Read Online 03 - Evolution by Greg Cox - (ebook by Undead) - Free Book Online
Authors: Greg Cox - (ebook by Undead)
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Singe had still been alive when last Kraven had seen
him. He wondered briefly who had actually killed the worthless lycan,
Selene or Viktor?
What does it matter? he
decided. The loose-lipped scientist had already caused enough trouble. I only regret that I can’t kill the bastard myself.
A river of blood had flowed from the lycan’s crushed
skull, pooling and coagulating atop the engraved bronze hatches. Dark,
clotted gore defiled the raised letter M on
Marcus’ plaque. The smell of congealed lycan blood turned Kraven’s
stomach.
He pointed at the hatch. “Open it.”
“Yes, regent.” Miklos himself knelt beside Marcus’
hatch. Heedless of the sticky black goo, he inserted his beefy fingers
into the cold metal grooves surrounding the M. Ancient gears, untouched for over two centuries, resisted his efforts at
first, but then an inner disk rotated beneath his fingers, activating
the dormant locking mechanism. Miklos rose and stepped aside as the
intricate designs adorning the hatch began to shift of their own accord.
Kraven heard the muted rumble of a hidden clockwork apparatus slowly
coming back to life. The circular plaque sank into the floor, then split
apart into four wedge-shaped segments that retracted from sight,
exposing the top of the steel sarcophagus below. Another M, illuminated in lapis lazuli, confirmed
that Marcus dwelt within.
But not for much longer, Kraven vowed. He fully intended to incinerate the Elder’s remains until
naught but ashes were left behind. “Ready your weapons!” he informed the
guards. Tonight a new era begins in the history of
the coven. The era of Kraven the Supreme…
The crypt itself seemed to shudder as a harsh grinding
noise suddenly came from below. Kraven’s eyes widened in alarm. He had
attended numerous Awakenings in his time and they had never produced
such a clangor. Instead of operating smoothly, as it had down through
the centuries, the ancient apparatus sounded as though it was tearing
itself apart. Steel ground loudly against stone, producing a discordant
clamor that caused several of Kraven’s guards to place their hands over
their ears. They looked in confusion to Kraven, who was no less
dumbfounded than they. His jaw dropped.
Something’s wrong, he realized. Horribly wrong.
A look of utter dread washed over his face as the ornate
sarcophagus lurched upward from beneath the floor. The empty coffin was
torn to shreds, as though Marcus had literally clawed his way out of the
metal tomb!
But how? Kraven thought. Why? The Elder should have been dreaming in
silence, dead to the world. What had roused him from two centuries of
unbroken slumber?
An awful suspicion came over him. He shot a worried
glance at the body of the dead lycan, lying only a few yards away. His
eyes traced the stream of dried blood flowing from Singe’s corpse to the
empty shaft that had been concealed beneath the bronze M. Crimson stains could be seen within the
mangled wreckage of the sarcophagus.
Singe’s blood! he realized
in horror. Beneath his sodden garments, a cold sweat broke out over his
body. The lycan’s blood must have awakened Marcus!
A dry, raspy sound emerged from the murky shaft. Unseen
lungs wheezed noisily.
Marcus?
Kraven backed away from the shaft. Every instinct in his
body urged him to bolt for the stairs and leave the accursed crypt
behind, but he was hesitant to flee so blatantly in front of his few
remaining acolytes. He needed to put on a show of strength if he ever
hoped to regain his former position in the coven.
I should have never returned to
this goddamn house! he thought bitterly. Eternal exile was
sounding more and more appealing. I had an entire
planet to hide in!
Suddenly, the very floor of the crypt shook beneath him.
A tremendous pounding came from below, as though something—or
someone—beneath the stone floor was striving to break free. The tremors
threw Kraven and the other vampires
him. He wondered briefly who had actually killed the worthless lycan,
Selene or Viktor?
What does it matter? he
decided. The loose-lipped scientist had already caused enough trouble. I only regret that I can’t kill the bastard myself.
A river of blood had flowed from the lycan’s crushed
skull, pooling and coagulating atop the engraved bronze hatches. Dark,
clotted gore defiled the raised letter M on
Marcus’ plaque. The smell of congealed lycan blood turned Kraven’s
stomach.
He pointed at the hatch. “Open it.”
“Yes, regent.” Miklos himself knelt beside Marcus’
hatch. Heedless of the sticky black goo, he inserted his beefy fingers
into the cold metal grooves surrounding the M. Ancient gears, untouched for over two centuries, resisted his efforts at
first, but then an inner disk rotated beneath his fingers, activating
the dormant locking mechanism. Miklos rose and stepped aside as the
intricate designs adorning the hatch began to shift of their own accord.
Kraven heard the muted rumble of a hidden clockwork apparatus slowly
coming back to life. The circular plaque sank into the floor, then split
apart into four wedge-shaped segments that retracted from sight,
exposing the top of the steel sarcophagus below. Another M, illuminated in lapis lazuli, confirmed
that Marcus dwelt within.
But not for much longer, Kraven vowed. He fully intended to incinerate the Elder’s remains until
naught but ashes were left behind. “Ready your weapons!” he informed the
guards. Tonight a new era begins in the history of
the coven. The era of Kraven the Supreme…
The crypt itself seemed to shudder as a harsh grinding
noise suddenly came from below. Kraven’s eyes widened in alarm. He had
attended numerous Awakenings in his time and they had never produced
such a clangor. Instead of operating smoothly, as it had down through
the centuries, the ancient apparatus sounded as though it was tearing
itself apart. Steel ground loudly against stone, producing a discordant
clamor that caused several of Kraven’s guards to place their hands over
their ears. They looked in confusion to Kraven, who was no less
dumbfounded than they. His jaw dropped.
Something’s wrong, he realized. Horribly wrong.
A look of utter dread washed over his face as the ornate
sarcophagus lurched upward from beneath the floor. The empty coffin was
torn to shreds, as though Marcus had literally clawed his way out of the
metal tomb!
But how? Kraven thought. Why? The Elder should have been dreaming in
silence, dead to the world. What had roused him from two centuries of
unbroken slumber?
An awful suspicion came over him. He shot a worried
glance at the body of the dead lycan, lying only a few yards away. His
eyes traced the stream of dried blood flowing from Singe’s corpse to the
empty shaft that had been concealed beneath the bronze M. Crimson stains could be seen within the
mangled wreckage of the sarcophagus.
Singe’s blood! he realized
in horror. Beneath his sodden garments, a cold sweat broke out over his
body. The lycan’s blood must have awakened Marcus!
A dry, raspy sound emerged from the murky shaft. Unseen
lungs wheezed noisily.
Marcus?
Kraven backed away from the shaft. Every instinct in his
body urged him to bolt for the stairs and leave the accursed crypt
behind, but he was hesitant to flee so blatantly in front of his few
remaining acolytes. He needed to put on a show of strength if he ever
hoped to regain his former position in the coven.
I should have never returned to
this goddamn house! he thought bitterly. Eternal exile was
sounding more and more appealing. I had an entire
planet to hide in!
Suddenly, the very floor of the crypt shook beneath him.
A tremendous pounding came from below, as though something—or
someone—beneath the stone floor was striving to break free. The tremors
threw Kraven and the other vampires
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