A/N: Please read and review...I just spilled half a mug of tea all over my keyboard, and now some of the buttons aren't working. A pity...by the way, I can't tell if this story is making sense or not to readers, so please, please send me word, if it's not...
Chapter 8: The Tomb of Lucian
Drip…drip…drip…
Dragging the bundled form of Reed on the ground behind her and uncaring of the stones that might bruise the unconscious youngling, Urith walked steadily down the small tunnel leading towards the Hall of the Dead. Though in pitch-darkness and aware of the possibility of getting lost, she kept her pace calm, counting her steps and continually trailing one hand along the left wall, sniffing every few seconds for the tell-tale smell of mold.
"Time is wasting…" she thought, trying to effectively track her sibling's progress in her mind. Aeduin would have reached the bottom of the underground tower by now. He and Raze would only speak for several minutes before they entered the outer hallway. From there, the two alphas would stroll past the undead bodies of nearly three hundred lycan men, women, and children caught in hibernation. The room would be freezing. Glaring at one another, they would stand tensely for several seconds making insolent small-talk before Aeduin took as long as possible opening the Hall of the Dead. Once inside, they would need a single key…Aeduin's First Key…to get through a stone door hidden in the patterning of the walls. From there, they would arrive in a hidden chamber bordering upon a tomb where the lycan master could be seen sleeping through several holes carved into a stone wall. The final barrier, the stone wall, required another key…Urith's Second Key…before it would open, allowing guests, trespassers, and lycans everywhere to enter the sacred tomb.
As of two years ago, however, not a single soul, herself included, had set foot beyond this stone wall. (No doubt because Aeduin still feared his sister might again do something…unpleasant…if she had access to both Lucian and another member of the Reed family at the same time.)
"And rightly so…" she sniffed.
Gripping her prey a little tighter, Urith smirked in the darkness as the scent of mold drifted into her nostrils for a fleeting moment…
…mold and…oak.
Abruptly stopping, Urith ran her fingers up and down the stone, searching for the three scratches marking the first stone on the wall. Finding what she sought, she breathed suddenly, her eyes turning to white in the darkness as she read the roving runescript, her voice low and humming the hidden keys.
Akh, fuh, erus…
…the hawk, the hare, and the raven.
Still murmuring the pattern to herself, Urith dropped to her haunches and ran her fingers across the door's base where forty granite tiles had been embedded. The runes themselves had been scratched off, but tracing her way from the first tile, she counted forward to the fourth tile, pressing it once. Moving on to the twelfth, she again pressed the smooth surface once, keeping her left hand still wrapped around the bundle behind her.
Akh, the hawk…and Fuh, the hare.
Erus, the character used for raven, came after the hare according to the forty character system. She tapped the thirteenth tile twice, signifying the end of her pattern, and then, rising, blindly stretched her arm in front of her, finding a stone channel where she could insert her fingers. Gripping the channel, she pulled, smoothly dragging the stone wall towards her while pushing Reed's enveloped body back further with her foot so as not to crush anything. Noting the continual darkness, the tall lycan listened carefully for any sign that Aeduin and Raze were approaching…
…and was rewarded with silence. Only the dripping of water could be heard far in the distance, hinting at the underground lake that lay nearby.
Smiling to herself, Urith hoisted Reed onto her back, taking a split-second to check if the girl was still breathing (she figured it was always wise to do this when kidnapping humans,) and made her way past the stone door, pulling it shut behind her as she entered the Hall of the Dead. Pitch-black as usual. Although sun-panels had been installed in the upper floors of Valhalla, all pathways, tunnels and staircases below the main level were kept in continual darkness, and not only because the Two of Knots found it comforting after all their years underground…
For any who studied blood-seeking knew the first law of runescript…
Only in darkness can one read the runescript. Once the light comes, it is lost for the lines upon the stone do not reveal their secrets to the shadows of flame.
Running her right hand across the wall this time, Urith took three measured steps accordingly. From where she now stood, she turned and walked in a perfectly straight line across the room with a hand stretched out until she touched the opposite wall. Knowing the first mark of this pattern and being more familiar with this hall rather than the small door by which she had entered, Urith abandoned her grip on Reed, touching both hands to the stone, her practiced fingers finding the mark within seconds. Using this first mark as a base, she allowed herself to trail down to the floor in a straight line, finding the bottommost tile in line with the first mark and registering it in her mind as the first alphabet of runescript. Having memorized the password years ago, she immediately pressed the second tile, Lys (the wolf), the seventh tile, Íliu (the crow)…and after a slow and careful count…the twenty-sixth tile, Uvoch (the hummingbird), the thirty-fourth tile, Pirsa (the weasel)…and finally the fortieth tile, Noch (the immortal.) This last tile, she pressed twice…and ripped the first metal chain off her neck. Searching her fingers beneath the last tile, she found a crack and inserted Aeduin's First Key into the hole, turning it once counter-clockwise. Removing the key and raising herself, she began to push with her shoulder against the wall. As smooth and silent as the stone door by which she had entered, the wall slid forward, revealing…more darkness. Grabbing hold of her prey (and the blanket) again, Urith entered the inner chamber of Lucian's tomb, leaving the door open behind her. (Careful in some things, if not others, Urith realized that if anything should happen to Reed or herself, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Aeduin to have access to the inner chamber…at the very least for healing purposes.) She dropped the first key on the floor for him to find later, and turned to the task at hand…
"Almost there," she thought, rolling her eyes and flipping a lighter out of the trench-coat she always wore. No longer needing darkness or runescript, the impatient lycan flicked the utility into flame, her other hand darting to grab two of the wooden fire-starters from a steel cup attached to the wall. Lighting the end of both sticks, she moved to either side of the stone room and touched two stands filled with oil, allowing them to burst into flame, throwing shadows and warm light through the freezing cold air. She was getting close…
Ripping the second metal chain off her neck, Urith strode to the center of the stone wall and inserted the pendant-like key into a round hole marked for turning. Although similar to the keys used in olden times by the vampire warlords, this one required no second key to enclose it as it turned. Hearing a sharp click on the other side of the wall, she removed the key, set her feet firmly on the ground and began to pull the stone wall, wedging both her hands in a crack for purchase and grunting with the effort. Although a mere human could unlock this last wall with a key, they would still need the strength of immortals to actually open it…
Pull…
…push…
…grunt…
…Pheww…
She let out a breath as the wall finally lay half open after a few seconds. Grabbing Reed off the ground, she shoved the bundle through the gap, slid through herself, and quickly placed the key in the lock mechanism on the other side. Turning it, the wall slammed shut behind them, plunging the room into a shadowy darkness tinged with the occasional ray of light coming from the holes in the wall she had just closed. She again found the steel cup of fire-starters, flicked on her lighter, and set fire to a single starter, tossing the piece of wood into the four-foot wide vat of oil that she knew lay to her right. It burst viciously into flame, the blaze traveling with speed about the room as twelve other connecting vats ignited, sending all shadows from the room and bathing the single sleeper in the light of false suns…
Lucian…
He lay upon the stone dais as one garbed in the black of mourning. A simple shirt of crimson enveloped by a black coat of satin finish, embroidered with golden thread. Robed from the waist down in dark silk, his feet were bare underneath, but shrouded by the rich coverlet which draped over and across his stone bedding. The dark hair had been washed, combed and pulled back simply in the style he was most accustomed, the cord of leather binding the locks from his face, while his beard grew no more nor less than the day he fell into slumber. Framed upon lycan burial tradition, beneath his entire still body lay a long, luxurious "fur of the dead" formed by the thousands of roses, leaves, dark petals, and feathers stitched frozen upon woven burlap. A wooden mask, hewed of oak, had been placed over his face, hiding the serenity of his expression.
Urith frowned at the so-called "master" of lycans, her gaze both angry and awed by the sight of this sworn enemy. All lycans knew their true leader still breathed, and though they were banned from the location of his final resting place, once Raze had explained the situation to his people three years ago, they had come together in the masses to make sure their fallen leader was garbed and put down in state. The black body bag (which Urith had tossed in a corner of her den, occasionally stepping on it when she was feeling short-tempered) had been removed from the underground for a fortnight. During this time, the lycan men, women, and children had prepared their leader for his final resting place, hundreds of them coming during the mourning period to bid farewell and leave a single item of nature to be stitched onto the resting cloth of their warlord. And of course…once the fourteen days were complete, Raze himself had overseen the Two of Knots, making sure they did right by the slumbering lycan.
Indeed…
…the lycan master had become a sleeping prince, to be sure.
Urith however…had other matters to attend to. Matters that had nothing to do with admiration or anger.
Striding to the regal form laid in state upon the stone, Urith quickly tossed aside the rich coverlet, the thick fabric falling in a heap beside the dais to reveal a mass of bullet-holes strewn across the lycan warlord's chest. Seemingly dead before the Two of Knots had ever received his body, Lucian had been shot to pieces, the liquid silver of the bullets hardening over time and causing his flesh to glint luxuriously in the light of flame...
Unknotting the girl from her binds, she neatly slapped her across the cheeks…
"Wake up…" she hissed.
Reed's eyes shot open…and then…seeing Urith, she began to struggle in the lycan's grip, desperately trying to crawl back on her hands and knees, her mouth whimpering silently, the blood-seals finally taking their toll as she remembered the words of earlier and saw the tomb about her. The tomb with no apparent exit…the monsters, claustrophobia…and the betrayal of one she had trusted. Her brother…a monster. Unable to cry, Reed began to shiver uncontrollably, her hands grasping in the air as Urith tightened her grip on the girl's wrist.
Perhaps she's gone completely mad, thought Urith with a sarcastic twist of her lips. But no matter…all I need is her hands. Still holding the girl, she dragged her across the stone floor, pulling her up by the arms and forcing her to stand before the sleeping warlord's body and silver-infested blood.
Taking hold of each of Reed's hands, Urith turned her eyes to Lucian's flesh and prepared to enter his veins…
…o…
…o…
Aeduin glared at Raze. They were standing outside the Hall of the Dead, still tense over their fight earlier and making a shoddy attempt at small talk, speaking about the hoard, the war, the den…
…hell…
He'd even asked about Raze's daughter, Pavia, even though he hadn't seen the girl in centuries…what was she? Twelve when the war started…
Raze had coolly answered that his daughter was no business of Aeduin's, and Aeduin, shrugging, had done his best not to smirk his obvious belief that any spawn of Raze must have turned out as pathetic, useless, and incompetent as the widowed father himself. It was no wonder Raze and Lucian had latched onto each other…like a self-help group. Pledge your wounded soul to the cause and you too may be able to get over the death of your beloved dead wife.
Trying not to spit in disgust and turning back to the business at hand, Aeduin politely murmured, "Well…I suppose it is time we made our way to Lucian?"
"Indeed…" growled the impatient and tremendously deep voice, the exasperation obvious on the shadowed face behind the light of their single torch. The younger lycan always insisted on bringing a light down here…as if walking in pure darkness a thousand or so meters below the ground was trouble…
Aeduin acquiesced and placed his claws over the door, allowing the scanner to read his fingerprints and pass over his one eye. The door opened…
…upon light.
Light…
His fingers trailed to his neck, and ripping the key off his neck, Aeduin held it in his palm for a split second…breathed…his eye squinting, frowning…and then with a roar, he threw the key to the ground, bellowing Urith's name as he sprinted through the Hall of the Dead towards the light streaming from the inner chamber which lay open…
Dashing through the room with Raze on his heels, it was obvious they were too late…the inner tomb had been sealed and light was streaming through the seeing holes. Slamming his fist against the wall and peering through a hole, Aeduin eyed Urith who stood within, quietly watching them from where she stood, her hand wrapped around each of Reed's wrists and about to touch the lycan master's chest…
"Stop," he hissed, knowing she would not listen. "…Victoria will die, Urith! Her mind is already warped, and by the time you get through his veins, she might already be turning to the other side again…he'll kill her for being a vampire!" He wrapped his arms about the door-handles and began to tug at it, trying to open it with sheer strength and to no avail…
"And you of all people…" Urith replied from behind the wall, knowing this had to be done. "…have you forgotten Gode? Have you forgotten that this dog still holds her in his mind?"
She tightened her hold on Reed, causing the girl to whimper as her (wo)manhandled body became even more bruised, the unwavering lycan glaring at her brother while her resolve strengthened even more, knowing this was necessary for the survival of all immortals…
…unfortunately, her brother was blinded by sheer lust for this…trollop!
"Yes," she admitted, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "…falling in that river drove Ambrose mad, but Aeduin…don't you understand? I don't need her mind, I need her hands…and tomorrow her ability to seek silver could be gone! Either her hybrid biology will veer towards the vampire side, jump towards the lycanthropes…or better yet, she could even become pure mortal again. And because you can't keep your damn instincts in check, we'll have passed our one and only chance to get into Lucian's memories and perhaps even wake him!" Her eyes had started to rage through this speech, growing white as she became more fierce and enraged than she'd been in two years since their last argument regarding how to wake the lycan master. With the ivory hair flipped over one side of her dark trenchcoat and glaring viciously with such vibrant eyes, the wild Urith, feared by the lycan race for almost a millennium, had become rather…
…sexy, thought Raze suddenly, appalled that he could be thinking about another woman after he had so blatantly shown his fondness for the female in her grasp. Reed's scent however had faded since this morning and, all this time, as Raze watched silently through the hole, he was slowly becoming aware of characteristics in Urith that he quite liked. True, he was aware that this Victoria Reed represented far more than he had first assumed…but listening to Urith's speech, he began to sense the immense possibilities. Lucian…Urith was trying to wake Lucian with this girl…and that was…good.
Aeduin shoved his entire body against the wall, causing it to rumble with the force, but by no means, give way. "That's just the point, Urith! What if he does wake? Reed's not as alpha as she was this morning, but the two of you? Together? He could drag you both down with him just by the smell!"
Completely ignoring the lycan who had followed Aeduin into the inner chamber, Urith continued hissing at her brother. "How flattering…but as I said before…brother…I would sorely like to open my gift…" she murmured, alluding to their earlier conversation in the control room. "…and I don't give a horse's bleeding heart whether you've got feelings for this mortal. If it makes you feel any better," and she smirked suddenly. "Think of her as a key. A living…breathing…key."
And with that, Urith slammed both of Reed's hands upon the lycan warlord's chest, her eyes flashing as Reed's violent blue eyes began to glow softly white, gleaming white, blinding light until both Aeduin and Raze were forced to look away from the bloodseeker and her tool making contact upon the veins of a lycan warlord. For several seconds, the light traveled through the entire room until howling, their mouths caught open to the ceiling as one, Aeduin and Raze heard a hoarse roar of intense pain, power, and rage escaping the inner tomb.
The light died.
Crouched on the ground and rising to their feet now, the two alpha lycans immediately rushed to the stone wall, gaping through the seeing holes and horrified by the sight that greeted their eyes.
Collapsed upon the stone dais, Reed and Urith both lay as if sleeping, their eyes closed, their faces vacant and mouths hanging slightly open. The mask of Lucian had fallen to the ground, revealing the same calm and serene expression of one who continued to rest peaceful in his slumber. The nails on both his hands had extended into claws and, though fast asleep, each motionless talon had wrapped itself viciously around the hair of the two women flung across his bed. Another moment awake and the lycan warlord might have ripped them to pieces. Save for this, there was no other sign that Lucian had woken for a split-second before dropping to his slumber once more…
…Lucian had woken for a split second…Raze almost smiled, but…
Urith and Reed…
"Where are they?" he asked, still gazing through the hole.
"Inside him," replied a very miserable Aeduin who knew the danger Urith had brought upon herself and the girl she had towed with her…perhaps they would wake today. Perhaps tomorrow…
…and perhaps Lucian had dragged them down to rest with him for eternity. You never knew with these stupid hibernating lycans who wouldn't wake on their own accord. Victoria might be doomed, but deep down inside, it was his sister for whom he worried…she had betrayed him and brought this upon herself…but already he missed her cool, wintry voice. Hopefully, she had enough training to get out, but there was no guarantee.
"What do we do now?" asked Raze quietly, speaking the words that were on both their minds…
Aeduin sighed, allowing his body to slide down, seating himself wearily against the stone wall and dropping his head back as he closed his one eye.
"We wait…" he murmured.