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And the first door that she knew she must open

Her hand treainst coldin the dream had always been real as well And still she knew that this was different, and for a , seized with an absolute panic She hadn’t believed any of itand here she was, alone, facing fears beyond comprehension, and it was ridiculous that she was here Ridiculous that such creatures could exist, that there could be vampiresand olves, and that she was desperately praying that one of the tould arrive quickly, because it seemed that it was all true, and she was horribly afraid that she wasn’t up to the task

Jacques seemed to have faith She was the one to inherit the strain of the Alliance And what did that give her? A determination to die foolishly?

If she ran now, they would only come after her Even if she escaped, she would fail, and her cousin would die

Or worse

She forced her fingers to twist the knob The sound of the door creaking open was hideously loud, ripping and tearing her nerves

She stepped back quickly, certain that so at her, that the body parts would be waiting to forether, to come after her But when she opened the door, she at first saw nothing

Then, fro Not Louisa Tara had never seen her before

She was naked She looked at Tara as if it were thein the world that so hair to let it fall back again upon her shoulders Then she looked at Tara, s salaciously "Helloshall we play? I love to play, love to play " One sultry step after another, she ca if she was a prisoner, poor, pathetic, needing an escape, or if

When she was al sound escaped froer’s, or so it seemed Tara prayed desperately that she wouldn’t falter

She slairl’s chest, bit her lip, nearly doubled over She forced herself to take the sword into her hands She had to look away to deliver the first blow

It didn’t sever the head

She had to take another whack, and as she did so, she heard herself protesting "No, no, no!" was co And thenthe head rolled away

She stared at her own handiwork, shaking once again There was very little blood She hadn’t knohat to expect That the body would become a pile of ash, and disappear in a sudden breeze? It did not

It lay on the ground in its , she felt the tension, the craers, for she still held Jacques’ ord She sed hard, bent down, and pulled the stake fro hard upon it It ca sound

Tara, Tara, Tara

She heard her naain The tone was soft, sultry, amused She knew then that she had accoirl was just a piece of a shield A foot soldier, not at all valued by the real enemy; totally expendable

She stepped back into the hall carefully, trying to see in every direction She couldn’t allow her panic to take hold

She looked down the length of the hall, wishing that she dared call out her cousin’s nah she was certain that Louisa and her consort--whatever his real name was-- ell aware that she was here

As sheahead, she beca sensation at the back of her neck She paused, turning At first she saw nothing

The chill continued over her Deep dread seeainst the ceiling was a rinned down at her impishly

"Hello, there"

Even as she stared up at hi down upon its prey

She fued to lift the point just as he caround Caught on the wood, his face was just inches frogled to force the point ht fros that nearly touched her throat Gasping, heart thundering, ared to cast hi still He lay on the ground like an ani She slid the sword fro it down against his throat Sobs escaped her It wasn’t easy to sever a head Once again, she had to strike several times At last, the head rolled away And this time, as she watched, the flesh seerayslowly beco at hi the hysteria that threatened to overwhelm her and the tears that rose in her eyes

As she sat there, she beca thatin her ears She forced herself to rise quickly, to look around, to rescue the stake from where it had fallen in the bone and ash upon the floor

She was still being called down the hall by an invisible draw

There were doors along the way, but she didn’t pause The door at the end of the hall, with the strange light e shadohere she needed to be Resolutely, she walked on

She caain tensed and froze on the knob She forced herself to twist it

The light was co from a massive blaze that burned in the hearth And at the hearth stood a woant in forossamer sleeves Her features were classically beautiful, framed by a wealth of sleek dark hair Her skin was pale, her lips were very red She see into a slow, secret smile

"Welcome, ma chere!" she said softly "Welcoh you turned me away from your home Ah, well, the Alliance has never been known for its diplomatic tact But what does it irl! You knew the way down the hall, and that every door was but a roadblock, before you ca you, but that’s because you’re so very welcome Isn’t she welcome, mes amis?"

Tara started Her attention had been so focused on the creature at the hearth that she hadn’t looked around the roo couple huddled together against a wall, pale, ane A bearded fellow in Victorian attire was seated in a wing chair, just to the left of the fire To upon the other’s lap, were on the bed, while another ed girl