Free The Triumph of Death by Jason Henderson

beings: the army of death itself.
    Across the foreground of the painting, people ran from skeletons that trampled them, cutting their throats, choking them, and dragging them away. A whole slew of people were being herded into a holding cell, like a huge cage or trailer. Dogs chewed on the remains of the fallen. In the distance, ships smoked on the water and cities burned. A great leader of the skeletons, astride a bone-thin, reddish horse, swung an enormous scythe: Death. Alex saw again and again the shock and horror on the faces of the people, their mouths open in cries of agony and despair. All around in the background of the painting was black destruction, buildings and ships burning, little specks of fire floating on the wind.
    “Oh my God,” Alex whispered under his breath as he started running his fingers over the painting, zooming in and scanning across. The Triumph of Death looked like the scene that he had just observed on the curtain ofnight that surrounded the town of Secheron.
    “What is it about?”
    “Death wins,” Minhi said. “Death has dominion over all.”
    Dotting the scene were tall staffs with circular wheel-like constructions on the top, very much like the satellite dish–type device the Queen had used. Alex tapped those and looked at Minhi. “What are these?”
    She shrugged. “Who knows? In the painting they’re used as gallows to hang people on.”
    This was unreal. The vampires were copying a painting, exactly as it appeared.
    Alex looked into Astrid’s eyes and she seemed to reflect back his own thoughts.
    We are in trouble.

C HAPTER 8
    Back in his room, Alex could barely contain his need to get back to the Polidorium, and he paced the floor until it was time. Paul and Sid were still awake when he snuck out to, as Paul put it, “go protect us all from art history.”
    The woods across from Glenarvon-LaLaurie were pitch black at 11:45 P.M . Alex stood in darkness and watched the condensation of his breath cross the thin crescent moon in the sky beyond the trees. He lit up his watch to check the time. Astrid wasn’t there.
    Alex wasn’t going to wait for her. Possibly she had gotten caught trying to sneak out or disappeared into whatever cave she had emerged from that morning, but as he stood next to his bike, he tried to make any senseout of Sangster’s curious deference to her. That deference was because she claimed to represent an organization Alex did not know existed.
    “Hexen,” Alex muttered aloud, shaking his head.
    “That’s right,” said Astrid as she stepped out of the shadows, her pale face barely visible in the darkness. “What about Hexen?”
    “Just that I’ve never heard of it until today.”
    “Alex, I really don’t want to keep you in the dark.” Astrid looked genuine and sweet in the speckled moonlight, and he distrusted her even more. The sunnier she acted, the more clouded his vision of her became. She must be keeping secrets under that pout-like smile. “What do you want to know?”
    Alex wanted to say Everything, but that would have sounded desperate. He didn’t know if he wanted to know everything anyway. He wanted to know everything so he could dismiss it again and go back to a world of him and the Polidorium and no weird, sudden Hexen girl, and while they were at it, no upset Minhi. Not that that was even his problem. It was Paul’s problem, wasn’t it?
    “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “Whatever’s necessary, I guess, but right now we don’t have time.”
    “I’m very sorry to keep you waiting. I had to make sure everyone in the girls’ dorm was asleep. So do youwant me to follow you?”
    “Why don’t you ride with me this time?” Alex asked Astrid. She had her own helmet but he held an extra Polidorium helmet forward. “Take this one so we can hear one another.”
    Astrid put on the helmet as he got on the Ninja. Alex indicated the seat behind him as he slid on his goggles and the helmet and tapped a button on the side.