A.N. Again, I'm so sorry for the enormous delay in getting this chapter up. I have been suffering under that common disease known as writersblockititis that has left my stories vulnerable to cliches - things which I am desperate to avoid at all costs. But I did promise one of my loyal reviewers that I'd have this chapter up if I had to stay up all night! So - at 02:17 in the morning, I give you: chapter eleven! I hope it's been worth the wait! ~ CM
The figure stood completely still, each muscle completely unmoving. It was dressed entirely in some exotic material - like chiffon, but opaque, and intricately embroidered with golden thread - that disguised its true stature under waves of billowing clothing. A light breeze suddenly swept along the path, causing a few wisps of hair to peek out from beneath its hood, startlingly ginger and curled into ringlets.
"Redhead." murmured Aminus. "Always so hot blooded. De-lic-ious." He ran his tongue along his lips in anticipation.
Elrena cast him a wry glance.
"It's not just their blood you like, from what I've heard."
The Imperial gave her a half smile, one eyebrow raised.
"I quite like blue hair too, if you find yourself wanting company."
She rolled her eyes and turned back to watching the stranger. Over the past few days she had become used to Aminus' incessant flirting. He didn't seem to care who they were - if they were in possession of a female body, he was there. Indeed, more often than not, even those without a female body he attended to with great vigour. There were few who he chose to ignore: Skjaer, with whom he shared a mutual hatred; Veresi, who took it as a great affront to her authority and responded with such violence the first time that he made no further attempts; and Resaran, for whom such impudence would earn a mutilation at the very least and was therefore not worth the attempt.
"Quiet." hissed Veresi from somewhere further down the line. Aminus glared at her for a moment, then resumed watching the figure.
"Why don't we just attack?" asked Skjaer after a minute or so, who lay on Elrena's other side. "She's just stood there."
"Because, imbecile, she's probably waiting for someone. And two is better than one, although I suppose your education didn't cover counting." snapped Aminus.
"That's another person to struggle with though. Why don't we just kill this one and deal with the other one when they come along?"
"Oh yes, let's just leave a blood-drained body in the middle of the road. That won't scare the other one off." said Aminus sarcastically.
"We could move it."
Veresi gave a low snarl as Skjaer's voice rose above a whisper.
"I said quiet! Do you want it to hear us?" The others shifted uncomfortably as Veresi continued: "I told Resaran he'd be a fool to put you two together on a hunting trip. Your constant bickering makes you incompetent! And bringing the mortal along is downright stupid-"
"I wouldn't insult Resaran, if I were you." Elrena interrupted quietly.
"You've been gone for years, what would you know of how far I can go?"
"Please don't argue, you two." Amelie put in placidly. "Aleric is accompanying us because Resaran wants to show him how powerful he could be if he'd accept our offer." Here she stopped to smile at Aleric. "If you become one of us, think how much more enriched your life would be." Then she turned back to Elrena and Veresi. "You surely cannot object to having more company? You wouldn't deny anyone this wonderful gift of ours?"
Elrena and Veresi both narrowed their eyes at her, but Amelie's eyes were fixed steadfastly on the static person before them. There was a silence for the next few minutes, until Aminus' whining voice returned.
"We've been waiting for hours now. I can practically taste their pulse. Maybe if we just-"
"Lose any chance we have of getting more blood? Don't be ridiculous. If we wait long enough, there could be enough for one each. The mortals normally travel in groups of four or five."
Again, Amelie's reply was met with silence. And then-
"Do you hear that?" Skjaer said excitedly. "Hoofbeats."
Six pairs of ears strained to hear the sound. It gradually came closer and closer, until three horses appeared around the corner. Their riders were dressed in the same material as the other figure and it billowed around them as they rode. As they approached the figure, the horses slowed to a canter, then to a trot, and to a walk before halting entirely. They dismounted, and stood beside the original figure.
"Excellent." murmured Veresi. "Positions, everyone. On my signal."
Almost silently, the vampires parted and made their way into a wide arc. Aleric remained where he was, concealed by the thick vegetation around him. There was a pause as they all checked the others were in place, then Veresi shot a hand into the air with the snarl of a hungry predator. Immediately the vampires closed off the arc, springing into a circle that encased the mortals.
But something was wrong.
Instead of looking scared or surprised, the mortals had formed their own outward facing circle. Then, deliberately, the original figure removed its robes. Beneath them there was a tall woman, curly hair bound back loosely with a few stray curls at the edge of her face - if it was indeed a face. It was hard to tell, beneath the scars that covered every square inch. The corner of her mouth was pulled upwards by a vicious looking cut that spread from her earlobe down to her lips. A sizeable chunk had been ripped from her ear, and the flesh between her nostrils was torn.
"'Ello bloodsuckers." she said, voice heavy with an accent as unplaceable as the fabric that lay on the ground, then addressed her companions. "Well? Ent 'ey pretty?"
There were mutters of sarcastic agreement from the other figures, who had also dropped their concealing robes. Beneath the cloth they were clad in heavy looking armour with brutal looking weapons across their backs.
"We kill them now?" asked one of them.
"First we 'stablish which is the 'uman."
"He's not here."
"T'informant said 'e would be. The deal was we don't kill 'im."
Throughout this exchange, the vampires had dissolved into confusion. Veresi tried to give the order to attack, but the others had stopped paying attention to her and were instead watching the mortals with curiosity. Skjaer and Aminus both looked suspicious; Amelie looked worried; Veresi looked angry that she was being ignored; and Elrena's expression was interested.
In an obvious attempt to resume control through intimidation, Veresi gave an angry snarl and revealed her fangs
"Be silent, bloodsucker." replied one of the mortals, almost lazily. "If you're good I might kill you quickly."
Veresi snarled again in indignation and leapt forward to attack. Recovering their senses, the others followed suit, but only Aminus managed to scratch his target as they had quickly ducked behind their attackers and reversed the circles. Only the one Aminus had attacked was in any way hurt - the gap between his cuirass and gauntlets revealed a patch of skin, now marred with a bloody gash.
"Vampire hunters." hissed Amelie, fangs distorting her speech a little.
Veresi's eyes were wide - a cut trickled blood down from her elbow to her wrist. It was little more than a scratch, but she seemed amazed that anything - much less a mortal- had managed to slip through her defences.
"We've been betrayed." she muttered. "One of you is a traitor." With the last word, she sprang forward once more, this time to dive between the vampire hunters - one of whom made a hefty swing at her with an enormous battleaxe - and stood around ten metres away.
Elrena also darted forward, but feinted to the left first, and took out an unsuspecting hunter's legs from beneath him before rolling neatly and standing parallel to Veresi.
In the chaos that ensued, Elrena lost track of exactly what happened. At some point four additional horsemen - reinforcements - arrived, and at another Aleric ran down to try and help the vampires. Somehow Skjaer gained an enormous cut along his cheekbone, but between them the vampires and Aleric managed to bring down four of their eight opponents before being overwhelmed and fleeing back in the direction they had come.
When they had lost their pursuers, Veresi turned on the others with fury filled eyes.
"Which of you is it? Which one of you must we kill? Confess now and perhaps I will not torture you for too long! Answer me!"
She turned on Elrena, the expression on her face almost insane with anger.
"It was you, wasn't it? You were so jealous that you were no longer Resaran's whorethat you decided to kill me to reclaim your position!"
"Don't be a fool Veresi!" retorted Elrena with equal anger. "What do I care for who he sleeps with? Why would I betray the coven? I am one of you!"
"The mortals said their informantwanted the Breton alive. No one else gives a damn about him!" Veresi moved as if to attack Elrena, but the other woman dodged her. Elrena's face had frozen for an instant, then suddenly she turned with a snarl towards Amelie.
"It was you! You stayed up last night with him, plotting to betray us and elope! You're in some sort of sick relationship! The vampire and the mortal, star crossed lovers like those in the books you're obsessed with!"
The others all turned to stare at Amelie. They had all seen the soppy romances Amelie kept in her chamber, the ones she referenced and quoted at every opportunity. But Amelie's face was screwed up in disgust.
"How could you accuse me? I would rather die than consort with a mortal!"
"Liar!" snarled Elrena viciously. "I heard your conversation! I heard when it ended - and I heard everything afterwards too! More than anyone would want to hear!"
Amelie's face went white.
"There was nothing afterwards." she said, but it came out flat with shock.
Through this, Aleric's face had grown more and more confused.
"We finished and she left. Nothing more!" he objected. "If you're implying what I think you're implying-"
"She is definitely implying that." replied Veresi coldly. She suddenly was looking very strangely at Amelie. "I would have thought better of you. You're nothing more than a mortal loving, treacherous whore."
"But…there was nothing…" Amelie protested weakly, slowly backing away from them.
"You were down there for a long time." Skjaer responded. His eyes were angry, but beneath them there was some element of sadness. "Huh. And I thought you were trustworthy."
"I never…I wouldn't…" whispered Amelie, face fearful as the others advanced. She was spared their revenge, however, as suddenly as the vampire hunters plunged into sight. With the low thrum of a powerful bow, a steel arrow sliced through the air and into the Breton's chest. She cried out in pain and surprise, but the others hardly noticed as they resumed fighting their own battles.
Somewhere amidst the confusion, Elrena caught Aleric's eye. She jerked her head to their right, into the trees and he nodded. Together they fled the scene, only pausing when they were about a hundred metres away. A vampire hunter had followed them, but in isolation he was easily dealt with.
Aleric looked troubled.
"I can't believe Amelie would have…how could she…I'm so confused."
Elrena looked grim.
"It wasn't Amelie."
"Then…who?"
Elrena raised an eyebrow, but for once it was not in a condescending way - it was an answer.
"You…but…"
All of a sudden Aleric was angry.
"Then you killed her! You!"
"It was the vampire hunters."
"Who wouldn't have been there if not for you!"
"Do you not understand? We would have been stuck there forever if I hadn't!"
"What is so bad about that?"
Elrena's eyes darkened.
"That coven…there are things you don't want to know."
"Tell me!"
"No."
"Goddamnit, tell me!"
Expression pained, Elrena leaned against a tree.
"The coven isn't a good place. It corrupts people."
Aleric just stared at her.
"There is a reason Veresi called me Resaran's whore." She swallowed, uncomfortable with the subject. "I never wanted to, not at first – understand that. But he is persuasive, Aleric. And power is an attractive thing. It was being handed to me on a silver platter – and what was the cost? My body for one night, maybe two a week."
Before his eyes, Elrena seemed to change. Her eyes were cold, her face proud. And when she spoke, her voice was tinged with an arrogance that made Aleric think instantly of Veresi.
"You cannot fathom how much power I held. I was his second in command: his ear was unquestionably mine. None would dare to disobey me for I had our combined strength to beat them down." She paused and something of her old self returned. She curled in on herself, made self-conscious by her outburst. "They are all ruthless killers, Aleric. When you stay with them your conscience dies. Power and death – those are the only things that matter. Even Veresi had a heart before Resaran withered it. All of us did."
Through her story, Aleric had been watching her with disgust.
"Amelie is dead because you were a cold, power hungry slut."
Elrena's eyes had been sad - guilty - before, but now they blazed.
"She's dead because I wanted to save you from being like them. You would be either dead - or worse - if I hadn't! Besides, why do you care about her?"
Aleric raised his chin, but the dignity in the movement was ruined as salty tear trickled from one eye.
"Why do you think?" he asked, voice breaking slightly on the last word.
Elrena's mouth opened and closed in surprise, then opened again.
"That's ridiculous. She would neverhave felt the same way. You heard her. You're a mortal. You're dirt. She'd rather die."
"She did die. Because of you."
Without another word, he turned and ran back. Before she had time to stop him, he was yelling to the others in a voice punctuated with choking sobs of fury and misery.
"It was her! She confessed! Elrena Oreyn betrayed you!"
Elrena gasped, but had no time to stop and wallow in regret. She cursed the weakness of mortals, then turned in the other direction and ran.
She was running for her life.