Moon-Crazed (1)
The woman who called herself Ruby was not wasting any time. She dragged Aoric through narrow alleyways between the buildings in a hurry. Her ghastly white hair fluttered behind her, even when there was no wind. It looked as if her hair had no weight, and simply floated behind her at all times.
Her pale skin reflected the moonlight as they walked out into the open from a covered alleyway.
"So," She glanced at him over her shoulder. "How come did the Sorcerer let a guy like you into the Cathedral to help out?" She snickered. "The old guy was very religious last time I saw him."
Aoric shrugged. "Well, he kind of saved my life, so you can call my help repaying that, I guess." He muttered. As much as he wanted to pull his arm away, he had a feeling that this woman was not going to like it. And considering the fact that she was a vampire, angering her didn't seem like the best of ideas.
"Ah yes, he was always the charitable kind." She chuckled. "Alright, the bats shouldn't be a problem, but I don't want to deal with any more blood crazed beasts." She said as they arrived at the end of the alleyway. Aoric looked around the corner, only to see the Cathedral fairly close by, but the streets filled with golden eyed men and women.
"Well, that is unfortunate." Ruby sighed. "As much as I would love to get you to the cathedral and then go on my way, we are not getting past those guys."
Aoric nodded. There were so many of them. "Why are they gathering around the cathedral?"
"The smell of blood. Sweet, delicious blood." The woman licked her lips. "I mean, they are moon-crazed. You can't expect much of them for tonight. It's on their Matriarch to put a stop to it, but I guess she's too busy to come and save both of our people, and the humans who got caught in the crossfire." She tapped his shoulder and gestured him to follow her.
"What do you mean?" Aoric asked as she led him to one of the big angel statues. "Climb up, it's safer up there." She said before leaping up and effortlessly landing on the roof.
Aoric flinched, then pulled himself onto the statue's shoulders. So, the woman who had almost killed him was not a vampire, since she hadn't done such a ridiculous jump. He soon reached the roof as well.
"What do you mean by moon-crazed?" He asked again. The woman shot him an odd look.
"You really don't know?"
-
Murmurs spread across the hall as the young woman panted. "Please, do something!" She cried out, her voice trembling. "They are going after humans!"
Those words were what sprung Irene into action.
"Those who can't resist the moonlight stay here!" She shouted as she rushed to the entrance. "Those who can, follow me! We can't let them terrorise the city."
About a dozen older family leaders ran after her while everyone else remained behind. It was heart breaking to see so many purebloods slowly losing their power. Perhaps a century ago, half of this hall would have followed her.
Irene ran up the stairs, then pushed the doors open. A narrow hallway led to the empty living room of this mansion. No one lived in here, it belonged to Irene, and was used exclusively for important events such as these.
With the older family leaders in tow, she hurried to the living room, then from there to the entrance. As soon as she opened the large, reinforced door, the scent of blood reached her nostrils. It was faint, but it was present.
"This is worse than I feared." Lord Ruthvic muttered as he covered his nose with a handkerchief. Irene nodded, the smell was faint, but only because they were far away from its source.
She took a deep breath, and stepped onto the streets, following the scent.
The bright moon hung in the sky, like a an ever watchful eye. It called to them, to their old instincts, to the very core of their bodies. It made the smell of blood seem so sweet. It was tough to focus, even for Irene.
The scent led them to the main street, and from there, to the plaza in front of the Cathedral of the Old Blood.
Irene drew a sharp breath as soon as they stepped onto the plaza.
It was much, much worse than she thought.