Lyssandra & The Return of Lyssandra

by Richard Johnson

  A moment later Carlo, an Italian and known for his homosexual desires, ran into the common room, terrified. He would have run from the room had Erik not grabbed the smaller man and stopped him cold. Then a slap to stop his ravings as someone pushed a bota into his hands. Carlo drank mightily until Erik pulled the skin from him and snapped, “What happened?”

  Everyone was watching the room from where Carlo had run. I noted that it was the one with the entry into the dungeon. This boded ill. Were the rats finally coming out?

  Gasping Carlo stammered in Italian which I could understand until Erik slapped him, “German! Speak German. I cannot understand your foppish chattering.” German was the language of note with Olaf’s Company mainly because that is where we started and most of our men were German.

  Carlo tried to calm then spoke. “We heard that moaning and groaning coming from … below! Hedvig went first, armed as ordered, to look within. Then something white came up the stairs. Mother of God and all the Saints! It was a woman, beautiful in her winding sheet. She approached with arms outstretched and Hedvig lowered his sword. She.. she embraced him and kissed him and then…,” he reached for the skin but was refused, so taking a deep breath, continued. “Holy Mother,” he was staring at the priest, Goran now, “Never was I so glad to be a lover of men for the bitch tore his neck with her teeth and drank from the blood that spurted forth. I was terrified but lowered my spear and charged. I struck her full in the side and tore her from Hedvig. I pushed her to the wall, pining her there then, Holy Mother save us, she reached down, pushed my spear shaft back until she was free and them ran back down the stairs! She ran! Her mouth and clothes red with poor Hedvig’s blood and more pouring from the wound I gave her but she ran!

  He nearly collapsed then forced himself to continue, “I pulled Hedvig back and tried to staunch the would but it was too late. Captain, Sergeant, you know how it is, you hold someone and know that they are walking dead and nothing you can do will save them? So you hold them until their death reaches their brain. Hedvig was like that. I held him, I screaming for help that never came.

  “Then the moaning continued as if long sealed wooden doors were being forced open and so I broke and ran. Hedvig was dead! I couldn’t save him so blame me not for leaving him there.”

  Ignoring him, he’d soon have his lover to comfort him, I snapped, “Pikes and halberds to the fore! We search the room!” But no one moved so I drew my sword and strode first. The thing I hated most about being a leader was the paperwork, second was sending men to die, third was leading men to die.

  I entered, Lys at my side with Eric at the other and pikes overhead but we never made it far into that room. There were a dozen men and women crossing the floor, some in winding sheets, others in clothes that had seen better days. All, obviously, dead! Of Hedvig, there remained only a trail of blood leading below as if someone had dragged his body down the stairs.

  The first I dropped with a blow to his head, cleaving the man to his liver. Lys thrust her estoic into another who kept walking forward, screaming until Eric lay him down with his war hammer. Then the pikes thrust and slashed. That was our way, a shield wall to protect while the pikes thrust and hacked from behind and overhead. And glad I was that we had drilled and drilled until the body acted in sleep for any sane man would have broken and run.

  But, fortunately, the vampires broke first, dragging themselves back down the stairs to leave us alone with their dead. “Pikes to that opening!” I snapped orders. “NOTHING comes up those stairs!” Then, “Torches and oil! And pull those sentries off the walls, we need them here!” Then I turned to the Priest, Goran.

  “Know you anything of this?” I demanded with such force that he and his acolytes backed away.

  “Nay, Captain. Nothing!”

  “Then why in the Christian Hell did Viktor send YOU with US to fight BANDITS! NO ONE sends priests on a mission to stop BANDITS! SOMEONE KNEW that these were more! And YOU!” I nearly skewered him with my bloodied blade, “are not such a fool as to remain ignorant. WHAT… DID… YOU… LEARN!”

  “As God is my witness, I know only what you do. The Prince Nicolae sent a messenger to the King of Serbia asking for aid to stop bandits. He also asked for Priests to accompany the soldiers. Jesus and Mary, we believed that after Vlad Dracula was excommunicated by the Greek Church, the Romanians were rethinking their apostasy and willing to convert to the true faith! By God and Jesus Christ in whom all are saved, this I swear!”

  The man was too scared to lie to me. “Know this priest! By my Name and Title, if you are telling me a lie and knew of THOSE, I will, with my own hands, throw you and your followers down those stairs to preach to the damned!”

  Vampires! Vampyre! What names these were called mattered not. Only how to kill them. I called for Hans who spoke, shaking in his shoes, “The Bulgarian Krvoijac must be chained to his grave with wild roses. The Greek Brukalaco require their heads to be removed and burned. You nail a stake through the heart and a nail through the temple of the Hungarian Vampir. In Macedonia you burn the Vryolakas with oil as you drive a stake through their navel. And the Romanian Strigoil require that you remove and bisect their hearts, shove garlic into their mouth then remove the head.” Of course, any of these methods would stop a living man as well so they were useless. What I needed was a way that would stop them without risking men facing a dozen of the monsters. Salt and Holy Water? I didn’t believe in christianity and their obsession with the dead christ but these vampires were probably christian, and hopefully didn’t care if the Water were blessed by Roman or Greek Catholic.

  “Goran! I have a task for you! Prove to me your faith and do whatever magics and spells you Christians do to stop these monsters.” The man shook but turned away to confer with his followers. Then to Lyssandra, “What spells do you Kosovo Witches do to stop Vampires?”

  “Garlic, wolfbane, catnip! Many are the herbs…”

  I interrupted her, “Unless you are planning to make them a formal dinner, I’d like something a bit more useful to our current situation.”

  “Burning and decapitation can’t hurt,” she laughed, near hysterical.

  Remembering how that one walked up her estoic made me say, “But three feet of steel through their guts only slows them down. OK, Men, Listen up! Gather all the oil we have and ready torches. Spears! Tie some cross-guards to them as if you were hunting boars! Spearman to thrust and hold them at bay, sword or axe to smash or remove the head. Another to cast bottles of oil and a fourth to torch. Be careful to NOT pour oil on your fellows! This is going to be a long night!”

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  NIGHT THE FIRST, CONTINUED

  The next attack came from the stairs, this time the priests insisted on being present. As the hoard came up the stairs, the priest held his bible before, praying that the fiends be gone in the names of his gods. And for a moment they hesitated. Encouraged, Goran and his Brothers advanced, holding before them their crosses and vials of water that they had blessed, reading from their holy book. The monsters hesitated and then took a step back. Goran stepped forward, splashing the things with water which they avoided. Encouraged by this, even my men pressed forward with relaxed weapons until Erik saw the trap as did I. “Back you fool, they…”

  It was too late. The monsters surged forward, ignoring bible and cross. They clutched Goran and the other brothers and tore his throat before us. Goran’s followers screamed as they were dragged below before my men could react. None had the courage to follow to rescue and I knew that any order I gave to do so would be ignored. The priests screamed for a very long time.

  Striding forward, I yelled out, “Next time you see one of those, you STAB! You SMASH! And you BURN!” I didn’t want any more losses and I didn’t want to have to explain to Prince Viktor that I had allowed his priest-confessor, who was in my charge, how I let him get killed. The man would be likely to have me crucified in a mom
ent’s anger.

  ***

  There were three more attacks from below that night. Then nothing. We stood there, leaning against the wall, exhausted when someone came into the Keep croaking, “The sun is up. We are saved!”

  ***

  As the men had not the energy left to cheer, I managed to order the three who looked the least exhausted, “You on guard. Let none be enticed by a pretty face that hides fangs. In two hours, waken…. Hippo, Allen and Robert. The rest sleep. I don’t think we need to worry about bandits anymore.”

  As the men who could, staggered back to rest, and the three to guard grumbled, Erik asked, “Captain?” he was covered with blood and brains. Goddess, I hoped that he’d not become infected from that mess. “Why not leave while we can and sleep leagues from here?”

  “Because we were charged with cleaning out this ruin. And be it infested with bandits or Turk or Vampire, I mean to accomplish my orders. Besides, if we return without the priests and the monsters still here, we ALL will be crucified by Viktor. Better we kill the monsters and hope that mitigates his anger.”

  Erik nodded but I could see that he didn’t like my decision. “Wake me at noon!” and I left with Lys to sleep.

  As she lay in my arms, our armor interfering with any comfort, she asked, “My Lord, if you fear Viktor’s wrath so much, why return? Surely we can go to your Ireland and be safe.”

  I stroked her hair and replied, “Because I am Tierna and my word is my law. I cannot desert my duty even if it leads to my death.”

  “Sometimes, my love, you are a fool.” Then she began to snore.

  ***

  I was woken up as ordered and choosing the four who were already awake and eating, I took some meat and cheese and ordered, “I hope your stomach is full for we have an unpleasant task ahead and vomiting on an empty belly is painful.” Then I handed torches to each. “Follow me!”

  They did only because I went first. Had I ordered them ahead as did many officers, they would have turned upon me. Order a man into Hell and he may desert. Lead them and make them believe that you will lead them out again and they will follow you into anywhere. And I refused to order a man to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.

  I led them into the crypt, as we now called it, and checked the far room. Still undisturbed. Still covered with rotting food and gnawed bones. Well, this explains the lack of rats, the vampires ate them all. But where were the priests and my men?

  Each of the other doors remained sealed so I chose the one closest to escape and motioned to my men, “Pry this open! The rest of you ready your torches.” Terrified, but unwilling to face my anger, they drove a pike into the jam and grunted and pulled and finally gave up.

  “No good, Captain. It won’t budge.”

  I looked over the door, solid oak, inches thick and held with a sliding bolt that we had forced back. The barrier was held on the other side by two great iron hinges. Well, if you cannot enter one way, there is always another path. “Break these hinges!”

  Between hammer and pike, the hinges were soon wreckage upon the floor and then we tried to pry the door from that side. Again nothing. “Captain, think you this door is barred from the other side?”

  “Probably,” I replied. “Were I to hide within, I’d not trust the swollen wood to bar my enemies. But, look! All ten doors are heavily bolted From the Outside! How did they exit when the doors cannot be opened from either side?”

  “Perhaps as a mist?” one suggested. He noted a number of small holes, barely the diameter of the smallest finger scattered about each door.

  Nodding, I ordered, “Pour oil at the foot of the door and see if any flows within.” They did so but I was unable to determine if any entered so shrugged again, “Soak the door well.” When I determined that the wood was covered, I motioned them back and taking a torch, backed to the stairs and tossed it to the barrier. The oil instantly caught fire and we were driven up by the smoke but minutes later, the flames died, and upon returning, saw that the door was charred but still remained a formidable barrier. “A ram would help if we could get one down here but the corridor is too narrow. Ok, soak the floor and walls and doors with oil. When they exit tonight, we’ll toss a couple torches down the stairs and burn them where they stand.”

  With this pleasant thought, my orders were carried and we rested the day, some hunting for tonight’s dinner, “No luck Captain, the vampires have cleaned out the forest.” And others resting as I explored with Lys.

  “Prince Dracula sought to stop the Turks with this?” she asked. “Arabel boasts walls higher and stronger than these and still, the Turks took the city twice.”

  “Dracula was a genius of a psychopath. Once he impaled twenty-thousand people on stakes along the path of the Turks. That army looked at the forest of the dead and dying and turned around in fear of the man. Wallachia and Romania will look long and hard to find a man who could create that much terror in the Ottoman Empire.”

  “I fear the vampires and even Prince Vlad who is said to be one, but if he killed Turks, I shall bless his name.”

  “Why do you hate them so?” I asked out of curiosity. I knew a little of her past but didn’t pry. I had my own nightmares that I chose to bury.

  She looked into the distance and began, “I had three children. The first died in infancy from sickness. I couldn’t afford the cost of care or medicine. The second lived until four. The Turks had surrounded Arabel and the siege lasted so long, we were buying rats for their weight in gold as food. I, … I saw one and threw a rock to injure it. I lay my starving son against a wall and told him that I was going to fetch dinner. I took that rat and… “ she began to cry so I held her as she sobbed, “A stone from a Turkish ballista struck the wall. It collapsed and buried my son. If I had taken him with me or remained with him…. “ I let her cry then the continued. “The city surrendered that day and the Turks found me holding his crushed body. I couldn’t even grieve for him before they sold me to the new caliph. They made me learn to dance and smile and treat him well even though he had killed my baby. I spent three years in his harem, making certain that I never got pregnant until the Serbs drove the Turks out. Then.. .the Serbs, the army… what they did to us when they entered the harem because we had lay with the Turks, even though forced, …. Yes, Jason, I hate the Serbs and I hate the Turks. And sometimes I hate myself for what I did to survive under both rulers.” Then she drew away, “Do you hate me for what I did.. was…”

  “I would have to judge you to hate you and I’ve done worse..” I pulled her to me. “When I was in Ireland. She came to me as I was planting roses in my yard. Her dress was torn and her feet bloody and she was in shock. I never learned why. I cleaned her and fed her and gave her a place by the hearth and the next day took her into town to see if anyone knew her. No one did so I took her home and… A week later Kore stopped sleeping by the fire and a year after, our son Sean was born. She was due with our daughter when I was called to service. The British were collecting our National Treasures to break our spirit. I was ordered to take one of them, the Cauldron, what the Christians call the Holy Grail, to safety.

  “I wasn’t chosen because I was the most holy or even the bravest. I was chosen because they knew I would refuse to fail.

  “I didn’t want to go but Kore forced me to my duty and … I knew there was an ambush but I had to trip it. We were being pushed and outnumbered I had to go on. So I sent men into that pass to die. I needed them to trip the ambush and we almost fought our way through but there were too many.

  “I was shot twice and woke up with the ravens pecking at my fingers. The British were hanging my men, alive and dead and I left them. I crawled into the British tent and retrieved the Cauldron, crawled with it through the bogs, leaving my men to die to buy me time.

  “When I got home, the British had been there first. They had barred my door with Kore and my children within and set fire to my home
. I found their burned bodies in the hearth.

  “I hunted Brits for months, a year? I don’t remember. I only remember killing every British I could find. Until one day I found a patrol and killed all but one. He was a kid, barely old enough to shave and I slammed him against a tree and began to gut him.

  “Funny. He didn’t spit in my face, he didn’t call for help, he didn’t say ‘god save the queen’. He only cried for his mother.

  “I realized then that I could kill every Brit in Ireland and they’d keep coming. I could kill every Brit in England and it wouldn’t bring Kore or my children back. It wouldn’t even make them rest any easier. So I dropped that kid, to live or die, and left Ireland forever. I went to Indonesia to hunt Pirates, then after three years, came here. The pain has faded but never vanishes and now, I can live with it”

  I held her, we both crying then added, “We both have our demons. All we can do is live with the decision we made back then and try to do better next time. But try to not judge me or even yourself for we both did the best we could at the time and hindsight is cruel. Come!”

  We returned and I gave more orders. “I need poles, very flexible! We will tie them to the opening from whence the vampires exit and attach stakes to them. Then we bend them back and as the vampires exit, we release the poles and the stakes impale the monsters as the poles swing into position. Allen, send men to find and cut. Peter, figure out how to bind the poles to bar this opening but hold when we bend them back. Robert, make fragile flasks for oil. We will toss them at the vampires like grenades and when they break, burn them. Hippo and Penta, ready fire arrows. When they exit tonight, I want to be ready.”

  Such was my confidence that they fell to with cheer and Lys went off with the Amazons for they had been teaching her to shoot, having forgiven her former occupation. As I patrolled, I found the three together, then they broke apart, embarrassed as Lys stammered, “My Lord, I…”

  Waving that away, I asked “Are the arrows ready?”

  All three glanced at each other, then back to me, “Yes, Captain. A few more ideas come to me so if we may continue?”