Chapter 29
Katelina lay in the grass, watching with terrified eyes as Bren walked towards Jesslynn. The vampiress was held between two captors, fighting to get free. As he walked, he swung the baby like a toy, and Oren roared, "Leave them alone!"
"Tut, tut," Bren chastised. "You know the Laws. This is an abomination and must be destroyed!" He raised his arm as if to pitch the screaming infant into the fire, but Jesslynn broke free and lunged for him.
She caught the child in her arms and pressed its face against her breasts. She stumbled and fell to her knees. "No! You can't! He's my child! You can't!"
Bren snickered. "You should have thought about that." Then he grabbed the baby by one arm and ripped it from her grasp. Wordlessly, he swung it backwards and slammed its tiny head into the nearby tree. Its skull shattered, showering blood and brains over everyone within range.
Jesslynn fell to the ground. Only her elbows kept her from landing face down in the grass. A scream of agony tore from her lips, "No!"
Bren's long tongue snaked out to lick a clot of gore from his face as he tossed the remains into the fire. "Bring me the other one!" He signaled to Jesslynn's guard to rein her in. The vampire obeyed and quickly pulled her arms behind her back.
Katelina lay in the grass, forgotten. Her dew soaked dress clung cold against her body. Splatters of blood decorated it like sick flowers. She blinked at the scene in unfathomable, numb terror.
On Bren's command, the vampire nearest to Alexander grabbed his tiny arm and tugged him to his feet. Bethina roared and broke her bonds. She launched herself at the startled vampire guard before he could react. Her fangs ripped out his throat in one motion and they fell to the ground in a struggling heap. Blood sprayed from his gaping neck and soaked Bethina's clothes and hair.
The vampire gurgled and fought as she pinned him down and ripped at his chest with claw like hands. Her fingers tore through his clothes and skin, while she growled unintelligible threats.
Alexander whimpered and clutched at Katelina. His large eyes were glued to Bethina. "They'll kill her," he whispered.
Katelina wanted to reassure him, but she had no words of comfort. He was right; they were going to kill them all.
With a roar and a snap Bethina broke through the vampire's ribcage and ripped his heart from his chest. Several of the other vampires hurried towards her, so she abandoned the motionless body and tackled the nearest of them. She pinned him down and tore at him like she had the first. One of the other guards caught her arms, but she flung him away and returned to her victim. She tore his heart from his chest but, before she could attack someone else, Senya shoved a dagger through her back.
Bethina didn't scream. Instead, she laughed. Angry red blood ran down the front of her clothing from where the tip of the dagger protruded. She made a gurgling noise and spit out a mouthful of the crimson liquid, then spun and snatched at Senya. The vampiress stepped deftly out of the way. Rather than chase her, Bethina grabbed the nearest vampire - one who'd been in the basement- and hurled him towards the tree. He slammed into the trunk with a crunching sound, but climbed to his feet easily enough, his left arm hanging at an odd angle.
Before Bethina could find a new victim, Bren stabbed another long dagger into her back. The blade missed her heart and she pulled herself off of it. She spun around and lunged towards him, her fangs bared and her hands held like claws.
Bren didn't flinch. He drove the dagger into her chest, stopping her only inches from him. She stood still, like something from a comic book. Her wide eyes looked past him to the sobbing Alexander. As they landed on him they cleared of madness. A strange smile flickered over her lips and then she crumpled to the ground. Dispassionately, Bren pulled his dagger free from her as she fell.
Alexander tore from Katelina's hold and flung himself over Bethina's lifeless body. He screamed words of misery that no one could understand. He clenched handfuls of her hair and sobbed while her blood soaked into his clothes and smeared on his pale skin.
Katelina tried to pull him away. She dug her fingers into the folds of his blood spotted clothing, but he was ripped from her grasp. Senya kicked Katelina and knocked her to the ground, where she lay, stunned. Her eyes sought out Jorick, who was still struggling against his two guards. She silently willed him to save them as he'd saved her at the motel.
"This is an abomination!" Bren shouted. He hauled the struggling Alexander towards Jesslynn with one hand. "This should never have been created - and it will be destroyed!" He held the kicking boy up in the air as he moved towards the roaring flames.
"No!" Jesslynn howled, fighting to get free. "Oren! Save him! Save our son!"
"Let him go!" Oren roared.
"If you wanted to save him then you shouldn't have changed him." Bren shook Alexander in midair so that his limbs flopped like a marionette. He leveled his gaze with Oren's and took a step towards the flames. The heat made Alexander squirm even more. "You know the laws."
"You twist the laws to suit your purpose!" Oren roared.
Bren only snickered. "Such is the prerogative of those with power."
Jesslynn sagged to the ground, all the fight gone from her. Her captor's hold was the only thing that kept her from falling face down in the grass. "God, no."
Bren's head snapped towards her. A wry smile danced on his lips. "Why do you call on God? You know he has abandoned us all." He broke into cold laughter and tossed the shrieking Alexander into the flames.
Katelina's eyes closed involuntarily and her hands went to her ears. She tried to drown out the boy's screams and held her breath against the stench as his body caught fire.
Oren bellowed unintelligibly. It was the anger of a man watching all he loved destroyed in an instant, helpless to prevent it.
Katelina opened her eyes in time to see Jesslynn's guards haul her upright. Bren wrinkled his nose in disgust and, without warning, shoved his dagger into her chest. She only screamed for a second and then her body sagged.
Oren tried to break free and roared in wordless fury.
Bren glanced at him and called, "She died for what she did, what she created! She broke the laws!" He seemed to savor Oren's fury as he traced his finger over Jesslynn's lifeless lips. With a smirk, he licked the blood from his hand while Oren shouted. Then, he picked her lifeless body up and flung it into the flames after her son. Bethina's body followed.
The vampires who'd been guarding the other human servants shoved them into the fire one by one. They ignored their screams and attempts to fight. Some of them even laughed as they carried out their grim work.
Katelina sought comfort from Jorick, but he wasn't looking at her. His attention was focused on Oren, who now had three vampires holding him back. He raged and struggled against them, screaming threats, his eyes locked on the bonfire. Thick smoke billowed from it and the flames leapt higher into the crisp black night as the stench of burning flesh grew stronger. The smell filled Katelina's nostrils and she gagged and retched. Her brain refused to process the images and sounds. Everything was a blur of blood and death and screams that echoed against the darkness.
Bren wiped his palms on his pants then moved to stand next to the fire, his hands on his hips. "And now, I will ask once more, where is she? Where is the one you hid here?" He looked around at the remaining vampires. His eyes skipped to each of their faces. "Do more need to die before you'll speak?"
"I swear, I'll kill you!" Oren shouted as he strained against his guards.
"I rather doubt it," Bren replied lightly. "You're in no position to do anything to me. Where is she? Where is Arowenia?"
"She isn't here!" Oren shouted back. "I've told you before: I don't have her, nor would I want her!"
"You lie!"
Bren took a step towards Oren and Jorick shouted furiously, "He tells the truth, she is not here!" His eyes narrowed and grew cold as Bren turned from Oren and came to a stop directly in front of him.
"Then where is she? I know she was here!" He stuck his face into Jorick's, their eyes only inches apart.
"'Was' is the key word," Jorick snapped as he glared unflinchingly at Bren. "She was moved long ago."
"Where has she been moved to?" Bren leaned closer, his nose almost touching Jorick's.
"I don't know. Her keepers came and took her, disappearing into the night. I don't ask questions." He continued to be unmovable, his eyes cold and dancing with fury.
"So you say, but I don't believe you."
"I don't care what you believe! You're so inept that a routine inquiry required no less than five Executioners and twelve guards?"
"We were expecting trouble!" Bren snapped. "And the suspicion was well warranted."
Jorick smirked. "Pathetic."
Bren's face twisted in fury. "Fuck you!" He pulled away and glared back. "I have orders to let you live, Jorick. You and those you protect." He started to walk away, then stopped and turned back around to deliver a warning. "But only this time. If you interfere in The Guild's business again, there will be no such orders. Do you understand?"
Jorick's tone was cold. "I understand perfectly."
"Let them go." Bren signaled with his hand. The guards obeyed and released both Oren and Jorick.
The blonde vampire lunged forward, fangs bared, but Jorick caught him. He wrapped his arms around his friend to stop him. "No! I have bought your life, but if you attack them there's nothing I can do!"
"And what good is this life?" Oren cried with anguish as he struggled in Jorick's grasp.
"Revenge," Jorick said quietly. He slowly released Oren, until only his hand remained on his friend's shoulder. "Revenge."
Oren relaxed and their eyes met briefly. Jorick let go of him completely and, with a nod, hurried to where Katelina lay. Her blonde hair tumbled around her pale dirty face. Blood spotted her dress and covered her hands. Her large eyes were luminous and out of focus as she stared up at him.
He scooped her into his arms and carried her towards a car parked in the driveway. Katelina clutched him and looked around wildly. Her eyes skipped from one vampire to the next. Only a handful were left. A couple of them argued with the death squad, but most were moving away to fade into the darkness and disassociate themselves from everything that had happened.
The great brick house stood ruined and burning. Flames filled the remaining windows and licked at the black ruined walls. The gaping hole in the front stood out like a gouged wound. Fire leapt from it, crackling against the black sky as it fought to destroy all it could.
When they reached the car Jorick slid her into the passenger seat, then quickly climbed in behind the wheel. The keys hung from the ignition and in a moment the car sputtered to life.
"You're all right?"
Katelina nodded numbly to Jorick's question, though she wasn't sure the definition really fit her.
As they sped down the driveway Katelina peered through the passenger window. Oren stood alone, in the circle of light from the bonfire. His blonde hair blew in a stray breeze and his tattered clothes were blackened with soot. He stared at the dancing flames with hardened features; devoid of emotion as he watched the fire consume the bodies of those he loved.
