Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (40 page)

         Skylar went to the window
and watched a person, who wore a long cloak, disappear through the entrance
door.

         "Mama!" With
the paper in hand, Skylar left the room and saw a dark figure entering the
library. The girl ran through the corridor and pressed down on both handles.
The doors flew open and Skylar stormed into the library. "Mama! Have you
seen the newspaper? It is saying..." She trailed off in surprise, as she
recognized the person that stood beside the window. "Oh, Monsieur Dutroit,
it is you. What are you doing here? In the middle of the night?"

Questioningly, the girl wrinkled
her forehead. She didn't receive an answer.

         The police chief just
stood there, not moving an inch.

         Skylar didn't know what
to do. Michel's nightly visit seemed strange. The whole situation frightened
her, but she tried to conceal that. Matter-of-factly, she began to rattle off
some harmless questions. "Monsieur Dutroit, are you not feeling well? Is
something wrong?" Waiting for an answer, Skylar began to light some
candles.

         Suddenly, the police
chief turned around and gazed at her with empty eyes.

         Unconsciously, Skylar
retreated a step, while his dark eyes remained firmly fixed on her. The play of
light and shadow of the flickering candles made Michel's face appear demonic
and the girl swallowed hard.

         Michel's mouth formed a
sneer and he started to speak in a strange voice, "Look who is still
awake. The little lioness..."

         Skylar retreated further,
her heart beating fast. The weird behavior frightened her more and more.

         Michel took a step toward
her. "So innocent..." He hesitated. "Awww, what is it? Are you
scared?"

         The girl shook her head
bravely. At the same time she retreated, until her back hit the wall. She kept
the newspaper tightly grasped in her hands and hidden behind her.

         Suspicious, the police
chief eyed her up and down. "What are you hiding behind your back?"

         Skylar gathered all her
courage and countered with a question of her own, "Where is my Mama?"

         The police chief went
down on a knee. "My dear sweet child, how am I supposed to know that? She
wanted to make us some tea, and since early evening, she's kept me waiting for
it..." He laughed about his joke. "But it doesn't matter, because I'm
very, very patient. Why do you ask?"

         "Because I have
something important to tell her. Alone." She added the last word
defiantly.

         At lightning speed,
Michel's hand shot out and took the newspaper from her grasp. His eyes scanned
the headline. Again he grinned evilly.

         The girl shivered.
Something was seriously wrong. Skylar could only watch on in disbelief, while
he tore the paper to shreds, right in front of her eyes. "My dear sweet
child, such horrible stories are not meant for you. You should leave that to
the adults. Why don't you go back to your room and play with your dolls?"

         In that moment the door
opened and Skylar released a relieved breath as she saw her mother, who entered
with a tablet full of tea utensils, acting like it was the most normal thing to
do at this time of night. The scent of mint filled the room.

         Michel rose from his
place on the floor and Skylar used the chance to hurry to her mother's side.

         "Why is no fire
burning? It is so cold without it." Helena said friendly, despite the
awkward situation the three were in.

         Skylar shrugged her
shoulders, sneaking glances at Michel.

         He took the tablet from
Helena's hands and set it on the table. "My dear Helena, who needs a fire?
Your presence alone is enough to warm my heart and I feel no cold."

         The sharp gaze of the
huntress fell on the tiny pieces of paper that were strewn across the floor.
"Before I am going to ask what you are doing here at this time, what is
the meaning of these pieces?"

         Not bothering to answer,
Michel pulled her to the table. "The tea, Madame. We should drink it,
before it gets cold."

         "Yes, sure,"
she replied and smiled. "Since I brewed it, we should drink it right
away... and we have had to wait for it so long." She turned her back to
Michel, whose attention rested once more on Skylar.

         The girl was still standing
rooted beside the door, in her white nightgown.

         No one noticed when
Helena added the white powder to Michel's teacup. She stirred the fluid with a
small spoon and gave it to the police chief. Then the huntress made a cup for
herself and sat down in an armchair, opposite him. Helena suppressed a smile as
she saw Michel taking his first tentative sips. "Mhhh, a strange
aroma," he remarked.

         Helena raised an eyebrow.
"You think so?"

         Michel took another sip.
"Well, yes, one can get used to it... kind of bitter aftertaste...
still... it is delicious..." The police chief frowned as his eyelids grew
heavier with each passing second.

         "Tell me, Michel,
how is your new task going? I mean the protective observation of the D'Ardenne
twins?"

         Skylar opened her mouth
to intercept Michel, but Helena's warning glance was enough to keep her silent.

         "Everything is
fine..." came the slurred answer. His tongue felt numb and he had trouble
to concentrate on her question. "Why... why... do... you... ask?" He
had to blink several times and kept rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sudden
double vision.

         "Well, I thought you
might have found some hints concerning the
Heart Taker
?"

         Michel didn't listen to
her anymore. He had emptied his cup and stared disbelieving at the small traces
of powder at the bottom of it. The police chief wiped his finger across it,
rubbing the substance between his fingertips. His eyes turned to the huntress.
"Bitch!" he roared outraged, accusing.

         Helena and Skylar
flinched.

         "What have you done?
You poisoned him!" He leapt up, but his rubbery legs gave way and Michel
went down hard. His eyes rolled back and he lay there unconscious.

         Helena put her cup back
on the table, regarding the prone Michel. All her romantic feelings for the man
disappeared as suddenly as they had come. She motioned for her daughter to come
closer. "Skylar, help me to put him in the armchair." Together they
managed to place the tall man back in the chair.

         A bit out of breath,
Skylar asked concerned, "Mama? What have you done to him?"

         "Don't worry. The
good Monsieur Dutroit is just taking a little nap."

         "There is something
wrong with him, Mama."

         "After what he just
said, I believe he is not quite himself," she replied and turned to her
daughter. "Did he do something to you, sweetheart?" Helena asked,
concerned.

         The girl shook her head.
"Beside scaring me, he only tore up the newspaper."

         "Yes, that is very
weird." Helena drew her brows together, thinking. "Why would he do
that?"

         "Because it said
that the D'Ardenne twins are dead and their hearts are gone."

         "What?" The
head of the Leosol family was utterly stunned. "But if he was guarding the
girls, why did he say that everything was going well? That makes no sense...
his sudden visit tonight makes no sense either. He didn't seem to know anything
about the weird message left at the old palace... it could be that..." Her
eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Good God! That would explain, why he was
acting so strange lately, and why he wanted so much information... the sudden
death of Bernard, the only witness... everything is coming together... it can
only mean that he is under the vampire's spell."

         "Mama, what are you
going to do now?" Skylar wanted to know, feeling unwell at the sight of
Michel's unmoving body

         Helena grabbed her hand
and they left the room. Outside, the huntress brought out a key and locked the
big doors.

         "Mama? What were you
talking about? What message?" Skylar asked, excited.

         But the huntress didn't
listen to her daughter. Her mind was working feverishly, trying to figure out
what to do next. "No, Michel was not the trap..." Before she could
finish the sentence, she was interrupted by a loud crashing sound.

         Skylar clung tightly to
her mother. "What was that?"

         "That was
downstairs, in the hall," Helena answered and pulled her sword.

         At the same time, Monique
and Jean came running towards them. The crashing had woken them from deep
slumber. Astonished, they stared at the weapon.

         Before either of them
could ask any questions, Helena ordered, "Go! Run for your lives and do
not come back before the sun is high in the sky!"

         Dumbfounded, the servants
looked at each other, thinking their mistress had lost her mind. Jean was about
to burst into laughter. Then they heard footsteps of several people downstairs
and Monique began to tremble in fear.

         "Go on!" Helena
urged again. "Take Skylar with you and make sure she is safe!"

         The girl protested
strongly. "No, Mama! I will stay with you!"

         Helena didn't have time
to make her daughter see reason, because Monique started to scream hysterically
and ran to the main stairs. Without thinking, Jean followed the cook.

         "No..." the
huntress whispered, her arm reaching for the fleeing servants, but it was too
late. Helena knew that they would run directly into the intruders' arms.

         Sobbing, Skylar buried
her face at her mother's chest.

         "Come,
sweetheart," her mother said, pain evident in her voice. She pulled the
girl with her. "We have to find a place to hide you." To herself she
said, "Now I know what the trap was. Hopefully it is not too late
yet."

         Over some hidden
staircases, they arrived at the quarters of the servants, which were under the
roof. Helena opened a small hatch. "You will stay here, until I come to
get you."

         "Mama, I'm
scared," Skylar sobbed.

         Helena tried to calm her
down. "Nothing will happen to you."

         "No, Mama, I'm
scared for you. I still couldn't tell you about that dream I had..."

         Helena swallowed hard and
took her daughter's face into her hands. She kissed her long and tenderly on
the forehead. "Always remember, Skylar Leosol, it is our destiny."
Helena hugged her child tightly, breathing harshly while trying to keep her own
tears at bay.

         "Please, be careful,
Mama," Skylar whispered, watching Helena leave to fight the unwelcome
guests. The girl crawled into the small space, closed the hatch and awaited her
mother's return.

*****

         Azrael's cane clicked on
the marble floor of the great entrance hall, his left arm rested on his lower
back. Some blood was visible in the corners of his mouth. He licked it off with
the tip of his tongue. Greatly interested, he scanned his surroundings, until
the other vampires that he had sent out returned from scouting.

         Reverently, they all
knelt at their powerful master's feet. "We took everything we could find
from the hunters, as you requested."

         Azrael was satisfied.
"It will enrich my collection. I'm looking forward to enhance my
knowledge." With a nod, he ordered, "Store the goods safely in my
carriage. Hurry, we still have a lot to do tonight."

         Immediately, they left
the hall to carry out his order.

         Another vampire cleared
his throat to report, "We couldn't find anybody besides the two fleeing
humans, Master. Only..."

         A drawn out groan
interrupted the vampire and Azrael saw Michel. Still numb from the sleeping powder,
the police chief was dragged into the hall by two vampires. "We found him
like that in the library, Master."

         Merciless, Azrael looked
at Michel's sad appearance. Now that the vampire had removed the dark spell,
there was nothing left of the police chief's former, strong self. "My dear
Michel, what happened to you?"

         Greatly confused, the man
looked up when he heard his name. He couldn't see anything, his view was
blurry. Weak and exhausted, the man sank to the floor.

         "You have not taken
good care of yourself lately, my dear Michel. A fact that is unforgivable for
a... what's the word you use here? Ah yes...
Gentilhomme
." Azrael
sneered. Then he turned away, demanding, "Light all candles in the hall! I
want the perfect scene for the grand finale!"

         The vampires did as asked
and lit every candle they could find. Also the big chandelier that hung from
the ceiling.