DARK ANGEL'S REQUIEM, CHAPTER TWO
"Finally!" Carmilla shouted with an air of triumph, "my lord will be raised, and he will reward me for my loyalty."
She looked over to where Hugh and Nathan were standing, and then moved over to them. Her cold eyes were staring at Nathan who a look on his face like no other Carmilla had seen before. It was a mixture of fear and pain, reaching climax as the transformation completed itself. He looked up at her, his eyes now gray, silver hair and pale lips and face. His appearance would make one, at first glance, assume they are looking at a corpse, if it was not moving, that is. However, sometimes movement is deceiving, Nathan Graves was, in effect, dead and buried, and this seemingly mindless shell is all that's left.
Carmilla lay her cold, slender hand on his shoulder, said "my dear Nathan, how bad for you. You tried so hard, but did not even last ten seconds in a fight with my prized pupil." In the instant she said that, a barely noticeable flicker of mirth swept across her stone-carved face. "That's right, Hugh was my first, you are now below him in my eyes, how ironic for you. In life you both tried to catch your master's attention, and now you have no choice but to accept what I have told you. Now that you know your place, it is time go, our king awaits." With that, Carmilla motioned towards a door, and she and her two generals began to walk towards it.
Before they got too far, however, Nathan wretched in agony and flung two vials of blue liquid that were in his belt to the ground. "Holy water", Hugh laughed. Nathan had forgotten it was there. The water is quite beneficial to any being of good intentions, but it has an aura that repels evil. Any evil deep enough can control the effects, and this is why it is impossible to simply carry around holy water and be immune to Dracula. Both Nathan and Hugh were not yet strong enough to withstand it, so the job of disposing of it fell to Carmilla. Carmilla picked up the vials and destroyed them.
Without further distraction, they left the room into the dungeons that lead to the ceremonial chambre where Dracula was housed. This second time through, Nathan had no reason to feel fear. His newly attained vampire senses made seeing through the mists effortless and his new sense of hearing told him where everything was. His new strength and speed made it impossible for anything down here to hurt him, and the mist was no longer cold; it comforted him. It was clear to him now that whoever designed this place was not trying to stop intruders from coming in, it was to keep residents from wanting to leave. Nathan found that "hell" was a word that could no longer be attached to this place, and saw only one word would do, "home".
They entered a chambre unlike any other room in the castle. Nathan had to show his astonishment, and gasped standing with wide-eyes. The ceiling was almost eighty metres high, and the room was double that in length and width. The stained glass that would normally depict biblical scenes in a church now portrayed most disturbing images of hell, and places that were progressively worse after that. The unshakable stench of the dungeons was gone, replaced with incense and a bouquet of other, surprisingly pleasant odours that even Nathan with enhanced senses could not put a name to. The silence that filled the room was as eerie as what was about to happen in it, yet it fit the room like a glove. Morris, at the far side of the room and shackled to the wall looked up at the forms entering through the door, and counted three.
"Oh God, not both of you", he sighed, tired and defeated. Nathan and Hugh saw Morris, and took it as an invitation for a meal. They ran to him, and tried to bite into his neck, pushing each other aside, frenzied by greed and hunger. Carmilla scolded them. "Restrain yourselves children" she said. "He is the life-force that will raise our lord, you cannot feed yet". They glared at her as children do when their mother denies them a candy. "Do not worry, once Dracula is here, he will allow us to feed on the entire world, you will be completely satiated. We must not wait any longer."
Having said that, she began to set her circle for the requiem that would allow her to raise her dark king. Placing Morris in the centre, and other objects such as herbs and candles around him. She began chanting in a tongue unknown to everyone but a few followers of her brand of evil. Her chant translated into:
We call you to rule us,
We are here to follow your every whim,
Send us forth to bring darkness unto the light
And forced all our adversaries to serve you.
This was repeated three times. The room began to glow with darkness. She changed as the darkness came into the room, growing claws, and fangs, so large and baring that she could not close her mouth. The coffin, which housed Dracula, began to float, raised by lightning from an unseen source. Morris too began to change, thinning, almost turning into a skeleton, and then vanished. Dracula was freed from his repose. He looked at Carmilla, and smiled.
Vlad Tepe, Dracula, tall and slender, silver skin and hair, green eyes, and thin pale lips. Standing almost seven feet high, and adorned in a black robe, with a blood-red cloak.
'What is this world that I have awakened into?' He thought to himself, still silent. 'And what do I see but two fresh vampires as a welcome gift.' He scanned his surroundings, his castle was different from before and he guessed that was because it had been a long time before he was raised again. Finally he spoke, with a voice so loud it scared Nathan, Hugh, and Carmilla, and made them take a step back. "How long?" Were the first words from his mouth in nearly two centuries.
Carmilla answered "one hundred and ninety-three years, Master." After that, the most surprising thing happened, Dracula, the King of Darkness, smiled. Ever so faintly, and it disappeared a few fractions of a second later. "It has been so long since someone last called me that, I will enjoy it each time someone speaks thus to me." He walked over to Carmilla and the others, said "it will not be long before the entire world calls me master."
Dracula had been raised. Within his ranks of Generals were a witch, and two more full vampires, both who were trained to kill what they had become. Dracula's chambre was full, now, waiting for the right moment was all that was needed before the dark reign could begin.
* * *
Nathan was not adjusting to his new existence as well as Hugh, or even Morris. The evil in his heart would never be able to withstand the forces of good that governed his soul. As a result, he was torn into obeying his master, and obeying himself.
'No!' Nathan thought, his mind now taken from the vampire stillness, into a state of human consciousness, it felt to him as if the two sides would soon explode out of him, and he had no idea what would happen then. 'I was human, I AM human!' the vampire calm swept over him, and he felt himself trying to regain control of his own mind. Inside of him, emotions were starting to re-emerge, and after two long months wearing this wretched mask, all he felt was loathing. He hated Dracula for existing, and threatening what he stood for, as a human. He blamed Hugh, for being so easily taken, and Morris, for not putting up much of a fight. Most importantly, he blamed himself for what had happened. He lost to Hugh, and he blindly obeyed the orders that stemmed from a evil source he could not comprehend.
"I helped kill people." Nathan said a woman he was about to change. He was on the hunt for Dracula, and, save the woman, he was alone. In the beginning, not long after he was changed, the few vampires went out at night, hunting for more to add to their ranks, and Nathan was on such a mission now. The woman he had in his grasp was a fighter, but she was a mortal, she could not hope to win against Nathan. Before he had a chance to bite into her flesh, his human side took hold, and he repeated his words, "I helped kill people".
The woman, although in fear for her life, was intrigued with this creature before him. She knew it was capable of destroying her, but she saw a person, not a monster. He was as terrified as she was. This thing was not evil, it was good, and she decided to try to tap into his good side. "I am Maria" she said, and extended her hand to touch his shoulder. It was cold, and felt like ice in her hand. Immediately Nathan jumped back, the warm touch of this woman was so far from the eternal cold he felt, it shocked him. "You are not afraid of me?" Nathan asked, still away from her.
"Yes, I am. But, you are not like the others, I sense you hate what you have become." Maria said these words with so much ease, it was somewhat harder for Nathan to comprehend them. 'This mortal, this, human, can see what I have been seeing since my transformation' Nathan thought. He was silent, observing what had been able to see into his soul. Maria looked tired from the fight they had, and had a few battle wounds to show what had transpired. She was a warrior; strong, but short, curious green eyes to go along with dirty blond hair. The way she was looking at him, a look of pity, made Nathan think that she was the most beautiful thing in the world. But that was his human side, he was a vampire now.
Nathan knew he had a duty to perform, but he could not deny his human side. Both were so deep within thought that neither of them saw Hugh in the shadows. He leaped towards Maria, and she screamed in terror.
"Leave her alone!" Nathan shouted, surprising himself as he said it. He lunged at Hugh, and thrust his sword into his arm. Hugh sprang back, looking at the wound in his shoulder, and then at Nathan, with sword in hand. Maria ran behind Nathan for protection, but Hugh just stared at him. Using his sword was a very impulsive, very human move. Nathan should have attacked Him without it, as a vampire would, and this told Hugh that Nathan was human where it meant most; his soul.
Knowing that he was no match for combine human and vampire intellect and skill, Hugh turned to flee, leaving Nathan and Maria with a final warning. "This will be your undoing Nathan, as long as I can become stronger, I will hunt you for what you have become." With that, he ran into the night, vanishing within seconds.
"So, I suppose you're an outcast now" Maria said, smiling. She knew that because of what Nathan had done, he would now be banished from the vampire world, and forced to live amongst humans. This was no the reason that she was smiling though, she had spent the past months in fear of vampires, and now found that what she had been fighting would help her. "You are extremely unique, Nathan. Is that what he called you?" she said, and before he had a chance to respond, she continued. "This is perfect for us, you can help us fight them, you will be our strongest weapon."
Nathan replied "but, I have not agreed to help you." He said this with some difficulty, he knew he had no choice, but how could he face his former kind with confidence knowing what the vampires had been doing? In the two short months after Dracula was raised, over one thousand humans in the area had been taken. And even if the humans did accept him, Nathan knew that it would be nearly impossible to fight off an army of that size. After thinking in silence for some time, he looked up at Maria who was waiting patiently for more words. Finally "I want you to know that if I do help you, we will most likely fail, and we will have to fight the armies, but not destroy them. Any vampire will be changed back once Dracula has been killed, you must remember this."
"Do we have another option?" Maria asked, not really expecting an answer. She continued, once again not allowing Nathan to answer. If they were to work together, Nathan would have to get her to change that. "Let's go, I suggest we get as far away from here as possible until we're ready."
And so they set off, far away from Dracula until they were ready to take him on.
"Finally!" Carmilla shouted with an air of triumph, "my lord will be raised, and he will reward me for my loyalty."
She looked over to where Hugh and Nathan were standing, and then moved over to them. Her cold eyes were staring at Nathan who a look on his face like no other Carmilla had seen before. It was a mixture of fear and pain, reaching climax as the transformation completed itself. He looked up at her, his eyes now gray, silver hair and pale lips and face. His appearance would make one, at first glance, assume they are looking at a corpse, if it was not moving, that is. However, sometimes movement is deceiving, Nathan Graves was, in effect, dead and buried, and this seemingly mindless shell is all that's left.
Carmilla lay her cold, slender hand on his shoulder, said "my dear Nathan, how bad for you. You tried so hard, but did not even last ten seconds in a fight with my prized pupil." In the instant she said that, a barely noticeable flicker of mirth swept across her stone-carved face. "That's right, Hugh was my first, you are now below him in my eyes, how ironic for you. In life you both tried to catch your master's attention, and now you have no choice but to accept what I have told you. Now that you know your place, it is time go, our king awaits." With that, Carmilla motioned towards a door, and she and her two generals began to walk towards it.
Before they got too far, however, Nathan wretched in agony and flung two vials of blue liquid that were in his belt to the ground. "Holy water", Hugh laughed. Nathan had forgotten it was there. The water is quite beneficial to any being of good intentions, but it has an aura that repels evil. Any evil deep enough can control the effects, and this is why it is impossible to simply carry around holy water and be immune to Dracula. Both Nathan and Hugh were not yet strong enough to withstand it, so the job of disposing of it fell to Carmilla. Carmilla picked up the vials and destroyed them.
Without further distraction, they left the room into the dungeons that lead to the ceremonial chambre where Dracula was housed. This second time through, Nathan had no reason to feel fear. His newly attained vampire senses made seeing through the mists effortless and his new sense of hearing told him where everything was. His new strength and speed made it impossible for anything down here to hurt him, and the mist was no longer cold; it comforted him. It was clear to him now that whoever designed this place was not trying to stop intruders from coming in, it was to keep residents from wanting to leave. Nathan found that "hell" was a word that could no longer be attached to this place, and saw only one word would do, "home".
They entered a chambre unlike any other room in the castle. Nathan had to show his astonishment, and gasped standing with wide-eyes. The ceiling was almost eighty metres high, and the room was double that in length and width. The stained glass that would normally depict biblical scenes in a church now portrayed most disturbing images of hell, and places that were progressively worse after that. The unshakable stench of the dungeons was gone, replaced with incense and a bouquet of other, surprisingly pleasant odours that even Nathan with enhanced senses could not put a name to. The silence that filled the room was as eerie as what was about to happen in it, yet it fit the room like a glove. Morris, at the far side of the room and shackled to the wall looked up at the forms entering through the door, and counted three.
"Oh God, not both of you", he sighed, tired and defeated. Nathan and Hugh saw Morris, and took it as an invitation for a meal. They ran to him, and tried to bite into his neck, pushing each other aside, frenzied by greed and hunger. Carmilla scolded them. "Restrain yourselves children" she said. "He is the life-force that will raise our lord, you cannot feed yet". They glared at her as children do when their mother denies them a candy. "Do not worry, once Dracula is here, he will allow us to feed on the entire world, you will be completely satiated. We must not wait any longer."
Having said that, she began to set her circle for the requiem that would allow her to raise her dark king. Placing Morris in the centre, and other objects such as herbs and candles around him. She began chanting in a tongue unknown to everyone but a few followers of her brand of evil. Her chant translated into:
We call you to rule us,
We are here to follow your every whim,
Send us forth to bring darkness unto the light
And forced all our adversaries to serve you.
This was repeated three times. The room began to glow with darkness. She changed as the darkness came into the room, growing claws, and fangs, so large and baring that she could not close her mouth. The coffin, which housed Dracula, began to float, raised by lightning from an unseen source. Morris too began to change, thinning, almost turning into a skeleton, and then vanished. Dracula was freed from his repose. He looked at Carmilla, and smiled.
Vlad Tepe, Dracula, tall and slender, silver skin and hair, green eyes, and thin pale lips. Standing almost seven feet high, and adorned in a black robe, with a blood-red cloak.
'What is this world that I have awakened into?' He thought to himself, still silent. 'And what do I see but two fresh vampires as a welcome gift.' He scanned his surroundings, his castle was different from before and he guessed that was because it had been a long time before he was raised again. Finally he spoke, with a voice so loud it scared Nathan, Hugh, and Carmilla, and made them take a step back. "How long?" Were the first words from his mouth in nearly two centuries.
Carmilla answered "one hundred and ninety-three years, Master." After that, the most surprising thing happened, Dracula, the King of Darkness, smiled. Ever so faintly, and it disappeared a few fractions of a second later. "It has been so long since someone last called me that, I will enjoy it each time someone speaks thus to me." He walked over to Carmilla and the others, said "it will not be long before the entire world calls me master."
Dracula had been raised. Within his ranks of Generals were a witch, and two more full vampires, both who were trained to kill what they had become. Dracula's chambre was full, now, waiting for the right moment was all that was needed before the dark reign could begin.
* * *
Nathan was not adjusting to his new existence as well as Hugh, or even Morris. The evil in his heart would never be able to withstand the forces of good that governed his soul. As a result, he was torn into obeying his master, and obeying himself.
'No!' Nathan thought, his mind now taken from the vampire stillness, into a state of human consciousness, it felt to him as if the two sides would soon explode out of him, and he had no idea what would happen then. 'I was human, I AM human!' the vampire calm swept over him, and he felt himself trying to regain control of his own mind. Inside of him, emotions were starting to re-emerge, and after two long months wearing this wretched mask, all he felt was loathing. He hated Dracula for existing, and threatening what he stood for, as a human. He blamed Hugh, for being so easily taken, and Morris, for not putting up much of a fight. Most importantly, he blamed himself for what had happened. He lost to Hugh, and he blindly obeyed the orders that stemmed from a evil source he could not comprehend.
"I helped kill people." Nathan said a woman he was about to change. He was on the hunt for Dracula, and, save the woman, he was alone. In the beginning, not long after he was changed, the few vampires went out at night, hunting for more to add to their ranks, and Nathan was on such a mission now. The woman he had in his grasp was a fighter, but she was a mortal, she could not hope to win against Nathan. Before he had a chance to bite into her flesh, his human side took hold, and he repeated his words, "I helped kill people".
The woman, although in fear for her life, was intrigued with this creature before him. She knew it was capable of destroying her, but she saw a person, not a monster. He was as terrified as she was. This thing was not evil, it was good, and she decided to try to tap into his good side. "I am Maria" she said, and extended her hand to touch his shoulder. It was cold, and felt like ice in her hand. Immediately Nathan jumped back, the warm touch of this woman was so far from the eternal cold he felt, it shocked him. "You are not afraid of me?" Nathan asked, still away from her.
"Yes, I am. But, you are not like the others, I sense you hate what you have become." Maria said these words with so much ease, it was somewhat harder for Nathan to comprehend them. 'This mortal, this, human, can see what I have been seeing since my transformation' Nathan thought. He was silent, observing what had been able to see into his soul. Maria looked tired from the fight they had, and had a few battle wounds to show what had transpired. She was a warrior; strong, but short, curious green eyes to go along with dirty blond hair. The way she was looking at him, a look of pity, made Nathan think that she was the most beautiful thing in the world. But that was his human side, he was a vampire now.
Nathan knew he had a duty to perform, but he could not deny his human side. Both were so deep within thought that neither of them saw Hugh in the shadows. He leaped towards Maria, and she screamed in terror.
"Leave her alone!" Nathan shouted, surprising himself as he said it. He lunged at Hugh, and thrust his sword into his arm. Hugh sprang back, looking at the wound in his shoulder, and then at Nathan, with sword in hand. Maria ran behind Nathan for protection, but Hugh just stared at him. Using his sword was a very impulsive, very human move. Nathan should have attacked Him without it, as a vampire would, and this told Hugh that Nathan was human where it meant most; his soul.
Knowing that he was no match for combine human and vampire intellect and skill, Hugh turned to flee, leaving Nathan and Maria with a final warning. "This will be your undoing Nathan, as long as I can become stronger, I will hunt you for what you have become." With that, he ran into the night, vanishing within seconds.
"So, I suppose you're an outcast now" Maria said, smiling. She knew that because of what Nathan had done, he would now be banished from the vampire world, and forced to live amongst humans. This was no the reason that she was smiling though, she had spent the past months in fear of vampires, and now found that what she had been fighting would help her. "You are extremely unique, Nathan. Is that what he called you?" she said, and before he had a chance to respond, she continued. "This is perfect for us, you can help us fight them, you will be our strongest weapon."
Nathan replied "but, I have not agreed to help you." He said this with some difficulty, he knew he had no choice, but how could he face his former kind with confidence knowing what the vampires had been doing? In the two short months after Dracula was raised, over one thousand humans in the area had been taken. And even if the humans did accept him, Nathan knew that it would be nearly impossible to fight off an army of that size. After thinking in silence for some time, he looked up at Maria who was waiting patiently for more words. Finally "I want you to know that if I do help you, we will most likely fail, and we will have to fight the armies, but not destroy them. Any vampire will be changed back once Dracula has been killed, you must remember this."
"Do we have another option?" Maria asked, not really expecting an answer. She continued, once again not allowing Nathan to answer. If they were to work together, Nathan would have to get her to change that. "Let's go, I suggest we get as far away from here as possible until we're ready."
And so they set off, far away from Dracula until they were ready to take him on.