An explosion rocked the castle. The sleeping man's eyes creeped open as if they were made of stone. How long had it been? The castle shook again.
"Fuck," he groaned aloud, placing long, delicate fingers on the ancient carved wood above him, and pushing. The rusted brass hinges squealed in protest but the coffin lid opened. The man sat up, yawning, and revealing fanged eyeteeth. He climbed out of the ornately carved coffin, his hands displacing a full inch of dust as he did. Another explosion made the foundations of his father's castle tremble beneath him.
"What the hell is going on?" He spoke to the silent halls. He moved through corridors he'd known for hundreds of years. He was shirtless and a large golden ring hung from a light chain around his neck. He was so pale, his skin was like porcelain. He had long blond hair and eyes of pale gold. He made it to a window, wiped away a circle of grime and looked out. Three buildings lay in rubble around the castle. As he watched, a fourth building shuddered and collapsed in on itself, falling to the ground in a massive cloud of dust.
"How long have I slept?" he wondered aloud, gazing out at a landscape he did not recognize. The last thing he remembered… Hitler. Hitler was in power. He turned away from the window, feeling his age. His muscles were stiff and his joints ached. His skin was as thick and brittle as the ancient parchment in the books upstairs. And he was so very hungry.
Victoria Belmont carefully closed the tattered book she was reading and placed it in the messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Hitching the heavy bag higher up on her shoulder and taking her pen light out of her mouth, she shined the light over the expanse of rubble. A group of four historic buildings have been demolished today after they had suffered extensive damage in a recent hurricane. This city of broken concrete and Twisted Metal that went out as far as she could see was all that was left.
"You can't see much even with the flashlight," her companion whispered.
"I'm gonna try the spectacles," she whispered back.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the whisper spoke again.
"Yes, and why are you whispering?" Torie asked, her voice returning to its normal volume.
"oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because you're about to wake a fucking vampire!"
"Dracula hasn't been seen in like six-hundred years."
"Maybe you should let sleeping Dracs lie."
Torie gave her friend a hard look before polishing the crystal lenses and placing the enchanted spectacles on her face.
"You look ridiculous," her friend said, still hidden.
"Will you come out of there?" Torie asked in exasperation.
The empty space next to her began to shimmer. The darkness fell away. Ailis Boru dropped her cloak of shadow and glared at her friend with a look of supreme annoyance.
"Fine!" she huffed dramatically, "but if I get my throat torn out by a blood-mad bat-boy, I'm never speaking to you again."
"What if it's a blood-mad bat-girl?" Torie asked raising an eyebrow with a naughty grin on her face. The Irish Fae bared a row of neat black fangs. Those uninitiated to the Fae might see this as a threat, but Torie knew her friend was playing along. Torie adjusted the spectacles by carefully twisting the lens to bring the unseen world into focus. She spoke as she fiddled with the spectacles.
"If my research is correct, the castle appeared here sometime in the 1920s. Witness reports indicate that it disappeared again almost immediately. The castle is the most advanced mystical engine ever devised. Even after all this time there should still be residual…" As she explained herself to her friend, she scanned the area. She couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in her chest as she stared through the crystal lenses. The spectacles worked! As she scanned the area she saw ghosts floating down the streets they must have walked in life. She saw goblins and pixies: harmless pranksters normally invisible to humans. A gargantuan black shape like a dog moved noiselessly, prowling the nearby cemetery, a Grim guarding the dead. She made mental notes of all she saw. She turned her body to scan another section of street and that's when she saw it. She stopped speaking and stood transfixed.
Ailis looked back at her friend as soon as she stopped speaking.
"Residual…. What? Torie? You ok, babe?". She glided over to Torie, who stood as still as a statue, her mouth agape and a single tear trailing down her cheek. Ailis waved a hand in front of her face. She repeated.
"Residual what? Torie, was it here?"
"Is here." Torie spoke, finally. Her voice was hushed with awe and something like terror.
"Is here?" Ailis asked, in confusion.
"Look," Torie said, taking the enchanted spectacles off, blinking hard and holding them out to her friend. Ailis held them up to her eyes. After a second, forehand drop to her side and she stared at her friend. She raised the spectacles again.
"Is it?" She started to ask.
"It's somebody's." Torie answered. "Look at the size of it." Torie replaced the spectacles primly on her nose and began taking notes in a brown leather journal.
"You should make another pair, so then we wouldn't have to share," Ailis said, almost shyly, her former exuberance gone. Torie sighed.
"You don't need them, Darling."
"Yes, I do. I…"
"You're a Fae. You don't need human magic to see the unseen.". Torie took off the glasses and waved them dismissively.
"These? The spell on these is nothing but a parlor trick, compared to what can summon. I don't know why you're so reticent."
Ailis hissed and cloaked herself in shadows again and Torie sighed.
"Babe, c'mon. That's real mature."
"There's a vampire nearby. I don't know how close. We need to go. We need to go now." Ailis' voice was once again disembodied and high and tight with fear. Torie quickly stuffed the spectacles in her pocket and her notebook in her messenger bag.
"OK," she said, "take off. But we'll continue this discussion later," she added, patting the pocket of her trench coat that contained the spectacles.
"But what about you? I can't leave you alone." Torie turned away from the castle and walked quickly up the street.
"Go, Ailis. I'm not the one who's family is in a centuries old feud with the Sun Court. I'm just an average, unattractive human. It won't want me. As she spoke, she put more distance between her and the ancient castle. She was disappointed. She hadn't sensed the vampire at all.
Though her friend was silent and invisible, she could feel that Ailis was still by her side.
"Go on, Baby. I'll be fine." Torie reached out, felt Ailis grasp her hand and then she felt cold. She always felt cold when Ailis left her presence. Torie adjusted her bag and wrapped her coat more tightly around her portly frame. As she passed the cemetery, the unseen Grim stopped to sniff her. The creatures breath ruffled her hair. She pulled her hood up and shivered.
From the shadows, the tall blonde man with golden eyes materialized in a waft of black smoke. This was intriguing. This fat naive mortal had somehow managed to find his father's castle, even with all the spells and wards he put in place to keep it hidden. She had found it. And the other was obviously Fae; he could smell the magic on her. He had planned to move the castle but maybe... maybe it would be worth it to stick around awhile.
The tall stately manor rose high above the surrounding land of rolling hills and forest groves. A mile-long, tree-lined drive wound its way through pristine gardens. A fountain in the shape of angels and cherubs gushed in the center of the expansive front lawn. It was verdant and lush. Idyllic. And Carmilla hated it. She mourned the changing of the times. The covenant between humanity and the Night Witch vampires prevented her from raging about the countryside as in days of olde. It was safer for all involved but still, she hated it.
"Fuck the fucking Sun Court." She snarled to herself, sipping a champagne glass of blood. The situation could not be allowed to continue. The doors opened and a liveried servant entered.
"Madam Carmilla," the old butler intoned.
"Chandrah has arrived. She awaits you in the library."
Carmilla nodded and wordlessly dismissed her butler. She drained the glass, licking her lips, and setting the glass down on the table. She smiled.
"It's time to end this ridiculous covenant." She spat out the word.
"It's time to end them all."