The Blood Painted Cage

Pain ripped at my head and the sound of glass exploding didn’t help it in the slightest. Vincent moved swiftly, smoothly rising from his crouched position in front of me to standing in front of the possessed assassin and ripping his throat out.

Vaguely I felt the need to keep tabs on the parasite but the pain grew and made my mind numb. Someone was trying to get in my head. I felt long claw like nails scratching at my barrier; gripping, clawing and wrenching away my defences. I fought back hard but at the same time tried to understand who was attacking me. It was my Lost Silver. I sensed his need to take control of me, to destroy me, and he was unravelling my defences quickly.

I took the initiative as I felt his grip closing on my throat. Both Vasco and Jonathan had taught me how to defend my mind from invasions. They knew how my defences worked so I had to change them. And fast.

Quickly I began to work in my new defences and wove a wall behind the one the Silver was tearing his way through. My head ached horribly as I forced it to work quickly; weaving while trying my hardest to stop the Silver following my new pattern. Painfully my outer shell shattered and the claws instantly dug into my new wall. I strengthened my output, keeping the wall strong, but the Silver found he could not unwind it. The wall remained firm no matter how many times he tried. Finding I had defended myself against his attack, the Silver retreated my mind and flooded into the minds of his puppets that were currently flocking to my house.

Wincing, I finally managed to open my eyes now that the unrelenting attack had stopped on my head. Pain rang gently but weak enough to be ignored now, allowing me to focus my attention on the room.

I stiffened slightly when I saw blood pooling on the floor and dripping from the walls. Torn bodies of numerous assassins littered the floor. There were so tattered and shredded I couldn’t tell how many there actually were.

Vincent stood not too far from me. His hands were stiff and covered in blood while his dark enraged eyes were fixated on the window behind me. Glass littered the floor from where the vampires had forced their way in to get to me and more were coming yet.

I stood slowly in hopes of not alarming Vincent in his berserker state and lightly stepped towards him. He didn’t flinch when I reached and touched his face and neither did he look down at me. Growling gently, listened intently to the house and stepped closer to me, hovering close defensively as the sound of gun shots rang out downstairs. I needed to ensure everyones safety. Now that I had a new wall in my mind the Silver did not know how to tear down, I could use my ability to keep myself and those around me safe. It was Vincent that troubled me though. With a quick flit in his mind I knew it would be a while before his parasite calmed and I could not risk him like this around the others. He could very easily turn on them.

Gently I cupped his face and surprisingly easily turned his gaze onto me. “Vincent.” I said soothingly and slowly, ensuring he could hear me. “I want you to guard this side of the house. Make sure no one gets in from the east wing. I will go and make sure everyone else is okay.”

His gaze narrowed gently but the parasite nodded once in agreement. I smiled warmly at him, pleased that his parasite was able to listen to me as well as recognise me as a friend, not an enemy.

“Be safe Vincent. Don’t get yourself hurt please.” I told him firmly then pushed myself up on my toes to plant a soft kiss and his rough cheek.

With one last glance at his hard eyes, I darted away, keeping my eyes averted from the mess. I felt calm at leaving Vince alone. His parasite was smart and hauntingly calculating in battle. Anything that tried to get in through the east wing was going to regret it and I knew he would return to me alive and well.

I was far more concerned about my maids, Viorel and guests. If Viorel was with Susan, he would had a better chance of survival than on his own. The child still wasn’t quite sealed and had access to her Matter so, if not overwhelmed, she could stand her ground. However from scanning my grounds there were many of these assassins. While everyone within the house were strong fighters, they could only go on for so long. And once the sun came it would make things difficult as wolves that were lurking in the woodlands would then come, attacking the house when it was weak. I needed to sever all connections between the Silver and the assassins fast. Not only to save us but save as many of these unfortunate puppets as I possibly could.

I fled through the hallways and stumbled down the steps that led to the large stair case. I flung myself against the railing and peered over. Blood was everywhere and in the middle of the battle stood Nuan and Livia. They fought swiftly and didn’t appear to have too many wounds. The blood on their clothes was not entirely their own thankfully.

“Nuan! Livia! Do not kill them!” I yelled to them.

Nuan remained grimly focused as she fought but Livia turned to look up briefly.

“We will try Lady but they’re just too adamant. Even the wounds horribly wounded will stand up again and fight.” She shouted back, ducking under the claw of vampire.

“Just hold on. I will try and stop them.”

“Find Susan first!” Nuan snapped. “She is still only a child and Lucius will do something stupid if he doesn’t know she is safe.”

“I will find her then Nuan. But don’t go into the east wing. Vincent is guarding it and he will kill anyone he sees.”

Livia and Nuan agreed, grappling with a couple of assassins who spotted me standing at the top of the stairs. Livia tripped one over and placed her foot on his back, digging her heel into his spine, while Nuan kept throwing others away.

“Go now Lady,” Livia shouted. “Make sure Viorel and Susan are safe then do what you have to do to stop this madness.”

I didn’t say anthing again. Instead I flew down the stairs, taking my chance as Livia and Nuan managed to hold them at bay. Quickly I darted through the house, seeing Sonia shooting out the brains of anything that moved. I grabbed her and demanded she come with me. I needed as much physical protection as possible once I start severing the links. The Silver was going to get quite violent once he realises what I was doing.

Taking my orders without question, Sonia began aiming at their legs in an attempt to maim them. Any that got up again and charged her would either get her first or the butt of her gun to the face, both capable of knocking them unconscious.

We quickly made our way through the gardens as I sought the small speck of life that was trying its hardest to smother its presence. Grabbing the minds of any nearby enemies Sonia could not deal with, I forced them to sleep one at a time. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found Viorel and Susan standing side by side, shooting and breaking each enemy that came towards them.

Sonia rushed in smoothly, dispatching those she could reach before Susan snapped their necks. She was breathing heavily when she turned on me.

“What the hell is happening?” Susan demanded.

“The Silver is running out of patience.” I replied gently before stepping forward and quickly checking her over. “Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine, Eva.” Viorel said darkly as Susan battered my hands away. “Just a bit surprised.”

“How much ammo do you have left?” Sonia demanded in a sharp tone.

“Enough to keep ten away maybe.” He said doubtfully.

Sonia grunted then indicated to me with her head. “Well don’t waste them. The Lady will be trying to sever the connection between these puppets and the Silver. It will take time and all enemies will be hunting her quite vigorously. We have to keep her safe.”

“Understood.” He said and reloaded his shotgun quickly.

“Try not to kill anyone.” I told them. “These people are not a fault. It’s the Silver controlling them so avoid any deaths.”

“I will do my best.” Susan said. While her words were firm it was the malicious grin and cracking of her knuckles that made me doubt her words. Sharply she glanced up at me. “Have you seen the master?”

I shook my head. “I have not seen Lucius or Dana.”

A worried frown creased her mouth but she shrugged her shoulders and turned her head away sharply to cover her concern. Sonia stepped close to me and patted my shoulder after she had reloaded her pistol.

“Work fast Lady and don’t let the Silver in your mind this time.”

I smiled warmly in confidence. “He won’t be getting in my head this time Sonia.”

“I hope not.” She replied snidely. “Now get on with it. More are coming.”

Without hesitation, I stood calmly with Susan, Viorel and Sonia beside me and ready to defend me.

At once I let my mind seek every mind connected to the Silver. I let my mind grip each thread, curling around the link and following back to the source. I was surprised to find the Silver was not too far from me. He was watching the events with his own eyes, not just through the eyes of those he controlled. I felt him trying to attack my new mental wall but I wouldn’t let him. I refused to be taken down now, not when so many people’s lives relied on my success.

With effort I forced the first of the threads to snap. It was hard like iron and I had to use far more will power and energy to sever this one link than I liked. With so many to break this is going to leave me tired; maybe before I managed to sever every single one. Determination filled me at this thought. I was going to sever every single thread even if it killed me.

Slowly more and more threads began to snap. Each man that fell was sent into a deep sleep where his mind could recuperate and heal itself but I felt the Silver’s rage piling. The werewolves that had been hovering on the sidelines for the daylight assault were let lose. I felt them coming and began to snap their threads instead after sensing the vampires within the house were either unconscious or dead.

Dana had joined the fray at some point. I wasn’t sure how quickly she found me to be honest. Time was strange. It felt both fast and slow. I did know I was running out of it however. The sun was coming.

With the majority of my household now defending me, I worked harder. My head began to throb horribly once again from exhaustion and I could even feel the slight sensation of sweat beading my forehead.

I couldn’t understand how anyone could be scared of me I realised at that point. If I was the most powerful vampire in existence I should be able to defend myself from a Silver without any problem. Instead I was struggling in severing all connections with this lost one and couldn’t even reveal to myself who he was even though he was so close.

Biting my lip, I forced those thoughts away. They weren’t helping my concentration at all. Doggedly I cut a few more links until a horrible shriek filled my ears. Shocked and alarmed, I unintentionally let go of every mind I had found and opened my eyes sharply.

In front of me I found bodies of the unconscious and dead littering my garden. Two of my maids were now fighting with renewed vigour against the enemies while Viorel stood in front of a body on the floor protectively.

I glanced down and found Susan crying in rage and sorrow, kneeling down over the body. I recognised the simple clothes and my heart stuttered when I saw a horrible wound on his chest. His neck too had been damaged badly. From the wounds I guess a werewolf had gotten hold of him. My wide eyes didn’t need to see his blood covered face to know it was Lucius.

I stared for a moment and delved into Susan’s mind, seeking out answers. She had gotten clumsy in the battle since Lucius found her. She felt the need to prove herself to him but in the same time she left many openings for attack. The result led to Lucius throwing her out of the way when two werewolves managed to wriggle through her defences and took a snap at her. Both were enraged by Lucius’s own attack and they sought blood, egged on by the Silver. As soon as their teeth sunk into Lucius they wouldn’t let go. Just kept tearing and biting at him. Susan managed to wrench them free and helped Lucius dispatch them but the damage had already been done. He now lay dying in front of her.

My mind retreated just as quickly as it had invaded and my eyes remained latched on the pair not too far from me. Viorel was defending them, shooting what he could but was now having to resort to killing. Even my maids were beginning to kill.

I glanced down at Lucius again and at Susan’s pale twisted expression of horror as she tried to stop the blood flowing. I felt her self-loathing. She hated herself so much for letting her guard down and forcing Lucius to protect her. She had vowed to herself she would never be protected by him again and she had broken it. Now he lay dying.

Feeling such regret, guilt, sorrow and heartache made something wake up in me. I wouldn’t let Lucius die and I wouldn’t let anyone else for that matter. With an expression of determination forming on my face, my mind’s strength swelled rapidly.

Then world about me exploded.