I locked the door behind Mary. It was an iron door, mostly for show, but largely impenetrable. I knew I couldn't stay here, and I needed to get to the temple. The Duke was in the temple. There would be guards, safety, and I could see if there was a hidden room where the secret of the witches was kept.
After a minute, I remembered there was a second hidden entrance. It was for the familiars; if shut properly, anyone breaking in might miss it and give me time to get to the temple. I pushed the door, which was hidden as a wall, aside. As it opened, a hidden flurry of red smoke came into the room. Walking up the steps, I noticed body after body lying dead, killed by the gas. From their position, they seemed to be running up stairs away from the docks. The staircase was old, made of metal. I walked up quietly, then began to find more bodies. These were better dressed in Lobishomen clothing; then there were vampires. They lay with silver bolts in them, along with blisters on the skin, which occurred when the silver poison was taking effect.
Rushing up the steps, I noticed a familiar gown; it was the high priestess. Her back had three or four silver arrows in it. I heard a cough. Rolling her onto her side, I looked at the black blood dripping from her lips. One of the bolts had punctured her lung. Her eyes were heavy.
"Silver neck," she said weakly in the shadow tongue.
"What happened?" I said.
"They broke in," the high priestess said. "The jurgrath filth." The last word came with a bolt of congealed black blood.
"Where is the Duke?" I asked.
"Married," the high priestess told me. "What do you want with him, kulak?"
"I must find him. I need to know. I need to know if he loves me," I said.
At this, the high priestess almost laughed, which only caused her to cough up more blood. "I asked him. It was all one of his nasty faints. Sly boy. Takes after his farther. It was all pretend he told me so him self. He never loved you. How could he? He only loved power. How could he have real feelings for meat?"
I found this more upsetting than I could bear. Lifting her up, I twisted the silver bolt which emerged from her chest.
"WHERE IS HE?" I said, twisting the arrow. She squirmed in pain but didn't have the energy to fight me. She looked up, then died in my hand. Dropping the body, I continued up to the level where the temple would be.
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The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)
VampireVictoria is given by her father, the King of the Barren Lands, to the Vampire Duke Sadisman as a hostage. She is a gift from her people as a peace offering. As part of the bargain, Duke has promised, "She will not be sired, she will not be fed upo...
