Fire & Blood – Chapter 3
With a slow gesture, he put a golden coin on the bedside table. A sad smile on his face, he looked at the sleeping couple. Her name was Roxanne and he was Romuald. He was a native of this town, Grissenwald, but she came from a hamlet nestled on the edge of the mountains. She had left the city three years ago to move in with him. He was a courier and had met her when he came to bring a letter to his father. He had seen enough to know that they would soon be parents.
Their breath was much weaker than when he arrived, but they were still breathing. He had been as delicate as possible despite his dangerous thirst for murder. Their life, both physical and intimate, went by in his mind. Within minutes, he knew the area as well as the two lovers. He took a step backwards, his hands shaking with slight tremors. He shook his head, trying to resist the insistent call of their two still beating hearts. Because yes, both were alive. As often as possible, he let his victims live.
Several centuries ago, he finally understood that he could never get rid of this thirst. Also, as his convictions and those of his mentor flowed through his veins, he had decided that no human life should be sacrificed. No one should suffer from his condition, which he considered to be a disease for which they were desperately seeking a cure. And six centuries ago, his mentor finally found out. He had thrown a huge dragon out of his lair, bloodless, and then straightened himself with the weapon in his hand. He had been screaming for long minutes for this deliverance, for the joy that now permeated him. It was so full of energy, stolen from the behemoth, that he had healed.
Today, Manesh’ k wanted nothing more than to imitate him. He leapt through the open window and rushed into the alleys for a while. Roxanne and Romuald would have a hangover tomorrow. He shrugged his shoulders. The gold he had left them would more than compensate for Romuald’s two days away from his job. The exchange was fair. He should now try to forget the memories he had stolen from them. The curve of the hips that Roxanne exposed to him with a mischievous smile imposed itself a few seconds among his thoughts. He had a resigned smile when he thought it would be complicated.
The plates of his thick armor slipped quietly as he ran under the night. With the release of a feline, he jumped on the ledge of a nearby building, before bouncing off its summit with a slight step despite its heavy weight. Raising the sheath, he sat down cross-legged and did not say a word.
Several creatures were flying around his arms raised. Owls, ravens and bats swirled around the individual in lighter cuirasse. They would land on his arms and yell high or croak from time to time. After a few minutes of this ballet, they all landed on his shoulders or armour, or on tiles as close to him as possible. He turned his luminous gaze towards a motionless, attentive Manesh’ k.
- He is not alone, said the other vampire, his absent gaze jumping from raptor to bat. They see him a few times, but it was mostly his two apprentices who came out of their den. A girl and a man. She manages to lift very old bodies that she hides in the forgotten crypts hidden in the woods. He seems less gifted. On the other hand… his face and smell is rarely the same.
- What does that mean? interrupted a third vampire in armour as he came along, followed by a fourth one.
- The winds are altered, he replied enigmatically. There are other magics at work here.
Manesh’ k nodded his head. He was going to speak when the other resumed.
- We are not the only foreigners. New soldiers arrived recently. A sigmarite and a wizard from Altdorf are here. They patrolled the city, the woods and sewers all day long. But they must not be aware of our presence, even if the sorcerer passed very close by during the day.
Suddenly, all birds and other flying things flew away in a chaos of feathers and fur, sparkling with anger. The four vampires had also felt the intrusion, as the animals were finally dispersing.
All of them turned in the same direction, where the air suddenly fogged up before the wave disappeared.
- It is a W’ Soran’s offspring, inferred one of the vampires in armor, turned in the direction in which the ghost had fled.
- In this case this walking corpse will not leave the city, spit out the second one with anger.
- Here, said Brother Brandit as he passed in front of the building, looking harmless.
Holding his hammer bare-handed, he approached the door and knocked without hesitation.
He was opened after several minutes of waiting. A half-faced face with a lot of make-up appeared in the gap that the safety chain allowed. The woman detailed them with an inquisitive eye, without saying a word.
- Good evening, simply declared the priest. We…
- What does a eunuch do in front of my establishment, she preceded it with an acid tone.
- We are currently looking for four missing women, said John, who smiled as he pulled off his hat. We are concerned about them and look for any clues that might lead us back to them.
- You come in, she ordered, continuing to keep an eye on the religious. The others are waiting for you.
All three agreed.
- Are you sure about this? John whispered to the priest.
For any answer, he handed him the weapon which the repurgator touched. He could feel the gentle warmth through the leather of his glove. He made a grimace. The last time his hammer was so hot was several years ago. In an old man terrified by his last hour who had ended up in a pustuous abomination…
He rolled his wrist with a rattle suffocated by his coat as he walked in smiling. With the hat in his other hand, he swept the place with a sharp look as the door closed behind him. Thick carpet, velvet profusion and veils concealing many exits. He hated places like this where dozens of enemies had no choice but to find good hiding places.
Hiding his nervousness behind a warm smile, he noticed that once the woman’s face was properly lit, she had tears in her eyes.
- Who are you and what are you looking for in my establishment? she questioned him with a faulty voice.
- My name is John. I’ve just arrived from Nuln to find several missing persons who…
He did not have time to finish his sentence, the woman collapsing on him, his cheeks flooded with tears.
- I don’t know what it took, she sobbed immediately as he tried to spread his apparently free arm. We never receive before noon or outside, but… he said that his master… and I accepted !
She plunged her face against him and burst into tears, her words drifting in an incomprehensible flow. John sighed, turning his wrist again in a discreet click. He put his hand on his back.
- Ma’ am, I swear to you that I will do everything I can to help you, he said in a harsh voice that made her stop crying for a moment. But for that, you have to tell us everything that happened here.
- You say you only have an inaccurate memory of what happened after he laid his hand on your shoulder? said John about an hour later, as Leon continued to blacken his notebook.
She nodded shyly. Her cheeks were black with make-up after wiping them, which could have been funny in another situation: the kidnapper had struck again despite the patrols of Rechald.
- Without sounding rude, can you remove the scarf around your neck, show us your bare shoulder? asked the man in the hat.
She frowned.
- It is the skin where the man laid his hand on you that I want to see, he reassures her with a new smile.
The priest lifted up his eyes to heaven, exasperated both by the behaviour of this woman and the ease with which she was manipulable. There was no need for gifts, he thought as she was executing and the red rose to her cheeks. She seemed ready to do any… His thoughts stopped abruptly when he saw her shoulder. She hiccuped when she saw it. Thin dark filaments ran beneath the skin, all connected by a punch of coagulated blood, similar to a dark flake tattooed under her skin.
With a hard face, John took off his hat and leaned over the mark, holding the woman’s arm firmly. Leon, with his eyes wide open, stood up to see better.
- What… what is this… this! She stared from John to Brother Brandit, passing through the apprentice. Take it off me, take it off…
- Quiet! Aboya the priest with a stentorian voice.
She grew a frowning, but obeys with a disconfident mine. John quickly guided her to the nearest chair where he forced her to sit. Wise precaution because she blurred on sight, on the point of failing.
- Do you have any idea what this is about, asked Brother Brandit in mid-voice, he and the repurgator having moved back slightly, leaving the shaken woman in Leon’s care?
- I have an idea, but it has nothing to do with a necromancer, he replied darkly, passing his hand through his hair. The thing that stung her gave her something, which is surely the reason for her cooperation with our man. A substance that would have altered his judgment. A drug maybe.
Brother Brandit digested the information.
- A person who has fun terrifying people with surgical equipment ?
- Possible. But I’ve never heard of such a poison or similar brand before. We will have to keep an eye on this woman and see if this kind of thing has ever been mentioned in Grissenwald. Now let’s go, we won’t find anything more tonight.
- This is where they last saw the man. He brought in four women in two times today.
The four undead were still perched on a roof and faced the building glued to the neighbouring houses. This one was no different from the others. Except that each one of them could perceive the emptiness that reigned there. No heart resonated in the house.
- Did he come out again? questioned one of them.
- No. There must be a secret way out, he replied.
All four remained silent for a few minutes, silently observing the alleyway and the dark building.
- Lead us to the girl, finally declared Manesh’ k.
Brother Brandit almost dropped his weapon when it caught fire with an inner light. Stunned, he looked at his war hammer now orange-coloured. The heat shedding was unprecedented. Forbidden, John also kept his eyes on it. Never before had they seen a relic of Sigmar so vividly manifested. Manifestation that was related to the evil that the hammer perceived.
- That’s… that’s impossible, begaya Leon.
None of the two adults dared to contradict him. Illuminating the alleyway with its radiant glow, their situation seemed almost unreal to them.
- Never a necromancer could pose such a threat, whispered John who was hiding his trouble behind a marble mask.
The priest nodded, as he felt the weapon was getting warmer and warmer!
- Whatever it is, it’s coming!
As soon as he had finished his sentence, a concert of croaks, hoarseness and roaring wings from the sky raised their eyes. Under the cover of a veritable cloud of nocturnal birds, several shadows leapt from one roof to the other.
- We mustn’t lose them! cried John, pulling his companions out of their stupor.
He rushed into a first alleyway, his coat slamming behind him. Already the hammer was becoming less luminous, falling from its sudden glowing shine to the dull burst of polished metal. What were these creatures to provoke such a reaction? Never before had his own mentor witnessed such a thing !
They ran for several minutes through the maze of streets that was Grissenwald, guided by birds and the declining light of the weapon. The echo of their race echoed when they passed over one of the few cobblestone sections or slipped into muddy puddles. Many beggars ran out of the way as they overturned a few barrels obstructing them or cut small properties through the gardens.
They flowed from a narrow alleyway into a larger avenue, the emanation of the hammer returning in intensity. All three quickly spotted their targets thanks to the profusion of birds surrounding them. The said targets did likewise, having obviously noticed the weapon appearing to be incandescent, throwing an orange veil on the nearest facade. Four shadows rose up from their promontory, knowing that they had been discovered, and they measured these three arrogant humans who had been tracking them through the city. The crimson red pupils shimmering in the darkness petrify the repurgator and his companions. The two sides thus remained a few long seconds to observe each other. The deaf melody of their hearts felt by the chase and the sudden anguish was deliciously pulsating in the ears of the four creatures. Without consulting each other, they swung and leapt across the other side of their building, disappearing into the night. None of the three humans dared to follow in their footsteps.