Chapter 12 – The Blood Lioness
Venice, Italy
Despite the reason for being there, Grace found the city of Venice extremely beautiful. She and Daedalus had spent the first day of their arrival trying to gather any intelligence regarding any strange Veiled activity within the floating city. She encountered various beings; Vampires, Werewolves and even a Selkie. Grace silently had wished the beautiful young woman had turned into a seal, just so she could see the transformation.
It almost appeared as if they had hit a dead end, until one day while enjoying a quite lunch at an outdoor café. The sound of a rifle broke the afternoon air. The glass of wine Daedalus was about to drink exploded in his hand.
Grace Sprung to her feet and pulled out her pepper-boxes. She scanned the area looking for the point of the slug’s origin. Daedalus suddenly shoved her out of the way as another shot screamed between them. Daedalus pointed to a nearby rooftop. Grace glanced upward to see a woman garbed in black military dress and a matching top hat reloading her rifle.
“Who the hell is that and why is she trying to kill us?” Grace screamed as the other patrons and café staff rushed for cover.
“Nasrin Kaur, my pervious companion and she is not trying to kill us. She is warning us to stay away. Trust me she does not miss when she wants to claim a target.” Daedalus replied through the chaos around them.
“I thought your previous companion was dead.” Grace stated standing once more.
“It would seem some people are not inclined to die.” Daedalus spat.
The woman called Nasrin Kaur, gave Daedalus a long glance from her position and then leapt out of sight.
“Do we chase?” Grace asked.
“No she will be long gone, and the next time we meet she will not fire a warning shot.”
“Grace you will not find her.” Daedalus shouted as they winded through tight alleyways. Local townsfolk moved out of the way of the gun toting woman with a carnivorous smile.
“She will wait for us at least for a bit. I think her bravado gets the better of her.” Grave growled back.
After several days of continued hunting for answers the companions were rewarded by capturing one of Varney’s agents who had been sent to tail them. He was young for a Vampire and a bit overzealous about his assignment.
They learned from the Vampire named Giorgio that Varney was in Venice and was creating Zombies as Daedalus concluded. The prisoner also revealed that Varney was planning to use a dirigible to drop those Zombies throughout England and France in densely populated areas. The vessel was currently in docked in outside San Giorgio Maggiore and fuel was delivered to it by gondola. Once they had extracted all the information they could from the Vampire, Daedalus executed him for crimes against the Veiled.
Grace was shocked to learn the cold demeanor her employer sometimes held. She had no love for Vampires but watching Daedalus execute one did seem a bit odd.
“The Veiled laws are clear; conspirators against humanity must be killed.” Daedalus told Grace as he lit the gondola that held the Vampire’s corpse. Slowly the vessel slid out to sea.
Crimson Scarver : The Grace Flynn Chronicles Page 12
