A Crumbling Society

Part 2-25

Five minutes and we came to a halt right in front of a giant golden door surrounded by black walls. There were no more stairs for climbing, thank God, but I wasn't sure what to do next. Dusk let go of me and I began breathing on my own again, she checked over the rail to see how long we had before the vampires reached us. Our chasers were a good way below us and it didn't look like there were any handles on the door to push or pull. I walked up to them to knock but they creaked open slowly, a small crack and then an opening large enough for the both of us to slip inside. There was a cold chill that took over and lifeless feelings, as if mine was going to end in an instant. As I tip-toed Dusk managed the door behind me as it was still sitting open. She was ready to take on the group of vampires still making the ascent upward. You couldn't hear a single sound in the entire room, and I could already get a feeling that it was spacious. Little lighting made for a dim setting just barely showing how to navigate through the bookshelves. They propped themselves up to the ceiling and were stuffed full of different kinds of books. I'm still taking caution as I moved at a snail's pace, not sure of what might be lurking in the corners. Dusk was still at the door, those vampires almost reaching her when we heard a voice speak. A haunting tone filled the air causing hairs to shoot up on my body, "come have a seat Mr. Deveroux", it commanded. It was startling enough that Dusk even turned away from the door to look. When she turned back, they had already began closing and banged shut in a finish. I waited for her to catch up to me just a little because I was unsure about going further on my own. "Was that her, Embris?", I asked while focusing in front of me, Dusk kindly asked who else it would be. Following some shelves deeper into the room some of the lanterns floating around exposed some bones in cases, skulls to be exact. A good bit of them were human, others were creature-like, Orings, Deblets, and a Vixcor all sat propped up by miniature pins. Each extended in different lengths depending on what part of the skull it was stabilizing. Whacking my shoulder told me to stop exploring and keep moving so we headed further towards the voice.

Turning to the right the voice called out, "I'm over here!" so we turned around, this time it sounded bored. Five minutes later we found a way out of the maze and came to an opening with windows showing a grandiose view of Valtera. Everything looked normal, and without the red tint this time, the sky looked like black clouds and the lightning looked real. I was fine combing the city to see if I could make out the places we had been, but I was cut off. "It looks nice, doesn't it?", she said approaching from nowhere creeping up just enough to cause my heart to begin stressing. At the same time her image reflected in the glass that startled me but forced me to turn immediately. Blonde hair styled up into a bun with a few ends hanging in her face, a black dress hugging her figure with little bits of yellow and black shoes made up her outfit. Eyes as white as ice pierced my soul as ours made contact. The black pupils and coloration where they should be white made them even more frightening. She took a second to look out the window before speaking again, Dusk had backed up a little to face both of us. "Mmmm you smell better than I thought you would", she started, appetizingly inhaling a deep breath beside me. Shifting the weight in my step uncomfortably I moved sideways a few steps, it was like her eyes dilated for a moment with hunger. "I thank you kindly for escorting Mr. Deveroux to me safe and sound", she spoke freely, keeping close watch and not looking away. "You're welcome", Dusk replied with a slight nod, "it wasn't easy at the end, but we managed". "Mm yes you did, that was some excellent thinking on your part!", she acknowledged. It almost sounded like she was treating Dusk like a pet, or that she was half-witted. "So, what do I owe the pleasure to the presence of a vampire and a, vigilante?", she said, holding onto her last word, now stabbing. Each second, she keeps her attention locked on me the more I feel like she's ready to feed as if she hasn't eaten in centuries. Taking her thought of me to heart dug deep, I don't even know her, and she feels I'm lesser already.

"Carson is no vigilante! He's a hero of Earthworld and is being accused of awful things Lady Embris!", Dusk took my side.

"A murderer then", she quipped, not changing any emotion, and staring harder.