Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust

by Andrea F. Thomas

  Just in that moment, a shadow was creeping along the dark houses and Helena recognized Christine, as the young woman paused under a street lantern and looked around.

  The huntress hesitated a second and was about to go over, intending to ask her what she was doing in this part of town at this time of night.

  Somebody, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, stepped into her way.

  Helena stopped and a moment later, Christine had faded into the darkness. Annoyed, the huntress looked at her opponent, who knelt in front of her, his head lowered. With the wide cape and out-stretched arms, he looked like an overgrown bat. Helena couldn't see much of him, because the stranger was clothed completely in black. "You are in my way," she said, challenging.

  "Indeed?" the man answered and rose slowly. He felt self-confident and superior. Finally he lifted his head and a wide grin formed on his thin, pale face, his white teeth gleaming.

  "Nice pointy fangs. Truly beautiful," the huntress mocked. She went into combat stance, because the vampire started a direct attack. Moving quickly, he pounced on her, forcing the huntress to the ground with inhuman strength.

  Helena reacted just as fast and had already pulled a stake from her coat pocket. In the middle of the fall, she took her attacker down with her and whispered into his ear, so that only he could hear it. "Sol invictus!" Then she rammed the stake right through his heart.

  For one brief moment, the vampire looked at her in surprise. Soon after, he had already crumpled to dust.

  At lightning speed, the huntress rolled to the side and jumped to her feet. Half a dozen vampires circled her, licking their lips, longing to taste her blood.

  *****

  Chalice's knees were still trembling and her heart was beating a mile a minute, as she entered the abandoned mansion. 'I hope she didn't see me,' was the only prominent thought in her head. "Everything will be lost, if the huntress makes the connection between the vampires and my presence," she whispered frightened to herself. Fearing the unrestrained fury of her Master, she decided against telling him that she thought Helena had figured her out.

  The young woman opened the door to the next room, which lay in total darkness. She couldn't explain why, because she was sure that she had lit some candles before she had left to carry out her Master's wishes. Meanwhile Azrael should have awakened. Chalice squinted and tried to see something in the darkness, searching for the matches. "My Master?" She didn't get an answer and stumbled on through the room.

  Then a deep voice whispered into her ear, "Are you searching for something?"

  Chalice whirled around and saw into a pair of glowing, deep red eyes. She was so frightened that a piercing scream erupted from her throat. Her heart was beating so hard inside her chest that she thought it might burst.

  At once, every candle began to burn and the echoing laughter of her Master filled the room. Azrael grinned wildly, revealing gleaming white teeth as he regarded the suddenly pale face of his companion. "Why so scared tonight, Chalice?"

  The young woman closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply to regain control of her senses. She smiled meekly at the vampire. "My Master, you seem to be in a good mood tonight."

  Satisfied with himself and the world, Azrael sat down in his armchair. "You know, a nice little game does wonders for my mood."

  Chalice lowered herself on his lap and slowly stroked one fingertip from his hairline, over the bridge of his nose, along his lips, over his throat down to his breastbone, where she let it rest. "Well, then you will be in an even better mood when I tell you that everything has been prepared. The hunters are occupied, at least for tonight."

  "What about the police?" he interrupted.

  "Our beloved police chief, Michel Dutroit, and his men, have been assigned as protectors for the D'Ardenne twins. They shouldn't be a problem, since they are only allowed to guard the girls from afar. And there is something interesting I found out. Monsieur Dutroit is often visiting the Leosol family. My little huntsman told me that he is supposedly working close together with Helena."

  "Interesting indeed," the vampire remarked. "Maybe this information will be of use later on. Did anything else happen I need to know?"

  "The D'Ardenne twins are anxiously awaiting you, my Master," she breathed into his ear and bent forward to press her hot lips against his throat. "It will be a good night."

  "Yes," Azrael responded, smirking complacently. He wrapped a hand around Chalice's neck and pulled her head back from his throat to look into her eyes. "Indeed, it will be a good night," he concluded and guided her face upward to cover her trembling lips with a fiery kiss.

  Lust rose inside her. Chalice's eyes rolled back and she moaned loudly as her Master's tongue slowly slipped into her mouth. Her moment of happiness didn't last long though.

  Azrael released her and pushed her off his lap. "Let us go. It is time to quench my hunger."

  *****

  Lurking, the vampires circled the huntress, but didn't attack. They had grown more careful after what had happened to their companion.

  "What is up with you?" Helena asked, challenging. "Are you too scared to attack me?" She switched the stake from her right hand to the left and pulled her sword from its scabbard. The weapon seemed to glow with an inner, bright light, even in the murky darkness that ruled under the bridge.

  Blinded at first, the attackers clenched their eyes shut. Then one of the vampires gathered all his courage to take on Helena. He also pulled a sword and rushed at the huntress, roaring loudly. He managed to get in some strokes, but had to jump back as Helena countered with a double combination of hits.

  She struck his shoulder and lower arm, making the vampire drop his sword.

  He screamed in pain. Blood flowed from beneath his sleeve and dripped onto the street. Helena noticed the greedy expression in the eyes of the others, who observed everything. Besides that, the huntress saw that his wounds didn't close immediately as she had assumed.

  Almost helpless, he stood in the middle and took a desperate leap to the side, thinking it would save him from the huntress.

  Immediately, some of the other vampires pounced on him. Before they could taste his blood, Helena's stake sailed through the air and hit the injured vampire right in the heart.

  He screamed until only a small amount of dust was left of him. The stake clattered to the ground.

  The others kept staring at the deadly piece of wood. Hissing furiously, caused by the loss of a quick, strengthening meal, the vampires finally turned around.

  Disdain was heavy in Helena's voice as she said, "Trying to feed from your own kind...You are worse than animals. I shall forgive you as soon as I have released you from this horrible existence."

  "What does a huntress know about the unquenchable hunger of an immortal?" asked a bulky vampire, who stepped out of the shadows. Being two heads taller, he towered over her and scowled down at Helena. With measured steps he walked over to her, while the others gathered behind him, smirking. The vampire eyed her female form and announced, grinning, "Your blood could make me feel better about the loss of our friend."

  Helena beckoned him to come even closer. "Come on then, so I can wipe you off earth's face!" she replied harshly. The huntress gripped her sword tightly with both hands.

  Moving quickly, the vampire picked up the sword of his predecessor and forced Helena to the bridge's wall with powerful blows. The vampire raised the sword for the final strike.

  At the last moment, Helena managed to parry. She disarmed her attacker, whose sword slid away.

  The vampire was unimpressed. He pushed hard against her chest, making her stumble against the wall.

  She could feel the cold wetness of it against the nape of her neck. Her braid had loosened and she blew some blonde strands off her face. Instinct had her throwing her head to the side suddenly and the deadly fist, which had been aimed between her eyes, hit the wall with a crunch beside her head.

  "Damn!" the vampire exclaimed, shaking his hurting hand.
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  Helena used the opportunity. She grabbed his arm and twisted it roughly. A well placed kick in the stomach pushed him away from her. His face contorted in pain. Uncoordinated, he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Just as the huntress hovered over him to finish him off with the second stake, another vampire attempted to overpower her.

  Nobody else would have been fast enough to miss being cut by the blade of this new challenger. Helena jumped backward with the grace of a cat. Slashing, the vampire went after her, but his blows met only empty air. Sparks flew as his sword hit the stony wall where the huntress had been standing a mere moment before. Obviously confused, he was surprised as he felt a tap on his shoulder.

  Helena stood behind him and whispered into his ear, "Looking for me?"

  Dumbfounded, he whirled around, but was too late to successfully defend himself.

  One well aimed strike with her sword was enough to behead him.

  Astonished cries could be heard from the others as the head rolled to the ground, followed by the body that slumped onto the wet pavement.

  Precautionary, Helena plunged the stake through the corpse's chest, calling out, "Sol invictus! Never did any of those I beheaded rise again, but who knows what is possible in Paris."

  She knew the others would be easy game, fear was practically written all over their pale faces. First, she would have to take care of the bulky one.

  He had used the distraction to retrieve his weapon and get back on his feet. A hailstorm of blows and strikes rained down on Helena. She dodged as quickly as she could. The huntress countered with blows of her own and retreated a bit to get an overview of the new situation. Fiercely he went after her and she fought back, matching him strike for strike. With renewed force, he drove her back again.

  Helena stumbled and her next blow met thin air.

  The vampire took his chance, trying to knock the sword from her hand.

  She pulled back her hand and released her sword. That saved her from getting her hand broken by the vampire.

  Laughing, he kicked the sword out of her reach and closed his hands around her neck.

  Helena noticed that his inhuman powers grew weaker, though slowly, but unstoppable. Giving her the advantage she needed, she kneed him in the groin with all her might.

  He doubled over in pain, released her from his grip and turned a bit to the side.

  But she wasn't finished and slammed her knee right into the vampire's face. Helena was gratified to see the spraying blood as his nose broke. "You may be immortal, but you are not immune to pain!" Her hand smashed beneath his chin and cracked his head against the wall, making the vampire's legs give out.

  Helpless, he slid to the ground, but found enough breath to hiss, "We will kill you, wench!"

  Helena's answer was even more painful than his offending choice of words. She kicked him furiously in the ribs.

  Even though he was very groggy, he tried to force her down and reached for her ankles. The huntress threw herself on him, her knees crashing into his already broken ribs, reinforcing the pain. "Who commands you?" she wanted to know, while kneeling on his ribcage.

  Out of spite the vampire kept silent.

  "I know that you bloodsuckers don't flock together out of the blue. There has to be a reason."

  The huntress realized it was in vain to interrogate the vampire further, because if forced, they would keep silent until their deaths. Helena knew many of the vampires' secrets, for example that they could recover faster than any normal human. It was necessary to kill them all.

  "Be grateful that I'm such a nice person and will put a stake through your dark heart, before the pain gets unbearable," the huntress stated coldly. Determined, she did what she had said. "Sol invictus!"

  Helena's experience showed her that even one tiny carelessness was enough to result in a dangerous situation. For that reason she always made sure to divide her strength, so she had some reserves she could rely on, if she needed to.

  After ridding the world of the third vampire, she turned to the rest of the dark bunch, provoking them, "You may be faster, but I am much stronger and enduring."

  Incited by the huntress' bold words, they began to circle Helena again, growling threateningly, like dogs suffering of rabies.

  She briefly lost sight of one vampire, who immediately started a surprise attack. She had only enough time to sidestep him and raise her sword to protect her front. The vampire's blade slid along her own, weakening the blow. With lightning speed, Helena turned her sword and disarmed her surprised opponent while slamming the stake into his chest with her free hand. "Sol invictus!"

  He dissolved into dust.

  "You saw how you will fare," she threatened. "Tell me, who do you obey?"

  Instead of an answer, her demand earned her another attack from the front. This vampire was more agile than those before him. He seemed experienced in sword fighting. The vampire moved so fast that Helena found it difficult to make out his shape in the darkness. He constantly floated around between floor, walls or the bridge's ceiling.

  Helena found herself backed to the wall, and one quick movement of the vampire's weapon had her disarmed. The mighty sword of the Leosols scraped over the pavement and slid out of her sight.

  The vampire stopped a respectful distance away. Then he closed in and placed the blade against her throat, hissing, "We obey nobody."

  The huntress snorted contemptuously, giving voice to her disbelief. The vampire responded with a hard slap across her face. Her right cheek turned red and began to swell. Blood trickled out of her nose and from a cut on her upper lip.

  The dark creature's gaze went from Helena's eyes to the blood oozing from her wounds.

  She saw the terrible greed awakening inside him. Helena used this moment of distraction to gather her strength and push him away from her.

  Taken off guard, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

  The huntress pounced and bore down on him with all her might, nailing him to the pavement with her legs. She slammed her fist right into his face, hitting him again, twice, thrice, until he groaned in pain, barely able to open his eyes. "You are lying as well as you are fighting," Helena hissed.

  The vampire tried to laugh. Blood flowed from his mouth and choked him. He coughed and wheezed.

  Helena saw that he wanted to say something, but it was hard to understand him, due to his badly swollen lips. Carefully she bent down, putting the stake aside and pressed his head with both hands to the floor to prevent him from getting free.

  The vampire opened his mouth, revealing pointy eyeteeth that glistened with his own blood. "You... your children... you all will die... it... is... inevitable..." he gasped. A malicious grin spread across his features.

  Helena pulled the long, thin dagger from her right boot and cut his throat with one move. Blood splashed across her face, but the huntress didn't seem to notice. She breathed harshly, staring at the red fluid that dripped from the blade.

  Jerking back to her senses, Helena noticed that she had almost decapitated him. She reached for the stake and rammed it into the corpse's chest, foregoing to say the holy war cry. Instead, she contemplated the vampire's words. 'Something big is going on here in Paris, something of horrendous proportions... Skylar... Kyrian... oh Helena, free your mind from distracting thoughts... and think! What are the vampires planning?'

  At a loss, she gazed at the small heaps of ash to her feet. The wind picked up to blow away the last traces of the fight. Relieved, she retrieved her sword and placed it back into its scabbard. Then she bent down to pick up the stakes, intending to put them back into her coat's pockets. Suspicious, Helena paused in that position and said, "It seemed to me that there were two more of them..."

  Right after these words of doubt left her mouth, a dark shadow tackled her from above. The huntress recognized a very young woman, whose face was framed by red locks and reminded her of Joséphine's description, before the back of her head collided roughly with the ground. Helena groaned. Daz
ed, she saw another shadow that came crawling at her very fast from above, which should have been impossible due to the rules of gravity. The huntress looked into the vampire's eyes, who hung head first off the bridge's ceiling. Light brown hair escaped the hood of her cloak and Helena thought she was confronted by Luise.

  The head of the Leosols clenched her eyes shut, trying to regain her senses, but the illusion didn't fade. The pictures of dead girls had been burnt into her memories and were now confusing her thoughts. "These are not the girls. These beasts have nothing in common with the poor children. Their features just resemble each other a bit," she mumbled.

  Her concentration slipped, while the throbbing pain in her body grew stronger. Helpless, Helena had to let it happen. The only thing reminding her of reality were the distant, joyful shouts of the vampires.

  Next, she felt something warm pass over her face. The huntress fought to open her eyes and gazed directly into a pair of deep black ones. For a short moment, she was blinded by the dark flames. The vampire, who had wrestled her to the ground, was lying on top of her, savoring the dried blood from the huntress' lip and nose with her tongue.

  Disgusted, Helena turned her head to the side and found the second vampire. This one looked over the shoulders of the first, obviously delighted by the horrible spectacle, her eyes gleaming with pleasure. She licked her lips greedily with the tip of her tongue and pushed her companion slightly, who hovered over the huntress. "Hey! Leave me some! I want to have some fun, too!"

  The first vampire stopped, turned, and wrapped her lips around the ones of her friend, kissing her deeply. After they parted, the second vampire looked even more hungry than before at her victim. "The blood of the mighty huntress... delicious."