The Manor Part IV

Before you read, be warned. This part of the story gets rather disturbing. It is for Mature Audiences only.

If you haven’t already, check out the previous parts here:
Part I
Part II
Part III

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Alden’s stomach felt like an endless void but his mind began to clear as the tea settled in his stomach. He realized his body felt lighter than it had in years. He glanced down at his hands, as if suddenly realizing he was alive he asked, “What was this cure of yours?”

***

Lady Anastasia glanced at Alden with a sympathetic look that quickly dissipated, “We are called by many names.”

“We?” he asked.

“Revenants, ghouls, strigoi, vampyrs,” she listed off, “All the same.”

Alden’s eyes widened as his heart sank. Though he was not a well-educated man, he had heard stories during his life in the countryside. Farmers told tales of exsanguinated livestock. Alden believed them to be nothing more than the musings of paranoid farmers who spent far too much time alone.

He looked back to Lady Anastasia and took an honest look at her features. There were no blemishes to be found, her skin was smooth and free of any signs of aging. He had been so preoccupied by his own worries that he had never considered how unnaturally beautiful Lady Anastasia was.

She met Alden’s curious eyes. He stared into hers realizing they were predominantly green, with reddish brown spots around the pupil. He furrowed his brow as he thought back to her striking crimson eyes from before, trying to make sense of the discrepancy, he rubbed his eyes then patted his cheeks.

“This is no nightmare Mister Cain,” Lady Anastasia spoke then gestured to the bathroom. “Go, look at yourself in the mirror.”

Alden stared at the doorway to the bathroom, uncertain if he desired any further answers to his unending questions. But the itch of curiosity got the better of him. From the doorway, he looked like himself. Hesitant, he moved closer to the mirror and took in his new appearance. It was unsettlingly familiar. The dark bags that had been carved into his face for nearly a decade were no longer. He raised his curly brown hair from his forehead where he discovered a scar from his childhood was no where to be found. Then, running his fingers through his hair he realized the speckles of gray were gone. It seemed as though his youth had been restored and the weariness of life had been erased from him. Leaning forward, he gazed into his own eyes and the hairs on the back of his neck stood. The crimson eyes that had tormented him were now his.

“You still need to feed,” Lady Anastasia spoke from the doorway, startling Alden.

He furrowed his brow, “Feed on-“ he trailed off. “That bottle, was it?”

Lady Anastasia nodded, “Indeed, human blood.”

A series of confusing emotions hit Alden, initially he wanted to feel disgusted, nauseated by the idea of consuming human blood, but at the thought of it his stomach growled. A frantic urge to hunt spiked and he felt a snarl begin in the back of his throat. He put his hand to his mouth then met his own eyes again and noticed they were now blazing red. Unable to stand the sight of himself any longer he turned to Lady Anastaisa.

“Why? Why would you do this to me?”

Leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, she raised a brow at him, “’I’d give anything, I’d even sell my soul if it meant I didn’t have to leave her behind.’ Those were your own words Mister Cain.”

A fire in his chest rose, “That’s not what-“ he began to shout but stopped himself.  The words, ‘her blessing will be your curse,’ rang in his mind. “This whole time. Were you, testing me?”

She scoffed, “Testing? No. When I first laid eyes on you, I intended to let you die.”

“Why didn’t you?” Alden looked up at Lady Anastasia, trying to catch her eyes, but she turned away and returned to the bedroom.

Alden followed behind her, anticipating an answer but rather than taking a seat Lady Anastasia continued to the bedroom door. Pausing a moment just before opening it, “I will only warn you once Mister Cain, we are about to walk the halls and if you allow yourself to lose control for even a moment, and attempt to harm the children, I will destroy you.”

Alden took a step back and put his hands up, “I have no-“

Lady Anastasia opened the bedroom door and an intoxicating scent bludgeoned Alden’s senses. He put his hand over his mouth and nose as he quivered.

Lady Anastasia looked over her shoulder at him and raised a knowing brow, “Come along.”

She walked out of the room, hair and dress flowing behind her as she turned down the hall. Pausing for a moment to brace himself, Alden followed. Lady Anastasia walked gracefully down the labyrinth of halls, smiling kindly at the children and attendants as she passed them. Alden trailed behind her as one of the older children, a boy about 15 or so, caught sight of Lady Anastasia and lit up.

“Lady Anastasia!” he called cheerfully as he ran over to her, clutching a piece of paper in his hands.

She stopped and smiled, “Good Morning Johnathan.”

“Look! I finished it,” he said as he pushed the paper into Lady Anastasias hands.

She took it and admired his work, “Johnathan you have come so far.” She cupped his cheek and gave him a kind smile, “This is magnificent, truly. I am certain you will find success with your art.”

Johnathan’s eyes grew large, “You truly think so?” 

“I do,” she said as she began to hand him back his drawing.

He shook his head, “No, it’s for you. You inspired me to keep drawing even when I believed I had no talent for it. So please, it is yours to keep.”

“Thank you, Johnathan,” Lady Anastasia spoke warmly. “Ophelia,” she called.

“Yes, My Lady,” Ophelia answered from beside Alden, who jumped at her sudden appearance. He had not sensed her presence.

“Please, find a suitable frame for this drawing and put it in my room for me. I will find it a new home when I return.”

Ophelia nodded as she took the painting from Lady Anastasia, then after a short bow, she hurried off.

“I expect to see a full collection in the future,” Lady Anastasia said to Johnatahan.

He nodded enthusiastically then bowed, “Thank you Lady Anastasia, I must be off to class but I hope to show you my next piece soon.”

“I look forward to it,” she smiled as he ran off waving at her over his shoulder.

Alden tracked the boy’s movement with precision as he ran off, then grateful he no longer had to suffer the scent of that boy, he hurried along to follow Lady Anastasia who had set off down another grand hallway. As they made it to the end of the hall, she stopped at a dead end. Alden looked at her, then to the wall in confusion.

Lady Anastasia waved her hand and the wall began to glimmer in dark illumination, groaning as portion of it transformed into a shimmering mist. Without paying any mind to Alden, Lady Anastasia continued forward into the darkness.

Questioning if he truly was a fool, Alden paused only for a moment before following. As he passed the threshold of the misty doorway, he was met with a set of spiraling stone stairs that led deeper into the mansion. Though there were no light sources to illuminate the stairway, Alden realized he could see without issue. He followed behind Lady Anastasia quietly, with nothing but the sound of their shoes against the stone echoing in his ears.

As they descended, they passed several platformed doorways. Each shrouded in a similar black mist. Lost in his own thoughts about what lay beyond those doorways and the mysteries of his so-called cure, Alden tripped over his own feet as he nearly ran into Lady Anastasia, who was stopped in front of a new doorway.

She gave him a vexed look before waving her hand at the doorway. As if releasing a monster, the scent of rotten flesh wafted through the doorway. Though not nearly as entrancing as the scents from upstairs, there was something sickeningly sweet and delectable about this scent. As they walked through the doorway, Alden froze.

Sprawled on the floor in a puddle of coagulated blood was the decapitated body of the Trader. His severed head sat on his own bloated belly. The lightless eyes from before were now filled with a hazy whiteness. Alden took in the horrific sight before him. The traders clothes were torn and his now greenish purple skin was covered in claw marks. His fingertips were shredded down to the bone.

Following a trail of old blood, Alden looked at the floor beneath his feet. Bloody scratch marks were etched into the floor and pieces of fingernails stuck out of cracks in the stone. He stumbled to the side feeling as though he had stepped on someone’s grave. The stone in front of the door had been worn down from years of similar markings, leaving a permanent curved indentation from previous victims. Alden shuttered as he imaged the horrors this room had seen.

Disgusted by the scene in front of him, and the fact his mouth was watering at the scent, he spoke, “Why, why are you showing me this? Why did you kill him?”

Lady Anastasia looked down at the traders’ body with disgust in her eyes as she spoke, “I did far more than merely kill it.”

The hostility in her tone sent a shudder through Alden.

“Tell me Mister Cain, what did you think of this…man?” she hesitated at the word as if it were painful to speak it.

Her question felt like a trap, but knowing he was now confined in an obvious torture room with the torturer herself, he answered honestly, “I-I can’t say I knew him well. I have known of him for a long while but I only recently spoke with him when I was searching for information about your Manor. From what I could gather, he was well loved by the town of Easton Burrough.”

She scoffed, “Well loved.” She shook her head, “Were you aware it followed you here?”

Alden furrowed his brows, “He followed me?”

She nodded somberly, “Yes. In fact, that thing had an entire carriage. It trailed you just far enough that you would not hear the carriage. Though it was not difficult to conceal considering the harshness of the rain that night.”

She circled the traders’ body like a wolf circling its prey, “This thing watched you, sick and with a small child on your back, trek through miles of forest.”

“While I agree it’s rather rude to not offer aid, I am not entitled to a trader’s carriage,” Alden cut in.

Lady Anastasia gave him an icy glower, “Have you ever looked in the carriage before?”

Alden shook his head.

“Well Mister Cain, you were truly unaware of how foolish it was of you to attempt to reach my manor. This thing,” she spat as she gestured to the rotting corpse on the floor, “Trades in children.”

Alden’s mouth hung open, filling it with the taste of the traders rotting flesh. He quickly closed his mouth as the taste was making him salivate.

“Follow me,” she ordered as she walked out the door and descended down the stairway. This time, stopping in front of a heavy oak door at the bottom of the staircase, she pushed the doors opened and revealed a sprawling room, filled with various items, from crates, to furniture, to wine. She walked down the large pathway in the center of the room until coming to a stop in front of a carriage that was covered with blankets.

She waved her hand and the blankets were thrusted back off of the carriage revealing its contents. The carriage had metal cages screwed into its base with chained cuffs far too small for an adult or animal. Beside the cage was a small mattress, stained with old blood. Piles of children’s clothing were strewn about the carriage haphazardly. But these clothes were not intended for sale, the clothing was torn and splattered with old blood. Alden’s stomach clenched as he noticed that many of the pants were torn and smeared with blood and a disgusting but familiar crust.

His heart swelled with an indescribable rage as his mind tried to process the revolting reality of what that waste of existence made a profit doing. Not knowing where to direct his anger, Alden grabbed the front of the carriage, lifting it like it weighed nothing and hurled it against the stone wall. The sound of wood cracking and metal clanking echoed throughout the room as the carriage burst into pieces. Alden curled over and heaved.

Then, the crackle of burning wood whispered in his ears. He looked up to see Lady Anastasia standing in front of the shattered pile that was once a carriage of atrocities. She had her hands out with her palms facing up. Tendrils of flickering darkness slithered their way from her hands to the pile of debris and ignited them in a dark flame.

Lady Anastasia’s eyes glowed with an ebony darkness as she chanted quietly in a language unfamiliar to Alden. An icy heat emanated from the black flames. Alden stepped forward to watch as the pile disintegrated into nothing.

Lady Anastasia lowered her hands and exhaled, “The cages were empty the night he followed you.”

She turned away from the now empty space and handed Alden a leatherbound notebook, “He had been watching Emily, and my manor,” she said with an icy hatred in her voice.

Alden looked down at the book in his hands, trembling with rage. He opened it to the marked page and read:

Emily Cain, 6 years old, approximately 35 pounds. Malnourished. -Sold

Lady Anastasias furious voice echoed “And you led him directly here. Naively and selfishly looking for your salvation,” she stepped forward putting her face in his and ripping the book from his hands, “Threatening the safety of my home.”

Alden met her eyes as she seethed, “You will learn the cost of your mistake Alden Cain. I will ensure you understand the true definition of cruelty.”

“I-I had no intention of threatening your home. Please forgive me,” he pled.

Lady Anastasias eyes burned as she back handed him. Striking him in the face with such an intense force his jaw cracked.

“Do not worry Alden Cain,” she hissed, “You will atone for your mistakes.”

With his hand on his throbbing cheek, he looked up at Lady Anastasia as she commanded, “Follow me.”

Alden’s body obeyed and he followed her out of the storage room and back to the room that held the rotting body of the trader.

“Kneel beside that thing,” she commanded.

Alden’s stomach clenched in both hunger and disgust as the familiar scent of the traders rotting body filled his nose. Kneeling beside the body, he looked up at Lady Anastasia.

Her eyes glowed with a dark iridescent shimmer as she commanded, “Alden Cain, you will consume that body until nothing but bone remains.”

As the words left her lips Alden felt his hand reach for the traders’ body, then without hesitation, he tore through the body’s bloated belly, releasing a cloud of noxious gasses. He scooped a handful of rotting entrails and brought it to his lips. His mind fought against his body as it inched closer to mouth. He tried to force his mouth shut but it opened wider, cracking and pulsing in pain from the earlier blow. His eyes watered as tears streamed down his face.

“They call us ghouls for a reason Mister Cain. You will atone for your mistake as the undead monster you are,” She turned towards the exit, her long black hair billowing behind her she added, “Unfortunately for you, newborn vampyr will enjoy almost anything.”

As she disappeared beyond the misty doorway the first handful of entrails hit his tongue. His body exploded in desperate desire, hungering for more, needing to fill the void in his stomach. But Alden’s mind screamed as he chewed through the slimy gaminess in his mouth. He tried to fight his body as his hands gouged out heaps of greenish red flesh, shoveling it into his mouth like he hadn’t had a meal in months. With each agonizingly delicious mouthful, his mind grappled with the gruesome reality that he was consuming rotting flesh of not just a human, but the flesh of a man who had committed unspeakable atrocities; and he was enjoying it.