The Hunt is On (The Patroness)

by Natalie Herzer

  All of this I told Kylian as we headed into the 14th arrondissement, to the same entrance that a lot of tourists also used in the light of day. Reciting historical facts was safer and less churning than talking about what the hell was going on between us. It was safer than thinking about the back and forth between us as something close to sick teasing, or even foreplay. How could I even find that thought exciting when I was still hurting and feeling so unusually…insecure? God, this was ridiculous. Thoughts back on the job, Maiwenn.

  A very busy intersection on the right, a little green and some barren trees to the left, and a small dark green house that resembled a crypt with a barely visible sign that read ‘Entrée des Catacombes’ – that was all there was to it.

  Standing in front of the door I turned to look at Kylian. “Why did you give Viv the chocolates? They were for Pauline, weren’t they?”

  Kylian shrugged. “When I came up to the rooftop, I caught some of your conversation. Besides, Viviane was well-dressed, I mean more than usual, but also nervous which she never is. So I thought the chocolate and a story would make her forget the nervousness and remind her of the things she did in her life. Like facing dragons and getting out alive.”

  I nodded, a small smile pulling at my lips. That was one side of Kylian, observant and sweet.

  “What? Were you jealous ‘cause I didn’t get you anything?”

  And that was the annoying one. Instead of gifting him with an answer I rammed my elbow in his gut and bent to pick the lock.

  When it opened, Kylian and I went in.

  It was dark, and I gave my eyes a moment to adjust. Nevertheless, without the line of bulbs that usually illuminated the about two kilometer long section that was open to the public to guide the way, it was pitch-black inside. Since the tunnels didn’t allow for two people to go side by side I had to let Kylian go first. His clear blue shapeshifter eyes were much better than mine.

  Kylian held his hand out to me and I took it, ignoring the spark that went up my arm, as he led the way and we began to descend a very narrow, spiral stone stairwell. After a hundred and thirty steps we found ourselves sixty feet underground. Total darkness and silence, broken only by the gurgling sound of dripping water, greeted us. The air was stale, cold and damp.

  We passed through a long, twisted passageway with rough cut and wet stone to the sides that made you lose track of time. The footing was sometimes slippery but I managed to catch myself and not to bump into Kylian, though he noticed and his hand would tighten on mine.

  Soon we reached the famous ossuary entry. A stone portal that read at the top, ‘Arrête! C’est ici l’empire de la Mort’, which meant ‘Halt! This is the Empire of Death’.

  The absolute darkness surrounding us felt like a being to me, slithering, viscous. It gave me the creeps. Knowing that the walls on both sides were covered with stacks of carefully arranged bones of six million people didn’t help much. I wondered what would make people come and visit this during their vacation. The thrill, or the morbid reality and history to it?

  The air had changed too, the dry smell of bone dust mixing into it. My eyes were adapting, and sometimes I could see the bones and skulls arranged in macabre ways so as to depict hearts or Jolly Roger symbols. Really, was that necessary?

  Finally we stopped in front of one of the rusty gates that kept the tourists from the unauthorized parts of the catacombs. On our map it was marked as one of the smaller entrance to Lilith’s Den.

  I picked the lock without any trouble. And then I took a deep breath as if preparing for a long dive. Remembering Viviane’s word I squared my shoulders, leaving my empty hands dangling innocently at my sides though they were itching for my sword and dagger.

  A tactful, diplomatic chat, surely I could do that.

  Kylian and I continued our way through the dark corridors. Wafts of air floating towards us seemed warmer, less damp, but still scented of bone dust. The trickling sound of water running along the walls broke the otherwise oppressing silence. Soon subdued lighting guided us, and we followed like moths to a flame – where they would burn. Here not the whole walls were hidden behind the bizarre arrangements of beige colored, smooth bones and skulls, the stacks only reaching my shoulder now.

  The light ahead wavered and as we drew closer I made out small torches that illuminated the maze at regular intervals. We took another slight turn and Kylian stopped, so did I. We both had noticed it at the same time and looked up. A black, leathery bat hung from the ceiling of the passage, motionless. The tiny black eyes glowed with the reflected flames and took us in, assessing, and suddenly it screeched wildly, spread its wings and flew off, probably warning Lilith that we were here.

  And the silence from before was replaced by sudden, muffled whisper, the nervous flap of wings and the scurry and scamper of tiny clawed feet. Reminding me of an angry beehive.

  The hallways widened. Bats, rats, lesser demons, cloven hoofed or humanlike bipeds, vampires in the flesh – all of them appeared in the tunnels, an endless row forming at each side. A silently cheering and gloating crowd that had gathered to watch the Patroness of Paris and the Chef de la Meute enter their Den. They blocked certain passages, very subtly directing us. They hissed and sniffed, and I felt like walking down the aisle - towards the executioner.

  The passage evolved into a great hall. The walls were of gray mortared stone, the ceiling high and vaulted, and a red carpet lead the way towards the end of the hall, where a high throne stood upon a stair base. The pedestal and chair were made out of bones, mostly femurs and skulls, and were interwoven with glinting metal, whereas the seating surface was upholstered with plush and dark-red velvet - all of it suited the woman sitting on the throne.

  She was slim, probably tall, the silky jet-black hair tumbled down to her waist and soft curls framed an incredible sensual and pale face. She wore a long dress that fit her body like a glove and left one shoulder bare while the other arm was completely covered. The shade deepened from top to bottom, starting with an almost transparent light red and changing into a rich color of wine. Glittering, black embroideries scattered the subtle, flowing train, but the real eye-catcher was the slit that revealed the whole length of her right leg up to her hip.

  Lilith, an undead cliché. Now I knew where the other vamps got their I’m-so-mysterious-you-will-fall-flat-on-your-face attitude. She was living and breathing it with every fiber of her being.

  After a flick of her hand two armed, demonic guards showed up at either side of us and motioned for us to walk up to Lilith. That seemed a little exaggerated. I mean, come on, it was just the two of us, surrounded by - what? - fifty undead in striking distance, and double that were still in the tunnels. And we had to be chaperoned? I decided to think of it as a back-handed compliment, and with Viviane’s voice still nagging at me I left it at rolling my eyes in my mind. So far I was rather proud of myself, my sword was still tucked away and I hadn’t cracked up yet.

  Kylian and I were given a sign to stop a couple of feet in front of Lilith and I really hoped she didn’t expect us to kneel or something like that. It would be the final straw for me, this silly fuss had me almost bursting with laughter. Maybe Kylian had been right. He told me once that I was lacking any instinct of self-preservation and given the situation - totally outnumbered and surrounded by demons and sharp-fanged vampires - I should be worrying about getting out of these tunnels in one, alive piece.

  I glanced at Kylian standing beside me. He was relaxed and his face serious but touched with a discreet hint of boredom. He was good. Lilith was watching him too, almost eating him up with her eyes, which made me want to punch her. Of course, the new leader of France’s biggest shapeshifter pack was much more interesting than the puny Patroness who killed her little babies.

  A tall, elegant and astonishingly handsome man in a dark suit stepped up and positioned himself to the side of the Queen’s throne, in what seemed an advisory capacity. He had his eyes on me. The laughter inside me vanished. Those cold, gray ey
es were hungry, not quite sane and gave me the creeps.

  “Well, well, look who’s gone astray, or should I believe you finally dared coming into my little Den? The Chief de la Meute and the Patroness, what a cute couple you make.” Her voice was weird, low but nevertheless reaching every corner of the hall and sweet as if dipped in honey yet menacing at the same time.

  “We’re here to talk business, nothing more,” Kylian explained in his logic, matter-of-fact voice that either could annoy the hell out of me or bring me back from dark, faraway places inside my head.

  “The shapeshifter community and the Patroness of Paris are working together in an investigation regarding an unusually high number of missing persons. We’d only like to clear up a few things.” See, I could be polite and tactful.

  Lilith raised one sublime, devastating eyebrow. “Clear up a few things? Is that code for wanting to know whether I have anything to do with it?”

  There went the diplomacy. Dammit, what did I do wrong?

  “Look, I’m missing shapeshifters, the Patroness has a bunch of people knocking on her door since other magical creatures are just disappearing, and we both saw more of your scouts topside than is usually the case. So, we thought that maybe we could join forces to find out what the hell is going on in this city.” Not bad, Kylian. He hadn’t exactly denied the suspicion implied earlier but had managed to turn it into a we-are-stupid-and-need-your-help deal.

  Lilith seemed to think it over, tapping a neatly manicured finger against the femur that served as an armrest. Lovely, just lovely. I wouldn’t get that picture out of my head so soon.

  Then the creepy guy to the side leaned close to whisper something into her ear, it made her smile and me suspecting something bad. Slowly she got up, moving towards Kylian. Hips swaying, sultry bedroom eyes and a suggestive smile curving her lips – yeah, the poor guy had to bear the full brunt. I stopped from grinding my teeth since her advisor was back to watching me. I concentrated on Lilith. Her eyes began to swirl with dots of red, not the blood crazy kind of red but the paralyzing kind, and with a sinking feeling I realized that she wanted to trance Kylian to find out whether he’d told the truth. Shit, I had no idea how he would react to this.

  But I shouldn’t have worried, every single trick seemed to bounce off him since he was still relaxed and now cocked his head to the side, mightily amused. “Everything alright? Or just scratchy contacts?”

  And they call me suicidal?Seriously?

  The Queen stopped short as if slapped, then lethal fury blazed in her eyes. Oh oh. “You worthless abomination!”

  I cut in, “Now, that’s the pot calling the kettle black. You’re dead, at least we’re breathing.” Though I had no idea for how long that would actually still be the case.

  She spread her arms, her voice gained volume and depth, the sweet honey completely gone. “How dare you come here, making unfounded accusations? Humiliating my people? I won’t take it. This means war!”

  And hell was unleashed.

  Bats screeched madly and I feared my eardrums would burst, and all around us demons bellowed, their stamping hooves making the ground vibrate with anger.

  Kylian roared as he burst into his magnificent blue tiger and I unsheathed Cutter and pulled a silver-coated Trident dagger.

  Outnumbered, a maze of tunnels and a lot of enemies blocking the exit. Luckily most of her people were already topside. But still. Why didn’t we come here when it was day? Then tourists would be underground and Lilith would have to put a leash on her pets as soon as we reached the main passageway. And rudely awakened, she might have looked a little less sexy. All of this went through my head in a split second.

  Kylian went in a killing frenzy, rendering flesh with his massive paws and jaws, clearing the path to where we entered the hall. I took up the rear, my sword singing. A complete calm, a serenity of mind settled over me. Everything muted down and was utterly clear, movements slowed in my head. My arms and legs were pliant, my blade and dagger lethal extensions. I sliced, someone screamed, something bellowed. The neatly arranged stacks of bones crushed and tumbled, getting in the way and their dust clouding the air. I didn’t mind.

  Cutter was a whirl surrounding me, I danced and body parts dropped at my feet. A bulging brown demon came at me, swiftly I cut his left thigh, then his right, not heeding the blood gushing, covering and soaking me. He went down, I skirted him and another took his place. Doomed.

  There was no time or place for errors in this fight, and so fast, well-aimed strikes were vital. Arteries, tendons. Strike, slice, block. Bats tried to attack from the air and met the lethal kiss of the blade. We were out of the great hall and back in the small tunnels, which meant tight space and fewer opponents at a time. In a once-in-a-lifetime move I switched Cutter with my Trident daggers that would serve me better in the tunnels. The otherwise agile bats had to ease off, and some turned back into vampires. Nevertheless soon the flow receded, bodies and bones piled up and the few serious pursuers there were had trouble keeping up.

  Finally the way was clear and I ran after the blue tiger, completely trusting him to find the exit, and was relieved as a gush of fresh air announced that we were close.

  Soon we burst through the door and were back top ground. I was glad and still utterly thrilled thanks to the adrenaline in my blood. We stayed in the black shadows of a building since Kylian changed back into a naked human and the way I was covered in blood and bone dust I really didn’t want anyone to see me.

  I took stock. Couple of wounds, but nothing too deep. We had survived. My clothes wouldn’t, though. The lace top and my pants were dirty, bloody and on some places torn. “My shoes! I really liked those.”

  A purr from the shadows, “I liked the top better.”

  I ignored the shiver the sound elicited. “Yeah, well, now it’s ruined.” A last thread seemed to give away and suddenly I was left with only the silken bustier beneath the lace.

  Two blue flames lit up in the dark. “You’re right. Good riddance.”

  I didn’t even have my breath back again but started to laugh, so much that I had a stitch. When I nearly fell down, two strong and warm arms caught me. “Are you hurt?”

  I braced my hands on my knees, still out of breath and shook my head. “No, just a few scratches, nothing serious. You?”

  His thumb was stroking my arm. “Never better.” I saw his white teeth flash. “By the way, nice work down there.”

  “Thanks, you weren’t bad either. Though just for the record, this time you screwed up, not me.”

  He laughed. “Hah. No way! I just annoyed her, but you had to make her blow up all the way.” He leaned in, whispering into my ear, his breath a warm tingle on my skin. “Because you were jealous.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  I couldn’t find a better comeback since my heart was still busy beating like a mad drum. It just wouldn’t slow down. My mind told me this wasn’t all Kylian’s work. I heard the blood rushing in my ears, it seemed incredibly loud, and my head started to throb. I straightened despite of it and tried to clear my mind.

  “So, we are at war with the undead. Did we accomplish anything else apart from that?”

  He grimaced at that. “I doubt it. We still can’t say for sure that they aren’t involved. She didn’t exactly deny it, did she?”

  I rubbed my temple, as the sharp pain persisted. “But what good would it do them? To go through the trouble of picking a noticeable number of magical creatures from the street, and to then turn them though even when the odds are good only one percent survives? For what?” I blinked my eyes, it was dark but I had trouble focusing.

  “An army, when the motivation’s great enough, or maybe just to set the different factions against each other.”

  My thoughts were a swirling maze. So many colorful arrows pointing to Lilith. An army or setting the factions against each other. That would mean war.

  “Who would-” I doubled over as a hot pain exploded inside of me.

 
“Maiwenn?”

  I passed out.

  SEVEN

  Sounds drifted to me. Distorted and muffled at first as if my head was under water then becoming more and more distinct. Two voices, a male and a female. The sweet and busy female one I recognized as belonging to Fabienne. The image of a tall, dark-haired woman in her mid-forties surfaced in my mind, a clever fox wearing glasses. She was the pack’s doc.

  I was with the pack?

  My head hurt and I felt entirely too hot, as if my veins were filled with scalding blood. My mind had trouble catching up but I was tired of lying around without knowing what was going on around me and so I decided to open my eyes. Instead of the harsh light I’d expected I was greeted by soft, warm rays of sunlight. Outside the window the red sun was setting and a forest of arms of dark, barren trees and evergreens reached for her, as if longing for her warmth and not able to let go.

  Did I sleep through the day?

  “Oh, look who’s back amongst the living.” It was the male voice.

  I turned my head to look at him and his face popped into my field of vision. He was the shapeshifter I’d seen talking to Kylian when I visited in the woods. Now I could see that he had sandy brown hair, tousled around a cheerful face with soft, green eyes and a friendly, open smile. He was nearly as tall as Kylian and muscular though all in all he seemed somehow rounder and more jovial. Like Fabienne he wore a white coat, but left it open, and while the fox radiated confidence and competence in it, he looked like boy trying on his new Halloween costume. The lollipop in his mouth didn’t make it better. By some miracle, he still managed to look sane and handsome and not utterly stupid, though he didn’t seem to give a damn. I liked him on the spot.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Like death warmed over - literally. “Great.”

  Fabienne joined us, touched my front. “You still have a fever. I’ll be back in a minute.”