Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I last updated, hopefully this will make up for it, as always I own nothing.
Karl waited till the sun had gone down before he made his move. Back in his village everyone had returned to their homes by sunset but Marx had told him that in upper-class society people often went to parties only after sundown, it was their way of showing that they did not have to get up early to work the next day. Karl found it slightly ironic that the only people who went out after dark were the highest and lowest members of society. The area around the house was quiet but he could hear the sounds of people beyond. It seemed that as the city shrank they simply abandoned whole sections of the city and focused on the areas which still generated wealth.
As he drew closer he heard the sounds of people and the rumble of carriage wheels, he was in luck and had stumbled across a party-goer. He emerged from the alleyway into a brightly lit street. A line of carriages was passing by, clearly heading towards a party or gathering of some sort. Karl waited till the last of the carriages had passed by and then walked behind them, they were going faster than he dared to walk but he could hear and smell them and eventually he found himself standing before a grand house surrounded by a high wall. The wrought iron gate was closed but beyond he could see the carriages that he had been following. Clearly this was a gathering of some of the city's wealthiest citizens. Even if the vampire was not at the gathering the people here would likely prove to be a good place to start. Unfortunately, he rather doubted that he would simply be allowed into the party by the servants who stood at the gate. No, he would have to find another way in.
He walked around to the back, keeping his eyes and ears open for guards. Neither seeing, hearing or smelling anyone nearby he sprang up and grabbed the top of the wall and hauled himself up and over the wall and dropped down onto the other side. Crouching down in the shadows he waited to see if anyone would come and investigate but no one did. Rising, he headed towards some vine covered pillars which held up a porch on the second floor. The vines served to hide the marks his claws left on the pillar. He easily forced the glass doors opened and went inside. It was a large bedroom which, fortunately, was also empty. He could hear the sounds of music and laughter, though muffled, through the door. He crept to the door and slowly opened it. Beyond was light, enabling him to see. There was a walkway running all along with a waist-high barrister on the other side and in the center was an opening. Looking around Karl saw no one and went over to the barrister and looked down onto the first floor.
Below him a number of people were dancing. They were all well dressed and jewelry was in abundance and the smells of perfume, food, wine and sweat were all thick in the air. Though Karl sniffed and sniffed he could not detect the smell of the vampire, there were simply too many smells, even if the vampire was there unless he saw it or heard it he would not know that it was there. Not wanting to be seen he crouched down out of sight and considered his options.
This was not like before, when he was working with Brother Werner, he had no official capacity to investigate and he very much doubted that they would willingly give any help to an outsider. Even if they were, if the vampire was controlling any of them then they would surely attack him as soon as the vampire discovered he was still alive and hunting it. Even if it wasn't controlling anyone, the knowledge that a vampire was in the city was likely to cause a panic. No, he would have to find out if the vampire was here on his own.
Now, where would he begin? Which family would the vampire go to? Vampires, Marx had told him, had a fondness for wealth, luxury and power so it would likely go to the family which could give the vampire what it wanted. All of these people looked rich and he had no way of knowing who was of influence and who was just making a show of it. It was all so frustrating, it was so much simpler when he just had to hit things. He peeked over again, desperate to find something to point him in the right direction. He stared but saw nothing, he was just about to give up when he did notice something.
It was subtle and he had to look closely, but there was a difference. While all those attending were well dressed there was a difference in the clothing that they were wearing. While all was rich some of them looked older, like old cloths kept looking new through great care. Other people's cloths were new and of a slightly different fashion. Karl remembered being told that this city had fallen into decline when trade had shifted elsewhere but obviously some still maintained commercial relations with the rest of the Empire, they were most likely the ones with the newer fashions. If that was the case it was a good chance that they would be far more wealthy and influential. Those would be the families that would interest the vampire.
He wasn't sure how good an idea that this was but he was desperate. He waited for what seemed like forever but at last the party began to break up. As families and friends moved into groups to return to their homes Karl watched them and to his relief the ones with the newer cloths all gathered together into four groups. The first group consisted of five people, three men and two women. The oldest man looked to be about sixty, fat and balding. The two younger men, who seemed about forty and had the look of brothers about them. One of the women looked about the same age as the older man. The last woman was much younger than any of the others and her dress was barely respectable.
The second group was headed by man who looked to be in his forties. His most distinguishing feature was the fact that the man's left eye was covered by a patch. His clothing also had a slight military look to them. With him were a man and a woman who looked to be in their twenties and clearly the older man's children. The son clothing was similar to his father's but while his father had a slight pot-belly the son was plump and his blond hair was slightly longer than was normal for men. The daughter was of average height for a woman with a face more striking than beautiful. Strangely, while it was as elaborate as any of the other in the room, her dress also seemed slightly marshal in its appearance.
The third group was headed by an older woman who had the look of one used to wielding authority about her. With her were three young women, ranging from late teens to early twenties. Compared to others at the party the girls' dresses were rather subdued and their jewelry modest. They all had a slight air of submissiveness about them and when the older woman left they quickly followed behind.
The fourth group was comprised of mostly younger people, the oldest looking no older than his mid-thirties. His clothing was almost a little too rich, the cloth almost as golden as his hair. With him were two men who had a familiar resemblance about them. Though some might think their clothing ridiculous there was an air about them that seemed almost malevolent in nature. Karl noticed that others present seemed to be subtly keeping their distance from the men.
As the people left Karl slid out the way he had come in and slid over the wall. Once on the other side he crept to a place where he could watch the carriages as they went out. It took some time but at last he was able to catch glimpses of the groups he had marked down as likely targets of the vampire's attention. The first ones he saw were the cold looking men. On the side of their coach was their coat of arms, a pile of gold coins on a red field. After that came the first group, their coat of arms was some kind of green bird on a blue field. The third group's symbol was a red deer on a purple field. The final group that he was watching was among the last of the people to leave the party. The symbol on the side of their carriage was a mailed fist holding a bloody sword. Satisfied, Karl headed back into the shadows and returned to the abandoned house and sat down to think.
He now had a start. He knew at least some of the people whom the vampire would be most likely to attempt to influence. He also, having seen their coats of arms, could find them now. People with coats of arms, Marx had told him, often like to display them where everyone could see them. All Karl had to do was find their houses and investigate the families who lived there one by one till he found the one that the vampire was influencing. He refused to consider that it was not with any of them as this was his only lead. He took some rations from his pack, noting that they were beginning to run low and that he would have to replenish them somehow.
The next day Karl climbed to the roof of the building and scanned the town till he saw where the houses were larger, a clear sign that those were the homes of the wealthy. He left the house and headed in that direction. It turned out to be farther than he thought it and it ended taking longer than he had anticipated to get there. As he had anticipated, the houses all had the coat of arms of the occupants of the house formed of rot iron. The first that he saw was the symbol atop the gate was that of the deer, so it was the home of the third group, the one with the older woman and her three younger…Karl assumed that they were relations of the older woman of some sort.
Now all that he needed was a means of getting into the house, he could hardly just waltz up to the front door and ask to be let in, well he could but he doubted that it would have very good results. Instead he looked around, trying to find a way in. His gaze drifted over to a stall where an old woman was selling vegetables. From the positon that she was at she likely sold vegetables to all of the houses in the area, if anyone could get into the house it would be her or at least be in contact with someone from within the house. Either would do for Karl and his needs he thought as he headed towards the vegetable seller.
To get on her good side he handed out a few coppers for some slightly wilted vegetables. They did not look very good but they gave him an excuse to linger around her stall and talk to her. She did not seem to particularly mind, business appeared to slow at the moment and she either welcomed the company or did not care enough to make him go away. He bit into one of the vegetables, it tasted bitter but he kept chewing and struck up a conversation.
"I suppose being here you do a good business with all of these fine houses around here like that one over there." He said, nodding in the direction of the house. The women scowled and all but spat.
"You'd think so, but those folks barely buy anything, turn their noses up me they do, as if having their servants grow vegetables is any better than buying from me. I barely make enough to feed me and mine."
"You don't think they care much to mingle with those of less elevated position than themselves?" He asked her that in a leading manner and it had the desired result. She snorted and spat on cobblestones.
"You got the right of it! Those Naffdorfers all act as if they're the Lord Sigmar's gift to the rest of us, even if they are dying out."
"Dying out?"
"Aye that they are. Old Marietta Naffdorfer is the head of the house, but she got nothing but daughters and one son and they all gave her nothing but granddaughters too. So they'll all either marry or die and the line will end with them. Not that any of that lot will marry. Their grandma doesn't approve of any of the local boys of that class and those girls are more field mice than women and wouldn't dare nay-say her on anything."
"You wouldn't happen to know if they need any work done around the place." Karl asked her. "Surely with a house that big they need something done." Again the woman gave an unpleasant laugh.
"If you're looking for work lad, you'd had best look elsewhere. They don't hire outsiders, only servants born and raised in the house, though they're dying out too. One of the old hands, the one who usually does much of the shopping, once told me that they keep to one portion of the house and the rest has fallen into disrepair."
"You would think that a family as rich as theirs would take better care their home."
"Nah, not that lot. The old woman prefers to spend her money on fancy cloths and outdoing the other nobs. They make enough to last for her lifetime and little she cares what happens afterwards." Karl thanked her and left.
It was clear that the Naffdorfer household would not be as easy to get into as he had hopped, being as isolated from the outside as they were, nor was he as sure as he was originally that it would be worth the effort. It was clear that the Naffdorfers were clearly not as wealthy as he had thought at first, and if they kept to themselves as much as they seemed to it was unlikely that they were very influential. It was highly unlikely that the vampire would bother with such a family once it realized that they probably could not get it what it wanted and would have moved on. Still, it was probably unwise to dismiss them out of hand, he would have to be absolutely certain that they were uninvolved before he moved on. As he could not find any legitimate means of entering the house he would have to find an illegitimate means of doing so.
He waited for nightfall and clambered over the wall and moved to the back of the house. He found some ivy growing thickly and climbed up to the second story to a balcony. There were locked doors but they yielded easily to a strong shove and he went in. As he had expected, this was part of the house which the family had abandoned. All of the furniture were covered in old sheets and there was dust everywhere. He waited for a moment but it appeared that his entrance had gone unnoticed. He slid out the door and into the hallway.
It was quite and dark, not even a single candle burned within the range of his vision. He crept down the hallway, doing his best to make as little noise as possible. He planned to make his way to the inhabited parts of house, determine whether or not the vampire was there and if not withdraw without being seen or heard by the inhabitants. He sniffed the air but smelled nothing but must and mold and continued down the hall. His heart was thudding in his chest and his breaths came in short gasps. Yet at the same time he could not deny that he found it thrilling. Maybe if he had to go on the run from Marx he could take up house-breaking as a profession, he smirked at the thought and then kept moving.
He suddenly stopped and went rigid, someone was coming, moving along the passage that connected at the end of the one he was traveling down at the moment. He looked around but there were no doors close enough for him to hide in and he cursed himself for allowing himself to be distracted, flattened himself against the wall and hoped that whomever it was would pass on without noticing him. As the footsteps drew closer he realized that whoever it was had no candle for illumination and was trying not to make any noise as they went. Sniffing the air again he could tell whoever it was female and smelled of soap and perfume so he assumed that it was one of the women of the house and not a servant. He wondered why she was sneaking about but that thought left his mind when he caught the scent, the scent of the vampire.
He waited to the figure, whose outline he could make out but little more, passed him by and then made his move. He detached himself from the wall and silently crept up behind her, with his left hand he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against him while he clapped his right hand on her mouth. She made a muffled panicked sound and tried to struggle but his hand muffled the sound and her strength was no match for his own. He shifted his nose slightly and, putting it next to her neck, inhaled deeply. The smells perfume and the house were there, now tinged by a strong dose of fear. But beneath all of those smells he detected the smell of the vampire, as well as other smells not connected with the house. His suspicion confirmed he hissed in her ear.
"I am going to take my hand off of your mouth. When I do, do not make a sound. Do you understand me?" She had ceased her struggles and nodded her head in agreement.
"What is your name and where have you been?" She had to take several deep breaths before she gained enough control of her fear for her to be able to speak clearly.
"I am Regina…Regina Naffdorfer. Who…who are you?"
"None of your concern," Karl said sharply, making Regina wince. "Where have you been?" She hesitated for a moment but when Karl tightened his grip around her waist she flinched and answered.
"I was at the Schuhmann estate. I was…I was calling on Aldred Von Schuhmann. He and I are courting."
"Is it not a rather late hour for a meeting of lovers?" Karl asked, making sure that a note of skepticism in his voice.
"It is nothing so base!" She exclaimed, her indignation momentarily overcoming her fear. "Ours is a proper courtly relationship."
"So courtly in fact, in needs to be done under cover of night." His tone now ironic. She stuttered for a moment and spoke, embarrassment clear in her voice.
"Well…my Lady Grandmother does not fully approve. She says that Aldred does not meet her standards. She says that he has done nothing to distinguish and himself that he is merely living off of his family's reputation as great soldiers. Until she thinks otherwise she will not give her consent for him to court me formally. So we have to conduct ourselves in this dishonorable manner." She seemed sincere but Karl thought he detected something in her voice and he thought that he knew what it was.
"But something has changed hasn't it? An unwanted intruder perhaps?" Her body tensed and he could tell that his shot had hit home.
"That witch!" She exclaimed, her voice rising till Karl was forced to make keep her voice down to avoid detection. "She came from nowhere, just waltzed into town with some merchants, acting like she's the Empress herself!
"All that she had to do was bat her eyelashes at Aldred and suddenly he can think of nothing else! The shameless hussy is even making eyes at his father for Sigmar's sake!"
Karl found himself snorting in amusement. It seemed that the vampire had not changed. It had lost no time in insinuating itself with powerful protectors. At least now he knew where the vampire was located, all that he had to do was find out where who the Schuhmanns were and where they lived.
"Well, my lady, you are in luck. As it happens the woman and I have a number of things to discuss and we shall have to leave the city as soon as possible. If you would be so kind as to tell me how to get to the Schuhmanns, then I can get her out the city and your swain's life."
"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" She demanded. Now that she seemed certain that he did not intend to harm her she seemed to be gaining a certain amount of confidence.
"I swear on my honor, I have no desire to cause your beloved or his family harm." He hoped that he got that right. It had struck him that, due to living as she did, the girl had a somewhat sheltered and archaic view of the world. One shaped by tales of romance and the like. After a moment she nodded her head.
"Very well, I shall show you the way. If you swear you are only going there to deal with that wrenched woman."
"I swear by Sigmar, I am only going to deal with the woman." As he said that he released his grip on her. To his relief she did not attempt to run and instead turned to face him, though he did not think that she could see him very well, if at all, in the gloom.
"This way." She said as she walked past him to go back the way that she had come.
They walked in silence till they came to a set of servant's stairs which led down to the kitchen. An old woman was there but she was sleeping in a chair next to the remains of the fire. A half empty bottle of wine was on the table next to her and her red nose proclaimed that this was far from the first night she had had ended her day in such a manner. They slid out into the back garden and she led him to a door that he had not seen before. The hinges looked rusted, as if the door was seldom used. Regina unbolted the door and gently pushed on it. As Karl had expected the hinges squealed in a manner that he found painful on his ears. Never the less, by pushing on it slowly, Regina was able to open the door without alerting the household. On the other side was alleyway which they followed for a time till it turned onto a larger street.
They followed this for some time, making sure to keep to the shadows to avoid being noticed by the few people that were still about at that late hour. This was not difficult as the city invested in few streetlamps and those were mostly positioned at or near the homes of the wealthier families. Karl also noted that the night watch was clearly smaller than what he expected it to be for a city of this one's size. On the other hand, his hearing and sense of smell told him that there were a number of figures moving about on the estates of some of the wealthier citizens, an indication that they placed their trust more in muscle which they had bought with their own coin rather than whatever the city hired.
At last they came to another walled estate, which in fact looked more like a small castle than a noble's townhouse. Above the gate was the crest of the Von Schuhmann family, the mail-clasped sword Karl was not surprised to see. What also was not a surprise was the smell of guards patrolling the grounds. He did note that there seemed to be more here than at the other houses and he also noted that the smell of vampire was much stronger here, this was indeed the correct spot. He turned to Regina.
"How do you get past the guards?" He whispered to her in a low voice to avoid being heard.
"This way." She said. She led him a down the street for about a quarter of a mile and came to what appeared to be a derelict building of some kind. She led him inside and showed him to a pile of old sacks. Under these was a trapdoor.
"The Von Schuhmann estate used to be a castle before the founding of the city. This leads to a tunnel built to allow those within to mount surprise attacks on besiegers. When the city was built the tunnel become unnecessary but the Von Schuhmanns were never willing to pay to have it filled in. Aldred showed it to me so we could see each other without anyone knowing." She smiled, clearly thinking it daring and romantic. Karl thought it was a clear invitation to be robbed or murdered in their beds but he did not say so aloud.
"Right," he told her; "This is as far as you go. Return home and hopefully by morning everything will be fine." Thankfully she did not argue merely nodded and left.
Once she was gone Karl opened the trapdoor, this one was well-oiled and opened without difficulty. Dropping down into the tunnel he followed it till he found a ladder which led up to another trapdoor. This one also opened without making much noise and he found himself in a large kitchen. Karl had opened the trapdoor just enough to scan the room and was pleased to see that there appeared to be no one in the room. Once he was certain that he was alone he heaved himself out of the tunnel and into the kitchen. The smell of the vampire was stronger than ever, though he doubted the vampire spent much time in the kitchen. He was about to leave the kitchen when he heard noises, it seemed that the Von Schuhmann household kept later hours than the Naffdorfer's did. He waited till he could not hear the sounds of people faded and then slipped out.
There where candles burning at several locations in what appeared to be a dining hall, these provided illumination but also cast shadows which Karl could keep to. He crept from the dining room and crept up a set of stairs to the second story, following the smell of the vampire. The problem he faced was that the vampire had been all over this part of the house and its scent was everywhere, overlaying and being overplayed by the other inhabitants of the house, this meant that he would have to search each room in turn while trying to avoid detection. As he came to the first door he tested it and found that it was not locked and the smell of vampire was strong within. He slowly opened the door and went in, he was so focused on the vampire's scent that he failed at first to realize that there was someone else in the room. He was alerted to his mistake when he heard the cocking of a pistol to his side.
"Don't move." A commanding female voice. Karl complied, cursing himself for his stupidity and carelessness in not making sure that the room was empty. If he had been paying attention then he would have realized that the woman he was smelling was actually in the room. The room lit up as a flame came to life in a lamp.
"Turn toward me, nice and slow." The voice told him. Karl complied, making sure to keep his hands were the woman could see them.
Now that it was lit Karl could see that he was in a bedroom, large and richly appointed. His attention focused on the large four-poster bed. It was made of some dark wood with scarlet coverings. Beside it was a small table on which a lamp burned next to a pitcher and several glasses. His attention; however, was focused on the bed, or rather on its occupant. It was the martial looking woman from the party. She was in the bed and seemed to have only a nightgown on but Karl's attention was focused on the pistol in her hand, which she seemed quite familiar with as the barrel did not tremble in the slightest. To avoid undo attention Karl had left his weapons back at his hiding place and so if it came to fight he would have to either shift to his wolven form or fight with his bare hands, either way it was likely that the woman would be able to get a shot off and, barring a misfire, she was unlikely to miss at such a short range. Karl was not sure of the extent of the damage which the bullet would do to him, but even if it did not kill him it would alert the vampire and enable it to escape while he was recovering.
"You must be a poor burglar," the woman said, interrupting his thoughts; "To stumble into a room without making sure it was empty first. Still, you did well to avoid the servants and guards. I will have to speak with Father, it seems that he is beginning to let things slide."
Without taking the gun off of Karl she slid out of the bed. Up close Karl could see that her face was rather on the narrow side, making him think of the head of an axe. Her hair was only slightly longer than her brother's but her most striking feature was her eyes. They were slate gray in color and they had the hardness of the professional soldier in them, but there was more there as well. There was also a cold, calculating ruthlessness to them, in fact they reminded Karl of Marx's eyes. Still, this could work for him if he played his cards right. The woman was competent and struck his as an opportunist, if he could make it appear that helping him was in her best interest she likely would.
"Alright, who are you?" She demanded; "And how were you able to get into the house without being seen?" In response, Karl gave a little bow.
"First, please accept my most humble apologies for entering your home without permission." He doubted that his words would be terribly effective, but he hoped it would amuse her and put her at her ease, from the look on her face it was not working.
"Skip the false pleasantries. I am not in the mood." She commanded, in a voice that sounded a lot like a female version of Marx. Seeing that it was going nowhere Karl decided to just come right to the point.
"Alright." Karl said, moving his hands to his side. "I am an intruder but I am no prowler."
"Your current actions say otherwise." She said, her tone both dry and skeptical.
"I assure you it is the truth. I understand that you have a new houseguest?" At that last bit the woman's lip might have started to curl but he could not be sure.
"And if there is?"
"Then I would inform you that she has earned the ire of my…employer and I have been sent to retrieve her." She responded by raising an eyebrow fractionally.
"Because all legitimate authorities sneak into private homes in the middle of the night to make arrests?" She said in a tone of clear disbelief.
"These are special circumstances." He replied.
"Indeed?" Her voice still skeptical, though it sounded as if she might know more about what was going on than she was saying. Karl looked at her and decided to take a gamble. He opened his mouth and caused his canines to extend to double their normal length, making them clearly visible.
"Indeed." He said simply. Her body had gone rigid but other than that she did not appear surprised.
"So, your one of them?" Karl merely nodded. He suspected that she thought of him a vampire, which was had been his intention when he did so.
"She is one as well?" She asked and again he merely answered with a nod.
"I thought something was wrong. I have never seen Father, normally so controlled, so infatuated with someone, let alone what appeared to be a mere slip of a girl. People were beginning to talk and my dear brother has been even worse. He has always been a fool and a weakling but now he has begun to follower around like a love-sick puppy.
"To make things worse, he has begun to lose interest in Regina Naffdorfer. The girl may be a mouse with her head in the clouds and her family has little more money than she has sense but the name still carries a great deal of weight in this city. I have plans of my own and they include those two continuing their relationship, which would do much to elevate our own family's stand, which is why I have continued to overlook her sneaking into my home to continue her assignations with my brother. Now the vampire is threatening those plans and I will not have it."
"I am surprised that the vampire that the vampire has not attempted to influence you as well."
"Oh she has. She has been the soul of politeness and curtesy, if she were a man I would think that she has been trying to seduce me."
"In a way I think it is. You appear to be, if I might make so bold, to be a most formidable person. Were you to be turned you would make a most exhalent warrior and it has need of protectors."
"Never!" She hissed and Karl was surprised at the vehemence in her voice. "I will never allow myself to become one of your kind!"
"I had not expected such piety from you." Karl commented. She answered with a derisive snort.
"Piety has nothing to do with it. I will not demean myself by becoming a glorified parasite, and one enslaved to another at that because I am not strong enough to get what I want on my own. I leave that kind of weakness to others." Karl bristled at the implied insult but otherwise kept his peace and focused on the task at hand.
"Do you know where the vampire is now?"
"Now that the mouse is gone, she will likely be paying my brother a visit, my father is out for the evening. She may come here eventually but if there is to be fighting I would rather not have my bedroom destroyed." Just then a thought occurred to Karl.
"The vampire may have something with it, a necklace. It is an object of great power and could be useful against it." The woman thought for a moment and then slowly nodded.
"Yes, I might know something about it. There is a small box, I saw it once when she invited me to her rooms. It looked as if she kept it locked and hidden away, I only got a glimpse of it by chance." Karl nodded.
"We are going to need that. Do you think that you would be able to locate it again?" She nodded. "Then meet me at your brother's room once you have found it." He turned to go and then paused. "Might I have your name?"
"Rosamunde Von Schuhmann."
"Karl." He said simply. She merely nodded.
"My brother's room is the last one before the grand staircase. If she is there I doubt he would have bothered to lock his door. Do try to avoid killing him, he is worthless as a soldier but he can be of use to me in other ways." As she spoke she had produced a pair of trousers and had pulled them on, along with a pair of boots. She also buckled on a belt and sword.
"Does she have any guards with her?"
"If she is with my brother no, they prefer their privacy. But she has been influencing the household guards. If it comes down to a fight they will likely take her side, especially if my brother orders them to help her. So I suggest that you act quickly." Karl nodded and they departed. They slid down the hallway, with Rosamunde peeling off to enter one of the rooms, Karl hopped that she would find what she was looking for quickly.
He continued on to the last door and tested it, as he had been told it was unlocked. He pressed his ear to the door and could hear heavy breathing and gasps and moans coming from within. He slid the door open and crept within. It was another bedroom dominated by a large bed, upon which were two figures. One was the pudgy young man that Karl had seen at the party, Aldred. Of more interest to Karl was the second figure. Helena, clad only in a nightgown, lay atop him. Blood trickled from a pair of puncture wounds on his neck and the vampire was licking the blood while Aldred moaned in ecstasy.
"Thank you, My Love." Helena whispered tenderly to Aldred when she had finished licking the blood from the wounds.
"For you, anything, Oh Queen of my heart." The adoration and devotion in his voice was sickening and it made Karl's stomach turn. So it was with some pleasure that he spoke.
"Oh my, I do hope I am not interrupting a private moment." At the sound of his voice the two turned towards him. Aldred was still dazed and he looked confused. Helena, on the other hand, knew who exactly he was and her face took on an expression of disbelief, shock and horror.
"YOU!?" She shrieked.
"Me." Karl replied. "A word of advice, next time you kill someone, make certain you actually killed them."
"Guards! Guards!" She screamed, Karl sighed.
"I suppose you would do this the hard way."
Aldred stumbled to his feet and reached for a sword at the side of the bed. At the same time Karl heard the crash of booted feet running down the hallway toward the room. He would have to act fast if he wanted to subdue the vampire without killing the guards if it could be helped. His attention was called back by a screaming Aldred charging him. His sword was held over his head in both hands and he brought down with all of his might.
Karl brought his left hand up and the pommel of the sword slammed into it. Karl winced slightly and then brought his right leg up and slammed his booted-foot right into the man's chest. He stumbled backwards and fell against the bed. He twitched, tried to rise and fell back and lay still.
Just then Helena shrieked out a spell and a bolt of black lightning struck Karl full in the chest. He and the Wolf both screamed in pain as clothing and flesh blackened and burned. He staggered back and fell to the floor. Helena gave a cry of triumph and the sound of men pounding on the door could be heard, Karl having locked it before he spoke. Karl forced himself to his feet, he would not lose! Quite apart from Marx's displeasure, the thought of letting the vampire getting the upper hand on him again was simply too much for him to bear. He lumbered to his feet and threw himself at the vampire. They crashed into one another and rolled on the floor. He was the stronger of the two but its attack had injured him and he could not concentrate sufficiently to change, nor did he wish to when it was highly likely that he would be seen by the guards outside.
Just then a burning pain flared in his side, Aldred had regained his feet and had stabbed him in the side with his sword. With both of his hands occupied with the vampire all Karl could do was flail out wildly with his feet. He got lucky and he heard the crunch of bone breaking as his boot his something. The vampire took advantage of his distraction and thrust a clawed thumb into his face, aiming for his eye. He instinctively jerked his head back and she rammed her other fist into his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. He fell backwards onto his back but as the vampire scrambled to get to its feet Karl kicked out and caught it in the knee. It broke and the vampire fell back onto the floor.
Just then the door burst open. Karl turned, expecting to be confronted by the household guards. To his surprise there was only Rosamunde Von Schuhmann. She held her pistol in one hand and in the other a small wooden box. She took in the entire scene, paying particular attention to her brother who was still lying on the floor groaning. She turned back to Karl, who had just struggled to his feet, Helena was still on the ground clutching her shattered knee and whimpering in pain. After a moment Rosamunde smirked and addressed Karl.
"It would appear that I backed the right horse."
"Where are the guards?" Karl asked.
"Patrolling the house and grounds. I told them that the vampire was the assassin and may have accomplices and I sent them to search the property for them. I told them I would deal with whatever was in here, they know better than to interrupt me at my amusements."
"Very clever." Karl said, a note of admiration in his voice." He then gave the box in her hand a significant look.
"Is that what we were hoping it was?" She shrugged and handed the box to him.
"You tell me." She said simply.
He took the box and opened it. Inside, on a cushion of black satin, lay the necklace, he grinned and took it out. The vampire had finished regenerating its knee and was just standing up. It saw Karl coming and tried to bolt but he grabbed it by the hair and jerked him towards him. He kicked the back of its leg, which caused it to fall to its knees while jerking up on its hair. The vampire gasped in pain but before it could react he had the necklace around its neck and snapped it closed. The vampire made a sound that was half cry half sob but made no further effort to resist.
"I have to get it out of here without being seen, can you help with that?"
"Not now. The whole house is on alert and it is nearing sunrise. My father will be home soon and the search will become even more intense with him leading the hunt." She paused and thought for a moment and then began to speak again.
"I think that the best course of action would be for you to hide in the cellar, it will already have been searched by now. There is a small room on the north side of it, the one across from the stairs. Go there and stay out of sight till I come for you." Karl nodded and, taking hold of the vampire's arms just below the shoulders, forced it to its feet.
"Not a sound." He told it as they moved. Though they heard the sounds of people moving around in the house they saw no one as they made their way down to the basement. Once they went down the stairs Karl lit a lantern and quickly found the small room, which seemed to be used for storage. Though the room did not appear to have been used recently there were fresh footprints on the ground. As predicted, it had already been searched and the guards were not likely to return.
Karl released his grip on the vampire and it moved as far away from him as possible and crouched down in the corner. Karl gave it a baleful glare and sat down with his back to the door and tried not to wince as his wounds regenerated. Now that he was not in combat or trying to sneak about he found that he was very tired but he was afraid that if he were to fall asleep then the vampire would attack him and make good its escape. Even with its magic sealed away it still had the strength of a vampire and if it could take him off guard it might be able to take him down. On the other hand, it was a long way back to Altdorf and if he was not adequately rested he would begin to make mistakes and the chances that the vampire would escape would steadily increase. This was especially true as, lacking a means of cover, they would be forced to travel only at night. He turned toward the vampire and leveled the most intimidating glare that he could manage, putting all of the anger he could into it.
"Rest, don't try anything or I can assure you that you will regret it for the short time you are on this life." It flinched but nodded. After a moment Karl stopped struggling and allowed his eyes to close.
A knock at the door roused him from his sleep. Rising to his feet he first looked over at the vampire, satisfied that it was still where it had been when he went to sleep, he slid the door open a crack, on the other side was Rosamunde. Seeing that she was alone Karl opened the door and let her in.
"Everything is going according to plan." She began without preamble. "Father is furious and has the guards out scouring the city for the assassin who entered his home, attacked his guest and crippled his son."
"What?!" Karl all but shrieked. "I didn't cripple him, did I?" Her reply was a cold smile which made him shiver, she was indeed like Marx and then Karl understood.
"You did it, didn't you?" She did not reply but words but her expression spoke volumes.
"Who did what is not really relevant is it?" She said; "What matters is what results from it. With my brother crippled, I will be the one to succeed Father as head of the family. With the creature gone," here she indicated the vampire; "My brother will come to his senses and marry the mouse. A move which will ensure that our family's standing goes up. The search will fail to find the assassin but it will find some of his confederates. These will include some rather dislike members of the local underworld, an act which will further increase the prominence of our family in the city. All in all, we have profited from your visit and I must thank you. If you are ever here again I hope we may do business again."
"I thought you didn't like vampires." Karl said.
"I don't. But you are not a vampire, if the way you speak of them is any indication. And I have the feeling that neither is your master.
"Enough, the day is nearly over and the way is clear. The servants have left the kitchen for the night and you can use the tunnel. I have arrange for two horses to be waiting for you on the other side of the tunnel. The gate guards are a pack of lazy louts and you should have no trouble getting out of the city. I do not know how far out into the country the search I so be careful and be as far away from here as you can by sunrise, now go." With that she turned and was gone. Karl turned to the vampire.
"Get up, we're going home."
Author's Notes: Well everyone, I hope that you liked it, I wanted to wrap this up as I have some ideas in mind. I noticed that he seems to be involved in the same kind of events again and again so for the next chapter he is going to start having a different kind of adventure. By the way, what did you think of Rosamunde? I am planning to bring her back in the future. Till next time please pray for the victims of violence and their families, the Americans held in Iran, the Pakistani Christians and all others persecuted for their faith and all the sick, including a member of my family and the wife of a husband-wife singing group, Joey Martin Feek and all who need prayer. Also, since the next update may be awhile, Happy Thanksgiving. May Jesus bless you.