The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)

Chapter 57/The end

The forsaken vampire temple, now shrouded in an eerie silence. The battle was over, bodies , human and vampire littered the floor like leaves in autumn. Recently its ancient stone walls had thrummed with the pulse of a coven's celebration, a wedding that had woven together the fates of two eternal souls. Now, crimson petals lay trampled underfoot, a brutal contrast against the dusty floor, their vitality fading as swiftly as the memories of mirth. Tattered banners, once majestic in their midnight hues, drape mournfully from the rafters, whispering of the fervor they had witnessed. The altar, a grand edifice carved from obsidian, loomed empty and cold, the remnants of ceremonial candles pooling at its base, the flame's last breaths long extinguished.

Outside the temple doors tables still stood with a feast. I waded past the discarded finery and forgotten goblets that had sparkled under the moon's approving gaze. The air was thick with the scent of wilted garlands and the remnant echoes of ancient vows, now just whispers lost to the void. As the dawn threatens the horizon, the temple's grandeur faded into the shadows, a monument to the night and the creatures who danced within its embrace, now nothing more than a hollow shell of celebrations past, waiting in the stillness for the night to return once more.

I knew I had to escape, find the Duke, and get out, yet something else called out to me in the temple.

I passed the sacred statues guarding the temple. The walls were richly decorated, and I began to look around for the door to the secret room I had seen in my visions. It was as if the room was calling out to me. After a tour, I was sure no obvious door existed. I looked around again and then noticed that one wall was out of place. It broke the symmetry of the space. The position suggested something behind it. I approached it and began looking for a sign. There was a frieze in relief showing a scene from vampiric law. Looking at the vampire writing, I noticed that the name for one of the representatives of the blood god was misspelled. It had an extra letter. Pulling a chair over, I reached up. Pressing the glyph, I heard a click. A crack appeared; it wasn't straight, but it framed a doorway. Pulling the door open, I smelled ages of stale air come out. I moved in slowly, looking around; it was clear this was a storage area for temple valuables. There were many scrolls and books, then some sacred jewelry. Then I noticed the glyph on the chest on the far side of the room. 'Talker to the dead' was written on it.

I was about to rush over to the chest, but something struck me as wrong. The air felt to have a tension to it. There was a treasure box nearby, and I threw it onto the floor, and as I did, a fence made of spikes came down and swooped through the air. I recognized it as the trap in my dreams.

After the trap came to a standstill and I was sure of nothing else, I walked over and lifted the lid of the golden box which lay beyond. The box opened simply enough, releasing a puff of red-dawn dust. The first thing I saw was a jar of what looked to be venom powder. It was labeled 'night-veil'. Next to it was an ancient and highly decorated set for preparing venom drops from powder. Next to the venom was the book, which I picked up with the title, 'Hell's Harvest' as the translation.

I looked around and went back to the door, pushing it shut. If I was lucky, no one would find me, so I would have time to read. I took the mask off, thinking the red-drawn was now settled.

Sitting down, I began to swiftly read. The text was arcane, so I flicked forwards. The book had empty pages at the back. Different pens and handwriting made it clear this was more of a diary or log book kept and updated over hundreds of years.

There were too many missing or strange symbols in the first part of the book. I moved forward and recognized the dates from the 16th century. At this point I could understand much of what was written. There was a word for the kind of person I was. It looked like there were many like me. The literal translation was shadow walker. I translated the vampiric sound and spoke it aloud.