Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust

by Andrea F. Thomas

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AT A CROSSROADS

  It had grown noticeably colder in the tranquil valley of Ardeal. The high mountains were covered with snow, as were the trees at the edge of the rocky foundation.

  The weather on this late autumn day wasn't beautiful. The sun was shining murkily from a gray, cloudy sky. It was the day of a funeral. The old priest, who had died about a week ago and had been put on the bier in the small church, was to be buried.

  Andrej jumped off his horse. He rubbed his hands, trying to warm his cold, stiff fingers. Then he patted the stallion's strong back and scanned his surroundings. "Idyllic," he muttered in a bitter tone. "A nice, little village full of busy, simple people."

  Andrej guided his horse to a shelter at the tavern and tied him to a post. Freezing, he wrapped his coat tighter around his shivering body and observed the village's inhabitants, making their way to the small church. "All of you lead a god-fearing life, going to church like good little Christians..."

  "...but is it the truth or just for pretense, huh?" a husky, emphatic voice interrupted him.

  "Granny Ana." Andrej looked at the white-haired woman. The crone was tiny, barely reaching up to his waist. Time had left immense marks on her. Ana's skin looked like wrinkled, dry parchment and had its pale, yellow color. Her hunched appearance made her seem more vulnerable than she truly was. Intelligence was shining in her dark, clear eyes, betraying a witty mind.

  After a long sigh, Andrej finally answered, "I don't know what you mean. Besides, if people will turn their backs on the church, just because the last priest in this valley died, then you, out of everybody, should be very happy."

  "My young friend, I admit that I was never impressed by the hypocritical Christian doctrine. I still followed the old customs and traditions, like we have done for ages in Transylvania."

  Andrej didn't reply anything. He began to feel uncomfortable, but the old woman wasn't finished. "Live and let die, that's my motto, or let live for eternity," she added and winked at him.

  The tall man was stunned for a tiny moment.

  "You do approve of that, Andrej, don't you?" Ana followed it up, seeing his unwillingness to answer.

  "Whatever you say," he responded curtly.

  Still, the old woman wasn't satisfied. "We both know better, don't we?"

  Andrej also didn't answer that question. Between them lay the knowledge of a truth nobody dared to talk about out loud, in order to keep harm at bay.

  "Take a look around. All you will find are peasants, cow herdsmen and greedy grocers with the intelligence of a woodlouse." she remarked contemptuously.

  With that image in mind, Andrej smirked. He was about to respond, but the arrival of Rouven and his buddies interrupted them. They were laughing, bawling and pushing each other along the way to the church.

  "These good-for-nothings!" the old woman spat. From the corner of one eye she gazed at Andrej and added, "You would like to be one of them... as a friend, I mean."

  For a while, the tall man watched them and then said, "No. That was a long time ago."

  "Yes, yes. Time is changing fast and there is nothing we can do about it."

  "Well, come on. Let's go, Granny Ana, and stop talking about old times," he said forcefully and took one of her arms, guiding the old woman to the church.

  The old building was filled to bursting. Each and every inhabitant of the village was present. They had had a long discussion, one that went on for too long. The shadows of the tall firs were growing longer and daylight was fading fast.

  Some people rose, clearly upset.

  After a seemingly endless speech, the village's mayor, Nicolae Dimov, fell silent, giving in to the demands of his people for a quick burial.

  Rouven placed his shovel over his shoulder and raised his voice, "Forward, to the Death Field."

  The group followed him, some helping to carry the wooden casket, others lightening the way with torches. At the beginning it was a long, silent procession that accompanied the dead priest. Soon enough, angry and fearful voices made themselves known. The people didn't want to be outside their safe houses in the darkness.

  Finally they reached the cemetery and hurried to dig the grave.

  Rouven saw this as a silent competition between him and Andrej, who also had a spade and helped. The hothead kept glancing from the corners of his eyes at Andrej, who wasn't impressed in the slightest and just kept on digging.

  It was hard work to dig a hole deep enough for the casket, because of the low temperatures the soil was nearly frozen. Nobody said a word. The only thing that could be heard was the dull thudding of the spades and the torches' quiet crackling.

  After the men were done, they carefully lowered the coffin into the hole.

  Rouven's father, who had kept to the background, stepped forward ponderously to say the last words. "Ash to ash. Dust to dust."

  Ana sneered at his trite words.

  After this very short speech, the grave was quickly covered with dirt and one of the older people brought out his violin to play a traditional funeral song as last goodbye.

  Tension was heavy in the air and from the background the whimpering of children that clung tightly to their mothers could be heard. As soon as they were done piling the soil, somebody called from the crowd, "Bury him beneath stones!"

  Another one added, "Yeah, it's better to do that!"

  Restlessly shifting his legs, the mayor replied, "No way! It would mean a return to old customs and beliefs."

  Mikahel, the village's smith, chimed in, his face still wet from the hard labor, "So what if we are? You ensured to bury the old Ion Marlin in direction of the rising sun. Admit that this was intended, Nicolae."

  "Oh, foolish Mikahel. That is pure coincidence," the mayor powerfully defended himself.

  The smith crossed his arms, "Yes, but didn't you demand that everybody of Ardeal had to be present at the funeral? Didn't you want us all to have a look and make sure that the old Marlin is truly in his casket, before it was nailed shut? Do you want to deny that?"

  Fiery mumbling and muttering could be heard. "Mikahel is right... let's listen to him..."

  The mayor had to think for a moment. He ground his teeth and yielded. "Alright, get stones and pile them on top of the grave."

  Instantly the people formed a line, passing on hand-sized stones they found at the cemetery grounds.

  In the end, Mikahel and his son Dimitri set up a tombstone. Written on it was, 'Father Ion Marlin 1531-1598 Rest In Peace'.

  Eventually the crowd scattered, leaving the men to go to István's tavern while the women and older people took care of the children.

  Andrej was the last person that left the cemetery.

  Once again, Ana appeared beside him.

  "Granny Ana, is there something else you need?" the tall man asked politely, even though he wasn't in the mood to talk to her.

  "No, no. I was just thinking... tomorrow, I'll go to dig up a wild rose and plant it on top of the grave."

  "A rose? At this season? Where are you going to find one?"

  "Leave that to me. A wild rose will protect the grave."

  "You really believe in that ancient hocus-pocus?" Andrej sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Or do you want to make fun of the old Marlin at his grave?"

  "Ah!" the crone exclaimed irritated. "We both know what ancient powers lay hidden here," the old woman replied annoyed.

  Andrej pretended to overhear the implication.

  "What are you going to do now, my young friend?" Ana inquired.

  "I'm off for a cup of wine at István's to honor the dead Father, before I return to the castle."

  "Yes, once in a while you really should mix with the people here. Good idea," Ana croaked.

  Andrej shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I don't care much about them. Wouldn't I give them money for supplies and services, these nice people would chase me to the devil and burn down the castle."

  "No, the fools wouldn't dare to do that.
Not now, when everything is about to change," Ana said mysteriously. "Have you seen the poor lad Anatol lately? He's got some stories to tell."

  Andrej wanted to say something, but he left it at a sigh. He said goodbye to Granny Ana and went in direction of the tavern.

  *****

  At the castle, it seemed to be a night like any other. Silently, Sadden had left her chambers and now strode through the lonely corridors of the castle. An inner restlessness was her constant companion, ever since she had had that dream. Nothing could divert her thoughts from it.

  After some time of aimlessly walking around, she came to the decision to look for the other two inhabitants. Since Lilith's arrival, Sadden found the silence rather unusual. The vampire left the wall's inner circle and stepped onto a narrow, smoothly polished granite bridge that arched high over the inner courtyard.

  Sadden reached the middle of the black bridge. She stopped and looked up at the night sky. All clouds had disappeared due to the icy wind, which had blown strongly from the mountains during the day. Above Sadden, the sky spread out like a dark blue carpet of velvet. The stars sparkled like thousands of diamonds. Smiling at the beauty of the night, the vampire closed her eyes for a moment, letting the image settle in her mind. "It smells like snow..."

  Sadden's eyes flew open and indeed, it had began to snow. It was the first snow of the year in the valley. Enchanting, the snowflakes danced softly through the air and became caught in Sadden's raven hair, where they sparkled like tiny splinters of a crystal. In that peaceful moment, new hope grew inside her and the belief that dreams could come true.

  *****

  In another part of the castle, melancholy ruled Lilith's thoughts. The young vampire sat on the lowest step of the staircase in the big entrance hall. She hugged her legs to her chest and stared at her suitcases. Hraban was perched on a lion-headed statue of black marble and thoroughly cleaned her feathers.

  Sadden appeared at the end of the gallery and looked at her protégée, who didn't take notice of her. Puzzled, she glanced at the suitcases on the floor of the hall.

  Lilith jumped in surprise as she suddenly became aware of her mentor's presence behind her on the stairs.

  "You wish to leave us?"

  "I cannot stay," Lilith mumbled, averting her eyes.

  "You cannot stay? Or rather, you do not want to stay?"

  "Being away from my family hurts too much. I do not wish to stay here any longer. Being kept in the dark about the reasons why I was sent away drives me crazy. I can feel there is something wrong." Her voice trembled slightly.

  Sadden nodded and sat down beside her on the stone steps. "I understand."

  Lilith could hear the sympathy in her tone. Embarrassed, she turned away from the master vampire.

  Gently Sadden stroked her back and said, "You really think it would be right to oppose your father's wishes?"

  Lilith jerked and shook off the caressing hand. "What is wrong or right? I am a member of the clan, and I want to stand by my parents. There is a great disunity among us, I can feel it. Don't you?" She gazed deeply into Sadden's sapphire eyes and wondered about her expression. "Do you not feel it? The disaster, which seems to be spreading like an epidemic? Slow, but steady."

  Sadden's eyes became distant. Everything inside her refused to search for a connection to her folk, but Lilith's tortured expression pierced her very soul. Clearly irritated, she leapt from the stairs and went to a window. Sadden opened it and looked into the snowy night. It seemed as if the dark chaos had just been waiting to be welcomed into the castle. Immediately, it took possession of Sadden. Inside her mind, she could hear the screams louder than before. Lilith rose and grabbed her teacher's shoulders, spinning her around.

  The dark chaos disappeared and Sadden's eyes cleared as she looked at her protégée.

  Lilith watched her suspiciously. She had no idea what was going on inside her mentor's mind.

  Sadden realized what Zephriel could have meant, when he talked about a conspiracy among the vampires. It seemed that an invisible veil had been torn from her eyes. For too long she had been hiding behind it. 'Like a woman possessed, I am clinging to my fate and to that one dream. In the meantime, I did not see how evil rages among us. Is it due to Lilith's presence that I was pulled back into the chaos, on which I turned my back so long ago?'

  Sadden's ears picked up Lilith's voice, which sounded so serious and grown-up, like she had never heard it before. "The old power of the vampires is fading. You too belong to this folk, whether you want to or not. It is also your responsibility to protect us."

  Sadden understood that there was another side to Lilith. A serious, objective side, which knew exactly what was going on around her. "No. I am not interested in those struggles."

  Outraged, Lilith screamed, "You are not interested?" She wanted to grab her teacher and shake some sense into her. "It is a danger to all vampires. You are one as well! This is no ancient struggle for power and you know it. Soon, the world will be on the edge of an abyss, if we don't do anything to stop it!"

  Sadden was unimpressed. "One way or another. The world will continue to turn. Which clan protected mine from destruction? Which one?" The pain in her voice was obvious.

  "I don't know the backgrounds to this, but..." Lilith resigned and added quietly, "You wish to take revenge like that? You want to abandon us? What happened was a long time ago."

  "Not long enough," Sadden growled. "You cannot emphasize with my pain."

  "No, I cannot. But what I hear from you are excuses. You are weak." Faced with Sadden's indifference, Lilith grew more agitated. "You don't want to drink the blood of humans? You don't want to belong to us? Let me tell you, you are a vampire, and it is in your nature to drink human blood. You drank it once and you will do so again, no matter how hard you fight the urge."

  "You do not know what you are speaking of. You are young and inexperienced. You have not seen the sorrows of war like I have."

  "I will fight when the time has come and defeat our enemies."

  Sadden could feel the fire of the dragon. She clearly recognized Zephriel in Lilith, remembering this characteristic trait. Torn by her emotions, she began to pace the hall.

  Lilith noticed the inner conflict her teacher was fighting and her eyes flashed. "Vampires will not be the only victims. Your oh so precious humans are in great danger, too. Multitudes of them will die. More than of us."

  The words were meant to provoke, but Sadden knew that all too well. It was not only possible, it was a given that the humans wouldn't be able to defend themselves. "I have promised your father to take care of you. If that means I have to lock you up here, I will do so. I have made my decision."

  "What are you planning?" Lilith asked suspiciously. She had not missed the firm tone.

  "I will not concern myself with it," Sadden declared.

  "What do you mean?" The young vampire was uncertain. "You can't abandon us!" It was meant to sound threatening, but with her trembling voice it sounded rather unconvincing. "Then do it for yourself. Not for the vampires, not for the humans."

  Sadden showed no reaction, though the words had struck a chord.

  "Do you not want a future where you can live in peace?"

  "You brought this conflict to my doorstep!" Sadden exclaimed furiously.

  "You know that is not true," Lilith replied, unusually calm. "It is your obligation."

  "My obligation?" Sadden raged. She was beside herself, but then thought about that dream she longed for so badly. "Perhaps I can efface some of my guilt."

  "I do not understand you," Lilith said, growing impatient.

  Sadden turned to her and placed her hands upon her shoulders. "There is no need to fear."

  Lilith was about to protest, but a sharp glare from stormy eyes cut off. "The enemy is not as strong as you think he is. Zephriel's powers are far greater than yours. He can feel the smallest changes, long before others can. The downfall is not upon us yet, understood? It might not even come to such a dan
ger. After all, we know about it now. Your father will know what to do. Therefore, do not worry about it."

  "But..."

  "Go now."

  "But..."

  "If you promise to not cause any trouble, you can go and take a look around Ardeal."

  "But... What? You let me go to the village? To the humans?" Lilith asked suspiciously.

  Sadden locked eyes with the younger vampire. "Until now, I always prevented a choice of yours, although I know that somebody has caught your eye."

  "Are you certain?"

  "Go, before I change my mind."

  Lilith didn't need to be told twice and quickly left the hall.

  *****

  After the funeral, nearly the whole village had gathered at István's tavern. They were sitting together in small groups, nursing their beer, or wine stretched with water, and talked.

  "But what if the boy is right and this place is cursed?"

  Rouven had heard the question and couldn't suppress a mocking remark. "Another believer of Anatol's foolish sayings. Are there only superstitious idiots in this village?"

  Abruptly all discussions stopped and everybody looked to the door, which opened. Anatol stepped in, his eyes darting nervously around.

  "Well, if you speak of the devil, there he is!" Rouven exclaimed loudly and grinned spitefully.

  "Say, how is it going, Anatol? Had another encounter with a demon?" another of Rouven's men gibed.

  Anatol didn't react. Scowling, he passed them by to get himself a beer.

  "Hey!" Rouven grabbed his arm and held him back. "We asked you a question. It would be nice to get an answer."

  Disgruntled, Anatol freed himself and pressed the mayor's son against the counter. "You will see what happens when the demons come to get you."

  Rouven only sneered. "Is that so? My knees are already shaking with fear." He shoved him back roughly. Anatol lost his balance and collided with the table where Nicolae, Mikahel and some others sat. The men were making a plan for the wood collection. Winter was close, but due to some strange occurrences, besides Anatol's so-called demonic encounter, everyone present thought it best to form small groups to collect the necessary wood.