Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust

by Andrea F. Thomas

  "...when I'm in your presence, I never feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, I feel respected as an individual and loved. I can trust you with my life. As far as Lilith is concerned, I only trust her as far as I can throw her."

  Both chuckled as the words formed a picture in their minds.

  After that, Andrej grew serious again. "Since she will stay here for an uncertain amount of time, I'm deeply concerned for the people of Ardeal."

  Sadden didn't take his objections lightly. "There is no doubt that you are right. I will not tolerate her rude and thoughtless behavior towards you. Although this is not a matter of trust, more a matter of obedience towards both of us. Lilith was entrusted to my care. I am her mentor and therefore responsible for her. In the end, everything will be on me."

  Andrej shook his head, scornfully. "That's really no honor, it's a punishment."

  His friend changed the subject to lighten the mood. "Would you like to play a game of chess to end this night?"

  The man declined and rose. "Don't be mad, but I'm totally exhausted and wouldn't be able to think straight."

  Sadden looked at him with compassion. "Good night, my friend."

  Andrej's hand already rested on the door handle as he paused and said, "Family ties set aside, please don't forget the horrible thing Lilith did when she first arrived here."

  "I will never forget my family," Sadden responded in a low voice. "You are my family."

  Andrej didn't need to look her in the eye to know that she spoke the truth.

  Sadden went back to her reading, after her good friend had left the room.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  FAMILY TIES

  The peaceful atmosphere of a new morning filled Helena's sun-bathed bedroom. She stood behind her daughter, who sat in front of a dresser. "So? What did you plan to do today?" Helena asked with a soft smile. Reaching over Skylar's shoulder, she grabbed the brush and tried to get some order into the girl's wild, untamed mane.

  "I don't know," she replied faintly, unable to contain a long drawn out yawn. Tired, she gazed at her mother's reflection in the large mirror that set atop the dresser. "Kyrian is being very cryptic again. I always get a weird feeling when he doesn't want to tell me what he got planned."

  "Why is that, my precious?" her mother inquired, brushing Skylar's hair with long strokes.

  "Every time, it reminds me of the occurrence with the stinky river mud. He honestly attempted to make me believe that this was our lesson about concealment." Her nose crinkled in disgust at the thought of that unfortunate experience.

  Helena knew what her daughter was talking about, but the memory of that particular day made her chuckle. It had happened in the past year's summer. The huntress herself had been sitting in the tall grass, smiling, watching the drama unfold. Then, Kyrian had not been much taller than Skylar. 'Maybe now, I should entrust him more,' she thought. 'He's grown so much and is more mature than a year ago.' In her memories, Skylar squeaked, because Kyrian was dead set on challenging his sister's sense of balance. Standing on a fallen tree trunk, both arms stretched out, the girl loudly complained about her brother's methods. Bending at the knees, he bobbed up and down, which put the trunk into motion. Only with wildly flailing arms was Skylar able to keep her position. To cap it all, Kyrian jumped up cockily to land after a boisterous somersault on the swinging tree. Unfortunately his feet didn't find purchase after the daring leap. He stumbled, slipped and fell prone into the mud, which splashed smelly in all directions. Kyrian sat up, covered in glob from head to toe. Only a pair of dark eyes looked stunned from the foul-smelling gray matter.

  Quick-thinking, Skylar had sat down on the trunk to keep from falling off. In vain she tried to clamp her arms and legs around the swaying tree. Slowly her body toppled to the side, until she could no longer hold on and slipped off, squealing. She found herself next to her brother, also covered with the stinking, sticky substance of the riverbed. Disgusted by the horrible stench, which seemed to crawl into every pore of their bodies, they looked at each other, noticing the flies that had begun to buzz around their heads. Enraged by the plight her brother had caused, Skylar's eyes shot daggers at Kyrian.

  He rose, cursing loudly, reaching out a hand to help his sister up.

  Laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face, Helena had joined them, asking if this spectacle was a new method to practice concealment. The scowls of her children had made her laugh even harder.

  Slowly the memory faded and Helena pensively regarded her daughter's golden, gleaming hair, gently stroking it. "Please, if you think it will once be useful in your life, I'm all for it." She quirked a smile. "As long as you don't rub yourselves down with manure to practice sneaking up against the wind." The huntress sighed. "You really have to promise to refrain from that."

  "We already did that, Mama," Skylar teased, her face serious. "Did we forget to mention that to you?" She was overcome by another hearty yawn, her eyes halfway closed from exhaustion.

  Faced with that, Helena's smirk quickly faded. She stopped brushing and bent forward. Her concerned gaze met Skylar's in the mirror. Carefully she asked, "Did you have... dreams last night, sweetheart?" She hesitated at the word dreams, but didn't want to call it visions. It wasn't her intention to scare her child. There had been times when nightmares had upset Skylar so much, it had taken hours for Kyrian and Helena to calm down the frightened girl. She knew, eventually she would have to tell her the truth about her dreams and what they really meant, but now was not the right moment.

  The girl shook her head. "If I did dream, I don't remember."

  Relieved, Helena nodded, ran the brush one last time through the long hair and divided it into three equal strands. With practiced fingers, the huntress began weaving the strands to tame the mane and hold it in a fancy braid.

  "Is that bad, Mama?"

  "Huh?"

  "I mean that I don't remember if I dreamt. That's not bad, is it?"

  "No, precious," her mother responded and leaned forward, kissing the girl's pale cheek. "Only if it was a beautiful dream. Then it would be sad if you had forgotten it."

  Helena chose a bright red, velvety ribbon from her casket and tied the braid's end with a bow. After she was done, she brushed Skylar's nose with the braid's tip. "There, all pretty," the huntress announced, proudly regarding her work. "Granted, the strict braid isn't exactly the newest fashion..."

  "...but, it will serve our purposes well. Now her wild mane can't get stuck everywhere," Kyrian finished the sentence. He had just entered the room. "Are you finally done, Skylar? I've been waiting an eternity for you to grace me with your presence." Impatience was evident in his voice.

  Excited, the girl hopped off the chair and dashed to her brother's side.

  He found himself confronted with a scrutinizing gaze from their mother. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, taken aback.

  "No crazy experiments, Kyrian. Do you understand?"

  Perplexed, he looked from Helena to Skylar, who shrugged her shoulders and grabbed his hand. "Experiments? Honestly, Mama. We would never lower ourselves to that level. You should know me better than that."

  Helena crossed her arms in front of her chest, cocked her head and raised one eyebrow. "That's exactly it. I do know you all too well, my son. That I give to you the lore of our ancestors doesn't mean you have to carry out every brazen exercise that is there."

  Kyrian looked at his mother with innocent eyes, shrugging his shoulders.

  "Who knows what you have concocted," she suggested, shaking her head in concern.

  Contritely, Kyrian admitted, "We were going to dust ourselves with flour from head to toe. After that, we will run screaming through the woods. That should scare off any vampire. If not, well then... I'm out of ideas." He winked at his sister.

  Skylar pressed a hand to her mouth and snickered.

  Kyrian grinned broadly.

  Although Helena tried to keep a straight face, she couldn't suppress the laughter that bubbled up.
"I think it would only irritate the vampires instead of scare them." She shook her head, still chuckling. "Now go, and don't get up to nonsense. These lessons are supposed to prepare you for life as a hunter. They are not meant simply for your amusement."

  "You mean there really were hunters that put on flour and ran through the woods?" Kyrian asked with pretended shock.

  Mutely, Helena pointed at the door.

  Still giggling, Skylar dragged her brother along.

  "And don't forget to be back before nightfall. Did you hear me?" the huntress called out after them, warning.

  *****

  Far from curious eyes, Kyrian had led them to a little forest. The siblings stood facing each other on a clearing. Two wooden staffs lay next to them in the grass. Kyrian had brought them along for their exercise purposes.

  "Hunters must always rely on their instincts. Therefore, those have to be specially trained. Again and again," he explained. From his pocket he pulled a black blindfold, letting it dangle between thumb and index finger of his right hand. "And now, I'm going to cover your eyes."

  Skylar wrinkled her forehead and took two steps back. "I'd rather see what or whom I attack when a fight begins."

  "Now and then, it is possible to lose a sense."

  His sister eyed him suspiciously.

  "For example, your sight. Imagine this. You are attacked during a moonless night. You can hardly see your hand in front of your face."

  "Can I not light a torch?" she murmured.

  "You are lacking time and material. Besides, you have your hands full," he answered impatiently. "You are being attacked. You have to defend your life. In such a case, a hunter has to make use of the remaining senses."

  "Sense of hearing?"

  "For example, little one."

  Skylar recognized the exercises' necessity and gave in. Still, she agreed only reluctantly to be blindfolded. "What if I hurt you?" she asked in a small voice.

  "Don't you worry, you won't," Kyrian replied confidently, stepped behind her and tied the folded fabric around her head. He made sure that she really couldn't see anything, gave her one of the long staffs and grabbed the other.

  Immediately, Skylar took on the defensive stance. Legs slightly apart, feet firmly connected with the ground, bending at the knees. She listened intently with bated breath. At first, she concentrated on the sounds of her close surroundings. Blatantly obvious was the chirping of birds. Their voices differed and she could make out several kinds of birds. There was the whispering of the wind, blowing through the trees, making their leaves rustle. Buzzing insects passed her by. Suddenly, another noise caught her attention. A dull, constant pounding, which caused light vibrations under her boots.

  "Kyrian? Are you hitting the ground with your staff?"

  He smiled. "Very good. That's the sound of wood on forest ground. Memorize it."

  A sudden muffled whir followed. Intuitively, Skylar lowered her head quickly and brought up the staff. Wood clashed on wood.

  "First strike successfully fended off," her brother praised.

  The girl only had time for a small triumphant grin. The next attack followed, this time struck from the side. Kyrian knelt and aimed at her feet to sweep her legs out from under her. Skylar jumped and the staff whirred harmlessly through the air below her. Kyrian continued to circle his sister. From different positions he started a sequence of further attacks, sometimes quick, sometimes slow. Skylar either dodged them skillfully, blocked them or tried to counter them.

  To the silent watcher, who observed the siblings from a safe distance, hidden in the undergrowth, the whole thing seemed like a weird dance. 'A rather strange spectacle,' Chalice thought. She could hardly believe her luck that she had been able to find the hunters' whereabouts so quickly and easily. She had been on her way to the castle to spy on them for her master, as she had happened upon the children, observing them while they left the house, and then she had followed them here, unseen.

  Since her conversation with Azrael, she wanted to know more about the hunters. For a long time, Chalice had been pondering how to find the Leosol family.

  In the early morning, after her master had retired, the defining idea had formed. Dressed in threadbare clothes, unwashed and with greasy hair, she had gone to the market. Chalice was sure that there she would quickly find the much needed information she was seeking. People from each class gathered at the market place, not only to buy or sell goods, but also to trade the newest gossip. Her expression was the epitome of suffering as she walked between the stands, pretending to examine the goods, but all the while eavesdropping on people's conversations. One of the market women became aware of her pitiful appearance. Feeling sorry for the poor girl, the woman gave her a quarter loaf of bread.

  Chalice took advantage of the opportunity and engaged the woman in conversation. Pretending to be searching for work outside the city walls, she questioned her.

  Beaming with happiness, the market woman told her news she had received from a maid, who had been working at the castle of the Count Bouchardon. According to rumors, a terrible tragedy had come to pass and the noble family had left. But new people had taken up residence in the castle. The market woman didn't know much about the new family, only that they were foreigners. Still, she was sure that Chalice should introduce herself there. Maybe they had some work for such a poor thing. That was how the market woman saw Chalice, and she felt very sorry for her, repeating that over and over.

  Grateful, Chalice had thanked her for the recommendation and told her she would be on her way to the estate immediately.

  Now, here she was in the forest, lurking, observing the children from her hideout in the undergrowth, strangely fascinated by what they did.

  Panting for breath, but immensely proud of her accomplishments, Skylar ripped off the blindfold. She blinked a few times, until her eyes had adjusted to the bright sunlight. A collection of various bruises had formed all over her body, but she thought she had paid back Kyrian well.

  He sat on the ground, looking at his faintly damaged knuckles. The skin was scuffed and bleeding a bit. Kyrian moved his fingers, grimacing as the wounds began to burn.

  "I'm sorry," Skylar gasped, honestly regretting that she had injured her brother. She reached out a hand to help him up. "I put too much force into the strikes and if I had seen where I aimed..."

  "Nonsense," he interrupted nonchalantly. "Even that teaches a lesson to a hunter. After all, it was me who blindfolded you and..." He paused, frowning. A sound had caught his attention. A rustling noise. Light and in the distance, but his sharp hearing had unmistakably caught it. He decided that they should check it out. "Come," he said, indicating to his sister to follow him.

  "What are we going to do now?"

  "The second lesson for today. Reading tracks. Over there, in the undergrowth, some animal moved. Let's see if you recognize what kind of animal it was."

  Full of disbelief, Skylar looked at him. "Reading tracks?" she repeated, flabbergasted. "I don't want to read tracks. That's boring. You promised we would practice shooting the crossbow."

  "I didn't bring the crossbow along and now stop complaining. Reading tracks is one of the most important essentials for a hunter, no matter..."

  Nerve-wracked, Skylar rolled her eyes and sighed. "No matter what kind of hunter they are," she finished in a feisty tone.

  Kyrian grinned. "Just now, Mama would be so very proud of you. You've actually memorized this important lesson and you know it by heart."

  Skylar glared at him and relented to her fate, although she greatly disliked it.

  Upon reaching the spot, Kyrian realized very disappointed that he must have imagined the noise.

  "There's nothing to see," Skylar grumbled. "No broken twigs, no trampled moss, absolutely nothing."

  Her brother examined the forest ground more thoroughly, but had to agree to his sister. "Strange. And I thought..."

  "Can we go home, please? I'm hungry. And maybe, if we hurry, we might find some time
for crossbow practice?" she asked, hopeful.

  Kyrian placed his hands on his hips, his eyes sweeping his surroundings, penetrating the undergrowth. "I could have sworn that..."

  "If something was there, it's now gone. Come on, let's go."

  "Alright."

  They returned to the clearing. Kyrian picked up the blindfold, which Skylar had flung carelessly aside, and stuffed it into his pocket. He took the staffs and walked home with his sister.

  After the siblings had disappeared between the trees, Chalice crawled from her hideout. She grinned, because she had stayed undetected, even though the children had come close to discover her. In her mind a plan had formed, of how she could be directly involved in the lives of the family members. The thought delighted her greatly.

  "My Master will be very happy. And he will be so proud of his Chalice," she mumbled to herself, her grin widening.

  *****

  The embroidered scarf slid from her white shoulders and floated to the floor as Sadden reached out to take a book from a shelf in her library. She put the book aside, picked up the scarf and wrapped it back around her shoulders.

  She became aware of Lilith, who sat at a little table, elbows on top and her head propped up on her hands. Deeply lost in thought, her gaze drifted off, staring at nothing.

  Sadden said circumspectly, "Homesickness is natural. It will never completely fade."

  Awaiting a snappy remark, she glanced at her.

  Instead, Lilith answered in a sad tone, "I miss my clan, especially my parents and the so familiar, wide sea. Everything is so confining and different here. So far away from home, I feel like a stranger."

  "I am very sorry that you still feel like a stranger," Sadden said, looking at her regretfully. "My refuge shall be your refuge as well." The vampire took her protégée's hand, pulled her up and placed a gentle kiss on her high forehead. "I want you to be happy here, even if that means that you have to learn to comply."