Prelude (Underworld Lucian Fanfiction)

15 - Chapter XV: The Devil of Vienna

Vienna, 10:25 pm

At exactly ten past ten in the evening, Captain Vasili Andreev knocked on Mr. Itzhak's door, solemnly informing him of the Marie-Therese's imminent arrival in Vienna. He thanked 'Mr. Itzhak' for the concern he had taken for his family and wished him well on his journey. He also wished to remind 'Mr. Itzhak' of four outstanding debts from his last trip, amounting to the sum of seventy-five roubles, plus interest. He would now recite the list as follows. Damage to one antique door amounting to twenty-five roubles. Damage to one antique chest amounting to ten roubles. Damage to one antique desk amounting to...

During this long-winded send-off, the bloodseer continued to read her Historia Plantarum, supporting the eighty-seventh page delicately with two of her fingers. The journey had not been easy, lying in the dark, her imagination confronting death from all angles. Dreaming of death, she had succumbed to it. From there, the decision had been simple... She had no clothing. No belongings. Nothing to propel her toward rising. Even this book was not hers. Whatever years were left in her life, she would spend them in weakness, hounded on all sides by her enemies. She must give up.

It was a cruel lesson.

But then...out of broken memories, she saw herself: arms trapped behind her back, the green-eyed woman guiding her closer to the fire. Now pushing her. 'Those who hurt you will be indifferent to your pain,' the woman had hissed. '...so you must be indifferent as well.' Burning in the fire, she had drawn a scream from inside. She would no longer shame herself. She would be cold...logical...all-seeing.

Another cruel lesson...but one with lasting qualities.

Already, she had moved beyond the first chapter of Theophrastus, her eyes calmly honing in on the list of poisonous toxins once used by the Greeks. All the names were familiar to her. Conium maculatum, known as poison hemlock. Veratrum album, common name, white hellebore, the roots causing paralysis and death. Mandragora officinarum, the mandrake root, poisonous from its root to its tip. Aconitum, common name, aconite or monkshood. Most vampires called it wolfsbane. The plant caused severe vomiting and respiration failure. After a number of hours, while fully conscious, the victim died of asphyxiation. It was comforting to think of Lucian dying in that manner. When she escaped this trap and returned to the north, she would take this book as a memento of life's cruelty.

"Reinette..."

She looked up. It was not her name. It had no meaning to her...like dressing a seal in lace and calling it to come...but for now, she would listen. Around her, the room had the air of a storm which had come and gone, leaving her untouched in blink of an eye. All trace of the mess was missing from his desk. The floor had been swept, and the bed-sheets were folded onto the bunks. Lucian was kneeling by the open door, cinching his luggage shut with the brass clasps. Raze must have left already.

"...we are leaving."

She closed the book and stood. "I am ready."

"Then move." Impatiently, he gestured to the door. "We have much to accomplish before morning, so I trust you to keep to yourself when speaking to our newest travelling companion. Exiles do not make good allies." Was that a joke? Impossible. In spite of the many hours of sleep, he looked haggard in the lamplight. His beard and moustache untrimmed, the grey eyes peering out of shadows rather than sockets. She remembered his words to her. He would kill her if she mentioned his name to a single soul.

Nodding, she stepped past him into the ship's hallway, peering down the hull that had frightened her so many hours before. The stairs were dark now, the offending sunlight banished to another realm. Behind her, the glow of their room went out. Lucian had doused the lamp. She stepped forward, feeling colder as they neared the outside. Things were much steeper than she'd realised. Mounting the first step gingerly, she felt more as if she were climbing a ladder rather than a stairs. There was only so much space available on the fishing vessel. Her pace quickened...she heard Lucian's steps behind her, the sound all but pushing her over to the upper-deck. As a result, she stumbled...