* * *
The troops soon arrived near the dry streambed and the exposed boulders, which signified the entrance to the coven. Lina surveyed the area, trying to decipher the arrangement of the cave beneath the ground. She began to draw lines in the dirt to indicate first where the passageway from the entrance proceeded, then where the Great Hall opened up. Soon she was able to find the holes in the ceiling and roughly map out the layout of the room below.
All of this was done in complete silence, and afterwards, she whispered instructions to Vasile and Flaviu, explaining the dimensions of the room below.
After this was all completed, they rolled forward the barrels of gunpowder and the cannons and began to put everything and everyone in position. When it was ready, Lina stepped forward and prepared to enter the coven alone. She pushed through the shrubbery and lifted up the great boulder that covered the entrance, moving so swiftly that she was able to leap upon the vampire that stood guard even before he was able to raise his sword.
Two other guards waited on the other side of the door. They heard with frightening immediacy the sound of the rock being lifted and the other guard being knocked against the door. The guard collapsed, and they heard him kick against the door as he struggled for life. They opened the door to investigate and saw a cloaked figure there, gnawing on the neck of the other vampire. As soon as the partially exposed face of Lina looked up at them, they fled.
Lina was able to catch one of them, and, tearing off her head-covering, wrestled him to the ground and sapped his mortal blood.
The other was beyond her reach, and he ran into the Great Hall screaming in panic, “It’s Lina! Lina’s back! She’s attacking! Everyone to arms! It’s Lina! It’s Lina!”
She’d hoped to make a more dignified and memorable entrance, but she could’ve thought of no better way to lure all vampires into the Great Hall than to have her presence announced in such a way. She followed right behind him and stepped into the Great Hall for all to see.
She said proudly, “It is Lina! Come and attack me!”
Elixir of Flesh Page 61