Unto the Universe
Chapter Forty-Four: Vampires of Venice: Into the Cellar
By Lumendea
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
….
The steward was a quiet man, but thanks to Calvierri, Rose knew his name to be Carlo. He walked through the halls and up an elegant stone staircase with absolute calmness. If he was unnerved by the very pale young women watching them on their walk through the hall, he showed no sign of it. Rose couldn't be sure if he knew what was going on or not, but she doubted that they'd find an ally in him.
Her eyes moved across the building, taking in the layout. It was smaller than she would have thought with a narrow layout. The main staircase sat beside the great hall and a hallway led further away with a couple of doors leading off of it. She didn't have time to study the upstairs as Carlo led her straight to a door and opened it. Beyond was a good-sized room with an ornately decorated domed ceiling. Beds were arranged in a circle and each had only a small trunk beside it.
"There are clothes on the bed," Carlo said. Get changed and wait here."
"Thank you."
But Carlo said nothing else and left the room, most of the young women following him out. Only one remained and Rose was certain that she was Isabella. Her warm dark skin had an odd tint to it that Rose didn't like, but Rose could clearly see a bit of Guido in the young woman. Her long dark hair was completely straight and hanging loose. She made no move to join Rose and sat silently on the next bed over, looking at the wall. Rose glanced towards the door, nervous that someone might be listening.
"Excuse me," Rose said warmly. "Would you mind helping me out of my dress?"
The woman turned slowly to her and Rose nearly grimaced. Her eyes were dull and frightened. The sort of ground down fear that sinks into a person and takes over. Rose suspected that Isabella had known Guido immediately, but her fear of the others had left her silent when he'd tried to find her.
"Please," Rose added. "My name is Rose. What is yours?"
"Isabella," she answered. The word sounded as if it pained her to say it. She slowly rose to her feet and walked over to Rose. "How can I help you?"
"There's a bit tied in the back." Rose smiled and gestured towards her back. Then she dropped her voice. "I'm here on behalf of your father. My friends and I have a plan to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what you know?"
Isabella blinked. There was a spark of life back in her eyes. She swallowed and stepped closer, her hands moving to help Rose remove the gown.
"They er, they come at night. They gather around my bed, and they take me to a room with this green light and a chair with straps, as if for a surgeon."
"Do you remember what they do?"
"No, I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."
A bell tolled and Isabella tensed. Sensing that she shouldn't push the other woman further, Rose quickly removed her dress and pulled on the simple white gown that all the others were wearing. While it was late in the day, she couldn't help but feel it was odd for them to wear what was their version of a nightgown or underdress around the school. She glanced down at her wrist where her sword remained in place and tugged the sleeve of the white dress down to hide it, just in case.
Carlo returned a short time later and called for Rose and Isabella to follow them. He led them back to the ground floor to a dining hall. It was as elegant as the rest of the manor, built of stone with a high ceiling and large windows that looked out into the canal. A long table was set up, but there were only two places with dishes of food.
"Are the others not joining us?" Rose asked in what she hoped was a pleasant voice.
"They ate earlier with the Signora," Carlo replied smoothly. Isabella flinched and shifted closer to Rose. "She believes strongly in manners and evaluates her students."
Rose nodded in what she hoped was an elegant fashion. She took Isabella's hand and squeezed it quickly before they both went to the table and sat down. Rose wasn't sure of the correct manners of the time and watched Isabella as the young woman robotically ate the light meal of freshly baked bread with cheese and a bit of ham with mustard. They had wine with dinner and Rose tried to be cautious with the amount she consumed, but nothing tasted wrong.
After the meal, they were escorted back to their room. No tour and no discussion of how life would proceed in the morning. No mention of how the school functioned. Rose's hands itched to summon her sword and get Isabella out immediately. The young woman was so quiet and kept her gaze down.
The other young women were still absent when Carlo left Rose and Isabella in the room. Isabella immediately went to her bed and laid down without a word. Rose was tempted to talk more, but the heavy silence in the room and the mansion at large put her on edge. She glanced around, trying to appear as if she was only admiring the room. It was impressive. The painting on the ceiling was very nice, but she had her eyes open for potential hiding spots or holes where someone could be listening. There was nothing. The room's layout meant that anyone inside of it was very exposed. Deciding to play the part of the good new student, Rose laid down in her own bed and closed her eyes, thinking over the layout she'd seen thus far and the best time to grab Isabella and slip away.
…
Guido's boat slipped through the water smoothly. The man knew exactly where he was going and navigated without any issue through the canals that he clearly knew backwards and forward. It provided the Doctor with a little comfort. He couldn't help but worry a little about Rose. She and Jack were right that it was the most straightforward plan. Maybe sneaking in would have worked, but… hostages were certainly a problem. He'd only seen a handful of the alien girls and only a small group had appeared outside. But maybe the veils didn't just protect them from the sun. Maybe it also hid who was present just in case parents expected to see their daughters or townsfolk their friends and they weren't there.
His mind was racing with ideas. He glanced at Jack. The former Time Agent had a tight grip on the sun lamp the Doctor had collected at the TARDIS. Guido had been confused but had accepted the sight of the strange thing. The Doctor doubted the man would ask many questions provided they got him his daughter back.
That brought back some bad memories. Most days thinking about his children and Susan created a dull ache. Some days it wasn't so bad, especially having the chance to see Susan again recently for Christmas. He wanted to save Isabella, but right now he was more worried about Rose. They knew too little. She'd been right about that. Any information she could them would be helpful.
"She'll be alright," Jack assured him. "It's Rose."
"I know," the Doctor grumbled. "But it's Rose."
Jack chuckled though the Doctor knew he understood. Knowing how capable Rose was did not prevent him from worrying. In fact, in some regards it made him worry more because Rose's own well-placed confidence in her abilities meant that she didn't usually try to avoid danger. Sadly, his love had long since embraced the life of danger and excitement. While it certainly made their relationship easier, it meant that the Doctor worried.
"She's jeopardy friendly, you know."
"And you're a trouble magnet," Jack retorted. "You two and your pet names."
The Doctor felt his face warm. At the time that those nicknames had developed, he hadn't known what to make of them. People in his life hadn't usually given him pet names. Nicknames occasionally, like Jack calling him Doc, but pet names were a bit different. Probably should have been one of his early hints that this relationship was going to be something different.
"We're almost there," Guido whispered. "I hope the girls are alright."
"It'll be fine," the Doctor said. "Rose can get them out regardless. The goal is to get some information first."
Within a few minutes, Guido brought the small boat smoothly up to a low dock at the base of a stone staircase. Without a word, Jack and the Doctor climbed out of the boat by the light of a flaming torch. They shared a glance and climbed the stairs to the heavy wooden door that was unlocked. The Doctor frowned as they opened it. He'd expected… well more if he was honest. Then again, it was a general tunnel entrance and trapdoors into palaces and mansions would be locked.
"I have a couple of solar lights that I grabbed in the TARDIS," the Doctor told Jack. "Just in case, but let's not harm anyone inside until we know what is going on."
"Understood," Jack said with a nod.
The Doctor pulled out both of the lamps, each measuring about six inches in length. Large enough to push back the creatures, but small enough to not get in the way. Jack too on and they stepped into the tunnel. It was dark and dank, but the torch and the lamps provided plenty of light. Now they just needed to find that trapdoor.
…
Rose wasn't sure how much time passed. It was impossible for her to know for sure. A low lamp burned near the door and gave the room only a hint of light. She had realized that as lovely as this room was, it had no windows. And wasn't that just lovely and not at all creepy. Rising slowly from the bed, she noted that most of the beds were not occupied. Staying still for a moment, Rose waited to see if the others would wake up. No one shifted and she looked towards Isabella's bed as she retrieved her shoes and pulled them on.
She could wake the girl up now and get her out. But she didn't know the layout well and if they were caught… Rose could protect herself, but protecting Isabella made things more complicated. She took a breath and climbed out of the bed. Slowly, she tiptoed over to Isabella's bed and put her hand over the girl's mouth. The young woman woke with panic in her eyes.
"It's Rose," she whispered as softly as she could. Removing her hand from Isabella's mouth, Rose reached down and took her hand, pulling gently.
Isabella did not fight her. Instead, the young woman nodded and slipped out of her bed silently. Rose bent down and scooped up Isabella's slippers. They eased open the door and made it out into the empty corridor with Rose taking the small lantern with them. Rose closed the door as quietly as she could after she handed Isabella her slippers. Without a word, the young woman pulled them on. Her eyes were brightening and Rose could see something other than fear in them. As much as she wanted to focus on getting information, Rose wanted to get Isabella out more.
They headed down to the lowest level. For a moment, Rose wondered if it was possible to simply slip out the front door, but soft sounds of talking from outside assured her that the guards were still at their posts. Calvierri no doubt paid them well to keep everyone out and all the girls in.
With Isabella's help to guide her, Rose made it to the cellar quickly. So far, the mansion was quiet, but Rose didn't trust it. Neither of them spoke and Rose took that to mean that Isabella didn't trust the silence either. But there were no guards inside and they made it down into the cellar without anyone getting in their way. The staircase down was longer than Rose expected and she struggled to believe they were still above the water. Then again, it was wet and chilly down here so perhaps there was some part of this under the water.
Everything was too large and too quiet down here, but they made their way along toward the trapdoor. The room was massive for its use and Rose wondered if it was some sort of flood chamber. Thankfully, despite its size, the trap door was easy to see. But Rose decided to take one quick look around the room. In the light of their lamp, she could see what appeared to be a trunk tucked back in the shadows of the wall and approached. There was a trunk, but it was open and filled with dead bodies.
Isabella gasped and drew back, but Rose leaned closer and used the lamp to illuminate the corpses. Sorrow and rage filled up her chest. The frail, shriveled up bodies had just been dumped into the large trunk. They hadn't even had the dignity of the vampires or whatever they were closing it up.
"Isabella," Rose called softly. "Are there any missing students?"
"I… yes, there were two other girls here when I first entered. They both vanished within the first two weeks I was here." Isabella stepped a little closer. "Do you… it cannot be them, can it?"
"Maybe," Rose said. She stood up and stepped away from the chest. "You said they've been doing something to you. Maybe they fought back or maybe…" Rose trailed off. "Come on. I'm getting you out of here. That's the priority right now."
She grabbed Isabella's hand and headed straight for the raised entrance of the trap door. The heavy grate was locked with a solid looking latch. Rose considered it only for a moment before deciding to dispense with subtlety. There were bodies behind them and six young women already in the school that Rose was unsure if they could be helped. Risking Isabella for a bit more information wasn't an option. Summoning her sword, she ignored Isabella's startled gasp and sliced through the latch completely. There'd be no locking it again. Releasing her sword, she let it return to its bracelet form and pulled open the trapdoor.
"Come on, Isabella," Rose said. "My friends should be down the tunnel by now."
"That sword…"
"Isabella, I swear on all that I love that I am here to help you." Rose met the young woman's gaze, trying to let her see how serious she was.
"Ah, how charming and heroic," Calvierri's voice teased.
Rose tensed as Isabella whimpered. They both turned in time to see Calvierri sweep out of a shadowed doorway with her son and Carlo. Behind her were the six students that Rose had seen before. They spread out around the room, opening their mouths and exposing their sharp teeth.
"How did you know?" Rose asked casually, turning to focus on Calvierri. She stayed in front of Isabella.
"Psychic paper." Calvierri scoffed. "Did you really think that would work on me?"
"Alright," Rose sighed. She nodded. "That's fair." Smirking a little, she kept her body language calm, hoping to keep Isabella from panicking and maybe even keep the vampires from feeling the need to attack. "So, who are you really?"
"Do you think I have to answer you?" Calvierri was smiling a little, looking oddly pleased.
"You come in the night and take your students to the cellar, but what for? You're not vampires. Not really. I've seen true vampires and you're something else." Nodding towards the trunk, Rose felt her anger bubbling. "Those girls… they weren't drained of just their blood. All the moisture in their bodies has been removed. They're basically mummified."
Calvierri's smile widened. "You are a clever one. I wasn't sure which of you was the ringleader: the man who snuck into our cellar yesterday, your brother or you." Calvierri tilted her head. "I must say that this does not please me."
"This stops," Rose said firmly. She eyed the other young women. "They've already been converted, but converted to what?"
"Something far better," Calvierri cooed. "First, we drink you until you're dry. Then we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream now faded." Calvierri strode towards Rose slowly. "You are intelligent, very clever and brave. I am the queen of the prior generation, but a queen will needed in the future. That could be you."
"A queen," Rose repeated. "The female mind that controls the hive mind that the others are in."
"Exactly."
"And what awaits them?" Rose nodded towards the closest of the converted women.
"There are ten thousand husbands waiting for you in the water."
Calvierri was right in front of her now. Either confident in her offer or the terror of her teeth. Her son was looming behind her, smirking and leering at Rose with interest. Carlo was lingering in a shadow, silent and apparently willing to ignore all of this.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Rose snarked. "But I'm already engaged."
She summoned her sword and kicked Calvierri back, striking the woman in the side. Rose heard metal crunching and her eyes widened. The image of Calvierri flickered, revealing a tall, dark purple crustacean creature. Isabella screamed. It drew back and Calvierri reappeared, pulling at her overskirt to reveal a partially crushed device attached to her waist.
"Perception filter," Rose said. "That makes sense." She brought up her sword. "I am Rose Tyler, the Last Star Knight, chosen by this sword to serve good. This stops now. You will release Isabella and me and parlay with us to determine what comes next."
Calvierri laughed, but her eyes were more guarded now. "You're not a refugee are you?"
"No." Rose glanced at the others in the room. They were creeping forward. "Isabella, into the tunnel."
"I can't leave you," the young woman protested.
"I'll be fine," Rose promised.
Calvierri's son lunged forward and Rose slashed her sword at him, cutting a slice across his face. He hissed but drew back from them. Calvierri glared at Rose.
"Isabella, if this turns violent then it will be easier for me if I don't have to worry about protecting you."
Thankfully the young woman listened. Rose heard her climbing down the ladder. Hissing behind Rose made her turn nervously. Two of the young converted women were approaching her slowly. Turning back to Calvierri, Rose narrowed her gaze on the alien. She wished she knew what the alien was.
"What are you and why are you here?"
"Mother!" Calvierri's son hissed. He touched his face as blood seeped out of the cut. At least it looked like blood thanks to the perception filter. "She's too dangerous!"
"You harmed my son." Calvierri touched her son's face tenderly. "That was a mistake!"
She spun on Rose and hissed, exposing long sharp teeth. Everyone in the room save Carlo began advancing on Rose. Spinning around, Rose thrust the sword at the nearest of the vampire girls who immediately drew back. She scrambled into the trapdoor and barely ducked out of the way of hands reaching for her.
"Rose!" The Doctor's voice called.
Her legs almost collapsed on the ladder from relief, but Rose managed to cling to the metal rungs and keep climbing down. At the top of the trapdoor, she could see the vampires leaning to look down. Two of the young woman were starting to climb after her. Rose looked down and found the Doctor and Jack at the bottom, both of them holding UV lamps. When she was only a foot or so off the ground, Rose jumped down and summoned her sword.
"I like the lamps," Rose said.
"Glad to hear it, but let's go." The Doctor shifted the lamp to his left hand and grabbed Rose's left hand with his. "This way."
They turned and began to run down the dank tunnel. It was only moments before the vampires were right behind them. Hissing filled the tunnel and Rose looked over her shoulder. Jack was at the back of their group, holding the UV lamp behind him awkwardly. Isabella was right behind them and flinching back whenever the rays of the lamps hit her wrong. Rose watched the vampires moving in the shadows. So far, she only saw the converted women. Maybe chasing them was beneath Calvierri.
"Here!" The Doctor shouted. They turned sharply and raced towards a door at the end of the tunnel. "Almost out! Just keep running!"
The Doctor shoved the door open and Rose stumbled out into the rays of the early dawn, inhaling the fresh Venetian air eagerly. It stank a bit of sewage, but it was better than the dull and stale air that had filled the mansion. But Isabella shrank back, hissing in pain as the sunlight reached her face. Jack was holding up the UV light, trying to force back the converted women, but he was trapped between Isabella's unmoving form and them.
Rose had only a moment to ponder what to do. Whatever pain the sun caused was sure to be less brutal than what they would do to her. Leaping forward, she grasped Isabella's hand and pulled her forward while stabbing past the squirming woman with her blade. It sank into the shoulder of one of the girls, causing her to scream and let go. The others hissed at Rose, exposing their teeth.
Pulling back the blade, Rose thrust forwards again and this time they retreated, releasing Isabella. The young woman screamed in pain. The Doctor shoved past them, holding up the lamp while Jack shrugged off his cloak and threw it over Isabella. Rose didn't wait and wrapped an arm about Isabella, directing her to walk and guiding her down the stairs. The door to the house slammed shut behind them with Jack and the Doctor throwing their weight against it.
"I'm sorry," Rose apologized. "I wish we could stop and make you more comfortable, but we have to keep moving. Your father is here."
Isabella staggered forward, unable to see and grasping onto Rose. The cloak hid her face and Isabella was keeping her hands tucked close to her body. Guido was waiting with the boat and his face lit up with relief even as tears filled his eyes. Still, he didn't delay and much to Rose's relief helped her bundle Isabella into the boat. Jack and the Doctor were right behind them and Guido immediately pushed the boat into the canal.
"We need to distance between us and them," the Doctor said. "At least some of them have protections from the sun and they have guards. Hurry."
"We can return to my home. I have the gun powder."
"That's the first place they'll come looking for us," Jack pointed out. He was watching the shore for guards. "We need to go someplace else."
"Doctor, she needs help," Rose said softly. "The TARDIS?"
The Doctor looked at Guido and then at Isabella. Then he nodded slowly. "Alright. Guido, go where I tell you to. What you're going to see will be a shock to you, but I promise that we are trying to save your daughter and everyone else in this city."
Guido's expression was a touch fearful, but Isabella leaned closer to him and he nodded firmly. Rose smiled in relief, both at the Doctor's agreement and Guido's acceptance. She just hoped that it wouldn't panic Isabella. The young woman had been through a great deal and yet had kept calm through their escape. Rose was grateful for Jack's quick thinking and his cloak. Venice was already awake as they moved through the canal. Rose had lost track of time while in the palace and a small yawn escaped her. The Doctor reached over and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Leaning against his shoulder, Rose allowed herself to doze in the warmth of the rising sun.