Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin
Chapter 23
definitely not just another night
Part 2
/ooooooo\
"I'm just saying it seems a little excessive."
Maria lifted three struggling skaven into the air with her biotics, then pulled them back to the floor of the foundry with enough force to shatter their bones. Just behind her, Ulrika held her rapier in her right hand and a shorter blade she called a stiletto in her left. With the two weapons she was currently carving a bloody path through any rat stupid enough to get in her way.
"I didn't have many options Maria," Ulrika argued over her shoulder as she literally decapitated one skaven while stabbing a second through the eye. She pulled her stiletto free. "I'm a vampire. I can't just go up to the guard-captain's quarters and tell him the skaven are planning something nefarious."
One skaven leapt from the upper levels of the foundry with a curved blade in each hand. He bounced harmlessly off Maria's barrier and she dispatched him with a warp to the face.
She quickly looked around for more of the rats but was relieved to find the area empty of enemies for the first time since they arrived. The floor was littered with corpses. Maria had to admit, as she took a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead and catch her breath, that she and the vampire had made a great team. Neither was as fragile as the common soldiers of Nuln, and without worrying about the soldiers, each was able to fight to their fullest.
Maria hurried over to the metal sphere that had been resting between them and practically slid to her knees as she started searching the exterior.
"Yeah, I get that," Maria said, continuing their discussion. It was proving to be a comforting distraction to the fact they may blow up any second now. "But you set fire to four separate warehouses. Swords, pistols, rifles… that was a lot off war materials that Nuln can't sell. One of the Empire's other provinces may have needed those weapons."
Ulrika huffed even as she scanned the dark for any lingering threats. "No one needs to buy little things like that from Nuln. The only reason this city is still so significant are thanks to its foundries, and its previous position as the Imperial Capital during the first Great War against Chaos. But that was hundreds of years ago."
Maria found the roughest looking metal plate and began working her silver knife into the cracks to break it off. "So why go through all the trouble to save the city?" She snapped the metal aside and started carefully digging through the mess of the bomb's inner workings. "I mean, no offense, but you are a vampire. I'm just surprised one of your kind cares so much about humans."
Ulrika was silent for a moment. "I have… acquaintances in this city. People from my past that… well, I'm not ready to give up on yet."
That surprised Maria. "Human people, or vampire people?"
"Vampires," Ulrika answered her voice going soft. "I don't believe I have any human friends anymore…"
Maria heard the pain in the woman's voice. Whatever had happened in her past it was clear she was still dealing with the fallout. And speaking of past…
"Can I ask," Maria started a she struggled to find the lightning filled vial. This bomb was going off in her face, she just knew it. "How long have you been a vampire?"
Again, silence was her only reply. Until, "I was turned twenty years ago."
Woah. "And how old were you when you were turned?"
"I celebrated my twentieth year only a few months before being taken and turned against my will by a vampire of Sylvania."
Son of a bitch. Ulrika only had ten years on Maria. And she had been made a vampire against her will? Maria couldn't even imagine what that must have been like for her.
"You weren't expecting to hear that, were you?" Ulrika chuckled.
"Ah, no. No, I wasn't." Where was that stupid vial! Her hand closed around something smoother than the metal tubes surrounding it. Aha! "I found it!" She gently tugged until the vial popped free, then she withdrew her hand.
And her victorious expression vanished as she stood and opened her fingers only to find the vial empty. No green stone. No green lightning.
Ulrika slid her weapons into her belt as she walked over. "I don't understand. Shouldn't it be glowing with power?"
Maria threw the vial to the ground and started scanning the sphere with her omni-tool. Had she missed it? Was there another vial inside the sphere?
Behind her Ulrika suddenly spun around with her rapier already drawn right before two soldiers, each carrying a lantern and bleeding from a dozen cuts came running into view.
"Battle Wizard! Thank goodness we found you! Lieutenant Fischer requests your help! The skaven are swarming over the foundry you sent us into! They've killed a dozen of us already!"
Maria's omni-tool finished its scan and displayed the results. Staring at the readout it felt as though her heart had stopped. There was nothing there. No power. No countdown. This bomb had been a dud from the start.
"Ursun's bite!" Ulrika looked just as shocked. "The skaven never armed the device! I can't believe the luck! If we hurry we can join the Lieutenant and –"
She was cut off as a bright green flash filled the previously pitch-black foundry.
Maria reacted purely on instinct drilled into her after years of being a soldier. She grabbed Ulrika around the shoulders, hooked her leg behind the vampire's, then pulled to take them both down to the ground even as she threw every iota of power she had left inside herself into creating a barrier to protect the two of them.
And it was a good thing she did. Because before they even hit the stone floor, the foundry exploded around them.
/ooooooo\
Maria awoke with a groan. Her whole body throbbed with pain and her head felt like it was about to split open. But considering she managed to escape death once again, the aches were something she could live with. She cracked open her eyes and found herself laying on her back. The foundry was clearly in ruins, and her first clue to the true level of devastation was the lack of a solid roof above her. Half of it was gone, the other half in the process of crumbling as its supports gave way beneath it. Any part of the building capable of being set on fire was currently burning. Which wasn't strictly as bad as it sounded since most of the foundry had been built with stone.
What a poor consolation prize…
Maria blinked at the nearest flames. Most of the fires were burning green. A not so subtle calling card since everything the skaven seemed to use worked with that sickly bright green color. Those rats were obsessed with the stuff apparently. Same color as that second moon that always hung close to the horizon now that she thought about it.
But that was a question for another day. Maria took a breath to prepare then pushed herself up so she was sitting on the stone floor. It hurt, but nothing snapped or cracked with the effort. Better than her fight with the black dragon. She took a quick look around and discovered a body lying face down nearby.
"Ulrika!" Maria quickly crawled over to the vampire but stopped just short of touching when she noticed the splintered chunk of wood imbedded into the woman's back. Blood had soaked through her shirt and vest. Wood was the second weapon used to kill vampires aside from silver. A stake through the heart was death. She reached to check for a pulse but didn't catch her mistake until she remembered vampires were already dead. Un-dead.
Maria did her best to gently roll Ulrika over onto her side. The woman's face was locked in a scream with her mouth open and fangs on full display. Her eyes cracked open and were pleading with Maria.
"P…Pull it out," Ulrika said just above a whisper.
Maria shot a glance back at the piece of wood. It was thicker than her arm.
"Are you sure?"
Ulrika's eyes closed again. "Can't move… hurts… just pull it out."
Maria rolled Ulrika back onto her stomach, took hold of the piece of wood with one hand while she rested the other on the vampire's back to keep her steady, then yanked it straight out. Accompanying the horrible squelching noise, was Ulrika's quick intake of breath and scream. The hole in her back was wider than Maria's fist and just as deep. She could see the ruptured organs. A normal human would have died instantly from the internal injuries. It bled, but nowhere near the amount expected. Maria was about to roll Ulrika over again but was stopped by another cry of pain.
"Don't! Just… just leave me be," Ulrika gasped.
"Are you going to be alright?" Maria asked concerned. The vampire's eyes had closed again and she was laying unnaturally still.
"Don't know," Ulrika replied, her voice still weak. "I've been staked before… but never with anything of that size. I won't begin to heal until I feed."
Staked before? Maria cringed at the idea. She also winced when she took stock of where they were. Inside a still burning and gradually collapsing foundry. Maria climbed to her feet and scanned the area. Here and there laid the body of a skaven they had killed. Most were buring since their black rags had caught fire. But considering Ulrika's reaction after feeding on one of them Maria seriously doubted they'd be much help. Her eyes stopped on the floor when she noticed a boot sticking out from behind a pile of twisted steel. And then Maria remembered the two soldiers that had run into the foundry just before the explosion. She ran over to the boot but skid along the floor when she reached it and discovered the boot and leg sticking out of it weren't attached to a body. Another quick search around the pile of metal and Maria found the unlucky man trapped under one of the ceiling's support beams. He was missing his left leg.
Maria focused her biotic power, managing to lift the beam off the soldier and drop it with a crash beside him. Then she doubled over with her hands on her knees, panting for breath. This entire night had taken way too much out of her, and if she didn't start easing up she'd be in for a world of pain tomorrow.
But that was tomorrow's problem. Maria dropped to the soldier's side and examined his injuries. His missing leg was hardly bleeding at all, his chest plate had a deep indentation that clearly broke ribs beneath, and he was white as a sheet. Though when she checked for a pulse, Maria was surprised to find one. Faint and flighty, but it was there. He was alive, at least for now. And if Maria was back on the Citadel or an Alliance warship, he may have been able to pull through.
But they weren't. She had two people dying, and only one had any chance of pulling through.
She stood up, grabbed under the soldier's arms, and carried him across the foundry back over to where Ulrika was still prone on the floor. Maria then laid the soldier down in front of the vampire with as much respect as she could when compared to what she was about to do.
"Here, Ulrika, you can drink from this man," Maria said, and she stepped back to give her room.
Ulrika's head rose up and she looked over the man. "Who is he?"
"One of the soldiers," Maria replied. She looked down at the man's face. "He's not going to make it, and you need the strength. So, just…" she trailed off and just ended up waving a hand at the body. This wasn't as easy as she thought it was going to be.
Ulrika reached forward and grabbed the man's right arm, then pulled herself forward. She ripped the shirt sleeve away and sunk her fangs into his flesh, swiftly sucking down the little blood the man had left in his body. But even that seemed to be enough. Maria was astonished to see the open wound on Ulrika's back begin to bleed and then slowly, very, very slowly, new flesh started to regrow.
Honestly it made her stomach turn. Yeah the soldier was dead already with the wounds he had suffered but that hardly made what was happening any better. Maria ended up hugging herself around her middle and turned away. She might as well use the time to start looking for a way out of this place before it completely fell down around their heads.
Bang!
Maria was knocked flat on her back. It felt as though someone had taken a baseball bat and swung it right into her chest. That had happened once in her past before and it felt only slightly worse than being shot while in full body armor without an active kinetic barrier. Which is in part how Maria knew she had just been shot, and been shot while she hadn't been wearing her armor.
She promptly rolled behind the closest piece of cover available, which just happened to be a pile of bricks that had fallen from the roof. More fell and joined the pile even as Maria lay gasping for breath behind it.
"Fu… Fucking hell…"
She pulled her hand from her chest and gaped at her blood covered palm. She had been shot just above her right breast and the blood was already soaking into her turtleneck. Fighting down a momentary rush of panic, she realized her breathing wasn't getting steadily worse, even as the agony in her chest increased. Pressing her hand back on the wound she managed a shaky and pain filled sigh of relief. At least the bullet hadn't pierced her lung. That would have been a whole other level of bad.
Wincing at the effort, Maria pulled out her phalanx pistol and leaned over to look around the pile of bricks. Another gunshot went off and whizzed right over her head. Maria was shocked to see the same skaven wearing a full-bodied suit of armor standing with a spent pistol in his paw.
Tricky little bastard. How did he survive the explosion? Well, she had. And it was just her finicky luck one of the rodents had managed it too.
The skaven snarled as he tossed the spent pistol aside, then raised his arms to protect his whiskered snout when Maria took aim and fired back. Just as before all she got for her efforts were three annoyingly loud pings as the rounds bounced harmlessly off his suit.
Argh! Fine then. Maria rested back against the pile of bricks as she shoved the pistol away. She'd finish this fight once and for all and she'd do it with her bare hands. Rolling back to check on the skaven she saw the rat aiming his arm over to where Ulrika was laying on the floor with her fangs still in the soldier.
A stream of green acid sprayed into the air forcing Maria to expend her biotic power to push Ulrika and the soldier across the foundry floor. The vampire's fangs never even left his arm as they slid on the stone. The acid splashed to the floor a moment after and began eating through the ground right where the vampire had been. A tiny bit just barely missed Maria's boot.
With another wince, and a not-at-all wimpy cry, Maria hauled herself up to her feet. But the skaven had already turned and begun running deeper into the burning foundry, his armored suit clanking loudly as he moved with surprising speed.
Like hell he was getting away from her. Maria gave chase.
"Come back here you furry little mother – !"
It would have been, and should have been, stupidly easy to catch up to the fully armored rat but they were both hurrying through a burning building that was falling apart around them. She only managed to follow the blasted rodent a short distance before a whole wall collapsed in her path and nearly crushed Maria flat before she raised a barrier to bounce some of the larger debris away.
When the dust had cleared, she looked around for the skaven, but he had vanished.
Maria stomped her boot on the ground in frustration and instantly regretted it as the pain in her chest flared. The rat must have had a bolt hole somewhere nearby. She'd never catch him now. Especially when she was exhausted and had a hole in her chest. It was time to get back to Ulrika and get out of here. And hope there were some leftovers from supper remaining back at the Laughing Bear Inn. She scarf down platefuls as the doctor did his best to fix her up.
With a gust that sent Maria's head spinning and drove her down to her knees, the winds of magic flared with a vengeance throughout the burning foundry. The magic was so thick she could see it twisting through the air, and immediately after her hair was being blown around her face as a physical wind gusted into the foundry. Maria raised an arm to protect her eyes as the two separate winds twisted into one another, creating a whirlwind of smoke and burning ash, a tornado of green and red fire, that rose higher and higher into the sky. The flaming vortex burned brightly for an instant, lighting up the night sky, then dissipated down to nothing just as fast.
What the hell? Was that… did a bright wizard just do that? Maria pushed back up. The ruined foundry was cold, dark and silent.
"Spread out men! Search the area! Leave no stone unturned!"
And now it wasn't.
Left hand still pressed tightly against her chest, Maria moved as quick as she could back to where she had left Ulrika. If the soldiers got to the vampire before Maria did, there was going to be trouble. And that was the last thing she needed right now. But when she found her way back, all she discovered was the body of the legless soldier. He was clearly dead now, and the vampire was gone. Maria searched the area but all she found was a small blood trail leading off into the darkness. It might have been time for her to become scarce as well, but instead Maria collapsed to her knees from a sudden wave of nausea. She was beginning to feel feverish, sweating even though the foundry was cold. Blood loss was a problem but shouldn't be a concern yet. Her head hurt but she knew that was coming after using magic and her biotics in one night. That left… oh shit.
Maria remembered the time she had been shot by the skaven in Bretonnia. She had dug a green rock out of her suit. The apparent bullet. And the thing the skaven had used to power their bombs.
She fell back on her heels and tried to stay calm. That same green rock was now stuck inside her.
"You there! Hold and declare yourself!"
Maria turned around slowly. Her shoulders sagged at the sight.
Four black coated witch hunters approached her slowly with pistols raised. Behind them she could see a dozen or so soldiers searching through the rubble, each carrying a bright lantern in the dark, along with another witch hunter scattered here and there throughout. Seemed everyone had come running after that bomb had gone off.
"I said declare yourself!" the old, bearded witch hunter in the center of the group ordered again. She noted the silver badge on his chest. A certified member of the Order of the Silver Hammer.
Maria slid off her heels and sat on the stone floor. Maybe another black dragon could show up and save her from all this.
"Minna Aldo, battle wizard of the Grey College," she lied, making sure to pronounce every word carefully. It was the fake name Antonio had given her the last time the witch hunters had come calling. "Thanks for getting here so quickly. I chased an armored skaven over that way but lost him. I think he ran back underground."
The witch hunters approached her slowly. The one in the lead finally got close enough for her to see. Older, grey beard with a deep scar on his cheek. His eyes bore straight into hers.
"Maria Shepard," he began with clear certainty in his voice, "on the authority of the Order of the Silver Hammer I am placing you under arrest. You would be wise not to resist us."
Maria looked up through the ruined foundry roof.
Yeah, this was her life now.
/ooooooo\
Maria was roughly shoved down onto a steel chair. The man who had been guiding her through the Iron Tower yanked the sack off her head. It had messed up her hair, so Maria tried to shake her head and blow the strands out of her eyes. She would have used her hands, but they were currently shackled painfully behind her back. Heavy steel with a thick single link connecting them together. It wasn't something that could hold her on her worst day, but it also wasn't something she could just remove without repercussions.
This was about even with the worst possible outcome Maria could have imagined when it came to these broody bastards.
The witch hunter who removed the sack walked back across the room to join another standing guard at the metal-reinforced wooden door. Just in front of them, a few feet from where Maria sat, was a wide table where another three witch hunters were sitting comfortably as they regarded her with varying degrees of distrust. A pair of lanterns hung off the walls to her left and right. Their glow barely managed to brighten the windowless stone room. The witch hunter sitting at the table, to her left, was holding a quill and had sheets of paper in front of him. The witch hunter in the center was the same older man who had arrested her. It was the witch hunter on her right that made her nervous. Good cop, bad cop existed across every race and culture in the galaxy. Human, Turian, Salarian, Asari, it didn't matter.
She'd seen enough of his kind. He was only here to play bad cop.
Maria struggled to take shallow breaths. Her chest was killing her and being led blindfolded through the tower had only made her nausea worse.
"You know I'm still bleeding from a gun-shot, right? I need a doctor. Afterword, I'll be happy to answer any and all questions you have. Quickly and honestly, I don't want the witch hunters to think I'm a threat to the Empire." Maybe that had been a bit much, but she was between a rock and a hard place here. If push comes to shove, she only had one card to play, and with these guys, even it might not be enough.
The older witch hunter leaned forward in his seat. The lantern light played across his face and reinforced his stern expression. Jeez, he could have been Admiral Hackett's older brother.
"There was a vampire in the foundry." His voice was strong, but it cracked at the end of every word. Age was getting to him. "I want her name."
Maria regarded him carefully, then she shook her head slowly. "That vampire helped me fight off the skaven. The only reason some of those factories are still standing is thanks to her."
"Was she white-haired?" The man's gaze never wavered. "Dressed in a manish way? Carried a rapier and wielded it like she was born with the hilt in her hand?"
Wow. He got it in one. Ulrika's hair wasn't pure white but it was close enough. The only thing Maria could do was nod. The other two witch hunters shifted in their seats and the one with the quill started scribbling something fiercely on the paper.
"A few years ago there was an attempted vampire uprising in the Empire," the old witch hunter informed her. "An elaborate plot was put in motion to kill the Emperor. Because of this Order's, our Order's, failings those night-cursed fiends nearly succeeded." He made fists and his leather gloves creaked with the strain. "That is a stain on our honor that will never be erased. The vampiress who helped you tonight was a key part of that plot. She killed his Reiksguard. She slaughtered innocent citizens of the Empire." His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched, but he still growled, "You do not matter to me Maria Shepard. I have Commander Schaeffer's notes on your first foray through our city. Staying at Valantina's inn. Helping him eliminate his criminal rivals. I don't care about any of it.
"You do not matter to me," he said again, and there was an awful amount of finality in those words that Maria didn't miss. "I want the vampire. I want her full name. I want the bloodline she serves. I want her here in my tower, and I want her paying for her crimes. You will help me fulfill that need."
Nothing is ever simple. Maria's head spun with the knowledge Ulrika had been part of a plot to assassinate the Empire's sovereign. There was probably a mountain of details the witch hunter had glossed over, but if even half of it was true, Ulrika was a very dangerous opponent.
Of course, so was every other vampire alive today. Un-alive, technically. Maria sighed. That distinction was still annoying as ever.
"I can't give you her name."
The old witch hunter's eyes narrowed to slits. "Excuse me?"
"I said, I can't give you her name." Suppressing a wince, she sat up as much as she could in her seat. "That vampire helped protect Nuln. Despite what she may have done in her past, I can't just give her up."
The room was silent. Even the man with the quill had stopped scribbling to look back and forth from Maria to his boss. The old witch hunter pushed back his chair and stood from the table.
"Then that is your mistake to make." He turned toward the door as the man that had been sitting on his left stood from his own chair and walked slowly around the table to stand before Maria. Crap! Crap, crap, crap!
She leaned over to look past him. "I'm not your enemy!" she called quickly after the older man. "I fought with the Supreme Patriarch and Reiksmarshal against the beastmen at the Battle of the Six Pillars! I was kidnapped from their camp by vampires! They're both probably looking for me right now!"
The old man stopped at the door to turn back. "No one is looking for you. And no one will ever find you. Traitors to the Empire simply… disappear."
The man standing over Maria snapped his fist forward and punched directly into her chest wound. Her scream of pain was cut off when he grabbed her by the turtleneck, lifted her from the steel chair, and threw her into the wall at her back.
All that was immediately followed by his yell of surprise as he was enveloped by a blue glow and thrown across the room.
Maria was sprawled on the floor with her arm raised. Part of the shackles that had been binding her still hung locked around the wrist. She was glowing with biotic power and trying to think through the agony in her chest. There were at least eight pistols pointed at her head, and a crap ton of witch hunters still garrisoned within the Iron Tower. It was their headquarters after all.
This had gone from bad to worse. Why was she sticking her neck out for a vampire she hadn't even known for more than ten minutes? Because she had liked Ulrika? Because she, for some odd reason, trusted that vampire more than most of the people she had met so far on this planet?
Her nausea spiked. Maria cut her biotics, rolled onto her hands and knees, then vomited onto the stone floor. First, she tosses one of their men across the room, now she was throwing up in their headquarters. If the Order of the Silver Hammer didn't hate her yet this probably did it. Maria retched one more time, then rolled to the side and fell back onto her ass. She looked up at the witch hunters and tried to smile.
"I don't suppose we can start over, can we?"
None of the men smiled back. She sighed. Worth a shot at least. She had no idea how she was getting out of this alive. She'd use magic, but the Iron Tower was completely devoid of the power. She had lost a hold on the winds the instant they had dragged her through the front doors. The place had to be protected somehow. A novice like her had no chance of breaking whatever spell kept the winds of magic at bay, especially when she couldn't even handle the small trinket Huyderman had worn.
Just as the witch hunters moved forward there was a loud shouting coming from behind the door. One of the men turned around to pull it open, but he was knocked right off his feet as the heavy wooden door was flung open by a golden light so bright it made Maria and everyone else cover their eyes. When the light dimmed back down she looked up at the door and her mouth dropped open.
Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt stepped through the doorway. His golden jacket, that was still glowing brightly, drowned the light of the lanterns. His golden mask swept over everyone and eventually landed on her, right where she sat next to a pool of her own vomit. What a sight she must have made.
"Commander van Hal," Gelt's metallic voice bounced off the stone walls, "thank you for locating Maria Shepard for us. The Emperor extends his gratitude. I'll take her from here. You and your hunters are dismissed."
The old man, Commander van Hal now, thrust his pistol back into its holster. "Like hell wizard! This woman is an accessory to high crimes within our very walls! She colludes with vampires! Maria Shepard is our prisoner and I will get answers from her –"
"You will vacate this room," Gelt interrupted, as he walked slowly to stand face to mask with the old witch hunter, "or I will turn your bones to molten lead and watch as they melt through your body from the inside out."
The old witch hunter was shaking with rage. Maria honestly thought he would take a swing at the Supreme Patriarch. Fortunately, good sense stopped him, and van Hal just stormed out with a snarl. The rest of his men followed behind him, but Gelt stopped the last man by blocking the door with his ornate golden staff.
"I'm assuming Maria Shepard had a number of items on her person. Weapons and other strange artifacts. I want them all gathered and returned to her. Now."
"Of course, Supreme Patriarch." The man bowed and hurried out of the room. Gelt closed the door behind him.
Maria watched him turn back around and walk around the table in the center of the room. Along the way he let go of his staff, and just like before, it stayed standing upright on its own. He eventually ended up directly over her.
"You were supposed to stay within the camp."
Maria rolled her eyes. "I tried. Markos von Carstein didn't give me a choice in the matter."
Gelt shifted. "He was inside the camp?"
"He was inside my tent."
Gelt was silent. And his mask just continued to stare down at her.
"This isn't working." Maria waved a hand in front of her face. "With the mask… are you even looking at me or did you fall asleep?"
Gelt's mask tilted ever so slightly. "If you must know I'm quietly seething at the fact a von Carstein, of all vampires, was able to pluck you from my hands without incident." He reached down and offered her a leather-clad hand. "You look terrible."
Maria laughed lightly as she grasped his hand. He hauled her up to her feet. Immediately her injury flared, and she grabbed her chest.
"What happened to you?"
"I got shot by a skaven." Maria sagged against the stone wall. "I think the bullet might be doing something to me."
"Of course the bullet is doing something to you," Gelt replied. "It's the raw stuff of chaos." He gestured to the table. "Take your shirt off and lie down. I'll look at the wound. Can't have you dying on me now that I've managed to finally track you down."
"And how did you find me?"
"I'll explain after I ensure you aren't about to collapse on me. Now get on the table."
Maria hopped up onto the table and put her hands on the hem of her turtleneck, then stopped. She had almost forgotten.
"I, uh… I'm not wearing anything under this sweater." She cracked a smile. "Promise to be a gentleman about this?"
He nodded. "Doctor first, man second."
Maria lifted the turtleneck over her head and nearly cried at the effort. The blood that had soaked into the fabric had caused it to cling to her skin. The entire right side of her chest was stained red. And now that she got a clear look at the wound, she couldn't suppress a momentary surge of panic.
The gunshot was standard. She'd seen enough of them over her life. But the skin around it was turning black. As was the blood in her veins leading to and from the area. A spiderweb of black veins crisscrossed her chest.
It was in her blood. Why weren't her cybernetics killing it off? All the hardware used in her reconstruction, she was nearly immune to infections at this point.
Gelt's sigh pulled her eyes off the injury. He was staring at her chest. "Only a skaven bullet leaves a wound like that." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Lie down. And grip the edges of the table tightly."
Maria followed his instructions. "I'm not going to enjoy this am I?"
Gelt shook his head as he stepped to the side of the table. "No. Warpstone, they call it. The rats use the stuff for everything. It's the physical manifestation of foul magic. I'm guessing when the bullet struck your rib, part of it shattered, and is now spreading through your body. I'm going to have to draw those remains back out."
He raised a hand and held it and inch from her bare skin. His glove began to glow with a golden light as he moved it up and down her torso. Whatever protections the Iron Tower had to prevent magic from working clearly had no power over the Supreme Patriarch.
"Remarkable…" he murmured softly as he ran his hand over Maria's body.
She raised her head off the table. "Doctor first, remember?"
"Apologies." His chuckle sounded weird behind that mask. His hand moved back over her injury. "Brace yourself."
Maria's scream filled the stone room. It felt like a thousand hot knives were carving their way through her chest. This was literally one of the most painful experiences of her life, bar none. Eventually her lungs ran out of air and all Maria could do was gasp as she struggled for a single breath. Passing out would have been a blessing, and right at the point she thought she couldn't handle any more, it suddenly stopped.
Maria was panting on the table. She squeezed her eyes shut and a few tears escaped down the sides of her face. "Please tell me that was it," she begged softly.
She felt one of his gloves rest on her shoulder, so she opened her eyes. The black eyes of his mask were looking back at her.
"All done." He held up his other hand, and between finger and thumb was the tinniest pebble of green. "You're lucky there wasn't more."
"Is my rib okay?" Maria asked weakly. She tried to sit up, but the room was spinning too much for her liking, so she collapsed back down on the table. There was a weird tickle on her skin, and it took her brain a moment to realize it was fresh blood running from the gunshot wound. Gelt had literally pulled the stuff from her body. No wonder it had hurt so much.
"Your rib is fine. I'm sure it had everything to do with the sheer amount of metal you have throughout your entire skeleton." He deposited the green pebble into a bag on his belt, then withdrew a small vial filled with a red liquid. Popping the cork off the top he poured the small amount into the hole in her chest, then pressed his palm down hard against her skin.
It was enough to make her hiss out, but a second later a cooling warmth spread throughout her body. After everything that had happened tonight, this was pure heaven.
"Holy shit…" she breathed out. "I take it back. Forget being a gentleman, keep this up and you can fondle me all you want."
Gelt laughed. It sounded a lot better than his chuckle. "I would never take advantage." He lifted his hand from her chest, and then offered Maria her turtleneck. She took it and prepared for a wave of dizziness but found her head clear as she rose off the table.
How the hell did he do that? Maria landed on her feet feeling tired and sore, but she'd take it without complaint. A quick glance down at her chest revealed the second surprise. Her injury had partially healed. The skin was broken and red, but a thin scabbing already covered the injury. All the black from the warpstone in her veins had vanished, healed by whatever power he had used. She pulled the turtleneck back on and ran her hands through her hair a few times to straighten things out.
"Thank you Gelt. For showing up when you did, for everything tonight." She ran her hand through her hair one more time. "I mean it. Thank you."
Gelt walked over and grabbed his golden staff. "It's been a night, hasn't it?" His head shook lightly. "No… not a night. Nuln's foundries are burning thanks to the skaven. Undead stalk the forests of Nordland. Vargheists and vampires openly attacking in Wurtbad. And von Carsteins… von Carsteins are plotting. Now of all times, why?" He gripped his staff with both hands. "Where are you staying in Nuln?"
"The Laughing Bear Inn, along the river docks. Why?"
His mask stared at her. "That's Antonio Valantina's place isn't it? Why did you choose there of all places?"
Maria shrugged. "Just a feeling. I liked the smiling bear they had on the sign hanging outside their door. And since then Valantina and I have come to an understanding."
He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a 'hmph'. "Fine. I need you to go straight back to the inn and stay there for the rest of the night. Straight back there, do you understand?"
Maria frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm staying with you now, aren't I? The skaven just attacked this city. You need me out there helping you."
"I need you," Gelt began, and Maria noticed a hint of frustration boiling up, "to stay out of sight and keep your head down." A hand raised off his staff and played in the air a bit before dropping down to his side. Yup, frustrated. "I have to get back to the foundries, assess the damage, and report to the Elector Countess and the Emperor. Not only that, but the dwarfs need to be contacted and a new arrangement made for their engineers to help us rebuild. And all this needs to happen tonight. I can't do this if I need to be watching you every step of the way."
"I can take care of myself," Maria replied testily.
"Well you did a tremendous job back at the camp," he snapped angrily. "Were you taking care of yourself when you let Markos von Carstein steal you away from us?"
Maria blinked at his outburst. The accusation stung, in part because it was true.
Gelt sighed heavily. "Understand, that for now, the Emperor wants to keep you a secret from the other Elector Counts. Some say the Empire is experiencing a second golden age, but to those of us in the know, we have never been in a more precarious position. Knowledge of you, your people and technology, could upset everything."
He walked over to her and put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Collect your things, go back to the inn, and get a goodnight's rest. At least for what remains of it. For now, your job is done. Tomorrow we can talk, and after, make our way back to the capital."
Maria stared into his golden mask. The Emperor didn't even want his people to know she exists? Even on a primitive dirtball like this, politics had found a way to complicate things. The only comforting thing Maria could take away from any of this was Gelt's desire to get her to Altdorf.
"Do you still have my armor?" she asked hopefully.
Gelt nodded. "Locked away deep in the Imperial vaults. You'll be happy to hear the Emperor wouldn't even give me the chance to study the advanced materials. He didn't want it to seem like we were spying on you behind your back."
Finally, some good news. Thank you anybody, her collector amor was still in one piece. It was a bloody miracle.
"Okay." Maria patted his hand on her shoulder. "Let's get my things from the witch hunters and get out of here."
/ooooooo\
It took a while, but Maria eventually dragged herself back to the Laughing Bear Inn. After the night she had faced, her little home away from home had never meant so much. Nuln was getting back to sleep as well. Its citizens had lost interest after all the fires had been put out. But the same couldn't be said for the city-state's military. Maria was forced to wait on the side of the street for more than one company of soldiers marching by. It was clearly all hands-on deck for the recovery efforts.
By the time Maria was making her way up the inn's front steps she could practically feel the pillow hitting her face. That comforting thought died a horrible fiery death when she paused on the top step and looked over to her right. Parked directly under the streetlamp across the road was a black coach. Two black horses were hitched up. And even though she had only seen them once before, two familiar looking men were standing guard beside it. She had seen both back in Nordland. The port-city of Dietershafen to be exact.
It was astonishing how heavy the silver dagger resting at the small of her back felt at that moment.
Maria stepped carefully through the front door of the inn. The middle of the night, the place was quiet, even the front desk and lounge were empty. But voices from the dining room revealed not everyone was asleep. When Maria made her way over, she froze in the doorway. Raine Valantina sat laughing at a table with three other women. All of them had smiles on their faces, like they had just shared some joke.
The same vampire she had met in Dietershafen, Nathalie, sat beside Raine and rested her hand over the other woman's as the two of them conversed. As soon as Maria made an appearance the vampire's eyes snapped up, and a look of pure astonishment filled her face. Nathalie rose from her seat still wearing the same deep red dress and black boots she had worn the last time they had met. Her light brown hair still sat atop her head in the same elaborate braid.
"Raine, would you be so kind to excuse us." Nathalie spoke to the innkeeper, but her eyes remained on Maria. "I'm sure Antonio is missing your company at this hour."
Raine was all smiles as she rose. "Oh my, you are so right. Truth be told I am suddenly very tired. It was good seeing you all again." She left the table and walked over to Maria. "Glad to have you back dear. Such an exciting night for you it seems. Thank you for helping my husband once again."
"Not a problem," though Maria kept her eyes on the vampires as she replied.
Raine smiled again, then walked out of the dining room, leaving her alone with the undead women. Maria squared her shoulders, mentally took a count of how long it would take her to draw her silver dagger, then walked up to the table. As soon as she got close, Nathalie reached into her sleeve, and Maria readied herself for the knife.
Instead Nathalie pulled out a handkerchief. She flapped it out, gathered it back together in her hand, licked a portion, and stepped right into Maria's personal space and started wiping down her cheeks.
"Nagash's blood, love, what did you get yourself into tonight?" Nathalie chided as she wiped off Maria's face. The handkerchief was turning black from the soot that had apparently been covering her brow. "You're absolutely filthy. What happened out there? And is that blood on your sweater?"
Maria stood frozen as the vampire cleaned her face. This was, by and far, the last thing she was expecting to happen. She had been anticipating an ambush, not a… whatever this was.
"The skaven attacked the foundries," she said slowly, still trying to piece together what was happening. "I tried to stop them but... ran out of time."
Nathalie rubbed the handkerchief once more over Maria's face then stuffed the dirty piece of cloth back into her sleeve. The vampire fixed Maria with wholly disapproving expression. "Fine. Now the blood, love, explain the blood. Is it yours?" Nathalie grabbed the turtleneck right where Maria had been shot, stretching the fabric out. She examined the area, and then looked back at Maria with narrowed eyes.
"Is this a bullet hole?"
"Y-yes. I was shot," Maria answered nervously. She'd never had anyone fuss over her like this, and with the look Nathalie was giving her it made Maria feel like she'd somehow disappointed the woman in the weirdest way.
The vampire had to be spelling her. Using some sort of magic to keep her off balance. That had to be it. Maria gently pulled her turtleneck from Nathalie's hands, then stepped back to return some distance between them.
Nathalie just gave her that disapproving look again, but Maria refused to let herself get rattled this time. "Why are you here Nathalie?" she asked, almost harshly to put some strength back in her voice. "And what did you do to Raine and the rest of the inn?"
"A spell, simple and harmless." Nathalie waved her concerns away as she returned to her seat at the table. "Everyone will sleep until we leave. But please, Maria, sit down and tell me about this mess Nuln has gotten itself into."
Outnumbered three to one she wasn't going to risk being too disrespectful, so Maria pulled out a chair opposite the vampires and took a seat. She did keep both her hands under the table and out of site, as close as she could get them to her weapons if it came to it. Then she proceeded to quickly detail how the night had gone, and how she ended up with a hole in her turtleneck. The vampires never interrupted her, but the two newcomers shared a look when Maria mentioned Ulrika's name and the help the young vampiress had provided. She also noticed how Nathalie's expression hardened with every word spoken, and at the end the vampire scrunched her face up like she had swallowed something sour.
"Maria, may I introduce my two companions." Nathalie suddenly declared as she gestured to the first woman sitting beside her. "This is Countess Gabriella."
Gabriella had raven black hair that hung straight around her face and over her shoulders. Out of the three vampires, this one looked the oldest, but it was a stretch just to make the claim. She still looked like a beautiful woman in the prime of her life. Oval face with full lips and eyes that promised kindness. She wore a burgundy colored dress.
"And this is Lady Hermione," Nathalie pointed to the next woman.
Hermione appeared the youngest. Younger even than Ulrika had looked. Her hair was chocolate brown and perfectly curled into spirals around her face. Her skin was so pale, her face so round, and eyes so wide… she looked like a doll sitting at the table. The powder blue dress on her only reinforced the doll-like visage.
Nathalie settled back in her chair. "Gabriella and Hermione are the Queen's eyes and ears in Nuln. And when something of this magnitude is about to take place… they should already know about it, have communicated it to their superiors, namely me, and asked for further instructions." She shifted in her seat so she could face the other two women. "So I currently find myself wondering why this city has only avoided complete and utter disaster thanks to Maria Shepard, an exiled yet superbly skilled young vampire, and a handful of Imperial soldiers?"
Hermione looked both nervous and outraged as she replied, "They are rats! They live in the sewers! How were we supposed to know those perfidious rodents had something of this scale planned?"
Nathalie groaned loudly as she pushed out of her chair and took a few steps away from the table. "Sigmar's arse, Hermione!" She spun back around. "We're Lahmians! We're supposed to know what our enemies are planning before they even know themselves!" She dropped her head and massaged her brow. "Gods, this is just a mess."
"We have spies in the guard Mistress," Gabriella added calmly, while still shooting Maria a wary glance, no doubt for revealing such a thing in front of her. "Except for a single incident two months ago, the Sewer Jacks haven't encountered any skaven, or even seen anything to indicate an assault was about to take place. We were listening… there was simply nothing for us to hear."
"You think our Queen will except excuses?" Nathalie shot back darkly. Though she quickly schooled her features and released a heavy sigh. "And this Ulrika… is she the one I've heard so much about? Your unruly little protégé Gabriella?"
"She hasn't been mine for nearly twenty years," though Gabriella still bowed her head. "But yes, that is her."
Twenty years? Maria remembered back to what Ulrika had told her. Did that mean… "Are you the one who turned Ulrika into a vampire against her will?"
Gabriella's eyes turned to Maria. The woman's face was stone, but her voice held an edge. "No. I did not turn her, but I was the one who taught her how to live with herself after it happened."
"For all the good it did," Hermione added scornfully. "Ungrateful child."
"Let's leave the past in the past," Nathalie cut in. And then she started pacing slowly before the table. "How bad was it Maria? The foundries, I mean."
Maria shook her head. "Bad. The foundry I was inside was partially collapsed from a bomb that exploded two whole buildings away. I wasn't in a position to see much, but if I had to guess, I'd say at least three are entirely rubble, with another four suffering substantial damage. I'm sure we'll see for ourselves tomorrow."
Nathalie stopped her pacing midstride. She looked uncomfortable for a moment as she faced Maria, folding her arms across her chest.
"About that Maria. I won't be in Nuln come the morning. And… neither will you."
Maria stared back up at the vampire as that little 'danger, death imminent' alarm started warming up in her head. And Nathalie had almost managed to make her forget she was talking to an undead monster who fed on human blood. Just like Dietershafen. Damnit, how did she keep falling for Nathalie's act?
"Why won't I be in Nuln tomorrow?"
"Wurtbad, to put it simply," Nathalie began. "Three Lahmians are dead because of you. That's something our Queen can't allow to happen again."
Maria's fists tightened under the table. "Mannfred von Carstein was the one who promised them power if they killed me. It's not my fault that Neferata can't control her own vampires."
Hermione actually hissed. "You will refer to our Queen with respect, little girl, or not at all."
"And you should remember that the last time I faced off against three vampires I managed to kill at least one," Maria shot back with barely a glance at the woman. "Wurtbad wasn't my fault. You want someone to blame, then blame Vlad and Mannfred."
Nathalie smirked. "You learned his name."
"Yeah, and wasn't that a fun experience," she replied sarcastically. Maria ran a hand through her hair as her mind raced for a way out of this mess. Wurtbad had been a disaster. She nearly died. Now she was trapped inside the Laughing Bear Inn with another three vampires, one of which was older than the Empire itself. Honestly, she'd rather face down those vargheists than fight Nathalie.
The thought nearly made her heart stop. Could she even fight Nathalie? Markos von Carstein had slapped her around barely breaking a sweat as he did. He was only around five hundred years old, give or take a few decades. Nathalie is over two thousand five hundred. It would be like fighting Vlad down in that cave again. And by now she knew how much he had been toying with her.
How old was he?
Maria fought to keep her tone above pleading. "All I want to do is get myself to Ulthuan. That's never changed. Just let me go and all these problems go with me."
Nathalie shook her head. "Our Queen can no longer accept that. You are an enigma Maria. Something new she's never seen or heard of before. She wants to meet you face to face. Neferata's requesting your presence at her palace within the Silver Pinnacle. It's an old dwarven mountain hold she claimed for her own, located in the Northern half of the World's Edge Mountains. You'll travel with me, under my protection, as we head across the Empire, through Ostermark and then through Kislev." She tried a smile. "I promise it won't be so bad. My coach is more comfortable than it looks."
Humor them while you think of a way out… "How long will a trip like that take?"
Nathalie's small smile grew. "You'll be traveling with a vampire, love. My horses can't be compared to normal stock. It will take us two weeks to get there, a month at the most if we run into trouble on the road. Which, if we do, I'll handle promptly."
A month? That meant two for a round trip. And speaking of a round trip… "How long will I be meeting with the Queen?"
Her smile never wavered but Maria caught the corners twitch before Nathalie could catch them. "Queen Neferata simply wants an audience. A chance to meet face to face and learn more about you."
Maria held the woman's gaze. "How long, Nathalie?"
Now her smile dipped. "I don't know."
Maria heard what was unspoken. For all either of them knew Neferata could just as simply kill her and be done with it.
Maria met the eyes of all three woman. "I'm very sorry, but I must decline your Queen's request to meet. My aim is to get to Ulthuan, and I can't afford a detour."
There. Nice and polite. Very Diplomatic.
Gabriella leaned forward and folded her hands together on the table. "Miss Shepard, Hermione and I wouldn't be here to deliver a simple invitation. I'm afraid that this isn't a request. You need to leave with Nathalie tonight."
Yup, this was rock bottom.
Maria stared at the cracked and worn tabletop. "You said Wurtbad and three dead vampires brought you down here. I know I killed one, and I read in the paper a second, Lady Greta, had her neck snapped. They never found Lady Carlotta's body, only that her home was destroyed and covered in blood." Maria looked up to Nathalie. "How do you know she's dead?"
"Because I killed them." Nathalie spoke coolly. "They broke our Queen's orders that you be left alone. Lady Greta, I marched into her home, killed her household, then snapped her neck and left her body to be found by the witch hunters. Lady Carlotta was more difficult. By then she knew I was coming and had prepared a spell of devastating proportions. When I faced her there was a struggle, the magic got out of control. When the spell blew up in our faces, I made sure the blowback channeled back through Carlotta. Her body, and home, didn't survive the encounter."
Wow. Nathalie was good with a sword and with the winds of magic. There went her chances of surviving this bloody night. And she had been doing so well up until this point too.
She looked around the table again. Hermione was dead still and staring her down like a viper ready to strike. She'd make a move first. Gabriella was keeping herself relaxed but that was just a ploy. She was just as ready. Whatever Hermione did, Gabriella would wait to see how Maria reacted, then strike. And Nathalie… Nathalie was the wild card.
"I'm not going with you."
Gabriella leaned back in her seat. Making room. "Please reconsider Shepard. Queen Neferata can be harsh, but she is also fair. Vampires are pragmatists. You are unique. That makes you an invaluable commodity. She only wants to understand you. We all do."
Maria raised her hands slowly up under the table and placed her palms against the bottom.
"My name is Maria Shepard. I was born an orphan on a planet called Earth and I'm biotically gifted. I'm a soldier, called a war hero by my own people, and I was killed in the line of duty over two years ago. A criminal group retrieved my corpse and spent those two years rebuilding me. It might be hard for you all to comprehend but my body is now part machine. I came back to life, jumped right back into the fight, and during my last mission I got killed again. At least I thought I died. I expected to die. Instead I fell out of a portal conjured from thin air and landed onto to this planet. I learned that the High Elves are the best practitioners of magic, and I'm hoping that when I get to Ulthuan and tell them my story they'll agree to help send me back home.
"There. Now Neferata knows even more about me than Vlad von Carstein." She looked back and forth between the three vampires and their astonished expressions. "Is that enough to buy my freedom or not?"
Hermione growled. "You're coming with us, girl, whether you wish it or not."
Under the table, Maria's hands pulsed with biotic power.
"No, I'm absolutely, positively not."
Hermione went from perfect doll to sharp clawed vampire with needle fangs in a blink. She lept at Maria the same moment Maria launched the table up into the vampire. Then Maria jumped from her chair and barely managed to avoid the two halves of the table as Hermione simply chopped through it with her claws and continued her attack. This time Maria hit her full in the face with a biotic blast that sent the woman flying across the room, crashing through all the tables and chairs in her way.
Just like she anticipated Gabriella was moving next. She had her fingers a hair's width from wrapping around Maria's throat when a second prepared blast sent Gabriella flying across the dining hall just like Hermione. But she didn't crash like Hermione. She flipped through the air and landed flat on her feet, ready for more.
Gabriella's face remained human but the magic swirling around her hands felt distinctly like death, and Maria knew what that felt like after Wurtbad. The vampire's hands flashed forward and two lances of cackling purple energy speared through the air. Maria dodged the first, but the second caught her in the shoulder, spinning her to the ground. It hurt, a lot, but nothing came from the powerful spell. She glanced at her shoulder to see the fabric from the turtleneck withered to nothing, but her skin was unblemished.
Necromancy still didn't work on her. Yippie. Maria rolled onto her back, picked up the nearest tables and chairs in a biotic grip, and tossed them all into Gabriella. The vampire smashed two chairs out of the air, but a table caught her in the gut and successfully sent her tumbling.
Hermione was back as she practically flew across the dining room, landing right on Maria's chest, straddling her. Her claws tore into the turtleneck with blinding speed, leaving numerous shallow cuts that started to bleed. But then Hermione was shrieking at an incredible pitch as she scrambled off Maria as quickly as she could, all while cradling her right arm to her chest.
Maria got back to her feet with her silver dagger clutched tightly in her left hand. Her right was pulsing with more biotic power.
Well now she had done it. Drawing her silver dagger had crossed a line; a line she really hadn't wanted to cross if she could have helped it.
Gabriella and Hermione stood together as their eyes went from Maria, to the dagger, and back to Maria again. Both vampires had given up on the illusions of mortality. Their fangs were visible, their hands were claws, and their faces monstrous.
Though the night had already exhausted her, Maria began calling on the winds of magic. The power answered slowly. She'd have to hold out until she could either conjure up a smokescreen to cover her escape, or just vanish and try to teleport herself as close as she could to the Supreme Patriarch. The most powerful human mage in the world had to be able to protect her from three angry vampires.
"That's enough."
Nathalie was standing along the dining room wall. The room's destruction had somehow avoided her. She didn't raise her voice, but the words were clearly heard.
Hermione was having none of it. "No its not!" she screamed, pointing a talon at Maria. "That bitch just cut me with silver! I'll take my due out of her filthy hide!"
Nathalie strode forward to stand between the two vampires and Maria. "I said, that's enough." She faced Gabriella and Hermione. "Voice another word in protest and I'll crack your head open like an egg."
Both women changed back from the monsters they were to beautiful women. Hermione's wide eyes stared at the floor as she curtsied. "Forgive me Mistress. Its silver, the wound pains me dearly."
"I understand." Nathalie looked to Gabriella. "You and Hermione go back to my coach. Have her feed from Joshua while Linnart drives you both home. Hermione, I'll heal the rest when I'm finished here. If we're lucky, you won't even have a scar to show for the night's events."
This time they both curtsied with a chorused, "Yes, Mistress." And then they walked swiftly out of the dining room.
"Be gentle with Joshua," Nathalie called after them. "I need my man coherent when I depart Nuln in the morning."
Hermione paused to spin around in the doorway. "Of course, Mistress. Thank you, Mistress." She shot a quick hateful glare to Maria, then disappeared following Gabriella. Maria heard the front door to the inn close behind them. Now she was alone with the elder vampire. When she turned from the door, Maria flinched back when she found Nathalie standing right up in front of her face. The vampiress's eyes were solid black as her hand snapped up to grip Maria's chin between finger and thumb.
"Never draw a silvered weapon in my presence again." Her voice was soft but as she spoke the entire inn shook, from the roof to the foundation. Maria could hear the utensils in the kitchen rattle and the glasses from the lounge clinking. "Am I clear?"
Maria nodded with the vampire's fingers on her chin. She'd never seen Nathalie this way before and staring into the bottomless depths of the woman's eyes sent a chill running down her spine, so she stuffed the dagger back into her belt.
Nathalie's eyes returned to normal in a blink and she dropped her hand from Maria's face. The inn stopped shaking.
"Good." She turned away from Maria and walked through the now destroyed dining room. "Look at the mess you made," she said jokingly over her shoulder.
"So I'm going to be taking the full blame for Wurtbad and for this too?" Maria grumpily shot back.
Nathalie laughed lightly. "I suppose that is a bit unfair." She lost her cheer with a sigh and faced Maria again. "But this could have been avoided if you just told us that the Supreme Patriarch was within the walls of the city."
Her eyebrow rose. "And how do you know Gelt is here?"
Nathalie's eyebrow rose in turn, mirroring Maria. "How? His magic coats you like a golden cloak. As soon as you called on the winds, I felt the residual power still flowing within you." She glanced down at Maria's chest. "I take it he's to thank for fixing that bullet hole. Why didn't you tell us he was here? I couldn't take you with me now even if I wanted. I guarantee he'd track us all the way to the Silver Pinnacle in an effort to get you back. That's the kind of attention my Queen does not want or need."
The thought had actually crossed her mind. But then dismissed just as quickly.
"It wouldn't have made enough of a difference." Maria spread her arms. "The von Carsteins want me dead. Your Queen wants me imprisoned, or worse killed outright. Just because that man knows who I am, it wouldn't change anything. I can't be under his protection for the rest of my life. I refuse to be. I told you I'm going to Ulthuan, and if any vampire wants to mess with me along the way… well, they'll learn I'm not one to go without a fight. Walach Harkon learned it. Vlad and Mannfred know it. And now so does Queen Neferata."
"That attitude is going to get you killed one of these days." Nathalie's smile was friendly but her words were not, though her look then turned thoughtful. "But then again you've died already if what you told me is true. Died and been brought back, without magic, and instead with the help of… machines."
"What? Don't believe me?"
"You're from another world love. The things you've seen, the things you've experienced, how could I hope to imagine any of it?" She walked and stood before Maria again, raising a hand up to delicately cup Maria's face. "I'll take my leave now. There's much to report back to the Queen and delivering the news in person will soften the blow of my failure to have you alongside me." Her thumb rubbed Maria's cheek. "After the night you've endured, I would have liked to offer you a hug goodbye but considering how fast your heart is racing just being this close to me I don't think we are quite there yet."
There went Maria's poor attempt at a calm and collected façade. How were you supposed to fake-out a being that could literally hear your heartbeat? Totally unfair. Of course, when the vampire's hand left her face, she could admit to being a lot more at ease.
"How much trouble did I just cause you?" Maria asked. Not that she was concerned for the over two-thousand-year-old woman who had attempted to kidnap her in the middle of the night. Just curious.
Nathalie shrugged. "No more or less than I've ever been in before. I've been given a lot of freedom in my post overseeing the vampires living within the Empire. That comes with making choices my Queen may not entirely agree with herself." She started walking for the door. "But this does mean if Neferata truly desires to meet you face to face, she won't send me a second time. You'll face a sister of her court. A vampiress just as old, or older, than myself and someone completely devoted to her will."
Maria stiffened. Up until now she had been worrying herself over just running into one of the von Carstein's vampires. Add the Lahmians to the mix and now she really did have basically every vampire in the Empire out for her blood. Figuratively speaking, of course.
Nathalie stopped and stood in the doorway to the dining room. She glanced over her shoulder.
"Few hours left until dawn. When the sun does rise, I suggest you find the Supreme Patriarch and remain by his side until you reach Altdorf. No vampire will move against you as long as you're under the Empire's direct protection. And when you do get to Altdorf, try to relax a little. It's the Imperial capital, and the palace is the most heavily defended building in the whole of the old world."
"Are you talking from past experiences trying to break into the place?" Maria couldn't help but joke.
Nathalie laughed. "Oh my! Well, rather than be tempted to expose all my past endeavors trying to sneak a peek into the Emperor's drawers, I will make a hasty yet elegant escape." She smiled brightly. "Goodbye Maria. Safe travels."
The vampire departed the inn and Maria was left standing alone in the dining room. A very battered and frankly ruined dining room as she took another look around. Many of the tables and chairs were now broken and laying in various pieces around the floor. Most were directly destroyed by her biotics. Well, in reality all had been broken by her biotics. She had been the one tossing them around. There were a few sets still in one piece in each of the four corners of the room. Small victory there.
"Antonio's going to kill me."
Maria sighed heavily, took one more look around, and then headed straight for the completely unguarded pantry and kitchen. She'd have better luck thinking up an excuse with food in her belly.
/ooooooo\
Day 74… finally…
Antonio Valantina walked through the remains of his nearly destroyed dining room while Maria stood silently off to the side trying her best to appear ashamed/embarrassed. Eventually he turned back to her, clearly doing his best to rein in his temper.
"So... you're telling me all of this... was because of your magic when you sneezed?!"