Was this a double cross? “Abigail, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry Maximus, but I couldn’t speak of my allies below, in case we were being spied upon by Vlad.”
I looked around the room again. These low people, as they were called, all of a sudden seemed much more organized and a true threat to any who faced them. “You all oppose Vlad?”
“We do, Maximus Brinza. And yes, I am fully aware of who you are. Abigail has spoken most highly of you and Vlad’s brother,” the man named Remus replied.
Radu was pissed. “If you are allies, then why are we being treated like common trash?”
The man removed his mask. His face was scarred, but beneath the markings were the eyes of a kind older man. Like his voice, his eyes matched a level of intelligence that one called a “low person” would never have had. He stepped off his platform and came down to our level.
“I apologize for the subterfuge. After hearing of her death, we weren’t expecting Abigail’s return. Had we known she was still alive, this would’ve been handled differently.”
There were a great many questions swirling in my mind. Looking over to her, “You planned to betray Vlad this entire time?”
“My mission hasn’t changed, even if my humanity is gone. He thought my will was broken; he was wrong.”
I just wished she would’ve told me the truth. “I understand why you kept it a secret.”
“But it still hurt you?”
“Yes.”
Remus moved into between us. “She worked on my orders and my orders alone, son.” His words were kind, yet stern. “Make peace later; there was one last player involved in this plan. The time to remove Vlad Tepes Dracul is upon us.”
He pushed forward, with the implication that we were to follow him. He took us back into the middle of the mausoleum and pointed up. “We were going to go through with the plan either way, Abigail. Everything is set for the three of you to make your way in. You have until the church bells strike eight to kill whatever you can. At that point, the flares will be activated.”
Radu examined the trap. “If you have these charges set, why do you need us to go inside?”
Remus laughed at the vampyre. “You think these are meant for him? These are meant for the witches and warlocks he’s gathered. Without Abigail, there was no chance to kill Vlad himself. With the arrival of the three of you, we can wipe out Drakovia and all its daemons once and for all.”
“We have less than four hours to find and kill Vlad, that’s what you’re telling me?”
He snapped his fingers and a man came back with our weapons. “I give you these back, knowing what you’re capable of doing. However, I also know that sword hanging from your back is the weapon destined to kill the vampyre.”
“How did—”
“The time for questions is over,” he said, cutting me off. “Abigail, you know where the stairs are. We will do our part, creating a distraction in the front. Make the most of our sacrifices.”
She nodded to him. “Yes, Remus. And thank you for everything, now and before.”
The two exchanged one last, knowing glance before Abigail pulled us away. Whatever was truly happening here was a mystery best left for another time.
Chapter Thirty Four
A s we climbed the stairs into Saint Peter’s Basilica, Radu was not as patient as I was to get the full story behind the odd encounter in the waterways. “You knew what you were leading us into and didn’t even warn us?” he scolded her.
“I gave my word to Remus that I wouldn’t say a word, no matter who I wanted to tell,” she offered back.
“So the word of a strange man hiding below the streets of the Vatican means more than the companionship Maximus and I have offered?” He wasn’t taking this well at all.
Abigail knew a losing fight when she saw it. “Remus gave me shelter after the change,” she replied. “He’s created this whole myth of the low people to keep his freedom fighters hidden. If people— humans and vampyres alike—thought there were daemons down below, he’d have a chance to do his work unmolested.”
We reached a landing in the stairwell. “How did you even discover him? Weren’t you one of Vlad’s puppets?”
I could tell right away that this would be a painful memory. “Once we left the Vatican, I killed the men he’d assigned to me in a moment of weakened bloodlust. I scampered back into the city, hoping to find some shred of dignity left when I fell into the sewers. The low men found me and Remus returned me to health when he could’ve easily killed me. It was through him I learned of his plan and eagerly accepted my role. If you can’t understand that, then I’m sorry.”
It was something I could accept. “If either of us were in her position, we’d have done the same thing.” Radu’s gaze shot over to me. “I became a drunk and you became a ghost. We all did what was necessary to survive in our own way.”
A hush grew over the three of us. Radu looked ashamed at his attacking of Abigail. “Maximus, once again, is right.”
“And I apologize for the deceit, no matter how necessary it was.”
It was a moment of providence, the protective nature of our bond reinforced through a final test. With it clear that the three of us were together until the end, the choice was simple. “Let’s go kill a devil.”
We moved faster, no longer concerned about what happened in the aqueducts and the catacombs. The stairs were long and arduous, but we reached the end—the wooden door revealed to us our only exit. Abigail turned the handle and the moment she did, sounds of battle poured in from outside.
The three of us snuck out and into the basilica. “The low men are doing as promised. Let’s do our part in this,” Abigail said.
As Radu and I had never been in the place, we followed her lead. We moved quickly from room to room as the sounds of the humans getting slaughtered for our benefit became a distant, yet prevalent background noise. When we slipped from a rather ornate room to another, we saw double doors blocking any more movement forward.
There was something very wrong about being in this room. “What is this ill air?”
“I’d know that scent anywhere,” Radu stated. He turned around, as we all did, just in time for the path we came through to be closed off. Standing in front of us was one of Vlad’s witches. “Ariana, what an unpleasant surprise.”
“That scar suits you. It mars your beauty.”
The soft way she spoke, the almost shy nature to her voice was out of place with the ill feelings swirling around the room. Her hair unnaturally flowed as if she were standing in a breeze, but there was no air movement as we were inside. She may have been an innocent being at one point in time, but today, she was a creature of pure evil.
Dropping the heavy cloak she was wearing, she was dressed for battle in an all black tunic with a leather dress covered in enchantments. “The three of you, here again. Abigail, it is a shame you turned traitor. Vlad has a special punishment planned for you after I’m finished.”
It happened so fast that I don’t think even the witch saw it. A blade left Radu’s hand and buried itself in her chest. In an instant, the malice in the air faded as the witch slumped over. When her strength gave out completely, she fell face-first into a pool of her own blood.
Radu didn’t even blink. “She always talked too much,” were the only words he spoke. He went over to her body and pulled the dagger free from her chest. With Ariana dead, he walked over to the double doors and pushed. “Our next two kills will not be as easy.”
We quietly followed Radu forward, pausing one last time to look at the dead witch. Radu had loved her, had been heartbroken over her betrayal. And just like that, he had killed her. There was something tragic about her unmoving body just lying there, all the blood having rushed out of her. With nothing more to be gleaned here, we followed Radu out.
We’d entered a long hallway with only one way to go. “Vlad’s throne room is just ahead,” Abigail told us.
The ornate, jeweled pathway spoke of
someone who loved having the aura of power. This was perverse, not the way a holy place should be treated. I was pleased that this place would come to the ground in just a few hours. This anger, though, it felt good.
We were at the end of the hallway, the end of our journey. “For my family’s name,” Radu offered.
“For my humanity,” Abigail lifted.
“For those that died needlessly, you will be avenged.”
With our final words spoken, I kicked the door in. Before us was the throne room, Vlad sitting on his seat of power with my ancestor, Esmerelda, standing by his side. The two of them didn’t even move as we entered.
“My, my, fate certainly has a sense of humor,” Radu’s older brother welcomed us from his seat. “My brother, the rat of a hunter, and the traitor. I often regretted not making sure the three of you were dead; now I can remedy that.”
“I’m afraid our deaths aren’t in God’s master plan.”
“Maximus Brinza, like your grandfather and father before, you put too much faith into a deity that just doesn’t care about you.” He waved his arms around. “Look! I am the true power of this world. Bow before me, grovel, and your deaths will be painless.”
“If you think that’s going to happen, you’re stupider than I gave you credit for, Vlad,” Radu croaked out. His normal raspy voice was even harsher in the presence of his brother.
Vlad smiled at Abigail. “And what does my niece have to say for herself?”
With the accuracy she showed with a crossbow, one of the carpenter fish daggers flew through the air and scratched the mad vampyre’s cheek. “Your niece really wishes you would shut up.”
First blood had been drawn.
A pillar of flames erupted from the throne and Vlad was gone. Any fear I had of the vampyre went away the moment the heat of the battle took over. I quickly unsheathed Sanctae Crucis and swung it in the air behind Abigail. I knew he’d target her first because she was the traitor, the one who broke her promise to him. All in the name of finding me.
He appeared in the line of the attack, his clawed hands ready to strike at Abigail. Not realizing that I had picked up on his movements, the blade bit into his arm above the wrist, taking away one of his hands. He watched in horror as his body part hit the ground. Whatever hate Vlad was feeling for Abigail disappeared as I had done the unthinkable.
I had hurt him.
A gust of wind hit me, knocking me far away from Vlad. Esmerelda was above us, floating there like the daemonic witch she was. While on my back, the witch flung an icicle towards me, only to have it blocked by Radu and the Holy Spirit’s Brand. “Get up, Brinza!” he barked.
No one had to tell me twice. Vlad was over the loss of his hand and Radu’s old sword appeared in a puff of red smoke. With a weapon, he’d become even more enraged. Abigail ducked away and rejoined the three of us a few steps away. “Maximus, I believe you’re the one meant to kill him!”
“That human, kill me? Never!”
Esmerelda flung another elemental spell at us, lightning this time, and it sizzled at our feet. Radu pushed me forward, away from the worst of it. “This is your fight, Maximus.”
Both of my companions believed in me. They began to attack Esmerelda, pulling her farther away from where I stood in front of Vlad. Standing there, swordsman to swordsman, he taunted me one last time. “I could kill you easily with this blade. Care for me to show you?”
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer. The holy rage took over in me once more and I began to match him blow for blow. This wasn’t the surprise attack outside of Milan. This was a fair contest of skill. Vlad was a superior swordsman, but he didn’t work as hard as I did. He kept looking for the easy angle or the quick kill. I just wouldn’t give it to him.
“Your grandfather died because he trusted someone he shouldn’t—are you sure you’re not making the same mistake?”
He was trying to worm his way into my ear, convince me that Abigail was truly his agent. But she wasn’t. “I don’t know what happened to my grandfather, but the same won’t happen today.” I responded with a hacking motion at his knees. He blocked it well.
A drop of sweat fell from his forehead. He wasn’t used to working this hard. Vlad was used to creating widespread mayhem from afar. With an opponent who was willing to fight hard, he wasn’t sure what to do. But I did—just keep fighting. The more pressure I applied, the more concern the lines on his face showed.
“Enough!” he roared. He pushed me back with black magic, like a divide in the room was created between us. “You just won’t die, will you?”
“No.” My defiance stayed with me until the bitter end.
A black void formed over his head. “So be it.”
It appeared to be a vortex into the depths of Hell itself. At first, I thought he was summoning his ungodly army of daemons to overrun us. Even the fight between Esmerelda and my vampyres came to a halt to see what Vlad was going to do. When no gargoyles or other abominations charged through the gate, I got even more concerned.
My fears were well-founded as a great black ball of energy slipped from the opening and into the room. Black lightning crackled within it, tendrils of foul magic bursting forth at odd angles. The sinister look on Vlad’s face told me everything I needed to know about this final attack.
“When Satan created me, he gave me access to certain points in Hell. This bit of sorcery comes from a place of great torment and despair—I believe the seventh circle of Hell,” he said euphorically.
No, I couldn’t let whatever that was be used. Putting aside all fear, I pointed my grandfather’s sword at him and charged. Vlad’s love of hearing himself talk would be his downfall. I rammed the sword into his chest and began to push forward. It was his turn to make a choice, continue through with the attack and hope he lived long enough to see it succeed or stop to fight me back.
The black ball of the void was sucked back into the portal, his attention no longer on killing everyone in the room, just on stopping me. He gripped the blade of the sword with his still intact hand, stopping the progress. “You’ll die for this, Brinza,” he spat.
He was strong, so strong. I wasn’t about to let up and I put my body’s weight behind the sword. It was a battle of wills. If he was able to push me off I was dead. If I kept fighting for just a bit longer, this final gambit might just pay off. To reinforce that, I looked him directly in his blood red eyes, letting him know I was no longer afraid of the big, bad daemon in front of me.
Hate was pouring out between the two of us. Screams could be heard behind me, but I fought off the curiosity to look. “How does it feel to have death so close?” I taunted.
“The only close death is that of another Brinza to add to my collection.”
As we struggled there, the first of the fire traps from beneath the city went off. The building shook as the chain reaction began. The church bells chimed eight and our time was up.
“Maximus, we must go!” Radu’s voice yelled. I was not to be deterred.
With my focus only on Vlad, I kept pushing. “We’ll both be dead before this is all over.”
With only one hand, he was starting to lose leverage. “You’re a rodent,” he bit back. “My time has just begun!”
The room we were in started to feel the full effects of the trap. The ceiling above began to fall all around us. I was happy to know I was going to die, avenging my father and grandfather before me. With one final push, the sword dug in deeper, the part where the two metals were mixed slipped into his skin and Vlad gave an unholy yell. It was at that time a huge chunk of stone fell, my death certain.
Except a hand pulled me away. Abigail, with her hair whipping around in the fiery maelstrom, had me in her arms and escorted me out of the damned building. We didn’t stop moving until we hit the stairwell that led back down to the catacombs below, our victory secure.
Above us, Drakovia burned to the ground. The cleansing fires of Heaven wiped the vile and malignant force from this world, sending
it back to Hell where it belonged. The malice of the cross, finally purified.
Epilogue
**Moldavia; 1781 the year of our Lord**
“I ’m so sorry, my old friend,” I told the man who had just passed moments ago.
My friend, Maximus Brinza, was dead. I’d gotten there too late. He’d put up a hell of a fight, judging by the wounds on both him and the high clergyman. It appeared that the stagnation of becoming a father and resting had caught up to him. I closed his eyes, my hand touching the blood around his face.
Even still, he’d wounded the clergyman so deeply that the man wouldn’t be able to retaliate against any further attack. That was the Maximus I’d known and had grown to consider family!
“Radu Dracul,” the clergyman addressed me properly. “He died protecting his hellspawn of a wife and their daemon child. He was a good man, honorable.”
I remembered vividly the news when I came to visit Stefania that Abigail and Maximus had gotten married. That was only overshadowed by the news she’d become gifted with child. Their little girl, Julia, was a precious blessing from God. And because of this man in front of me, she’d have to grow up without a father.
It was a quick and painless death for the clergyman. He knew it was coming and didn’t resist. The moment I unsheathed the Holy Spirit’s Brand, he knelt down and accepted his fate. He had failed in his primary task that a corrupt priest gave him all those years ago, yet he took from this world a good man. He had removed a hero—the one who had killed my brother.
From the wreckage of the cottage, Abigail came forth with Julia. Her heartbreak couldn’t have been any more obvious. “Max, he made me human again, Radu. He gave me such a gift, only to be taken away by this vile creature.”
“Somedays I wonder if the humans are not the monsters and we are the ones who are being persecuted.”
The little girl was barely a year old, but there were clear signs of her vampyric lineage. Red eyes, the start of fangs. Yes, she was in for a hard life. And that was even before the death of Maximus.
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