Andrei revived in stages, beginning with an awareness of pain. A sharp pain in his ribs as he breathed, and a throbbing pain in his skull, and a dizzy nausea. Wakefulness meant pain, and he tried to seek the welcoming relief of black oblivion once more.  But the pain, sharp and dull and insistent, nagged at him mercilessly. Reminded him of something...<br/><br/>Someone...<br/><br/>Lady Ireena. And the Beast that...<br/><br/>His eyes snapped open and he tried to stand. Nausea rise as his vision blurred and swam.<i>Concussed</i>, he thought, struggling to maintain his balance.<i>I’m concussed</i>.  What had Elrick taught him about that?  He was so tired, and it was hard to think.<br/><br/>Stumbling in the darkness, he tripped over something. Pain flared as he struck the ground, injured ribs flaring and screaming. We’re they broken?  No, he fuzzily decided. Just... cracked.  Still bad. And what had he tripped over?<br/><br/>A moments groping in the blackness revealed the grim truth. Elrick. He’d tripped over the still, cooling body of Elrick - another victim of the Beast, no doubt.  He fought back grief, searching now for the Lady Ireena. Mourning could come later. For now, did she live?  Or...<br/><br/>No. He put that fear from his mind.  She lived. She<i>had</i>to.<br/><br/>The clouds parted, allowing the silver light of the moon to fill the room. It wasn’t the blessed gaze of the Morning Lord, but for now the radiance of His consort was welcome relief from the darkness. He fiund Lady Ireena swiftly enough with Her blessing. Found her still and pale in the moonlight, with blood and the marks of inhuman fangs into n her skin.<br/><br/>His heart filled his throat as he crawled to her side, then swelled with relief. She breathed!  And her pulse was sluggish but strong. She lived!<br/><br/>Cautiously, he tried to rise once more. Nausea and dizziness made him clutch the wall, but it passed - enough to keep standing, at least.  Stumbling, he recovered his silver dagger and tucked it into its sheath. Then, gritting his teeth, he lifted Lady Ireena and hissed as pain stabbed through his injured ribs.<br/><br/>The journey to the Burgomeister’s chambers was a thing out of nightmare. A stumbling journey through darkened halls made grim by the awareness of the Beast’s invasion. Every step sent knives through his ribs, every step made the shadows shift. His every sense strained against the darkness and his dizziness, anticipating some bestial horror to emerge from the shadows.<br/><br/>Somehow, he made it.  Somehow he slid aside the bookcase in the Burgomeister’s study, revealing the priest hole it concealed.  He sobbed in agony as he laid Lady Ireena on the cut within, then sagged against the wall as he lit the candle. It illuminated a small chamber, one designed to hide the family in times of emergency.<br/><br/>This was one of those times.<br/><br/>Tugging the hidden door shut, he sagged against the wall and slumped to the ground. Gripping the hilt of the silver dagger, he prayed for dawn.