Pierced (Completed)

Chapter 7: Madness

"IT'S NOT THE SIZE OF THE DOG IN THE FIGHT, IT'S THE SIZE OF THE  FIGHT IN THE DOG"-MARK TWAIN

*****

Harry levitated up the side wall of the castle, coming to rest on the other side in a small, secluded alley. He pulled the hood of the cloak he was wearing over his head. The black garment was designed to make him blend in, because according to Shadow, all the vampires who resided in the castle wore one. Harry though it was a little stereotypical.

That was beside the point, though. He reminded himself one more time what Shadow's plan entailed as he walked up to the inner castle doors. Down to its basics, the plan basically consisted of Harry heading directly to the Master Vampire as the main distraction while Hermione and Shadow busted out Katerina.

Harry kept his head down as he was inspected by the guards, Shadow claiming that since he smelled like a vampire, they would have no problem. His cloak billowed around him as he strode through the entrance hall, his powerful steps taking him directly towards the heart of the castle.

Dim candles hung on the walls, though the castle seemed to be immaculate. Dim, but immaculate. Shiny marble floor squeaked lightly under the soles of his shoes and dark shadow clung to him as he walked deeper into the bowels of the vampires' den, trying his best to stay unnoticed as other vampires passed him, their identical cloaks covering their faces. He glanced behind him and saw several vampires traveling in the same direction as him, which made him think that he was hopefully going in the correct direction.

Going with his gut feeling and trying to remember the directions Shadow had given him, Harry turned left at the next perpendicular corridor, only to come face to face with a dozen vampires armed to the teeth, nasty grins on their faces.

*****

Hermione did her best to breathe quietly as she and Shadow soared over the castle wall, Hermione on the vampire's back. A modern sewage system ran through the castle, so the two of them found the nearest grate and hopped into the sewer, Hermione making sure to cast an impervious charm on her body first.

They went in the direction of the castle, Hermione plugging her nose as Shadow listened with all his might. Hermione was surprised the smell didn't overwhelm him considering that he had a super-sensitive vampire nose.

"It's just waste, a part of nature," Shadow murmured. "Doesn't smell that bad, actually. Reminds me of nature."

Shadow must have had some weird experiences in his two thousand years if the contents of a sewer reminded him of nature.

"Here we are," Shadow muttered, pointing up at a hatch. "Funnily enough, the Master also uses this sewer as an escape route."

"But if Harry fights the Master, then won't he just escape through here when Harry's fighting him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think the Master would back down from a direct challenge if other vampires were there," said Shadow distractedly as he tried to work the hatch open. "It just makes the Master look bad. Just to be safe, though, we'll destroy the hatch as soon as we're through, all right?"

Hermione nodded as Shadow finally got the hatch open. He peeked his head out to check that the coast was clear before hopping out and offering Hermione a hand, which she gratefully took. Shadow pulled her through the hatch, carefully setting her on her feet afterwards. Hermione was amazed to find that she was in the dungeons.