Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!
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Chapter 2:Changing of the Guard
Silver grey mist swirled around the courtyard, moved by guards pacing the length of the gateway. Four in the courtyard, two in the balcony and a rolling mist that created soft marching shadows, revealing everyone of their moves. Salania adjusted the grey shirt and pants she had put on to help camouflage her movements in the mist and checked her arsenal for the fifth time. She had two loaded handguns, each equipped with silencers and a few extra silver bullets. The countdown started as she watched the manor guards slowly retrace their steps in the never ending walk to protect the hallowed home of Count Drathix von Roch. One more minute and the guard will change.
Slowly and quietly, Salania slid from her vantage point and made her way to the gate. As the new guards came out, the old guards relaxed and turned to the new guys. As both sets of men conversed briefly, one debriefing the other, Salania climbed the tree just outside the gate. She had spotted this tree four days ago when she had first come to survey the manor and its defenses. Now it would be the perfect spot to pick off the guard, one by one.
The guards traded places, the tired and worn ones headed into the manor while the new guard set themselves up in their stations. Salania aimed for one of the balcony guards as he leaned back and pulled the trigger. The silent bullet sped through the air and hit him, boring into his head. He fells backwards into the manor wall, disappearing from sight. She did the same for the other one in the balcony, thus eliminating the defenses above her. She stretched out, mounting the walls, catwalking carefully towards the front door. As the guards turns to switch marching direction, she aimed and shot four times, hitting her mark with ease. The men collapsed, never knowing what hit them.
Salania hopped down, stirring the mist around her and walked into the manor quietly. She entered the guard room on the left first, killing the four men that lay sleeping in their beds after their shift was over. There were three other beds that lay empty in that room and she realized that the guards that used the beds could be elsewhere in the manor. Crossing the hall to the right, Salania found the beds empty and counted six other possible targets to worry about in the immediate future.
Staying against the walls, Salania crept down the corridor, senses alert for any possible guards roaming the hallways. Nearing a door, Salania quickly entered the doorway and scanned the room, handguns poised and ready to fire. She stepped in cautiously and checked the corners and any other small rooms that were joined to this one. As she walked the perimeter of the room, a quiet shuffle sounded behind her. As she turned, she felt the impact of someone’s foot in her side and quickly turned to see her assailant.
His pale eyes stared at her in anger, hands clawed and mouth smiling. He lashed out, but Salania was too quick and he missed but by a couple of centimeters. Salania hit him across the face with one of her guns right before she jumped back to get out of his reach. The minor vampire lord brought a hand up to rub the cheek that she cracked her gun across and laughed quietly. He advanced and Salania continued to keep her distance. He lunged at her and she backflipped away from him, one foot connecting to his jaw. He raked his clawed hand across her thigh, ripping her pants and leaving and small open gash. The kick sent him sprawling and Salania aimed her gun at his heart and shot him twice. Her aim was perfect and he dropped to his knees, falling as his life was drawn away.
Continuing on she crossed the corridor into the next room taking three guards by surprise, playing poker. She shot three times in rapid succession, never giving them time enough to draw their own weapons. The corridor ended in a T and Salania chose to go right. As she silently walked down this hall, a light conversation was heard in one of the rooms. A soft lilting voice drifted down the hall and Salania knew that the next room was occupied by a man and a woman, presumably another Vampiric lord and lady. Cautiously, she proceeded to the room and moved into the doorframe, but saw nothing.
Salania breathed deeply and concentrated on the interior of the room. To her left there was a bed, side table and closet. As she looked over the table and chairs to the right, the door was pushed from behind and it hit her full on, throwing her backwards onto the bed. She quickly rolled off the bed and stood, facing the two vampires. The vampiress was already making her way across the room when Salania landed on her feet, forcing her to jump sideways to avoid the attack. She shot at the woman but missed as she slid across the floor. Scrambling to get to her feet, Salania nearly lost the grip on one of her guns. The vampiress took advantage of the situation and picked up one of the chairs form the table and threw it at Salania’s head.
Swiftly ducking down into a partial split, Salania winced as the chair crashed on the wall. Idiots. Everyone will hear that. The throw left the vampires vulnerable as she recovered her balance and Salania shot her twice in the heart. The vampire screamed as he watched his lover fall to the floor. Footsteps sounded in the hallway and Salania aimed one gun at the vampire and another at the door and stood still, eyes widened but glaring. The guard halted in the doorway and looked from Salania to the vampire.
As he opened his mouth to call for reinforcement, Salania pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into his mouth and through his head. The guard fell and the vampire rushed Salania. To avoid him she jumped onto the bed and used it to jump over his head. The vampire spun quickly, recovering from Salania’s move over his head and hit her as she landed. The hit knocked the wind out of her and she bent forward slightly, allowing the vampire to kick her in the face, sending her head over heals towards the wall.
She crashed into it hard and looked up as the immensely satisfied vampire advanced. She shook her head as another guard walked into the room. Distracted, the vampire looked away just enough to enable Salania to draw one of her guns. Turning back to her, she smiled as the vampire watched her pull the trigger, sending two silver bullets into his heart. The guard drew his gun and turned it on her, but Salania was ready for him and shot him easily. The guard’s dead body fell on top of the vampire’s and Salania drew in a shaky breath.
The wall had not made a very good cushion and she could feel something in her back hurt dreadfully. Hopefully this is no more than a few bruised ribs. She slowly stood and listened for the footfall of reinforcement. When there was no evidence that more people would be coming, Salania stretched out her body, wincing slightly as her back reacted to the movement. She checked each gun for ammunition levels and realized she needed to reload. Taking out the extra silver bullets, she replenished each gun, giving her a few more bullets to work with.
Ready to find the Count, Salania left the room and headed around the corner of the corridor and jogged for a minute before being forced to turn once more. The turn thrust her into a large room and two guards to her left grabbed their weapons. But they were too slow and Salania shot both of them before they had any chance of taking her. A roar to her right caused a smile to play across her face and she turned to face Count Drathix.
Count Drathix von Roch sat upon a large chair akin to a throne, made of cherry and onyx. His fingers drummed out a rapid cadence upon the armrest as he assessed his current situation. Salania raised an eybrow, having to admit to herself it was such a shame to have to kill such a remarkably handsome man. His face was chiseled perfectly as if a sculptor had spent a lifetime perfecting his countenance. The shock of ebony hair balanced the perfection just enough to reveal a wildness to the Count, a wildness she almost found intoxicating.
Count Drathix looked down upon the young woman that just walked into his throne room freely and armed. He ceased the drumming and gripped the armrests of his great chair, flinging himself violently towards her, bloodlust rising as Salania raised one of her guns, pointing directly at his heart.
“Stop, my love!” Countess Siana called out to her husband. “It would be so unfair if you get to have all the fun.” His wife, Siana del Karie sat next to him in a similar seat, just slightly smaller. The vampiress’s delicate features hid a ruthless temperament beneath rich red lips and green eyes. Her reddish brown hair cascaded around her beautiful face, relaxed ringlets playfully bounced as she moved her head. Standing slowly, she walked towards her husband, taking her place beside him.
Running her hands across his shoulders, the countess whispered in his ear. “Let me try. I think I can do something here, something absolutely wonderful for both of us.”
Drathix felt a shiver run through his body, “But you are risking yourself, my love. What if she resists?”
“None have ever resisted me.” She smiled as she ran her hands down his chest. “Think of the fun we could have once I have her in my grasp.”
Drathix inhaled sharply as Siana’s hands made their way up his chest and caressed his throat. On her toes, Siana kissed Drathix passionately and the Vampire Lord shook slightly, running his hands through her hair. He gripped a handful and pulled her head back and gazed into her eyes. His other hand lazily caressed her bare back and she closed her eyes, smiling. “Yes, then, do as you please. I await your move, my darling, and our enjoyment.”
Siana smiled and slowly walked around Salania, looking her up and down. “You are a beautiful woman…”
“Salania,” she replied, eyeing the vampiress.
“Salania. Perfect name. With a name so close to my own…” The vampiress stood behind her and lightly touched Salania’s shoulder, allowing her hand to slowly travel down the arm., “…this could be fun. I love your hair color, golden as the sun, shimmering as the reflection of light on the water’s surface.” Siana ran her fingers through Salania’s hair and breathed deeply.
“You do?” Salania smiled, forcing her mind to take the comment seriously. She thought of a man she left before this job and that last night…and she blushed. She relaxed her shoulders somewhat, and Siana took the bait.
“Oh there is much I like about you. “ Siana walked around Salania, brushing her body against Salania’s, making as much contact as possible. “You are young, strong and supple. I desire those qualities very much. They bring me much joy, especially when given freely.”
“Given freely, my lady? How could one deny you?” Salania breathed deeply as the countess’s body touched her, partially as show, and to her disbelief, partially in reality. “Do I please you that much?”
“Yes, my darling you do. I can make you very happy as you can for me.” Siana stood in front of Salania, mere centimeters from her face. “Your eyes are the clearest blue. One could get lost in them for days while enjoying life. Let me show you the joys of life, Salania.”
Siana slid a hand up Salania’s throat; the gentle touch made her pulse quicken. Siana leaned in as she closed her eyes embracing Salania, lips but a whisper from her own. Siana’s proximity to Salania disturbed her on many levels and she squirmed slightly under the influence. She gripped the guns in her hands and stared into the eyes of Siana, feigning admiration and lust. Siana touched Salania’s cheek, exhaling deeply and moved in closer to make the beautiful woman her own. Looking deeply into the eyes of Siana, Salania raised her guns up and pressed them against Siana’s chest and pulled the triggers on both guns, sending rounds of silver bullets into the countess, exhausting the supply, but guaranteeing the death of the beautiful woman.
Siana jerked backwards, eyes wide, staring at Salania. The disbelief that spread across her face was nearly too much to take and Salania realized that the countess had more of a hold on her than she wanted to admit. The smell of blood and discharged bullets tainted the air with a subtle metal tang, and Siana's hands clenched at her chest. She looked into Salania's eyes, heartbroken and slowly the life faded from her eyes. With one hand she reached out for Salania, grabbing her arm, trying to stay on her feet. But at last, her brilliant green eyes faded totally, dulled by death's grip.
Drathix roared in disbelief as he watched his wife fall slowly, blood slowly spreading, staining her gown. Salania stepped back to allow the body to fall completely to the floor. The sound of the countess’s body hitting the tile echoed through the room and Drathix lunged at Salania, claws raking across her arms, opening wounds on her biceps. Blood pools in the gashes and Drathix inhales deeply, smiling as he lunges at her again. He attempts to grip her arms, but she spins just out of his reach and lands a hard kick to his side. He back peddles and looks at his hands. He admires Salania’s blood on his fingers and licks them, savoring the taste fully.
Drathix attacked with more vigor, the taste of Salania’s blood on his lips invigorated him and he slashed at her multiple times, connecting twice, resulting in injury to her face and shoulder. Salania scrambled out of his way, trying to stay out of range of his hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a sword of silver mounted on the wall. She bolted for it, surprising Drathix and he laughed heartily. “One man tried to kill me with that sword. Pity he died quickly while trying. But be my guest.”
Salania grabbed the sword off the mounting and held it in her hand, moving it through the air as she moved around the room, testing the weight and balance. Perfect in every way, the sword moved as if a genuine extension of her arm and she smirked. “Perhaps the man just didn’t know how to handle this work of beauty.”
Drathix lunged at Salania, baring his fangs and he attempted to sink his claws into her flesh. She dove sideways to avoid him and rolled back onto her feet in time to use the sword as a shield. Drathix leapt into the air, a well aimed kick came straight for her head. Salania drew the sword up and braced herself as Drathix’s foot met metal. His kick drove her backwards, her feet sliding ten feet, but she stayed up. With one last push, Drathix leapt off of the blade and landed on his feet.
Salania sliced the sword through the air, aiming at his side. Drathix parried the blow with the cuff of his suit jacket and Salania spun around bring the sword arching through the air and down into his back. The blow met body and Drathix called out in pain. Pulling the sword across his back, Salania cut deep into his body and Drathix arched his back in pain. Conscious of only his desire to see her die, Drathix swung his arm back, hitting her hard across the face, drawing more of Salania’s blood. The iron tang of it filled Drathix’s nostrils and he breathed deeply once more and moved swiftly as if he was never hurt in the first place.
Salania did all she could to parry and block every swipe and slash of Drathix's as he pushed her further and further back towards the wall nearest his throne. The closer they got the throne the harder his hits became. Quickly changing directions, Salania pulled Drathix along a path that would lead to his throne. In one final, gathering, thrust of his clawed hands, Drathix attacked Salania full on and she ducked at the last minute.
The attack was so powerful that Drathix's hands became embedded in the cherry wood of his throne. Pull as he may he could not get free and he saw his demise. Salania thrust the sword deep into his heart and pulled it up with all her strength for good measure before sliding it out of his failing body, slick with blood. Drathix swallowed convulsively as his body began to shut down, his breathing choppy and shallow. He tried one last time to free his clawed hands from the throne he had sat on for so long, but he was too weak. Salania sat upon his throne, above him and looked own on his prostrate form. She held the sword, the fateful sword he had so arrogantly displayed on the wall, in front of his face. Salania placed the end of the blade under his chin and forced it up, sop that the last thing he saw was the satisfaction on her face. Drathix looked into her eyes, sword flashing in the candle light and died on his knees before his throne, occupied by a human woman.
Salania watched the life ebb away from his eyes. Once they had lost the luster of vitality, she allowed his beautiful face to slowly fall, chin resting against his chest. She carefully stood and climbed over the armrest of the great thrown, avoiding Count Drathix's body. Briefly, she regretted to see such a handsome man, vampire or not, die in such a manner. Then, as if a string had been pulled, the thought shook itself from her mind and she smiled. At least he gave me a fight. Salania stepped closer and cleaned the sword on Drathix's suit until the silver shone again with an almost ethereal light. She examined the sword in all its intricate beauty and decided to keep it. Besides, what good would such an awesome sword do in a place like this?
Holding the sword to her side, Salania left the great hall, stepping over the countess's body nonchalantly. She stopped in the doorway and surveyed the room. Shaking her head, she continued down the halls, passing by the rooms of the dead without so much as a pause in her step. Her eyes adjusted to the grey mist once she stepped outside the manor and proceeded to leave the manor behind, cold, dark and quiet.
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