Viscounts and Vampires

Chapter Seventeen

It took a moment for Eleanor's eyes to adjust to the light of the candle Taric had lit. When they had, she saw the damp walls and wet floor beneath them. The sewers smelled rancid and Eleanor resisted holding her nose. She would have to get used to it. The sewer extended out in both direction and Taric pointed to their right.

"That way," he said, starting ahead. Davies, Brown, and Franklin entered the sewer behind Eleanor. Franklin lit a candle and brought up the rear as they started walking. Eleanor noticed that Taric was holding his stake at the ready and she did the same. This was new to her. She had never fought a vampire in such a confined space as this and she did not know how it would go with no room to maneuver. She hoped that they would not be discovered until they made it to the bigger nest, where there would likely be more space.

They followed Taric in silence. The only sounds Eleanor could hear was their footsteps, muffled breathing, and the occasional drip from the walls. Eventually, Taric's pace slowed.

"We're getting close," he whispered back at her. Before long, he stopped and pointed. Eleanor saw that the side of the passage had been tunneled out. It was made from crudely cut stone and did not look original to the sewer. While the sewer itself continued straight ahead, the new passageway went to the left. Taric peered around the edge and then gestured for the others to fall back.

"There are two of them guarding the entrance," he whispered. "Brown and Franklin are best with the crossbows, they'll take them out."

Brown and Franklin took up positions at the side of the passageway. In unison, they stepped into the and loosed bolts. A few seconds later, Franklin gestured for them to follow. Eleanor looked down the passage to find it empty.

"Nice shots," she commented. She had used crossbows in her training but her father had preferred hand to hand combat.

"This leads to their nest," Taric said. "The last time we were here, we made it into the second room. The first is a kind of guard room, but it was empty before. The second is a kind of sitting area, from what we could make it. It seems these vampires like comfort. That was where we were overwhelmed, before." His face was stern in the flickering candlelight. That must have been where Parker died, Eleanor thought.

"Are you prepared?" Taric asked. Eleanor could not help but think that he was asking if they were ready to die.

"Yes," was each one's response.

Taric and Brown went first, followed by Davies and Franklin. Eleanor brought up the rear. She would have protested but these men had been here before. They knew the territory. And she knew the importance of a rear guard.

She followed the group into the first room and found it empty, as predicted. It was carved from the same rough stone as the tunnel offshoot. It did appear to be a staging room for the guards, as it was devoid of furniture.

There was a door at the far side of the room. Taric turned to the other, counted down from five using his fingers, and then opened the door.

There was clamoring through the door as Taric and Brown disappeared through, followed by Davies and Franklin. Eleanor was about to follow when she heard a noise behind her. She spun around in time to see two vampires entering the room, fangs out. Eleanor raised her stake and took a step backwards as they approached, fanning out to come at her from different directions. She looked from one to the other as they circled her. They were both dressed simply and looked as if they may have been laborers in life. They looked strong, although Eleanor knew that a vampire's strength came not from its physical body but something different, something abnormal.

Eleanor waited for them to make the first move. Finally, the one of her left lunged unnaturally quickly, coming straight at her. Eleanor sidestepped to the left as soon as she saw it move and barely escaped its outstretched claws. She spun around and drove her stake into its back, reducing it to dust. Then the next one was on top of her, driving her back into the wall. She felt the stake fall from her hands as the vampires hands closed over her wrist and twisted. Eleanor wriggled a hand free and hit the vampire in the side of its head. The shock of the blow rather than any pain cause the vampire to release its grasp on her other wrist. Eleanor dropped to the ground, crawling between the vampire's legs as she grabbed the stake. As she stood, the vampire spun and drove its chest directly onto her stake.