Hi guys. Another update - Just what you always wanted. Here's chapter 10, a little on the creepy side again; last chapter was a bit of a filler so you could all relax into a false sense of security. Hopefully in this chapter you'll get a run of adrenalin. I know I needed it to survive writting it!
A large circular table held over 50 other people, and sat in the middle of a darkened room. The chairs were high backed and wooden, seemingly very uncomfortable. At each place there was a silver dinner service and a set of silver cutlery and goblet. In the gloom tapestries could be seen hanging from the grey stone walls and pedestals that held bronze bowls where flaming torches would be lit stood proudly in the corners of the room. In all, the room looked like a medieval masonic chamber – Appearances were ridiculously deceptive. The huge double doors opened and the pedestals lit instantly, showering the room in what should have been a warm flickering light. Instead, the flames cast dark menacing shadows across the room and filled the room with a horrible sense of foreboding. A large candelabra lit above the table but did little to warm the room or give it a happier feeling. Instead, if anything, it made it worse.
Through the oaken doors a party of 53 traipsed through. Far from wearing long linen cloaks with heavy hoods, sleeves folded together and ropes for belts, incense orbs and bells and chanting the people who walked into the room wore T-Shirts, jeans and jackets. They ranged from their late twenties to early sixties, and as they all took their seat at the table they chatted about meaningless affairs. The table filled, and once everyone was seated a soft bell was rung bringing silence. Food was brought into the room, a minor banquet, and at the ringing of a second bell everyone delved into their food. Behind the table, at the very back of the room, the largest banner hung. Almost floor to ceiling and in a burst of golds, reds, greens and blues the hand woven tapestry held only a single symbol. A triangle with a line striking through it about half way horizontally and on a slight slope. And on one end of the line there was a circle.
Cara groaned in her sleep weakly. After having finished dinner with Vincent and showing him the unbelievable phenomenon of television, she'd made him up a room, shown him where he could sleep, and dragged herself to bed. However, not even 20 minutes in her blissful unconsciousness did the tenor of her dreams start to change. Darkness seeped over the gentle swirl of colours that had up till then occupied her mind, and she imagined herself to be very cold, an icy wind sweeping through the deepest contours of her mind. Her dream self shuddered.
Firstly, her mind traversed back to the nightmare that had led her to Vincent, his incarceration. Again it ended with her trying to fight away the man who sealed his fate, but then another wind threw the images away in flecks of black, the picture dissolving into smoke like wisps. Then, she was somewhere else completely... Or rather she was nowhere. Around her was a moving, swirling mass of deep purple and black, malevolent and claustrophobic. Wherever she looked she could see nothing but evil.
"Vincent?" She called out quietly. She didn't know why she asked for him, surrounded in this ever increasing malice – why she should call for a vampire she barely knew astounded her. However, he already knew so much about her... She called for him again, feeling an overwhelming protectiveness for him but got no reply. Her feet moved of her own accord, taking one step forward... And she froze. A deep, low, snarling sound came from behind her and, terrified, she turned slowly to find its source.
Behind her stood a horrifying monstrosity. It was a creature, almost dog like in appearance, but had... Two heads. Its very skin seemed to ripple and bubble, as if it were being melted, each head had three glowing red eyes that were all trained on her, and each of the five legs had huge elongated claws that were sharpened to a very fine point. The demonic creature seemed to salivate as it watched her, and it stepped towards her baring back its too-tight jowls to revel two very sharp yellow rows of teeth. She turned to run, to find herself face to face with another, this time with... She nearly vomited. Black blood fell from a horrendous wound to its side... One rib cage had been fully torn away. She panicked and turned again, to find another with its lower jaw missing. Wherever she looked these mutilated monsters were there, circling her slowly. She counted 6, each with its own deformity. Never in her life had she felt such a chill of fear as she did when she realised she was surrounded. One snapped its head forward and she jumped back, prompting others to copy. She screamed out, but the noise was silent. They weren't yet close enough to actually catch her, but she realised that the circle was getting tighter and tighter, closer.
Ordinarily each monster had stood at her hip height. Now they seemed to be growing, their heads were no lower than her chest. Looking down she let out another terrified silent scream. The creatures weren't growing. She was being dragged into the darkness that surrounded this dream world, like quick sand drawing her down. As the panic rose within her she tried to pull herself out only serving to be pulled down further; and the grim realisation that there was no escape settled within her. She swallowed, terrified and looked up in time to let out a final scream, the piercing sound echoing around the chasm. As if sound had suddenly returned the creature that had lunged for her started snarling and spitting as it had been unable to before, and she felt the terrific pain as the arm she had risen to defend her face was torn into by thousands of teeth...
In the chamber with the symbolic banner, the food had been consumed and the the wine had been toasted and drank from the goblets. Maids had cleared the empty plates away, leaving the table bare in their wake with only some silver candelabras left on its surface. The meeting had turned abruptly to business, and two of the members sat down, with ashamed faces.
"So." Said the one who was blatantly the groups leader, the only one dressed in robes fitting to his surroundings. "You tell us that your daughter is harbouring the fugitive vampyre Vincent Valentine?" The platinum blond haired, doll like woman nodded.
"Yes, my lord. Her disobedience grieves us beyond compare." The brown haired man who was her companion nodded in agreement and 'their lord' sneered.
"As we have seen so many times before, the youth of today are no longer willing to take up their mantel." He said coldly. "In any case, I already knew this information." The two adults looked up, surprised but not shocked.
"My lords knowledge renders me amazed." The man said bowing. He was given a wave of the hand in return.
"I realised that the seal that bound that despicable leech to his cell had been broken." He said coolly, but his voice began to turn almost malevolent. "That inhuman monstrosity that cursed our kind has been resurrected." He spat. "And so I have already arranged appropriate action." He turned to his followers. "My sincerest apologies." He said, sounding utterly remorseless. "But 6 of our 'pets' have been dispatched to clean up this mess. With any luck, there will be no survivors." The adults nodded.
"We understand." They chanted. "And are grateful."
Cara sat up suddenly as she jerked awake. She paid no heed to the sheen of sweat on her skin, or the exhaustion she felt at still being unable to have a restful sleep. She barely heard her breath echoing around the room... Instead her ears were seeking out the sound of something else. Even with no proof, no evidence, no reason to suspect why she knew, from somewhere deep inside her that there was something in the house. And whatever it was... It wasn't human.