The male dressed all in black stepped forward and examined Katelina. “Well, well, what is this? Another human slave left as a final defense? Some good you'll be!” He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back to expose her throat.
Completely disconnected from her conscious thought, Katelina’s leg shot out and caught him in the stomach. He cried out in surprise rather than pain and in his momentary shock released her. She grabbed Alexander by the arm and ran as fast as she could past the rows of coffins, but the vampires didn’t bother to chase her. She reached the stairs as a sixth vampire descended them. She was dressed in all black with dark bobbed hair and another long coat. Her eyes were crinkled with amusement but they held a cold cruelty that made Katelina’s insides shrivel.
“I don't think so.” She tried to pry the baby from Katelina’s arms.
It wasn't Katelina's child. She wasn't even fond of the tiny demon, but she was running on pure instinct and the subliminally ingrained impulse to protect the young was very strong. She tightened her hold and twisted away from the she – devil.
“It won’t do you any good, human.” The vampiress tackled Katelina to the cold stone floor before her eyes had registered the movement. As she fell she released Alexander and prayed the boy ran as fast as he could.
The floor slammed into the back of her head and she blinked away the bright stars that blossomed in her eyes, a hulking coffin mere inches from her head.
The vampiress’s teeth glittered in the torchlight as she straddled Katelina's prostrate body and snapped her jaws playfully.
“Let me go!” Katelina shouted. She hugged the baby tighter. “Get off of me!”
The woman stood up and jerked the baby from Katelina's grasp then held it out for examination. With a look of disgust she dumped it into the arms of one of the other coat clad vampires and turned her eyes to Alexander. He’d curled himself into a ball against the same coffin that Katelina had been close to landing on. “Take them to the council to be discussed,” the vampiress ordered.
“No! Leave them alone!” Katelina cried, but the woman kicked her in the stomach. The blow took the air from her lungs and rendered her silent.
“This one is mine.” The woman laughed – cold, cruel and hollow.
“No!” Alexander shouted as he struggled against the man in black leather. “She belongs to Jorick! He's marked her neck! You can't hurt her!”
The woman sneered in disbelief and crouched down next to Katelina. She grabbed a fistful of Katelina’s long hair and pulled her head back. Her eyes raked the fresh mark above her collar bone. “Well, well,” she said sarcastically. “The boy tells the truth. It seems Jorick’s got himself a pet.” Katelina’s head was dropped painfully to the stone floor. “Take her upstairs and see what is to be done with her.”
Katelina was jerked roughly to her feet and dragged up the stairs, followed by two vampires who tried to control Bethina between them.
The prisoners were pulled through the ransacked house. Katelina’s eyes caught overturned furniture and bits of smashed glass glittering under the electric lights. She tried not to scream as her captor hauled her through the front door and out onto the lawn. The cold wind slapped into her. It beat her bare legs and feet mercilessly. The scent of early autumn frost hung in the air, overshadowed by the smell of a large bonfire that burned before the house where once there’d been smooth grass. The fire light flickered over the trees and cast eerie shadows that lengthened out to clash against the pressing blackness; darkness threatening to swallow them except for the snapping flames.
There were several people grouped around the fire, at least half held against their will. The air echoed with shouts, growls and laughter mixed into a symphony of horror. Katelina’s gaze swept hopelessly over the captives, recognizing some. Fabian, the dark man who so resembled Jesslynn was on the ground, his wrists bound behind his back, his mouth open and snarling. Near him was Jesslynn herself. Her hair had fallen completely and cascaded around her shoulders like liquid night, her face was pale and her eyes large as she saw Katelina and the children being led into the circle of firelight. A vampire held her. His claw-like hands dug into her naked arms.
Torina was sprawled on the ground, not far from Jesslynn. Her hands were also tied behind her back. Her dress was torn and her arms were bleeding. Her eyes were filled with fear and anger, but she watched everything with a keen alertness. Next to her lay the unconscious form of Baltheir, the bearded man Katelina had seen on the night of their arrival. A vampire in black prodded him uselessly with the toe of his boot.
Katelina and the children were led past Oren. He fought against a pair of vampires who held his arms behind his back. His fangs flashed dangerously in the firelight and he made guttural growling sounds. He’d never resembled a fierce lion more than he did at that moment.
“Come to join the fun, Senya?” one of Oren’s guards called.
The vampiress with the bobbed hair smiled in acknowledgement. “I wouldn't miss my favorite part of all this,” she called to him. “I've brought the last of them.” She nodded a command to the guards who held the new arrivals. Wordlessly they threw Katelina and the others to the ground. Bethina’s captors stooped and bound her hands before they moved away.
Katelina’s face landed in damp, dead grass, and she pulled herself up. The first thing she saw made her heart sink. Directly across from her was Jorick, held like Oren was; both hands trapped behind his back by a pair of guards. His dark eyes were trained on Katelina and his lips were drawn back in a sneer of outrage as he struggled to free himself. He shouted loudly, though the individual words were lost to her, just more noise added to the general clamor.
She sat up the rest of the way and rubbed the vampire’s fingerprint from her arms. She looked to her right where Bethina lay on her back. Alexander crawled across the wet grass to the mad vampiress and buried his head in her lap. Tears ran down his pale face. Bethina roared loudly and pulled at her bonds to try and comfort him.
The vampire in black stood to Katelina’s left and held the baby out like a contaminated object. The child’s shrill screams rent the air and drew Jesslyn’s anguished attention.
“Is anyone else hiding inside?” Senya shouted over the noise.
But Jesslynn only cried, “Let them go!”
The vampire in black shook his head “That didn’t answer the question. I guess we’ll have to take precautions against any surprises.” He nodded to another vampire who walked towards the manor and called loudly, “All right!”
Something exploded inside the house. It shook the ground and sent up a shower of bricks and cinders. Katelina cried out in surprise and ducked her head. She used her arms to shield her face from the raining debris; falling stars that glowed orange as they landed in the yard.
The echoes died away and she looked up to see fire licking through the giant hole in the front of the house. What was left of the walls was blackened and badly damaged by the explosion. Pieces of furniture and glass were scattered across the yard; bits of what had been Oren and Jesslynn’s life.
A blood curdling scream rent the air, and Katelina quickly looked to see one of the vampires forcing Margaret, the maid, into the roaring fire. Her too big dress hung off her naked shoulders and the flames already licked at her legs as the vampire prodded her forward.
Katelina cried out and tried to climb to her feet. But, another vampire in a long coat kicked her from behind. She went sprawling in the grass and Jorick shouted something, a message lost beneath Margaret’s screams.
“You'll get yours in a minute!” the vampire said as Katelina pulled herself up onto her arms. “Do you rush to meet death, servant of abominations?”
Senya, who had been strolling from prisoner to prisoner, stopped before Katelina and looked down her nose at her. Her eyes flicked to the vampire who’d kicked her. “She is Jorick's toy, Bren, not one of the others.”
“Jorick's?” Bren asked, a note of disbelief in his voice. “How interesting, I had no ide
a! I thought she was the nanny.”
His laughter made Katelina’s stomach churn, but she couldn’t look away from the flames. Margaret fought as the fire licked her legs and touched the hem of the too long skirt. The vampire shoved her harder and she stumbled forward and landed in the midst of the bonfire on her knees. Her screams grew louder and harsher as she was enveloped by fire. Katelina could see her writhing from inside the knot of flame, trying to escape.
The other prisoners howled and screamed in terror. Katelina’s hands flew to her ears to drown out the sound and her face dropped into the damp, brown grass. The stench of burning flesh rolled past her and was carried away by the wind.
Margaret’s screams died and Katelina dared to look up again. Her eyes caught a pair of men standing off to the side, their faces and bodies cloaked in shadow so that they seemed part of the darkness. Senya stood in front of them, motioning with her hands and pointing back to the circle of prisoners. The men looked past her and then nodded slowly.
Senya’s face lit with joy and she turned back and started towards the bonfire. The cloaked men melted away into the night as she gave Bren a single, satisfied nod. He smiled almost gleefully then stepped forward. He held the baby up with one hand and with the other he pointed to where Alexander lay, his head still buried against Bethina.
Bren called loudly, “Who will speak for these abominations? Who will mourn their destruction?”
Jesslynn writhed in her captor’s hands. “No!”
A smile curved Bren’s thin lips and he commented to Senya, “She must be their mother.” Then he turned to Jesslynn, his face stony and pompous. “You know the laws! Whoever created these monsters shall be punished!”
He walked towards her, swinging the baby, and Oren roared, “Leave them alone!”
“Tut, tut,” Bren chastised. “You know the Laws. This is an abomination and must be destroyed!” He raised his arm as if to pitch the screaming infant into the fire, but Jesslynn broke free and lunged for him.
She caught the child in her arms and pressed its face against her breasts. She stumbled and fell to her knees. “No! You can’t! He’s my child! You can’t!”
Bren snickered. “You should have thought about that.” Then he grabbed the baby by one arm and ripped it from her grasp. Wordlessly, he swung it backwards and slammed its tiny head into the nearby tree. Its skull shattered, showering blood and brains over everyone within range.
Jesslynn fell to the ground. Only her elbows kept her from landing face down in the grass. A scream of agony tore from her lips, “No!”
Bren’s long tongue snaked out to lick a clot of gore from his face as he tossed the remains into the fire. “Bring me the other one!” He signaled to Jesslynn’s guard to rein her in. The vampire obeyed and quickly pulled her arms behind her back.
Katelina lay in the grass, forgotten. Her dew soaked dress clung cold against her body. Splatters of blood decorated it like sick flowers. She blinked at the scene in unfathomable, numb terror.
On Bren’s command, the vampire nearest to Alexander grabbed his tiny arm and tugged him to his feet. Bethina roared and broke her bonds. She launched herself at the startled vampire guard before he could react. Her fangs ripped out his throat in one motion and they fell to the ground in a struggling heap. Blood sprayed from his gaping neck and soaked Bethina’s clothes and hair.
The vampire gurgled and fought as she pinned him down and ripped at his chest with claw like hands. Her fingers tore through his clothes and skin, while she growled unintelligible threats.
Alexander whimpered and clutched at Katelina. His large eyes were glued to Bethina. “They’ll kill her,” he whispered.
Katelina wanted to reassure him, but she had no words of comfort. He was right; they were going to kill them all.
With a roar and a snap Bethina broke through the vampire’s ribcage and ripped his heart from his chest. Several of the other vampires hurried towards her, so she abandoned the motionless body and tackled the nearest of them. She pinned him down and tore at him like she had the first. One of the other guards caught her arms, but she flung him away and returned to her victim. She tore his heart from his chest but, before she could attack someone else, Senya shoved a dagger through her back.
Bethina didn’t scream. Instead, she laughed. Angry red blood ran down the front of her clothing from where the tip of the dagger protruded. She made a gurgling noise and spit out a mouthful of the crimson liquid, then spun and snatched at Senya. The vampiress stepped deftly out of the way. Rather than chase her, Bethina grabbed the nearest vampire – one who’d been in the basement– and hurled him towards the tree. He slammed into the trunk with a crunching sound, but climbed to his feet easily enough, his left arm hanging at an odd angle.
Before Bethina could find a new victim, Bren stabbed another long dagger into her back. The blade missed her heart and she pulled herself off of it. She spun around and lunged towards him, her fangs bared and her hands held like claws.
Bren didn’t flinch. He drove the dagger into her chest, stopping her only inches from him. She stood still, like something from a comic book. Her wide eyes looked past him to the sobbing Alexander. As they landed on him they cleared of madness. A strange smile flickered over her lips and then she crumpled to the ground. Dispassionately, Bren pulled his dagger free from her as she fell.
Alexander tore from Katelina’s hold and flung himself over Bethina’s lifeless body. He screamed words of misery that no one could understand. He clenched handfuls of her hair and sobbed while her blood soaked into his clothes and smeared on his pale skin.
Katelina tried to pull him away. She dug her fingers into the folds of his blood spotted clothing, but he was ripped from her hands. Senya kicked Katelina and knocked her to the ground, where she lay, stunned. Her eyes sought out Jorick, who was still struggling against his two guards. She silently willed him to save them as he’d saved her at the motel.
“This is an abomination!” Bren shouted. He hauled the struggling Alexander towards Jesslynn with one hand. “This should never have been created – and it will be destroyed!” He held the kicking boy up in the air as he moved towards the roaring flames.
“No!” Jesslynn howled, fighting to get free. “Oren! Save him! Save our son!”
“Let him go!”
“If you wanted to save him then you shouldn’t have changed him.” Bren shook Alexander in midair so that his limbs flopped like a marionette. He leveled his gaze with Oren’s and took a step towards the flames. The heat made Alexander squirm even more. “You know the laws.”
“You twist the laws to suit your purpose!” Oren roared.
Bren only snickered. “Such is the prerogative of those with power.”
Jesslynn sagged to the ground, all the fight gone from her. Her captor’s hold was the only thing that kept her from falling face down in the grass. “God, no.”
Bren’s head snapped towards her. A wry smile danced on his lips. “Why do you call on God? You know he has abandoned us all.” He broke into cold laughter and tossed the shrieking Alexander into the flames.
Katelina's eyes closed involuntarily and her hands went to her ears. She tried to drown out the boy’s screams and held her breath against the stench as his body caught fire.
Oren roared unintelligibly. It was the anger of a man who watches all he loves destroyed in an instant, yet is helpless to prevent it.
Katelina opened her eyes in time to see Jesslynn’s guards haul her upright. Bren wrinkled his nose in disgust and without warning shoved his dagger into her chest. She only screamed for a second and then her body sagged.
Oren tried to break free and roared in wordless fury.
Bren glanced at him and called, “She died for what she did, what she created! She broke the laws!” He seemed to savor Oren’s fury as he traced his finger over Jesslynn’s lifeless lips. With a smirk, he licked the blood from his hand while Oren shouted. Then, he picked her lifeless body up and flung it into the flames after her son. B
ethina’s body followed.
The vampires who’d been guarding the other human servants shoved them into the fire one by one. They ignored their screams and attempts to fight. Some of them even laughed as they carried out their grim work.
Katelina sought comfort from Jorick, but he wasn’t looking at her. His attention was focused on Oren, who now had three vampires holding him back. He raged and struggled against them, screaming threats, his eyes locked on the bonfire. Thick smoke billowed from it and the flames leapt higher into the crisp black night as the stench of burning flesh grew stronger. The smell filled Katelina’s nostrils and she gagged and retched. Her brain refused to process the images and sounds. Everything was a blur of blood and death and screams that echoed against the darkness.
Bren wiped his palms on his pants and stood next to the fire, his hands on his hips. “And now, I will ask once more, where is she? Where is the one you hid here?” He looked around at the remaining vampires. His eyes skipped to each of their faces.” Do more need to die before you'll speak?”
“I swear, I’ll kill you!” Oren shouted as he strained against his three guards.
“I rather doubt it,” Bren replied lightly. “You're in no position to do anything to me. Where is she? Where is Arowenia?”
“She isn’t here!” Oren shouted back. “I've told you before: I don’t have her, nor would I want her!”
“You lie!”
Bren took a step towards Oren and Jorick shouted furiously, “He tells the truth, she is not here!” His eyes narrowed and grew cold as Bren turned from Oren and came to a stop directly in front of him.
“Then where is she? I know she was here!” He stuck his face into Jorick's, their eyes only inches apart.
“’Was’ is the key word,” Jorick snapped as he glared unflinchingly at Bren. “She was moved long ago.”
“Where has she been moved to?” Bren leaned closer, his nose almost touching Jorick's.
“I don't know. Her keepers came and took her, disappearing into the night. I don't ask questions.” He continued to be unmovable, his eyes cold and dancing with fury.
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