She saw Gliss break off from the fight and start running, and a horrible sense of confirmation descended on her – an awful sensation that all her distrust had been right all along. Now that the moment had arrived, it gave her no satisfaction. All she felt was a hollow sensation in the pit of her stomach.
Sidestepping and parrying a slashing sword, Brooke rammed one duelling rod through the heart of the Baelock guard that barred her path and shoved the dying vampire out of the way. For perhaps two seconds she started at Gliss's fast receding form, and then made her decision. Hoping to the First that she would be proven wrong, she set off in pursuit.
As she dodged and darted through the fighting, the memory of her fight in the training arena flashed through her mind. Brooke hated to admit it, but if she caught up Gliss and the girl put up a fight, it wouldn't hurt to have some help. Glancing around as she ran, she saw Finbarr's towering frame as he fought off two attackers, holding one aloft by the throat and twisting his frame to sweep away the sword thrust with the two duelling rods clutched in one large hand. As he turned he threw one Baelock vampire into the other with a growl of exertion, sending both of his attackers tumbling away in a tangle of limbs.
Brook leapt over the two bodies as they tumbled towards her, and grabbed Finbarr's arm as she shot past, dragging the guard with her.
"Follow me," she hissed.
Finbarr's face crumpled with confusion, but he didn't question the order, falling obediently into step like a loyal wolf. She collected two more guards as she scrambled and fought her way past the Baelock forces that were spreading through the grounds. With a final pirouette, she avoided a scything sword swing and shattered her attacker's knee with two precise strikes from her duelling rods as she passed. Behind her Finbarr speared the injured Baelock vampire through the heart – and then they were clear, running in open space.
A pang of guilt twanged at her as she glanced back at the fighting, but she suppressed it. Whatever Gliss had planned all along, this incident had given her the window of opportunity she needed to get away – to slip off into the night with her secrets and home, to Iron Hollow.
Brooke's feet hammered the ground as she quickly outpaced the trio of guards that had accompanied her, edging out into the no-man's land that separated the chasers from their quarry. Perhaps forty meters distant she could just see Gliss's slim form tearing through the night, away from the fighting and towards the rear of the mansion. There would be no guards there to stop her now, not with the Baelock assault on the main gate.
And Brooke knew she must still have the Keystone. Neither she nor Capper had paid much attention to the artefact when Baelock's arrival had been announced, but she doubted Gliss had been so apathetic. For all her talk, it would appear she'd been a liar all along and was taking this opportunity to made good her escape, now that she had what she came for.
Not if I can help it, Brooke thought, driving her legs hard enough to leave divots in the grass as she ran. She shoved her duelling rods into the holsters across her back and redoubled her efforts to close the gap. Inch by inch, she started to reel in her target. She saw Gliss glance back; felt a flash of anger in the other vampire's Aspect.
She flew in great leaping bounds, the lightweight boots easily gripping the earth and hurling her forward. As she closed in, Brooke loosened one of the duelling rods in its sheath. At this rate she would have to chase Gliss out of the grounds and into the city before she could catch up, and once there it would be much harder to keep her quarry in sight.
Judging that she was close enough, Brooke yanked the duelling rod free, not breaking stride, and gripped its lower half in both hands. Leaning her body into the motion, she flung it like an axe, sending it thrumming end over end straight at the figure twenty meters ahead.
At the last second Gliss must've heard the spinning of the rod and she jinked to her left. She moved too late to completely avoid it, but instead of catching her square in the back the rod smacked in her shoulder. She tripped, pitching forward and just barely managing to keep herself upright, and Brooke put on a desperate burst of speed to close the gap with opportunity she'd created.
She heard Gliss cursing as she looked back again. If Brooke had been alone, Gliss might have turned to fight, but the other girl's eyes flashed past to the trio of guards following in her wake. Her face twisted, ugly with rage as she tried to get back up to speed, but she didn't have time.
With three final, powerful strides, Brooke launched herself into a flying leap with arms outstretched, and let out a snarl of triumph when she dug her nails into the thick fabric of Gliss's jacket. Her quarry stumbled and with a final desperate burst of strength, she hauled herself into reach.
And plunged her bared fangs into the side of Gliss's neck.
An other-worldly scream of agony exploded from the traitor's mouth, but Brooke clung on, sinking her fangs deeper and for the first time in her life, drinking the blood of another vampire. Utterly devoid of the life-giving ichor of a human being, the vile, bitter taste made her gag, but she persevered, knowing she only had seconds to get what she needed.
Images exploded in her mind as she ingested the liquid, mirage-like tapestries of dark buildings and blurred faces. Then a chamber, a stone circle with some kind of dark casket in the centre. Figures stood around it, a dull chant bleeding from their mouths in ancient Vampyr. Words crashed through her as she tried to process as much of Gliss's memory as she could in the brief window. She could sort through it later – right now she just needed the blood.
Brooke managed to cling on for perhaps five seconds before the other vampire shook her off. She fell forward and caught the full force of a back-handed swing squarely in her jaw. The bone-shaking force knocked her flat, lighting an explosion of agony in her skull and scattering her thoughts to the wind.
Blearily she tried to focus on Gliss's figure. The traitor clapped a hand over the wound in her throat, an expression of disgust and outrage on her face. She bared her fangs, and her Aspect boiled with fury.
"I'll kill you for that," she snarled, taking a step forward. Brooke tried to scramble away, but couldn't move fast enough. Then something snagged her attention, arresting her progress. Gliss ground her teeth together, glaring at something in the distance. Brooke was dimly aware of a rumble of voices drawing closer.
Spitting a Vampyr curse, Gliss shot her a final venomous look before turning and sprinting for the perimeter wall of the mansion. A moment later she heard the thump of heavy footsteps swell in her ears and a large figure dropped down to one knee beside her.
"Brooke – milady – are you alright?!"
It was Finbarr. With a grateful groan she let him tilt her into a sitting position.
"I'm okay ... I'm okay," she muttered, gingerly touching a hand to her jaw. "But I need to speak to the Elders. Now."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, yes, I'm alright!" Brooke shot him an irate glance. "You take me to the Elders. The rest of you, see if you can catch that bitch before she gets off the estate." She waved a hand vaguely in the direction Gliss had run off in. The guards dutifully bolted in that direction, but she doubted they'd catch the girl. If nothing else, Gliss had already proved she could outpace them.
Finbarr hauled her to her feet with a single heave of his tree-trunk arms, and his hands clamped down on her shoulders to hold her steady for a moment. Closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, she took a deep breath, trying to bring the memories she'd stolen from Gliss's blood back into the forefront of her mind.
Leaning gratefully against the guard's sturdy frame, she started trying to sort through the deluge of images that had poured into her when she drank the traitor's blood. To call it difficult would be a spectacular understatement. Brooke understood the theory of it – an interrogative technique often employed by the more experienced guards to get information out of captured enemies. She, however, had never needed to do such a thing.
The first wash of memories seemed recent. She recognised the architecture of Veridian Shores, and the walls of the Glaive estate, specifically the record room where she'd confronted Capper about his sneaking around with the interloper. Booke shook her head; stumbled as she delved deeper into the memories, but Finbarr held her steady, keeping her moving at a shambling half-run.
Soon the images no longer looked so familiar. She recognised the great train that ran the continent from south to north, saw as though she was looking through Gliss's eyes as the vehicle thundered through the badlands, gaze sweeping through the carriages, marking targets as she went. This still told her nothing.
Further back.
She found herself in Iron Hollow, an unfamiliar world of squat, grim buildings and industrial smog, streets hot with people and choked with metal. Sorting through the swirl of images made her head hurt but she tried to concentrate, searching for what she needed to see.
When she found it, every fibre of her being shuddered. The Keystone was connected to a web of other memories, and each one she opened up piled more and more layers of horror on top of what she already knew.
"Hurry up," she hissed, and her chaperone duly upped his pace.
Soon they passed through the main doors of the mansion, past the small cadre of heavily armoured honour guards and into the mansion proper where the non-combatants – thralls, the workers – smiths, architects and engineers – and a handful of Elder-Bloods whose skills extended more to diplomacy than front-line fighting with other vampires.
On they marched until they reached the inner sanctum where the Elders would be deep in council, protected by the formidable metal doorway, the Seneschal Tithe and ten elite guards. The guards stopped them briefly, but once they realised it was Brooke, and ended up on the receiving end of her fiery demands to see the Elders, they quickly parted and allowed her inside.
Brooke fought to compose herself before speaking to them. She gave Finbarr a nod of thanks and told him to wait by the door, then strode into the inner sanctum, to find Jocasta and the others gathered around the raised dais, their powerful forms outlined against the light of gas-lamps that ringed the walls.
"Elders," she said hoarsely, giving a respectful dip of her head. "I bring grave news."
"We are under attack," Elder Kashidai hissed from the seat closest to her. "What news could be more important?"
"Because I know why we are under attack, now."
"Let her speak," Jocasta told the others quietly, waving a hand in their direction. "I generally find Brooke's opinion to be valuable."
"Thank you, Elder." Relief flooded through her and she tried to sort through her thoughts, deciding where to start. "Baelock are here because of Gliss Raynor."
Jocasta frowned. "The stray?"
"She's more than that. She escaped the grounds while Baelock were attacking, but not before I drank some of her blood." Brooke could feel the ripple of disgust pass through the Aspects in front of her, but she pressed on regardless. "You know she went to the Synod with Capper?"
"Of course."
"Well, while they were there they stole something."
Elder Brugen raised his head at that, a curious eyebrow arching. "They robbed Baelock?"
"Yes."
"What proof do you have?"
"I think the proof of Brooke's statement is attacking this compound," Jocasta rumbled grimly. "What did they take?"
"Something called the Keystone." From their expressions and the unpleasant twisting of Aspects in the air, Brooke knew that the Elders had some knowledge of it, but she pressed on, not wanting to waste any more time. "She lied to Capper; told him it was a weapon that Baelock were going to use against us. He knew you never would have sanctioned a raid during the Synod, so he took matters into his own hands."
"The fool!" hissed Elder Urda. "Jocasta-,"
He silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Brooke, please continue."
"They stole it from the Baelock vault and brought it back here. And then, almost immediately Baelock launched a full scale attack on this estate. That is more than a coincidence. I believe Gliss somehow engineered it – she may have left some evidence behind to tie Glaive to the theft – and with our guards occupied she escaped into the city."
Brugen sighed and cast a sidelong glance at their leader. "It looks like we've been played from the moment our little friend set foot here. If we can make Baelock see that we might still be able to stop this from going any further."
"There's more," Brooke said quickly, pulling their attention back to her. "The Keystone, it's not a weapon – not in the conventional sense. It's supposed to open something-,"
"The tomb of the First." Jocasta nodded. "I have heard stories of such a thing. They are mere myths."
"They Keystone is real enough," Brooke shot back. "Gliss's clan, back in Iron Hollow, they've found that tomb and they want to open it. The real weapons they might find in there ..."
"Very well." Like an ancient god rising from slumber, Jocasta rose from his seat, his expression dark as a thunderstorm. "Come with me. I believe it is time we had Capper answer for his part in all this."