Blood and Beasts (35 page)

Out in the courtyard, they plopped
Linda down on a stone bench and circled around her. Francesca impatiently paced
the ground as Rodney nonchalantly leaned against a tall hedge. Tristan settled
himself down on one knee in front of Linda and rested a comforting hand on her
hand, knowing that she needed support right now. She was clearly shaken.
Meanwhile, Seph sat herself down directly beside Linda and wrapped an arm about
her shoulders.

“Tell us what happened, Linda,” she
said in a soft voice.

Linda took a deep breath, air
rattling through her lungs.

“Abernathy and I were getting ready
for the dance in our room. We were getting a little drunk,” she admitted,
sniffling. “I had to go to the bathroom. When I was in there, I heard a knock,
and Abernathy said she
’
d get it,” fresh sobs racked her
short body. “Of course I wasn
’
t going to get it. I was going to
the bathroom! Anyways, I heard her open the door and say ‘Can I help you?
’
, so she obviously didn
’
t know the people. Then there was a
little squeak from her, and the door slammed. I hurried out of the bathroom as
fast as I could! I knew something was wrong. I ran into the doorframe on the
way out. I was pretty drunk then,” she showed them her already exposed shoulder
that now had a nasty purple and blue bruise on it. “She was just gone. I
hurried this way as fast as I could. I ran into so many things,” she shook her
head pitifully. “I started having those visions of her being scared and in the
dark room around the time that I reached the Main Hall,” she finished, biting
her full bottom lip.

“So, I
’
m guessing it took you about fifteen minutes to make it
all the way here?” Tristan asked gently, and she nodded. “Then, it stands to
reason, that wherever they took her, it took them about fifteen minutes to get
her there and ready, because that
’
s when you started having these
visions,” he nodded at her, and she nodded back.

“Ya, and she was wearing something
else too. It was some type of ceremonial dress. She was chained to some type of
altar…” Linda shook her head confusedly.

“So the place is less than fifteen
minutes from here. Kind of dark. It has an altar and candles held in skulls.
What place does that sound like to you, Tristan?” Seph caught the young wizard
’
s eyes, and he gave her a puzzled
look.

“It sounds like the place none of
you guys believed me about,” Tristan stated, and she nodded as they both rose
to their feet.

Rodney and Francesca came closer.

“Well, we believe you now. Can you
find it again?” Seph asked, and Tristan nodded. “Alright, let
’
s go. We don
’
t have any time to lose. Linda, you stay here and sober
up. We
’
ll bring Abernathy back to you,”
Seph stated firmly to the tearful girl before the four of them took off into
the night before she could further protest.

“
Wait!
” She called weakly. “She
’
s my best friend… Let me come too…” she sniffed again
and collapsed back down on her bench.

Go to Stefan. He
’
s in his room.
Seph
’
s voice trailed through her mind as they all dove into
the maze, headed for Silo
’
s exit. Getting to her feet, the
ragged girl headed towards the main building as though in a trance…

They were running as fast as they
could through the thick forest, dazzled by the moonlight. Emerald boughs raced
towards them, and the faster beings bobbed and weaved, avoiding them. Rodney
hurried to keep pace with Seph, who was concentrating on their goal up ahead.
Francesca stayed with Tristan, who ran slower than all of them. She didn
’
t want to leave him alone in the
forest with whatever creatures that roamed in it with them.

“Seph, what are we gonna do?” She
glanced absently at Rodney as he kept up.

“We
’
re going to save Abernathy,” she set her jaw firmly.

“How?” He asked back, and she gave
a shrug mid-run.

Neither of them was out of breath.
Running like this came easily to a werewolf and a vampire. They hopped over a
fallen log in unison.

“
I don’
t know yet. We just need to see what we
’
re dealing with,” he met her eyes
and noticed that they were charcoal-gray.

She was a little hungry already.

“Okay. I trust you,” he nodded at
her, and she sent him a little smile before they continued with their
concentrated running.

They arrived at the hole Tristan
had discovered with five minutes to spare from a fifteen minute interval.
Tristan was the only one breathing heavily, so they made him back away a few
paces lest the people below them hear his breathing and heavy heartbeat. They
hoped they would account that to Abernathy, who looked absolutely terrified
through the little hole they could peer through.

The cavern looked much the same as
it had before except this time it was filled to the brim with people, scantily
clad people. They were in all black and hardly clothed. Well, either they were
hardly clothed or wore long black cloaks with cowls. Skulls were everywhere,
even tacked to the walls somehow as sconces. They all held black or red
candles, which danced with either yellow or purple flames. Upside-down crosses
were everywhere, and it was then that Seph noticed the ivory fangs in everyone
’
s mouths. Tristan had described
everything perfectly to them.

“They
’re vampires,
” she breathed, and they all looked
at her sharply. “All of them,” she nodded at the mass of nearly thirty people
below them. “It
’
s a blood ritual. They must be
Worshippers of Mot, the god of the dead. Many vampires are Worshippers of Isis,
the goddess of the dead, those of us who try to remain more humane and not just
monsters, if we don
’
t keep our human faith. Mot calls
for blood rituals, like this…
We
don’
t worship Mot,” her
voice was low and emotion-filled as they watched the ritual unfold beneath them.

There was a high priestess, hardly
clothed, who was at the head of the congregation. Abernathy was there too,
shackled to an onyx altar and dressed in some type of ceremonial black garb.
Knives were everywhere, knives and scimitars and scythes. These didn
’
t seem like very nice people. The
woman was just beginning the ceremony. What were they going to do?

“We need a plan,” Rodney stated the
obvious.

“I
’
m working on it,” Seph muttered, eyes darting back and
forth around the cavernous room, scheming.

They all waited with bated breath
as she thought. A few minutes ticked by preciously. Francesca cleared her
throat impatiently.

“
Seph, we
’
re a little pressed for time-” Seph cut her off
swiftly.

“I got it,” she smiled at them and
then explained. “I
’
ll sneak in there. I
’
m a vampire. I
’
ll fit in. I get a weapon, sneak my way up to the
front, and during the ceremony, I
’
ll strike. Then, Tristan and Rod,
you two jump down there from here, surprise them, and Francesca come through
the entrance. Be the ferocious bitch I know you can be,” she winked at her best
friend.

“But… what then?” Tristan asked,
panic filling his electric-blue eyes. “We
’
ll
be in the middle of a hungry pack of vampires. You don
’
t think they
’
ll
be a little mad?” He looked frightened, as he should be.

“Oh, they
’
ll be pissed. We
’
ll
just have to fight our way through it. It
’
s
all I can think of, and we don
’
t exactly have alotta time here,”
she nodded down at the ceremony, which was pushing onward.

“Gee, and you thought you were
evil, Seph,” Rodney muttered, staring at the sight before them.

“What is that supposed to mean?”
She hissed at Rodney.

“I
’
m just saying you haven
’
t tried to sacrifice any virgins today,” he shot back.

“One tries,” she murmured
scathingly.

“You can bicker later. Let
’
s do this, but you can
’
t exactly go in there looking like
that. You won
’
t exactly blend,” Francesca nodded
at her clothing, at her beautiful, black gown.

“Oh, I know,” Seph suddenly reached
down and ripped the hem of the dress so that it was not even close to her
knees.

Next, she tore off the sleeves and
lastly the hood. She pulled off her heels. Now she was in a relatively less
than modest dress, short and sleeveless. She still didn
’
t exactly look like the worshippers below, but she
should blend in just fine. She pulled the pins out of her hair so that the
waves were everywhere, more feral-looking. She glanced up to see Rodney staring
at her, while Tristan turned bright red, looking away. 

“It works,” she said, grinning
before taking off swiftly into the night.

Seph traipsed delicately down the
gentle slope, rounding the slight bend and ducking behind some thick brush as
she watched how all the other vampires entered the cavern before her. There
were two bouncer-looking vampires standing at attention at the front. Their
eyes didn
’
t seem to be watching the entering
vampires, but she felt sure that they would know if something not of a vampiric
nature tried to enter. Good thing she was what she was then, a fellow monster.

Throwing her shoulders back, she
backed a little away from the brush and strode towards the formidable vampires
confidently. Not daring to smile, she nodded at a few vampires, not holding eye
contact for too long lest this group was a bit more select than she hoped.
Entering into the dim cavern, her eyes roved the kneeling creatures before her
as they listened to a vampire read from some type of scripture, but it was not
the high priestess who was speaking as she sat regally at her ornate, ebony
throne.

Seph saw the opportunity to nab a
black cloak, and she did, hiding herself as she recognized a certain individual
she hoped never to encounter by choice, let alone in this situation. It was
Alistair, and he was watching the high priestess rapturously as she slowly
strode forever, launching into her own fire-packed sermon. Slowly, ever so
slowly, Seph made her way to the front, snatching a machete leaning against the
wall on the way and tucking it in the folds of her cloak.

She allowed her eyes to dart upwards,
towards the telltale hole that she knew Rodney and Tristan to be peering
through earnestly, waiting for her move. She had nearly reached the front now.
She could see Abernathy franticly writhing against her bonds, although she had
clearly given up hope. The high priestess had moved slightly away from her now,
talking more directly towards the right side of the crowd. It was now or never.
Seph gripped the handle of her machete a little bit harder and moved towards
the stage purposefully.

Something was wrong. Something was
terribly, terribly wrong. She could feel the light breeze playing on her bare
skin. She was covered though, right? She looked down at herself to find the
cloak pulled around her feet, and the machete in her hand obvious to the entire
crowd. She had been midway up the steps of the stage, and she turned around to
see Alistair grinning, foot still on the hem of her cloak, which had untied
from her neck easily.

She looked up to see the high
priestess staring directly at her. She slowly turned her head to see absolutely
everybody staring at her. Boy, did she hate being the center of attention… She
gulped audibly. This was not going to go over well. Her eyes flitted upward,
clearly sending the message to the three up there not to do anything just yet
as two much larger vampires seized her roughly. They hauled her up the few
steps of the stage to kneel before the high priestess. She locked eyes with
Abernathy for only a second before gently shaking her head, hoping that the
terrified-looking girl would not give away the fact that they knew each other.
Why should they even bother though? Alistair knew everything. This was a
problem.

“Why do you have a machete in your
hand, young vampire?” The high priestess sneered down at her haughtily.

Seph thought about answering
honestly or with a smart remark. Instead, she opted for silence. In order to
not fall into any trap or reveal too much, she was just going to refrain from
saying anything. The high priestess didn
’
t
seem to like that idea very much. She slapped the girl viciously across the
face. Her head snapped to the side, and she slowly righted it, her cheek
stinging. She still held her silence.  One of the two henchmen began to shake
her violently.

“When High Priestess Kali asks you
a question, you answer it, little vampire,” his voice was low and gravelly and
hinted at some simple-mindedness.

Seph kept her silence resolutely.
The henchman shook her once more, and she gave him a look which clearly said
what-do-you-think-you
’
re-doing. Obviously, he didn
’
t realize that she was purposefully
remaining silent. He simply thought that she was dumb, kind of like him. The
High Priestess caught on, however.

“So, you are going to remain
silent?” She snapped out, and again Seph simply stared at her stalwartly, mouth
closed. “I do not know if you are a traitor in our midst or just an idiotic
fledgling vampire. I do not have time for this. I have a ceremony to continue,”
she suddenly paused and leaned forward a little, sniffing the air next to Seph,
sniffing Seph. “I smell your fear, little vampire,” she whispered in her ear
before grabbing the girl and throwing her off the stage.

Seph soared through the air for a
while before colliding roughly with the wall, slamming her head painfully. Seph
felt the warm trickle of blood forming a river down the back of her head and
neck, leaving a scarlet line that soaked into the back of her dress. She could
barely see what was happening in front of her, but Alistair seemed to be asking
the High Priestess something…

“
May I, High Priestess Kali?
” He slightly bowed his head to the
commanding woman.

The tall woman looked down her long
nose at him for just a moment and then gave him a sharp nod. Before Seph knew
what was happening, two henchmen had grabbed each of her arms roughly, hauling
her up to her knees. She glanced over at the stage in time to see Alistair jump
in the air before landing on her like some predator of lore. She shrieked just
as he ripped into the flesh of her neck, and pain overcame everything else…

Tristan and Rodney stared down at
the drama unfolding below them. Rodney
’
s
hackles went up. He won
’
t be thinking clearly, Tristan
assessed. Francesca probably didn
’
t know what was going on either, not
from her position. She was somewhere near the door. They had to do something
though! They couldn
’
t just let her die! Abernathy or
Seph!

“Tristan…” Rodney growled as
Alistair continued to feed from his girlfriend.

The high priestess slowly raised her
long knife above Abernathy, who screamed a blood-curdling scream. Both boys
cringed. He had an affinity for metal! For earth! There was metal down there!
The knife! He could do this! He called the knife to him, willed it to fly
towards him. Without warning, the knife did fly up to him, disappearing up a
hole in the ceiling nobody seemed to have noticed in the cavern. This stopped
everything as all the vampires suddenly turned to stare at that very hole.

“Time to go!” Tristan announced,
grabbing the shifting Rodney and pulling him down through the hole, loosening
the earth around them as they hurdled into the cavern.

Francesca, morphed, burst through
the entrance, tearing apart the bouncer vampires in her wake. She snarled at
all the vampires in the cavern, golden eyes glowing. Many of them hissed, but a
few of them cowered. That was good, Tristan noted. Tristan turned in time to
see Rodney launch himself in the air, over the high priestess and into
Alistair, knocking him off of Seph.

He slammed Alistair
’
s head into the wall, befuddling the
vampire. He turned to Seph, care somehow emanating through his feral eyes. She
hissed at him, eyes bright red. There was no care emanating from her eyes. She
snapped at Rodney, and a little smile played over his wolfish features. He
pointed her in the direction of the fallen, bleeding Alistair, and she nodded
with gratitude towards him, falling on the vampire with an unearthly shriek.
That sound would haunt Tristan for weeks to come.

Meanwhile, Tristan was calling all
the metal to himself in the room, drawing all the machetes, axes, knives, and
scimitars to his side, amassing them in a pile that if anybody dared touch,
would chop them to little, tiny pieces, lest they be a friend. The vampires
didn
’
t necessarily need weapons though.
They were well-equipped with their own weapons, namely fangs and claws and mind
abilities.

Francesca was amongst the vampires,
a whirlwind of teeth and claws. She was tearing them apart as swiftly she
could, but she was getting wounded at the same time. A few vampires managed to
sneak past her and escape. She let them go. She had her hands full as it was.

Tristan, calling a few weapons to
hover around him and stab anyone who came too close, hurried over to Abernathy,
who was still shackled to the altar, eyes roving madly. He caught an axe in
midair and used it to strike hard at her chains. She sprang free as he hit each
of the four chains in succession.

He helped her to her feet as he
threw a few knives in the direction of some tenacious vampires. Abernathy
grasped one of his hands firmly, trembling all over. She was streaked with a
little blood from a head injury, but besides that, she was fairly unscathed.
She was just terrified beyond her wit
’
s
end. Being the blood sacrifice in an underground vampire ritual could do that
to a witch…

Everybody slowly began to migrate
towards the front. Seph finished her feeding, her eyes a pale-silver now,
nearly white, and Alistair was drained dry. She wiped her mouth and headed to
the front with Rodney at her side, shifted and tearing apart any vampire within
his claws
’
reach. Francesca swirled her way to
the front, much the worse for wear, but plenty of destroyed vampires were left
behind her. They all stood there, together, waiting to see what these remaining
vampires would do next.

Rodney shifted to a half-morphed
form, something they had never seen before, a dog-looking human. He held Seph
’
s hand firmly. She was completely
scarlet, covered from head to toe in her own blood and Alistair
’
s, who was truly dead, by the looks
of it. Francesca breathed heavily, and Tristan supported the semi-conscious
Abernathy while he kept his knives around them, causing them to swirl around
all of them protectively.

They were facing a horde of
vampires, and as strong as they were, they were all just students, sixteen
years old each. What were they going to do? The vampires looked furious and
were slowly advancing towards them.

“Spell…” Abernathy mumbled,
wavering between consciousness and unconsciousness as her intense fear caused
her heart to flutter weakly.

“What?” Tristan asked, shaking her
a little roughly as he hoped for anything that would get them out of their
present jam.

“Protection spell… We learned it in
Wizarding Class the other day… Remember? You were good at it… You
’
re good at all spells, Tristan,”
then she really did faint, and it took nearly all of his strength to hold her
up.

Seph came over and rested the girl
against the altar so that all their hands and concentrations were free.

“Get in a circle, everybody,” he
commanded, and instantly they assembled. “Prop Abernathy up. She needs to be in
here too,” he commanded as the vampires neared them ever closer, claws and
fangs out for the kill.

Tristan held Abernathy
’
s hand and Francesca
’
s claw as they moved over for her
cumbersome form to fit. Seph was holding Abernathy up as well and grasping
Rodney
’
s paw-hand as he held Francesca
’
s too. They stood their firmly,
although Tristan was very uneasy with the vampires at his back. Francesca was
watching them though and Rodney. He nodded at them all, truly frightened.

Abernathy was passed out, and Seph
was completely crimson and slick with blood, eyes white. Rodney was some weird
creature now, a little larger than usual with claws and forepaws, fangs, ears,
a tail, huge muscles, but he still had his face, kinda. Francesca was a mess, a
bloodied, golden werewolf with shreds hanging from her that were remnants of
torn apart vampires. He kept his knives swirling around them.

He cleared his mind, emptying it.
He didn
’
t think of his terrifying friends.
He thought of his kind friends, his wonderful friends. He remembered his talks
with Seph, about the sun, about their dead parents, about everything. He
recalled memories with Francesca, who was tons of fun, so flirty and always
there for you. Rodney was a great guy and his roommate. He helped him through
his hard times and listened. He always listened. Last was Abernathy, cheerful,
giddy Abernathy. He hoped these events wouldn
’
t change her. He liked her the way she was, so happy
and bubbly, an eternal optimist.

Remembering all these things, he
slowly raised a white protective bubble around them, raising his hands a few
times to enhance it. His knives fell as his concentration dropped. Seph noticed
what he was doing, catching onto the spell. Before she allowed herself to be
swept into it, however, she sent a message running down her line to Phin. She
entreated for his help, begged him for reinforcements. They needed teachers,
and they needed them fast before the vampires broke through their protective
bubble. Rippling with power as she was, her power collided with Phin, startling
him from doing something he shouldn
’
t
have been doing with the pretty, blond witch. Now, she could concentrate on
helping Tristan with the spell as Francesca and Rodney were pretty useless in
their current states as they would be in their normal states anyways.