!Warning: Mild M (16+)-rated themes: Depiction of violence and blood.
- XXIII -
When Amelia woke the next evening, her lover was already gone. And it seemed he had taken care of the maids' dead bodies, for there was no evidence left of the murders the two Elders had committed the night before. Amelia ran her hand through her hair. Viktor had tasted so completely different from those children. There hadn't been any trace of sweetness in his blood. No, it had been bitter and metallic, but she wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. His blood held a rich, almost spicy flavour lingering in her mouth long after the first taste.
She dressed in a simple gown, tied her hair back herself, then smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She would need to find a suitable maidservant and turn her into a vampire soon, before Viktor would drain the remaining mortals in the castle for his next dinner.
The first days back in his own rooms, Marcus couldn't sleep well. At first, he had brooded over Alexander's disappearance. His father was immortal but lacked any supernatural powers. Perhaps it had been wiser not to come into conflict with the vampires, but it still seemed like a coward's act to Marcus that Alexander had left without even saying farewell. Well, it no longer mattered. He wouldn't need his father to stand his ground.
His thoughts revolved around the werewolves and how they could be defeated. And around William. He still hadn't been spotted. The brother he had grown up with and loved despite his twin's uncontrollable hunger. Despite the number of men he killed or turned into beasts.
He would find him and then he would do everything to develop a cure for that dreadful curse of his. William would be his brother again, and together they would be strong enough to rule. United they wouldn't need help from others anymore, neither from cowards like their father, nor from tyrants like Viktor.
Today General Thomas and his men had come back from their reconnaissance trip, and Marcus fervently hoped they brought helpful news. When he entered the throne room, the other Elders and Thomas sat at a large table.
"Lord Marcus, welcome!" The knight stood and bowed to him. "I was just about to report on the results of my survey."
Marcus only nodded to the three vampires, then lowered himself onto a chair and waited for Thomas to start.
"My men and I began our research at the area where we..." Thomas threw a discreet glance at Viktor, who raised an eyebrow. "...found some difficulty. We noticed that there were many more of those underground caves, connected by countless corridors. I sent the soldiers down into the larger caverns, two men in each direction. And then they found this..."
He unfurled a map on the table, his index finger trailing contour lines to an area he had marked with brown ink.
"A huge cave, inhabited, no..." He paused, then corrected himself. "...infested by dozens of werewolves."
The other Elders' eyes narrowed in disgust while Marcus's widened.
Amelia stood, placing a hand on Thomas's shoulder.
"Well done, you have proved yourself useful," she said.
"Always at your service, Milady." He bowed even deeper to her than he had to Marcus.
Amelia smiled, then turned to Viktor, who had straightened in his seat, her gaze seeking advice from the more experienced warlord.
"We will find all the entrances to that cave and we will set fire to them except for one. When the smoke forces the beasts to leave their lair through the only way out possible, we will already be waiting for them." A cruel smile tugged at the corner of Viktor's mouth.
Marcus nodded at him. The strategy seemed a promising one to him, but if William was in there with the other wolves, he would need to intervene before they could kill his brother. For this he would have to work out his own strategy.
The next night a procession of torchlights wound its way through the snowy forest. Thomas was riding ahead, guiding them, followed by the Elders. When they reached the large cave, the soldiers deployed and piled wood at several entrances, then set it on fire.
It didn't take long before they could hear growling and roaring sounds from within the earth. The men were waiting at the only unlit entrance, keen to slay everything that would try to escape through it. Soon the first wolves arrived and found a sudden demise by silver swords.
Amelia watched, content, while her men slew them one by one. Now those rabid dogs paid for butchering her soldiers and putting the Elders in danger.
Suddenly a howl echoed to her from the other side of the valley. Two soldiers, who had set fire to another entrance, came running through the woods.
"Milady! They aren't afraid of the fire! They escape through two other exits as well!" One of them was breathing hard through his report.
Amelia hissed. Those monsters were cleverer than she had thought.
"I'm coming with you," she said, then turned around to the other Elders.
"Marcus! You go to the third entrance." Amelia instructed, then spurred her horse and followed her soldiers.
Corvinus threw a glance at Viktor, who smiled at Amelia's courage and decisiveness and gestured for him to obey her. Marcus bit his lip in anger. Wasn't it enough that the woman had threatened to end his life? Now she was ordering him around like he was her subordinate! But though he hated to admit it, she was right. They needed to split up if they wanted to catch all the beasts. The original vampire swallowed his anger and nudged his horse onwards. He would show them that he was likewise bold and able to act in the same straightforward manner they displayed.
When he and some men he had borrowed from Viktor's unit arrived at the third exit of the cave, a wolf had already massacred the vampires who had been waiting there.
"Attack!" Marcus ordered.
The men fell upon the beast, but then flinched, seeming to panic.
"What's wrong with you?" the original vampire shouted, furious, but soon he was able to answer his own question, for there were at least twenty wolves following the first out of the cave.
"Archers! Fire!" He decided, but in vain. The monsters were already too close, and the men could not even draw their bows before the first of them were felled.
Marcus's heart thundered in his chest when he made his horse gallop through the crowd, decapitating two or three wolves, but unable to help the foot soldiers, not to mention stop the beasts. They were too many! Pearls of sweat appeared on his forehead while his auburn locks stuck to his neck. He didn't know what to do anymore; within mere moments he had lost control of the men and of the situation. Just when he wanted to pull his horse around and flee into the woods, he heard hooves behind him and felt an iron grip on his shoulder.
"Marcus, you feckless idiot!" Viktor was seething with rage. "You seem not to have even the slightest clue about warfare, do you?!"
Without throwing the original vampire a second glance, the Moldavian dashed forward, several files of riders following behind him. Soon the white ground was covered with loose wolfish limbs and heads and the snow became dyed dark red by the beasts' lifeblood, slowly pouring into the hollows and sinkholes.
When Amelia and her men arrived, the butchery was already over. They had fought the enemy at the second entrance and vanquished twelve werewolves without any casualties. Noticing fallen vampire soldiers among the corpses of the beasts, she snarled, then rode up to Viktor and Marcus.
"What happened here?" She asked.
"Our friend Marcus, careless as he is by nature, allowed the dogs to slaughter my men," Viktor said, cynicism oozing from every word he spoke.
Amelia frowned, a deep vertical line appearing on her flawless forehead. Marcus stared back at her but soon lowered his gaze. Again, he hated to admit that Viktor was right: he had been careless, rushing forward without a plan, without thinking. And now he had to face the consequences.
Noticing Marcus's crestfallen expression, Viktor smiled.
"Well, we may have lost men due to your unwariness, but due to Amelia's and my strategic action, we eliminated every wolf in those caves. So, let us not lament the fallen but celebrate our victory over your brother's breed." And my victory over you, he added in his thoughts.
Marcus's features lit up at the warlord's little speech, and when they had gathered the men and were heading for the castle, he even seemed content again.
Amelia gave her lover an affectionate look. Viktor had perfected the art of offering the carrot and the stick to Marcus.