The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)

Chapter 24/Death of the umbrakine

Electra returned with her harpies at daybreak. I had Mary and Cub transferred to my rooms to keep them away from Ambrus. Cub was still comatose, but Mary was awake to some extent. She mentioned Electra then tired, slept again.

Seeing Mary's face angered me. It was an hour after dawn when Electra and the other vampires were safely in their crypts. I took a single drop of venom to kindle the fires of my voices. Attached to bottles of plasma, Mary and Cub slept in their beds.

Returning back to my rooms, I raided Cub's familiar clothing and masks. We were near enough the same size so I changed into her things. I opened the door a crack to see the guard. He hadn't heard, and he didn't see me. I took a deep breath. I would have been more afraid, but I was angry, so heartachingly angry. Even without the venom, I could feel the dark hood rise high on the back of my neck. I would show them nycha.

The guard didn't move. I waited then gave up. It didn't take more than a whisper of my voices to make the guard leave for a moment to relieve himself. After he left, I walked out in Cub's mask and clothes. Avoiding the elevator, I walked down all the steps to the ground floor. It was strange seeing the dark tower from the familiar's view. The passages were full of vampiric writing. It looked threatening, and the occult symbols created a sense of foreboding. They liked their stock scared, I remember.

From the stairwell, it was a simple matter to take the route as I had done before to the stables. Electra's horse was kept in a special area for the umbrakine. The air was richly fragrent with the smell of fresh hay about me. Cautiously, I walked up to the creature in the gloom. In the unspeakable uniform, no one would notice me, but I didn't want to be seen. I looked at the fine horse for a moment. It was indeed a grand animal, strong and fast, with the poise of a racehorse. On its face, I could tell from the symmetric markings around its eyes, it had been deliberately blinded, its sight sacrificed to carry the undead in the still of night.

The creature sniffed the air, trying to sense who was there. Then, without any feeling, I let my shadow hood lift. I could hear the whispers in my head rising. Then I caught them before it enveloped me. Now ready, I whispered the words of death. I had never killed anything that large before, only spiders and possibly a rat. I was unsure if I could do something that large. The horse stumbled for a second, then collapsed. It was a quick death, and I didn't feel anything for it. I felt the ground shudder as it landed. I didn't even have to leave the shadows where I hid to kill. I didn't feel sorry or upset for it. The only feeling I had was that of pleasure I had taken my revenge on Electra's prized horse, and the triumph wrote itself on my smirking lips.

Now I only had to return unseen, and they would know it was me but not be sure how. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, I moved silently away. As I walked, I wondered. I was likely safe against humans I could kill them but I wondered about the dead. The only way to tell was to slaughter someone. I thought I would feel terrible about killing the night horse, but I didn't. It meant nothing to me, no more than a piece of chicken.

As I walked, I began to feel less vulnerable. I could bite back when I needed to. I could protect myself. Then a wolf head guard approached me, I looked down. Looking to the floor to avoid a wolf head's gaze was for his benefit. I realized I would have to keep this secret for now. I wasn't sure if they could use people as shields. If I whispered would everyone who could hear me die? They could always wait until I slept to capture me. For now, I would have to hide this. If I told anyone, even Mary, they would guess what I had done. Stealth was my shield for the moment.

The walk back was a long one, up the stairs in heels. Only the Duke and a few others, such as myself as a princess, were allowed to use the elevator. I expected I might feel shame or a sense of remorse, but it never appeared. I was only pleased I had hurt Electra. I got back to my floor and slowly opened the door, and looked out of the crack. pulling my heels off so I could walk silently I hid, I waited until the corridor was silent. Then, I noticed the guard outside my door. I spoke again and the guard went for his second toilet break. Then back in my room I let out a deep breath.

A few days later, Mary and Cub were nearly back to full strength. I renewed my friendship with Madam Quaila and visited her rooms in a slightly less tight corset.

Madam Quaila told me the story of how the stable head had found the horse early in the evening. Electra had rushed down to be appalled at the sight. I was the obvious suspect, but the captain of the guard had the guards tortured, the man reported being outside my rooms all night. Mary had claimed to be resting, awake, and aware of my presence all night. The conclusion was obvious: I was simply human and wouldn't be unpleasant enough to actually do it. It had to be a vampire, so the conclusion was I had friends who would do it for me, and the obvious friend was the Duke himself. So, no one investigated too hard. Dr. Ambrus had conducted the autopsy herself. No trace of any known poison was found, which was remarkable, as Dr. Ambrus knew various poisons and had even brewed original ones herself. Madam Quaila concluded that a powerful person who favored me had access to a poison for which there was no known test and probably no known antidote. This disturbed a select few in the Black Tower.

I settled back, letting the usual chaos and infighting begin. For weeks accusations over who killed Electra's horse flitted from one coven door to another. The accusations ended, rumour said, with a couple of duels between rival immortals. Electra might try to have her revenge again, so I had to be careful. After the horse incident, I was more keen than ever to find out more about my powers. I knew I was only playing in the rooms of a much larger castle. I wasn't sure what my voices would bring me. I did know the only way to find out more was to enter the library of the temple. The best time to do this was during the Feast of Fools when anyone could enter.