LILI ARDAT
The group stare at the woman in black smoke, her pale skin scream death and her eyes boast to expose their fears. She sizes them up and moves her head from one person to the other and stops at an empty space beside Samuel.
She smiles and rubs her chin; she floats closer to the empty space and blows a kiss.
Rachael and Elma are confused by her strange actions but the sphinxes can see what she is really doing.
Amanda growls and the creature across the open floor sends a warning growl of its own.
"Fion," the woman says and the creature walks closer, the moonlight reveal a hairy creature with great resemblance to a wolf as it squats down and its fur retract into its body.
It's muscular and animalistic build shrinks and turns into a naked slim body, prostrating before the floating woman; she rises and reveal herself to be a woman.
Thin and naked she stands with long black hair that brushes her shoulders and pale white skin.
"What are you doing to my brother?" Samuel asks and she glides to him, she puts a hand under his chin and looks him in the eyes, "Hmm, you look alike but I'd rather have him. He is much more simple than one with a snake for a tail," she says.
Amanda growls again, "Who are you? Are you here to stop us?" she snarls as she feels uncomfortable with the woman's boldness.
She glides backwards and let them see her in the moonlight, "I am quite disappointed that you cannot see what I am with those eyes of yours, Sphinx" she says, "I am Lili, Ardat Lili" she says and a flash of lightning strikes in the sky.
Elma quickly grabs Rachael's hand as her instincts sense the danger that surrounds this woman, "That is Fion, my hellhound" Ardat says.
"You are a demon lord. One of the lords of hell, you have no business here" Amanda says. Ardat scoffs and smiles, "You are quite brave, daughter of Ra.
Look around, this is a Forest of death," lightning flashes again and in the split second of its light, demonic faces are revealed all around them.
"Angels, gods and even the creator have no power here. It is you who has no business here," she says. She hovers around, circling them; "What do you want?" Samuel asks, "What do I want? What do you want Samuel Stone? Surely you could have found other ways that lead to the edge of the underworld," she says.
Samuel's eyes follow her as she floats around in black smoke, "You know of my journey," "Of course, you want to save your brother. You can't," "I can't know for sure without trying," he says.
"Quite the optimist you are," "The forest of dead cries as been the passage for ages. I've never heard of a demon lord coming here to announce their presence," Amanda says.
"This one is feisty, good. You are the one trying to burn down my little playground. You did good with Legion," "I can try with you too," Amanda says and the woman laughs.
"I am not the demon of Gerasene," Ardat says with wicked eyes and a sly tongue.
"A human, you covered her in fairy powder but it is useless against creatures like myself or those who can see the soul. A vampire, a dying sphinx, a sphinx and a ghost.
A strange band of friends; I am not here to stop you. It has just been long since a sphinx fell and I wanted to be the first one to see him," Ardat says.
"I am not going to fall," Samuel says, "It isn't always about you, Mortem. I wanted to see Gabriel Tempestas Stone and let him know that he will be mine when the time comes," she says and stares at the empty space beside Samuel once again.
Rachael's eyes flutter and her eyebrows rise as she listens to Ardat's words, "What do you want with Gabriel?" she asks as the urge to punch the floating woman grows. "Gabriel's girlfriend I presume," Ardat says and floats toward her.
Her eyes stare into the human's and she stretches her hand close to her face, using a finger to trace the edges before Rachael grabs it, "Don't touch me," Rachael says while clenching a fist.
"I don't care that you are a demon lord or whatever. Gabriel is never going to be yours," she says.
Fion starts to growl and her eyes shine, she takes a step closer to the torn earth between them and her eyes stay fixated on Rachael like a hungry wolf ready to pounce on its prey.
"Let her go love. We aren't ready for this battle," Elma says and sends a quick glance Ardat's way.
Rachael lets go of her hand and Ardat hovers backwards, "This is going to be good.
Fion will lead you to the passage but know this, there is nothing you can do for Gabriel's soul. Dead or alive, it will be mine" she says.
"I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there," Samuel says and sends a strong gaze her way. Ardat's smiling face fades and is replaced with a crooked mouth, "I guess we will, Mortem. Fion take them," Ardat says and the black smoke gathers around her.
It spreads and forms a circular shape around her, gradually burying her figure within. "See you soon, Gabriel" she says and a red flame burst in the midst of the smoke with bright lights. They protect their eyes as the fire goes into the opened grounds, deep until it disappears while the mouth of the ground widens.
The group move backwards as the hole gets bigger and stops; the naked girl on the other side does not look fazed by this and instead stands still till the group settles.
"Follow me," she says and jumps into the hole.
"What the hell is going on?" Rachael asks, "I don't know, all I know is I am going to save Gabe. No matter what," Samuel says and follows Fion into the hole.
"Let's go," Amanda jumps into the hole and the rest of the women follow.
*.....*...*.....*...….*....*
It was in the winter, 1500s, at Poenari Castle in the month of the white tears. A time of the year when Justina loved to walk around the shortest tower of the castle.
The castle stood at the edge of a cliff on the Cetatuia mountains standing at heights of 860 feet with the eye catching greens of nature below, surrounding the feet of the castle.
The landscapes were lonely of people but filled with the creatures of nature, the feels of mountain dew in the morning and the warmth of the sun's gaze in the afternoon.
But not of this winter when the family of Vlad Tepesh were at the castle.
Justina wore a thick black coat of bear fur, her golden hair laid long across her shoulder and her palms felt dry against the cold.
She walked around, watching the cold mountains turn into a pillar of snow as it dropped from the heavens.
"Mother," Justina turned around to see her little boy, Alucard standing at the door and hugging the doorframe.
She looked at him with a smile and motioned her hand for him to come over and he nodded his head in rejection.
"Come here," she insisted and he pouted as he walked to her.
She hugged him and tried to lift him up but he fought her off, "I'm a man mother. I don't need you to carry me," he said and she laughed hard with her hand across her belly.
"Not yet but you will grow to be a great man like your father," she said and rubbed his hair.
"One day you will rule over kingdoms as far as the snow can touch," "I'm not sure I want to rule over anything. I want to be stronger than father so I can protect you," he said and Justina looked at him like an angel.
He was the proof of her union with Vlad.
The perfect blend of both of them but somehow he possessed a very different personality.
His eyes were as green as hers but carried a certain chill of death, one she recognized in Vlad when he came back from his battles.
"You are not going to be protecting me forever. You have your own life to live. One day you will have a queen of your own," she said and the little boy scoffed.
"I don't think I would be interested in one, there are hardly any species at our level." "And what will you say about your mother?" "Like the snow you love so much, you are one in a million mother" Alucard said and Justina's eyes widened and her smile stretched.
"You have your father's tongue you little devil, come here" she pulled him into her tight embrace and he tried to resist but ultimately, he yielded to her warmth.
NOW.
Alucard looks out the window as snow falls on the window pane, his breath fogs onto the window as he breathes and his mind follows their fall into memory lane.
"She always loved the snow,".