Authors note- another chapter here. Getting close to Riccardo! He he, that weirdo.
Chapter 10
The mercury key had opened up into the gardening room Fiona found earlier, the sound of the small sprinklers twinkling out water was oddly relieving. The room was quite large, trees and shrubs of different kinds growing everywhere. Fiona sniffed, the whole place smelled like dirt. Which is a nice smell, better then blood anyway, she thought to herself. She decided to check the place out quickly for something useful-
-then her food nudged against something, and she frowned, looking down. A plant of some kind, uprooted, dying, it's leaves already drooping. She picked it up, taking a closer look. Weird thing...looks almost like a-
-"Huh?" The thing had a face, two dark eye sockets and a gaping mouth, in which a high pitched scream errupted from-
-and Fiona dropped it, hands over her ears as it continued screaming whatever life it had left. What in gods name?! She stared at it as it's scream finished, the thing's leaves curling, turning brown. She cautiously nudged it with her toe. It was dead.
She turned away, noting most of the plants in this area were the same kind...she recognised the strange-shaped leaves and colourful flowers...but these ones were planted, content enough not to wail. Fiona examined a metal plaque at the base of a palm tree.
Mandroga? I thought those were make-believe too. she thought as she read the various information it provided.
Fiona turned away to studied them closely, wondering what would happen if she yanked one of them out. Probably start screaming their little lungs out. She wondered if they even had lungs.
At that point, Hewie dashed into the room excitedly. He smacked into Fiona, making her lose her balance and fall down. Hard. "Hewie!" she groaned, feeling something break inside her bag...that perfume bottle the maid had given her. "No!" she snapped angrily to him, the dog sat down, his ears drooped. She turned the bag upside down shaking out the broken glass.
"Bad boy" she said. Hewie whimpered. Fiona stuffed everything else back into her bag, except the broken bottle which she stared at thoughtfully, frowning a little. Is it just me or can't I smell anything? It was true. The perfume had no scent. What's the use of this then? Hewie however, wagged his tail, sniffing at the glass. He slowly moved over to one of the flower beds, and barked towards it.
"What's wrong Hewie?" Fiona asked, stepping over to join him. He barked again, his nose directed at the same flower bed. The same smell? Fiona reached down and gave one of the flowers a pull. A white flowered mandroga popped out, beginning to wail the moment she plucked it from the dirt.
She stuffed the still-wailing plant in her bag, it's scream muffled a bit from the bag's fabric. "Come on Hewie!" she said, the dog obediently following, as she ran out of the garden room, and headed swiftly towards the last door she hadn't been through yet.
This led her outside...and into; her stomach felt funny again; a graveyard. Spooky...she thought, moving past the crumbling headstones. There was a crypt-like structure in the corner...and a gate opposite to that. She looked toward it, noting it was chained and locked. No use checking there. An inscription on it's wall caught her attention;
"Dead spirit craving for life...crawling back from the underworld...
Sip of the fresh-flowing life-blood, when your thirst is quenched, return to the darkness whence you came"
What does that mean? She moved over to the crypt's entrance, to head inside-
-but something white struck out at her. She stumbled, her back hitting a tree trunk behind her. An arm was waving at her from the crypt, pale, skeleton-like. It seemed to want something. Is that what it mean on the inscription? The mandroga in her bag was screaming even louder then ever. Hmmm? Maybe this?
She held out the squealing mandroga plant to the flailing arm, gasping a little as the plant was snatched up , and sucked back into the darkness.
The mandroga's screams echoed out, making her wince, the scream hurting her ears...but apart from the screams, there was something else too. It's feeding, that creature is feeding on the plant...feeling sick, she stepped back, trying to ignore the chewing sounds that came from the crypt. After a few seconds, the creature roared, followed by the quick patter of feet.
Is it gone? She waved her hand into the dark crypt to make sure. Yep.
She hurried into the crypt, checking out the damp stone walls, and burning torches hanging from the walls...She stepped into a wider area, noting there was one of those golem things again, although this one appeared to be on display. She passed it, making her way down one of the stone passages. The whole crypt was a network of caves...and hopefully it wasn't big enough to get herself lost in.
Daniella heard the screams of her children and came running to their aid.
The indoor garden was her children's home, where she nourished them carefully. It was their sanctuary...their home...but what had made them scream like that?
She entered the screaming garden, looking slowly around. She reached down, picking up one of her dead children off the floor, staring at it quietly.
The others were still screaming at the loss of their sibling, and she stepped beside them, cooing them, calming them, whispering softly to them as she stroked their petals, they were her children, as she could not bear real human children. Slowly, she stepped away, still holding her dead child in her hands, lightly burying it into the moist soil.
Once she finished, she turned her gaze to one of the flower beds. One was missing. Torn savagely from its roots. That woman had taken one...had used it like a rag doll and disposed of it. Daniella watched her screaming children, trying to feel something. Unlike her, they felt pain and anger...and she struggled inside to feel something similar.
No one will ever hurt my children. That was it. The thought that enabled her to feel something. Unless she was once again, fooling herself. When I have azoth...I can feel like my children can... she almost smiled at that thought.
Soon, Daniella's wailing scream joined her children's, as she picked up her iron rod, intending to end the life of that woman, just like she had ended the life of her child.
After a few twists and turns, Fiona found herself exiting out into another cavern. Huh? She stepped up to a glass window, seeing something bright in the distance. She strained her eyesight to see what it was-
-then something big floated past, making her stumble backwards in surprise. "Is that a fish?!" she said to herself, peering at the massive creature. The whole place was submerged in water. She stared out into the dark water, and backed away, afraid that one of the fish may break the glass to get to her...no, she watched too many shark movies, that wasn't going to happen. However, she broke into a run hurrying up a steep staircase, and pulling the door right at the top open.
She gasped, her eyes adjusting to the sudden, bright light. The room she'd stepped into was a enormous library. Thousands of books littered the shelves. Fiona glanced at few titles, noting most of them had something to do with alchemy. Wow...I wonder what the owner of this place was trying to do. Crazy experiments? She shook her head, peering upwards. There was a catwalk up above her...one she couldn't reach here. There was also a door...sitting up on the wall.
What on earth? She stopped, frowning at it. Why is it all the way up there?
A metal tag over the door read "Theatre room"
Wonder is anything interesting is up there... She stood there, wondering what to do. After a few seconds, her curiousity got the better of her. She pushed a book trolley to the base of the door, and stepped up onto it it, nearly losing her balance, the ancient trolley creaking from her weight. She reached up, grasping the door's knob and pulling, the swinging door nearly knocking her off. Steady...she hoisted herself up onto the doorway, straining a little. It's a lot harder then it looks, she thought as she pushed herself onto the room's floor, resting a little before straightening up.
It looked like a private study room...there were shelves all over the walls, filled with more books, the white screen for the projector that sat on the table...and-
-dolls. Mannequins more likely, she thought, studying their unfinished bodies. Their faces were almost...realistic, and it spooked her. She glanced away, turning to study the projector. Old and dusty was the first thing that came to her mind. She stared at it, her fingers lightly brushing the surface. An ancient film reel was already set in it. Maybe someone was watching a movie earlier? She wondered absently, tapping the circular slot . Never used one of these before...and it's no DVD player... how do I turn it on? She looked around for a switch, finally finding it at the back. By flipping it, the film sprung to life, a loud whirring noise following as light spilled onto the blank screen.
Fiona sat on the desk, watching. The first image was the back garden...with that big man carrying something over his shoulder...me! She stared at the picture, confused as the scene switched, her putting the clothes the maid had given her...her snatching the hanging key in the chapel...and her walking down one of the long mansion hallways. What? Who filmed this? The scene changed and there was that hooded man, accompanied by the maid. Both were talking, although she couldn't hear what they were saying...then the man left and the maid bowed him out, the screen zooming up onto something in background...a strange object with symbols on it...Then the film ended, the light from the projector flickering off.
Fiona stood up, unsure what to think. "Who would film me?" she asked herself, bewildered.
Riipppp. The noise was abnormally loud in the silent room. Fiona whipped around, her voice trembling "Who-who's there?" she asked, swallowing. The white projector screen was ripped savagely...and there were slow, steady footsteps as she came into view, a plastered smirk on her pale features. She lifted the sharp iron poker, pointing it at Fiona directly. Fiona's eyes darted toward the exit. Can I get out safely? She warily moved towards it, but the maid had already seen what she was doing. With a few quick steps, she was at the entrance, blocking Fiona's only chance of escape.
"Why?" she asked slowly, shakily. "Why are you after me? What do you what?"
The maid met her gaze silently, before her lips opened, one word coming out "Azoth"
"Huh? Azoth?" Fiona repeated, stunned.
"Azoth" the maid said again, her eyes widening, an insane look spreading over her face "Essence of life...of life...wo-wo-woman...WOMAN!"
A high pitched laugh escaped her, her head was jerking uncontrollably...unnaturally...
Fiona, without thinking properly charged, knocking her out of the way as she leapt through the open doorway, her knees smacking down on the stone tiles hard. Wincing, she stumbled up, limping away, the maid's strange, frightening laugh ringing in her her ears. Hewie met her at the library entrance, barking urgently as she approached, then proceeding to gallop down the stairs. Fiona followed, her breathing loud in her ears.
She dashed back to the crypt, hearing the maid's footsteps following, close behind. Then Hewie charged past her, snarling, Fiona hearing a loud high pitched laugh, followed by gnawing sounds. She risked a glance over her shoulder. Hewie's strong jaws had clamped around the maid's shoe, ripping through the material, then flesh-
-Fiona looked away and continued running, where ever she was going, she paid no attention, wildly dashing through the crypt, out the other side into a strange bizarre stairway...then up the steps to another part of the mansion...she dashed into a white room, slamming the door behind her. She leaned on her knees, exhausted from all that running, after resting for a moment, she turned to examine the room she was in now.
Looked like an autopsy room...there was an operation table in the centre, a few of the metal instruments covered in...Ewww. Fiona looked away from that, her gaze falling on a freezer. A quick check indicated it was locked. Fiona stepped back, not wanting to see what was in there anyway, checking the room for anything useful. There were some sterile bandages that she stuffed in her bag, and some disinfectant with the other bottles on a shelf. She looked at them all carefully, picking one up to study closely. Sulphuric acid, eh? Just as she decided to put it back on the shelf, the door opened-
-She found me! Fiona whirled around, hearing the maid's slow steps, seeing her step around the corner, eyes focusing on her-
-and Fiona threw the bottle of sulphuric acid at her, the bottle breaking on impact, spilling the deadly chemical all over the maid's face-
-and while the maid stood there, stunned and hissing with smoke, Fiona ran for it, her heart beating wildly.
Daniella and her strange obssession with those screamie plants. He he. Boss fight with Daniella is in the next chapter...so bye bye stalker 2, and then Riccardo will casually stroll into the picture. What fun. I still need to write Riccardo, since I lost a major part with him in it. (Damn! Have to do it all over again!), but since I have more time now, I can probably get it done quickly.
Review and I shall post up Chapter 11. Riccardo isn't happy.