Abe probed Hugh’s mind to see what he was thinking, his quietness
was driving him crazy. Normally they would be chatting and joking during a
journey. Amelia would often be with them
and once they were in the location she would do her thing and using her spirit
form to pinpoint the Mark. She would
tell them whether he was acting dangerously.
As he probed into Hugh’s mind he found him thinking about one of their
earlier escapades.
The Ball was drawing
to a close, the air outside still humid and heavy from the heat of the day. A storm was brewing as the clouds began pulling
together, the sound of slow rumbling thunder in the distance. Several of the guests were already gathering
outside the main entrance waiting for their carriages to draw up, the music
still audible from the ball room. Abe
was now hiding in the shadows cast by the fountain watching for the Vampires they
had followed that evening and who were now departing.
Having spent an hour
mingling with the guests Abe had chosen the Vampires who were planning on
feasting from the ladies they had escorted that evening. It was a dangerous environment for either
Hugh or Abe to be in, especially Hugh. If
he was ever discovered by the Coven of Vampires that assembled at these grand
occasions he would suffer terribly before being killed.
Hugh had already taken
the place of the driver, knocking him unconscious after feeding him bottles of ale
and stripping him of his livery. He kept
his face down, his liveried hat tilted to keep his identity hidden.
On Abe’s signal he
gently brought the Clarence to a stop at the front door. The party of four moved forward to Hugh’s
carriage Abe whistled to Hugh that the party were ready to board. Once the party were seated Hugh led the
horses at a slow trot around the large courtyard so Abe could jump onto the
back plate without being seen. Once Abe
had managed to take a secure hold Hugh put the horses into canter until they
were off the estate and a few miles down
the quiet lane. Through earlier
experiences the Vampires usually waited until they had the females in their
homes before attacking them, but these Vampires were different. From Hugh’s
seat he could hear the laughter and chatter die down, he knew that the Vampires
had started their attack on the victims.
He took the decision to take them there and then so he whistled to Abe. As Hugh pulled the horses to a stop Abe
carefully made his way on to the top of the carriage.
With the unexpected stopping of the carriage one of the Vampires banged
on the roof a couple of times demanding to know the reason why. When he
received no response he alighted the carriage.
Just as he stepped out of the coach Abe jumped onto him, his knife in
hand. He took the man down and forced the
blade directly into his heart. One down
one to go. Hugh drew his sword, his
fangs exposed as his temper fired. He
pulled open the carriage door, seeing the blood dripping from an open wound on one
of the ladies necks, his temper flared.
The remaining Vampire taken by surprise leapt from his seat, discarding
the woman like a rag doll to his side, his fangs covered in her fresh blood. Hugh’s sword struck him hard taking his head
from his shoulders. Neither Hugh nor Abe
had expected the Vampires to have commenced feasting and were now left with two
young victims. They had to make a
decision there and then, change them or kill them. The bodies of the Vampires already turned to
ash mixing with the mud on the lane.
