For AO3 user blue_lantern.
She remembered the thunder. Its power had reverberated through her body, rattling her core. The sound echoed in her skull and thrummed in her bones. It seemed to reside there even after the fact.
But what she remembered most was the blood. The warm spray had coated her garments and splashed her face. She'd reached up to wipe at her cheek and found her white gloves soiled with it. Her fingers had trembled when she realized what had happened. Eyes wide with shock, Caterina looked upon the pulverized body of the headless vampire who had come into the cathedral that night dressed as a priest. A typical disguise. She should've known. The glint in the man's eyes and the subtle points of his canines should've warned her, but because the people seemed to know him as the long-time priest of the church, it threw her off. How a vampire had managed to dupe so many people for so long baffled her. The signs should've been obvious.
"The mass is cancelled," she'd heard a flat voice say. A statement that could've gone without saying.
After that, she'd fainted, and hated herself for it. How could a little blood and carnage make her feel so sick? The memories repeated themselves over and over, making her heart race. The cardinal was aware of her rapid breathing when she opened her eyes and stared up at a long rectangle of florescent light. The brightness sliced through her brain and made her eyes ache. She blinked and squinted. After a dry swallow, Caterina took several deep breaths to steady her heart.
All that would proceed from her throat was a cracked groan. When she tried to lift her head, the back of her skull throbbed. She must've hit her head on the hard stone floor upon fainting. She wondered then if she had any other injuries.
Injuries. With that thought, Caterina looked to her left and found a row of about five beds, all empty and neatly made up. A hospital. Someone took me to a hospital. Had her fall been that bad?
A stiff, itchy hospital gown, clean and white, covered her body. Her soiled garments would be declared "unholy" and contaminated with vampire blood, and thus burned. Too bad. She'd liked that outfit. It would take months for new custom vestments to arrive.
"Are you feeling well, Your Eminence?" came a voice. Caterina didn't need to see who it was. His words were soft, taking care not to startle her.
She turned to face Tres. He sat rigidly in a chair beside her. More beds were lined up behind him, all empty. She could figure why. Her high status probably cleared out the area, but why her escorts hadn't secured a private room was beyond her understanding.
"Just… Just my head hurts," Caterina rasped, touching back of her head. She felt no bandages. "How long have I been here?"
"Six hours, fourteen minutes, and thirty eight seconds," Tres replied.
The cardinal allowed a wry smile. Always so exact. "Where is…Father Abel?" A little hope permeated the question.
"With Sister Esther, seeking the accomplices of the vampire," Tres replied.
Caterina leaned back again. Disappointment pricked her like a needle. "So there are more," she mumbled. And he's gone again.
"It is advised that we return to the Vatican. On account of your safety, I also advise it."
"I have no objections," Caterina assented. Under her breath she added, "What a debacle." With the town so close to the border of the Empire, the Vatican had been hoping to reinforce its own presence there. They'd made every possible security precaution, but no one had thought to examine the church's priest. Caterina massaged her forehead as her headache intensified. Francesco would never let her hear the end of this.
With her eyes squeezed shut against the lights, Caterina heard clothes rustle as Tres stood up. Water gurgled into a glass, and when she opened her eyes again she found him offering it. Caterina took it gratefully, touching his fingers in passing. Even though Tres was an android, his body radiated warmth similar to that of a typical human. If it wasn't for his cold exterior and robotic tone, Caterina would forget he was actually a machine. But perhaps being a machine gave him a greater advantage over other humans, in that he was more loyal than the average person.
Caterina sipped her water and contemplated this. The coolness of the liquid soothed her dry throat, much in the way Tres's presence soothed a rough moment when she most needed someone by her side. More often she found Abel absent, and yet he was the man who promised to always protect her. The cardinal's brow crinkled, rebuking her selfishness. Abel had simply been too far away to react in time when the vampire attacked. Now he was out looking for the perpetrators like he was supposed to. In fact, had he been here moping over her condition she would've castigated him and demanded he go out there and find who this vampire-priest was associated with.
A weak sigh escaped her lips. Will she ever get these feelings sorted out? It appeared she wanted Abel in two places at the same time: here with her, and out there on the job. He may be the most powerful being on this planet, but he wasn't a magician.
Tres sat watching her, quietly awaiting any command she might give. His reddish-brown eyes were half-lidded. Even though his sights were on her, his mechanical mind seemed distant, working over some problem. Perhaps he was already calculating the logistics of getting home, the safest way there. Or maybe he was reviewing earlier scenes from the church incident, picking out anything of interest that might help A.X. find answers.
Caterina spied Tres' guns resting on the bed behind him. Their polished bodies gleamed in the artificial lights. For the first time Caterina realized the "thunder" had been shots fired. She'd been so stunned that all she could see in front of her was the vampire's bloody corpse. The android priest had been invisible. He'd acted within a fraction of a second. Any later and Caterina would be dead now. The vampire would've been too fast for anyone else except maybe Abel. Tres was so fine-tuned that his response times were almost godlike.
She'd made a good decision to salvage Tres from the lair of Professor Gepetto Girabaldi.
Caterina moved to sit up. A dull headache pulsed in the back of her head, traveling over her temples to her eyes. A hand slipped behind her and Tres assisted her. "Thank you," she murmured, noting the warmth again from his hand. His face was impassive as usual, but she detected a faint pleasure in his eyes at her words of gratitude. It was very rare to see. Caterina believed she was the only one who'd ever seen that look. It was as if a magnificent unicorn had just pranced into the room. But like an elusive myth that vanishes into the fog of mystery, the glimmer in his eyes disappeared.
"The doctor will return to examine you," he told her.
It's not necessary, Caterina wanted to say, but didn't have to will to protest. She would save her energy for Francesco's haranguing. Already she was beginning to formulate rebuttals. I'm going to get reamed for this. She took comfort in knowing Tres would be standing beside her like the ever present sentinel he was.
Tres stood up suddenly. The speed almost alarmed Caterina, but she took it as her tired imagination. He walked around to the other side of her bed. A woman dressed in a white doctor's overcoat came into the room. The doctor had a triangular face with a strong jawline. Her pale blond hair was almost white, tied up in a severe bun at the nape of her neck. Tall and willowy, her vibrant green eyes took Caterina in with concerned interest.
"You're feeling better, Your Eminence?" the doctor asked. "I am Doctor Calabrese—"
"Where is Doctor Novak?" Tres cut in.
"He had an unexpected call," Doctor Calabrese replied evenly. She smiled. "He has many patients. This one in particular is quite elderly."
Caterina watched the slight change in her companion's expression. It was then that she noticed his guns were back in his hands. She hadn't seen him take them from the bed.
It seemed Doctor Calabrese noticed as well. "It's all right, Father Tres. Doctor Novak put me in charge of the cardinal."
Caterina reached out and put a gentle hand on his wrist. But she remained wary.
"We just saw Doctor Novak a few hours ago," she explained.
Doctor Calabrese's green eyes sparkled. "He's a very busy man."
"Indeed." He must be to take his services away from a Vatican cardinal.
Tres hadn't moved from his stance. The muscles in his wrist had been tense. He knew something she didn't.
The doctor approached and stood at the bedside. "I would just like to take a quick look at the back of your head." As her hand came up, Caterina briefly noted the woman's long fingernails. The doctor leaned over and gently felt the bump behind her head. It was tender to the touch.
"When you get home, I recommend you take it easy for a while," Doctor Calabrese said. "I'll give you some painkillers." She stepped back and pulled a vial and syringe from her overcoat's front right pocket. When she plunged the syringe into the vial and lifted it to watch it fill, she opened her mouth slightly. Caterina saw the fine points of her canines peeking out from her upper lip. Her heart gave a kick.
This was no doctor.
Doctor Calabrese made sure there were no air bubbles in the syringe and lifted Caterina's arm. She didn't bother to clean the insertion point. This was all wrong. This doctor was all wrong.
The needle was millimeters away when the woman stopped suddenly. Tres had his gun up and ready, pointed at her head.
"Step away from the cardinal," he demanded.
Doctor Calabrese—if she could even be called that—gave him a sidelong glance, and then grinned, showing her points. She lifted the needle up like a knife.
The thunder came again. The false doctor was propelled back over the beds, leaving a red trail of mist behind her. She shrieked and convulsed on the floor as the silver bullets burned her flesh.
"Point-seven seconds late," Tres murmured.
"V-Vatican dogs!" Calabrese screamed. "You b—"
Tres planted another bullet in her head, scattering brain matter on the walls. The holes in the false doctor's chest smoked and sizzled. Blood streaked over the floor in wide fingers.
"Target eliminated," Tres said.
The discarded syringe rolled over the floor. The vial had shattered.
Caterina grasped at her arm. She peeked under her hand at the smooth skin in the crevice of her elbow. The vampire had failed to penetrate, but she'd moved with such incredible speed that there had only been a blur of motion. Her heart thudded against her ribs.
The commotion alerted the clinic personnel. An army of doctors and nurses flooded into the room, careful to step around the mutilated corpse. There were murmurs of horror and confusion.
Caterina recognized at least one face in the crowd. "Doctor Novak?"
"Your Eminence, thank God you're safe!" the older man said. He was somewhere in his sixties, heavy set, with a thick head of gray hair tied back in a small queue. His white overcoat fluttered as he came toward her.
"The vampire infiltrated the premises," Tres explained.
"I apologize for the breach," Doctor Novak said, ashamed. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. "We'll put more guards—"
"That will not be necessary."
"B-But…"
"We will be departing for Rome immediately. I have contacted Iron Maiden. Departure is scheduled in fifteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds." Tres stared at the doctor with indifference. "We cannot afford further security breaches. This facility is unable to provide sufficient protection." Toneless as he was, his disdain was apparent in his words.
Doctor Novak was speechless.
Tres never relented his grip on the guns. Caterina observed him silently. It had certainly been a wise decision to salvage him that day long ago.