Chapter 1, continued
"Aye." The man took Mouse to the nearby church and threw him in, bolting the doors behind him. "Where is it?"
Meredith looked around slowly, her eyes running along the craggy peaks of the roofs. "It's –"
There was an explosion from the top of the church, showering Nero and Meredith with wood shards and glass fragments. The pair watched over their shoulders in horror, running in opposite directions as the creature dove at them. It was huge and bat-like, fangs bared in a pitch-black face, a wing-span of at least twelve feet. Blood red eyes glared down at them from the sky. Meredith reached into the folds of her loose black shirt and drew out a silver gun. It had an ebony handle with a cross engraved into the barrel near the trigger. She cocked the hammer and aimed fluidly, firing a single shot into the attacking creature's left wing. It shrieked and flew toward one of the manor houses, dripping neon green blood.
"You all right, Nero?" Meredith asked quietly, using a single hand to pull him to his feet.
"Yeah," he grunted; he had never gotten used to her inhuman strength. "What did you shoot him with?"
"Silver bullet blessed by Father Nicholas."
He laughed at the memory of the balding old priest who had sent them to Viscaera in the first place. "How many did he bless for you?"
"3 surplus boxes," she replied.
"Damn!"
"Go talk with the people in the church. See if you can get a name to go with that gruesome face. I'll take Zephyr and Sirius and have a look around the manors."
"G'luck, Mem." Nero vanished into the church.
Meredith smiled and held her arm out for Zephyr. "We have work to do, you two. C'mon."
The raven landed lightly on her hand while the wolf circled warily. They had both originally been Nero's allies and hadn't warmed to Meredith for quite sometime. She was a dhampir, the child of a vampire, and the two creatures had sensed the vampiric blood in her. White wolves and ravens are two of the most sensitive animals to the presence of vampires, that Meredith had understood; Nero was, after all, a human vampire hunter.
Walking through the small town made it clear that Meredith had entered a danger zone. The cemetery had many newly-dug graves, the fresh earth stark against the green surroundings. The scene made Meredith's blood run cold; what had these poor villagers gone through to warrant such a demise? Nothing would have brought this upon them that immediately came to the red-head's mind.
"Take to the skies, Zephyr," she told the black creature perched on her wrist. "Show me the way."
With a shriek, the bird took off, sailing high over Meredith and the canine that stalked warily at her side. Gesturing to Sirius to follow her, the dhampir sprinted after the raven, ignoring the hammering ache of her arm as a thorn tore through it.
The northern manor was a large and impressively-built work of architecture, ground into the mountainside like a naturally weathered crag in the rock. A long staircase encircled the outside of what seemed to be the main building. As the mountain ascended, the roofs of the towers and turrets climbed higher. Its crowning peek was a shining onyx cross adorning a domed roof of slate. Zephyr landed on it, looking saintly. At least, as saintly as a raven can look.
"Atta girl, Zephyr," Meredith said quietly. "Sirius, find us a way inside."
With a growl, the wolf stalked to the east but doubled back soon after. Nothing that way, the dhampir thought. Guess that means we go west.
"Who are you?" asked a voice behind her. It was young yet mature, immediately telling the red-headed newcomer that she was dealing with a boy of about sixteen or seventeen, possibly as old as eighteen.
Meredith turned. The boy stood in front of the gate of the mansion, staring more at the prowling white wolf than Meredith herself. His hair was black and cut close to his head, clipped over his ears, and short in the back; the style of the rich. He wore glasses with thick black frames over startlingly bright blue eyes. He was about half a head taller than the Irish dhampir, and dressed in a loose white shirt and brown pants tucked into riding boots.
She gave a small bow. "Meredith Mori. And you are?"
He bowed as well. "Nathanael Windgates."
"I suppose you live here then." She looked at the manor behind him, casting wary eyes at the raven still perched on the cross. Curse the infernal bird!
Nathanael was looking her over, and Meredith was more than well aware that the white wolf that had accompanied her was off to the west. But her trepidation melted; this boy wasn't the vampire they were after, she decided. Sirius was circling as warily as ever, but not attacking him. Always a good sign with Sirius.
"What do you know about the vampiric activity in the village?"
"They've been happening regularly since before I was born. One or two people get picked off and taken back for Arduino's children – "
"There's more of those blood suckers?" Meredith said in disbelief.
"Two others," Nathanael told her. "Ursula and Ennio. Girl and boy respectively. Born within a few days of each other to Arduino's two wives."
"That's just...." She shuddered. "That aside, Arduino would be the monster that just attacked the village?"
Nathanael nodded. "That he would. He's more powerful than Ennio and Ursula. The younger ones can't come out during the day the way he can."
Meredith bit her lower lip lightly, thinking. Obviously, the little blood suckers would be easier to deal with than their father. It was Arduino she had to worry about.
The boy suddenly took a step back as Sirius leapt forward, knocking the dhampir back. Her eyes were red, and her hands had balled into quivering fists. Adrenaline suddenly poured through her veins, and Sirius pinned her down as she fought off the abrupt surge of anger.
Meredith shook violently as she calmed, staring up into the yellow of the wolf's eyes. "Thank you, Sirius," she panted and patted his silver head.
Getting to her feet, she dared not look at the noble; showing weakness was one thing that terrified her, and especially in front of someone she had to protect. She could feel Nathanael's eyes on her, boring into her right shoulder as she balanced herself. The underside of her left wrist ached.
Those blue orbs latched hers immediately. "Are you all right?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes," she said quietly.
"What's on your wrist?"
She looked down and saw the familiar tattoo: I X NI KA. It was clearer than before. "I don't remember where it came from," she replied. "I've had it for the longest time." She gave a mirthless chuckle. "It's strange. I barely attend church at all..."
"And yet our wrist reads "Jesus Christ Conquers"," he said, translating the saying.
She smiled, surprised that he made the connection so quickly. Not many people caught on until she told them.
Sirius suddenly howled a short note, facing the path behind the pair. Mem turned in time to see Nero sprinting up the path, hood and raven hair flying. He stopped, panting, in front of the Windgates heir and the Irish dhampir.
