The Beast Inside

by David Horrocks

  When questioned by Alice, Matty was very forthcoming about his own experiences, both living and dead. She already knew that he had been a soldier in life before finding himself homeless, but wanted to know more about his existence since becoming a vampire. He was shocked to discover that his maker was still alive and had turned Alice, since he had still been under the impression that he had bludgeoned her to death. Vampires were resistant to blunt forced trauma and so it took more than a two by four and immense strength to destroy them.

  Matty told Alice of how he made his way up the treacherous ladder of vampire society from the very bottom, working his way up from the scraps at the lower levels, to being one of the most respected and feared of the king's men. It was an impressive tale of the underdog overcoming his status and becoming more than he was originally destined to be. He was an inspiration to all those who had been downtrodden by their supposed superiors.

  Even though he had ended up near the top of the food chain in his city, for some reason Matty had decided to trade it all in for a fresh start somewhere else. Maybe he was bored, or perhaps he just craved a challenge. Or maybe he was just like Alice in some regard, always searching for a family and a place to call his home. In that way, it seemed that they had a lot in common. They were like minded individuals who just wanted somewhere to belong.

  **********

  It wasn't long before Katherine started to put her final plans in motion, appointing Matty as her own enforcer and using Alice to help predict the movements of the queen and her spies. It would be difficult for Katherine's enemies to discover what she was up to if she always managed to remain one step ahead of them. The campaign for the throne and dominance of the city was in full swing, with her compartmentalising each of her forces so that none were in a position to betray her if they were ever caught and interrogated.

  It was a masterwork of planning that Alice found impressive, as Katherine was able to multitask so effectively without tripping over herself. It probably helped that she had had years to prepare and a couple of centuries to learn the necessary skills to pull it all off. She was the key to everything. The master and commander. Without Katherine, there would be no chance of success.

  The hidden war between the two main factions of the city had been taking place for more than a few years now, starting way before Alice arrived in the city. Katherine had been making subtle moves against Queen Marquette, while still playing nice when face to face. It was a two faced ploy, but one that she deemed to be necessary, at least until she had established a stable foothold in city politics.

  The two who had once been close friends were now bitter enemies in private, but in the public eye they had continued to be somewhat pleasant to each other, even though it had been difficult at times. But the time for maneuvering in secret was over, as Katherine's forces were now operating at full strength. The next few weeks could be bloody, but full on warfare was never an option, as it would risk the exposure of the existence of vampires to the mortal world.

  Katherine had planned a relatively peaceful takeover, with as few of her potential future subjects getting caught in the crossfire as possible. Unfortunately, events didn't entirely unfold as she had planned as the queen wasn't willing to go quietly. She was prepared to fight tooth and nail to hold on to what remained of her dwindling political power.

  The first move started with Katherine trying to sway the infinitely wealthy Hank Wilson to her cause, which would have gone smoothly had he not been a coward who was more concerned with wealth than how the city was run. He didn't want to risk losing and being accused of treason, choosing rather to sit out the fight as he hid in his office within the pinnacle of his downtown skyscraper. It was the tallest one within the city, with a view of the mountains that was unbeatable and it acted as his safe haven away from the squabbling of his peers.

  Although his decision was disappointing, Hank did promise to stay out of things altogether and wouldn't side with the queen either. It was an acceptable loss as Renita also gained nothing from the deal.

  The next push was made by Morgana and her witches, under Katherine's direction. They took control of the Art and History Museum, where Queen Marquette’s reliquary of knowledge was located. It was full to the brim with all sorts of artifacts and old tomes. They were magical trinkets and ancient spells that Morgana wanted as payment for her support of Katherine.

  The witches had met with little resistance within the building, as the existence of the vault had been kept a secret from everyone except the queen’s most loyal of supporters. It would have remained hidden if it wasn't for Nadia Djorkaeff, Katherine's own spy. The queen had yet to discover her true loyalties, as it wasn't quite time to reveal her identity as one of Katherine's chosen. There was still one final part left for her to play within the grand scheme.

  Sir Philippe Chevalier lead his men in an attack on Morgana's sanctum in retribution, but it was quickly thwarted by her plethora of wards and traps. The sanctum had remained hidden for years, deep underneath the Alexander Calhoun Library on the south west side of the city. The vampiric witches had sheltered there ever since Morgana's own coup had failed years before.

  The hallowed halls had been empty, but the collection of runes that defended them were triggered, vaporising the majority of Chevalier's elite knights. They didn't try to push any further, instead retreating back to the royal court to regroup and recover.

  A joint taskforce comprised of Vincent's pack and the cult of the Serpent Temple, led by Katherine under the guise of Samara, began the first of the major operations. They quietly moved into the Olympic Plaza and Arts District, with the aim of catching loyalist forces off guard and causing them to surrender.

  It was supposed to be a classic pincer movement, with each group approaching from opposite sides, but they hadn't counted on the royal spy network discovering their best laid plans and organising a counter attack. The tip off allowed the queen's supporters to prepare a trap which was sprung as soon as the invaders were in place.

  Casualties were high, but the sheer number of Samara's cult overpowered the opposition. It turned into the type of slaughter that Katherine had wanted to avoid, as it spilt out onto the streets and became all out warfare.

  Any loyalists who tried to flee were picked off by Vincent's wolves who left no survivors in their ferocious attacks. The carefully structured plan had collapsed, with each side giving in to their bloodlust. They were supposed to be above such barbarism, but events had escalated more quickly than even Alice could have predicted.

  As the cult of the Serpent Temple entered the last loyalist stronghold within the Arts District, a desperate attempt by one of the its defenders resulted in destruction on a massive scale. A huge explosion levelled the building and killed all of its occupants, sending out shockwaves that shattered windows and shook entire city blocks.

  The police had been bribed to stay out of the fight, but they couldn't ignore what the nightly news was now reporting as a terrorist attack. No one could work out why the building had been targeted as it was relatively unimportant. Reporters theorised that it had been the location of an extremist cell and that an unstable bomb had gone off during its construction. They weren't completely wrong in their assumption, but it wasn't something so simple as terrorism. A bomb had caused the explosion, but its purpose hadn’t been to spread fear and unrest within the mortal world. The city wasn’t under siege, but was rather at war with itself.

  The cult of the Serpent Temple had almost been wiped out, with so few survivors left as not to be of any use. Victory had come at too great a price. However, Katherine hadn't been inside the building herself, as she commanded the cultists from a safe distance. The battle had been way too costly, but the bulk of the queen's supporters were left devastated. It was a major blow against Renita and her followers, who were now licking their wounds in hiding.

  The chaos had also removed the wild card that was the cult of the Serpent Temple and solved the problem of what to do with its members further
down the line. Katherine could now claim their assets as her own, without having to don a disguise this time.

  The battle of Olympic Plaza wasn't the end of the bloodshed. In fact, it was far from it. Sir Philippe Chevalier carved a swath through Fish Creek Provincial Park, leading the remainder of his men in a brutal attack against his brother's pack. Vincent was still in the city when the majority of his people were mercilessly killed. The enforcer’s successful assault resulted in the deaths of any of the wolves that had remained behind in the woods.

  In a fit of rage, Vincent subsequently vowed to make his brother pay for the injustice. He wouldn't rest until he had vengeance for the fallen.

  What started as a peaceful takeover attempt had ended in extreme violence. Katherine was furious that the queen had the audacity to cling to her throne, refusing to step down as she proceeded to massacre those who she had sworn to protect. The murder of an immortal was in breach of laws that had been in place since the founding of Calgary as a city. They were laws that the queen was supposed to uphold, but she had gone mad with power and was no longer fit to rule. Renita Marquette had become a tyrant, and the other vampires within the city believed that it was time for her reign to come to an end.

  Katherine wasn't about to give up now and rose to the challenge. It was time for more extreme measures, and so she decided to call in the cavalry. She summoned her oldest friend and personal assassin, Shani, who she had first met during her time spent in the early Arcadian colonies. She hailed from somewhere far to the east and had once served Katherine's own maker, the Gentleman. The assassin, who was of middle eastern descent, had a no holds barred attitude that meant she would do what no one else would be willing to do. It helped that she had the skill to back it up too.

  Once Shani was done hunting down the remnants of Queen Marquette's loyalists, there would be enough bodies to keep Mr Shine’s business in the black. There was no turning back for anyone now. The war would be over in just a matter of days and heads would roll.

  The last push against the queen herself was coming. She had hidden herself away within her private estate up on the northern side of town. She no longer left the premises to attend court and kept herself locked away behind the armour plated doors of her extremely well defended home.

  Eau Claire, where the queen’s estate was located, was an upscale neighbourhood located just north of downtown Calgary, just south of the Bow River. It was the city's Festival District, with a mix of riverside condominiums, restaurants, hotels and expensive stores, surrounded by expansive urban parklands.

  The estate itself was disguised as a modern piece of architecture on the outside, with an interior that was decorated in a French Renaissance style that was somewhat similar to the inside of the royal court.

  Attacking the queens home would be impossible without plans as it was built to be an impenetrable fortress. Fortunately for Katherine, the architect was still alive and could be found within the city limits. In fact, Alice had met him already and their positive first encounter was the reason that it was up to her to win him over.

  Harold Fletcher was an artist, architect and eccentric misanthrope. He resided in St Mary's Asylum, a mental institution that had officially been abandoned, becoming condemned and left derelict for quite some time. Alice had to brave its halls alone in order to gain an audience with the man himself.

  The asylum was rumoured to be haunted, so Alice would have to keep her wits about her. It wouldn't be an easy task, but Katherine had faith in her abilities. It was an obstacle that had to be overcome or their final victory over the queen would be denied. Alice’s chance meeting with Harold Fletcher at the party was all part of Katherine's plan and she had unknowingly played her part in it to perfection.

  *********

  From the outside of the asylum, it was impossible to even imagine that someone was living there. The decrepit structure had seen better days, with crumbling brickwork, boarded up windows and the distinct smell of mold that permeated the air. The door itself was barely holding onto its hinges, as it was partially blocked with broken wooden planks that had presumably been used to close the entrance, but they had since met their match.

  Bored teens and miscreants had made their mark on the structure, leaving graffiti and urban art covering the majority of the exterior walls. It wasn't the type of place that Alice wanted to spend her night, within the shadow of a rotting corpse of a building that waited patiently for her to enter. It loomed over her, the outline of its roof looking menacing underneath eerie clouds and the blue light of a full moon.

  The interior of St Mary's wasn't much better, with unwelcoming corridors that were stained with water damage that had caused drywall to flake and wallpaper to peel. Hanging fluorescent lights, that had lost power a long time ago, now just hung there without so much as a flicker. They were as dead and as useless as the empty building in which they had once shone so brightly, but no longer. There was only darkness and decay now.

  Alice could feel the pain and terror of former occupants, as if they still wandered those very same halls. A sense of dread encroached on her from all sides as her footsteps echoed on slippery tiled floors. People had died there, and not all of the deaths had been from natural causes. There was a reason that places like this had been shut down permanently, with the abuse of patients just one of the many atrocities that had been committed within its walls.

  Alice was reminded of how she felt as a teenager while exploring Wortham Manor with Sam, but this time it was different. She was alone and for some reason the atmosphere here was much more sinister. If only Matty had come with her, but he had other duties to attend to and Katherine wouldn't have permitted it. Harold preferred to have one on one conversations that were face to face. He was old fashioned like that and wasn't a fan of modern technology. This was something that she had to do on her own.

  Something crept in the shadows, at the edge of Alice's field of vision. It refused to show itself, scurrying away every time she tried to investigate. She hoped that it was Harold that was watching her in the dark, but if it was him, he refused to show himself.

  It didn't help that a lot of the outdated equipment still littered the place. Beds with straps for restraining patients, electroshock therapy machines, medical tools and even a straight jacket or two. One room had been converted into a padded cell, but the lock had been broken off the door, rendering it useless. It wasn't hard to imagine what the place had been like when it was still running, and it didn't seem like it had been pleasant.

  Passing by a bathroom, Alice could see that it had been flooded at some stage by a burst pipe, with murky puddles that must have been filled to the brim with all sorts of bacteria. She could have sworn that they shimmered with a reddish tint, but didn't feel comfortable enough to examine them further. There were things that were better left unknown.

  Alice continued to explore the rest of the building at a hurried pace, not wanting to linger in one place for too long in case whatever was stalking her decided to introduce itself. She was now sure that it wasn't Mr Fletcher, as he had carried himself as a gentleman. He wasn’t the type to sneak around and whatever was shadowing her now was way too small in stature to be him. Unnaturally quick too.

  After her seemingly endless search, Alice felt that she was well and truly lost. The asylum somehow seemed much larger on the inside, impossibly so. She had lost her bearings a while ago, as all the rooms that she passed by looked the same. She would take a random turn and end up right next to the same bathroom or a cafeteria with flipped over tables and broken chairs, over and over.

  Some of the bedrooms looked familiar, as if she had been there before too. It was a strange feeling that didn't make any sort of sense. Trying to find her way back to the entrance didn't help either and all the windows were impressively well boarded up or blocked by iron bars.

  There was no way out of there and the creature hot on her tail was getting braver by the minute. She had seen its boney, many legged shape scurrying around corners
and lurking in the dim light of doorways. It wouldn't be long before it got the nerve to approach and Alice still wasn't sure if it was a friend or foe, or if it even distinguished between the two.

  Alice turned another corner and made her way carefully up a set of rickety stairs that felt as though they could collapse at any second. She had already walked down half of yet another duplicate hallway when she heard the chattering sound of her stalker as it prepared to pounce. She froze on the spot, getting herself ready to fight off whatever came at her from behind. Her hands tensed up, fingers curling into fists in order to effectively defend herself.

  The creature fell silent, causing Alice to feel anxious as she waited for an attack. Time slowed to a crawl, but nothing seemed to happen. It could have been waiting for her to make a move, watching her as it waited for an opening. Or maybe it was the building itself, trying to make her crazier than she already was. It wouldn't take much, as she was already borderline insane.

  A ferocious and savage roar pierced through the silence, startling both Alice and the creature who scuttled away in the opposite direction. Although she was frightened, she felt grateful for a brief moment, as the sudden sound had saved her from a confrontation that she wanted to avoid. The creature was gone and likely wouldn't be returning any time soon.

  Whatever made the racket was somewhere in front of her, down the twisting and endless corridors of the inescapable mad house. For some reason, Alice couldn't help but move towards it, edging her way past rooms that she could no longer be bothered to peer in to. She had seen enough of the place to last a lifetime and wanted nothing more than to achieve her mission and get the hell out of there.

  Another howl echoed past, originating from somewhere nearby. However, it didn't sound the same as before. The animalistic cries no longer sounded bestial, but were instead the very human sounds of a tortured woman in need of help.