Several rushed to the front door and began to bang. I heard the smashing of a window. Even the gargoyles at the front of the castle did not fill them with terror. I feared they had broken into the house and felt frustrated with Lewis. Where was he?
Their whispers rose up to my window, spoken in a strange language and then there was silence. I checked on Oleander to see that her eyes were closed and her breathing deep. When I turned back to the window, appearing out of nowhere stood Lewis’s circle; all of them like ghosts with pale skin and long cloaks. I had not even seen them come from the forest so fast were their steps born from air, which did not exist to the human eye. They were randomly spread across the clearing of white between the castle and the forest, and more frightening by their stillness.
It was several moments before they were noticed by their adversaries. I heard a shout. Members of the Brodnici turned and crouched in readiness, suddenly wary but I sensed not fearful. I could hear their quickened heartbeats amplified loudly in my ears.
Gabriel appeared suddenly in his black cloak lined with red satin. He looked towards my window, aware of my gaze. Gabriel. Another reason I needed to leave. Even the sound of his name on my lips left me with feelings I had thought forgotten.
The attackers ran at the strigoi who stood their ground. By the time they reached the line of strigoi they had vanished again, their speed unseen by the barbarians. I was both fascinated and repulsed. I knew this was a strigoi game, despite the seriousness Lewis tried to evoke at the meeting. And I did not fail to notice that many of the strigoi wore smiles when they left the meeting earlier.
The intruders twirled around waving their fire torches searching for the missing strigoi. There were shouts in the distance and then screams. The raiders stationed at the back of the castle had been attacked. This put newly found fear into the Brodnici at the front, and the sounds of dying made the back of my neck go cold.
Several of them cried out before returning to the forest. Seconds later there were more screams and howls of pain. Then there was nothing. These remaining barbarians looked among themselves and then to their leader, waiting his command. They were terrified, perhaps coming to terms that they were outsmarted and overpowered by something they thought they could destroy. But despite their years of hunting, such creatures were still beyond their comprehension. This was not an even match even with the Brodnici outnumbering the strigoi three to one.
Quite suddenly one of the bodies of the assailants was thrown from the dark shadows of the forest trees to land in the clearing. Then another. They were drained of blood now just shrunken and dried skin stretched over bones.
One by one the strigoi walked slowly this time from the corners of the clearing. They were the shadow of souls I thought at the time. They were neither human nor animal, existing on the blood of others. I did not see Lewis anywhere but knew that he did not feed as much and certainly not while I looked on. He knew it upset me and strangely he cared.
There were many female strigoi in gowns of light wool and silk, with flowing cloaks lined with fur, and headwear adorned with jewels, appearing dressed for a ball. But it was the gleaming smear of blood across their lips that told the true story.
It was soon clear who were the aggressors and each strigoi marked a human jumping high and fast to land on him, with mouth aimed precisely at flesh beneath the jaw-lines. Their victims shook in spasm before a frozen stillness, knees buckling as the weight of their overpowering aggressors. I watched with fascination and repulsion as the blood drained from their faces yet still gripping their fire torches while approaching slow deaths. One by one they dropped to the ground leaving their victors’ faces with expressions of rapture.
Gabriel was no longer among them and I wondered whether my observance had deterred him. Lewis was also missing, and I guessed they were both at the rear of the castle.
The Brodnici bodies were dragged through the snow leaving trails of blood that would still be there by morning. There was no more fresh fall to cover them, the old snow hardening to ice before it would melt away in the days ahead.
Some strigoi were slower, savouring the moment. I could no longer watch the blood bath beneath my window. Oleander frowned and twitched in her dream. It had become clearer by the day that I must find a way to leave, and thus protect her from such a future.
Lewis
The night of the slaughter appeared a success but marred by our losses, which I was glad Lilah did not witness. Two of our elders and several of the reborn were burnt by fire and ceased to exist, while several had their bodies so badly cut with limbs removed, they now lay in the vault below awaiting a new shell.
Those newer strigoi could easily be replaced but losing the elders was a tragedy with centuries of skill, knowledge and strength eliminated, not to mention the loss of some old friends who had been looking forward to their years of sleep. We’d had many injuries from attacks in centuries gone, but it was rare for a strigoi to die. This was a sign that the reborn were too weak to protect the coven and perhaps the change had been given to undeserving witches.
At the meeting afterwards I was livid that none had gleaned any information on the source of the invasion. The strigoi had drained their blood and had learned nothing. This had an ominous feeling. And now I had the problem that the castle was exposed. The Brodnici – the grown sons of those men killed – would undoubtedly return in years to come to continue the legacy.
‘They cover their thoughts well,’ said Giorgio. ‘The people in their past were hooded and faceless and I could see no evidence of secret meetings. Their blood showed that they were clean of any ill doing.’
I slammed the table. ‘This is not good. We must never forget the cunning of a human but one at least of these we killed should have been the leader; the person with the most to gain and with much history in his veins. If this was not learned then he must still be out there. I do not believe that you were perceptive enough to do this job properly. Now go!’ I needed to think on this alone.
Georgio looked surly and led the strigoi from the room.
The loyalty of the witches was now in question and I wondered whether I could trust any in the castle. If I accused them and put them to death without evidence, Lilah would never forgive me.
She entered the library and lit up the room in her dress of pale yellow. It may not have been love that I experienced, but what I knew for certain, and despite her sometime indifference, was that with her by my side the future seemed brighter and many irritations dissipated.
Today her entrance was hesitant and she massaged her fingers nervously.
‘Lewis,’ she said. ‘There is something that you promised me and I have come to ask that you honour it.’
‘Not now,’ I said, dismissively. I had other things on my mind, but I also knew her purpose and wished to avoid it.
‘But you promised that Oleander could see her grandparents. It is right they should know their granddaughter, and that I should know them. You must tell me where they are.’
‘Oleander is too young for the journey and especially in the wake of such an attack. It is too far and will not be safe for either of you.’
‘I can read people. I understand things. I can sense danger.’
‘It is too early, Lilah. I cannot allow it.’
She did not give in lightly but looked at me directly now, the nervousness removed.
‘I must go. You cannot keep me a prisoner. I have done all that you asked.’
‘Yes, you have been a good wife and mother but it is for your protection and I will say when you leave.’
‘And how would you stop me? Would you have me beaten and imprisoned?’
‘If I have to.’
This stopped her unexpectedly. She looked lost and I wondered whether she might try to escape. I did not want an opportunity to punish her.
‘I can go,’ said Gabriel who had entered the room. ‘I can take them both to Dalmatia. We can be back within seven weeks. She will be safe with me.’
‘Dalma
tia?’
Lilah was genuinely surprised at the location. I had not given the region away. I was pleased that this had not been a scheme between them.
‘I know it is a far journey for someone so young but I can protect them.’
‘I do not need your protection. I have experienced that before.’
The message was clear to Gabriel that his betrayal was still an irritant between them. I was relieved that she did not forgive so easily. There had been moments when I thought she still had feelings for Gabriel. His betrayal had left her scarred.
I sat down for this conversation had become amusing, and mused that such a journey into the harsh world outside might cure Lilah of her need to be free. Once among the dangers and without all the privileges, perhaps she would appreciate what she had here – my protection of both her and our daughter. But something still troubled me. Gabriel seemed too quick to intervene in our husband and wifely matters. There was doubt but…
‘Despite what you think of me,’ continued Gabriel, ‘I only had your best interests in my heart and this would indeed honour the promise to your father that I have kept watch of you.’
‘Honour,’ she scoffed. ‘You did not honour anybody but yourself. You disobeyed my father’s requests that led me to this predicament and possibly an early grave.’
‘Enough!’ I was enjoying this but I did not like the way she talked as if being with me was the greatest of punishments and willing herself to die to prove her point.
Gabriel turned to me in earnest. ‘I promise you, Lewis, I will look out for both of them. I will not let them come to any harm.’
‘Oleander is too young.’
‘Then let me take Lilah.’
‘I will not go without my daughter,’ said Lilah.
‘Why? Is it your plan that you will escape?’ asked Lewis
‘No,’ she said, too quickly, not looking me in the eye.
‘Then I will say that you can go in a month when the weather is clear. You must be back within seven weeks of departure and Oleander must stay here.’
Lilah shook her head. ‘I can’t leave her here.’
‘You know she will come to no harm.’
She was not convinced yet knew she had lost that part of the bargain. I had seen the torment in her eyes of never knowing her parents. I used such knowledge of their whereabouts to placate her but perhaps such control had run its course. It was now time.
She sat down then and I did not like what I was about to do. She had unearthed feelings in me that I had not felt in centuries. Before I had a chance to offer my thoughts, she spoke: ‘Alright, I will go alone.’
‘Not alone,’ I said, and she looked at Gabriel before marching from the room. Gabriel nodded to leave also but I prevented him.
‘Gabriel, I have to trust you with this…with everything.’
‘Of course.’
‘And when do you intend to tell her the truth of her parents?’
A shadow crossed his face and he did not answer immediately.
‘I will think on it.’
He left and I was torn over my decision. The distance they travelled together would mean I was unable to sense them: uncertain of their safety. Yet I trusted Gabriel and felt no reason to have them followed. I did not like the idea of Lilah gone from the castle and the thought of losing her was unsettling. She was a part of my life from which there was no release.
Claude
It was good that Gabriel returned. He could not believe the height I had grown and we often rode together or strolled to talk. Gabriel and Lilah talked often also. I heard they were very close at one time.
Sometimes I had bad dreams. Sometimes they happened while I was awake. I was grateful to Lilah. I would not have coped without her, but there was part of me that also blamed her for my situation.
From the first moment I became a strigoi it had been difficult. I preferred to kill animals, which often left me hungry, until I was forced to drink the blood of humans as instructed. This last kill was only when the fight against my instinct was lost, and the blood too enticing to ignore. I had an instinct that had become a far greater force than any conscious thought.
As much as I liked Lilah for her past kindness, part of me could not ignore her place in this; if not for her I would have died as a child and not be made to kill. They said that because of my youth my hunger was great whereas those like Lewis rarely fed. I sometimes wished I had been left for dead. It is why I felt anger towards Lilah that I could not join my young brothers in heaven.
There were many strigoi who did not like her. I heard them talking.
Originally, she wanted to leave for good to find her family and Lewis did not agree to this. As a compromise, she asked that any new witches who come to the coven be coached by her. She was well read and had convinced Lewis that she would give them proper instruction before being presented to Lewis, so that they would then be given the choice to become a strigoi or die. At first the couple fought on this point. Lilah asked that they choose for themselves without any ultimate consequence. And it was clear that she had finally influenced our master.
For the past two years out of the eight who have come to the castle, only two became strigoi and the rest were allowed to remain there without fear of execution. Lewis was happy not to coach the witches and relieved that Lilah had taken over; whether it was because he grew tired or out of a desire to please her, I was not entirely sure. Many of the strigoi were not happy that she appeared to have her own private coven, as they referred to it. For the unconverted witches had chosen not to consort with the strigoi either.
Without Lilah knowing, several of the strigoi called an interview with Lewis only to be told that it was not their concern. I felt very sorry for Lewis at times. He was certainly becoming more distracted by the day, and I heard the whispers of other strigoi wishing that he would bury himself in the ground sooner rather than later.
It was said that Gabriel was favoured to take over the circle but I also heard that he had already refused the role, and that once Lewis was in the ground he would leave, never to return. Who would take control was the subject of much discussion.
I heard much. Because of my withdrawn nature, human ancestry, and strigoi youth – even though I was seventeen and taller and smarter than most of them – I was considered dull and unthreatening, and mostly ignored at private meetings between the strigoi.
One night, I followed a group of strigoi who had been quite vocal against Lewis and Lilah. The group slipped into an alehouse drawing as little attention as possible. The csarda was one long hall full of tables where men and women went to drink under deer antlers, displayed on the walls as trophies. Girls walked around with jugs of alcohol and there was the smell of sweat and urine, and the putrid smell of boiled horsemeat and cabbages, which was nauseating, making me desperate to replace these smells with that of forest pine. The cautious, serious looks of my friends suggested that their presence here was significant and I crept in stealthily.
Under their table, I sat on the clay floor, which was uncomfortably warmed from the fire close by. Blending into the shadows, I was able to peer through the table slats to catch glimpses of my friends. They did not sense me there for the smell of human blood close by seemed to have distracted them. After taking in their surroundings, they were noisy and ogled the serving girls offering crude suggestions to appear like other patrons. It seemed the noisier you were in these places the less suspicion was fuelled. Bread was put on the table also by the servers but remained uneaten.
It was an hour before another man walked in. His boots were high and he wore a short, red wool tunic. Several soldiers accompanied him, and this unsettled many of the patrons. These soldiers were known; though at the time it was not by face, rather by the coat of arms etched on their shields. Unlike the strigoi they did not attempt to slip in unnoticed but perhaps from the arrogance in their master’s stride, offense would have been taken had he not been. More strangely, he sat at the table of the strigoi.
Short greetings were exchanged with the man they called Laszlo. The mood of this meeting was sombre. My strigoi siblings were edgy and guarded and asked that the soldiers wait outside but Laszlo refused, raising one large hairy eyebrow in amusement. He clicked his fingers and a leg of mutton and bowl of stinking broth was brought over. The strigoi watched him with some distaste as he dipped a large chunk of meat in the mixture and ate it, his jowls working back and forth gnashing at the grisly portion, while fat dripped down the back of his fingers. He spat some of the meat on the floor and ordered the serving girl to take away the ‘muck’ they served as food. The owner glanced across from the bar but looked quickly to other tasks. He had recognised this man and clearly his avoidance of the situation meant that it was not in his best interest to ask him to leave.
‘You call me here and then ask my soldiers to leave like commoners. I do not understand why I could not choose the place to meet. You have put me at risk of an ambush.’
‘I did not trust you to choose the place.’
There was silence while the two men were face to face. Then Laszlo threw his head back and laughed: a deep throaty sound that cut thought the wood smoked, foul air. Though none of the strigoi found this amusing.
‘I think for such a meeting a neutral place is the only ground for negotiation,’ said Giorgio.
‘In this stinking hole? The forest would have been safer,’ said Laszlo now seated.
‘This town has enough vagrants to mask any meeting.’
‘I agree with you on that at least. This place is vile.’ There was small conversation on things I did not understand, about court and royal matters. It seemed Laszlo had travelled far to meet them away from prying eyes.
Giorgio asked Laszlo what he thought of his offer. The answer was delayed, somewhat deliberately I thought, while the newcomer downed a large glass of ale.
‘I’m interested,’ he said. ‘But there are some conditions.’
Lucretia, another of my friends rose to her feet. ‘You have no power to make any further demands.’
Lilah Page 21
