The Bride of the Immortal (7 page)

Her sight was blurry when she opened her eyes and realising too late that she wasn’t resting in her bed she came within a whisker of falling off the wardrobe when she attempted to stretch her hurting limbs. At once Mairin was wide awake and instinctively tried to push herself closer to the wall behind her.

“Great,” she thought, hoping that her clumsiness hadn’t caused too much noise.

Considering the circumstances she was in, Mairin didn’t have the faintest idea how she could have possibly managed to doze off. The only logical explanation that came to her mind was that she had to have passed out from exhaustion – or maybe there was another: that she was subconsciously suicidal.

Mairin frowned. The next thing that occurred to her was the alarming brightness in her room. Reluctantly she realised that the source of light wasn’t the eagerly anticipated dawn but a few candles that were resting on her table. Her own candle had been lit again and kept company with a candle stick that was holding three more of them. It had been foolish to help the villain to even more light.

A quick look to her right showed her that the door was slightly ajar. Was he still in her room? With the candles remaining here he had to be, unless he had brought even more of them. Mairin let her gaze wander over the room. The curtain had been drawn back a little, but not far enough for her to see the bed. Perhaps he was there, discovering her diversion. Unfortunately it seemed that against her hopes the other girls had missed their chance to report her runaway. Mairin suppressed a disappointed sigh. When it really mattered, one couldn’t even rely on the long-known enemy to do their worst.

The silence that lay over Sunflower Garden tonight bore no peace for her. Mairin’s senses were strained and her heart was beating heavily. She was convinced that the sound of her heart alone had to be sufficient to draw the evildoer’s attention to her.

When Mairin finally perceived the dreadful noise that gave her certainty of the villain’s imminent attack, it felt to her like being pushed over the edge of a bottomless pit.

The silent scrunching of heavy leather boots resounded again at the far end of the cupboard. Had he been there all the time? A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, making her head spin. She hardly dared to gaze past her feet and when she finally did she looked right into the staring eyes of her nightmare.

“Good morning.. hehehehe.” His voice was cold and calm. “Thought I wouldn’t find you here, eh? Mighty clever plan, it was. Almost had me fooled.”

Mairin was quailing, unable to let go of the scream that had crept into her throat. Only a moment later the intruder’s head was gone and big hands reached for her. Mairin started kicking after the attacker without a particular target and accidentally pushed her suitcase off the wardrobe. Her enemy was hit and grunted angrily but his hands almost immediately returned to fish for her. Desperate Mairin gazed down the cupboard, considering to take a shortcut down, but even if she didn’t hurt herself in the fall, there was no way that she would be able to escape.

Horrified Mairin watched the man pull himself further up and even though she continued to try to kick after his hands and even managed to land a few blows he ignored her attacks and eventually got hold of one of her legs.

“Let go!” she grinded out.

Like a raging lioness Mairin continued to struggle but his grip remained firm. The blanket she was resting on made it even easier for him to pull her close and a moment later, he had successfully dragged her off the wardrobe. With one hand on her mouth and with the other squeezing her wrists together, he mercilessly pushed her across the room.

Nearing the table, Mairin desperately tried to break free and reach it with her legs. She would rather make them both burn to death than bear with what he was going to do to her. But not even this last wish was granted to her. The brute had foreseen her actions and drawn her away just in time. Instead of knocking over her target she only accomplished to move one of the chairs.

In her despair Mairin tried her best to inflict pain upon her attacker and more than once attempted to bite or kick him or give him a dig with her elbow. Whatever she did, it seemed to be in vain and if anything to motivate the villain more. When he let go of her hands to draw back the curtain she swiftly turned and managed to scratch his face with her fingernails.

“What a playful little kitten you are…hehehehe.”

The hateful laughter extinguished every sense of triumph it had given her. Before she knew it, her attacker had restrained her again and fiercely pushed her backwards. However, instead of the anticipated pain of hitting the wooden floor she experienced an unexpectedly soft landing. Sheer dismay struck Mairin when it dawned to her that they had reached her bed.

To his surprise he found the door ajar. He opened it swiftly yet without making a sound. His first look fell on the candles, the second past the curtain on a far less pleasant scene. The girl was lying on her bed, an intruder standing next to her. Adrijan was alarmed by the blinking of a blade. Before he could do something, the ruffian proved his skills with it. In one slice the bodice of the girl’s dress was cut open. There wouldn’t be a second. With three large steps the immortal’s servant crossed the room, tore the brute away from her and kneed him in the guts. The knife slipped out of the villain’s hand and fell to the ground. He was groaning and squirming with pain. Adrijan forced himself to calm down when he realised how much he enjoyed seeing the man suffer. He turned around to check if the girl was alright. She was cowering on the bed surrounded by clothes, the bedspread drawn around her shoulders. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes looked empty and there was no sign that she had recognised him. Had he come in time to prevent the worst? The pain of having to see her like that while knowing that it was partially his fault almost let him forget about the situation he was in. To his misfortune the evildoer had recovered from the surprise attack far more quickly than he had expected and made use of Adrijan’s distraction.

He hardly managed to evade the knife in time when he came at him.

A series of attacks followed, each of which the immortal’s servant saw coming and therefore managed to dodge with ease. Adrijan noticed with satisfaction that the playful manner in which he avoided the blade irritated his opponent and drove him mad with rage. Then all of a sudden the villain ceased his attacks and withdrew to the door. For a second Adrijan thought he had given up but following the villain’s gaze he realised his real intentions. Adrijan had already started to move before the man sent his knife flying towards Mairin, aware that there was only one way to protect her. Adrijan hoped that he had calculated right and that this moment wouldn’t be his last.

Then the knife hit his upper arm. It was less painful than he remembered being stabbed. Even so it took him a few moments to recover. The villain though seized the chance to come at him again, looking ready to bash his head in – with his fists if need be. Adrijan lost his temper. With his right hand he pulled the knife out of his arm, stepped aside to avoid the clumsy attack, grabbed the stumbling villain at his collar and dragged him along to the other side of the curtain. In his rage he didn’t even mind the pain that was inflicted upon him by putting a strain on the wounded limb. There, behind the curtain, hidden from the girl, he pulled the man close, stabbing him from behind. The man gurgled, using part of his remaining strength to curse at Mairin and weakly pushed away from Adrijan. Disgusted, more by the man than his own deed, the immortal’s servant held fast to the knife and allowed his opponent to stumble forward. The blade came free and Adrijan no longer hesitated to finish the vicious man off by slitting his throat.

“No more,” he whispered bitterly. Adrijan picked up the woollen blanket he had discovered next to the wardrobe and used it to cover up the corpse. Lastly he tossed the knife to the ground. It ended up stuck in the wood, nailing the blanket to the floor.

“Are you alright? Hey, are you alright?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar.

It was hard for her to focus.

What had happened?

She was scared.

“If we stay here much longer we won’t be able to get away.”

She felt a slight draft around her chest and she came to realise that her hands were hurting. Almost automatically Mairin lightened her grip and the bedspread slipped off her shoulders. Oblivious to her company she glanced down her body and noticed that her dress and underskirt were torn down to her belly. When she spotted the fine cut following her breast bone she finally remembered. Mairin made haste to cover herself.

“That’s a good idea but your fear is quite unnecessary, I assure you. You do remember I’m a catholic priest, right? Just relax. I’ll get you out of here.”

Mairin looked at him. Was it really Father Adrijan? There was so much blood on his overcoat. Was it his? As composed as he seemed she thought it impossible. Mairin forced herself to nod and slowly got up from the bed pulling the blanket with her. She flinched when Adrijan stepped closer to help her and was glad when he decided to give her more space.

“Can you walk?”

She felt shaky but to her surprise her legs followed her command.

“Come, this way, follow quietly.”

The sound of his voice was soothing but Mairin was aware that it was the kind of calmness that the priest might have also used to steady a horse. Her saviour didn’t seem to realise that the fact that he was carrying the intruder’s candle stick made her feel even more ill at ease but she didn’t care to tell him.

“Thanks,” she mumbled and for a moment she thought to have seen a sad smile flash over his face. Adrijan stopped at the end of the hallway to point out their goal.

“Down there. There’s the tradesmen’s entrance.”

On their way further downstairs and through another corridor Mairin could make out faint voices in the house. Without a doubt, the noise they had made had at last woken someone. Even so the immortal’s servant kept rushing her. She couldn’t quite grasp the need for it. Wouldn’t they obey his commands?

Hastily they sneaked down the last few stairs to their goal until Adrijan stopped so abruptly that Mairin almost bumped into him. A tall man that had been cloaked by the darkness had appeared in front of them.

The immortal’s servant seemed ready to jump at him but after a few words in German had been exchanged he relaxed. Mairin tried to understand what they were saying but their pace and pronunciation made it difficult for her to follow the conversation. Eventually they finished talking and Adrijan gave the man an encouraging pat on the back.

Mairin was filled with relief when he handed the candle stick to the stranger and they finally stepped outside, leaving everything behind. Her companion continued walking quickly, every now and then looking over his shoulder, probably to assure himself that she was still following him. The more distance they put between them and Sunflower Garden the better Mairin started to feel. Surrounded by the darkness and the cold night air they proceeded along a small path that was unknown to her, like most of the world outside the boarding school. Even though she was still suffering from the events of the night Mairin was overwhelmed by her sudden freedom. There was only one thing that was bothering her. “Be careful,” Adrijan had told the man before they had left. Were they in any danger?