Lightning split the sky, illuminating the darkness for only
a few seconds before the landscape slipped back into darkness. The crack and
roar of thunder peeled a moments later. However, that sound was not any louder
than the pounding of the horses' hooves as they galloped, full speed, on the
winding dirt road. It wasn't any louder than blood that was pulsing in his ears
or the beat of his heart as it hammered inside of his chest. This was not
supposed to happen like this. It was not supposed to be happening at all. If
anything happened to his brother... The size of the lump in his throat only
grew as panicked thoughts and fearful visions rushed through his mind. He dug
his heels into the flanks of his horse, spurring it on faster.
The destination was just visible, the flashes of light
showing the dark outline of the manor estate against the cloud covered night
sky. The heavens above started to open up as the cold sheets of rains started
to fall. He kept going, yelling for his horse to go faster, yelling for the
rest of the group to keep up. He could feel it now, stronger as he got closer.
It covered his skin like an invisible, oily film. He could sense it in the air
he breathed, almost feeling it coating the inside of his mouth, like breathing
in an invisible smoke. Never had he felt anything like this before. It scared
him. It scared him beyond measure. He had to find Valens. He had to find his
brother, before it happened.
They were almost there. He could see the flicker of lights
in the windows. He screamed at the top of his lungs. He screamed Valens name
over and over, though the rain and thunder were much louder than he could ever
be. Then he felt it. A building swell, a dragging in of all energies, a mammoth
influx like nothing he had ever felt before. His horse reared up, whinnying and
kicking as it did so. All the rest of the horses did the same, refusing to go a
step further. It did not matter how many times the riders dug their heels into
their flanks, the horses were not moving.
"What's the matter with these stupid animals?"
"Something has them..."
He could feel it, like a giant wave coming to crash down on
their heads. He turned and shouted, "Get down!"
The light was blinding, the blast deafening. The glass
windows shattered, all of them, shards littering the ground outside. The heavy
wooden doors shot of their hinges as if they were nothing but paper be blown
about in the wind, splintering under the force of the blast. The stone steps
cracked. The very ground shook as the swell erupted, knocking everyone to the
ground who wasn't already there. He dug his fingers into the mud underneath
him, the lump in his throat threatening to choke him. If anything happened to
this brother...
He looked up at the house. It was as if something had picked
it up and dropped it again. A crack split the building in two and the roof had
been peeled clean off. He staggered to his feet, ignoring the muffled ring
sounding in his ears. He had to find Valens. His brother had to be okay. He choked on the dust as he stumbled over the
threshold, through the darkness and the rubble. He shouted, but there was no
answer. Just the sound of the rain and his own heart. In the flash of the
lightning, he saw it. On the wall was a woman, dressed in a long sleeved gown,
face disgustedly twisted and staring into the distance. There was a spear
through her abdomen and a sword through her throat, both still dripping with
blood. He stepped over bodies that littered the floor. A man and a woman both
lying in pools of blood next to each other. Another man was pinned to a pillar,
arrow going through his neck. The panic was growing, knotting up in his
stomach. Where was his brother? He shouted again and again. And thunder was the
only thing that answered.
Finally, in the darkness, someone called back.
"Viktor..."
He turned. He wasn't his brother's voice. It was one of the
men that came with him, kneeling next to one of the bodies. All he could see
was a head of long silver hair. He walked over and looked down. His eyes stung
and the knots in his stomach grew tighter.
"No," he said, falling to his knees, "No, no,
no..."
There, among the broken stone, at the feet of the woman with
the twisted face was Valens. Blood ran from his ears, frothing out of the side
of his mouth. His blue eyes were open and stared into nothing. Viktor scooped
his brother's lifeless body into his arms, just repeating the same word over
and over again. No. No. The others
backed away, hanging their heads. They had been too late. The transformation was complete.
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