Eternal Night

(III) Chapter 36: Legacy

Vesper tip-toed through a seemingly empty corridor, bow loaded and ready as she forced herself to steady her breathing, trying to get her heart to slow to a more neutral pace. Even with the sounds of war and death partially muted by the thick walls of the palace, she knew better than to trust the silence of this hallway. Her side ached and head pounded from a couple of hits she had taken, but she was otherwise okay, even with the trickle of blood slowly oozing from a small gash near her temple.

She knew the second she had seen Councilwoman Sonya claw her way through a number of lycans to get back to the safety of the palace that her chosen quarry was dangerous. Tristan had barely managed to get back in time before the villainess' claws could disembowel him entirely. Vesper would have stayed to help the werewolf, but his sister, Vivian, had been there at his side in an instant and there was no way in hell she was going to let that bitch, Sonya, escape with her life.

She would never get the images out of her mind – one of the many video files that Elina had managed to acquire in her gift to Frankie just a short time ago now, exposing the corruption of Augustine's regime. This particular clip, however, Vesper had immediately deleted upon viewing, knowing that if Carmen or any of the others caught wind of it, they never would have trusted her to be out on her own like she was now, hunting.

Vesper had never known her mother – had only been in Camilla's presence for maybe a handful of seconds before she had died with a smile on her face and relief in her eyes that night in Carmen's. The sound of Danny sobbing still haunted her nightmares, but so did the video of Sonya assaulting her mother while Marcus and Basilio carried on in conversation in the background, totally indifferent to what had been taking place.

How Elina had even gotten footage of that, she had no idea, but she didn't care.

She couldn't get the anguished expression of Camilla out of her head, the inhumanely malicious glee of Sonya's dark eyes. All of it had been seared into her retinas – a short ninety-second clip – but it was enough to fuel the fire of vengeance in her belly.

Basilio was dead, and Augustine – if she knew Frankie well enough – was on his way out the door.

So that left Sonya all to her.

She finally passed by the window the councilwoman had climbed into, a trail of blood left on the floor. Vesper followed it soundlessly, slowing her breathing, her tread feather light. After passing through a few corridors, she could hear the villain in some unknown chamber just beyond, cursing viciously as she no doubt struggled to heal from the wounds she had sustained at the hand of the near-feral werewolves.

Hovering just outside the slightly ajar door, Vesper lingered, fingers curled around the bowstring, arrow nocked and ready. She lifted onto the balls of her feet lightly – once, twice – a pre-dance for the quick footwork she no doubt would have to utilize in a moment. She then lowered her gaze to the floor and counted.

One.

Two.

On three, she kicked open the door, aimed quickly, and let her arrow fly.

But Sonya must have sensed her. She was already on the move, just barely ducking out of the way of the arrow that grazed her cheek, slicing the skin open. Vesper was already loading her next shot as the vampire snarled and she released, this time the arrow finding home in the woman's shoulder.

Sonya growled, eyes flashing in recognition as Vesper quickly nocked another arrow.

"You look like Basilio's chit," she hissed, gripping the shaft protruding from her flesh and giving it a sharp tug.

Vesper never replied, loosing a third, this one finding a home in that hollow space above the councilwoman's collarbone – close to the heart, but still not close enough. She reached behind her to grab another arrow, but her quiver was empty and she watched in a mixture of frustration and horror as Sonya laughed mockingly, removing the arrows from her body, though with noted difficulty.