Carpathian 11 - Dark Descent

Dodge.
    You do not act like any of the women I know act.
    Thank you. I appreciate your saying so.
    Joie dropped to her knees and crawled through a narrow, tubelike passage. Jubal and Gabriele folowed close behind. The steady drip of water reminded Joie of the clicking of the branches at the theater the night she was shot. There was a peculiar rhythm to the drops, almost as if some unseen hand, not nature, guided the water's descent.
    The tube began to widen until she could once again stand.
    A strange, growling noise assaulted her ears. It sounded like a cross between a hyena laughing and a dog growling viciously. Immediately she held up her hand behind her, signaling Jubal and Gabriele to stop while she scooted closer. She used the tal columns of rock and ice formations as cover.
    Traian was literaly pinned against a wal of ice. Blood ran down from each shoulder and leg where sharp, twisted stakes had been thrust through his body to pin him like an insect on a board. Joie held her breath to keep from crying out in dismay. It was no wonder she could feel the pain radiating from him. She knew Traian was aware of her presence, but he didn't make the mistake of giving away her position. He watched the creature hovering over him with cool eyes.
    "You seem nervous, Lamont," Traian observed.
    The creature hissed and without preamble bent his head to Traian's neck and sank his teeth into the pulse beating there.
    Joie could easily see the long incisors stabbing into flesh, something she'd only seen before in films. She dropped to the ground, crawling on her stomach, using her elbows to propel herself across the floor between two columns of ice to get into a better position for attack. She came up on her knees behind a large ice formation, her gaze fixed on her target.
    He is very dangerous, especially now when he is filled with the blood of an ancient. Traian's voice was calm in spite of the ghastly creature tormenting him.
    Joie stared at the hideous thing. It was tal and emaciated, the skin shrunken around its skul, almost as if it were dead. Tufts of hair stood straight out, a curious gray-white color, while the rest of the hair hung in oily, twisted ropes. He gulped down the blood, smearing it on his lips and stained teeth, al the while making growling noises in his throat.
    He seemed more animal than man.
    My family always warned me if I hung out underground too long I could end up with a troll. At the risk of seeming shallow, I have to say he isn't very handsome and doesn't appeal at all to me. Her hand went up to the back of her neck, sliding down between her shoulder blades in a wel-practiced move, came out with the knife she always carried.
    The creature lifted his head alertly and looked around the large galery with suspicious eyes. Joie remained motionless, hardly daring to breathe. The cold air rushed through the chamber and touched Traian and the creature with icy fingers. Immediately Lamont caught at one of the stakes pinning his victim to the ice flow.
    "None of your tricks, ancient one. Your blood belongs to us now. The others wil be back soon with a victim to force you to our bidding. You are far too weak to resist."
    What is he?
    He is vampire. The undead. And there are others. You must get your family out before the others return.
    Traian watched his tormentor intently. The vampire leaned close to the gaping wound in Traian's throat, his breath a sickly green vapor as he licked at the blood with a thick, dark tongue. "I just might kil you instead. A stake through the heart." He lifted a lethal-looking stake over his head and gave a maniacal laugh.
    Vampires are difficult to kill. You will only get one chance. Go for his heart.
    Joie threw the knife with deadly accuracy. It hummed as it rocketed across the chamber and buried itself deep in the vampire's chest. The creature screamed, the sound cracking the ice so that sharp daggers broke from the high ceiling and rained down like deadly missiles. Joie flung her body over Traian's, protecting him from the faling ice.
    The vampire went down hard, thrashing wildly, the sounds echoing through the cavern, and then there was sudden silence.
    Joie moved back slowly, slipping a second knife from the scabbard on her calf. "That didn't look so difficult to me. If you want, I'l give you a lesson or two."
    "What took you so long?" Traian asked.
    She made her way cautiously around him, kicking aside the bigger chunks of ice. "Bad directions. You know how traffic in