“What will we find inside, regarding resistance?”
“I saw maybe a dozen servants who we may assume might be armed. Regarding servants, we kill who we must. Those who run away, we let live.”
Cosette said “There’s a creek behind us, and I think we should all smear mud on our hair and our faces. You and Marie are well known and any of us could encounter one of the people inside this place in Paris or anywhere one day. As many as you saw in there, some are likely to get away.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Shortly their faces were all covered in mud and it was caked thickly in their hair as well. Ian embraced both Marie and Cosette and after shaking hands with Li and Henri, he streaked towards the huge chateau, bounding effortlessly up to land on the roof beside the westernmost dormer. They watched as he flitted like a bat to one and then the next. He flitted quickly back to the fourth one from where he had started and seemed to melt into the face of the dark dormer.
Chapter 44
Chloe and the others had been bathed and had clean white robes put on by the black-hooded men. They were then carried whimpering into the large room and to a place where the tile was set into the stone and forced to lie down on their backs there. There were four iron rings set in the floor at each of the five points of the pentagram. The five girls were each tied hand and foot to the four iron rings. Straw was scattered thickly at all five tips of the pentagram. A door opened at the side where they had come in earlier and seven men wearing red-hooded robes filed in. Chloe was filled with a sudden dread as she and her companions began to cry.
***
While waiting for the others, Ian quickly looked out at the hallway and saw no one in sight. The others joined him shortly. He had broken a window pane to enter. They proceeded out into the hallway, lit by candles on wall sconces. The house was quiet and it seemed that there were no activities. The five glided along trying all the twelve doors leading to the twelve rooms. They saw bags that had been unpacked in six of the bedrooms. Skirting the balustrade they checked all twelve bedrooms along the north wall and found them unoccupied. They glided down the open staircase to the second floor and repeated the search and came up empty. On the main floor, they heard who they thought were servants talking. It sounded like a sizeable group, easily a dozen or more which was nothing unusual for a house this size.
They passed the kitchen and pantry area by and made their way to a door that Henri thought went to the cellar Ian paused and the others looked at him questioningly. A nagging premonition caused him to sign to Li to take the lead with Marie and Cosette following. He signed to Henri to precede him and he brought up the rear. They descended a well-lit stairway into the cellar.
Ian was the last to reach the bottom. Just as he did, he felt an icy prickling that plunged down his spine.
“Vampires behind us!” he said as he spun, his pistol raised. He sensed rather than saw the others turn with him as he saw a large muscular figure flying towards him followed by three more. He moved to one side like lightning as he shot the first one between his eyes. In a blur he drew his sabre with his left hand and delivered a deep cut to the giant’s neck, severing it three fourths through as his momentum carried him to a large table with two fully-lit candelabras. The table crashed over and the candles rolled everywhere including into some left-over straw piled around a cedar support post. There was a large container of lamp oil on the table for the lamps along the walls and it had spilled as well. A fire started and soon the cedar post was blazing, the flames licking hungrily along the exposed cedar beams. No one had noticed it yet as all were busy fighting for their lives.
Ian had dropped his pistol as he heard another pistol discharge and saw an even bigger vampire hurtling down on them with a gaping hole in his throat. Li moved towards him and like lightning he lowered himself to dodge a tremendous slash as the giant tried to take his head off with a short sword. Li drove a powerful side kick into the giant’s knee, breaking his leg backwards, causing that one to roar in pain. Ian had already hacked off the first one’s head. They backed away from the foot of the steps as two more came screaming, leaping to the landing below. They were females and Li stepped in and broke one’s arm; following up with a vicious elbow to that one’s jaw, crushing it and driving her jawbone around her head to one side. Cosette pounced on her and nearly cut her head off with her curved dagger. The other one fell to Marie who ran her through repeatedly and stepping back lopped off her head cleanly. More of them leaped down the steps roaring, swords drawn. Still more appeared above.
Realizing that they were outnumbered, Ian shouted “Fall back to that hallway!” They stood a better chance if the others could only come at them by twos, so they backed away from the landing toward a hallway leading back from where they had heard voices.
Ian switched to English saying “Marie, you and Cosette look for the girls while we hold them here!” He then spun to engage a female vampire with red hair and blazing green eyes, bounding toward her and delivering a mighty side kick as she rushed him with a drawn sword. She flew back with a cracked sternum and three broken ribs and rolled into a mass of flames, knocking over a small table with yet another jar of lamp oil. It shattered as she rolled through it, soaking her clothing. Coming to rest against the far wall in a pile of blazing straw, she lay there for several seconds, stunned and then she ignited like a torch. Shrieking in pain, she vanished up the now flaming staircase like she was shot from a cannon, spreading flames throughout the main floor as she blindly fought to find a way out of the house.
***
Chloe saw a man in a red hood take a dagger from a pedestal where it had lain. He started toward her nearest companion. She heard a loud commotion coming from the end of the room opposite where she and he others had been brought in. The man in the red hood had already cut one of the little girls nearest to Chloe. She screamed. He stopped and looked in the direction of the commotion, standing there for a little while listening. The noise sounded like a battle with loud explosions punctuating the shouting and screaming. It seemed to be getting closer. She saw the man nearest her in the red hood with the dagger in his hand look that direction, and then drop the dagger and run towards the stairway where she had been brought in. Two figures were approaching her from the direction of the noise.
***
Marie and Cosette streaked toward the back. Two really big human guards in black robes came to meet them with swords drawn. The two cut them down like they were dried weeds, hurtling into a large room. In the center was a large pentagram laid out in tile in the cobblestone floor. Near the tip of each of the five points was a young girl tied to iron hoops set in the floor. Straw was piled there beneath each one, presumably to soak up blood. They just got a glimpse of several figures in dark red robes running into a hallway leading away in another direction.
Suddenly two vampires came from that hallway, moving like a flash towards Cosette and Marie. The two drew their pistols and cocked them in a blur and shot both of them through their heads. Their momentum carried them past the women to a large brazier with a hot fire going. One of them crashed into it screaming, the hot coals scattering everywhere and setting fire to three cedar posts where more of the surplus straw was piled. The other knocked over a large candelabra and scattered blazing candles everywhere including into the straw. Cosette and Marie followed up and each of them quickly beheaded their targets.
They then turned and ran to two of the girls and slashed their bonds. Chloe saw a person who was covered in mud cutting her bonds. Cosette and Marie picked them up and flew down the hallway where they had seen the red-robed figures running. They came to a staircase and flew up it finding the door at the top standing open. As they burst into the room they saw the red-robed figures running down a hallway, trailed by two black robed figures. The two male vampires in black robes detached themselves from the group. They turned and bounded across the space toward the two women, drawing kn
ives. Dropping the two girls, Marie and Cosette moved forward in a low glide to meet the pair. They attacked them without hesitation and fought furiously, their blades a shining blur of motion. A pitched battle ensued taking only a minute. Their sound swordsmanship, hours of practice against Ian, and the fact that their opponents were armed only with knives began to make a difference immediately as both of them inflicted numerous wounds on their adversaries even while driving them back quickly.
Cosette finally hacked the hand off of her opponent just after he had made a blindingly fast thrust at her, leaving his arm extended for a split second too long. In a smooth blur of motion she pivoted as that vampire howled in pain and retreated, vanishing down the hallway. She continued her spinning motion so as to traverse to the other one and struck his head from his shoulders with a two-handed blow as Marie was pressing the fight from her side.
Looking around, Cosette shouted “This way, Marie!” as she snatched up one of the girls and hurtled toward a large window. Covering the girl’s face she leapt through it with Marie following. Shards of glass flew outward as she shot through it with her precious burden. They landed smoothly on a veranda and quickly let the girls down. The candles beside the windows caught fire to the draperies. Cosette said “Hide here. We’ll find you. If not, wait until daylight and get away from this place.” She pointed west toward the general direction of the city of Lyon. Then she and Marie leaped back through the broken window and flashed down the steps to go back for the other girls.
Ian, Henri, and Li had their hands full, being as all had since discharged their second pistol and were fighting with sabers by now. The vampires feared to go back because the flames had grown so greatly, so they pressed the attack against the three.
There were five of them now advancing with short swords drawn. Ian advanced to meet them. This would give Li and Henri a bit of time to get set up to defend the hallway. It all happened in the blink of an eye though. Ian met one head on who would only parry and thrust with his short sword. His eyes glowing like blue flames, Ian pressed his attack. He had a bit more reach than the other one though with his saber and a little advantage in height. Within seconds he had sheared off the vampire’s ear. Enraged, his opponent roared and leapt at Ian, who dropped suddenly and whirling and using both hands he slashed his saber horizontally a few inches off of the floor, cutting one foot off of his opponent as he passed by. Springing up as he spun away he lunged back toward his opponent who bellowed in pain, delivering a mighty front kick to his chest and propelling him back in a somersault into a wall of flames.
The vampire bellowed again and stood up on one foot and one leg stump. In his madness from the pain and his clothing afire he somehow made it up the stairs and hobbled roaring and screaming through the house, spreading the flames and knocking over several candelabras starting other fires. By now the upstairs was ablaze even more than the basement by reason of many windows being open and a good northerly breeze circulating through the place.
Two more had closed in on Ian before that had happened though, and, he backed towards the entrance to the hallway as he fought them. Li was at his side and making a lightning thrust, he ran one through, stepping back to escape a counter thrust. Ian whirled and cut off that one’s sword arm. It was sticking out for the blink of an eye and was a perfect target. He paid for it though as he felt the fiery pain of a sword thrust into his side. He pivoted and instead of backing away from the sword, he lunged against it and was able to get close enough to half sever the neck of that swordsman with a mighty backhanded slash. Pivoting he kicked that one away from him and pulled the sword out of his stomach. Ignoring the stabbing pain and armed with two swords he fell on him as he rose and struck his head from his body. Spinning toward the others, he leaped toward them with a vengeance. Li and Henri had the last three engaged at the entrance to the hallway.
Li’s sword suddenly broke not too far above the handle. He threw the handle at the nearest vampire, and hit him squarely between the eyes. The vampire bored in, picking up speed seeing that Li had no weapon. Li simply waited until another thrust came and darted to one side avoiding it. He then fell back holding on to the vampire’s sword arm. Using his opponents’ momentum he just fell and continued rolling backwards, driving his feet into that ones’ stomach as he lifted him high up and over to go crashing to the floor behind him. Li continued backwards in a rolling backward somersault and as he came up on his feet he spun and delivered a smashing front kick to the vampire’s face as he tried to regain his feet. His nose was splattered across his face and two front teeth were kicked out. Li bored in on him grabbing his forearm by the wrist and driving his free arm beneath the vampire’s upper arm he twisted mightily, shifting his free hand down to join his other hand on the vampire’s wrist. He pulled down with all of his strength while straightening his legs driving himself upward, breaking his opponent’s arm backward over his shoulder.
The vampire roared as he clutched his injured arm but Li had already whirled behind him and had grabbed his head from behind under his chin and had done a blinding half-turn. He pulled down mightily driving his hip into the buttocks of his opponent. That brought the vampire arcing over him backwards and crashing face-first to the ground. Li spun like lighting and ended up on his opponent’s back. He reached and grabbed his head and wrenched it around, breaking his opponents’ neck. Up in a flash, he snatched up the vampires sword, severed its head, and kicked that away as he sprang back towards Henri who was engaged with the other one. Henri was wounded in his shoulder and was losing ground when Li came and struck the vampire’s head from its body, just as Ian had finished off his last opponent.
They looked around but had to back down the hallway because of the flames. Henri said “The girls…this way!” The three of them rocketed down the hallway toward the large room, but midway there was a loud groaning sound and a flaming mass fell in front of them, blocking the hallway. They turned and looking at each other they paused for a heartbeat. Ian said “We have to try it the way we came in lads. Whatever you do don’t breathe in!” He plunged into the holocaust at his greatest speed and rounding the corner leaped up the stairs in one bound landing in flames and turning in the direction that the other staircase had to be. His clothes were now afire as he rocketed along searching for the other staircase leading down. He sensed rather than saw Li and Henri close behind him.
Bursting into another large ornate room he saw someone leap out the window holding something. He flew out the same window ending up on the veranda and saw Cosette and Marie with four of the girls. Henri and Li joined him and all were beating out the flames on their clothing including Cosette and Marie. Henri said “That was a close one” as Ian started toward Cosette. However she leaped back through the window as Ian shouted “No, Cosette, it’s too late!”
Cosette bounded through flames to the bottom of the burning staircase and peered around the room, locating the bleeding child who had fallen silent. Smoke billowed around her where she was tied down. Her hair and clothing burst into flames and she felt searing pain all over her body. She leaped to the girl’s side and slashed the bonds holding her to the rings set in the floor. Hearing a groaning roar she saw her exit blocked by a flaming mass that fell to the cobblestone floor. She cast about desperately knowing that the other stair way was gone as well. Seeing a hole near a wall she bounded toward it just as a mass of stone fell all around it. As she got to it, she saw that she could still fit into the hole so she thrust the limp little girl into it and got down into it with her. Both of them were afire, clothing and hair burning, skin blistering. Just as she got down beside the little girl there was a deafening roar. One of the massive chimneys above had buckled and came crashing down through the floor above. Two broad beams fell across the entrance to the stone pile some ten feet above her head. She looked up and thought this is how it is when you are about to die. Tons of stone debris rained down on them then, and mercifully eve
rything went black.
Chapter 45
In the home of Caryn Rochelle in Paris there arose an unearthly scream that went on and on, then the sound of a little girl screaming “COSETTE! THE FIRE, THE FIRE, NO COSETTE, NO, THE FIRE!”
Then a wailing cry was heard as Caryn Rochelle rushed to Celeste’s bedside. Little Celeste was wailing, sitting up in her bed. She just wailed and rocked herself back and forth, her knees drawn tightly to her breast and her arms locked about them. Caryn sat beside her holding her and rocking her, trying to soothe her. She somehow knew that this was not just a child’s bad dream. Then again Celeste screamed;
“NO IAN, NO! NO! THE FIRE IAN, NO!”
Celeste wept and wept and couldn’t be comforted. Caryn held her close and rocked her, stroking her hair. After several minutes of this, Celeste lifted her head to look into her aunts’ eyes. “Cosette has burned! Cosette has burned! Oh, aunt Caryn, Cosette has burned! She’s gone, aunt Caryn, she’s gone! Ian is burned too! Oh Aunt Caryn he is burnt horribly! He’s dying!” She fell to weeping uncontrollably as Caryn held her and rocked her.
Caryn was in a state of shock, but deep down she knew that as horrible as it sounded, it had happened. She had already observed how she seemed to know things that she couldn’t know, and Caryn didn’t trivialize anything this remarkable little girl said. She sat holding Celeste; rocking her and stroking her hair.
***
Ian leaped through the window and went through the flames, jumping to the bottom of the staircase which was now a solid mass of flames. His clothing and hair were aflame as he tried to peer through the mass of flames. Searing pain flashed throughout his body. He shouted as loud as he could “COSETTE! COSETTE!”
Looking around he couldn’t see Cosette or the little girl. Now burning and his skin peeling and blistering, he heard a great groaning sound and he knew that the house above was falling in. He leaped up through the solid mass of flames and rocketed towards the window just as the house fell in on itself with a mighty roar. Sparks and flames shot three hundred feet into the night sky as the inferno got a gigantic gulp of fresh air to raise it to new heights.
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