Chapter 112: Madness

Book 3, Chapter 11 - Madness

Jackrin's feet pattered against the black floors of the palace. He crept along the dark halls, his sight very clear and his soles very cold. He searched, head moving from side to side, eyes flickering past each and every corner. He had killed several more guards on his way up from the dungeons. The Vampires were weak. They spoke of rationing their existing supply of blood.

Jack didn't know which way to go. He wanted to kill everything. Ruin everything . But most of all, he wanted his sister dead. He figured she would be in the palace's uppermost floors.

He found a window leading outside. There were very little windows within the palace. The Vampire race had little love for sunlight, though they were not hindered by it in the least. He smashed the window using the guardsman's spear that he still held. Pieces of shattered glass fell inside. Jack did not fear it. His lust for vengeance burned brighter than any other emotion. He stepped upon the glass shards with his bare feet, clenching his teeth as he did so.

Cold wind of the Kal'Kar Mountains entered the palace. Jack could see the mist of his every breath. His heart was beating fast and his body was warm. But he knew that even in this condition, he would not last very long during night in the mountains. “Fear not, Jackrin,” he whispered to himself.

Hush now hush now please don't cry

Mother's going to stay with you through the night

Sweet dreams sweet dreams far and wide

Mother's going to sing you a lullaby

Restless children are naughty

Stay still, sleep well, and grow pretty

Dream of white doves and lilies

Know that you're loved and will always be

Hush now hush now my sweet child

Less you wake the wolf of the wild

Big and bad and scary too

Don't fret, mother will come hug you!

Jack took in a deep breath. His mother's voice emboldened him. Her blood strengthened him. He crawled out the window.

He looked up towards the peak of the palace. The night sky was shrouded by dark grey clouds. He saw footholds he might use to climb. But the way up was long, and the footholds were frosted. He placed the spear in his mouth, bit down hard, and began climbing.

The weather was against him. Snowfall began that very moment. Harsh winds beat at his back as bitterly as the dungeon guards had lashed him. He held on to whatever his small hands found as he moved further up. He could feel the skin of his fingertips tearing away. Too often did his shaggy and dirty blonde hair blow into his eyes and force him to hold on to a ledge, waiting for the wind to blow the opposite direction before climbing further.

Jack's hands trembled from their waning strength. He bit down harder on the spear haft and pulled himself up with one last push of strength. He raised his legs onto the thin ledge and stood upright to give his aching arms respite. Jack shivered, shaking off the frost in his hair and on his shoulders. The heat in his body was fading fast. The blood at his feet had already solidified into ice.

He squinted up, taking measure of how much further climbing remained. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted the silhouette of a female from the window of a tower.

Karine . It had to be. He needed it to be.

Jack made his way across the ledge and then jumped down to a nearby roof. His feet stung when he landed. The thin sheet of snow covering the roof nearly caused him to slip and fall to his death. He looked down and was surprised to see how far he had come.

Hush now hush now please don't cry

Jack moved along, humming the lullaby as he went. He reached the tower and began climbing once more. His enhanced strength and sense was losing the war of attrition against the treacherous weather of the mountains.

A gap in the clouds appeared. The light of one of Illusterra's moons briefly pierced through the dark. Jack could see his way up. Could see all the different footholds he would need to grab to reach the window. But many of them were covered in ice. It doesn't matter . He needed to climb.

Needed to kill.

Atop your corpses I shall dance

If only I but had a chance.

He had his chance now. The only one he would ever get. Higher. He climbed even higher. His hand slipped from the ice. He cried out and the spear fell out of his mouth. Jack held on for dear life with just one hand. Slowly, he dragged himself back up. He dug his jagged fingernails into the thin layer of ice and climbed higher.

Mother's going to stay with you through the night

At last, Jackrin reached the sill of the round glass window. It was fogged. He peered inside and saw the woman sitting at a bedside, staring at the floor. Karine Irina Malkieri. His half-sister. And the woman who murdered his mother. His fist twisted as he opened his mouth and bared his fangs at her. She finally looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. Jack curled his hands into a ball and struck the window as hard as his unbalanced footing would allow. His enhanced strength was enough. The window shattered. His fist had been bloodied. Small shards of glass had gotten stuck between his knuckles. But he did not feel pain. Heat once again began returning to his body.

***

Sweet dreams sweet dreams far and wide

Mother's going to sing you a lullaby

Karine stared in awe as her brother climbed through the window. His hair was long and dirty, and his clothes were dark and torn. He sneered at her. Blood dripped from his fist. He was nothing like the adorable memory she had of him. He stepped on the broken glass with his bare feet. They were turning a pale shade of blue from the cold.

Did he climb up here? Karine stood up. She meant to reach out to him. Meant to ask if he was alright. Ask about Sarah even. But she didn't have the opportunity. Jack lunged towards her with frightening speed. It was night out, but she hadn't had any human blood in a while. She couldn't react. She was tackled on to her bed and her brother wrapped his hands around her neck.

Hush now hush now please don't cry

Mother's going to stay with you through the night

She saw madness in his eyes. Saw fury. A wrath so terrible, it threatened to burn everything in its path. Jack smiled maniacally as his grip around her throat tightened. Tears fell out of his eyes and on her struggling face. He laughed as he sang. Sang the lullaby that she had heard Sarah sing to him so many times.

Restless children are naughty

Stay still, sleep well, and grow pretty

Karine struggled as she tried to pry Jack's arms away from her. She felt his nails dig into her flesh. With a burst of strength, she pushed him off and threw him against the wall. Sarah was dead. She wasn't certain, but her brother's actions confirmed as much. His immense strength. His anger. The fact that he had climbed up the palace just to reach her. He wanted revenge. He believed her to be at fault. She wondered how he had obtained such strength.

A gasp escaped her lips as realization struck her. “Jack, did you…?”

He stood back up. He hadn't been weakened in the slightest. The same madness was still in his blue eyes. That beautiful sea was now frothing like floating foam, as if poisoned. The same wide grin still there. Blood rolled down the side of his face. He came after her again, thrashing wildly, trying to hurt her in any way possible.

Less you wake the wolf of the wild

Big and bad and scary too

Jack continued to sing. He had been broken. He saw nothing. Karine defended herself as much as she could. She felt her own anger rising. “Stop Jack!” she pleaded. But he would not listen. Her head began to hurt and she recalled memories of her own parents. The pain of losing them. The hatred she had felt. She stopped defending and tried retaliating. Her room was being torn to shreds. Bed posts broke. Hanging paintings fell and were ripped. Feathers from pillows spilled out. Karine's arms were bloodied from all the scratches Jack had inflicted on her. But his condition was much worse. Though still, his attacks did not cease.

“I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!” he shrieked. “I'll rip you apart. I'll bathe in your blood. I'll drag your hideous face through the mud!”

Karine was shocked to hear such words coming out of the mouth of a child. It saddened her. And it angered her as well. She fought back harder. It hurt inside. It wasn't fair. Her brother wasn't the only one suffering. He was being unreasonable. But he's just a child . A child that just lost his mother .

So what? I lost my mother when I was young as well.

She was suffering inside just as much as him. Karine threw her brother's frail body away and he crashed into her bedside table. The twisted dagger fell before his feet.

Hush now… hush now… please don't cry

Mother's going to stay… with you…

Jack's maniacal grin grew even wider. He drew Revenant's Fang from its sheath and slowly stepped towards Karine. He cackled loud and clear. Moonlight pierced through the clouds and entered through the broken window. The madness in Jack's eyes twinkled. The whites of his eyes were turning red.

Hush now hush now please don't cry

His once sweet voice was growing harsher by the second. Karine crawled backwards until her back was pressed against the wall. He stepped closer to her. And closer. Until he was just a foot away from her. He got down on his knees. She could feel the warmth of his blood scented breath. Jack raised his arms in the air, both hands clutching the hilt of the dagger.

Hush now hush now my sweet child

Sweet dreams sweet dreams… far and wide.

Jack brought the dagger down towards Karine's heart. She grabbed hold of his thin arms and struggled to keep them away. Her breaths became laboured. The tip of the dagger inched closer to her.

Restless children are naughty

Big and bad and scary too

Karine saw more tears well in her brother's eyes. His madness wrought expression changed into one of sorrow.

Don't fret, mother will come hug you!

Jack's strength began to wane. Slowly, Karine was able to push his arms away. She realized that she was crying herself. “Don't fret… don't fret. Mother… will hug… me,” he muttered. “I'm sorry. I'm… so sorry, Jackrin.”

Karine cried harder. She couldn't decide whether she had made a mistake or not. Deep in her heart she hated humans. Hated Sarah. Hated Jack. But that was only one half of her heart. The other half did not believe any of those things. But the latter half was weak. And soft. She couldn't be weak. Weakness would expose them to villains. The same villains that had killed her mother. The same villains that had killed her father. She was queen now. She needed to be strong.

There was a sudden heavy drumming against her bedroom doors. Both Jack and Karine looked up. The door crashed open and guards in white uniform spilled into the room. “Your majesty, the human woman is dead. The half-breed escaped and managed to kill numerous—” the guard began, but he saw Jack. Jack still held the dagger high above his head, and Karine still held on to his arms. They were no longer struggling against each other. “You wretch! Get your hands off of the queen this instant.” The guard rushed towards them. He grabbed Jack's frail body by the throat and threw it toward the door. The man drew the sword at his waist, as did the other guards standing in the doorway.

***

Jack groaned as he picked himself up. He still clutched his mother's twisted dagger. He had accidentally pricked himself after the guard had thrown him. The blade had turned red. He sat upright on his knees, surrounded by other vampire guards looking down at him. He looked towards his sister. Karine was still on the floor, crying. Their eyes met. Jack's anger was renewed. But his strength was gone. The power that had come from consuming blood was nearly spent. He couldn't kill Karine anymore. He was too weak. And he was now surrounded. His head dropped and his shaggy hair covered his eyes. But he refused death. His fingers curled. His will had yet to break.

The first guard carefully approached him with sword in hand. Jack looked towards the window.

Escape.

As long as he was alive, there would be another day. Another chance.

The window won't work. He would never survive the fall. With the last of his enhanced strength, he whipped around and jumped towards the door. His dagger found the throat of an unsuspecting guard. They both fell to the ground with Jack on top of him. He pulled the dagger out and ran through a small gap between the others. He was too small and quick for them to grab. They had their weapons drawn but that only slowed them down even more. They couldn't swing them in such a narrow corridor when standing next to each other.

Jack ran as hard as he could. He reached the tower's spiral staircase and jumped down the steps, somehow avoiding falling forward and tumbling to his death. He inhaled deep breaths through his mouth. His lungs felt as if they were about to burst by the time he'd reached the bottom of the stairs. His thin legs were aching with pain, begging him to stop moving. The soles of his feet stung especially. He kept going. Kept taking more steps. Kept ignoring the angered shouts behind him. The others were catching up. There were heavy footsteps before him as well. Numerous warriors in long white coats patrolled the interior of the black palace. They were all searching for a single child. A half-breed. A monster cursed at birth.

Jack couldn't stop the stream of tears from rolling down his cheeks. He had nowhere to go. No place to escape to. No home. No parents. He belonged nowhere. No one would accept him. Forgotten memories came back to him in a torrent. He wanted to go back in time. Wanted to be sung to sleep. Wanted to go trekking in the woods with Karine.

Karine .

It was all her fault. How could she have blamed him and his mother? She must have hated them from the beginning. That was the only conclusion Jack could come to. He cackled loudly. That despicable woman had deceived them from the start. His laughter gave away his location.

But even backed up into a corner like he was, Jack refused to give in. He remembered what his mother had said. ' Plunge the dagger into your own heart' . Even if it sounded foolish, Jack would not give the full blooded Vampires the pleasure of torturing him. Of killing him like they did his mother. He would take his own life before that happened.

He stabbed his own heart with the red blade of the twisted dagger as the footsteps and cries of palace guards neared him. Jack's eyes went wide. His chest hurt terribly but he felt a surge of power flow within him. It was like consuming too much sugar all at once, but many times greater. His confidence was restored, and with it, insanity was restored as well. He pulled the dagger out and laughed. Deep within his mind, he was conscious of the fact that he was on a time limit. A part of him wanted to turn back and kill Karine. But just like a cornered animal, Jack's instincts prioritized survival first.

He continued running, dashing past many guard units. Some were hardly aware of him. Others managed to catch sight of him and shouted for him to stop as they hopelessly chased a much faster prey. Jack felt a consoling feeling of pride. Borrowed though his power may have been, he, a half-breed, was not inferior to full bloods.

He continued on until he came to a grand hall with a tall red chair. The chair seemed to extend to the ceiling. It was the throne room that Karine had often talked about. And on the opposite end were large black gates that led outside.

Freedom. Escape.

Jack ran as hard as he could. He stopped before the door and pushed with all his might. It slowly creaked open. He squeezed through a gap just large enough for him to go through.

And then he was once again greeted by the harsh weather of the Kal'Kar Mountains.

Freezing winds whipped this way and that. Snowfall had yet to come to a stop. The white sheet on the ground was more than half a foot deep. And Jackrin had no shoes. He cared not. He grit his teeth and ran. He ran bare feet through the snow. The enhanced power kept him warm for a time. But he could already feel that power beginning to fade. He reached the black city where all other Vampires resided.

It was still night. The time when the Vampire race were active. There were many others moving about in the city, whether it was kids playing around, or adults working and shop keeping. They all stared at him as he ran past, his pace beginning to slow considerably. They stared at the dirty boy with unruly long blonde hair, likely wondering what such a shabbily dressed boy was doing running so desperately through the cold.

Jack reached the end of the city. He didn't know where to go. The city was placed in the crater of an old volcano. His eyes searched the snow covered rocks of the mountains. He saw an opening. A cave. He thought to hide in it. But he knew the plan to be foolish. The Kal'Kar Mountains belonged to Vampires. They knew every detail of the place.

But Jack had no options left. He trudged through the snow, feet growing numb with each step. He entered the cave mouth, grateful to the end of biting winds. Darkness embraced him, but his sight remained as clear as day — for now . Jack continued through the cave, hoping to find some place to hide. Though even if he did, the mountain's interior was hardly any less cold than outside.

Long minutes of trekking passed. A distant ball of white appeared and began growing in size. The exit. He feared stepping back outside. Snowfall had at last ended. Moonlight shone on the harsh expanse set before him. He wanted to turn back and stay in the cave. The power that had come from the dagger was nearly gone. Fatigue and pain began returning to his limbs.

He couldn't hide in the cave. It was still too cold. He would eventually freeze. He needed to leave the Kal'kar. Far out in the distance, Jack saw something that looked to be a red wall. The rune barrier Karine and the guard had spoken of. Something to trap the Vampires. He couldn't leave the mountains. He was trapped as well. But he dared to hope. Dared to run once more before dawn arrived. Before the last of his borrowed strength disappeared.

His entire body ached. Jack tripped as he was descending the mountains. He tumbled along the decline while getting covered in snow. The world went by in a blur. Everything spun violently even after he'd come to a stop. Moments passed before his twisting vision began to settle. Jack looked up. The red barrier lay but a few feet before him.

His heart thumped.

He dragged himself through the snow with just his arms. He reached out and touched the barrier. It glowed a brighter shade of red at his touch. His hand went through. He dragged himself further until his whole body was beyond the wall.

Hope filled him. He stood up while crying, knees trembling. He was free. He had made it beyond the barrier. His human half had allowed him to pass through. He moved forward, taking slow and labored steps. His nose grew runny and the back of his throat hurt terribly. He needed to find somewhere to stay. Needed to find something to eat —or the weather would still claim him. The snow was not so deep at the base of the mountains. His feet screamed when stepping upon sharp rocks, needles of pain shooting up his shins. In the distance, he spotted a woodland. The same pine woods he would go running around in with his sister.

His home was just on the other side. There would be food there. And warmth. And his mother with her baked treats. Everything would go back to normal soon…

Jack slowly stepped towards the woods. One hand still held the twisted dagger. The other was outstretched and reached towards the trees. His vision blurred. He tripped over his own foot and fell forward.

Everything faded to black.