Embrace of the Lycan - Chapter 17

Kristina had run from Lucian as fast as her new vampire skills allowed. She felt the chilly night air rush by her, but she was not cold. This body she now inhabited did not feel like her own. She was unable to put her finger on exactly what she felt was different, but it was a vague sense that the usual rules did not apply anymore. She hated it. The sense of confusion and anger she felt was blinding her to the possibilities this new reality could offer.

Even as a newly formed vampire she had been able to sense the imminent sunrise as a gentle prickle at the back of her neck. She quickly looked around for a potential shelter from the sun’s now harmful rays. She stopped running and sat on a nearby fence while she tried to order her thoughts. She considered just sitting there and awaiting the inevitable, but a small portion of her refused to give in. There was still enough of her old spirit remaining to deny the total futility of her situation. In the overgrown pasture behind her was a large wooden trough. She jumped off the fence and walked over.

The old Krisztina would not have been able to move this, but the new Krisztina lifted it with hardly any effort. She tipped out the stagnant rainwater and turned it upside down. She gave one last grieved look at her beautiful Italian dress that was already ripped slightly at the shoulder and stained with her own blood, then slid under the trough.

Alone in the dark she tried to imagine her future expanding eternally in front of her. The thought of never dying, while appealing to some, was not to Krisztina. Not now. Not like this. Death would not be an unwelcome visitor. Some people were greatly daunted by it, but she felt that it was the fleeting nature of a life that made the life lived worthwhile. Life and love gave existence a meaning. She now felt that she had neither. At some point, as her thoughts wove round in her head, her body shut down. Whether this was a natural reaction to a tired body, or some other supernatural need to ride out the daylight hours, she did not know. She only slept.

As her consciousness returned, she was aware the setting sun, but also of a distant hoof beat. She climbed from under her refuge and look back along the road. Through the half light of the dusk, she could see a carriage being pulled by two large dark horses. She moved nearer to the road and awaited its approach. As the carriage drew near, she stepped almost into its path. The coach driver pulled hard on the rains, causing the horses to stiffen their legs straight in an effort to stop quickly. The abrupt stop caused great consternation from carriage’s residents.

There were female cries and male exclamations. One man stuck his head out of the small window and shouted at her to get out of the way. Krisztina moved to the window. The man inside looked shaken and extremely fearful, but when he saw it was a lone girl he started to relax. What this wretch had been through, he could only imagine. She had fine clothes on but they were in a sorry state.

‘Oh my goodness!’ The exclamation had come from inside the darkness of the carriage. ‘It is the Baroness, the bride of Captain Tibor!’

The carriage door opened and a familiar face appeared.

‘Oh my poor dear,’ said the Duchess Eszter. ‘My poor child. What have you been through?’

She pulled Krisztina to her bosom and held her tightly. Krisztina was actually happier than she would have expected to see the older woman.

‘Eszter, quickly – the night draws in,’ urged the man that had shouted earlier.

‘Of course, let us talk inside.’ With that, Eszter ushered Krisztina into the carriage and climbed in behind her. The carriage was quite cramped as it was only small and already held four occupants. One was the man who spoke earlier, an auburn haired man with a fiery orange beard; a brunette woman with almond shaped eyes and olive skin; an elderly gentleman, and the Duchess, Eszter.

‘How did you escape my dear? Where is Captain Tibor?’ questioned the old man.

Krisztina didn’t know how to respond and so just shook her head.

‘The poor girl is struck dumb with shock! Look at the state of her – oh that beautiful Italian silk.’ Eszter fussed over her as the carriage began moving once again.

Eszter explained to the silent Krisztina that they had hidden in the wine cellar, only to be discovered after day or so by one of those ‘monsters’. They were dragged unceremoniously in front of the supposed leader of these brutes, convinced that their time had come.

Eszter crossed herself as she spoke. ‘In an unimaginable act of compassion, he let us go. He told us to ‘scurry away’ before he saw reason. I would never have expected mercy from any of those animals!’

‘They are not animals! They are Lycan!’ Krisztina yelled fiercely at her rescuers, in defence of her friends and lover.

There was a moment’s shocked silence, until the old man patted her hand sympathetically. Misunderstanding the outburst, he said, ‘Don’t worry child. You are safe now.’

‘Yes dear, do not worry yourself,’ Eszter reassured her. ‘These … Lycans… cannot harm us now for we head to my husband’s benefactor. He will know how to handle this situation.’

The old man moved his hand from patting Krisztina, to patting Eszter’s pale bejewelled fingers. For a split second Eszter was confused as to the cause of this offered sympathy, then she realised and started to dab at her eyes.

‘My poor husband… what fate could have befallen him..,’ she sobbed dramatically.

All the other nobles looked on Eszter with sympathy, while Krisztina just stared out of the window watching the scenery go past. She did not care what had befallen the Duke as he was partly to blame for her current condition.

She wanted to cry and scream at these misguided fools, warning them that they were heading towards a greater misfortune than what they had just left. Instead, she kept her feelings to herself. The end of the coach ride would bring her face to face with the Vampire that had sired the Duke, who in turn had sired her into this world of revenants.

The nobles continued to talk and speculate quietly amongst themselves. Eszter had fallen asleep and Krisztina, not wanting to talk to the nobles, pretended to do the same. She found herself feeling restless, her thoughts full of weird and dark imagery. Laying her head on the Duchess’s shoulder she could see through her lashes and was acutely sensitive to the pulse on Eszter’s throat.

Krisztina’s senses were swimming. She licked her lips, aware of her growing thirst. Despite the almost complete lack of light in the carriage, Krisztina was clearly able to see within its confines. She slyly looked up at her companions, and noticed they too had fallen into a gentle doze. She continued to rest her head upon the sleeping Duchess. She turned her head slightly, brushing the soft skin of Eszter’s shoulder with her lips. It was as if she could smell the blood that rushed just beneath the surface.

She felt her canines elongate, and pulled her lips back. She sank the sharp points tenderly into the soft flesh, not wanting to wake her prey. As a small amount of the blood hit her mouth, there was a rush to her head that was more exhilarating than any wine she had ever drunk. She sank her teeth in deeper and drew more of scarlet nectar.

The Duchess moaned slightly in her sleep, and furrowed her brow as if in some bad dream. Kristina pulled back immediately, conscious that the noise could have disturbed the others. She quickly wiped her mouth and glanced warily at the small punctures she had left on the Duchess. She worried unnecessarily as no one moved. Just as she was about to relax, the driver banged the side of the carriage which awoke everyone with a start.

The auburn haired man stuck his head out of the small window, then turned to his companions and said, ‘We are here.’