Saints Of Satan Chapter Six

I was the first to take action, swooping down with the new found urgency to care for my old friend. I sighed in relief. He was alive, but barely. A pulse unsusceptible to the human touch gently pulsed through his veins.
“He’s weak,” I said, the despair beginning to etch itself into my face as I felt his pulse drop even lower with my touch. “we need to move him,” I began grasping the first corpse strewn across him, then looked to the others when no one helped, “Now!”
Maria snapped to form her daze, then hurried to my side, taking hold of the guard and heaving him to the side, his weighty armour clinking as he thudded on the ground.
Once the two guards had been moved aside, I unclasped my old mentors armour from his chest, a dark breastplate beholding a magnificent wolf and a crescent moon, startling silver against the material.
Lord James breathing became more relaxed as I loosened the straps about his lungs, and his pulse rate slowly ascended.
“I doubt he’ll be awake any time soon,” said Jeremiah, studying his leader, “I say we carry on, access the damage and see what in the name of the lords is going on,” he looked about us, then told Michael to keep guard, whilst the rest of us carried on.
We took each step with caution, each corner open to ambush. I flexed my grip on my knife, its sharp gleaming point reassuring in the gloom of the tunnels.
Jeremiah knew where to head, which was lucky, as I only vaguely remembered those tunnels, each looking ever more similar to the last.
The place was deserted, the odd piece of weaponry or small pools of blood suggesting a struggle. As we began to reach a much more familiar corridor, with old paintings of ancient lords, I realised where we were going.
The great hall. As good a place as any to find answers. Whatever had happened, there would be a sign there. It was the place all vampires would go to in a crisis, whether to fight to their last or defend against the oncoming slaughter.
As the corridor opened up and began a small chamber, with a high ceiling and plenty of light to go around, we saw the entrance.
An enormous set of doors stood over five metres high, thick yielding oak with reinforced metal bearings set in lines across it. There was no way of opening it from the outside, short of knocking it down, and that would be a difficult task as you’d either need a lot of time and an assortment of heavy weaponry, or a medieval battering ram, which would be more hassle than it was worth getting through the narrow corridors of the underground realm.
After a moment’s thought Jeremiah decided not to risk knocking the door. Anyone could be in there, friend or foe.
Instead he slipped past us back down the tunnel, and we instantly followed. Hard as it was to say, Jeremiah was a good leader. He ensured we stayed in single file, in case of a sudden attack and the need to hit the walls, and that we were all still following.
After another few turns and brief cautious pauses, we seemed to be heading upwards, presumably to a second level.
Jeremiah finally came to a stop in the middle of a tunnel, immediately lying flat on the floor and pressing his head to the floor just by the wall.
After a moment of confusion my memory set to work, and I remembered hours of lying flat in that same position, my curiosity enticing me to look through the tiny hole in the wall at the assembly’s taking place in the great hall.
He gasped, covering his mouth with lightning speed to muffle the sound. I caught Maria’s eye, then bent down as Jeremiah moved to the side, his eyes wide with shock.
As I pressed my cheek to the chilling ground I realised why. The hall was filled, vampires along every row of crooked seats, each and every one submerged in the gruesome scene taking place at the head of the hall.
Five vampires stood to attention before the audience, their faces stern and large cudgels and axes held tightly in their grasp. They looked stern, their brows furrowed and sneers befouling their faces.
A cry went up, and I averted my gaze, looking past them to the makeshift stage upon which stood a young looking vampire. Despite his age, venom spread from him like an aura, his eyes filled with a burning hate and a desire for bloodshed.
Francis. It had to be. I had not before laid eyes upon his evil self, but if anyone fitted the part as much as the vampire parading himself on the stage, it was him.
I winced, noticing why he had the crowd’s attention. A crudely severed head was held aloft in Francis’s hand for all to see, strips of flesh hanging from it like some sort of disturbing kite.
Blood was awash upon the floor, seeping through cracks in the wood, the dry old material hungering for each drop.
Although the face was dyed purple from bruises of a harsh beating, I could see clearly whose life had been ended by the vicious abomination of a vampire upon the stage. It was our most ancient lord, who dated back almost millennia. Lord Berillius.
Although he had not been the most kind being I had known, having been the one to suggest I be killed other than banished, he had been a brave vampire. Berillius had defeated many foes that had threatened our realm for over eight hundred years, and had been undefeated in the combat arena.
What was worst was that another bloodied head lay beside its body in a heap to one side, cast aside like it was worthless. Another lord, one I didn’t know all too well but had been informed of on our journey by Maria. His name was lord Harker, a new recruit added to the five thrones of lords after the death of one in battle with modern day hunters.
I could only watch in horror as Francis cast aside the head of lord Berillius in contempt then motioned for the next to be brought forth to the stage.
As another lord was brought forth and thrown to his knees on the stage, I made a quick head count, desperately trying not to look at the face of the vampire about to meet his end, the idea of another of my old friends lost forever to me too much to bear.
Fifty vampires in total filled the hall, all armed and adrenaline fuelled. I sat back motioning the rest to follow me.
I headed back a couple of corridors, out of earshot if we whispered.
“It’s a massacre in there,” I told Maria and Jonathon, Jeremiah idly watching as I relived what we had seen through words, “there’s around fifty vampires, all armed. The lords-” I paused, taking a breath and carrying on, “their all dead, the last is being murdered as we speak,” Maria snapped to, preparing to charge to their rescue, but I caught her arm.
“There’s too many of them, I whispered, pulling her to the ground and putting my arm about her as she stifled her tears. After a moment she composed herself and I squatted beside her.
“There’s more,” I said, grasping her shoulder, “Francis is there,” her eyes widened, and it began a task to hold her still. I felt cruel, feeding her this information so bluntly, but time was running out, and if we were to take action it had to be extremely soon.
But as I looked into the faces of my companions, I realised whatever I were feeling for the deaths of my old lords, the vampires around me felt three times over. They were bound by their oaths to be loyal to the lords until death, waiting idle whilst they knew their oath was being broken must have been near impossible.
“We can’t just leave them there!” Maria gasped, and Jonathon looked around cautiously, her raised voice could have alerted any one of the vampires.
“I know,” I soothed, “but there’s nothing we can do, there’s too many of them,” I looked to Jeremiah, who looked pretty shaken up but managed to compose himself. I felt a pang of sympathy for him. Lord Berillius had been an idle to him, to see him displayed as a trophy kill by his nemesis, I couldn’t imagine.
My mind whirred as I desperately attempted to form a plan. Five versus fifty were odds no sane being would attempt, but I knew my companions would find it hard to leave without the blood of their foe.
A silence ensued, and I could feel the tension hanging in the air like some unwanted ghoul. There was little we could do for the lords now, an attempt at avenging their lives and names would result in the same fate as theirs.
We still had time to escape. Leaving with the unconscious body of Lord James meant we still had a fighting chance. Even if only one leader had survived, we could still gather the forces of the clan outside the realm and reclaim what was ours.
I paused, licking my lips as I silently prayed the three would stay level headed and reason with me. “Look, there is little we can do for them now, but if we-”
“I do not care what you have to say,” said Jeremiah loudly, “but I will not leave until I see Francis’s head from his body,” I winced, my heart sinking rapidly as hopes of escape became unlikely. Jeremiah knew every hiding place and chamber in and around the realm, without his guidance it would be only a matter of time before the enemy caught us if they gave chase.
“I will fight too,” said Jonathon simply, and I looked on in horror as the two of them stood, grim determination in their eyes as they looked on down the corridor.
Maria attempted not to meet my eyes, but I caught her own, and she bowed her head.
“I’m sorry,” she said simply, standing up beside me. “You know I cannot leave with the hunger for vengeance set in my heart. It would destroy me,” she turned to leave, and I grasped for her hand. She pulled away, looking down at me and smiling gently. Her mouth opened, and she paused, trying to say something, but she shook away the thought. Instead she bent down in front of me, placing a kiss on my forehead. A single tear came to my eye, but I held back the sorrow for my friend, if she were to remember me it would be as the same brave being I had been for the decades she had known.
Holding her head high, she marched in suite with her companions, blade drawn and the same fire burning in her heart for the deaths of her Lords as them.
I slumped against the rough slate, my head lolled to one side as I watched the women I loved round the corner to meet her fate.
My heart broke in two, and I cursed myself for being so level headed. I wanted all so badly to follow them, but I had nothing to fight. My loyalty to the clan had long since dissipated, along with any reason to return. The ones I had trusted had banished me for a crime I had not committed, and there was no forgiveness for that.
I shut my eyes tight, groaning as my heart battled my head in a fight control.
♦
Jeremiah was at the head, with Maria and Jonathon to either side. They marched strong, brandishing their weapons and gritting their teeth with the rage building within them at the deaths of their leaders and friends.
The door rose up high before them, and without a moment’s thought Jeremiah banged the hilt of his blade against the metal bearing nailed to the solid oak wood.
Silence enveloped the small cavern, and all that could be heard was the steady breathing of the three vampires awaiting the battle that was to come. Maria chanced a quick look at her companions, and saw the look of men who were about to give up their lives. She looked straight ahead, a fierce expression over her face and determination in her eyes.
Sounds of feet beating the ground broke the silence, and in a few moments later the doors were simultaneously flung open with the combined superhuman strength of a dozen vampires.
A bustling crowd of traitorous creatures stood with their weapons drawn and looks of crazed bloodlust etched upon their faces. Maria had seen that look before, it came from overdosing on human blood, to the point where you begin to lose your mind.
For a second that seemed to last an hour, the two sides faced each other. The tension in the air was drawn taught as neither side moved. Jeremiah broke the stillness in the air with his blade.
In a beautiful arc he sliced open the first vampire he saw, letting loose an ear shattering battle cry. The element of surprise worked to his advantage as the stunned vampires began to force each other aside, each craving the first kill.
In an instant Maria and her two friends were overwhelmed, the crowd attacking en-mass. Maria ducked and shot between opponents, her deadly speed seeing the end of three vampires in less than five seconds, but immediately she was forced back, blade whirring as she deflected an onslaught of attacks.
The sheer numbers were an impossible foe, but still they fought on. Memories of the fallen were engraved in their minds, the rage washing over them like a fiery blanket, fuelling their limbs to fight on.
Maria and Jeremiah were experienced fighters, with decades of battle under their belt. However, Jonathon was still young, and even with his enhanced instincts and senses, he was the first to fall.
He had managed to take the life of a single vampire, but three had taken his place and were upon him like animals, slashing and hacking long after he had died.
The battle began to wash over Maria, and she soon
lost sight of her companions, finding herself backing up though the door, her blade flying furiously through the air as she defended the mad swipes made at her by two mountains of muscle with fangs.
Luckily, the small cavern meant they were not likely to be surrounded, and only had to take on a few at a time, but the fight was taking too much out of her.
Maria’s breathing became heavy, the exertion of the speed she was moving to intercept the onslaught of swords slicing at her becoming too much to bear.
She couldn’t last much longer, the only thing keeping her alive this far was the anger boiling away inside of her. But it was beginning to dissipate as she realized this was the end. Another ten seconds and she would be a blood stain on the walls of her own home.
As Maria began to lose hope, she heard Jeremiah wailing as he laid into the vampires somewhere ahead, his cries echoing down into the corridor as he fought on with terrible glee, a fire burning in his eyes that could have stared down a demon.
At that moment Maria flicked her eyes past her opponent, towards the stage and into the eyes of Francis. The vampire was watching the attempt at vengeance with sheer delight, a smile spread wide across his face.
In that moment the vampire Maria had been fending off dived in with lightning speed and accuracy, forcing his blade past her defenses and into her side. He managed to gauge a deep gash beneath her ribs, forcing the energy from her and causing her legs to collapse.
With a loud thud she hit the ground, her blade skittering across the floor and rendering her incapable of defending herself. She only had time to look up as the vampire stood over her, bloodied blade in hand and the evil grin of victory across his face.
The vampire raised his sword high, savoring the kill as he slowly descended it towards her heart. Maria flinched, the world turning red as her side thundered with a fresh burst of pain. The sounds of the fighting became a blur of noise, the world becoming lost to her.
In the last moments before losing consciousness Maria thought she saw John standing above her, dripping knife in hand and his forehead creased with worry. He shouted something down at her, then spun to deflect an attack.
Maria felt her eyes draw heavy, the world around her seeming to become ever further away. Then, nothing.

♦

With lighting speed I stormed through tunnel after tunnel, my feet thundering against the ground as I sprinted on. I had no sense of direction, only the desperate thought of escape.
Marias body was horribly still against my back, and I had to fight hard not to think the unthinkable.
The sound of pursuit echoed through the corridor behind me, an onslaught of curses and the never ending pound of feet. It would not be long before the horde of traitorous vampires caught me and end my flight for freedom.
I was at a disadvantage, with the weight of two straining my legs and the fact that many of the vampires knew these tunnels better than myself, and being blocked in would be inevitable.
Panic began to engulf my mind, as I realised my sudden change of thought and care for Maria may have meant the end for both of us.
After another few strenuous moments I felt my legs begin to scream for rest, the speed I was attempting in my desperation to save Maria and myself taking its toll. Unable to control myself, I began to slow, the sound of pursuit drawing ever nearer as my legs started to shake and erupt in a burst of pain from the strain they were being put through.
When all hope began to exhale from my body, and I felt as though I could collapse any moment, a new found spark of energy soared through my veins.
Maria had moved. She was still alive! I silently thanked fate, then let the burst of adrenaline and relief course through me, fuelling my limbs and allowing me to carry on.
My sudden spur of energy was short lived. An instant later a vampire rounded the corner in front of me, blocking the path and spitting at me violently. I cursed, spinning and beginning to make my way back the way I had come, but already a dozen vampires were filing in, each with more venom in their eyes than the last.
I turned again slowly, the realisation that this was the end seeping into my brain and causing my heart to begin thundering in my chest.
Maria began to feel heavy on my shoulders, the adrenaline rush wearing thin and my weariness began to take its place.
I set Maria down beside me, her eyes groggy and a smile playing on her lips. Steadying my gaze, I looked to the single vampire blocking the exit. I stood no chance, he was a head taller than me with burly muscles and a whole lot of bloodthirsty energy behind him.
With a sad look across my face, I looked down to Maria, accepting my fate and drawing my blade for the last time.
A second crawled past, slow and daunting. I took a deep breath, then let the anger build within me. These beasts had left my love to die, they had murdered my old friends, and were now set about on seeing my own end. If I were to die then and there, I would not go quietly.
With a roar that echoed throughout the underground realm, I charged the vampire, my blade cracking down with lightning speed.
To my surprise, it sank deep into his chest. I was momentarily stunned, wondering why my opponent hadn’t defended himself.
The burly creature fell to the side, blood pumping from his wounds and his dying breath the only sound in the stunned silence. My confusion turned to relief, as I found out the reason for my luck.
Michael stood where my opponent had been, a bloodied blade in his hand and a look on his face that meant business.
“Go,” he said simply, looking past me at the ever building crowd of vampires that were advancing on Maria’s unconscious form.
I didn’t think twice, and shot back alongside Michael, grasping Maria’s semi-unconscious form as Michael laid into the enemy, no sound leaving his lips as his opponents fell to the ground around him.
I knew we didn’t have much time, Michael could only hold back a crowd that large for a few seconds. Hauling Maria over one shoulder, I sprinted down the last few corridors, thankfully recognising the last few turns.
After an anxious few moments we reached Lord James, who was sitting up against the wall, groaning as he attempted to get on his feet.
I stopped beside him, and without a word helped him up, putting my free arm around him and continuing up the steps.
“Wait!” I yelled, looking back at the archway leading into the realm. I put Maria down as quickly and carefully as I could manage, then let go of Lord James.
“There is no time! We must,” Lord James spluttered, a spatter of blood spraying the wall as he coughed, “we need to go now!”
I admired Lord James’s level headedness, it was where I had acquired mine, but there was not a hope in hell that the three of us could outrun a blood overdosed hoard of vampires. I looked to the ancient archway, its cracked edges betraying its age.
After a moment’s thought I made a rash decision, and to the dismay of Lord James, clambered up the jutting out side and wedged my blade in a slim crack I found between two stones.
“No! John, you can’t!” Lord James cried, attempting to stand but falling back as his knee buckled.
I screwed my eyes shut tight, then shoved against the hilt of my blade with all my might, the sound of stone splitting erupting through the cavern.
As I leapt from the ceiling by the archway, I hauled my knife from the stone, the metal bending slightly from the force. In a crescendo of noise, the stone I had wedged my knife in split entirely in two, then fell to the ground with a loud thud.
I rolled as I hit the ground, barely avoiding the sudden avalanche of rock as the archway lost all support and began to collapse.
I didn’t look back to check the damage, but ran with all my might to Maria and my old mentor, heaving them both over my shoulders and running up the staircase as the ceiling began to shake above us. Where the archway had been, the unsupported ceiling now began to shower soil, and as the sound of roaring vampires began to emanate from the archway, a mountain of soil and rock collapsed onto the ground, and the very walls about us began to thunder.
Thankfully, the age old supports along the tunnel held firm, and apart from the odd shower of dirt, we managed to carry on up the stairs, weary and beaten, but alive.