* * *
Lina was preparing to make a small, unauthorized excursion out of the caves. The timing was ideal, since Asha was away and Vad, who was supposed to watch Lina, was still infirmed. For this purpose, she entered her room and found a head-covering, gloves and a hooded cloak in her closet, all of which she folded into a sack.
She travelled to the Great Hall, which was, at the time, mostly empty. The sole entrance and exit from the coven was the passage leading up and out of the Great Hall. To exit, she would have to pass through the locked wooden door and then lift the boulder on the other side.
The region between the door and boulder was under constant guard. A number of different vampires shared this duty, and they cycled frequently among them, sometimes leaving the place unguarded for several minutes while one of them went out to fetch the replacement. It was a job that wasn’t practiced with much seriousness, since no outsider had ever actually successfully discovered the entrance and it was doubted that any ever would. In addition, with a peace deal being signed at that very moment, it seemed all the more pointless. For these reasons, it wasn’t uncommon for guards to be found in profound dereliction of their duty.
It was this failing that Lina was counting on, hoping to sneak through during one of these gaps of duty. From the Great Hall she climbed up into the dark passage leading out, unnoticed by the few vampires present.
Upon reaching the locked wooden door, she put on her dark clothes, and she waited. She could smell the vampire on the other side and knew that it was only a matter of patience.
For many long minutes Lina stood, her back pressed against the wall, faintly hearing the sound of the vampire breathing and occasionally pacing back and forth. Lina was understandably nervous about getting caught, and as each moment passed, the probability that someone might chance upon her only increased. She anxiously stood against the wall, trying to remain silent while the vampire on guard aggravatingly remained at his post.
Finally, her patience was rewarded. The door opened, swinging inward towards Lina. As the vampire passed through and walked downward towards the Great Hall, she was hidden behind the door. He didn’t even bother closing the door, casually strolling away from her in order to gather his replacement.
Lina sprang forward as soon he was out of sight. She decided to close the door behind her so that she would be less likely to be seen by someone approaching from behind.
The section between the door and the boulder, where she was now confined, was almost completely dark. Unlike most of the coven, which was dimly illuminated by numerous candles, torches and flames, there was no light whatsoever here. She could see the outline of the door behind her, as the faint light from within seeped around the edges. She could similarly see the daylight that filtered through the cracks around the edge of the boulder.
The great rock above her could be pushed upwards as it would rotate on a hinge located at the very top of it. Lina thus applied herself to raising this rock. She had noticed her strength beginning to advance without any effort on her part. She had lifted the bed inside her room with an ease that surprised her, but as she now attempted to lift the boulder, it resisted as much as if she were trying to press it into the ground. She felt like she was able to almost push it upwards a finger’s width, but only that by stressing her muscles until they burned.
Sweat rolled down her face, and she finally gave up, deciding to give up her whole plan, return to her room and reserve herself for a future attempt. But when she turned back to the closed door and tried to open it, it failed to give way. The door must have become locked from the inside when she closed it.
Lina struggled to open the door with the same effort she’d put to the rock and with the same success. It was built of thick boards of wood and was thoroughly secured to the stone walls. She was trapped.
At first she resigned herself to being caught, figuring that when the replacement guard returned, he would open the door and she could leave. But she decided against this after only a few moments of meditation. She passionately wanted to exit the caves, even if only briefly. She surprised herself by the strength of this desire and pursued it with freshly discovered energy by applying her strength to raising the boulder once again.
To her surprise, the massive rock began to rise with ease, even so much that it seemed to be lifted without effort. The brilliant light of daylight poured in with a brightness that she believed she had never in her life seen, and even with the head-covering to protect her eyes, it was overwhelming enough that it made her squint.
As the rock rose above her out of her reach, she fell forward onto the ground, and only then did she realize that it was another vampire that was raising the rock from the outside. From the ground, she looked up and saw the youngish Eta looking down at her with a perplexed look. She suddenly rose to her feet as she saw Asha approaching, accompanied by the vampires that had joined her for the treaty.
“Are you guarding the entrance?” Asha asked, with a peculiarly confused, even somewhat suspicious look, “I thought I had you sweeping the halls.”
Lina was ready with an answer with little hesitation, “I was just looking after the entrance for a few minutes between shifts.”
As if perfectly timed to confirm Lina’s lie, the door was at that moment opened and a vampire stepped through. The vampire was surprised at the daylight. His hands were still exposed and he was marked with a mild sunburn after only a second or so of exposure, causing him to step back and hide in the shade.
Asha didn’t linger any further, and she stepped right through the door, with her entourage following, as the boulder sank into place and cut off the daylight. Lina trailed them at the end, and she was given a strange look by the vampire who was supposed to be on guard.
Elixir of Flesh Page 37