Chapter 15

Elizabeth ran up one of the extensive hallways leading towards the ballroom. She gripped the hilts of her blades tightly as she took in steady breaths, her feet tapping quietly beneath her. She rounded a corner and halted all movements, staring at the floor curiously. A once fastened doorway now stood wide-open, candlelight casting a warm glow in her path.

She cautiously approached the entrance, her daggers at the ready. Quieting her breathing, she entered the room and peered around the dim space, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the lighting. When they focused, she realized she was standing in a den. A small card table with chairs occupied one side of the room, a table that held a small collection of books with two golden candelabras on either side sat pleasantly between the two windows that framed the space, and two couches were placed perpendicular to a small, unlit fireplace. The walls appeared to be a deep shade of red, from what she could tell, and she noticed the carpet was plush as she padded across it, stepping further into the room.

Elizabeth turned to her left and walked around a corner that hid a wall of books, the gilded titles of which barely visible. She turned around and meandered back towards the candles on the table, immediately noticing that wax was just beginning to drip onto the wooden countertop. They had not been lit for long.

She reached out to touch the binding of a familiar novel when she heard a noise behind her. Elizabeth whirled around in time to see a figure jumping from a hidden loft above the entryway. She tried to get out of their reach, but was blocked by one of the couches. Elizabeth was thrown across the room and into the wall, where she fell with a hard thud onto the floor. She turned her face, burying one side into the soft carpet, and eyed her attacker.

The figure was female, given the dress hanging about her slender frame and curled hair atop her head, but it wasn't until the figure reached for the small daggers within her styled hair that Elizabeth's vision cleared and realization dawned.

"I knew you would come poking about," hissed the undead female before her. "Any opportunity to play the heroine."

Elizabeth moved her hands to her side and lithely jumped up to her feet, ignoring the dizzy sensation in her head.

"Caroline," Elizabeth responded with a glare, noticing the twinge of yellow in her opponent's eyes and the drips of blood on her dress. She could feign indifference, but why ignore the obvious. "How long?" Elizabeth asked.

"Ever since the attack at your wedding," she responded, spitting the last word. "I hid it well."

Caroline threw Elizabeth a smirk before continuing. "Initially I was disgusted with what I had become- from societies' elite to the very thing that repulses and scares them the most. I considered telling someone, but I was not ready to die."

"You're already dead," Elizabeth spat.

Caroline ignored her and continued, "At first I could resist the urges, but that night a servant girl passed me in the hallway, her hand bleeding heavily, and… well… you know. After that, I felt this… connection. A voice in my head was suggesting, commanding me what to do, entrusting me with a mission. After Fitzwilliam disclosed to us that Wickham could control the undead I realized what was happening. It was Wickham who was telling me to relay any pertinent information to him, and so I did. At first I tried to resist, knowing it would put my brother and Fitzwilliam in further risk, but I had no choice."

"Don't think for one second that you actually care about Charles or my husband," Elizabeth said, her eyes narrowing. "If you did, you would have told them or put a blade through your brain yourself. You put my family at risk! My husband at risk!"

"It should have been me!" Caroline shouted, advancing slowly towards Elizabeth. "Fitzwilliam was meant for me. And then you had to come in and ruin everything! But I will get what I'm due. Wickham said as soon as he turns that husband of yours and has him feast on your brains to complete the transition he will compel him to be mine. And then I will win."

"Fitzwilliam would rather die than be with you," Elizabeth declared. Caroline bared her teeth. "And I would rather die than let that happen. He will never be yours, you insolent girl," Elizabeth retorted before closing the remaining space between them and making a strike towards her neck in an attempt to decapitate it.

Caroline blocked her blow with her own dagger before attempting to strike Elizabeth's arm, which she swiftly blocked as well.

"You have been Wickham's pawn this entire time," Elizabeth stated, grunting from exertion, as she made several more swipes at the zombie in front of her.

"Oh he knows everything," Caroline confirmed. "Ever since the beginning. He knows about the tunnel. The explosions. You're trapped!"

On the last word their blades locked and Caroline brought her leg up, kicking Elizabeth hard in the stomach. She went flying into a chair, which toppled over and broke under her weight.

"So much for that demonstration you promised me," Caroline jeered as she stalked her way over. "I told you your Chinese training is nothing compared to my elite Japanese instruction."

Elizabeth smiled to herself, knowing she was far from being beaten. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. She recalled the quote from The Art of War and recollected the movements Caroline had just revealed during their brief skirmish. She favored her right side, always opting to protect the left side of her body. Caroline also kept her hands up close to her head, leaving the rest of her body exposed and vulnerable.

Elizabeth waited for Caroline to take one step closer before sweeping her legs out from under her. The zombie fell to the ground and immediately began crawling out of reach, but Elizabeth was too quick, stabbing a blade into Caroline's right leg.

Caroline shrieked from pain and frustration before kicking Elizabeth in the face. Elizabeth blanched and rose up, trying to gain an advantage, but Caroline was just as fast. She met her narrow, yellow eyes as she stood and tossed her dagger up, catching it so it was now facing downward.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Caroline moved first, running towards Elizabeth at a surprising rate, but Elizabeth was ready. She lithely twisted, as agile and fierce as water, and narrowly avoided Caroline's blades. Elizabeth slashed both daggers in her opponent's direction, one making contact and carving a sizeable gash in Caroline's arm. The zombie roared and rounded, but Elizabeth was quicker, blocking Caroline's rebuttal and knocking the blade out of the hand on her injured arm. It fell to the floor, landing beneath a sofa, and Elizabeth ginned in momentary triumph.

"Have you had enough demonstrations?" she taunted, meeting Caroline's fierce gaze. "Or do you require more lessons?" Caroline sneered but said nothing, remaining still. Elizabeth slowly maneuvered around the room, placing a couch between them.

Her eyes focused on whatever her opponent may have planned next, with both limbs on the right side of her body injured, she would have no choice but to favor her weaker side. Elizabeth also knew Caroline was consumed with rage, which would make her take rash, imprudent actions. All she had to do was wait.

She knew not what Caroline was thinking and instead opted to remain guarded, her blades up, eyes shining, and ears alert.

She didn't have to wait long. Caroline ran towards the couch, her left foot stepping onto the plush cushion, and smoothly jumped over the back, her teeth bared, left arm bringing the dagger downward towards Elizabeth's shoulder. Elizabeth fell to her knees and rotated around, carefully avoiding the attempt, before rounding back up to her feet. Caroline had misjudged the distance to the ground and the amount of weight her leg injury could handle. Her right knee had given out and she was now struggling to get back to her feet. Elizabeth came up behind her, grabbed a fist full of hair and held a dagger against Caroline's throat.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," she ordered.

"I've always hated you," Caroline admitted. "From the moment I saw you and your sisters parading yourselves in front of my brother and Fitzwilliam at the Meryton dance. It was disgraceful. You aren't worthy of him." Elizabeth was taken aback. She assumed Caroline would beg for mercy but here she was doing the exact opposite: admitting what polite society would never permit- Her hatred and bitterness towards her, her complete disdain for her social ranking and family status. Nevertheless she had proven herself: Her warrior skills against Lady Catherine's proxy, rescuing Fitzwilliam from St. Lazarus, and surviving her entire life in a land overrun with undead with nothing but her training, blade and wit to sustain her. But more importantly, she loved him. Not for his wealth, military ranking, or combat skills, just simply for who he was.

Lost in thought, she neglected to see Caroline's blade coming up behind her until it was too late. The blade cut into her thigh, sending blood gushing down her leg. Elizabeth released Caroline's hair and fell to the floor in agony, her hand grasping her leg. Caroline seized her moment, kneeling over Elizabeth, making it hard for her to breathe, the blade now resting against Elizabeth's throat.

"Drop your blades," Caroline ordered.

Elizabeth dejectedly did as instructed, lowering them to the floor next to her. She stared up into Caroline's yellow eyes and could now see dried blood just below her bottom lip. Elizabeth remained still and focused, remembering another lesson: Move not unless you see an advantage. She thought of her many one-on-one combat matches with her sisters underneath their house. Elizabeth had managed to pin Jane down into a similar position in which she found herself. She thought she had the upper hand then too until Jane flipped Elizabeth over her head, and onto her stomach. Elizabeth let her head fall all the way back to the floor and mentally prepared for the pain that would surely to follow.

Taking Elizabeth's lowered head as a victory, Caroline eased the knife from Elizabeth's throat a bit, and Elizabeth pounced. She used her lower body to push Caroline's legs out from under her, sending the zombie off balance. Caroline's blade flew from her good hand in an effort to recover herself. Elizabeth stretched for her own blade as Caroline reached up and punched her in her throat. Elizabeth reared back; trying to raise her arms up in defense and return the blow, but was struck again with a surprising force. Bright dots spotted her vision before another punch made contact and it went completely black.