And the winner is, a Harry Potter + Vampire: The Masquerade Crossover fanfic

A/N

This chapter is the old chapter 11 of my story "Harry Potter and the Horcrux Three". Its events are taking place at the time of chapter 10-11.

It is a little side adventure to the main story, explaining how Hafsa got the African Vampires' support. For clarification: this is mostly important because Madam Guille (in possession of the newest Horcrux) is hiding in the area, feeling secure under the Vampires' protection from any wizard hunting her.

Because of the many new characters in this chapter, you'll find a list at the end.

Disclaimer: some of the characters used (mainly Hafsa) belong to "White Wolf" and their "World of Darkness/Vampire the Masquerade" series.

! No, this isn't a misplaced Vampire the Masquerade story. This is still part of my Harry Potter Trilogy. However, there is no HP in this chapter.

And the winner is

Somewhere in Central Africa

Again they were waiting in the antechamber, in hopes of an audience with the White Hag. A week had passed since the last, a week of hidden meetings, veiled threats and sweet promises. It had been impossible to meet the White Hag in person – or one of the three women assisting her, three women nearly as ancient and ugly as their harsh mistress. At least, Hafsa was quite certain that Vidal Jarbeaux, her rival and foe in this matter, hadn't been any more successful.

The other covens had been a tad more approachable, but not by much. All six covens who had already chosen one side to support hadn't changed their position. Pietro Giovanni, the Italian Vampire Necromancer at Jarbeaux' side, tried at first to 'convince' the two covens on Hafsa's side that it would be healthier to reconsider their choice. It hadn't gone especially well and he was now hiding from their wrath.

Rodrigo had been somewhat more successful and certainly more diplomatic in his attempts. Under the cover of 'training' he had proven his battle prowess to the present Vampire warriors while fully turning on his no small amount of charisma. More than one female – and even a few male – Vampires had been swooning as he did his 'Don Juan' impression.

The already well-known white-haired butler appeared again, opened the door and impatiently ushered them to enter. The arrangement of the meeting chamber however was somewhat different today. Again there was a half circle of the nine coven leaders, with the White Hag placed in the middle. Two groups of chairs were waiting for Hafsa's and Jarbeaux' delegations: one composed of five chairs, two of them occupied already, and the other one way larger with four of the nine seats taken. Without hesitation and a curt nod to the bored looking female Vampire waiting there, Hafsa took a seat within the smaller group. It didn't need a genius to notice that these two Vampires – like the four in the other group – were envoys from the covens taking sides with them.

While waiting for the rest of them to take a seat as well, Hafsa used the time to have a look around and take in the identity of the six Vampires sitting among them.

The four Vampires sitting among Jarbeaux's men were warriors. She knew them, had seen at least two of them fighting mock duels with Rodrigo in the past week – and losing against him. The third was a weasel-like man named Badami. He was one of the few Vampires around here known to Hafsa even before her arrival. He was famous for using all kind of poisons and other alchemical weapons – and for having killed two of her order in the past. The fourth was the only woman among them, even if her body didn't show it. She had a hulking frame and hands that promised broken bones should she ever get to Hafsa.

Then there were those two Vampires sitting at her side. The woman was a real bitch with a poisonous tongue – however she was very clever and the granddaughter of the witch-doctor that had accepted Pascal's present. Hafsa hadn't witnessed any special abilities of hers so far but assumed she was a witch like her grandfather. And she certainly had the respect and fear of the other vampires. Even Badami was currently eyeing her suspiciously. The second Vampire at Hafsa's side was an ordinary looking man, with no obvious weapons, slightly bulging eyes and a taint ill-looking skin. Hafsa had noticed him near his coven leader before, but never speaking, always watching.

Why were those six vampires sitting among them? She would certainly learn soon enough.

A Decision

After everybody took a seat and calmed down, the White Hag started to speak. She had their rapt attention from the start, her voice easily dominating the chamber. Hafsa was old and a deathly fighter, having won dozens of fights against some of the worst. This old hag however made her shudder, she hated to admit. She might be caring for her people, but she certainly wasn't nice, no sweet old lady. More she reminded her of the stories she read about Baba Yaga – shedding gold if she felt cheerful, but eating children on her bad days.

"We heard the messages of your master. We saw your offers and listened to your promises – and threats." There was certainly a hint of amusement in her voice. "In the end you only offered hollow phrases and empty promises without proof that you have teeth to back up your words. Because of this we offer you a chance to prove your honesty."

"And if we don't take that chance?" Pietro Giovanni interjected, showing neither fear nor any kind of survival instinct. It was quite obvious that he deemed the whole matter beneath him.

"He's a real idiot, isn't he?" Rodrigo asked the female vampire at his side, who had so far not reacted to his charming smile.

To Hafsa's surprise she didn't bite Rodrigo's head off but answered with a shrug: "he can't help it. He is the incestuous son of degenerated family of madmen. You can't expect any sense of reality from them." Pietro Giovanni obviously heard her comment and glared at her, earning him only a sweet smile that send shudders down Hafsa's spine.

"Behave, Gasira," scolded her grandfather while the White Hag seemed amused by her antics.

"Gasira," Rodrigo fully turned his charm on. "What a beautiful name." This earned him a groan from Paul and a flick to his ear from the addressed Vampire.

"Back to your silly question," the White Hag stopped their behaviour not without a small toothy smile. "If you don't accept your chance, you forfeit our help and end our hospitality." There was no small amount of threat in her words and the meaning was clear: take it or die. Not a surprising development but still not something Hafsa liked. Gasira and the other Vampire sitting at her side appeared unfazed.

Giovanni opened his big mouth to object but at last his leader stopped him, far too late in Hafsa's opinion. Either he was a weak leader or not in a position to order Giovanni around. She assumed both. "Shut up, Giovanni." Jarbeaux bowed towards the White Hag, a gesture that didn't impress her very much. "Please continue. I'm eager to hear about this opportunity."

The White Hag actually sighed, before she continued. "A little test it will be, a test to prove your prowess, team work and leadership. We'll test your might and your intellect, your senses and ingenuity. There is an old temple, not far from here. In two days, you'll enter the temple, both teams using different entrances. Somewhere in the temple your… your objective will be waiting for you. It's your duty to find the objective, take it with you and escape to the exit. Keep in mind that the path you will take for an entrance will be closed behind you."

"And the other team?" Hafsa wasn't too eager to fight but wanted to know if it was allowed or even expected from her to extinguish the competition.

"Fighting the other team is allowed but not a primary objective of this test." The White Hag calmly explained.

"And this objective? How do we find it? What will it be?"

The White Hag gave a wave and the white-haired butler opened one of the side doors. For a while nothing happened. Then steps could be heard and a weird smell hit Hafsa's nose. It was something like mouldy tea leaves. She stored that smell away, certain that she would find it anywhere. Suddenly someone appeared in the doorframe – or something, as it wasn't actually alive. It looked like an Africanist, freshly arisen from some 19th Century travel diary. He wore a safari suit, a tropical helmet and had an elephant rifle over his shoulder. His motions appeared slow and awkward; his skin looked unhealthy and earthy. This one hadn't been alive for a long time.

"Hello Courtenay," Gasira waved to him happily, her behaviour quite different from her usual one. "Long time no see." The man turned towards her and bowed inelegantly.

"So our objective is to find… Courtenay… and to get him to the exit while fending of our competition?" Hafsa asked for clarification.

"Exactly," the White Hag agreed. "The Vampires at your side will accompany and assist you."

Jarbeaux's team grinned like a bunch of jackals. Obviously they felt security in numbers, something Hafsa could only smile about. She was certain she could beat them with only Rodrigo at her side – and perhaps this Gasira. "I accept," she simply stated, careful to sound bored.

Jarbeaux didn't look pleased.

Two days later (Jarbeaux)

"So, what's your magnificent plan, Grandmaster J?" Pietro Giovanni asked his supposed leader, the mocking in his tone unmistakable.

Vidal Jarbeaux snarled right back. He had pondered that exact question non-stop for the last two days and he still had no solution. He simply had too little information. How big was the complete area? How deep did the tunnels and chambers run below it? How many traps and foes were waiting for them, and how dangerous were they? How many possible ways were there to reach the objective and the exit after that? Would an ambush be easy?

So far he had only decided to keep the group together. Strength in numbers it was. They were nine against five but the other group had Hafsa and that damned sword-twirler. Badawi had already offered to go after Hafsa at the first opportunity and – despite his dislike for the man – he knew that Giovanni would be very useful, especially at disposing foes and traps encountered on their way. His plan, if he could call it such, was to fist his way through everything the temple offered, reach the objective as fast as possible, and only then split the team into two smaller groups. He would escort the objective towards the exit with only two bodyguards at his side and leave the rest behind to slow down Hafsa's group.

This plan however would only succeed if he actually was the first to reach the middle, something quite uncertain with Hafsa on the other side. She didn't get her reputation for playing dice.

"It's time to begin."

Same time – on the other side of the temple (Hafsa)

The area was impressive, Hafsa admitted. She wondered who had been the one to create this building that looked quite surreal in the heart of the jungle. Years ago she read Kipling's "Jungle Book" – actually it had been nearly a century ago, only a short time after the publication of the original. Described therein was a temple not unlike this, inhabited by a tribe of apes under their King Louis. This temple would be inhabited by all kind of foes, mostly of the undead and animated type, she assumed. And their King would be Courtenay. So far she hadn't been able to find out if it was the real Frederick Courtenay Selous, model for the famous fictional character Allan Quatermain, or only some animated corpse dolled up to mimic the man. It was of no importance in the end.

Hafsa took a careful look around. They were waiting in a small side building, only a hundred feet away from one of the entrances. The temple itself was a square building, a hundred and fifty yards across, with four slim turrets at its corners and a dome in the middle. The building however wouldn't see much of its visitors. Their objective was far below, in the darkness of its tunnels and chambers. The catacombs there would be filled with all kind of corpses, offering more than enough material for animation – multiplying the danger Giovanni posed tenfold at least.

"I want you to take Giovanni out as soon as possible," she commanded and Paul silently nodded. She liked the calm man. He was so unlike his friend Rodrigo and while he looked harmless, Hafsa knew that he was far from it.

"Gasira, you'll be leading the group towards the objective. Be fast but not careless. I trust you to get my men through all dangers."

If Gasira was surprised by the order or doubted the offered trust, she didn't show in the slightest. "We'll see you in the middle."

Somewhere not too far away

The nine coven leaders had gathered in the dark chamber, watching the events in the surface of a sparkling pool of water. They didn't have to be on site to watch the scenery unfold. No, they would stay safe and be entertained – and perhaps they would even learn something important or interesting, when the vampires taking part in the test would show some of their hidden abilities. Naturally they were especially eager to watch the leaders of both teams in action and the necromantic spells of infamous Giovanni. However, two of them were more interested in a younger vampire taking part.

"It is a big risk to send your own granddaughter into this mess," a hulking vampire stated with false ringing concern. He – like Hakima, the woman he chose to assist Jarbeaux – was a giant among Vampires, his nearly seven feet easily towering over the elderly Vampire at his side. In his coven strength topped everything. Because of this the other covens despised and belittled them, but used them eagerly nonetheless. They made excellent cannon fodder.

The elderly Vampire raised a single eyebrow and a cruel smile played around his lips. He certainly showed no concern in the face of his… no, he wouldn't call the brute his rival. Too much honour to him it would give. "I trust Gasira. She's clever." And I trust Hafsa to see her through this and protect her, he mused. It had been a gamble to choose her, he knew. However, Gasira would be of real help for the Arabic Vampire and he wanted her to win this test – not because he believed in her ideas or even liked that French Vampire prince, but because of the presents she promised and the reputation of his mortal but ancient friend.

His hand went to the little bracelet around his wrist. Gasira was wearing a similar one right now, constructed from the Vis he got from Hafsa. He felt the magic brimming. The deal would be fruitful for him, he just knew it. If only Gasira came through alive. She was still his favourite Childe.

Good luck, little Gasira.

A wee bit later (Jarbeaux)

"Idiot," Hakima fumed. "Do something like this again and I'll rip your arms off." Her voice was a deep rumbling tremor and it was quite funny to watch the broad-shouldered thug trembling in front of her, not doubting for a second that the intimidating Vampire 'lady' was willing and able to go through with her threat.

The stupid man, one member of the trio of Spanish thugs Jarbeaux brought to Africa, hadn't listened to Giovanni's order. Instead of keeping his hands still and simply watch the Italian Necromancer disable another trap, he had fooled around and touched something he shouldn't have. Luckily Hakima had stepped between Jarbeaux and the following explosion, shielding her master from the danger. She appeared unfazed from the 'scratches' covering her body but still wasn't amused one bit by his antics.

"We need him, Hakima – for now," Jarbeaux sighed. Hakima appeared unconvinced. Jarbeaux shrugged, grinned maliciously and showed a hint of humour at last. "There are certainly a few more traps waiting for us to send him in. It will be faster than have Giovanni disarm them every time."

The Thug paled but Hakima showed a toothy grin, pushing the poor man towards the door. "You have won yourself the spear point."

On the other side of the moon… err… temple (Hafsa)

"IIIAAAH!"

The pair of scimitars sliced across her foe's legs and cut through dead flesh, sinews and bones. The left lower leg was cleanly cut off and the warrior, having arisen after centuries of slumber only to get destroyed by Hafsa, toppled to the ground. Three more were already lying around, proof of Hafsa's abilities as a supreme warrior.

Carefully she cleaned her weapons before sheathing them back, taking a long look around. She was quite ahead of the rest of the group, having been able to dodge most of the enemies and traps so far. She could have avoided this group as well, but realizing that their group had to meet them head-on and that they posed some danger to them – their weapons had been dipped in some kind of slowing poison – she had decided to take them out by herself.

Usually she would have fought in silence, alike a dancing shadow causing no noise. However, she knew that her battle cries would have carried very far in these corridors. Jarbeaux' group would have heard them, and realized that she was further towards the group than they were. Perhaps it would unhinge them, prompt them to hurry too much and make stupid errors.

With a last cruel smile she turned around. Time to go on!

Three dozen paces away – as the mole digs (Gasira)

"Don't," Paul stopped his friend as he tried to enter the corridor to the left. "Something… is wrong about it." Rodrigo frowned shortly but stayed put. He trusted his friend's senses. Paul had an uncanny sense of danger, and more than once warned them in the past against an ambush or poisoned drink back in France.

Gasira nodded, her eyes widening in appreciation for a second. Not many would have realized the entrance to be a trap. "It's an illusion," she explained with a neutral voice. "Trying to use it would spring some kind of trap on us."

"The real exit is over there," the last Vampire added. His sudden voice startled all others. It was the first time he offered his opinion or even said anything, since telling them his name: Kahini.

Overcoming this little shock, his three comrades turned towards the gestured wall. There was nothing special about it.

"Are you certain?" Rodrigo doubted, his eyes widening as Paul simply stepped through the wall. For a second nothing happened. Then Paul's head and shoulders appeared again, the rest of his body hidden by the wall: "are you coming?"

This side of the shadow (Jarbeaux)

"IIIAAAH!"

The sound sent a chill through their bones. It was difficult to ascertain the actual origin, to guess how far away Hafsa was right now. However no doubts remained about the source of this battle cry.

"We have to hurry," Jarbeaux ordered, his nerves frying. If he lost this contest he would be dead, really and permanently dead. If neither the test, Hafsa, nor the White Hag killed him, Madam Guille certainly would. Mateo, the thug eager to smooth out his former mishap, hurried onward. They had spent the past few minutes examining the chamber in front of them. There was a trench across; wide enough to make a jump difficult even for a vampire. The ceiling was high above them, very uneven and it was hard to decide if that route would be safer. The trench itself was filled with unnatural fire and only two objects similar to iron balancing beams offered a more or less secure way to the other side.

Not surprisingly he didn't get very far. After three steps his feet were already fuming, another four and they were aflame. He was barely half across as the pain caused him to miss a step. Trying to steady his fall by grabbing the beam was another not very clever idea but nobody blamed him. Halfway down to the ground he completely burst into flames. His screams didn't last very long.

They weren't in the best of moods as they entered the next corridor. Especially Joel and Antonio, Mateo's friends, weren't very pleased and threw Giovanni the evil eye.

They had glared at him as he realized the real path and used a spell to unveil those parts of the beam that were safe to use. It surely helped the group but was too late for Mateo.

They gulped when the Necromancer used a Telekinesis spell to get the charred corpse of their friend from the ground of the trench, mumbling something about not squandering valuable reagents.

They nearly became mutinous as Giovanni raised their friend as some kind of burning skeleton.

In the end they complied. Their friend was dead already and perhaps this way he could be of some use at least.

Giovanni, unperturbed by their anger, ordered "Burny" to stay by his side. Jarbeaux sighed. The Italian enjoyed this far too much.

In the middle of the piddle (Hafsa)

"You're giving me a headache, little man."

Hafsa was sitting on a small flight of stairs, staring at Courtenay with a deep frown blemishing her attractive face. Courtenay stared back, unimpressed.

Hafsa sighed. Her plan had been to reach the centre of the mess first. Keeping in the shadow and mostly using the ceiling as her highway to hell, she had been way faster than the two groups. The only risk in this plan had been the chance of Badawi attempting the same strategy. However, she had hoped that Jarbeaux didn't trust him enough to allow it. Or that he simply felt too vulnerable without his biggest gun. She had been right so far.

Her next step should have been to hide Courtenay in a side chamber and wait for her group to arrive. Courtenay however had some kind of magic on him, making it impossible to hide him. The same magic made it impossible for her to get him out of the temple on her own, hiding him under her veil of shadows. She felt that there were a number of dangers ahead and with Jarbeaux hunting her she couldn't protect Courtenay at the same time.

"You have to stay here, little man," she decided with a disappointed sigh.

Looking around for possible concealment, she decided against it. The risk was too big of Badawi noticing her and despite her impressive abilities she felt no urge to battle the whole group on her own. This left only the opportunity to go ahead, disable a trap or two on the way ahead or – perhaps the better way to spend her time – prepare a little something for Jarbeaux.

Hafsa grinned evilly, now feeling a tad better. Yes, that would be nice. I'll leave a few presents for you, Jarbeaux. I hope you'll like them.

A little detour (Jarbeaux)

"We have no time for this, Giovanni." Jarbeaux urged his second man.

"Leave Hakima with me and go ahead with the rest," Giovanni snarled, barely looking up from his work. "We'll follow in a minute." He rolled his eyes at his hesitating 'boss'. "Go!"

Jarbeaux grumbled but complied. He gestured the others to follow him towards the exit; only Giovanni, Hakima and 'Burny' stayed behind - with about 50 corpses.

Pietro Giovanni had found the chamber a few minutes ago and instantly saw possibilities where Jarbeaux only wanted to hurry on. The chamber wasn't one they had to cross, this perhaps being the reason that the White Hag hadn't made use of it. Giovanni intended to correct this oversight. Working fervently to cast his little ritual, he required a tad over two minutes to finish it. In the end he was surrounded by forty-two skeletons, eager to follow his command… the rest had been too damaged to be of any use.

Pietro pointed towards the area where he assumed Hafsa's group to be. "Go and attack any Vampire you'll find."

It was a risk to make the command this unclear. However he had his reasons to do it in exactly this way. First: Jarbeaux would need his presence to protect him from this mass of fighters, making him more valuable. Second: if he died, they would kill Jarbeaux as well, making the stupid peacock pay for his poor attempt at leading them. He really had to have a little talk later with Madam Guille about her choice of underlings.

Hakima watched the skeletons depart with interest, wondering how she would fair against them. Burny waited, motionless and uninterested, feeling only the burning desire to kill something. He felt that he would have a chance to do this soon enough.

"Let's go."

Party ahead (Gasira)

That he fought silently, without his usual boasting and joking around, was proof enough of how serious he took this fight – and how much he didn't enjoy it. Rodrigo's sword danced back and forth, decapitating another skeleton, while a glance to the left assured him of Paul's safety. The French soldier calmly used his gun to take out another skeleton with a clear headshot. It was his third so far while Rodrigo had taken down four. The short-barrel, silenced gun was one usually used by French anti-terror units and Baron Pascal had to pull in some favours in the past to get Paul the weapon – and the licence to wear it.

Gasira stayed back and watched her team calmly. She could have avoided the whole fight easily, but wanted to see the skeletons in action – it was always good to know your foe's abilities – as well as her team's. One of the skeletons broke through the line of the three warriors – with Kahini the Unremarkable easily doing his part of the action on the left – and rushed Gasira, only to be taken down by a lazy strike of her rattle-stick. It crumbled to the ground, with leaving only a handful of bones and a few pounds of dust behind.

Paul danced back from another attack – Gasira noticed the small stumble from his slightly stiff left leg – and allowed Rodrigo to shatter its bones with a backhand stroke, while firing another shot right beneath Rodrigo's left arm at the last skeleton fighting them.

All in all fifteen skeletons found their peace in that chamber. "Another group approaching," Kahini calmly stated. He had noticed them first. He wasn't a scout of his coven for nothing. "This group is even larger."

"We don't have time for this," Rodrigo stated despite his usual eagerness to fight.

"No, we do not," Gasira agreed. She pulled a vial from her pockets and started to dust it over the four Vampires. "You won't tell a soul about this spell." She started to cast it, weaving a little oath into the Illusion. She knew about the nine coven leaders watching them the whole time, but didn't give a damn about it. This spell was well known among them at least.

Rodrigo and Paul nodded slowly and watched the other change into a mortal, healthy skin, heartbeat and all. "How…" Rodrigo wanted to ask, feeling completely flabbergasted.

"It's only some kind of illusion," Paul explained. "Will this help?"

Gasira nodded. "They had a kind of targeting spell on them, ordering them to fight Vampires. I can feel the spell but not break it. Giovanni is too strong a Necromancer."

She turned around and raised a single eyebrow as she noticed Kahini still looking the same. Her Illusion – and more important the oath – would only activate if the target agreed to stay silent. Kahini grimaced but complied in the end. Within seconds he looked mortal as well – just seconds before the other group of skeletons appeared on the scene.

Without sparing the four Vampires a glance – who had to step aside towards the walls not to be overrun by this bone-stampede – they hurried onward.

Rodrigo's consternation turned into a broad grin as he realized the skeletons could very well smooth the path for them. He offered Gasira his arm and showed a toothy smile: "Milady."

Gasira only rolled her eyes and continued without accepting the offered arm, gesturing for Kahini to take spear point again.

Surprise, surprise (Giovanni)

A malicious smile crept onto Pietro Giovanni's face. He was loosely linked to the skeleton warriors and knew were they happened to be and if they went to battle. Within the last two minutes he got messages from fifteen skeletons about their fight and how they had been destroyed. Regretfully they were unable to inform him about any damage done to Hafsa's team. He hoped for at least a few minor injuries; a wounded leg would be perfect, slowing them down even more.

He had been positively surprised to learn about the location of the fight. The other group was farther behind than expected. With Hafsa leading them he had expected better progress, but perhaps they met an obstacle like the fire-trench chamber. Anyhow: Giovanni knew where the other group was right now. He would make good use of that knowledge and prepare a few rune traps for them, before hurrying back to meet his 'boss'.

'Boss' – Giovanni snickered. That toddler didn't have the guts to be an efficient leader. Perhaps he should try to find a more permanent solution before the task was over. It would be a nice early birthday present.

There we are (Jarbeaux)

Jarbeaux was unable to suppress a sigh of relief as they entered the central chamber at last. He was happy to have his first look at the objective and barely able to wait for Badawi to disarm the traps protecting the entrance. There were no more than he had expected to find; even more traps were protecting the exit and he ordered Badawi to take care of them as well.

"Joel, Antonio – left and right exit; Uchenna – watch the entrance; Kigoma – back to the last crossroads; alert me as soon as you see or hear anything from Giovanni."

Jarbeaux wouldn't admit it but he was nervous without Hakima's assuring hulking mass and Giovanni's knowledge. He didn't like the Italian – he actually despised him – but he had impressive talents.

"I'll need three minutes to disarm these, perhaps five" Badawi informed him, getting a nod from Jarbeaux in return. Hopefully Giovanni would have returned until then. Taking a look towards each of the four corridors leading to the central chamber – there was nothing to see and no signs of any visitor within the last twelve hours – he turned towards the objective of the whole task.

Courtenay was standing in the middle of the chamber on a little pedestal – completely still and without any reaction to Jarbeaux' group. He had that antique rifle over his shoulder, ammunition belts holding impressive cartridges cross-wearing over his chest. He looked like a wax figure – a very ill wax figure – from Madam Tussaud.

"Where's he gotten to?" Jarbeaux mumbled. With every passing minute he got more nervous, anxious to go on before Hafsa's team made an appearance.

His men were obeying but without much enthusiasm. They were anticipating a serious fight within the next minutes and rightfully feared it. They had nothing to win and everything to lose. With immortality on your sleeve, you aren't too eager to risk your life – especially not for others.

Jarbeaux looked down the corridor towards Kigoma but got only a shrug from the man. Turning around, it seemed like Badawi was working on a last look around. "Exit is safe," he announced.

"Good, good," Jarbeaux nodded, a frown marring his face. "And Courtenay?"

Badawi shrugged. "I disarmed the traps I found. But I'm no specialist for such… things. Perhaps we should wait for Giovanni, he's the specialist."

Jarbeaux wasn't certain but for a moment he had the feeling that Courtenay wasn't happy about being called a thing. Stupid idea, Jarbeaux decided. It's only an animated corpse. He can't think; let alone have any feelings.

Somewhere far behind there was an explosion, startling Jarbeaux from his thoughts. He paled. Who had caused an explosion back there? Who got hurt – or killed?

"We can't wait anymore," he suddenly decided.

"But Giovanni…" Badawi interjected.

"Screw him!" Jarbeaux growled, choosing exactly this moment to play the part of the tough leader.

It was a bad decision, a very bad decision.

Causalities of war

"Shit!"

The sound of an explosion immediately ended Hafsa's good mood. None of her team could have caused this. Even Paul, who was very fond of firearms, wouldn't use explosives in these confined corridors and chambers. And it actually didn't sound like explosives, more akin to a magical explosion, perhaps caused by a fire rune. She had met those in the past. They were often used by Vampires in Austria and those countries formerly belonging to the Empire of Austro-Hungary.

Using her incredible speed, she hurried back to a chamber she knew her team would have used and followed their traces towards the central chamber. Not long after, she found the chamber where her team had fought and beaten a group of skeletons. Giovanni's work, she realized. Continuing on her way, she saw another group of skeletons lingering around a group of statues, depicting some weird creatures – half lion, half man. At one exit five of them were lying on the ground, destroyed by some explosion and with traces of fire. Near them there was another corpse. Hafsa felt relief as she noticed his black skin. So it was neither Rodrigo nor Paul. Like a spider she continued on her way along the ceiling. None of the remaining around twenty skeletons noticed her. Their minds were too dumb, their senses too dull, to have a chance to spot or sense her.

Kahini, she recognized the corpse now. Good, Hafsa decided. She would have hated to explain Gasira's death to her grandfather. Kahini, while valuable, was still replaceable.

However, where was the rest of her team?

Suddenly the skeletons stopped to aimlessly wander around. Instead they turned as one man, reacting to some invisible command, and started to run towards one of the corridors. Hafsa had a hunch that they were running towards her team and decided to follow them. Hopefully she would reach them in time.

Right in the kisser (Jarbeaux)

"Don't kill him."

With a curse on his lips Kigoma jumped aside, barely avoiding the death grip of his rampaging leader. He tried to ignore the sight of his friend Uchenna, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, his left arm simply ripped out of his socket and just now being used by "Jarbeaux the Mad" to clubber Antonio into Nirvana. How could this shit happen?

"We can't wait anymore," his fabulous master of disaster had decided only a few minutes ago. Until then it had looked quite good actually about their team winning the contest but since then it went downhill in an unbelievable way.

Kigoma remembered the look of Badawi's face. The assassin hadn't been happy about Jarbeaux's decision. Perhaps he had even sensed something amiss. You didn't survive very long in his "occupation" without a healthy danger sense. However, he didn't stop the man as he walked in front of Courtenay and ordered him to follow him towards the exit.

"I obey, master." That had been the snarled response, the fact that the "wax figure" was actually able of speaking stunning Jarbeaux nearly as much as the cloud of fog leaving its mouth.

"TRAP!" Badawi had yelled, but it was far too late. While his reflexes allowed him to escape the suspicious fumes, Jarbeaux had no chance to do the same. He was hit straight in the face. Kigoma nearly laughed as the pictures rolled through his mind, in a touch of gallows humour. Jarbeaux had blinked several times, looking like a fish, waiting for anything to happen. For a few seconds there was no reaction. Jarbeaux had just started to relax and even cackled for a moment, as he was hit full force. Kigoma had to admit that it was quite ingenious to use this type of poison to set up a trap. He had no doubt that Hafsa was the culprit and not for the first time he wished his coven had chosen to support her instead.

Jarbeaux, while a diplomat and not a soldier, was a venerable vampire. His age made him quite tough and he wouldn't succumb easily. A fire trap or deathly poison could have been resisted by him. This attack however met him at his weakest point: his thirst. Kigoma recognized it to be some kind of hallucinogenic, some kind of mental poison that prompted him to succumb to his blood rage and attack everybody in sight – in this case his own team.

"Overpower him," Badawi ordered. "He has to survive."

And this was the ingenuity of the plan: they needed Jarbeaux alive to win the contest. They had to knock him out and shackle him instead of using lethal force. Easier said than done, with his age lending him enough power as did his madness, both easily compensating for his lack of fighting abilities. He had killed Uchenna within seconds and was now on the brink of doing the same to Antonio. They had to act fast. Damn it.

I've burnt my fingers (Gasira)

Perhaps she should have tried to reign her temper in. Perhaps she should have listened to Paul's calm advice and not to Rodrigo's heated words. However, Kahini's death had somehow turned a switch in her head, unearthed something she hadn't known to exist: pure, unadulterated hate and the wish to kill.

Gasira and Kahini hadn't liked each other. They certainly hadn't been friends in the past. However, they had respected each other's talents and capabilities, their professionalism and quickness of mind. When Gasira heard of the choice the other coven master made – his first choice had been an unimpressive warrior not unlike Kigoma and Uchenna – she went to him and convinced him to choose Kahini instead. Without her intervention he wouldn't have been here.

Then she decided to put him at the spear point. It was a clever decision, with Kahini being an experienced scout. He would recognize most mechanical and poison traps as well as notice an ambush in advance. However, he had no chance to recognize the runes, to identify the fire trap waiting for him. At that point it would have been Gasira's duty to step in. She had failed him. And now he was dead.

Gasira was certainly no woman prone to weeping attacks or prolonged self-reproaches. His death however had hit her hard and prompted her cruel temper to flare. Regretfully it equally prompted her to listen to Rodrigo's ill advice and act rashly. Paul had tried to stop her but she didn't listen. She wanted Giovanni to pay for this.

Finding him hadn't been all too difficult. Following his magical traces, blasting apart two more magical traps, and hurrying faster through the narrow corridors than it was wise to do.

Gasira rounded the last corner and in the same moment she saw Giovanni, she let loose of a dark stream of magic. Giovanni wasn't fast enough to deflect the attack, but he had unnatural luck on his side. Hakima had noticed the pursuers and turned around at exactly the right moment to intercept the attack. It hit her in the shoulder and pushed her back a step. The brutish woman grunted from the impact, shuddered a second and went to attack in return. Giovanni ordered Burny to assist her, while he hastily erected some kind of barrier around himself for protection. It looked like a thick swarm of mosquitos, some of them easily as long as his little finger.

Tug-tug-tug!

Paul's silenced rifle made noises like a coughing dog with serious asthma. Three bullets hit Hakima into her broad chest but barely slowed her down. Burny, surprisingly agile for his current condition, sprinted towards Rodrigo and engaged him in a hand-to-hand fight, his bones flaring up even more.

Gasira pulled a little arrow from her wrist pouch and blew it towards Giovanni. It raced towards its target surprisingly fast but only hit the shielding mosquitos, destroying some of them as a small cloud of acidic fumes appeared on impact. Giovanni in return grabbed a handful of small bones from a pocket and threw them on the ground. Within seconds they turned into six full-fledged skeletons, far weaker than the horde he had created half an hour ago but strong enough to shield him against direct attacks and support his two front fighters.

Rodrigo dodged another fiery embrace, jumped down and rolled on the ground, only to smash into one of the skeletons. Without stopping for a single second he lashed out, destroyed the skeleton with a back hand sweep of his sword, and followed up with a backward flip to get a little space. Regretfully neither the three skeletons attacking him nor Burny really appreciated his acrobatics. Burny continued his attacks and two times Rodrigo wasn't able to dodge fast enough. The burns hurt like hell, but he continued to fight, slowly taking out of the fight one skeleton after another. It takes too long, he realized.

Gasira exchanged spell for spell with her personal nemesis. Slowly she realized she had underestimated him. Two times he had been able to penetrate her defences already, hitting her with spells a traditional wizard would call a bone-breaker and a cutting curse. Howsoever you call it: the attacks had broken at least one rib and caused a wound to bleed profusely in her abdomen. In return she had mostly destroyed his weird shield and made him howl with another acid attack that graced his face. Giovanni was fighting defensibly and Gasira wondered about his reasons to do so. Only then did she realize: his other skeleton crew, he only has to call them. They'll hit us from the rear. And really: there were the sounds of many bony feet running on the cold stone.

"He's calling his skeletons," she warned her teammates. Paul dodged another attack from Hakima, shot one of the few remaining skeletons of the smaller group in the head and turned around. As soon as the bigger group of skeleton warriors rounded the corner, he opened fire. Within three seconds he was able to take five of them down. He would have continued to spread mayhem among them, but wasn't nimble enough to dodge Hakima's next attack. She succeeded in grabbing him, and whirled him around to smash him against a wall. The ugly sound of breaking bones permeated the corridor. Changing direction, Hakima didn't let lose but smashed him against the other wall. This time one of his legs gave way. Only when Gasira hit the hulking woman straight in the face with an acid arrow, did she let go of her poor victim. Paul sank to the ground, beaten and nearly unconscious.

The sight of his old friend enraged Rodrigo beyond measure. With renewed strength he continued to fight, decapitating the last two skeletons with two strikes before turning to Burny. The fire in his blood doubled his speed as well. Rodrigo knew that he wouldn't be able to continue fighting like this for long, but he knew as well that he had to make use of this and be swift. He had to destroy Burny before Hakima was able to get a hold on Gasira. The fragile Vampire wouldn't survive a beating like Paul received. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Giovanni beating a hasty retreat. He had no time to wonder about it. Deflecting Burny's next attacks, he hit his right knee in return, weakened it and slowed him down. Using his longer range, he tried to avoid the raging flames and hewed off one of his arms. The second arm followed moments later, and ignoring the pain he kicked Burny into the chest, driving him against the wall.

Tug-tug!

Two holes appeared in Burny's forehead, stapling him against the wall just long enough for Rodrigo to hew his head off, offing the flaming fiend at last. He turned around to see his friend smiling weakly, sitting on the ground and barely able to hold his rifle.

In the meantime, Gasira did her best to dodge Hakima's constant attacks. However, already injured, she wasn't able to fully avoid those mighty arms. Her left arm had already been hit twice, spraining her muscles and sinews and making it mostly useless. Her overhasty spells didn't do much to slow the woman down and it was only a question of time until she lost this unbalanced duel.

"Help her," Paul rasped and Rodrigo obeyed with a curt nod. He had barely a glance for the fight raging behind them, for the reason of Giovanni's surprising flight. Somehow, out of nowhere, Hafsa had appeared in the middle of the big skeleton group and played whirlwind of doom right now. Her scimitars flying faster than the eye could follow, she jumped back and forth, destroying another foe with every attack series.

Hakima punched Gasira with a meaty fist and her back head connected strongly with the hard stone wall, for a moment stunning her and certainly giving her a hell of a headache, perhaps even a concussion. Before she had a chance to use the advantage, Hakima felt Rodrigo's sword cutting into her shoulder. Whirling around, she felt the blade slash against her left thigh, instantly following up with a well-targeted thrust to her right knee. With both legs injured, Hakima lost a big part of her speed and was far less dangerous now. Gasira was able to enhance the distance and, feeling more secure now, showered the warrior-lady with a broad number of spells, while Rodrigo distracted her with more attacks to her legs and arms, jumping back and forth like a rubber ball, not giving her a chance for retaliation, while he did his best to ignore the raging pain from the burns.

Finally, Hakima toppled to the ground like an axed tree, the floor shuddering under the impact. Only now did Rodrigo have time to turn around and admire the sight of Hafsa surrounded by more than a dozen shredded skeletons. She had the gut to grin in a smug way.

"Took you long enough."

Brutal Final (both teams)

Badawi was no born leader and he knew it. He preferred to work alone or at most with the handful of trusted members of his hunting team. Now however he was pushed into this, with Jarbeaux mad as a hatter and Giovanni fooling around somewhere. Blasted!

Antonio and Uchenna were dead; Mateo and Hakima accompanied that damned necromancer. Joel, the last of the trio of Spanish thugs, stayed with the bound and shackled Jarbeaux, trying to keep him under control. Badawi intended to cut his ties in case of an attack. He would create quite some havoc while attacking everybody in sight. This left only Kigoma to keep an eye on Courtenay, who at least was obeying every command. You have to be happy about the little joys in Unlife.

"You'll stay with Paul…" Hafsa tried to order but Gasira shook her head.

"Not a chance. I'll accompany you." She looked shaken from the fight but still very stubborn.

As Hafsa moved to argue with her, Paul stopped her. "I'll be okay. Take her with you. You'll need her to cover your back." Hafsa's nostrils flared for a moment before she agreed with a curt nod. Paul smiled wistfully. "Please protect him," Paul nodded towards a scowling Rodrigo. "He's a bit rash sometimes."

"I noticed," Hafsa grinned. "I promise."

"Here," Paul fetched three small vials from a pocket, tossed two of them with a dark red liquid towards Gasira and Rodrigo. "Mixed blood for replenishing," he answered the unspoken question. Pure blood from one Vampire could create a bond with the recipient, something most Vampires tried to avoid. Blood mixed from several Vampires hadn't the same effect but was less effective at the same time. Both Vampires accepted the vials and gulped the liquid down, instantly feeling better.

The last vial contained some nearly black liquid. "Blood from Pascal's Sire," Paul told Hafsa while offering it. The eyes of all three Vampires went wide. "He expected you might need it," he answered Rodrigo's silent question.

Hafsa rolled the vial around between her fingers for a moment. Pascal's Sire had been dead for centuries. His blood however wouldn't have lost its potency. With a curt nod she accepted it in the end, and followed the others' example, gulping it down, and welcoming the raging fire in her stomach.

This was going to be fun.

They had followed the corridors for a while now and Badawi's gut feeling told him that the exit wasn't all too far away anymore. There hadn't been any battle noises for a while, so he reacted instantly as hasty steps announced 'someone'. Seconds later Pietro Giovanni rushed around a corner and came to a hasty stop. His face, while trying to make the impression of someone who didn't care about anything, told Badawi enough: the necromancer was frightened.

"What happened?" Both Vampires asked at the same time, Giovanni's eyes resting warily on Jarbeaux and his precarious situation.

"A trap," Badawi explained with a disgruntled sigh. "Hafsa prepared Courtenay with a hallucinogen. Now he is in a blood rage." He watched Jarbeaux for a moment. His 'boss' had relaxed a bit but not very much since his team had overpowered him. Every once in a while he tried to break his bounds, but hadn't been lucky so far. "We had to bind him after he killed Uchenna and one of the Spaniels." Joel glared at the insult but kept his mouth shut. "What about you? Where are Hakima and Mateo?" While he couldn't care less for Mateo, he would feel far better with Hakima's assuring mass at his side. He trusted her, something he couldn't say about the rest of the team, perhaps Kigoma aside.

"Both dead," Giovanni shrugged like it was unimportant. Badawi fumed inwardly but realized that it was an act only. Anyhow: he had to continue.

"Let's hurry. We're near the exit."

"We're close to them," Hafsa hissed. Her already impressive senses had been immensely boosted by the blood Paul offered. For a while, an hour at most, it would be running through her veins like liquid fire, burning, and urging her to maim and kill. She felt a bit light-headed and far stronger than usual. Without her strong self-control she certainly would have succumbed to the pull of the blood.

With Gasira's help they had avoided a few of Giovanni's magical traps while Hafsa's enhanced senses let her dance around anything Badawi left behind. They made a terrible trio and Hafsa was quite happy to have listened to Paul, and to have Gasira accompany her.

"Two-pronged attack?" Rodrigo asked.

Hafsa shook her head. "No time for such a tactic, we're too close to the exit and I don't know the ways around here. We have to spring the attack and make it quick and dirty."

"Exactly how I like it," he said with a slight leer towards Gasira. Surprisingly she grinned back instead of rolling her eyes. Perhaps it was because of him rescuing her. Or it was the effect of the blood replenisher that pulled her animalistic side to the front. Anyhow: she indulged his advances – for now.

"Let's have fun."

It will happen every moment, Badawi could feel it. The exit was within his grasp but he had no doubt that they wouldn't get there without a last fight. It will be like in a book or in your off-the-rack action movie, he grinned without humour: your eyes already on the exit, your feet trying to reach the point and at the last second…

It didn't happen exactly like that but close enough. They just entered the last big chamber. Giovanni was playing with something in his hands. Kigoma was glancing around nervously while Joel dragged Jarbeaux towards the next corridor. Something warned Badawi and he jumped behind a stone fountain, barely avoiding a poisoned dagger thrown at him. Looking up, he watched Giovanni hurl something, the object exploding into a cloud of sharp bone splinters. Hafsa simply jumped in the air to avoid it, executing an impressive somersault and landing like a cat, while Rodrigo simply shielded his face with his left arm and advanced, ignoring the dozen small wounds and cuts.

Three, they're only three. And the bitch seems to be injured, he noticed happily. Drawing his long knives, Badawi moved forward to meet Hafsa in battle, leaving her comrades to his team.

With a last glance towards Jarbeaux – the team's leader reaching new heights of agitation within seconds but still securely bound – Joel joined the fight and rushed to support Kigoma against Rodrigo. To his right, two streams of magic battled each other, one mostly consisting of bones, the other mostly acid and poison. It wasn't a nice sight and everybody did his best to stay clear of that hissing and fuming cloud between Gasira and Giovanni. To the necromancer's regret, his skeleton horde had been vaporized and he had been unable to "hire" other underlings on his way. However, there were four stone guardians watching the chamber. Perhaps he could make use of them. Slowly, not to offer Gasira an open flank, he moved towards the pair of statues in the rear. Time for a little game, he smirked.

Gasira watched him through narrowed eyes. She instantly recognized the imminent danger, knew how difficult the stone guardians would be to fight. Two can play that game, Badawi, she sneered.

"Kahini," she mentally called. "I need your service, Kahini. The hunt isn't over yet."

She wasn't certain if he would obey her as she had no real power over him. However, he was obviously furious enough about his sudden and untimely death to use the chance she offered. "What do you want, Gasira?" His voice answered her and she felt him close despite him being invisible.

"Assist me in my fight. Possess one of the statues," she pointed towards the pair of stone lions near the entrance. She felt his grin, the only answer she got. Grinding noises told her that Giovanni had been able to activate his pair of lions, something answered only moments later by similar noises from the entrance. Gasira send Giovanni a smirk, the necromancer watching the unfolding events and looking completely flabbergasted. He hadn't known Gasira to have animation abilities like him.

With Hafsa and Badawi making a deadly dance around each other and Rodrigo taunting his two opponents, the middle of the chamber was soon filled with the sounds of battle between three stony lions. While Giovanni had the benefit of numbers, Gasira's lion was far superior in speed and battle tactic. The necromancer needed only a short time to realize that his creations would lose the fight and very soon to add, something utterly baffling him.

We're losing, Badawi noticed as well. Hafsa was even faster and stronger than he expected. Her eyes were glowing in a dark red. Even the potions he had drunk in preparation were not enough to be a match for the Arabic assassin. Rodrigo was slowly getting the upper hand against the remaining pair of Vampire warriors while Giovanni's lions were losing their crushing fight. While he seemed to have the upper hand in the magical duel itself, it wouldn't be enough to compensate for the rest.

I have to cut him loose, he realized, glancing towards the bound Jarbeaux. It was a wild card that could mean the end for them all, but if he did nothing he would surely lose.

Hafsa nearly beat Badawi in his race towards Jarbeaux, but it still wasn't fast enough. With a single slash of his left-hand knife he cut his ties, only to be impaled on one of Hafsa's scimitars. He staggered back, while Hafsa had to jump back to avoid the freed maniac's fist. Perhaps I deserve this, she mused, having been the one to put him in this state.

Badawi watched her with a broad smirk, while suppressing the pain. It was a wicked wound in his side and he should take care of it immediately, but he hadn't the time to spare. Following Jarbeaux while staying away just enough to not be hit incidentally, he hoped to get an opportunity for a lucky shot. Hafsa in the meantime lured Jarbeaux towards Rodrigo and his tag team. The pair of thugs noticed the danger in their rear, glancing nervously in their direction. It was a bad decision, allowing Rodrigo to land a few serious strikes on them, mostly to cripple their arms and legs. With a malicious grin Hafsa executed another somersault, this time passing Joel and Kigoma and landing at Rodrigo's side.

While Hafsa, in a fit of humour, gave Rodrigo a high five with her scimitar against his sword, the pair of thugs found themselves suddenly in the immediate attention range of their enraged boss. It wasn't a pretty sight. While Kigoma mostly dodged the first attack – through pushing Joel in Jarbeaux's direction – his 'comrade' wasn't so lucky. Blood and particles of flesh and bones splattered in all directions while Jarbeaux did a good job at dissecting his own man.

"Occupy him a bit," Hafsa gestured towards Jarbeaux. Not waiting for an answer, she turned around towards Badawi and sneered. "Your time is up, Badawi."

For a second fear flickered in his eyes but within moments he pulled his act together and tried to appear confident. "Don't think so, little girl."

Instead of enraging her, it only amused Hafsa. Gales of laughter rolled through the chamber, before she suddenly jumped forwards, her scimitars eager to end this.

Occupy him, she said, Rodrigo grumbled. Easier said than done. Only his long experience and endless training sessions with Baron Pascal had allowed him to survive so far. Pascal was the fastest warrior he ever met – aside from his brother perhaps – and that meant something with Hafsa dancing around on the other side of the chamber. The duel between her and Badawi lasted longer than expected, but the African assassin hadn't his reputation for nothing. Hafsa was winning, but she still had to be careful. A single error and Badawi would cut her down.

Dodging the next couple of attacks with some moves he learned in his time at the bullfights in Pamplona, Rodrigo slapped Kigoma's weapon aside with his own sword and made some silly "roll-over-your-side" move to get behind the man, suddenly bringing the man dangerously near to his boss. Kigoma only needed half a second to realize his precarious situation, but it was half a second too long.

His screams filled the chamber only for so long.

Giovanni pressed the attack. He had to kill her and fast. All around him the battle was going to hell. Even freeing Jarbeaux hadn't offered the advantage he had hoped for. Those pair of fighters were just too fast and agile. He glanced to the left only once, but Gasira noticed it. As Giovanni sent another stream of magic towards Courtenay – hoping to at least achieve a draw – Gasira was easily able to deflect the attack.

The next reaction however nobody had expected.

Pulling himself up to his full height, Courtenay moved around to face his attacker. Giovanni hesitated for a moment, not certain why this 'thing' behaved like this. His eyes widened as Courtenay pulled his rifle from his shoulder and started to load the antique weapon with one of the cartridges from his belt. Giovanni had enough time to cast two more spells – both deflected by Gasira who was watching the matter with equal curiosity – before Courtenay drew his rifle against his shoulder and aimed at the necromancer.

Can a Vampire pale? This one could. He started to run, not certain what kind of weapon and cartridge this was. Yes, it was an antique weapon and he an old and tough Vampire. But with the White Hag his creator, he expected Courtenay's weapon to be a serious danger. Sidestepping like a fleeing rabbit, he tried to reach some cover. Courtenay obviously had an endless amount of patience. You get this when crossing an elephant hunter with a Zombie.

Four steps to the cover. Three. Two. Giovanni jumped.

BAM!

The heavy rifle rocked in Courtenay's grip but his aim was true. The impact big as a thumb, the exit more like a fist, the cartridge easily bore through his head and didn't leave enough of his face for his own mother to identify him. Gasira watched the matter and raised a single eyebrow with appreciation, careful to step behind a cover should Courtenay see a danger in her. He did not. Instead he shouldered his weapon and stood stone silent again, as if nothing ever happened.

Both Hafsa and Badawi got startled by the sudden noise. Hafsa however recovered faster, having expected Courtenay's weapon to be more than a simple outfit. Badawi tried to bat away her next strike, but stumbled because of the first wound. He felt his body weakening from blood loss. More and more he slowed down with Hafsa not showing any signs of exhaustion.

Time to pay the bill, he mused, remembering all too well the members of Hafsa's order he had killed in the past. She'll get a promotion certainly, he thought absent-mindedly, no knowing that she had left the assassin order decades ago.

The end was a bit anti-climactic. Hafsa lured Badawi into a full-out attack, danced around it and – nearly casually – stabbed him in the back with her left scimitar. Waiting a few seconds for Badawi to stagger around, nearly too weak to keep hold of his weapons, she suddenly whirled around to decapitate him.

Hafsa allowed herself a long look around. Giovanni was dead, his lions crushed to stone powder on the ground, while Gasira's lion appeared to have a silent conversation with his mistress.

"A little help, perhaps."

Rodrigo's slightly angered voice prompted her to turn around. He was still running circles around the far stronger but slower Jarbeaux. Hafsa sighed. No rest for the wicked. Grabbing the grips of her scimitars, she moved towards Rodrigo.

"Coming."

Somewhere not too far away

"We have a decision."

"It wasn't unexpected."

"No, it was not."

"And now?"

The White Hag shrugged. "Now we'll fulfil our part of the deal."

A/N

Frederick Courteney Selous: real person of history, used as a model for fictional character Allan Quatermain.

Hafsa's Team:

Hafsa, Arabic Vampire and Master Assassin

Rodrigo and Paul, two Vampires following Baron Pascal, Spanish sword-fighter and French Sharpshooter

Gasira and Kahini, two African Vampires (witch-doctor and scout)

Jarbeaux's Team:

Vidal Jarbeaux, French/Spanish Vampire and diplomat

Pietro Giovanni, Italian Vampire and Necromancer

Joel, Antonio and Mateo ("Burny"): three Spanish Vampire thugs

Hakima (hulking woman), Badawi (assassin), Kigoma and Uchenna (warriors): four African Vampires