by Amy Cross
“That hurt,” she said darkly, as she tried but failed to move her fingers. “Still, they'll heal soon enough.”
Slowly, she got to her feet.
“Do you girls still want to wait around until I get completely free,” she asked, “or are you smarter than I think?”
The cold-blooded children kept their eyes fixed on her, although some of the girls closer to the center of the room seemed a little more cautious, and one even inched back slightly, her eyes filled with doubt.
“Let me guess,” Madeleine continued, as she started straining to get her right foot loose from the chain around her ankle. Her bones were already starting to fracture and break, and she knew it'd only be a matter of time. “Nasty old Ms. Eversham probably issued all sorts of threats, huh? If you don't do as you're told and keep me in here, you won't get any supper before you go to bed at sunrise. Well, that's fine, but your dear old boss obviously neglected to consider the possibility that I might be able to break out of here regardless of your efforts. I'm sure she told herself she wasn't underestimating me, but it's not really her fault. I know I come across as a delicate little sunflower, but -”
She gasped as she felt her ankle break, and after a moment she was able to slip her foot free. Putting all her weight on the damaged foot, she felt a sharp pain as she began to work on her other ankle. Her broken hands were already starting to heal.
“First Kate, now me,” she muttered. “It seems damaged ankles are all the rage right now.”
Nearby, some of the cold-blooded children glanced at one another, as if they weren't quite sure what to do.
“You could always attack me,” Madeleine said after a moment. “I know that's what you're considering. I can hear, what, fifty of you or so? I'm sure you understand that I'd have no hesitation in ripping you all to shreds, children or not, but still... Do you think you can take me? All of you, together... Do you think you can bring me down?”
With that, she broke her other ankle and pulled it loose.
“Damn, that hurts,” she hissed as she took a faltering step forward, finally free of the chains. “Now, where -”
Before she could finish, some of the children began to turn and scurry away, leaving just a dozen or so still facing her.
“That's the cowards out of the way,” Madeleine said as she took a step toward the nearest girl. “Now we've just got the brave ones and the lunatics to deal with. I might not be able to see you, girls, but I can hear your dead little hearts beating in your chests. You're scared, aren't you? You're starting to think that even though I'm blind and outnumbered, I might just be able to take you all down.”
She paused, before stepping forward.
Instinctively, the remaining girls all pulled back.
“Good,” Madeleine continued with a grin, “now -”
Before she could finish, most of the girls turned and scurried away, leaving just one behind.
“I can hear you,” Madeleine said finally. “Are you really braver than the rest? What's your name?”
She waited.
“At least let me know your name,” she continued. “After all, you know mine.”
“I...” The girl, who was one of the older residents of the orphanage, having reached her late teens before her original death, seemed to be forcing herself not to run. “My name is... Camilla.”
“Nice,” Madeleine replied. “Traditional. I like it.”
“I won't let you go,” Camilla said firmly.
“You won't?”
“I won't.”
“And why's that?”
“Because...” Camilla paused, staring at Madeleine's empty sockets. “Because I'm following the orders I was given.”
“What are you, some kind of solider? You sound like a kid.”
“Ms. Eversham says I'm her best pupil.”
“Is that right?” Madeleine took a step forward. “You're terrified.”
Camilla opened her mouth to reply, but stayed silent.
“I don't think I've ever met anyone who's so scared,” Madeleine continued, slowly walking around her. “I'm very impressed. By myself, I mean. I'm impressed that I scared you so much. Your heart's beating so fast, I think it might actually burst. And yet here you are, still facing me down, all because that's what you were told to do by... by who? By Ms. Eversham? What the hell kind of a hold does she have over you girls, anyway?”
“She's our only family,” Camilla replied.
“Is that right?”
“We were all dead when she brought us here. She gave us life again, she made us immortal. Without her, we'd be rotting in the ground.”
“So you prefer being a cold-blooded monster, do you?”
“We're not monsters,” Camilla continued. “We're alive.”
Stopping in front of her, Madeleine paused for a moment. “Every cold-blooded vampire I've ever met in my life has been a ghoulishly thin, pale beast,” she said finally. “Are you the same?”
“I... I don't know what you mean.”
“I hate your kind,” Madeleine told her. “I hate cold-bloods with a passion.”
“I hate warm-bloods,” Camilla sneered.
“Why?”
“Because -” At this, Camilla paused. “Because Ms. Eversham told us that you're all evil, and cruel.”
“Is that right?” Madeleine smiled. “I hate cold-bloods because I personally know for a fact that you're all worthless beasts that should be ground into the dirt. I've seen the damage you cause wherever you go, and I can't wait to bring this entire orphanage crashing down on your heads.”
“You'll have to get through me first,” Camilla told her.
“That,” Madeleine replied, stepping closer, “is what I'm counting on.”
Instinctively, Camilla took a step back.
“I don't care if you're a bunch of children,” Madeleine added. “You still need to die. This world will be a better place once this nest of cold-blooded monsters is out of the way.”
With that, she lunged forward, reaching for Camilla's neck but missing by a fraction of an inch. As she steadied herself, she turned and heard Camilla running to the door, and finally she realized she was alone.
“Huh,” Madeleine said finally. “That was easy. Now to get on with the real business.”
III
“No!” Jennifer shouted, straining at her chains as she watched Constant pulling a meat cleaver from one of the drawers in the kitchen. “You can't do this!”
“I wouldn't go telling me what I can and can't do,” he replied with a smile, heading over to the next table along, where Alicia's dead body had been laid out naked, “not in my own kitchen. Took me a long time to persuade Ms. Eversham to let me do the place up. I'm very proud of the place.” Grabbing the corpse's leg, he arranged it carefully, sizing up the perfect spot for the first cut.
“This is insane,” Jennifer continued, trying desperately not to panic. “Listen, I'll give you whatever you want if you let me go and help me find my daughter. If you kill me, if you kill any of us, you're going to end up with Edgar Le Compte coming to this place and ripping it apart. Do you understand?”
“No,” he said, raising the cleaver, “I don't understand, not stuff like that. I only understand stuff I've been taught, like this.”
Slicing the cleaver down, he cut Alicia's left leg off in one clean motion, before grabbing it by the knee and then carrying it over to a large pot of water that was already boiling on the stove. Reaching up, he dropped the leg in, before heading back to the body.
“The girls are gonna have a feast tonight,” he continued. “There's no blood left in this thing, obviously, but there's plenty of meat, and that's what's important.”
“No!” Jennifer screamed, with tears in her eyes as she watched him raise the cleaver. At the last moment, she turned away, just as she heard the blade slamming against the wooden table. A moment later, Constant shuffled past and dropped Alicia's other leg into the pot.
“Don't worry,” he said, grinning at
her as he made his way back past. “I'll get to you in a minute. I just thought I should do her first, since she's likely to start going off.”
Staring at the bubbling pot, with steam rising from the top, Jennifer felt a kick of nausea deep in her belly.
“I won't be cooking you in quite the same way, though,” Constant explained, as he cut off another piece from Jennifer's corpse. “No, I've got a different plan for you.” Stepping past her again, with part of Alicia's chest in his hands, he added the latest chunk of meat to the pot before heading over to the oven. He turned a few dials on the front, and flames roared into the chamber. Finally, he turned to Jennifer. “I hope you don't mind if I roast you alive. It's just that I find all the wriggling and screaming makes the meat even more tender.”
***
“Camilla!” Ms. Eversham called out, stopping in the corridor with blood on her hands. “Whatever are you doing out here?”
“I -” Freezing for a moment, Camilla seemed lost for words. “I... I mean...”
“Weren't you one of the girls I left to guard the Le Compte creature?” Ms. Eversham continued, stepping toward her. “My dear, don't tell me you got scared and ran. How could you leave the others behind like that? They're supposed to look up to you, they're supposed to learn from you.”
“They ran first,” Camilla stammered.
“They ran?”
The girl nodded, not daring to meet her mistress's gaze.
“And then you ran with them?”
“I stayed behind.”
“And then you ran?”
“I...” Camilla paused. “I'm sorry, Ms. Eversham. I tried to stand my ground, truly I did.”
“So they -” Pausing, the older woman seemed to finally understand. “I see,” she said darkly, as she wiped her bloodied hands on the front of her dress. “So I left you all to do one job, and you failed. And you, Camilla, were supposed to be the strongest and more promising of all the girls. Well, at least once Meredith was gone. It does seem that whenever I get a new favorite, I always end up being let down.”
“Please,” Camilla whispered, “I -”
Ms. Eversham waited for her to continue. “Yes, my dear?”
“Nothing.”
“What were you going to say?”
With tears in her eyes, Camilla took a deep breath. “I was going to beg for my life, but then I remembered what you told us.”
Stepping closer, Ms. Eversham looked down at the girl's trembling, cowed head. “And what did I tell you?”
“Never to beg. Not to you, not to anyone. To hold our dignity, even in the face of...”
“The face of what, my child?”
“The... The face of death.”
“That's right,” Ms. Eversham continued, “I did tell you that, didn't I?” She paused. “And it seems that you listened to me, so that, at least, is a point in your favor.” Reaching out, she put her fingers on Camilla's chin and slowly tilted the girl's face up until their eyes met. “You have just gained yourself a reprieve. A second chance. And I never, ever give second chances, so I hope you understand what a privilege this is for you.”
“She was so strong,” Camilla replied, her voice trembling with fear. “She was so -”
Again, Ms. Eversham waited for her to continue.
“I'm sorry,” Camilla added finally. “You also told us not to offer excuses for our failures.”
“I did. And you have learned that too.”
“I shall go back at once,” Camilla continued, swallowing hard. “I shall find Madeleine Le Compte, and I shall tear her to shreds, and then I shall wring the blood from her body and drink it all in.”
Ms. Eversham stared at her for a moment, before reaching down and taking the girl's hand. “No,” she said finally, with a smile, “you will not do any that. Instead, you will come with me. I can take care of the Le Compte girl myself, and I would rather show you something that might stir a little more passion in your heart.”
Leading Camilla by the hand, Ms. Eversham made her way along the corridor until they reached a spiral staircase beyond the far archway. Looking down the steps, the older woman paused for a few seconds, as if she was anticipating the sight they were about to behold.
“You have no idea,” she whispered finally, “what it is like to plan something for so very long, and for that plan to finally come to fruition... and for everything to go perfectly.”
“What plan?” Camilla asked.
“Sometimes, it is necessary to show weakness to your enemy, in order to make him feel that he is winning. Sometimes, it is necessary to give the illusion of having lost, so that one can reach the final prize. Do you understand how that might work, Camilla?”
“I... I think so.”
“Everything is going according to plan so far,” Ms. Eversham continued, as she led the cautious girl down the staircase, “and I mean everything, from their attempt to wrestle Anna Kazakos back from us, to Madeleine Le Compte's brief capture and subsequent escape, to... Well, there are going to have to be some sacrifices, and lives will be lost on both sides, but by the time the night is over...”
Reaching a door at the bottom of the staircase, she took a heavy iron key from her belt and slipped it into the lock.
“Have you ever heard of Edgar Le Compte?” she asked.
“Edgar...” Camilla paused. “A little.”
“And what do you know of the great vampire war?”
“I know many brave cold-bloods were slaughtered by warm-blooded cowards. I know we were robbed of a great victory, but that in time we shall rise again to rinse the ground of our ancestors' blood and grind the warm-bloods to oblivion. I know we shall rule Gothos some day.”
“That much is true,” Ms. Eversham said with a smile, as she opened the door to reveal a dark chamber within, “but do you know the details? Do you know about the Slaughter of Raganov, or the Siege of Gothos, or the Tragedy of the Sangreth Pilgrims? Do you know why every cold-blood must endeavor to kill every warm-blood?”
“Will you teach me?” Camilla asked.
“I cannot teach you to have such hatred in your heart. I must show you.”
“Then do it,” Camilla continued, with a hint of urgency in her voice. “I want that hatred.”
“As do I,” Ms. Eversham replied, smiling as she heard a faint whimper of pain from the darkness ahead of them. “One day I, too, shall be like the rest of you. I have been promised that if I serve Quillian and help him in his quest to destroy Le Compte, I shall be rewarded. He will change me, and I shall become cold-blooded myself. I shall cast off this pitiful human form and become something stronger, something greater. I shall see the things I have only heard about and walk the worlds of the great travelers.” She turned to Camilla. “Do you understand, now, why we must not let anything stop us?”
“Of course,” Camilla replied, peering into the darkness, “but... Is there someone else down here?”
“Go and see for yourself,” Ms. Eversham said, putting a hand on the girl's back and gently nudging her forward. “Don't worry. You're quite safe.”
Taking a few steps, Camilla realized she could hear a pained, sobbing groan. There was someone up ahead, someone suffering through great agony, and a moment later she realized she could smell blood and sense great fear. She took a few more steps forward, and as her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she realized she could make out a figure at the far end of the chamber, tied to a chair. As she got closer still, she saw that the figure was a human woman, with a large, gaping wound in her chest.
“Camilla,” Ms. Eversham said with a smile, “meet the great Kate Langley.”
***
“Pity about this bit,” Constant muttered as he picked up Alicia's severed head, which still had most of the neck attached. “Can't use it in the soup, on account of it having been bitten by the little girl. You never know what nasty little toxins might have got into the meat, eh?”
Heading over to Jennifer, he turned the head so she could see the puncture w
ounds on the side of its neck.
“Nice, huh?” he continued with a grin.
“Go to hell,” Jennifer hissed, with tears in her eyes.
Laughing, Constant made his way to the kitchen's back door and pulled it open, before stepping out into the moonlit yard and tossing the head onto a pile of garbage.
“Should make nice compost,” he muttered. “At least the worms'll be happy.”
Struggling to get free from the chains and ropes that held her down, Jennifer rolled onto her side and let out a gasp of pain. Her wrists were red and sore now, but she knew she had no choice. She could feel the ropes becoming slightly looser, and she was certain she could get away if she just had a little more time, even though the room was getting hotter thanks to the oven on the far wall. A moment later, Constant returned and rolled her onto her back, while leering down so close to her face that she was able to smell his foul breath.
“All this struggling,” he told her, “won't half make your meat firm and your joints tender.” He glanced over at the oven. “Looks like it's ready.” Reaching down, he squeezed the flesh on her belly. “Oh yeah, just the right amount of fat under the surface of your skin. Should come out real nice after about two hours in there. You'll be nice and crispy. Might need to prick you a little first, though.”
“You should run,” Jennifer replied.
“Me? Run?” He smiled. “And why's that?”
“He's coming for you.”
“He? Who're you talking about?”
“Who do you think? He doesn't care about me, but he cares about Kate Langley, and he's going to come and tear this orphanage apart.”
“You mean Edgar Le Compte?” He smiled again. “Well, I reckon if he was coming, he'd be here by now, wouldn't he? In fact, I reckon everything's working out just grand.”
Heading across the kitchen, he opened the oven door and stood back as a wall of heat filled the room, with roaring flames licking the edges of the brickwork.