Chapter VII
Erika
"What are we waiting for sir?" asked one of Kraven's men as they stood before the doors of Markus's resting place.
"I want you to go and tell Erika to get out of here" Kraven told his man "Tell her to take a car and get to one of my safe houses."
"Yes sir"
Kraven took a deep breath, this was his last grab for power, there was no guarantee it would work. He had a lot of sins to atone for; Erika was only one of them. He had always told himself that he would make up for it when he was in power. He allowed himself to remember back to a time over a century and a half ago. To Viktor's last reign, they had moved from his stone castle to a more modern mansion, the one he was standing in now. He had tried for centuries to rekindle his relationship with Selene. He remembered the last time he proposed to her and she rejected him, how low he felt. How he remembered those days…
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Soren hurried through the depths of Viktor's mansion, he was clearly worried, he hurried towards a door and began to hammer at it. "Selene!" he yelled "Selene! Are you in there?"
Selene opened the door, her hair was messed up, she was wrapped in silk robe, oriental design. "What do you want?" she snapped, her eyes squinting "It's gone midday."
"Have you seen Lord Kraven?" he asked breathlessly
"No Soren" Selene began "I have not seen Kraven, I do not want to see Kraven, I don't care if I never see Kraven again. Now if you don't mind I am trying to sleep."
"He didn't come back last night." Stressed Soren "I'm worried, Lord Viktor has summoned him."
"I don't care" Selene said bluntly "But I'm sure the hero of the coven will be just fine." She ended her sarcastic reply by slamming the door in Soren's face.
"What am I going to do?" he hissed.
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Kraven rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a thud, "damn it" he muttered as he reached out for the bottle he had been drinking from all night. He was held up in a darkened room above a tavern he had been drinking at. It was a world away from the luxury of his chambers at the mansion; he staggered to his feet and made his way over to the bottle of blood he had left in the room. "Damn Selene" he muttered to himself "Doesn't know how lucky she is." Kraven grabbed his bottle of wine and collapsed back onto the bed.
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When Kraven awoke it was nightfall, he again clawed himself from his bed and began to dress himself, he pulled on his shirt, donned a tail coat and fixed his coin purse to his belt, then grabbing his sword the vampire exited the room, swaying down the stair case towards the bustling tavern below.
When he opened the door to the tavern he was hit by the noise of the place, the hustle and bustle of soldiers and hunters laughing and exchanging stories. He smiled, despite his hang over and headed towards the bar of the dimly lit tavern. "Ale!" he demanded dropping a coin on the bar.
"Ale what?" the woman behind the bar demanded
"Ale, you buxom wench" he laughed out loud "I am going to get very, very drunk tonight."
"Again?" a man standing behind the bar asked "This is the third night in a row, you come in here, drink all night, sleep all day, anyone would think you were a vampire."
Kraven raised a finger to his lip and made a sshhing sound "Don't tell anyone" he whispered before bursting out into a drunken laugh. He took his glass and wobbled over to what was now his table. "Keep them coming!" he yelled out. He sat there for hours, drinking his sorrows away. It had all been so perfect, the pact with Lucian, Selene, but now she wanted nothing more to do with him, in fact she hated him. He was wallowing in self pity; he had left Viktor's mansion days ago, telling no one, not even Soren. He had not been paying much attention to what had been happening in the tavern, until he heard someone begin to talk.
"Come on" an old croaky voice pleaded "Just one" Kraven turned to see what the voice was asking for, he saw an old woodsman, standing next to the land lord, probably asking for a free drink Kraven thought to himself. But no, the Land Lord began to ask as well. What was going on? All of a sudden the Land Lord began calling for everyone's attention. "Everyone be quiet" he yelled "My daughter will sing for us." As the rest of the room let out a drunken applause, Kraven turned his attention back to his own glass, he did not care for singing "old fool" he muttered under his breath "more drunk then his customers."
"Thank you" the land lord said quieting everyone down, "My daughter, Erika" Kraven rolled his eyes and began drinking his ale again. But then he heard it, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, this girls voice was like an angel singing. Who could have such power to quiet an entire room, with a single verse? He turned to see where this angelic chorus was emanating from. A girl, so young, and so beautiful, her golden blonde hair was tied loosely, she wore plain clothes, those of a humble wench, her tight dress lifted her cleavage, which did as much to draw Kraven's attention as her captivating song. When she had finished she gave a slight curtsy and began talking to some of her fathers customers, Kraven however remained transfixed on the golden haired beauty.
Kraven's eyes followed her as she walked around the room, she then turned and began to head in his direction, as she passed his table he put a hand on her arm, "You have the most… wond… wonder… wonderful voice I have ever heard"
"You are drunk" she smiled sweetly
"And you are beautiful" he leered
The young girl looked down at the hansom stranger and blushed a little "who are you?" she asked
"Sit with me, and I'll tell you." He smiled. The two sat together for hours and talked, Kraven drinking the whole time; however this time he was enjoying himself.
"The Taverns closing now" said Erika "You should go"
"Come back to my room with me" he pleaded
"My father?" the young girl blushed
"Your father is too drunk to care" said Kraven pointing to the land lord who had collapsed in the corner. "Come with me" he said stroking her face. She looked at him and nodded, he took her by the hand and lead her back to his room. He began to kiss her, and sloppily removing her clothes threw her down to the bed.
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For the third morning in a row Kraven awoke with a splitting head ache. He rubbed his head, not wanting to open his eyes. However today was not as bad as the others, for today he awoke next to the cold body of the woman he had shared his bed with. "Hmm Selene" he groaned, as he rolled over. Then something hit him, he had not been with Selene, then another realization the taste of blood in his mouth. He opened his eyes, half terrified at what he may see. He saw the supple lifeless body of the Land lord's daughter laying there beside him, with dried blood around two claret puncture wounds to her neck. "Oh shit!" he cried at the top of his lungs.