The Homunculus Knight

Chapter 25: Doors and Windows

“Later, Homunculi were completely artificial but functional bodies. Created through complicated magical and alchemical means. While not truly people, these bodies had myriad uses for Mages with little scruples. Some dramatic, like acting as replacement bodies for powerful Necromancers. Others were more mundane, like being used as subjects for grisly experiments. Yet, the lack of a soul made it so no Homunculus was ever truly “alive”.. A potential solution to this was found by grafting existing souls to a Homunculus body. A process that ultimately failed. Instead, producing universally insane creatures whose body and soul deteriorated to uselessness.” - Excerpt from the text, “ Alchemical Abominations ” authored by Aureolus Bombastus, Master Alchemist of the Salted Citadel.

Natalie sat across from the Vampire. She’d been commanded to sit and wait for Cole with the monster and saw no other option than following its orders. Her back ramrod straight, with hands balled into fists, Natalie didn’t take her eyes off the creature across from her. With effort, Natalie suppressed the shivers of fear that went through her and tried to face the Vampire with dignity.

Dame Lorena, for her part, still sat casually at the table, her attractive form coiled in her chair like a large predator content between meals. Sipping her “drink” casually, Lorena looked at Natalie with amused eyes. Setting her glass down, Lorena leaned over the table in what might have been a seductive posture in anybody other than an undead predator.

“It's smart of you to not cause an incident. Stirring up fear in your fellow… townsfolk is not something the Court views favorably.”

Natalie got the distinct impression that Lorena wanted to use a word other than Townsfolk, but stopped herself. Not reacting to the Vampire’s words, Natalie stayed still as Lorena spoke.

“But trying to hide your fear is pointless. I can hear your pulse quickening and feel the air stir with your panicked breaths. I can smell your sweat and taste the panic in it. You are afraid, and you should be. Nothing you do will change that fact. So be a good girl and sit still while we wait.”

The Vampire's words stung Natalie and brought another emotion forward. A spike of anger erupted, and Natalie spoke. “My name is Natalie, not barmaid.”

Lorena got very still then, unnaturally so. No breaths or muscle twitches disturbed her deadly stillness. The Vampire seemed more like a statue than anything remotely alive for a second. Then Lorena smiled; it was a false thing, as sweet as spoiled berries and just as sickly.

“I’ll call you whatever I damn well please mortal. Now shut your mouth before I reach into that pretty little mind of yours and take the ability to speak from you.”

The color drained from Natalie’s face. She’d heard of things like that, magic that could break a person's mind with a glance. Something terrible and forbidden by the Pantheon, so of course, it was a dark art practiced by Vampires and other monsters. Gritting her teeth, Natalie did as she was told and felt a pang of envy for those with magical skills. A silver tongue and clever wit had taken her far in life, but now they were useless in the face of her current threat.

An hour or so passed, with Natalie never taking her eyes off the Vampire. The matters of the tavern continued without Natalie's aid, and she didn’t know if she should feel pleased or hurt that no one came to her aid. Eventually, by nine o'clock, the Silly Goat’s doors opened, and Natalie knew by the hush that fell over the room who was in the doorway. She didn’t even turn her head as Cole spoke to the tavern at large.

“The ruins in the north forest were haunted by a pack of Wraiths. They have been put to rest. Lost sheep should be more easily recovered in that area.”

Silence filled the bar for a few moments before Sandu, the heavy-set tradesmen, barked out. “Well, that's good to hear! One less excuse the Shepherds have. The lazy bastards!”

Those words were met with a mix of jeers and laughs. Good-natured ribbing between townsfolk started up, and the Tavern returned to normal. Natalie finally turned around and spotted Cole. He looked much better than she expected. This hunt had apparently gone well. Wrapped in a deep black cloak and standing tall with quiet confidence, he struck an imposing sight. Cole was scanning the tavern with a neutral expression on his face. Silently Natalie pleaded for him to spot her.

He did, and Cole’s face broke into a smile that died as quickly as it came. The look of panic that Natalie had been hiding was now displayed for him. Setting his jaw, Cole looked from Natalie to her “companion.” Natalie saw his eyes widen in recognition and shock, his hand shooting to the axe slung at his waist. Frantically Natalie jerked her head in the negative. If this got violent, they couldn’t have it happen in the middle of a busy tavern. Cole understood her gesture and nodded in kind.

Quickly moving to the table, Cole flicked his eyes between the two women waiting for him. As he arrived, the Vampire smiled and gestured for Cole to sit. He ignored her and simply stepped to the side of the table, subtly putting himself between Lorena and Natalie. A kind gesture that Natalie doubted would be ultimately helpful. If the Vampire wanted to kill them, she doubted there was much Cole could do to stop it.

In a deeper voice with more growl than normal, Cole addressed the Vampire. “Dame Lorena, what business do you have here?”

Lorena smiled at that and drawled. “The intimate kind dear Rest-Bringer. The kind the help shouldn’t be privy to. So be a good boy and find us a place to talk in private.”

Cole nodded slightly and answered. “My room upstairs should prove useful. Is that acceptable to you?”

The Vampress smiled, her fangs on terrible display. “My, you are a bold one, Rest-Bringer. To invite a lady to your chambers on your second meeting. Such confidence must be rewarded.”

She rose from her chair with a sinuous grace Natalie normally associated with dancers. But in Lorena, it seemed distinctly predatory. Putting out a single hand for Cole to take, Lorena let herself be led away as if she was joining a suitor for a dance. As they approached the staircase, Cole shot Natalie a frantic look. Not filled with fear for himself like Natalie almost expected, but instead terror for her and the Inns patrons.

Natalie nodded in response to his look and got up from her seat. Quickly and quietly, she pushed through patrons and headed for the bar, ignoring the stiffness in her muscles, a product of her tense wait. Natalie found her father. The dark-haired man was busy pouring drinks and looked up to see her with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

“Natty, where have you been? I know you are leaving soon, but it's not alright to leave-” Natalie cut him off quickly. Slipping over, she grabbed his free arm and whispered into his ear.

“A Vampire is in the Inn. Cole has her distracted, but I don’t know for how long. We need to get these people to safety.”

Confusion faded into dawning horror as the gravity of Natalie’s words sunk in. Turning from her, Wilhelm shouted to the patrons. “All right, change of plans. We are closing early tonight.” He cut off the surprised moans and boos before they could start. “There is something big to prepare for tomorrow, so I need all of you to move off!” Slowly and uncertainty, the crowd started to shuffle towards the door. Confused babble filled the Inn. Natalie and her father looked at each other and had a moment of mutual understanding. The Silly Goat was not emptying fast enough.

“Hurry along!” barked Wilhelm. “I have a party to prepare for and a special announcement to make. So shoo and come back tomorrow. The last one out the door pays double for drinks tomorrow!”

That got them moving, and soon Natalie and Wilhelm were alone in the tavern. Looking to his daughter, Wilhelm asked. “What’s happening?”

Natalie shrugged which quickly turned into a shiver. “I don’t know. Before I noticed her, she was here for some time and only wanted to speak to Cole.”

Wilhelm grit his teeth, and his expression hardened. Natalie could see the regret and distress on his face. The normally kind man was clearly second-guessing his choice to let Cole stay in his establishment. Natalie winced; what was happening was close to Wilhelm’s worst-case scenario. Trying to distract herself and her father, Natalie asked:

“What are you going to tell them tomorrow?” Which was assuming there was a tomorrow for them.

Similar thoughts seemed to pass in Wilhelms mind, but he still answered. “I will announce that you are planning to leave. And I will open myself to Apprentices. I’ll need the help and have someone to take over from me eventually.”

That got a sad smile from Natalie, and she tried to think of something to say. Her efforts were interrupted by a loud crack and a high-pitched scream coming from upstairs.

Cole led Lorenna up the stairs and towards his room. Her hand was unnaturally cool in his and was a potent reminder of what he was dealing with. Politely he brought the Vampire into his rented space and gestured for her to sit at the small table in one corner of the room. She did, an amused smile on her elegant face. Cole shut the door behind him and faced the monster.

“What business do you have with me, Vampire?” asked Cole, his voice a low growl.

Lorena’s eyebrows rose in surprise at his tone, and her mouth split in a warning smile. “I’d watch your self Rest-Bringer. Poor manners can result in poor behavior from an offended Lady like myself.”

Cole ignored the threat and continued his questioning. “My actions in Glockmire do not threaten or undermine your Liege. I have done my duty and not acted against the Lord. So I repeat my question. Why are you here?”

Clucking her tongue in disapproval, Lorena answered in a patronizing tone. “Oh, we both know that's not strictly true. You are dabbling in all manner of things that might prove disastrous for this town. In fact, a little Bat told me you were busy hunting Undead servants of the Court. Attempting to hurt the power and standing of respected Nobles. Such action is not something we can ignore.”

Cole froze then. It seemed his actions had not gone unnoticed. The Feeder had enough of Cole’s efforts to disrupt their plans and wanted to remove him from the board. He doubted Lorena was the one behind this whole mess. She seemed the type more willing to play for whoever enticed her with a greater prize. Not the sort who concocted complicated plans to seize power. Whoever was pulling the strings had the influence to send a lesser Vampire to threaten him. An ostentatious display that Cole could almost find strangely flattering.

Again, Cole reiterated his question. “What do you want, Vampire? You haven’t just attacked me, so you must want something from me. So spit it out. I have no patience for your games.”

The harshness of his words surprised Cole; he knew he needed to be tactful and clever about this. But something inside of him wouldn’t play nice. The implied and implicit threat of this blood-sucking abomination sitting in the Tavern, holding Natalie hostage, brought a bitter fury to Cole.

Lorena had stopped blinking. Her eyes had become glassy as she stared at Cole with unnatural intensity. “I came to make an offer and ask you a question, Rest-Bringer.”

Leaning forward, Lorena bared her fangs and continued. “The offer was originally demanding that you leave this town in twenty-four hours. Or we’d be forced to take punitive actions against you and anyone who might be aiding you.”

Reaching out one of her hands, Lorena pointed a single finger at Cole. Black blood welled up from her nail bed and flowed out and around the tip of her finger. Forming into an eight-centimeter claw of glossy-black sharpness. The rest of her fingers followed suit, turning the Vampires hand into talons.

“That was the offer, but you went and annoyed me. So I’m changing it. Instead, you will let me drink you to near-death before we dump your unconscious body outside the town gates. If you don’t, I’ll go downstairs and devour the pretty little Barmaid and anyone else I can find in this cesspit.”

It took a truly remarkable amount of self-control for Cole not to attack the Vampire. Instead, he flatly asked. “What was your question?”

Lorena seemed slightly disappointed she hadn’t gotten him to react explosively, but she recovered quickly. Smiling with a level of smug sadism rarely seen outside of well-fed Cats, she asked: “Does the name Isabelle Gens Silva mean anything to you?”

Cole’s eyes widened in absolute shock and horror. He took a step backward and found his back pressed against the door. Unconsciously he flicked his gaze to where he hid the skull. Returning his focus to Lorena, he saw her eyes wide with a predatory delight. It was no use denying anything; she’d read his reaction like a particularly simple book.

Lorena rose from the table with a slinking motion and stepped towards Cole, her face split in a fanged smile. “So it's true? When I described you to him, he was shocked. Claiming the Homunculus Knight had been destroyed more than a decade ago. Oh, this is marvelous. The irony is incredible. An abomination like you pretending to be Holy? You aren’t even a Rest-Bringer, are you?”

Cole reached up to his neck of scars and his necklace. He gripped the metal hourglass tightly and pulled it free of the cord. Lorena saw what he was doing and actually laughed.

“Do you really think a trinket like that will stop what's coming? No god will protect you aberration. You’ve run long enough; now it's time for you to return to where you belong.”

Memories flashed through Cole, unbidden. Of never-ending darkness and hungry shadows. Memories of months in a Vampires larder. Spending night after night being devoured by monsters. Living in a state of constant exhaustion and terror, the only respites from his captor’s blood-hunger was when they violated and vivisected him. He’d escaped that fate once and thought he was safe from it. The Homunculus Knight had died, and the Paladin of Death lived.

Someone in the court of Glockmire had been at Thoas Citadel when it fell and knew his story. They’d sent Lorena to either scare him off or identify him. Now she knew enough to seal his fate. The Vampiress would drag him back to that place of screaming death. Where a cabal of monsters would do as they pleased to him.

At that moment, Cole hated himself for how foolish and optimistic he’d been. A decade had passed since he was presumed destroyed, and he’d thought it was time enough for his story to fade. That now, after all that time, he could safely return to the Blood Duchies. Cole had been woefully, drastically wrong. And now, he would pay the price for his naivety.

Cole realized he’d been trembling and that Lorena had gotten within an arm's length of him. His fear eliciting a terrible mix of hunger and arousal in the Vampire. Looking into her eyes, Cole watched her irises change color. The illusionary brown, worn to avoid suspicion, melted into a deep crimson. Looking away before the eye contact could be dangerous, Cole made his decision. He would not go quietly into the night. He would do his duty even now. Cole, the Paladin of Master Time, was confronted with an Undead threatening the innocent. It fell to him to destroy it.

He swung his arm in a wild haymaker towards Lorena’s head. It was a clumsy blow any trained mortal could dodge. Nothing even remotely a threat to a Vampire. Lorena didn’t bother to dodge it, her hungry grin brimming with conceit. She intended to let Cole break his arm on her supernaturally strong body before she had her way with him. Cole had counted on that typical Vampiric arrogance to let the blow connect. His hand hit Lorena in the face in an open-handed slap. A slap that carried Cole’s medallion in his open palm right into the Vampire’s unprotected face.

For ten years, Cole served as one of the handful of Paladins on the entire continent. In all that time, he’d kept this same austere piece of jewelry with him. It acted as the focus for his prayers, his meditations, and the occasional miracle he’d performed. So when it struck Lorena, it burned the Vampire like the sun’s own rays.

Lorena screamed in pain as the metal seared her skin and muscle right down to the bone. She stumbled backward and crashed into the table. Scuttling away from Cole, the Vampire looked up. Hate and surprise oozed from what was left of her face. Lorena’s entire right cheek was scorched away, burns running from her jaw to her hairline. Hissing in fury, Lorena started to screech something at Cole. He didn’t let finish, unbuckling his axe in his left hand, with his talisman in his right Cole attacked Lorena.

Barreling forwards, Cole brought his axe down into the Vampires shoulder. Sinking its blade through muscle and into the clavicle. With the weapon embedded in his foe, Cole continued his charge. Catching the Vampire off balance and ramming her towards the room's window. Long ago, Cole learned something important about supernatural strength and speed. It was of little use without proper leverage. Which was exactly why Cole grabbed onto the Vampire with all his might and shoved them both out the window.

They smashed through the wood and glass and tumbled into the air. One hand gripping his axe, the other grabbing the Vampire’s body, they plunged towards the ground. Lorena screeched and thrashed as the talisman still nestled in Cole’s palm burned where it touched. Lorena flailed useleslly mid-air before she hit the ground hard, with Cole landing directly on her. Cole’s full weight came down like a load of bricks, weight directed into the axe buried in Lorena's shoulder. The blade tore through muscle and bone with an incredible crack. While the talisman burned away at her hip, where Cole clutched for dear life.

For a moment, neither did anything as Cole gasped in a breath and ignored the burst of pain across his body. At the same time, Lorena tried to process what exactly happened. It didn’t take the Vampire long, and she flung Cole off her with a screech. Cole tumbled away, rolling on the ground a meter before he could pull himself to his feet. Shakily Cole assessed the situation, he still held his axe, but he’d dropped the talisman. Three fingers on his right hand were broken, he’d bruised a few ribs, and he might have a concussion. Looking at Lorena, Cole thought that wasn’t a bad trade for the damage he’d inflicted.

The Vampire’s right arm was dangling uselessly; in fact, most of the shoulder was hanging loosely, ready to fall right off the monster. Cole managed to chop through the entire shoulder and down into her torso. Lorena’s dress was in tatters and revealed a line of burns on her left side; ending at her hip, where a solid chunk of the muscle had blackened and turned to ash. Ultimately the sight of the wounded vampire was profoundly disturbing yet eerily poetic. Nearly naked, Lorena’s supple and curvaceous body was on display. But marred by brutal injuries that revealed the ashen, desiccated corpse hidden under the veneer of false life. She was a monster wearing a beautiful form, a fact available for all to now see.

Slicing a gash on his injured right hand, Cole transmuted his weapon into a pole-axe. A smaller and more maneuverable cousin to the halberd. With one hand wounded, a lighter weapon would be better for what was to come. Cole charged Lorena, brandishing his weapon, thrusting its spear-tip at the Vampire. Lorena batted the blade away with her working arm, and Cole translated the momentum into a low spinning kick with his opposite leg. It struck below the burns on her hip and elicited a shriek of pain from the Vampire.

Lorena leaped forward, pouncing like a hungry lion. She’d coated her usable hand’s fingers in blood talons, and her fangs had elongated slightly. Making her look more like the predatory monster she was. With her right arm damaged to uselessness and her left leg wounded, the lunge was off, and Cole could dodge it. Lorena landed on three limbs and whirled around, her posture distinctly feral.

The Vampire’s face healed enough for her to talk, and she screeched. “I’m going to break you! I’m going to break your mind and reduce you to the stupid meat puppet you were meant to be. Then I’ll make you-”

Cole ut her off with a barrage of blood darts. The razor-sharp droplets shot forward at his command, and Lorena dodged all but one of them. It stuck into her side, much like a mundane Crossbow bolt, before melting into blood.

“Stop talking and die quickly. You’ve prolonged your life long enough, monster.” spat Cole as he fired another volley.

Lorena dodged these easily and circled around him. Her eyes were wild as she looked around the empty street. Cole felt relief as he noticed what she was realizing. The Silly Goat had emptied out, and anyone on the streets fled when they’d fallen through the window. Lorena was a Moroi, and her powers lent themselves to enslaving weak minds. Drunken tavern-goers on the street would have provided a wonderful source of puppets.

Closing the distance Cole swiped out with his pole-axe; Lorena dodged and responded with a slash of her own. The extra distance of Cole’s weapon let him dodge her talons but forced him to back away as she continued a fierce onslaught of rapid swings. Anyone caught in that storm of claws would be reduced to shredded gore in seconds. Cole let her swing wildly at the air and couldn’t help but grin.

This was what he’d been counting on. Vampires are stronger, faster, and tougher than any mortal. But that does not automatically make them skilled warriors. Many never fought before they’d been transformed and were over-reliant on their physical superiority. Not actually knowing how to use the supernatural prowess they possessed. Lorena was flailing wildly like an angry child, except with the strength to crack stone. She was also crippled, one arm useless, one leg badly damaged, and her full strength would take time to return. Lorena was not the first Vampire Cole fought, and he knew how to beat arrogant little monsters like her.

Keeping out of her reach Cole slit his right palm. Painful and inconvenient, those types of cuts were not what Cole favored for his blood magic, but it was necessary for what he would do next. Cole swung his hand out in an arc, letting a spray of blood splatter onto the approaching Lorena. Still caught up in her frantic flailing, the Vampire barely noticed the blood.

“Scattered Blood Boil! Return this Corpse to the Soil!” Barked Cole, the incantation acting as magical shorthand to shape the summoned power as he desired. The droplets of blood superheated and instantly burned where they touched. Lorena flinched in pain and stopped her attack in surprise. Cole punished the opening with impunity. He leaped forward with his pole-axe swinging in from the side. The blade hacked into the Vampire's neck, embedding itself in her spinal cord.

Without two hands to use, Cole lacked the power to deliver a clean decapitation. Which worked perfectly for what he intended. The blow and its damage to Lorena’s spinal cord were enough to topple the Vampire over. Cole held onto the haft of his weapon as she fell, keeping it stuck in the Vampires flesh. Lorena landed in a heap of burned flesh and thrashing limbs. Cole wrapped both hands on the Pole-axe’s handle and pressed a booted foot to the back of the axe-head. Ignoring the stinging pain in his right hand Cole looked down at the Vampire and growled a few words just loud enough for her to hear.

“You are right. I am no Rest-Bringer, I am Paladin of Master Time. Sent to put an end to your evil. Go now to your judgement, and know your master will be joining you soon.”

Lorena’s eyes widened in shock and horror as Cole stomped down on the pole-axe, driving the blade straight through the Vampire’s neck. Immediately the Vampire’s flesh started to dissolve, flaking away into ash. Leaving a mound of gray dust, with a set of blackened bones in the middle. Cole looked down at the remains of Dame Lorena Sartori and bowed his head.

“Accept Master Time’s judgment with honor and bear the weight of your sins well. May you find redemption and peace, you Broken Soul.”

Leaving the Vampire's corpse behind, Cole scooped up his dropped Talisman and walked back towards the Silly Goat. Setting his jaw, Cole made a decision then. He’d set events into motion, and now he needed to see them through.