Good Day All!
I would like to preface this chapter by giving just a small bit of background. I am not a "fan" of Castlevania. I enjoyed the series on Netflix, and I enjoyed the Lords of Shadow videos games (yes, I know they aren't canon). This is not intended to "fit" into the canon. It's an AU, populated with a few regulars but mostly OCs. I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to leave a review. I always welcome suggestions and constructive criticism.
Now, on with the story!
As Torie moved through the darkened streets, the vampire trailed far behind her. He didn't need to follow her closely. To his enhanced senses, her scent wasn't hard to pick out from amid the myriad scents currently bombarding his nose. His pace was leisurely; he was fascinated with the city. It had changed so much since the last time he walked its streets. There were so many lights everywhere, and sounds he'd never heard before. The air was heavy with a restless energy, a tension as palpable as blood on his tongue. All his instincts told him that something was coming; a change as swift and terrible as a storm in the mountains. Even the humans, with their dull and distracted senses could feel the approach. It was a silent, nameless dread they had no hope of understanding.
A scream rent the air, dragging his wandering mind back to the here-and-now. The vampire winced at the grating tone and took a deep breath through his nose. He detected her scent, now sharper with fear and mingled with blood. He put on a burst of speed, making up the distance in a few short seconds. He turned into the alley where Torie stood cornered by three creatures. They looked like massive, mutated housecats. They stood on two legs, about four feet high. A cold golden light poured out of gashes torn in their flesh. They hissed and spat, light dripping from their blackened fangs. Torie had dropped her bag, pulling a large weapon from its depths. She snapped her wrist and a long chain unfurled, tipped by a cross. The first of the creatures charged her.
"No," she shouted, snapping the steel whip, to keep the creatures at bay. "I don't want to hurt you," she said, lowering her voice. The creatures hissed again, spitting streams of yellow gold that pooled on the cement and reflected what little light there was. The vampire moved in to slay the creatures, but before he had taken a single step, the woman swung the chain in a practiced arc, wrapped it around the head and neck of one and pulled it in close. As soon as it was within range, she swung down with the sharp heavy handle of the weapon, and smashed the creature to the ground. It mewed softly, and lay still, barely breathing. The other two screamed in rage and charged her at once from different directions. She couldn't avoid them both. She caught one with the tail of the whip, wrapping it around its legs and pulling it from its feet. It hit the ground hard, and couldn't free itself from the chain. The other sank its claws and fangs into Torie's arm. She screamed in pain and the scent of blood made him nauseous. He remembered briefly that he hadn't eaten in decades, but put the thought out of his head.
Torie grabbed the creature's head with her free hand and pried its jaws open. She held the creature back against brick wall of the alley and drew the sharp point of the weapon across its throat. In place of blood, more golden light pooled out around the wound and began pouring down the front of the corpse. Torie dropped the corpse and turned around. The final creature had extricated itself from the chains and came at her again. She had no time to respond. She swung the chain hard and the vampire heard her whisper two words.
"Tempus Tardo," The vampire felt the burn of magic in the air. He watched as the woman came in his direction and moved to duck into the shadows. He found he couldn't move, not very quickly. All of his vampire speed gained him nothing in the face of the spell she cast. In the space of three heartbeats the spell ended. At the last second, he saw it coming and ducked with all the speed his vampiric blood allowed. The ancient holy steel flail in the shape of a cross took a large chunk out of the brickwork above his head. The last creature lay dead, in an explosion of golden light. He recognized the weapon in an instant.
The woman walked back to the first creature, wheezing painfully on the ground where she dropped it. She waved her hands over its body. It was the smallest of the creatures, the size of a small child. It mewed pathetically. The vampire could hear its broken bones moving under its skin as it breathed. He though she was about to put it out of its misery, when she lifted the creature and wrapped it carefully in her coat. It didn't resist, seeming to understand that she wasn't going to cause it further harm. She set it carefully on the ground out of the way and retrieved her bag. She wound up the now-wet chain and stuffed the weapon into the depths of the bag.
A screech shattered the silence as another, much larger creature sprung from the shadows. Even the vampire hadn't sensed it's presence. This man-sized monster was different than the others. It's coat showed no drops of light. Blood dropped from its fangs. It charged Torie, bowling her over and knocking her weapon out of reach. The beast straddled her, trying to reach her throat. She held on tightly to its throat and shoulder, stopping its snapping, slobbering jaw a mere inch from her face. For all its height, the creature lacked bulk. She rolled them over, pinning the creature and punching it twice in the face. Torie, breathing hard, pushed herself to her feet and ran for her bag. The beast scrambled up and followed hot on her heels.
Torie grabbed the bag, sidestepping to avoid its claws, and looped the long strap of the bag around the beast's neck. They struggled. Torie's hands white at the knuckles and her arms trembled. A swift kick to the knee from behind and she drove it to the ground. Planting a large foot in the center of its back, she pulled up and back on the strap with all her strength. The vampire heard the cracking of bones before Victoria let go. When she was sure it was dead, she unwound the strap and dropped the bag. She fell back on her butt, panting hard, her hands and arms numb. The vampire watched her from the shadows. The whole fight had taken less than five minutes. He wouldn't have thought she was capable of such a defense. She stood, replacing everything that had fallen out of the bag during the struggle. She was still breathing hard and her heart raced, as much from exhaustion as adrenaline.
Torie stood in the center of the alley. The alley was wide and well-lit, in what she would consider to be the "good" part of town. She had heard reports; an uptick in strange sightings and occurrences, even a few alleged attacks. Those always seemed to turn out to be misunderstandings between humans and vampires. But this… she knelt down, looking more closely at the wounded one. New creatures. Victoria had studied her family's bestiary. Never had she seen these creatures recorded.
She retrieved her smartphone from the bottom of her bag.
"What are you?" she murmured as she snapped photos.
"Where do you come from? And why did you attack me? Was it random? Or did I attract you somehow?". She mused to herself as she rolled one of the creatures over to photograph it. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly ten minutes ago, that this started, and still no sirens.
"Must be a busy night," she said. Her head on a swivel, she began to collect samples of blood, fur, saliva, flesh and teeth from the corpses at her feet. She stowed these plastic vials in her bag. The last creature, she ignored. She had seen its kind before. It was a typical hell-beast, though somewhat larger than she had seen before. It looked like some unholy cross between a dog, a bat, and a child.
She finished collecting her samples and pulled a large oilskin sack from an outside pocket of her bag. She bundled one of the corpses into it and tied it closed. The liquid light that had pooled around the corpses had faded from a bright and glowing gold, to a dull iron gray. Torie looked down at herself. She was covered in the same dull gray.
"This had better wash out," she grumbled.
Swinging both bags up onto her shoulder, she carefully lifted the survivor and held it tight to her chest. She left the alley, moving quickly toward her home. Five blocks later, she climbed down the steps to her basements exterior door, having not heard or seen a police officer, the whole way him. She pushed the troubling thought out of her mind and locked the door. There was work to do.
The vampire stopped outside the plain two-story brownstone. There were protective wards surrounding it. They made his hair stand on end. It was warded against vampires. He crossed the street, taming his golden mane. If he wanted answers to his questions, he'd have to wait until she came out. He took a deep breath, picking up the remnants of her scent still clinging to the night air.
"I can wait," he said, turning away. "I've got your scent now, Belmont. I can wait."
Carmilla held the tiny glass vial between two long, perfectly-manicured nails. A thin, colorless liquid sloshed inside as she slowly tipped the vial back and forth between her fingers. She looked over the vial at the woman sitting across from her. She was a dryad from Louisiana and well-versed in potent magics. Her skills were not cheap. Carmilla had not decided yet if they were worth it.
"It doesn't look like much," she said setting the vial down between them.
"Truth is in this vial," Chandrah said leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of tea.
"You want to get rid of the Sun Court and break the Blood Pact, you need this. Only question is: will you pay the price."
Camilla's eyes narrowed slightly and she smiled. This was a dryad after her own twisted heart. She snapped her fingers. Her old butler step forward, a wine bottle on a tray. He bowed to Chandra, presenting the tray to her. She took the bottle and ran a delicate finger across the label. Smelling the cork, she smiled.
"An excellent vintage," she said approvingly.
"A case, as you requested," Carmilla said.
Chandra open the briefcase at her feet inside a small, ornate wooden box down on the table. Camilla opened it. Eleven tiny glass vials in one neat row packed in red velvet. One space was empty. Replacing the vial in the empty space and closing the lid Carmilla stood and held out her hand.
Chandrah and Carmilla shook hands to conclude their business. As Carmilla walked Chandrah to the door, Chandrah spoke again.
"You feed that to that light sprite you got locked up down there, you'll get your answers. you need more, you let me know.
"Thank you. Geoffrey, show Chandrah to the fountain." The butler nodded silently. Carmilla handed him the box.
"And take this to Jack. It should help him with his little project."
