Lilah (6 page)

He stepped out from the shadows and into the
fading light. I did not recognise his face yet there was a feeling that we had
met and his voice sounded familiar. He was tall, with curling brown hair and
dark blue eyes
;
older than me yet the skin on his face
had the same creamy texture as that of a newborn.

‘Such brave words for a young girl all alone.’

There was no malice in his voice but it
concerned me that he should suddenly appear this far from town carrying only an
expensive-looking cane. He was too finely dressed for travel, his high boots
shining and without sign of wear.

I waited nervously for him to approach, aware
that I might have to run for my life should there be others hiding in the trees
waiting to steal what little food I had. I had heard the stories of gypsies who
stole everything from lonely travellers leaving nothing, not even
undergarments.

‘I’m not going to rob you. You are quite safe,’
he said with a strange northern accent, ending his sentences high and
musically.

‘What do you want? I must tell you that I am a
cousin of the Köszegi family.’

He laughed softly into his chest. ‘Well then, I
guess I have to bow and beg your forgiveness for taking up such valuable time
of a noblewoman.’

He was humouring me and from the tone of his
response I gathered he was somewhat harmless. He did at least recognise the
name. ‘You have been trailing me for some time.’

‘Hardly surprising since there is only one road
between towns.’

‘You came from the forest.’

I just stopped for a break.’ He smiled then,
and I blushed thinking that he had probably just relieved himself.

‘You seem familiar. Do you live near the
monastery?’ I asked.

‘Yes. I saw you leave there.’

‘Is there something you want from me?’

He laughed loudly this time. ‘What a bold girl
you are. I want nothing from you. I have some business to attend to out this
way. That is all.’

I stood awkwardly shifting from one foot to the
other wondering if I should turn to leave. It was one of those habits acquired
when you were younger: always waiting for the adult to give you leave.

‘Are you going to Arpok?’

‘Yes,’ I said.

‘Do you mind if we travel together?’

I looked back towards the darkening forest,
wondering what others might be lurking there.

He followed my gaze. ‘There is no-one else with
me.’

‘I was planning to rest here a while.’

‘Unwise,’ he said. ‘It is far too exposed to beasts
that are more nocturnally active, not to mention unsavoury types who travel
this way under the cloak of darkness.’

He saw my hesitation; he had yet to convince me
he was not one as he described.

‘If it bothers you I will walk on ahead so that
you can see I am no threat.’

I was left without choice, nodding my agreement
and awaiting his commencement to walk in front of me. I was curious as to how
he was travelling so far without a satchel of food and wondered of his origins;
imagining him to be a baron with plenty of coin hidden in his pockets; someone
rebellious, doing whatever he pleased and answering to no-one. As I would later
discover this was not far from the truth.

As the light sank into the earth the mist
swirled higher, obscuring our vision ahead. I could see no firelight from the
next town and knew we were still a fair distance from our journey’s end.

‘How far to the town?’ I ventured to ask.

‘Another five hours of steady walk.’

Although his fixed stride and my heightened
anxiety seemed to spur me on, my legs ached and I desperately wanted to sit
down. It was also becoming much too late to request audience at a foreigner’s
house. I suddenly wondered then if Arianne’s family would take me in. What if
they rejected my request for work? Where would I go?
I was
told by Sister Gertrude
that I must never return to the monastery for
any reason. That it was both dangerous for me and for the sisters should any of
us
be
seen together. Arianne had explained that the
Papal authorities had deemed that any who practiced heresy in our circles must
be given up for questioning and she said that such people were rarely seen
again. I shuddered, a second time, at the thought of putting Arianne and the
sisters in danger.

The air was cooling now and I wrapped my shawl
around me.

‘If it is too far for you to complete the
journey today, I know a small farmhouse where we can go to rest. I assure you
my friends will welcome us.’

It meant following him away from the main track
and into the night forest but I felt an unexplainable reason to trust him.

We came to a hut where an older couple lived,
and they were genuinely pleased to see their visitor. ‘Gabriel!’

Gabriel introduced them as old friends. ‘This
is Lilah.’ I was surprised to hear my name, suspecting that he had heard
Arianne call her goodbye as I left the monastery. I did not sense danger once
inside, only sincerity by it occupants and affection in their surrounds. The
cabin was flooded with the peppery sweetness of steaming broth and the earthy
smells of burning coal, and the couple seemed genuinely concerned about the
thinness of my garment and how far I had walked.

‘I go to see my uncle, Istavan Köszegi,’ I lied
in part. ‘Do you know him?’

‘The question is do you know him?’

I shook my head. ‘I have not met him before.’

‘Well my dear, I can tell you that he is not
very amiable. He
hordes
his wealth and underpays his
workers. I worked for him for a time but we parted ways. The coin was not worth
the long labour in his fields. He is not a fair man. Once when one of his
livestock died, the coin was taken from my pay. I could not have kept his sheep
from disease and old age yet he is miserly and required someone to blame.

 ‘Don’t frown, girl. I hear he spoils his
daughters and if you are family then I’m sure you will be looked after.’ Though
even as he said this I saw the look he gave Gabriel. There was something else
he wasn’t saying.

‘You can stay here the night if you wish. I
will make up a cot.’ I humbly protested and lost. There was nowhere else to go.

I lay on a bed of blankets to sleep but
continued listening to their conversations. Gabriel had known them a long time.
They spoke of events from years ago and their gentle voices and camaraderie put
me at ease. Based on the history they referred to, he must have been a very
young boy when they first met.

They continued in hushed tones.

‘Be careful,’ said Gabriel. ‘There are some who
don’t follow the rules any more. I have spoken to our master about this but he
dismisses it as if he doesn’t hear. He lives in his own world presuming that
everyone will conform. It is frustrating. I don’t like it.’

‘Tell us what has been going on.’

Gabriel lowered his voice further. ‘The reborn
are more prone to mistakes. They do not have the history of memories in their
veins. They are too taken with their new state to think rationally.’ He paused
and lowered his voice. ‘You both have to be careful. He will come for you if he
knows you are here. He is always recruiting.’

The older man laughed gently. ‘We have a few of
our own skills, remember.’

‘Yes, I know, but the reborn are strong and
stupid and they take the same skills as you with them when they convert: a
lethal combination and an unpredictable match for the…’

‘…
likes
of our kind.’
I wondered what sort of kind they were talking about.

‘Anyway,’ the man continued. ‘We appreciate
that you have not given us up.’

‘I don’t recruit those who do not choose to
come willingly.’

‘The others are welcome to it. It is not
something we desire,’ said the woman. ‘We are happy here and prefer to grow
old. No offense.’

Gabriel laughed affectionately and the sound
reminded me of the kindness of the sisters. ‘None taken; however, I will be
sure to place flowers on your graves…no offense.’

The couple found this amusing also and the
three shared the laugh.

‘Is she one?’

There was a pause. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘The fact that you are here with her now,
perhaps seeking for her a safe place. Not to mention that I can sense her.’

‘A safe place for a young girl?
We both know the truth of that.’

I did not see the response. I wondered if he
was talking about my skill. And if so, how did he know? Beside the crackling
hearth, exhaustion soon consumed me and the sounds of their voices faded as I
was claimed by sleep.

Chapter 5

Lewis

They came out of the shadows with
their fire torches believing there was safety in numbers. Like rats they had
taken the bait greedily.

Over centuries I had need to move our coven, discovered
by those who would seek to harm us. To counter such attack we would steer our
enemies towards abandoned houses. This present house, where I hid in the
shadow, was a ruse
;
a place of entrapment far from our
castle. We had led our assassins here, catching one and letting him go; the
fool thinking he had found our secret location.

The group would be formidable if not for the
fact that we were superior in every way. It was Gabriel who had laid the traps
but he was not here tonight. Disappointingly, he was off dreamily walking the
lands. But it didn’t matter. There were many more of us to enjoy the feast.

I watched from the top floor windows as they
clumsily made their way to the front entrance. This house was rundown and
uninhabitable for even the lowest class of humans; with its broken furniture,
embers left untidy on the large rambling brick hearth, the broken banisters,
missing stairs, and cracked windows. Gabriel liked it here to disappear into a
different life away from his coven family. And he planned to come back after
this attack. He played a dangerous game choosing to stay here so often. Humans
often returned to places of interest, hoping to reinvent the past.

Tonight we would wipe out a whole village of
men. The women would be distraught. They would pack up and leave their barren
farms with their squawking children.

The human men circled the house like the
brainless fools they were. They called out: ‘Strigoi! We know you are in
there!’

I responded by opening the door even though I
was not on the same floor – one of the benefits of my craft. My sorcery
was better than anyone’s. The crowd murmured and I could already hear that some
wished they had not participated tonight.

They ascended the front stairs cautiously,
grunting like pigs.

‘Come out and fight, demons!’ called the leader
of the group.

As they entered I sent magic through the air to
light up the room with many candles; the flames bursting forth like a holy
miracle. But, to be honest, I was tiring of all the theatrics
;
perhaps a sign that it was nearing my time beneath the soil.

There was a gasp from the crowd and the group
broke apart slightly. Several neared the exit in case they should have to run.
But the leader was drunk on beer and foolishly brave.

‘Are you afraid to fight like men?’ he called

‘Why should I when I am not one.’ I replied
from the shadows and the group stood frozen to the rotting floorboards.

I descended the stairs from the top landing,
accentuating every creak in the boards. As I got to the bottom – my face
emerging from darkness like a shining light itself – I could sense relief
and for one moment a thought passed through their heads that they might have
the wrong house. In appearance, I was not a young man you see. Tall and
daunting maybe, but thin with hair streaked with grey and fingers crooked.

‘You have come to the house of the strigoi.
What is it that you want?’

‘Your head on a stick,’ sneered the leader, a
stocky, rugged man who had experienced many a fight.

‘How barbaric,’ I said toying with them. ‘Have
you not been taught any manners at all?’

They did not like the mockery and began to
descend on me. The leader raised his pick but I reached to grab it with such
strength, his eyes widened in shock.

With one twist I broke his arm and he screamed.
Others came forward to help but stopping suddenly, aware of a low rumbling in
the air like the beginnings of an avalanche. Turning to face their adversaries,
they did not have time to cross themselves. The other strigoi were upon them.
Several had already begun feeding:
a quick bite to the neck
to stun them before a slow sucking sound
drawn from a thick vein of
blood. There was an eerie stillness as I watched my family take their feed as
if it was their last. Their eyes were closed in rapture for there was nothing
like the taste of blood after many nights of abstinence. Bodies would be
strengthened, their minds energised.