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To Dream of Darkness

A story by DoggyStyle57

Chapter 20, Written January 2012

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Chapter 20 - Confronting dangerous prey

After shaking hands on their alliance, Heather teleported back inside the inn. Lady Portia walked back to the inn, and in the common room she allowed Heather to seem to entice her with an offer of a massage, and maybe more 'personal' services for the night. Making it look like Portia might have hired Heather for the full evening, they went to Heather's room in the inn.

Once they were in the room, Heather cast a warding spell against being spied upon, and they began to plan their next moves.

"We must go to Amara's home, and get the body of her deceased husband. If holy water burns its flesh, we need to get the corpse to the police so they can see that test performed, as proof that you killed a real vampire, and we will need to show them that you can drink the same holy water, as proof that you are not one. They know me. They will trust me enough to give us a chance to offer proof, and not slay you on sight, if you are with me. You do realize, I hope, that if Amara's husband was a vampire, there is a very good chance that she is one also? If that proves to be true, can you still bring yourself to destroy her?" Portia asked.

"Yes. Though we lived in the same home for several years, almost like sisters, I do not have any real affection for her. I can destroy her, if I must. We will also need to be certain of her parents' condition. To be certain she has not already made them into vampires as well," Heather said.

"True. But if she had already turned them into vampires by the time you were attacked, I have to believe that they would have been attacking you too that night, as part of her clan. So I think that she had not yet infected her parents at that time. And if her parents were not yet vampires, it would make sense for her to frame you. That could get them to mistrust you, and also to let their guard down around her. I would imagine that after raising the hue and cry to get the police to chase you as a vampire, she would have to stay her hand for a while, before she dares to kill her own parents and make them into vampires. The police will be watching them too closely," Lady Portia stated.

"Is there... any cure for someone who has become a vampire?"Heather asked. "Can they ever become normal again, once they've been turned into one? Or is destroying them the only answer?"

"If you are having second thoughts, and thinking of saving Amara instead of destroying her, don't get your hopes up. It is said to be possible to cure a vampire, but it is not an easy thing to do. I have never witnessed a successful cure," Lady Portia said. "A vampire that has fed on blood would have to go for three days without feeding on blood again, to weaken it. You would probably have to keep them pinned in place with a wooden stake through the heart to restrain them for that long, because by the end of three days, they would be ravenously hungry and almost insane with need for blood. Or the vampire to be cured would have to be a freshly-bitten victim, less than a day after being turned, and one that has not yet killed a victim of their own and fed on their blood. Then, once they are weakened by not feeding, or within that first day if they are just turned and have never fed on blood, it's merely a matter of getting them to drink a mixture of equal parts holy water, the untainted blood of a living soul, the ashes of a slain vampire, and the blood of a damned soul that is not a vampire. The two kinds of blood both need to be fresh - less than a day old. And then, even if you do all that, if the body of the vampire that you are trying to cure is wounded, it has to survive the wounds once cured. So if you had to stake them through the heart to restrain them, it is very unlikely they would survive being cured."

"I see. Actually, I was thinking more of what might happen if either of us gets bitten and turned. I would just as soon not have to destroy you, or have you trying to destroy me, if there is an alternative. Perhaps as a precaution in case one of us is bitten, or we catch her biting her parents, we should both draw a bit of our own blood, so we have an untainted portion of blood and the holy water available, at least? If one of us is bitten, the other may be able to get the remaining ingredients in time, if we already have that part of it ready," Heather suggested. She rummaged around in the chest at the foot of her bed, and produced four small glass bottles, with glass stoppers. She changed the color of two of them, and passed the other two to Ladd Portia.

"That sounds like a reasonable precaution. I have several flasks of holy water, so I will give two of them to you," Lady Portia said. She made a small cut in the pad of her left hand, near the edge, and allowed some blood to drip into her two bottles, while Heather did the same. Heather exchanged one of her bottles with Lady Portia, so they each had a sample of their own blood, and of the other's blood. Then Lady Portia applied a styptic powder to the wounds on both of them, to stop the bleeding.

"One last thing," Heather asked. "Is there any protection that can be applied before encountering a vampire, which will prevent a vampire from turning the protected person into a vampire, if they are bitten?"

"Not really. The only real immunity I know of is that they can't turn someone into a vampire if the victim's soul is already damned. For example, a vampire and a werewolf are both damned souls. They can slay each other, if the necessary requirements are met, and the slain one goes to hell. But if a vampire bites a werewolf, or the other way around, the victim, fortunately, does not become a hybrid of both at once. Becoming a werewolf to be able to be immune to vampire bites is not exactly a precaution most would take, and I know of no other preventative," Lady Portia said. "We should be prepared to slay them, with either magic or with enchanted weaponry. Do you own any magical weapons?"

"I see. Well, I have very few physical weapons, but what I do own may serve well," Heather said. She touched two of the charms on her hidden necklace, and produced her father's ceremonial magic sword and dagger. "My father made these. They were forged in the fire of an elemental that he summoned. There are silver inscriptions on both blades, which as far as I can tell, together with the elemental forging, only serve to make them unbreakable, and make them able to resist very intense heat. I never saw him fight with them, but they do have a sharp edge. While they don't have a flaming spell, like your blades, I have a spell I can cast on them that could make these blades white hot, while I could still wield them. And I have also been thinking about the wooden stake idea. I have had no time to make a dart thrower, like the one in your swords. But if I embed one of your wooden darts in the blood groove of the dagger, would that function as a wooden stake, if I accurately strike the vampire's heart with it?"

"It should. And if they don't realize the wood is there, they may discount what seems a silver inlaid blade as being of little threat to them. Good thinking," Lady Portia said. "The silver on the blades, in addition to a spell to make the blades very hot, should make them capable of wounding a vampire in ways that they can't rapidly heal. Those will have to do."

Heather took the wooden dart that Portia had once fired into the post in her workshop, and used a spell to embed it in the blade of her father's dagger, so the ironwood tip of the dart was right at the tip of the blade. Then she fastened the dagger behind her back, and returned the sword to its hidden position on her necklace. Her own form shifted, and she became Lady Sarina Randall again.

"This is Sarina's fight. If Amara is untainted, or only recently turned, maybe Sarina can reason with her. If not, well, I'll certainly draw her attention, and maybe that will give you a chance to find the body, and then join me in fighting her, while she is focused on me," Sarina said. "I can't think of anything else, so let's see if we can get Sir Reginald Wilson's remains."

===

Using what little Sarina knew of where Amara should be living, Lady Portia opened a portal to a rooftop in that neighborhood. It didn't take long for them to identify a single Brownstone townhouse that had a police officer standing in front of it.

"That seems to be the place. Is Amara also a mage? The windows and doors of that townhouse are heavily warded," Lady Portia asked.

"No. Amara had no talent at magic, and no interest in it. Not while she lived with her parents. She would read romances while I studied magic," Sarina stated. "I don't know if her husband had skills of that nature. She never told us much about him. I can sense the wards, and also the surface thoughts of the policeman in front of the place. He is expecting to be relieved at midnight, and is wondering if a second officer stationed in the alley behind the brownstone is as bored as he is. He believes Amara is inside. He has orders that she is in mourning, and not to be disturbed. The one in the alley has similar thoughts. I can sense a single presence inside the townhouse, but the wards make it impossible to tell where it is, or to read their thoughts."

"Good. You said you couldn't detect her husband's presence when he had the medallion on? Maybe that means she is alone, and is not wearing it. But we can't be certain. She could be wearing the medallion, and there could be someone else in there with her. Perhaps even another police officer?" Lady Portia suggested.

"Not police, no. At least, the two constables on the street are not thinking there is any other officer assigned on guard duty with them. The only other minds I can sense in the area are various neighbors, who seem to have no thoughts relating to that Brownstone or its inhabitants, other than some vague worries about the policeman on the sidewalk, and why he is loitering there, and not patrolling the area," Sarina said.

There wasn't much light out, other than the sliver of a moon and two gaslight street lamps, both fairly distant from the entry of the Brownstone. The entry itself was in shadow, and there were no lights showing in the windows of the Brownstone, which all had drapes tightly closed. She looked at the height of the waning crescent moon, and said, "We have a couple hours before those policemen should get relieved. Go to the back entry, and I will take the front. I will cast a sleep spell on both of the policemen as soon as I am down there. I will draw her attention at the front, and try to prolong the confrontation, to give you time in the back to find the body. Do what you can when you see the policeman on your side fall over in his sleep. Good luck."

Lady Portia looked slightly amused at the way Sarina was taking charge of the logistics, but just nodded and said, "As you wish, My Lady. Good hunting!" She opened a portal and stepped away, into the shadows of the alley below.

===

The two constables were both burly bulldogs, not much older than twenty five. They had been told that the widow inside this townhouse had lost her husband just a few nights earlier, and that the poor fellow was slain by a vampire. As a precaution, both of them wore a simple silver crucifix on a cord around their necks, and carried thin glass bottles filled with holy water. But they both knew they would be unable to do very much if a vampire actually attacked. Still, it was their duty to try, and try they would. They had a description of the vampire that supposedly did Sir Reginald in, a comely red vixen, of the gentry, who was apparently a cousin of the widow. They sincerely hoped not to meet her.

The guard on the sidewalk became alert as he saw a female figure walking slowly down the sidewalk. But he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it was a canine lady that he knew - that Collie mage that hunted vampires and werewolves, Lady Portia!

"Good evenin' My Lady!" The constable said with a smile. "I take it you're hunting the vixen that did in Sir Reginald? I have to say, I'm relieved to see someone with experience in such things about tonight."

Sarina, who had altered her appearance briefly to imitate Lady Portia, placed a finger to her muzzle, and made a 'Shhhh!' sound, as she walked closer. When she was in arm's reach of the officer, she cast her sleep spell on both this fellow and the one in the alley, catching the policeman and swiftly hiding him in the stairway to the cellar apartment of the neighboring Brownstone. She touched his forehead, and commanded, "You will remember only that a dense fog that blew through the street, and the next thing you will remember will be when you awaken. Sleep now, and wake for no sound, until sunlight touches you."

As she arose, she placed an illusion on the sidewalk, so anyone who looked where the officer had been would see him still there, idly shifting his weight back and forth as he had been, and looking bored. She cast another illusion to make it appear from any of the nearby buildings that the entry was closed and unoccupied, even if she was on the stairs confronting Amara, and to mask any sounds their confrontation might make. Those illusions would also vanish when touched by sunlight.

Then she walked up the steps to the front door of Amara's townhouse, altering her appearance back to Sarina as she ascended the stairs. At the door, she turned the t-shaped crank that rang the door bell.

===

In the alley, the real Lady Portia saw the second constable slump into a heap. She dragged him behind two dustbins, and went through the back gate, then through a small walled garden, and to the back stoop. There were two back doors, one up a half flight of stairs, leading to the main floor, and one down a short flight, leading to a cellar. She set to work, carefully dismantling the warding spell on the cellar door, while striving to negate it without sending any signal that the wards had been breached.

===

Sarina waited in the shadows of the entry, her fox eyes able to see fairly well in the dim moonlight. She cast another brief spell so she could see well in total darkness, if needed, and yet not be blinded if a bright light appeared.

Without warning, the door opened onto a darkened hallway, and Amara stood there, one hand on the door. "Well! Aren't you the bold one! You dare to come right to my door, without even a pretense of a disguise, after what you have done to me? But you always were the bold, adventurous one, weren't you? Should I scream, and get the attention of the police officer that you somehow slipped past?"

"Hello Amara. Scream all you like. He can't hear you. No one can. Your neighbors can't even tell your door is open. May I come in?" Sarina asked.

"Ah, yes. Your oh-so-powerful magic. All those dreams and illusions, and peering into other people's minds. Those spells are powerless against me now, so by all means, come into my home, if you dare. Have you come to slay me as well? Is this how you betray my family's hospitality, after we cordially welcomed you into our midst?" Amara asked sarcastically.

"That depends entirely on you, Amara. Truth be told, I really don't care what you are, or where you choose to go, provided I can clear up this annoying misconception that you caused, when you made people think that I was a vampire. And provided that you don't oppose my own plans," Sarina said, stepping into the foyer, although keeping an eye on Amara. She noticed as she entered that the furniture in the parlor adjoining the foyer was all covered with sheets, as if the family was away for an extended time. "Planning on leaving soon? Or did you never bother with living in the above-ground floors, after your return? And not even bothering with the pretense of lights, are you?"

"The darkness suits my mood. I am in mourning, as you know full well," Amara snapped, as she closed the door. "You killed my husband. You are also responsible for killing my house girl. Why should I not kill you? Or better yet, convince you to join my side? The police and the public already believe you are a vampire, and a murderer. With your magic, and the immortality and power of vampirism, what could you not do? You can't go back to living with them. Can you?" As she spoke, Amara's eyes began to glow red, as she attempted to mesmerize Sarina. "Come to me. Join me, cousin. You cannot believe the power you could command."

"Funny, but you don't really sound all that angry about their deaths, to me. So you admit that the vampire girl who attacked me was your servant?" Sarina replied, her own defenses shrugging off the compulsion spell that she had anticipated. "As it happens, I didn't destroy her. She was destroyed by an elemental, which admittedly was in my service. If you want to complain to that elemental of that, you can go to hell and find her. I'll gladly send you there, if you attack me. And your girl didn't seem very immortal to me, nor did your late husband. But neither of them would have been destroyed by my actions, if they had not attacked me." Sarina's eyes glowed bright green, and she said, "You can't win in a battle of mind enchantments with me, even if your mind is shielded from me. I assure you, the best you can hope for is both of us ending up in hell. But unlike you, I could probably leave that place when I choose. All I want is your husband's body, so I can prove that he was a vampire, and that I am not. Let me have that, and you can flee and continue your wretched existence somewhere else. So tell me, dear cousin, do you want to survive, or be sent to Hell?"

This story continues in Part II, to be found here: http://www.sofurry.com/page/323148/user