Vampire Wares pt 82

Several vampires jostled for the opportunity to fetch Lucian for Asha, but it was Uta who ultimately won out by ignoring this argument, retreating to her room, and rapidly slipping herself into her black clothes.  She then bolted through the caves and was out into the daylight before they could stop her.  With her quick speed she left behind several other vampires that tried to join her, heading directly for Lucian’s home, where he most likely would be at this time.

The house that Lucian occupied was significantly larger than any of the small farming cottages that most of the villagers possessed, and was at the center of a large estate, which Lucian owned.  It had a gleaming white exterior with many windows and was abutted by a horse stable and carriage house.

Uta had to approach the house circuitously, since it would not be profitable for a vampire to be seen approaching the home of the magistrate and there were several laborers working Lucian’s land.  Uta zipped behind trees and ducked through the grass, approaching the home out of sight of the many eyes that occupied the nearby outside.

Uta climbed the exterior of the house with ease, leaping up and grabbing an overhang, before pulling herself up to a second story window, which she was able to look in through.

From the exterior she silently searched the rooms for him.  His wife and an indoor servant were visible moving through the halls, and Uta had to wait many minutes before Lucian was alone in his study.

Uta opened the window and silently dropped into the room, so quietly that Lucian only just saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and gasped with fright when he turned to see a vampire standing only a few paces from him.

“You frightened me,” he told her, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, “What is this about?”

“Asha needs to speak with you.  Something’s wrong.  Someone’s fled,” Uta whispered in a hissing voice.

“I don’t see why she can’t just send me a message.  It’d be a whole lot simpler.”

“No,” Uta urged, moving towards Lucian and preparing to pick him up, “She needs to speak with you.”

Lucian turned up his hands in a gesture of resignation, before walking to the door of the room and locking it.  Uta quickly snatched him up off the ground and carried him to the window.  She leapt out of it and landed on the ground silently, immediately running for cover before she began her course back to the coven.

Lucian was carried rapidly on the back of the young vampire through the woods, and was inside the coven once again after several minutes of running.

At the foot of Asha’s throne, he was greeted and then told, “One of our vampires has escaped.  I would like you to get her back.  Her name is Lina, and she is hiding in Andrei’s home.  Can you do this for us?”

“Yes,” Lucian replied, “But as I told this young vampire, I don’t see the necessity of bringing me down her.  You could’ve told her and she could’ve told me.  What’s the point?”

Asha smiled and said, “I want to guarantee your cooperation.  And I like you visits.  You come so seldom to pay me a friendly visit.”

“I’ll speak to Andrei as soon as I can,” Lucian conceded, thinking of all the work that needed to be attended to back in his study.

“You’ll speak to Andrei now!” Asha interjected forcefully.  Lucian could do nothing but nod his head at this point and bowed to withdraw himself.

Within an hour of that visit he was at Andrei’s, knocking on the door and stepping inside to tell Andrei, “I’ve come to try to persuade you to return the vampire to her coven.”

Andrei let Lucian inside, only so that he could close the door behind him and keep the place secure, though he saw no reason for letting himself be persuaded by Lucian.

“We just signed a truce,” Lucian explained, “which is very valuable in saving the lives of a great many of the people around here: the parents and their children, especially the children, who are particularly vulnerable.  Yes, I know what you’re doing is not technically in violation of our treaty, but the treaty is built on mutual respect.  We don’t want to have to enforce it with arms; so we must take the precautionary approach and avoid aggravating our enemies.  Most probably, this vampire is running from some crime she has committed against her fellows vampires, and we are only giving her harbor and undermining their laws.”

“She has come with a human, a human she freed, a human that is supposedly one of hundreds,” Andrei finally said.

Lucian was brought to the quite unusual experience of having nothing to say when he heard this.  He could only ask, with evident shock, “What did you say?”

<-- Go to Part 81         Go to Part 83 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Several vampires jostled for the opportunity to fetch Lucian for Asha, but it was Uta who ultimately won out by ignoring this argument, retreating to her room, and rapidly slipping herself into her black clothes.  She then bolted through the caves and was out into the daylight before they could stop her.  With her quick speed she left behind several other vampires that tried to join her, heading directly for Lucian’s home, where he most likely would be at this time.

The house that Lucian occupied was significantly larger than any of the small farming cottages that most of the villagers possessed, and was at the center of a large estate, which Lucian owned.  It had a gleaming white exterior with many windows and was abutted by a horse stable and carriage house.

Uta had to approach the house circuitously, since it would not be profitable for a vampire to be seen approaching the home of the magistrate and there were several laborers working Lucian’s land.  Uta zipped behind trees and ducked through the grass, approaching the home out of sight of the many eyes that occupied the nearby outside.

Uta climbed the exterior of the house with ease, leaping up and grabbing an overhang, before pulling herself up to a second story window, which she was able to look in through.

From the exterior she silently searched the rooms for him.  His wife and an indoor servant were visible moving through the halls, and Uta had to wait many minutes before Lucian was alone in his study.

Uta opened the window and silently dropped into the room, so quietly that Lucian only just saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and gasped with fright when he turned to see a vampire standing only a few paces from him.

“You frightened me,” he told her, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, “What is this about?”

“Asha needs to speak with you.  Something’s wrong.  Someone’s fled,” Uta whispered in a hissing voice.

“I don’t see why she can’t just send me a message.  It’d be a whole lot simpler.”

“No,” Uta urged, moving towards Lucian and preparing to pick him up, “She needs to speak with you.”

Lucian turned up his hands in a gesture of resignation, before walking to the door of the room and locking it.  Uta quickly snatched him up off the ground and carried him to the window.  She leapt out of it and landed on the ground silently, immediately running for cover before she began her course back to the coven.

Lucian was carried rapidly on the back of the young vampire through the woods, and was inside the coven once again after several minutes of running.

At the foot of Asha’s throne, he was greeted and then told, “One of our vampires has escaped.  I would like you to get her back.  Her name is Lina, and she is hiding in Andrei’s home.  Can you do this for us?”

“Yes,” Lucian replied, “But as I told this young vampire, I don’t see the necessity of bringing me down her.  You could’ve told her and she could’ve told me.  What’s the point?”

Asha smiled and said, “I want to guarantee your cooperation.  And I like you visits.  You come so seldom to pay me a friendly visit.”

“I’ll speak to Andrei as soon as I can,” Lucian conceded, thinking of all the work that needed to be attended to back in his study.

“You’ll speak to Andrei now!” Asha interjected forcefully.  Lucian could do nothing but nod his head at this point and bowed to withdraw himself.

Within an hour of that visit he was at Andrei’s, knocking on the door and stepping inside to tell Andrei, “I’ve come to try to persuade you to return the vampire to her coven.”

Andrei let Lucian inside, only so that he could close the door behind him and keep the place secure, though he saw no reason for letting himself be persuaded by Lucian.

“We just signed a truce,” Lucian explained, “which is very valuable in saving the lives of a great many of the people around here: the parents and their children, especially the children, who are particularly vulnerable.  Yes, I know what you’re doing is not technically in violation of our treaty, but the treaty is built on mutual respect.  We don’t want to have to enforce it with arms; so we must take the precautionary approach and avoid aggravating our enemies.  Most probably, this vampire is running from some crime she has committed against her fellows vampires, and we are only giving her harbor and undermining their laws.”

“She has come with a human, a human she freed, a human that is supposedly one of hundreds,” Andrei finally said.

Lucian was brought to the quite unusual experience of having nothing to say when he heard this.  He could only ask, with evident shock, “What did you say?”

<-- Go to Part 81         Go to Part 83 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Vampire Wares pt 82