21.
Abel stood at the corner
watching Lauren. She dressed in the travel clothes, the dark dress with the
boots, and the hood over her head. She was trembling in fright, and her father
was trying to comfort her. He looked around and saw nothing there in the
chamber that could assist her. The other elderly man had taken what was left of
the demon creature outside.
“Sir, may I offer …….” Abel
asked and was turned down.
“No, she is fine.” Rudolf
looked at his daughter. Lauren has the glazed expression on her. “Are you
okay?”
“I used my power… my
spells,” Lauren muttered. “I was told not to.”
“You did for me. The demon
was to attack me,” Rudolf said. “My ……. Weapons are not useful.”
“Sir, can I…?” Abel looked
over but was turned down by the father.
“Do be silent. I am trying
to talk to my daughter.” Rudolf turned to glare at the young man. “Be silent.”
“Yes, Sir.” Abel turned to
the window. He wanted to help, but he hardly knows the man and lady. He wished
his father was there. He heard then the return of the other man.
“Sir, I am back. I brought
weapons.” The elderly man appeared with the guns and other weapons. “Do you
remember the days when you were in the army?”
The elderly man held three
rifles with bayonets and a bag of bullets. Rudolf nodded. It seems like a long
time ago when he was in the uniform. He recalled the first time they met the
Tsar. They were a unit of soldiers under the Общий, given the special task of
eliminating the special reference stated in the order by the Field Marshal,
under the direct order of the Tsar.
“The Tsar have expressed
concern on the development of the unnatural beliefs.” The Field Marshall met
his guests in the official office of the Military Branch.
“Literature of such.” The
field marshal slammed his fist on the table. The table was stacked with books
and other newsletters there. “We are in the 19th century and soon the 20th
century, and yet our beliefs slid to the yesteryears of ancient Slavic
folklore …… and these growing influence of Western Gothic what you
may termed as romanticism in literature.”
On the table were seen the
volumes of Domovoy, Leshy, Bannik: Household, forest, and bathhouse spirits,
long considered the "hidden people" or ancestors/the dead, connected
to "unclean force"; Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless:
Powerful, baleful figures of folklore. Baba Yaga is a witch who lives in a hut
on chicken legs, while Koschei is an evil, immortal sorcerer who menaces young
women, his soul hidden in an egg far away.
“All these are blasphemy of
the ……. Mindless.” The Field Marshall sighed. “My own ……. Daughter is reading
it.”
“Field Marshall, the ……”
Общий stood to attention. “We cannot dispute that the folks are ……. uneasy. The
current famine in the provinces of Nizhni-Novgorod, Riazan, Tula, Kazan,
Simbirsk, Saratov, Penza….”
“The Volga basin…… I am
aware. It affects all of us, but the concern here is not the famine but the
mindset of the folks. Their minds are plagued by reading these.” The field
marshal slammed his fist once again on the books. The senior officer is known for
his orthodox views. “These activities prompted the bourgeoisie of various
nationalities in the Russian Empire to develop a host of parties, both liberal
and conservative. Some fuel by these unorthodox thinking.”
“Sir, we must not ……” The
Общий pressed on.
“Derailed in our thoughts.”
The field marshal glared at the officer. “Do you know who stands beside the
Tsar now? Alexander III, our Tsar, is …… Well, he is getting ready to step
down. Nicholas II will be the new Tsar.”
“I am aware, Sir. But
that……”
“Nicholas II… he is not our
friend.” The Field Marshall sighed. “He is focused on other matters like his
confidante, the monk Rasputin. That man is mad. But the concern I hold is
this.”
“Do you recall the Dark
Ages, the Black Plague… It is not the work of God but of the devils and its
worshippers. I am told that the dark age will once more return. We must be
prepared.”
That was not a statement but
an order from the Field Marshall.
“Общий, you are a member of
the Order, the Order of the God’s creation.” The field marshal looked at the
other. “You swore an oath to protect God and his teaching.”
“It is …….” The Общий held
his belief from the oath of his duties.
“I am not asking you forsake
God. I am asking you to lead the way forward. I heard of the chaos that the
worshippers have inflicted on the world. You are the next best person to ……”
“I declined, Sir. I am ……
personally …….”
“Personally affected? I am
aware of your affection for the lady, Annabelle … her name.” The field marshal
paused to remember the name. “You are aware of her……affiliation to the coven. Witches
they are all. Yet you immersed yourself.”
“She is with… our child.”
The Общий stated his commitment.
“And how many have you sired
besides her, Общий? I am sure a man of your standing does not hold a stable but
a huge corral of mares.”
“None, sir. I am …….
Faithful. My aide, Rudolf, will attest to that.” The Общий motioned to his
aide, Rudolf Spielsdorf.
“He is your aide and follows
you regardless of what is right or wrong. As you would now, as my officer.”
Field Marshall stated his order. “You will lead a company of good soldiers;
devoted men who have one thing in their heart, God. And they will be armed with
the weapons that will give you an edge over the worshippers. You will hunt and
terminate them who are, in the view of God, deviants.”
The company was formed, and
they took their order from the field marshal. They hunted the ones identified
as unorthodox, and crossed the land from the steppes to the frozen woods of
Siberia. Sven Ducard, then a recruit, worked his way to be the messenger/personal
valet of the Общий.
The personal lives of the
Общий and Rudolf were tested when they assaulted the mansion where the coven
was situated. They assaulted the mansion and killed many of the witches there
till they reached the huge chamber. In the chamber was the mausoleum for the
departed coven leaders. The Общий and Rudolf with Sven entered the sacred
chamber. They were surprised at whom they met.
“Annabelle?” The Общий was
stunned. It was his lover there. The lady was with Lissa and one other unknown.
“Yes, my love. It is me.”
Annabelle stood there with Lissa, who was known to be involved with Rudolf. “We
are ……”
“You promised me that you
would leave the coven.” The Общий cut in. “For our family…”
“Lissa, you too?” Rudolf
stared at his own love.
“We are part of the coven.
We cannot leave them at their moments of need.” Annabelle said. “Let us be. You
have done your part. We are ……. defeated. Let us go.”
“I ……” The Общий sighed.
“Not for me, but our
children please.” Annabelle sighed. “For William, and Victor…… please.”
“Red, do it for us too.”
Lissa stepped forth. “For us.”
Rudolf was stunned. He had
acted on orders, but to see his love there was unexpected. The end was stated,
and Sven sworn to secrecy. His loyalty was extended to the day he arrived at
the Frankenstein’s mansion.
“Sir, the weapons.” Sven
interrupted the other in his thoughts.
“Thank you, Sven.” Rudolf
held the rifle in his hands. The Berdan II was produced in four variants: an
infantry rifle issued with quadrangular socket bayonets. The bayonet used by
the company was special, with the serrated edge, and the steel was mixed with
silver. The metal silver is generally not something that is
feared in witchcraft or by vampires to werewolves; rather, it is
often considered a powerful tool against various supernatural
entities.
“Where is Victor?” Rudolf
asked. During the battle, the other stood by the side, unmoving and after it,
he took off.
“He went back to town,” Sven
said. “He was concerned about his daughter.”
Rudolf looked to his own and
wished there was a way to end all the concern there
“Sir, the Общий’s sword.”
Sven offered the sword once wielded by the other. “After his death, the ……. No
one wanted it and I kept it. You can keep it.”
“Thanks Sven.” Rudolf took
the sword. It was a gift from the Field Marshall to the Общий. It felt heavy,
but that sword had served the Общий well. It will do the same for him.
“Sir,” Sven kept the rank
Общий only for the other officer. “If we are under threat of attack, we must
reinforce the mansion.”
“I know, but it is huge. We
need to reinforce only certain chambers for ourselves,” Rudolf said. “Any news
on Victor Frankenstein?”
“I can help, Sirs.” Abel
offered his help. He was ignored by the two older men for some time. He tried
to talk to Lauren, but she seems to be in shock.
“I could bring my brother
here. Maybe even my father….”
“I do not need your entire
family, son. We will do fine here.” Rudolf cut the other off. He then looked at
Sven. “I think we are better off at your place. It is easier to defend.”
“What about the runes,
father?” Lauren spoke up.
“Soon, after we fight off
the demons,” Rudolf replied. “If one is here, the others will come.”
“As I have said, sir. I can
get help.” Abel approached the man. “Let me get help.”
“No, son. You have done
enough.” Rudolf looked at Abel. “You may go. We can defend ourselves.”
“I am not leaving, sir. I
can ……” Abel looked towards Lauren. “I……”
“Father, let him stay. He
will…….” Lauren pleaded to the father. “I am scared… of being alone.”
“Take a rifle here, son.”
Sven offered one of the rifles. “You do know how to shoot them?”
“Yes, Sir.” Abel took the
rifle offered. He does not use one, for there was the crossbow and the iron
arrows.
“These are special. The
bullets will stop a vampire or werewolf any night.” Sven handed the pack of
bullets from the bag.
“Werewolves? Are there any
here? I have not seen any yet.” Abel said. “Kane may……”
Abel was cut off by Rudolf.
“Stop gapping there. Stay
then, son. Let us move to the cottage now.” Rudolf gave the order. Abel moved
towards the lady.
“May I assist you, my lady?”
Abel asked when he slung the rifle over his left shoulder.
“It is Lauren. Yes, please.
I am still ……” Lauren smiled weakly.
“I will take care of her.”
Rudolf stepped in. “Hold the rifle firm. Follow behind us. See if there is any
… demons there. They do creep up.”
The tone taken by Rudolf was
sarcastic, but Abel was complying there. Sven had taken the lead and was
focused on how to accommodate them all.
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