Victorian Days & Nights Magic & Mayhem in Victorian England by Elsbeth

Chapter 14

Since time immemorial, numerous civilizations had ruled the lands in and around France. As with most of Europe, ancient Romans too had once flourished among the hills and forests, so stumbling across remains of their ancient glory was not uncommon.

In western France, down a rocky path, the ruins of a temple of Minerva, the goddess of knowledge, stood. For some, such a sight filled them with awe and wonder at ages past. For others, it was an opportunity to pillage that same ancient past.

Among the broken walls and of beautifully carved pillars, piles of debris grew as in men black uniforms labored. At first glance, one might believe that the men were nothing more than explorers looking for artifacts; however explorers did not simply toss away or shatter priceless urns and other items.

“General, Sir” A ratfaced soldier had walked up a small rise that overlooked the site. Speaking with a heavy southern American drawl, he stood at attention in front of another man astride a large black horse.

The general, a handsome man, tall blonde-haired, with an aristocratic bearing, looked down with disinterest. His strong voice spoke of one who would be comfortable speaking in the House of Lords or commanding troops on a battlefield.

“Yes, Sergeant”

“Message from Leftenant Maddox “

Nodding, the officer quickly read over the message before slipping it into his jacket. Although a number of other mounted men surrounded him, he spoke to no one in particular. “Apparently Miss Sarika requests my presence at the second site.”

“Sir.”

Pausing for a moment, he gave a small smile. “Captain Arundel, your men are dismissed from further work on the site today. Please compliment them from me for their good work.”

Riding through camp, the general dismounted in front of a simple looking shrine. For most, age had wiped out almost all recognition of the goddess for whom followers once set small offerings. For those with the sight, the stone wall gave away to a set of stairs leading down into a dark cave.

“Remain here.” The officer commanded the small group of black uniformed men who had accompanied him.

Entering the cave, the general slowly made his way down a long set of carved stairs. On the sides of each wall depicted the everyday life of ancient Romans. However, such wondrous treasures did not tempt the black uniformed man.

“Master.” A musical voice spoke in the darkness.

“Sarika ,what have you found?” Approving of the bloody runes written all over the chamber, he lightly stepped over the fallen body of a young girl dressed in local villager clothes, without giving it a second thought.

The woman of Indian descent smiled, revealing razor sharp teeth. Reaching down, she moved her dark blue sari out of the way before touching the center of a circle drawn in blood. Suddenly, it began to give off a soft light. As the circle of light touched the wall, each rune written in blood began to glow as well.

“Ingenious.” The man said, walking towards one of the walls. “Doors within doors. The vampire obviously could not have hidden his life’s work in that small cave.”

“Yes, my master.” She spoke in a light musical voice, her eyes full of worshipful adoration for the man looking over her bloody work.

With a wave of the general’s hand, the runes flared brightly.

“Excellent.” Without another word, he disappeared through the back wall, only to return a few minutes later.

“Very good, you have done extremely well, Sarika. I will summon Mr. Cavendish tonight. He and his associates should have little trouble retrieving the remaining items in the room.”

Realizing he had stepped on something, he looked down at the young woman’s corpse, as if noticing her for the first time. Smiling sadly, he said, “Apparently I will need to get you another servant, Sarika. Still, don’t you wonder what type of family could so easily part with a child for something as simple as a monetary transaction?”

“I have no complaints, my master.”

Stepping closer, the general caressed the woman’s face. “Of course you don’t, Sarika. Neither have I”

Looking into Sarika’s eyes, the officer gently removed her sari one layer at a time before pulling the now nude young woman down to the chamber floor.

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As night gave way to day, the streets of Paris began to fill. For those who lived in the normal world, it was just that; another morning. However, to those who lived in and out of the other world, the Hotel Massena appeared to be the center of the universe.

Since the first Magi came to power, they jealously guarded their own secrets. The Society and other organizations that had arising during the Renaissance were exceptions to that rule. Even then, those orders rarely met. In the early Paris morning, no less than six of these societies came together to talk.

Rebecca, a Magus of the English Society of Mages, nervously sat while watching as numerous people came in and out of one of the hotel’s many ballrooms. “Is she really here?”

Black Jack, one of the youngest Master Maguses of the Society, chuckled. “You’ve asked that before.

“Shut up.” She whispered. Suddenly, she looked around the room concerned. “Where is Lady Kinsley?”

“Here she is.” Black Jack pointed to the woman as she approached, with Rachel’s twin close behind. To their left, a heavily robed person walked behind her, its face covered by a thick midnight blue cowl. She joined the group as well.

“I imagine that your discussion with the Dutch didn’t go well?”

“They are nervous, Jack, rightfully so.”

“Why?” Rachael rose from her chair to get a better look at the two Dutch mages who were now arguing with a tall Scandinavian looking woman.

“You would too, if two great neighbors were planning for war.”

“Why, they could just stay out of it. Couldn’t they?”

Black Jack shrugged. “Perhaps, Rachael, however the flat land between the two countries must be a terrible temptation to go through to get at one another.”

“Oh.” The young woman nodded, then turned her attention to the blue robed figure. “Why is she here?”

Lady Kinsley sighed. “Because I asked her to be here, Rachael.”

“Can’t be safe.” The young woman grumbled, giving the robed person a unhappy glare. “Just keep your fangs to yourself, Vampire.”

“Rachael.” A tired voice spoke from beneath the hood.

“Don’t speak my name.” She hissed.

“Enough, Luna, you and Brigit will accompany me. Jack, please take Rachael and find Osgar. I believe he’s still asleep.”

“Didn’t he just go to bed?” Jack grinned.

“Yes, well something like that.” Lady Kinsley grimaced before looking towards the doorway to one of the other rooms. “She isn’t going to be happy. Alright, fine, leave him be. You might as well all join me then.”

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Through a side door revealed a well-decorated room, its center dominated by a beautiful Mahogany table. On one side of the table, a half dozen men and woman stood. In the center, there was a tall willowy woman with raven-black hair. At first glance, she appeared human but upon closer inspection she had an almost inhuman beauty.

Madam Ordonez stood tall, catlike and smiled as Lady Kinsley entered the room. Ignoring the fact that she had seen several centuries already, the woman giggled with joy as she crossed the room to kneel in front of Lady Kinsley.

“Mother, you came.”

Erin sighed painfully and then reached down to pull Madam Ordonez up, ignoring the shocked looks from everyone in the room. “Gods, Astoria, are you trying to make my life more difficult?”

“Of course, my love.”

Madam Ordonez looked around, finding the tall red jacketed man was absent. “I see Osgar managed to slip away from me once again.”

“Sorry; I let him sleep, he had a long night. “

“No matter.” The woman laughed before leaning forward to kiss Erin on the lips. Shocking as that type of behavior might be, even in the magical community, the mere fact that Lady Kinsley happily returned the kiss left the rest of the room speechless.

“I think we broke them, Erin.” Madam Ordonez grinned.

Suddenly everyone jumped from the hissing sound, coming from under the hood of the blue robed Vampire.

“Luna!” Madam Ordonez exclaimed happily. “It’s been ages. Don’t worry my dear; I’ll make sure that they include something with our breakfast that will be tolerable for your particular palate.”

Reaching into her gown, the woman’s once playful attitude suddenly fell away, as the raven haired woman pulled out a small purple envelope before passing it to Lady Kinsley.

“I spoke directly to His Holiness, Erin.”

“Truly?” Lady Kinsley said in surprise before taking a seat to read the contents of the small letter. When finished, Erin looked directly at Madam Ordonez in shock before cursing in a most unladylike way under her breath.

Madam Ordonez slid next to Erin, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. “As you see, we have much to discuss.”

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Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth