|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chapter Eight: The Mansion on the Hill | ||||||||||||||||
| By Richard LeBlanc | ||||||||||||||||
| In the mansion - in his control room - an irate Samuel was watching on his numerous security cameras the chaos caused by this wretched assassin. So far the snake had not only managed to take down his three cousins - but he had managed to worm his way ever deeper into the very heart of his empire. | ||||||||||||||||
| "This is infuriating," Samuel cursed as he slammed his fist into the marble table. "How can one man cause so much chaos?" he demanded. It was then that there was a knock on his door. "Enter!" he shouted. The door opened as one of his retainers entered with a file. "Is that the file on our would be assassin?" he asked. | ||||||||||||||||
| "All we were able to get," the retainer replied. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Leave it and go,' he ordered. The retainer handed the folder to him and left the room. Samuel sighed as he sat down in his chair and reluctantly opened the dossier. "Goes by the name Calloway. Belongs to some unrecognized coterie headed by Snake," he read as he skimmed for anything important. "Trained fighter - suspected in the killing of the prince of New Orleans in - the mid fifties as well as several other high profile deaths. Messy," he read. "Everywhere he has gone - kindred go missing. This boy's good," he said as he closed the file. | ||||||||||||||||
| Samuel turned his attention to some of the other cameras. He looked at the ones that covered the hospital and saw one of his cousins brutalized and on one of the beds in the morgue. He switched to another series of cameras that covered the graveyard and crypt. There he saw his other two cousins dead. | ||||||||||||||||
| "The boy is good," he said to himself as he leaned back. "Ball is your court. Come to me little assassin. I'm waiting," he said with a smile. | ||||||||||||||||
| * * * | ||||||||||||||||
| At that moment - on another part of the estate - Calloway sat perched in a tree as a small batch of patrolling soldiers happened by. Once they were gone - he flipped himself down and stalked his way through the small forest towards the old mansion. | ||||||||||||||||
| "The boy hasn't let up once. If I didn't know better - I would think he didn't want me here," he remarked as he saw one soldier break away from the others. "Hello - opportunity," he said with a smile. | ||||||||||||||||
| Seconds later - he was standing over a dead soldier and was wearing his uniform. He looked at the rifle and frowned. He smiled a bit when he saw the bayonet. He quickly plucked it off and tossed the weapon aside. | ||||||||||||||||
| He was about to continue on his way when he heard a low guttural growl coming from behind him. from the corner of his eye - he could see the almost pony-sized ghouled hounds that were on the brink of attacking him. discreetly - his daggers slid down into his hands. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I hate dogs," he muttered. Before he had time to react - the hounds pounced! It was clear that they had a degree of celerity. He rolled with the impact as the first hound collided into him and then used its own momentum to flip it away. One of the other hounds bit into his arm. "Let go!" he growled as he smashed his fist through the dog's skull. It yelped as it twitched and died. | ||||||||||||||||
| The other unholy dogs growled and circled the bleeding vampire - waiting for an opening. Calloway blinked - almost instantly his eyes were like that of a serpent. His tongue lashed out at one of the dogs causing it to hope back. | ||||||||||||||||
| "You mutts are going to the pound," Calloway growled as he pounced. | ||||||||||||||||
| Moments later - a good portion of his uniform was shredded from where the dogs had tried to bite him. In his wake - the hounds laid dead. | ||||||||||||||||
| Calloway looked ahead and saw the mansion. It was around three stories tall. He crouched down scouted around and then bolted at the mansion. As soon as he was a couple meters away - he pounced. | ||||||||||||||||
| He dug his fingers into the rocky wall and began to slowly scale the decorative wall. He froze as he heard a hunting party wander by. They stopped beneath him and looked around for any trace of the intruder. Luckily for him - they did not look up. as suddenly as they came - they hurried away. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Wonder what that was about," he muttered as he continued his slow steady climb. | ||||||||||||||||
| Moments later he finally reached the roof. From there he stopped and looked around. He could see the hospital and the other places he had been. He could see the numerous flashing lights and could hear all the activity that was occurring around the mansion. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Somewhere in this place hides my mouse," he remarked as he made his way over to the nearest door. He stopped when he saw that one of the wires that had been connected to the door had been cut. "Someone else is here. Better be careful lest I get caught in the crossfire," he muttered as he cautiously opened the door. | ||||||||||||||||
| Throughout the mansion security and soldiers patrolled. They had heard a rumor that the intruder had made it into the main house and they were not going to take any chances. | ||||||||||||||||
| In a spot in the control room - a vent popped off the wall as Calloway pulled himself free. He rolled to the floor and instantly had his weapons ready to attack - an empty room? | ||||||||||||||||
| "He isn't here?" he muttered. It was then that a door on the far side of the room opened inward. No one entered. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Come on in Calloway. I've been expecting you," a voice stated. Cautiously he stalked his way across the room. When he got to the door he peeked out from the shadows and saw a well-dressed man sitting behind a large marble desk. | ||||||||||||||||
| "You must be Samuel," Calloway stated. He rolled out from where he was to the center of the room. He spun around - ready to attack anything that dared move - yet - they were alone. "Arrogance must be a family trait," he added. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I am a tad bit proud. And if someone such as yourself - goes through all that trouble just to see me - well - let us just say - I would rather deal with the mater on a more - personal level?" he suggested. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I came here for a reason necromancer," Calloway stated - knives ready. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Do tell," his target replied coyly. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I bring you a message from Snake," Calloway stated as he stood ready to pounce. | ||||||||||||||||
| "That being?" Samuel asked with a smile. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Prepare to die," Calloway hissed - as he pounced! | ||||||||||||||||
| To Be Concluded! | ||||||||||||||||