Lady Dhampir
Chapter 98

A horrible cold shiver ran down Milena's Spine. This joyous occasion had just turned into some horrifying nightmare. She recognized the hand holding hers as Rayan's, but she couldn't look. She couldn't avert her eyes from the horrid creature standing a few meters away from them, not even for a second. Was that really the Queen? Queen Lyriana had always been such a strong, smart, and proud woman, how could this have happened to her! Yet, the truth was standing in front of them, covered in blood and dragging a corpse. It was almost impossible to recognize the woman she had been just hours ago. There was nothing human or vampire left in her, just a monstrosity, terrifying the audience in this darkness that had fallen on the Ballroom. For a few seconds, no one dared to move. Everyone standing there was in absolute shock, and slowly taking in the information.

They were all in danger. Most of those people had no idea what this thing was, yet, they could tell it was deadly. From the sight of the blood pool she had left behind her, it was obvious. The vampires present probably could smell it was even worse than what their eyes could see. Milena was almost feeling sick from that horrible stench. What kind of bloodbath had the former Queen left behind her...?

Finally, someone moved, and for a few seconds, it was a complete panic all around. In the dark, people were unsure where to go, who to grab, and what to do. However, some were quick to react. Rayan pushed Milena behind him before running forward himself. The young duchess fell back, but two strong hands caught her even before she hit the ground. Milena didn't even look at her father, her eyes were already following the Prince. She knew he had tried to push her to safety, but no one was safe in that chaos. Most nobles screamed in fear and started running all directions, as long as it wasn't the wendigo's. As this was a Royal Celebration, not many had actually brought a weapon with them. Aside from the royal guards, a few men drew their swords, but the risk was scary high to accidentally stab someone in the dark, with so many people blindly running around. Milena only had a dagger herself, and the conditions were the absolute worst to use it. It would have been meaningless to take it out now. She knew the speed of a wendigo. Moreover, this was an almost completely closed room, crowded with people who couldn't fight, and those who did carry weapons would struggle through that unruly crowd to get to the creature.

This was about to become a horrible scene. "Millie!"

Milena heard at least two people screaming her name, but she couldn't think. Rayan had already left to run towards the Creature, and she saw Valentin and Lucian doing the same. She felt her heart grow even colder. Her father's hands tried to pull her back, but Milena was already looking around for her friends. She wasn't just searching to make sure they were fine, she had to be sure what was going on.

Her eyes quickly spotted the King, already surrounded by a dozen of royal guards, plus a few knights like Valentin or Bryce De Boreal, all acting as a wall between him and the wendigo creature. The poor King Silverius looked in a state of complete shock, his eyes wide open in horror at the sight of what had become of his wife while people hushed him away. Had he even recognized her yet? Milena could tell he probably had... A few steps away from him, Ellias had just started running, too, flanked by some more knights, though he didn't look as sure as his brother. Rayan was already way ahead, his sword drawn out, other young men following his lead. Maybe that's what decided the human Prince, as he accelerated. Milena had no time to see who would be the fastest. Without thinking, she pushed her father's hands away and started running across the crowd.

"Milena!"

She ignored the Duke and ran, despite her painful feet and that fear in her heart. Something had just woke up inside her heart. Something she hadn't experienced in a while. Pure fear.

The Ballroom was a complete mess. All the nobles were running in the opposite direction, and Milena felt jostled around without being able to fight it. They were all rushing towards the only other exit, a lot of them screaming in fear, some even yelling their ranks to others as if they'd let them through this way. Years of protocol and dignity had just literally flown out of the window, traded for entitlement and self-preservation instincts. Milena was disgusted, but she had no time to get mad at this poor sight. She kept running towards the wendigo, prepared for the worst. Even if she wasn't as good of a fighter as some of her male peers, Milena still had a duty towards her people. She couldn't just stand back while her brothers and Rayan had gone to fight. Things would get way worse if their Highnesses or someone else got hurt...

She heard a new wave of screams as the wendigo moved. It didn't just move; it was incredibly fast. From the corner of her eye, Milena saw the creature jump up from one wall to another, and crawl sideways like a horrible humanoid spider. It jumped down in the middle of the crowd, enhancing the panic. Its deathly fangs had already found another victim, a poor young man in a blue outfit that died horribly under their eyes. She heard a woman scream close, probably his horrified mother. It was too late for the poor victim, though, his throat was already ripped wide open, almost detached from its body. The savage attack was terrifying and caused even more panic in the ranks. It was an utter nightmare. They were like a group of ants trapped in a spider's nest, a hellish beast ready to kill them all. "De Crescent!"

Milena turned her head sideways, just in time to see something dark flying her way and receive it. The weapon landed right in her hands, and that heavy piece of metal finally put a hint of hope in Milena's eyes. A g*n! Rachael had just thrown her one of her guns from across the rooms. Milena nodded, having no time for thanks, and turned around. Firearms were supposedly completely banned from the Royal Grounds, but apparently, the House De Nova didn't care enough to follow the rules; Milena wished more people had done the same...

As one more scream rose, Milena spotted the creature crawling down in front of one the bay windows, dragging another b****y corpse as more people were trying to run away from it. They all hustled each other to get further away, and even Milena received countless hits as she tried to make her way through.

She heard the first gunshot from behind. It led to more screaming, but the target was no other than the creature. It looked like Rachael had missed, though. This thing was horribly fast and unpredictable and moved in the middle of dozens of innocent people. It wasn't like hunting an animal in an empty forest. Milena raised her g*n. If only she could get past all those idiots and get a clear shot!

However, as she battled one man to be able to get through and raise her weapon, she realized she was already close enough....Way too close, actually. As soon as she stood out of the crowd, Milena was hit by the horrible position she had just landed herself in. The creature raised her head from the body she had just grabbed, covered in blood already. She hadn't seen how close she had gotten because of everyone standing between the Queen and her.

Milena froze, paralyzed by fear. It was right there, a couple of steps in front of her. That thing couldn't be the Queen. The red iris was horribly dilated, leaving two big black pupils with a scarlet circle around it, open wide and fixated on its next target. Milena. Fear crawled its way into her mind. The young Duchess tried to step back, very slowly, and ignore the fact that she was about to die; very likely about to be killed. Milena tried to focus, to control the shaking of her hand. She heard another gunshot, but Rachael was too far, and unable to aim anywhere right without risking killing an innocent. Milena couldn't even blink, her eyes locked with the creature. She shivered. It was going to all be a matter of seconds. Life or Death, right at the end of her canon. Could she shoot, though? Her blood went ice in her veins as she tried to step back very slowly. She hadn't been fond of Queen Lyriana, but to think she'd die by her fangs... "Milena!"

Suddenly, a large male silhouette appeared in front of her, standing between Milena and the Creature. He was blocking her vision and shielding her in its entirety from the monster. Milena felt a movement in front of her, but there was nothing she could do. She came back to her senses as soon as she recognized him. "Rayan!"

She could feel the Prince struggle for some long seconds, but she couldn't see anything happening. Pressed between his back and whoever was forming the crowd behind her, Milena felt horribly trapped and helpless. However, the young Duchess wasn't one to just stay here and let her new fiancé get killed. She had to do something.

Slapping herself mentally for being so weak, Milena stepped back once again, and, grabbing his shoulder, she had Rayan fall backward at her feet. The Prince was fighting off the creature, his sword up, in a familiar position, and they both fell at her feet. Milena raised her g*n and shot, one, two, three times. She was determined this time. It didn't matter who she was shooting at. The life in line wasn't just hers now. She had to be careful, but also quick and precise. She could have shot her directly in the head, as the Wendigo was standing at arm's length, but Rayan would have been killed too. Milena let her years and years of training take over her instincts, and focused to make the most out of each shot. The third one finally got the Creature. They heard a horrible screech, but she wasn't dead yet.

The female wendigo jumped away from them, making guttural sounds Milena wouldn't have thought possible. Another gunshot resonated, and the Creature rolled on itself, further away, it's flank bleeding. Milena had vaguely seen a dagger stuck deep in its back, too, and recognized her father's weapon, with the engraved crescent moon and the red leather handle. She didn't have time to figure out what she had missed, though. Making sure the creature wasn't coming back after them, Milena dived down on her knees, grabbing Rayan's suit. The Prince had his back on her lap and was breathing heavily.

"Rayan! Rayan, are you alright? Please, tell me you're not hurt..."

"Yeah... One of your bullets grazed my hip, but I'm fine..."

A wave of relief came over Milena. She helped him up, and indeed, his pants were a bit darker from the gunshot. She may have done a bit more than grazed him... Milena frowned, but Rayan was a vampire, he could endure this much at least. In any case, with the wendigo right above him, they were already lucky she had managed to have her off without killing him...

They both turned around and once again, the Prince stood immediately between her and the creature, though it was further away from them. During their struggle, a lot more people had managed to leave, as the Wendigo was focused here, but still, it had jumped incredibly fast across the room. It crawled like a spider on the walls, making people panic even more. Its next attack couldn't be predicted. Just as Milena rose her eyes to follow the Creature, more gunshots aimed at the former Queen.

Rachael De Nova had run to stand on one of the Buffet tables and was shooting relentlessly, forcing the Wendigo to keep moving. The truth was, the young vampire Duchess was a better huntress than that and could have finished her off in one shot. However, Rachael had also probably realized who she was actually shooting at. No one in her position could take such a hasty decision to kill their Queen. She was already a great job of keeping her somewhat contained for now. While helping Rayan up, Milena aimed and started shooting too. As soon as the Wendigo was threatening to jump towards the unruly crowd of nobles, either Milena or Rachael would shoot and keep her going the opposite direction. Their teamwork was amazing, and they kept going while some of the nobles finally organized themselves to have the people evacuated. The Royal Soldiers were doing most of the work, though, having put themselves between the crowd and the creature. Milena felt like this was vain. From what they had seen, it would merely take one jump to get there. At least, the King had already been taken away to safety, by the Royal Guards who weren't protecting the crowd. The young knights, too, had all their swords drawn out, but no one was sure on how to attack. A frontal assault couldn't be imagined in this configuration, so they just raised their swords like a fence between the wendigo and the crowd.

"Shoot to kill," ordered the voice next to her.

"Rayan!" Protested Ellias.

Both brothers glared at each other from where they stood. While Ellias looked shocked, standing a few paces away with his sword drawn out, his vampire twin had never looked so determined before. Ignoring Ellias, Rayan took Milena's g*n out of her hand, and while Rachael kept the Creature where she was on the wall, the Vampire prince shot her down.

It was one perfect hunter's shot. They all witnessed the wendigo fall on the ground, with another horrible screech, causing a new wave of screams, but it was still moving. Rayan shot again. The gunshots resonated strangely within the Ballroom, and though she had somehow found his other hand to grab, Milena held onto him and didn't dare to look. She heard every single shot very clearly, one after another. She didn't let go of his hand while he emptied the magazine.

Once the Creature finally stopped moving, a lot of things happened at once. Milena would have thought things may be a bit more solemn or tragic, but no.

First, the soldiers ran to establish a perimeter around it, their swords ready to stab if it moved again but also finished to evacuate the people, in a more orderly way this time. While there was no more danger, people strangely found their composure and politeness back. It was a bit infuriating to see people who had ran and screamed like animals minutes ago try to act with dignity, but Milena quietly glared at that crowd and stood by the Prince.

With the King gone to a safe place, Anton De Crescent and the other Dukes had taken control of the evacuation process, yelling orders the Royal Guards didn't even dare to question. It wasn't quiet around them, but Milena felt some strange peace as they stood in front of the wendigo's body. She was exhausted and feeling dizzy, but her hand was holding Rayan's tight, and neither of them was about to let go. She wrapped her other hand around his arm, gently rubbing him with her thumb, and waiting. They didn't need words. The vampire Prince slowly lowered his arm. His breathing was erratic too, but he didn't flinch when more people came to the scene and turned around towards the Knights, including Lucian, who had come with their swords drawn out.

"No one comes close to that thing," he said. "I do not want anyone left in this room except for the Royal and Duchy families," he said.

"Yes, your Highness!"

Lucian and the others obeyed without questioning him one second and ran to execute his orders. Despite the situation, they were trained enough to know what to do. Some of the noblemen suddenly found themselves not in such a hurry to leave anymore, their curious eyes on the creature, but the young Dukes used their authority to kick them out.

"Milena!"

While the rest of the soldiers left to follow the orders and finish evacuating everyone, some even checking the broken windows and running to the corridor to check on the bodies, Raphael ran to his younger sister, visibly terrified. He put his hands on her shoulders, checking Milena.

"Are you alright? Are you injured?"

"No, no, I'm fine... Is His Highness alright?"

Raphael glanced towards Ellias as a reflex, but the Prince was so heavily guarded by his Knight friends and Royal Guards, he hadn't even gotten close to the action. Milena's second brother glared his way before turning to Milena again. He knew she wasn't talking about him.

"The King was taken to safety, Millie. Valentin and Bryce lead the royal guards, they are still with him under the Dukes' orders."

"...Good."

With all of the nobility evacuated, only about twenty people were left, as Rayan had ordered. Ellias, the Dukes, and their heirs. Rachael sighed and jumped down her table, her boots resonating on the marble floor. She had ripped her ball gown to more more efficiently, and her leather pants exposed where she had hidden her weapons. Rayan gave her back her gun.

"You shouldn't have brought that weapon, Lady De Nova," protested Arseus de Winter, glaring at her.

"Alright then, next time you fight this thing with your pretty pointy little sword and I'll watch from the sidelines," retorted the Young Duchess with a snarky smile and glare.

"I can't believe you killed her..." Whispered Ellias, still looking shocked, his eyes on the Wendigo.

"I killed it before it killed me. Or more of us."

"You...!"

For a while, the twins glared at each other, but Ellias had nothing else to say. At least, not in front of the Dukes or the Captain of the Royal Guards. Rayan didn't look the slightest remorseful, either. Those two would definitely need to have an argument later, but for now, everyone present acted like they couldn't see the tension between the brothers, and Duke De Winter spoke up first.

"Did someone... inform the King?"

"My third son went," answered Anton De Crescent. "His Highness will be coming here anytime soon to sort this out and... decide what to do with that thing."

There was a silent agreement between all of them to not mention the identity of the wendigo. The Elder De Nova, Rachael's grandfather, sighed.

"What a horrible thing! Who even allowed such a thing to happen? The security of this place is too lax!" "Agreed," said Reo de Boreal. "How did this happen, anyway? What is that... thing?"

"A wendigo," sighed Milena. "Some mutation of a vampire, triggered by drinking another vampire's blood."

There were a few surprised exclamations around them, but that was nothing Milena hadn't expected. They had kept the secret about Wendigo from most people until now, but after what had happened tonight, it would be harder. People were going to ask questions about the creature. She sighed, crossing eyes with her father. Just like the other Dukes, it was obvious he already knew about wendigos. The King had probably informed the Heads of the Duchy families since the last incident... Anton looked more upset at his daughter's state. Milena's hair was completely down, she had lost some hairpins in the battle, and had blood on her dress. She was exhausted after putting so much energy into this battle.

"That's... gross," muttered the young Philippe, Philomenie's younger brother.

"No one willingly turns into that," said Rachael. "Question is, who did this?"

"We need to investigate whoever was in charge of her Highness' meals!"

The young Duchesses present rose an eyebrow to the suggestion of Duke De Winter, and both turned towards the blood trail the Queen had left behind her. The bodies were slowly being carried away by the Royal soldiers, but there were at least half a dozen maids and servants there, all of them had once been under the Queen's orders.

"Sure, if you can replace something still breathing among that mess..." snickered Rachael. "Anyway, we should hurry up and gather the victims. We need to inform their families before everyone starts looking for their missing next of kin and make this a bigger issue." "We should open the Royal infirmary to people who were injured," added Milena, nodding. "Even if they didn't get injured by the wendigo, the rampage definitely did more victims. Let anyone who needs it stay in the Royal Palace for medical attention." "Isn't it reckless to let those people stay around with what happened!" Protested Arseus.

He was glaring at Milena, but Rayan's red eyes stood in-between, glaring right back at the young Duke.

"Those people are our people, Duke de Winter," said Ellias. "They should get whatever they need from the Royal Family."

While Milena was surprised to hear Ellias speak in her favor, she remained quiet behind Rayan. Truth was, she was out of strength, and fighting for it not to show. She remained quiet until they finished speaking of what security measures to take for the night, and held onto Rayan's hand, keeping on her mask. She and her brother exchanged glances from time to time. Raphael was worried about her too, but he didn't say anything. Lucian and Valentin, like Henry de Winter, had gone to help the Royal Guards. The younger dukes also shortly went to help, but Rachael refused to.

"If you'll allow me, I'd rather go home," said the young Duchess de Nova. "Surely those gentlemen can handle the rest of that shit-show, I've done my share for tonight."

"Rachael!" Protested her father, but his daughter's language was the last thing to surprise anyone around tonight.

Even the elders didn't blink, and promptly, they all started making their way out. Raphael and Anton De Crescent walked up to Milena.

"Are you alright?" Asked her brother.

"Yeah... Father, do you mind if I sleep at the Royal Castle for tonight? I am worried about His Highness..."

Next to her, Rayan chuckled, but turned around and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry about me, Milena, go home."

Though she was surprised by his gesture, especially in front of her father, she didn't even have the strength to blush.

"But..."

She couldn't help but glance at Ellias, over Rayan's shoulder. The human Prince was glaring at them, too, though he was chatting with the Duke De Winter. Philomenie had left like most nobles as soon as the attack had started, which surprised no one here. Maybe she was hidden somewhere in the Royal Castle, Milena didn't care.

"You don't want to stay around, and you should enjoy your time home before you move in, my Princess."

Milena finally blushed a little, ignoring that her father was standing right next to them. Her vampire prince smiled, caressing her hair gently.

"Go home. I'm not forgetting you, you left me quite a souvenir."

Saying this, he put forward his injured leg. Milena didn't felt like kidding about this, but she nodded.

"Betrothal gift," she whispered.

"Love it. Thankfully we only need to get engaged once..."