and twist. The crack of vertebrae breaking exploded in the night. The fingers released as the fledgling fell away. I closed my eyes and I took several gasping breaths. I opened them expecting to see Philepe or Gerhardt; I was shocked at the face I saw where the fledgling had been.

“Damien…” I croaked. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving you, what else? You didn’t think you could have all this fun without me, did you?”

“Well, thank you,” I said, as he kicked the body off of my legs and helped me up.

“I have to speak to you. I can’t stay here. Everyone will think I’m part of this plot, but I swear to you I wanted no part of it. It’s my sister’s doing. Luena is a truly evil being.”

I opened my mouth to protest, he put his face close to mine, “We don’t have much time, so please hear me out. That day when your party was attacked, I tried to get there to stop it, but I was too late. I did, however, kill the few Volator that got away from your father and Philepe, and their leader; you’re safe from them.” He stopped, listening, “They’re coming, I must go. Katrina, I’ll find you in the New World. Please believe I’d never harm you or your father.”

Then he put his hands on my shoulders.

“You believe me don’t you?”

I looked into his eyes and I knew I did.

“Yes,” I said, “Yes I do.”

He pulled me close and kissed me, and then he was gone. For a moment I thought I had dreamed it all, but the body at my feet was real enough. I dispatched his head just as Quinn and Thomas trotted up.

“You’re late again,” I gloated.

“I guess so,” Quinn said, and then grinned. “I’m getting used to it.”

We laughed and headed back to the river to meet up with the others. We stopped at the edge and used the cool water to clean up, washing off the sweat and blood from the cuts and gashes that because we were vampires would heal in a day. The Watchers were not so lucky of course; their injuries would take days, even weeks to heal.

Today the ten of us had killed forty, and Philepe told us the leader should have looked familiar because it turned out that he was Luena’s Watcher, Edgar. That explained why no one ever saw him anymore.

We heard the sound of horses and soon the rest of our group galloped up to us.

Philepe yelled, “Fredrik what took you so long?”

We all laughed. My father explained that the cave system was a maze of interconnected tunnels, and during the fight we had killed twenty-five. After they dispatched the fallen fledglings, they’d gone from room to room to make sure that the cave was completely cleared out. During this exercise, they came across three captives, men who had been abducted from villages far in the north. Strange disappearances had been rumored in that area for years. The captives had been held to provide fresh blood for the fledglings and the three rescued had been part of a much larger group that ebbed and waned as captives died and were replaced. The men were then told not to fear us, because all the fledglings had been killed and we would insure that they would be safely escorted back to their villages.

I knew I must tell Father what Damien had told me about the Volator. But I was suddenly too exhausted for that effort.

“Let’s head back,” Father said. “Our work is done here.”

We all agreed. Then Father reached out his arm and pulled me up behind him on his horse. .

“Well done, daughter. Well done.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him to me as tightly as I could. A huge smile spread across my face as tears welled in my eyes. He was proud of me, and that meant everything.

CHAPTER FIVE

The rhythm of the horse’s hooves clopping along the rocky shoreline and the sound of the river made me sleepy. It seemed as if months had passed since I felt this relaxed. I wondered about Damien; where would he go? What had he meant by “I’ll find you”? That’s what he had said; “I’ll find you in the New World.”
The New World
. In all the commotion, no one else had even mentioned the subject since we arrived. Maybe now I could ask Father if the Council would discuss it before they disbanded. Up ahead, I could hear the gate hinges squealing. The news of our return quickly spread though the palace compound and we found ourselves surrounded by family and well wishers. Our triumphant return was soon interrupted by the palace guard.