Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (2 page)

         After a
while, Helena carefully inquired, "What happened then?"

         Bernard
looked at her, as if he had forgotten all about her presence. "Nothing.
Only deadly silence ruled. My heartbeat was racing, and I feared that something
had happened to the children. I didn't know what to expect, so I tiptoed along
the corridor, as quietly as possible. With my pistol in hand, I slowly went to
the nearest door. It was Luise's bedroom. Carefully, I opened the door. I
relaxed, because there she was in bed, fast asleep. I thought, I had only
imagined the scream, since nobody else was awake, but me. To reassure myself
that everything was as it should be, I drew closer. The bed's curtains were
blocking my view. I brushed the curtain aside, and Luise lay there, wearing her
lily-white nightgown." He could barely say the next words. "She was
dead."

         Bernard
dabbed at his forehead, before he continued in a broken voice. "Her light
brown hair was completely disheveled and one arm hung over the side of the
bed." The corpulent man shook himself, intending to banish the horrible
image from his mind's eye. "Her skin was unnaturally pale, and then I
discovered the marks on her throat. I was shocked, because clearly, it was a
bite mark. The imprint of teeth was recognizable." Again, he shivered.
"In that moment, I felt panic rise inside of me. Without thinking, I tore
open the connecting door, which leads to her sister's room. There I saw him in
front of me, the personified nightmare. This cursed..." Bernard hesitated
and looked at Helena, who nodded encouragingly. "
Vampire
," he
spat, terrified. "He stood in the middle of the room, directly in front of
me, holding Joséphine in his arms. Her petite body didn't move, her head was
bent back, so I could see the fear she must have felt in her eyes. I froze at
the horrible sight, but the scenario didn't end."

         "
'Who
are you, monster?!'
I demanded. He looked up from his bloody deed, right at
me. The piercing gaze of his black eyes burnt its way into my heart,"
Bernard said and placed one hand on his chest, while clenching the other to a
fist.

         "Can you
describe him to me?" Helena asked carefully.

         "Yes, of
course," Bernard answered erratically. "He was tall, well-muscled.
His skin was pale, his face angular. Hair and beard were of raven color. And
his eyes... they strongly reflected the danger he emitted.

         After another
break, Bernard returned to the story. Consternation was heavy in his voice.
"While I was standing there, a smile appeared on his features. The devil
actually smiled at me! It was unbelievable, and the whole time he was stroking
Joséphine's fox-red locks, and then he kissed her blood-drained lips..."

         Tears were
streaming down Bernard's face. "The most abominable thing was how he
showed off her dead body. He grabbed her waist and started to dance. Right in
front of my eyes, he danced with the soulless girl, and I couldn't move."

         "It
wasn't your fault," Helena said, wishing to destroy his self-reproaches.
"The power of a vampire is unpredictable, and you were under his spell.
You couldn't have foreseen this kind of manipulation, much less fight it."

         Bernard
shrugged his shoulders. "Thank you for your kind words, Madame. Still, I
failed as a protector."

         Helena urged
him to go on. "What about the boy? What happened to Philippe?"

         "Philippe.
Oh, little Philippe," Bernard said, as if he were in a daze. "His
happy laugh amused the whole family, especially in summer when the children
were romping through the gardens."

         "Please,
concentrate on that night," Helena begged him.

         The caretaker
sorted his thoughts and continued. "After the degrading dance, he let her
sink down to the bed and laughed loudly. Then he spoke his first words, not to
me, but to the dead girl.
'In the silvery light of the moon you are innocent
angels, but deep inside, deeply hidden in your hearts, your poor souls are
screaming for redemption.'
His cruel expressions had me choking with fear.
This vampire was acting as if he were a poet, and not an unscrupulous murderer,
who had just killed in cold blood. As if nothing at all had happened, he
adjusted his elegant clothes and dabbed some drops of blood from the corner of
his lips with a silky handkerchief."

         "It is a
peculiarity of vampires to wear beautiful clothes, and to surround themselves
with wealth," Helena explained, nodding.

         "I
wanted to make him pay for his crime, but I couldn't do anything. We stood a
few paces away from each other, but still, I could feel his ice cold fingers,
wrapping themselves around my throat, choking me."

         Helena was
dismayed. "You must have met a very powerful one of his kind."

         "Oh, he
wasn't alone," Bernard added, almost matter-of-factly. "A young woman
was with him."

         Silence fell,
until Skylar, who had been following the story with great interest, just as her
brother had, leapt from her armchair, pointed an accusing finger at Bernard and
exclaimed, "Vampires always hunt alone! You've just been proven a liar,
Monsieur."

         The small
group jerked.

         A warning glance
from Helena was enough to silence her daughter.

         Surprised,
Bernard looked at Skylar. He opened the top buttons of his shirt, to be able to
breathe better. "I assure you. It's the truth."

         "I agree
with my daughter, but also don't doubt your words, Bernard. That brings me to
the next question. Was she human?"

         Bernard gazed
at their astonished faces. "Why? Is this an odd occurrence?"

         "Actually,
vampires are loners," Helena explained. "They are never in company of
mortals. They avoid contact with humans... until they choose them as
prey."

         Bernard
fanned himself with a napkin. "Human or not, she scared me just as much as
the vampire."

         "Go on,
Bernard," Helena said, clearly alarmed.

         "I
noticed that I became more and more dizzy. I thought that my life would finally
be over. A door creaked open and the vampire released me from his spell.
Wheezing, I fell to the floor, looking out at the long corridor. Bright
moonlight shone through the billowing curtains, painting unsteady shadows on
the high walls, but little Philippe wasn't bothered by that. Happily he let his
wooden horse roll over the parquet."

         Bernard
tightly clenched the napkin in his hands, before he continued, "This
terrible dame sat next to him, greatly amused by his innocent playing."

         "
'Isn't
he a honey sweet boy with his short red curls?'
She reached for him.
'Come
here, my little prince. Come to your Chalice.' W
ithout suspicion Philippe
went to her, and she hugged him tightly to her chest.

          
'Don't
you dare touch the boy,'
I screamed.

          But she only
grinned, demon-like, and kissed his forehead.
'What if I do?'
she asked.

         The vampire
came out of the room, reprimanding her.
'We don't have time for your games!
Did you bring the small chests, so I can finish my work?' "

           
I shouted,
'What are your intentions, monsters!?'

            'Be
quiet,'
the vampire replied.
'The hearts of my angels belong to me.'

           
My thoughts
tumbled with shock.
'You spawn of hell! They are dead! Now let them rest in
peace!'

         A gesture of
his hand and I was flung into a corner of the corridor.
'What do you know
about death?'
he screamed at me.
'For how long will you be walking this
earth? For fifty or sixty years, if you can stay healthy. What is this compared
to immortality, which none of you will ever earn? But I'm in a gracious mood
tonight. I want to show you how much you humans are clinging to your restricted
beings. The empty shells of the girls, for you and the vivacious boy. It's your
choice!'

         Frightening,
he stood in front of me. Subdued, I chose life. That of Philippe and mine. I
had the terrible feeling that I had made a pact with the devil himself."

         "It was
the right thing to do," Helena said. "Otherwise, he would have killed
you, too."

         Bernard
shrugged his shoulders. "It's a miracle he didn't. Anyway, I scrambled up
from the floor and snatched Philippe from the demonic woman. Reluctantly, she
let go of him. Then she reached inside a leather bag and pulled out two small
silvery chests. Chalice gave those to the vampire, together with a wickedly
gleaming knife. I didn't dare to imagine what he planned to do. They went
inside Joséphine's room and the big doors closed behind them. When that
happened, I couldn't stand it anymore. I pressed Philippe against me and ran
down the stairs, as fast as my legs could go. We spent the rest of the night
inside the stables, hidden beneath the hay. Only after the sun had reached its
zenith, did I dare to go outside with the boy. What we found was just plain
awful. The hearts of Luise and Joséphine had been neatly cut out and were gone.
So, it's understandable that the family left this place after the horrible
deed. Now, they are living in Versailles, at the court of the King. The
Bouchardons never want to set foot into the castle again. They want you, Madame
Leosol, to have the servants and the whole estate at your disposal, until you
and your family want to leave France. It is your decision how to proceed, but
Monsieur le Comte demands a complete solution of the case."

         Helena could
sympathize with the desperate parents and responded, "We will do
everything that is humanly possible to defeat this vampire, and his companion,
Chalice. Now, we would like to turn in to take some much needed rest."

         Bernard rose
and showed them to their bedrooms. "I had the rooms on the first floor
prepared for you, because I wasn't sure if you would want to sleep on the
second floor."

         "Thank
you. How very thoughtful of you," Helena replied, grateful. "We will
arrange everything ourselves."

         "I will
go back to Paris. Tomorrow, in Versailles, I will tell my lord and lady about
your arrival."

         At the main
portal, Bernard bowed, put his hat back on and entered the carriage, which the
stable boy had prepared for him. The caretaker clicked his tongue and
immediately the horses galloped down the chestnut avenue. The carriage quickly
disappeared into the night. The Leosol family went inside to prepare for
bedtime.

         Helena showed
Skylar to one of the bedrooms. After she had tucked her in, she quietly left
the room. "She's asleep. It was a very strenuous and long day for
her."

         Kyrian
stretched and yawned widely. "We all are exhausted and tired."

         Together they
returned to the dining room. Both sat down in front of the fireplace, thinking
about the evening. Until late in the night, Kyrian and his mother were talking
about Bernard's tale.

         Helena closed
with a warning to her son. "Kyrian, we have to be very careful."

         "Bah, we
will make the vampires pay for this family's martyrdom!"

         "You
know about your father's view of killing. He didn't want a slaughter and a
tormenting death. He preferred a quick strike with a wooden stake right through
the heart. That's the way I also want it to be done."

         "You
heard about the cruel fate of these randomly chosen girls, just like I
did!" Kyrian opposed. "How can you still say vampires deserve a quick
death?"

         Helena grew
serious. "I want to keep our fighting traditions like they have always
been in our family. The vampires were once breathing and sympathetic humans.
This is a fact you should never forget. Besides, I don't think that the girls
were randomly chosen."

         Kyrian didn't
want to listen, because he wasn't convinced of his mother's methods to hunt.
"What about those that were born a vampire?"

         Helena gazed
deeply into his eyes. "Hope and pray that you never have to come across
one of the
Old Blood
."

         But the boy
was too furious to catch the meaning of her words. He started pacing restlessly.
"These ruthless monsters with their insatiable hunger for blood are feared
by every living soul. I'm not! I'm not scared! They have to be wiped out, and I
will not feel any sympathy for them!"

         Faced with
such unreason, Helena shook her head. "Vampires are far more than
merciless monsters with an unrestrained thirst for blood. They are as complex
creatures as humans are. To declare a vampire a soulless undead would be a
fatal mistake. See them as immortal creatures, who were cursed to exist for
eternity, at the expense of the blood of others."

         Kyrian
remained angry, and didn't want to change his opinion. "The animal, the
beast, that lives inside them turns them into abominable monsters, which only
strive for fresh blood."