Ardith - A Vampire Story (editing)

Chapter 29 The Come Back

Chapter 29 The Come Back

Edmund was finally back in the Cuthberht mansion. Both men and beast were exhausted after the tremendous and rampart persecution in the forest. The rider was sweating profusely and the horse's breathing was labored, but at the end they were in the castle, triumphant. Leila was dead and with her a terrible chapter in the already trampled life of Ardith and the king's herald.

Edmund dismounted his horse rapidly and a page took the tired animal to the stables. The young general rushed into the castle. Edmund passed by the main entrance and the grand salon absentminded, focused in only one thing: getting straight to Ardith's alcove to cerciorate she's been safe. The servants that were cleaning and organizing the mess left after the failed wedding celebration, turned to see an absorbed and disheveled man. His face denoted a mixture of weariness, fatigue, severeness and anguish.

Edmund was climbing the first steps of the stairs when Lord Aelderic intersected him in his way down.

"Wait, Edmund! Before you go upstairs we need to talk." Lord Aelderic placed a hand over Edmund's shoulder.

"I'm sorry to contradict you, Lord Aelderic, but I must see my beloved Ardith."

"Edmund, please wait! You must listen to what I must speak. There is something you have to know. You need to calm down. Come, let us sit down and talk." The duke offered a pair of upholstered arm-chairs to sit.

A cold blow hit Edmund's stomach. He acceded to Lord Aelderinc's requests, yet he sesnse something terrible was going on. He knew there was something wrong with Ardith and he was pretty surre it had to do with Leila von Dorcha. 'Damned vampires!' He thought.

Edmund refused to sit down, pacing back and forth in the living area. Lord Aelderic told him everything that had happened in the mansion since Leila arrived. The young man clenched his fists and his jaw tensed with rage and impotence. The duke kept talking, narrating the horrid events, and the incredible urge of running up the stairs was almost uncontrollable for poor Edmund. Damned Leila Von Dorcha! How did that all happen while he was absent, fighting against that faction of vampires? One of them, the most venomous of the filthy snakes that roamed on Earth, came to this region of Harzburg and caused so much harm.

"And I'm pretty sure the two lacerations in Ardith's neck, were made by Leila...--"

"Lacerations! Bites? Where? When did you notice that, Lord Aelderic?" Edmund was upset... distressed. He knew the consequences of being bitten by a vampire.

"Well, the first person who noticed the stings was Orla, who may rest in peace. It was a few days after Leila's arrival. Damned Leila! A thousand times that wicked creature shall be damned, burning in the Devil's forges! That was about two months ago... Oh, Edmund how could I be so blind! I was a fool! There were so many sings and I was so lost! If something ever happens to my daughter, I would never forgive myself!" Lord Aelderic voice was broken and he cried.

"I need to see her right away!" Edmund rushed up the stairs. His heart was litteraly in his mouth. He urged to see her to make sure she was safe of any devilish posesion.

The young man stared at the sleeping woman. His eyes watered and a heavy lump formed in his throat and sorrow and hopelessness overpowerd Edmund's whole existence. Ardith's skin had lost the freshness and rosiness it showed a few months ago when he first met her. Her sparse and dull hair contrasted with the glow and shine her golden-blond hair had before. The spectrum of death was reflected in the paleness in her skin and the dark circles under her eyes. Life was vanishing slowly from the duchess' body.

"Oh, my beloved Ardith. What has this monster done to you?" Edmund sat next to Ardth on her bed. He traced with his fingers the lacerations near her clavicle. A terrible chill ran through his body when he found out that in fact, Ardith had been bitten by Leila.

Edmund couldn't contain himself and bursted out in tears. He knew perfectly what could happen to his beloved. If she happened to be infected, she would turn into one of those monstrous creatures. He, himself would have to kill her, behead her, dismember and burn her limbs until only the ashes of Ardith were left to be blown away by the wind.

"No! No! No! This can't be happening! Oh, Ardith my love, I refuse to lose you! You are what I love the most in the world. I would die of grief if what I fear comes true." Edmund cried, resting his head on Ardith's chest. He felt somehow relieved when he felt the heart's pumping faintly inside her core. That was a positive sign that showed her body was clinging to life. For now, she was still human... and she was still his beloved Ardith.

The duke walked in the alcove without making a sound. He witnessed the sad scene with sorrow and the dreadful memories when his adored Edwina passed away, came back. He wouldn't bear to lose his only daughter. Lord Aelderic felt guilty for failing to protect her daughter from the evil that Leila resulted to be.

Edmund became aware of the presence of his father-in-law. His face was was buried in the duchess' chest. It was completely inappropriate and he must apologize for his misbehavior. "I beg your pardon for this boldness in my behavior, Lord Aelderic. I swear I didn't want to disrespect your daughter in any form. I just wanted to confirm she was still breathing."

"Do not fear, my son. I know you would never disrespect her... Please, tell me, how do you find her?" Both men stood besides the bed staring down at the poor woman.

"Ardith looks like an angel... sleeping, but she is so emanciated. This hideous Leila had been drinking of her blood for months. That worries me inmensly. This can cause her blood got infected and she can become one of them."

"But- but what is this you had just said? She could turn into a vampire, like Leila! But how can that be possible?" The duke reacted terrified.

"Yes. Once a human is bitten by a vampire, he or she is in risk of becoming one of these hellish creatures. I saw many men fall in battle and three days after they were drained to death, they resucited, possessed by the devil and blood thirsty. They were raging demons that attacked everyone including their own." Edmund countenance changed from sand to infuriated. His heart was tearing in pieces thinking of the horrendous fate that might overcome over his poor Ardith.

"And what happened with those who turned into vampires? How they were turned back into humans again?" Lord Aelderic inquired terrorized. He didn't want to hear the obvious, but he needed to ask.

"Lord Aelderic, once a human becomes a vampire, there's no way back. His soul is lost forever. The only thing left is to destroy the newly converted vampire. The demon must be beheaded and dismembered and his rests burnt into ashes." Edmund saw how the duke's face disfigured in torment. The idea of killing his own daughter was inconceivable.

"No, Edmund! I refuse to accept that as a possibility. Oh, Merciful God, please, do not let this to happen... ever! You know that she's all I have." Lord Aelderic knelt besides his daughter's bed.

Edmund walked to the window, praying as well. He has faith that God must listen to his pleas.

There was a knock on the alcove's door. Followed, Jamison the butler rushed into the room. "Excuse me, Lord Aelderic, Sir Edmund... Downstairs, in the living room, awaits Mosignor Bodicelli. He says it is imperative to have a word with you, master." The servant looked nervous.

Both the duke and Edmund reacted surprised and confused at first with the announcement, but then they looked at each other. What was the ecclesiastic leader of the Catholic Church of Germany in the Cuthberht's mansion? The answered clicked in their minds at the same time. Both men spoke out horrified in unison, "Oh, no! They come for Ardith!"