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To Dream of Darkness

A story by DoggyStyle57

Chapter 18, Written January 2012

===

Chapter 18 - Night Work

The evening meal in the Pennington's manor house was subdued. Lady Pennington was not in a good mood, and was making sure everyone knew it.

"The least she could do is to come over for tea," she complained. "It's been a year since they were married, and has she even once invited us to her home?"

"Well, dear, Sir Reginald Wilson is a naval officer, after all. He and our Amara have three homes, and move about a lot, as his duties take him to other ports," Lord Pennington said apologetically. He was no more pleased than his wife at how distant their daughter had become, but he didn't feel it was appropriate for him to make a public display of such emotions.

"But I know she is in town now," Lady Pennington insisted. "Two nights ago, when we were returning from the opera, I am certain I saw Amara and Sir Reginald on the balcony of Kensington House, attending a banquet. I asked around, and it was an awards ceremony for naval officers."

"To which we were not invited, as I am not a Navy man myself," Lord Pennington stated reasonably. "Really now, my dear, would you expect a group of Navy men to invite a retired Army officer and his family to their soiree? I doubt Sir Reginald was up for an award himself, or we would have heard of that. So why should it matter?"

"Auntie misses my cousin, Uncle. That is all. I do confess she has a point. I have many obligations of my own, and yet I would not decline an invitation to visit you, were I in her position," Sarina said quietly.

"I will send a girl again to give them an invitation to dinner," Lady Pennington said. "For mid-week, so they shall have no excuses of prior engagements."

"As you wish, my dear," Lord Pennington said, though he doubted the girl or her husband would attend this time, either. He had seen this behavior before, in the daughters of several of his friends. As soon as they had a husband and a household of their own, they set about making their home into their private kingdom, taking control of the household staff and trying to re-form their husband into the man they believed they had married, or into the man they hoped he could be. Amara's expectations in her men had always been unreasonable, so it did not surprise him that her settling in with her husband demanded her full attention.

===

As soon as it was polite for her to do so, Sarina took her leave of them, and went to her workshop. The period of time that her elemental, Asha, was bound to serve her was drawing to a close, and suddenly seven years seemed to be nowhere near enough. There was so much yet that the elemental could teach her, of pyromancy in particular, and of magic in general. Sarina was determined to make each remaining night count.

She let herself into the workshop, and the lamps brightened with no effort of her own, as the elemental lit them for her. "Good evening, Asha," she said.

"Good evening Mistress. Shall we resume your lessons? The next spell is one to cast a firebolt, a torrent of flames directed at a single target," the elemental said, as she took vixen form again.

"Yes. I think I have a good grasp of the spell we worked on last night, to heat an object in my own hands, or to take up an already hot or burning object, while remaining untouched by its heat. Look at this," Sarina said, as she activated that spell and reached into the forge withdrawing and holding a burning lump of coal in her hand, without harming her fur at all.

"Good! That is very necessary with the firebolt spell, as it's casting first enflames the caster's hand," Asha said. "Now, you will find the spell on this page in the treatise by Archibald Caxton. Make sure you reverse this number with that one, when you cast it, however. Caxton had a nasty habit of placing traps for the unwary in his spells, preferring them only to be used by a mage wise enough t spot a subtle error like that."

They worked for several hours, until Sarina felt it wise to return home and seek her bed. Before she left, she asked, "Asha? What... what will become of you, when the seven years are up? When you no longer are bound to serve me?"

"Well, I will be free at that point to finally exchange your fertility with another creature from my plane, or with a mortal who is willing to strike a suitable bargain for it. At first, I will return to Hell, as the people of your plane of existence call my home realm, there to await a new summons, or the sufficiently urgent or desperate call of someone who wishes to make an exchange that I can make an offer for. If no one summons me, then I am free to do as I wish," Asha said. "I could even choose to return to this realm, on my own. Perhaps I will do that, Mistress. Being with you has been more entertaining than with many other mages that I have served."

"And if I wished to bind you to my service again, what of that?" Sarina asked. "What cost would that require this time?"

"I can't say, Mistress. We would have to negotiate it at that time, as we did before. It would be something I would value, or be able to exchange later," the elemental said, in an offhand manner. "But if I have not yet been summoned by another, I would not resist your summons."

===

It was late, and somewhat foggy, as Sarina walked home. The gaslight street lamps cast pools of illumination, but the fog kept the light from fully overlapping, as it would on a clear night. She could see less than fifty feet ahead in this fog at best, and could not see the moon or stars at all.

There were few others on the streets this late at night. A carriage driver drove slowly along, seeking one last fare for the night. Ladies of the evening stood in lamp lit doorways, seeking a customer for their charms. Occasionally a shadowy figure would lurk in a darkened alley. But most of the thieves and thugs in the district knew well enough that she was a mage, and not one to be trifled with. Sarina did not have any reason to fear the majority of the people who were up this late at night.

She was startled by a sudden crash, as a dark form came hurtling out of an alley on her right, and smashed into the side of a passing carriage. The horses reared as the driver attempted to get them calmed down. A female figure picked herself up from the ruined interior and door of the carriage, and jumped back in the direction of the alley, drawing twin swords that suddenly enflamed with a golden light.

In the light of the flaming swords, Sarina could clearly see that the person was Lady Portia, the canine mage. And Lady Portia looked absolutely furious. Snarling and issuing a deep growl that would have given a feral wolf due pause, Portia leaped at a second figure in the shadows, attacking with no mercy.

Her opponent moved with startling speed, avoiding the sword blows and spinning around behind Lady Portia, to strike the mage in the back with one hand. The blow had such force that the mage slammed into the corner of a building, and a sickening snap was heard as she struck. She screamed in pain as her left arm fell useless to her side, and the sword in that hand fell to the ground.

Sarina had seen enough. As the shadowy canine female vampire moved in for the kill on the injured mage, Sarina raised one hand and cast the firebolt spell she had just learned.

The torrent of golden flames hit the right side of the vampire, and through the curtain of flames she glared at Sarina with glowing red eyes, as her clothing caught fire. Screaming in rage and pain, she looked from Sarina to Portia, and then leaped to the nearest building's roof in a single bound, fur and clothes still burning, and vanished across the rooftops.

The stench of burned fur filled the air as Sarina went to lady Portia, and helped her to stand.

"She was stronger and more agile than I expected, and gave me quite a fight. You should have finished her, while you had the chance. Always lop off the head. Fire alone would have to be hotter than the heart of any forge, to kill a vampire. But thank you, for your aid. My arm is badly broken. I don't suppose you're as good at mending flesh as you are with steel?" Lady Portia asked, wincing in pain. "My own strength is exhausted. I cannot heal myself."

"I'm terrible at healing, but I can get you to a doctor, or a healing mage," Sarina replied.

They got back to the damaged carriage, and the driver asked angrily, "Say there! Who's paying for the damage to my cab?"

Sarina's eyes glowed, as she touched the carriage and restored it to its undamaged state. "I have fixed the damage for you. But I cannot fix her. She needs a healing mage, rapidly. Get her to one." She tossed the man two silver coins, helped Portia into the cab, and saw them off.

===

The next night, Sarina discussed the vampire's attack with Asha.

"I should return with you, Mistress," The elemental said. "You hurt it, but did not kill it. That vampire will be after you now."

"I drove it off easily enough," Sarina said. "But you may follow, unseen, if you wish."

Sarina walked home, with Asha following invisibly behind her.

One of the streetwalkers stepped out of her doorway, as if taking a chance that Sarina might have some interest in her ample bosom, which was nearly toppling out of her chemise, so tightly was her corselet laced. "Lonely, hon?" she asked.

"Not interested," Sarina replied. But as she moved to pass the canine girl, she saw the streetwalker's eyes begin to glow red.

"Oh, but I have an interest in you, m'lady," the girl hissed, stepping into Sarina's path and attempting to enthrall her with a spell.

Sarina put up one hand and blasted the wench with telekinesis, knocking her into the alley.

The wench shook her head, as the glamour that had disguised her fell away. The vampire girl from the night before stood, and locked her eyes on Sarina's, commanding, "Come to my embrace. You cannot resist me."

Sarina staggered back a step, and then slowly shuffled forward, into the vampire's arms.

The vampire embraced her, and bent to bite her soft-furred neck.

Sarina suddenly grabbed the vampire tightly, as her entire body erupted into fire. Black fire. Asha, in her natural form as an elemental, turned up her infernal heat until the light of the nearest door lamps and street lamps was eclipsed by the black anti-light of her otherworldly fire.

The vampire screamed as she was incinerated utterly, flailing and biting at the insubstantial flames of the elemental in a last attempt to curse her with vampirism.

It was soon over, and Asha took the form of a vixen again, as the real Sarina released the invisibility spell that she had cloaked herself with just as the vampire was first knocked into the alley, and as Asha had taken her place.

"Are you all right, Asha?" Sarina asked. "She... didn't infect you with her curse?"

Asha smiled, and replied, "The vampire's curse is blood borne, and I have no blood to taint. No elemental can become a vampire, Mistress, though I am touched at your concern for my well being."

Sarina looked around, and replied, "Well... while you serve me, you are mine. It would not do for them to take what is mine from me. That is all, really. Return to the workshop. I sense no other hostile minds, and I have but two blocks to go to return to the Pennington Manor."

"As you command, Mistress," Asha replied, as she vanished from sight.

Sarina looked ahead, and saw a carriage was parked in front of the mansion. Reaching out with her mind, she sensed the presence of her cousin, Amara.

"Auntie will be pleased. She finally accepted our invitation," Sarina said to herself, withdrawing from Amara's mind as soon as she sensed who it was. "I wonder if Sir Reginald is with her?..."

Her musings were interrupted as something hit her hard from behind, driving her head first through the glass window of a shop. Sarina barely had time to throw her arms up to protect her face, and her left arm was gashed on a shard of glass, as she fell into the window display of household bric a brac. She sucked at the superficial but freely bleeding cut on her arm, and turned to see what hit her.

A large male figure was backlit by the street lamp directly behind him, as her attacker stood on the sidewalk and reaching out to grab her, his eyes glowing red in the dark, as the only feature of his face that she could see, but clearly identifying him to her as another vampire.

Sarina cast an intense fear spell, but it did nothing. She reached out to attack the vampire's mind with nightmare, yet sensed no hole in his defenses that her mind could penetrate.

The vampire tried to grab her leg, and she was only barely fast enough to roll away from him over the shards of broken glass and shattered crockery and other displayed wares.

She scrambed backward, deeper into the store, and her hand landed on something metal. It was a silver crucifix! Sarina held it up, and the vampire backed away from her, shielding its eyes with its arms. Pressing her advantage, Sarina leaped back through the damaged window display and onto the sidewalk, in mid-leap altering the metal of the crucifix into a double-bitted silver axe. The vampire sensed there was no longer a cross in front of him, and lowered its arms, just as Sarina heated the axe blade white-hot, and hacked at the creature to lop off its head.

Panting hard, she dropped the axe and immediately cast a firebolt at the face-down severed head in the gutter, incinerating it.

Before she could catch her breath, the night air was pierced by a shrill female scream.

"She's murdered him! She's murdered my husband! Look at her!" screamed Amara as she pointed at Sarina and the headless corpse at her feet. A corpse that Sarina could now see was wearing the dress uniform of a naval officer.

She could hear a police whistle in the fog, as an officer on patrol responded to the screams. She could see Lord Pennington and Lady Pennington coming out of the mansion, standing behind Amara, and staring at her in horror.

Sarina stood there over the headless corpse, her own mouth stained bright red with the blood from the gash on her arm, and knew she couldn't possibly explain the situation. Cursing profoundly, she teleported away. The last thing she heard before she vanished was Amara's hysterical voice, screaming, "Daddy! My cousin is a vampire! She killed my husband!"