Without a word, Sam began to approach, a feeling of dread rising in his gut. Was this what they had been looking for all along? Was Antoinette still inside? He wanted to know, but the beast inside was trying to pull him in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing?" Max asked quietly, his voice full of concern.
Sam didn't answer as he concentrated on fighting against his instincts, his hand slowly reaching for the handle. He tried his best to move it, but the cold steel of the chain refused to budge. Gathering his strength, he forced blood into his arms and tried again, but even that wasn't enough to break it.
"Is this the right one?" Max asked again, a little closer this time as he tried to get a better look. "Wait… Do you hear that?" he added, his head tilted as if he was listening to something that Sam hadn't yet heard.
The whispers hadn't been there a moment ago, but Sam heard them now. The haunting voice belonged to a woman, her words foreign and impossible to understand. She seemed to be slipping in between languages, with French and German merging into a bizarre combination of both.
Curiosity overwrote fear, causing Sam to press his face up against the window to peer inside. It was pitch black in there, but he could see another sparse layout bare of any creature comforts. He couldn't see anyone inside, but the whispers continued, so close now that he could have sworn that the woman was speaking in his ear.
"Can you see anything?" Max asked again, sounding a little agitated due to the lack of answers.
"No." Sam finally responded. "But I'm sure that someone's in there."
Straining his eyes to try and see something within the darkened room, Sam found that he was unable to find where the whispers were coming from. He was just about to give up his search when he glimpsed movement, confirming that someone was indeed inside.
Sam squished his nose up against the glass as much as possible, hoping to get a better look, but whatever he had seen for that brief second was now gone. For all he knew, it may have been nothing more than a rat scurrying past, but he could have sworn that it was something much larger. He continued to check the corners, or at least the two that he could see, but there was no sight nor sound of anything else other than the whispers that continued to give him the creeps.
Appearing as if from nowhere, something banged against the glass causing Sam to flinch. "Shit!" he exclaimed as he pushed backwards and stumbled over his own feet into the unsuspecting wolf standing behind him.
"Ooph!" Max sounded as the two of them collided, having not expected his companion to fall. "What the hell, Sam!"
It wasn't clear whether or not Max had meant to catch him, but Sam appreciated the fact that he had stopped him from hitting the floor. "Sorry… Something startled me." he apologised, unaware of what had actually occurred.
Blinking a few times before looking back towards the window, Sam had no idea what to expect. He definitely hadn't prepared himself to see the face that stared back at him, especially as it wasn't the face of a human, but that of a monster. Sunken red eyes and jagged yellow teeth were clearly visible against a backdrop of pallid grey skin, an upturned nose pushed up against the glass in the same manner to how his had been just a few seconds earlier.
"What the hell is that?" Sam asked in a panic, his hand pointing towards the snarling creature on the other side.
The nightmarish visage was a horrific sight to behold, with withered hands resting flat against the glass on either side. Wrinkled flesh sagged from beneath the creature's chin, connecting its bald head to a hunched back that filled the rest of the void. From where he stood, Sam could see thin lips moving in unison with the words that were still being whispered, their origin now made clear.
"I don't understand…" Sam was confused by what he saw, his mind unable to make sense of what was being said. "What is this? What's going on?"
"It's okay, Sam." Max's response was somewhat calm, sounding surprisingly relieved for someone who had been confronted with a being ripped straight out of a nightmare.
"What do you mean it's okay?" Sam demanded, unable to take his eyes off the hellish face.
"This is why we came." The answer that came was slow and deliberate, serving only to confuse Sam further. For some reason he simply couldn't comprehend Max's words, the explanation that followed making little sense to the rationality of his mind. "Sam, meet our spymaster. This is Lady Antoinette Dupont."
Chapter Fourteen: Relics of the Past
The night sky was filled with embers that made it seem as though the very heavens themselves were on fire, a bright tapestry of reds and oranges illuminating the world below. Nothing was safe from the raging inferno that threatened to consume everything in its path, the massive plumes of smoke reaching up to smother the stars. The air was thick and heavy, choking anything still living within the dense woods outside the compound, the dry brush serving to feed the flames that were carried by the breeze. If left unchecked, the wildfire would spread for miles in every direction, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.
There was a time when the beast inside would have caused Alice to flee, her instincts knowing all too well the dangers that fire could possess. However, now she found that all other impulses had been overridden by a deep and dreadful hunger; a hunger for something ancient that awaited her there. Somewhere within the blackened ruins of a place that she had once called home, the one who made her slumbered. It was a wonder that the fanged goddess could survive the fires that swept across the land, but Alice still sensed that she was somewhere nearby. She was so close now that she could taste it.
Matty had followed Alice into the compound somewhat reluctantly, his own instincts struggling to overcome the sheer terror of what was going on around him. It was by pure strength of will alone that he made it through, a true testament to his impressive levels of self control. He had begged her to turn around and head in the opposite direction, but Alice wouldn't let him stop her, his desperate plea amounting to nothing. Despite this, he would never let her enter alone, he was far too caring and loyal for that. Matty still loved her more than anything, himself included, and would stand by her side even if it meant his own demise. He would follow Alice through the gates of hell themselves if he had to, and this was the closest thing on Earth to the eternal fires of damnation.
The campervan hadn't fared quite so well, its side panelling melting in the intense heat, the tyres barely holding together. They had parked it beneath a rocky outcrop with the hope that it would act as a barrier against the flames, knowing that if it was destroyed then they would be stranded far from civilisation. It had been a short trek up the hill after that, straight through the rapidly expanding ring of fire. They didn't know what had caused it, but Alice had her suspicions. There were at least two others who knew of the compound's location and she had seen them both in recent nights, outside of Nathalie St Claire's theatre in downtown New York. It made sense that her brothers would come to rescue their goddess, but as to why they would burn their former home to the ground, well that was still a mystery.
Alice and Matty had wandered through the smouldering compound, past the scorched foundations of buildings that had been left in ruin. They could still see the flames on the horizon, burning a path outwards and away from the compound. Most importantly, it was moving away from where they were, the threat having already passed them by. There was little left behind but charcoal and ash, the simple wooden structures little more than kindling to stoke the fires.
Charred remains were all that was left of the inhabitants, their panicked cries permanently silenced. Every one of them had been Alice's kin at one time, and yet she felt nothing for them. They were cultists after all; religious zealots hiding behind the guise of family. A family that were more than happy to offer her up as a sacrifice to their fanged goddess. But now they were nothing more than crumbling husks, both their home and their legacy completely destroyed.
An impossible sight stood firm in the centre of the compound. It was a large, windowless structure made of wood
that should have burned along with everything else; a familiar sight to Alice who last laid eyes upon it the night that she died. There was no clear reason as to why it was still standing when all others that surrounded it had perished, but she knew that it held its share of secrets.
Alice entered the building through its double doors without hesitation and made her way down a hidden stairwell behind a false wall that she shouldn't have even known was there. It was almost as if she had been down there before, and yet she had no memory of that ever occurring. The only explanation that she could think of was that it was Katherine's past experiences that were guiding her along the way.
Matty followed Alice down the stairs like a lost puppy, his confusion displayed across his face. Her actions were beyond his comprehension, his simple mind unable to grasp the transformation that she was going through. In truth he loved someone who no longer existed, the girl that she used to be having faded out of existence as Alexander's blood coursed through her veins. Perhaps it would be best if she put him out of his misery, the thought already something that had crossed her mind on more than one occasion. But as much as she believed that his death would be a mercy, a part of her just couldn't let him go. It was a weakness inside of her that she tried to keep locked up; the pleading voice of a girl who had lost her innocence.
The stairs led down to a small wooden cellar supported by a set of six sturdy beams, the hazy air thick with dust and incense. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling above, an intertwining mass that spanned the entire length of the room. The entire place was dimly lit by rows of candles that were lined up on tables against the walls, each of them carefully positioned beneath hand painted images like some sort of shrine. The curious paintings depicted all manner of colourful serpents, each of them coiled around human victims in a deadly embrace. Within the center of the room lay a large sarcophagus carved out of stone, its surface a stark contrast to its surroundings, as it lacked any sort of engravings or iconography.
Arms outstretched towards the sarcophagus as if they were reaching for it when they died, the bodies of two men drew Alice's attention. They were both identically dressed in loose fitting robes, the grey fabric steeped in blood. Both corpses were missing vital appendages, their heads separated from their shoulders and lying just a few feet away, the cuts clean as if they had been severed by a sharp instrument.
It was difficult for Alice to identify the remains, as their features were rapidly decaying, but she soon recognised them as the men that she had seen in New York City. As she suspected, her brothers had returned home to release their fanged goddess, only to perish before achieving their nefarious goal. It was a fitting end for those who had tried their best to harm her.
Matty was too distracted by the destruction outside to worry about two more casualties. "Those people out there… Do you know who they are?"
"They were my family. The McKays." Alice replied absently, her focus returning to the stone object in front of her.
The blunt response was unexpected, and it took Matty a few seconds before he could bring himself to pry any further. "Your family? Ally, I'm so sorry...” He tried to reach out to Alice, but she ignored any attempt to comfort her. It took another moment before he could bring himself to ask anything else. “...So you've been here before?"
With a slight nod of her head, Alice took a step forward, her own hands raised up in front of her. She closed the gap one step at a time, taking her time to get to the sarcophagus while her companion was left speechless. As she slowly made her way towards it, he decided to examine the bodies instead, taking a minute to investigate what had occurred.
"It looks like your brothers were the ones to start the fire..." Matty frowned as he pointed towards a discarded torch on the floor, its tip singed from where it had once been lit. "But why would they harm their own family? And who killed them?"
Alice shrugged her shoulders, her palms mere inches from touching the stone. "They never seemed to care about anyone apart from their goddess and their mother. My mother…" She visibly shuddered at the thought. It seemed that the mere thought of her birth mother still seemed to bother her, even now. The woman may have been dead, but the memories still affected her somehow. "It seems that they escaped Katherine's grasp and returned to rescue their maker. Apparently they failed."
Something clicked in Matty's mind as he stood back up straight. "Just wait one second… Are you telling me that it's Renée Girard in this thing? The person who killed us both and turned us into monsters?" He sounded annoyed. No, it was more than that, he was absolutely furious. "Why wouldn't you tell me?!?"
Alice's response was slow to arrive as she brushed the rough stone with her fingertips. Despite the heat from the fire outside, the surface was still cold to the touch; much colder than she had expected. "Because I didn't want you to stop me from coming here."
Matty moved closer, trying to grab Alice's attention, but she seemed to ignore him as he spoke. "Why are you hiding stuff like this from me?" he demanded. "You used to tell me everything! What's happening to you, Ally?"
To his dismay, Alice didn't even try to answer and nudged his hand away as he tried to touch her again. The anger in his eyes was soon drowned out by sorrow. It was a look of defeat, the crushed spirit of a desperate man, and yet she still felt nothing. Shrugging off any attempts that Matty made to stop her, she no longer heard his words, his deep voice nothing but a distant murmur. It was as if he was fading from the world, his importance lessening with each and every passing moment.
The candle light began to dim, the shadows around them expanding until they had consumed everything within sight. Alice could have sworn that she felt another presence, but it was of no importance to her now, her attention completely focused on what lay before her. She ran her fingers around the lip of the stone slab that acted as a lid, pressing them into the small crack in order to pry it open. Tugging at the lid with all her might, she ripped it free of the sarcophagus before using her supernatural strength to discard it to one side. The slab fell to the floor without a sound, the expected crash strangely absent.
Now Alice could see the woman entombed within, her perfectly preserved form lying still as if she was nothing but an empty shell. She hadn't been twisted or tormented in the same manner as Alexander, a testament to the fact that Katherine had cared for her once. Renée Girard was the first amongst the Blood Queen's immortal creations, the one whom she had chosen before all others, and yet she had also been the first to betray her maker. There was a long history between the two of them, and Alice had only just begun to scratch the surface.
Even in her dormant state, Renée had an angelic beauty that was unparalleled, yet strangely unnatural. Her features were perfectly symmetrical, her skin flawless, the pure white contrasting with her raven black hair. The tattoos that covered almost every inch of her body were hidden beneath a black death shroud, with only her face left visible. It was difficult for Alice to imagine this woman as the predator that had taken her life, her eyes closed and ignorant of the world around her. Whatever her feelings had once been, she hadn't come to reconcile. There was only one thing that she needed from her maker now, and that was the blood contained within.
Without a second thought, Alice sunk her fangs deep into the lifeless flesh of Renée's neck, her target; the succulent jugular vein that waited underneath. She drank deeply from the freshly opened font, her own body renewed by the precious vitae that flowed forth. It wasn’t quite so exquisite as that which she had already consumed, but it was still quite potent in its own right. The experience this time wasn't as intense as the last, but she found herself being drawn further inside, as if their minds were merging and becoming one.
It had been almost a lifetime since Alice had last seen this place, the black space in which she was now floating. She found herself disembodied, with just her consciousness left to explore the void. There was an odd sensation, as the emotions that she had thought lost returned to her all at once. It was a slap to the face that woke her from a
long slumber, her feelings now able to function as they should. She was no longer a prisoner within her own body and could feel once more. She was able to experience happiness and love, and most of all she was free of the beast that controlled her, if just for a short while. It was a relief that she could be herself, even though the threat of losing her humanity was still present.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Alice called out in the darkness, unsure as to whether or not anyone would hear her. Despite her doubts, she soon found that she wasn't alone, as another lost spirit heeded her call.
"I must admit that I did not expect it to be you, my child." The voice was one that Alice hadn't heard in quite some time, easily recognised as belonging to her maker. "I never expected you to be the instrument of my demise."
"How is this possible?" A feeling of anxiousness began to take hold as Alice was given the opportunity to ask all the questions that she had always wanted to ask.
"Is it so hard for you to understand?" The woman seemingly found amusement in Alice's ignorance. "I made you what you are, and the blood is what binds us. We are linked, you and I, for all eternity; whether you like it or not."
They had only spoken once before, but Alice knew exactly who Renée Girard was. She knew that she had been draining her maker of blood right before she was pulled from her own body into this mysterious place. The intimate act could have been the reason that this was all happening, but she hadn't shared the same experience with Alexander. It may have been occurring because Renée was asleep, but it was more than likely due to the direct connection of their bloodline.
Perhaps the combination of the act and their lineage had created some sort of paradox. Or maybe it was because they had always been connected somehow, in the same way that Alice and Katherine had shared a connection. Either way, it was impossible to explain scientifically, especially as the reasons were more mystical than anything else. There was no way to truly comprehend what was happening in that moment, as it simply was. The blood that bound them was so much more than mere DNA and could never be described in such terms. For those that were already dead, the rules of biology did not apply.
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