The Gentleman

by H. P. Mallory

  “You do what now and how?”

  “You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing,” I repeated. “And using a timing which the enemy does not expect.” I showed her the proper tarrying procedure and sliced the blade of my sword through the air. “For your information,” I continued. “That quote comes from Miyamoto Musashi. He was an expert Japanese swordsman and a master of martial arts during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

  “Well, that’s great for my history lesson, but what does it have to do with this?” the twit had the nerve to ask.

  “Very little in your case,” I said as I dropped my sword. Eyeing her with undisguised annoyance, I said, “I will have you know that I am quite displeased to find it necessary to repeat our first lesson. When I instruct a pupil, I expect her to pay strict attention. I am not a man who enjoys the luxury of having any unaccounted time in my schedule.”

  “Well, this stuff is all completely foreign to me! Maybe you should just expect to repeat yourself a time or two.”

  “This is occurrence two.”

  “Don’t be so grumpy.”

  “I am not grumpy.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “No, I most certainly am not.”

  “Just by saying ‘no, I most certainly am not’ means you are.”

  I frowned at her. “You are exasperating to my nerves and vexing, to say the least.”

  “Well, this sword is vexing to say the least ’cause it’s so heavy,” she retorted. Placing her hands on her hips arrogantly, she gave me the same expression as the shrew. “Why can’t I just learn how to shoot a gun and use that to protect myself instead?”

  “You will learn any and all ways to protect yourself. Swordplay is merely the first lesson among many more to come,” I remarked snidely. “And as to the subject of protecting yourself, I have finished my map of the layout of Luce’s facility. I should appreciate it if you would review it for me.”

  Betta was the only person to whom I could reveal my plans to infiltrate the enemy’s lair. And that trust was the result of necessity: Betta spent her whole life inside the camp. She was well accustomed to the layout, as well as the comings and goings of its people.

  “I really hate your insistence on my silence with this,” she said before taking a deep breath, and exhaling just as deeply.

  “I do not want to endanger anyone unnecessarily,” I responded.

  “So you’re going to endanger yourself? No one will be able to help you.”

  “Need I remind you that I am a Master Vampire?”

  “Need I remind you that there are maybe one hundred Elementals and Daywalkers to your one Master Vampire?” the twit responded insolently. “And sorry, Sinjin, but that math doesn’t add up.”

  I pulled a piece of folded paper from the pocket of my trousers, which I then handed to her. She unwrapped it and studied it, chewing her lower lip with obvious concentration. Then she began to nod. “Yep, that looks about right,” she said before handing the map I had sketched back to me.

  “Have I successfully marked the location of each offender’s sleeping quarters?” I continued.

  “Yes,” she said with a clipped nod before looking up at me with a deep sigh. “Now if I could only talk you out of it.”

  “You cannot,” I curtly replied before returning the paper to my pocket. “But I do appreciate your assistance.”

  “When are you planning to do this?” she asked.

  “I must politely decline to respond. I am keeping that information to myself.”

  “You’re so stubborn and headstrong, Sinjin,” she complained while shaking her head at me.

  “Two attributes that have only helped me in my lengthy experience on this earth,” I quipped before turning to the next important topic at hand. “And now we must discuss step two of my plan. You must tell me everything you can about the daily schedules of each offender in question.” I motioned to a shady area beneath one of the towering pines of the forest, which bordered Kinloch Kirk. “We have perhaps twenty minutes before I am due for a meeting with the queen.”

  “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “But I’m not comfortable telling you any of this. I know Bryn would be really mad at me if she knew what you were planning, or that I was helping you.”

  “The shrew’s would-be anger does not concern me at the moment,” I admitted truthfully. “All that does concern me, and all that consumes me, is … revenge.”

  Crimson red revenge, I thought more aptly.

  FOUR

  “My queen,” I greeted Jolie with a small nod as I walked through the courtyard of Kinloch Kirk.

  “Sinjin,” she said with a wide grin as she looked up from where she was busily playing with her baby daughter. They both were sitting on a white blanket spread atop the grass in the rose garden, just beyond the courtyard. The sun was nowhere to be seen, owing to the heavy gray clouds, which successfully hid it.

  “Do you have a moment?” I asked as I watched her draw large loops above her lovely baby’s face with a red rose.

  “Of course!” she said as she tapped the empty space on the blanket just beside her. “Have a seat.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I sat down beside her, pulling my long legs into my body as I watched the princess grinning up at me. I could not help my smile. She was a most charming baby. In general, I was rarely interested in children, but I have to admit that the princess held a special place in my mostly cold heart. “It is a very fortunate event that the princess resembles you entirely, instead of your less comely counterpart,” I finished with a quick smile.

  Jolie laughed and playfully swatted my arm. Shaking her head, she gave me an expression that said I should not jest so. “I will take that as a compliment, Sinjin,” she started, “but you know all too well that I think Rand is an exceptionally handsome man.”

  “Yes, love is blind; or so they say,” I nodded. I pretended to be confounded by the topic as she swatted me again. There was a time when her announcement about Randall would have incited some level of jealousy within me, but that time was long past. Now I held nothing but platonic love for my queen and my close friend.

  “I’m sure you didn’t come here for a discussion about whether or not I’m attracted to my husband,” she started as she smiled up at me, her blue eyes warm and kind.

  “No, I did not,” I started, but the words seemed to die on my tongue.

  “Well?” she prodded.

  I cleared my throat and eyed her earnestly. “I wish to request time away from you and the kingdom, my queen,” I blurted out quickly. I expected Jolie to demand to know why I desired such time away, but that was not something I wished to discuss with her.

  “Of course,” she replied. “You can take however much time you need.” I could not help but notice the absence of curiosity in her gaze, which struck me as odd.

  “Your express safety is my top priority as always,” I nearly interrupted her. “And I have ensured that Klaasje and your sister, the Lady Bryn, will be available to protect and defend you in my absence.”

  “Thank you for that, Sinjin,” Jolie said with a quick smile and a knowing expression. “So are you off to Paris for some high-end retail therapy? Or maybe to Venice for some cultural enrichment? Or wait, no, let me guess … You’re off to the Swiss Alps!”

  I laughed while shaking my head. “I am afraid you are incorrect on all accounts.”

  “Okay, I give up! Where are you going?”

  “With all due respect, my queen, I would rather keep the particulars of my destination to myself,” I answered with a sheepish smile.

  She nodded, but eyed me in a way that suggested she knew more than she was letting on. “Just be careful, please.”

  “What makes you think my mission might be a dangerous one?” I inquired, taken aback.

  “Because I know you, Sinjin,” she responded as she looked upon me fondly. “And I know that I should investigate anything you aren’t willing to discuss with me.”

  “You do kno
w me very well,” I admitted with a chuckle. I shook my head and tickled the princess’s round stomach with my index finger. She immediately broke into a gummy smile and I found myself laughing in response.

  “Thank you,” Jolie said, taking me by surprise. I glanced back at her and found her studying me with a nearly imperceptible smile.

  “For what, my queen?” I asked, my tone revealing my surprise.

  “For caring as much about her as you do,” she answered with a slight shrug.

  “Well, she is a lovely baby …”

  “No, I wasn’t talking about Emma,” Jolie insisted. “I meant, thank you for caring about my sister, for taking care of Bryn.”

  “What does,” I began, but Jolie immediately shook her head, interrupting me.

  “I have an idea of where your business is taking you,” she said with a deep breath, which she exhaled slowly. Whatever the thoughts going through her head just then, they were causing her visible distress. “I will not attempt to get in the way,” she continued as she eyed me with concern. “I will admit that I am worried for you, though.”

  “I should know better than to think I can keep anything from you,” I said with a sigh. I shook my head and offered her a smile. “But I do appreciate your allegiance and your support.”

  “I know my sister isn’t exactly easy to get along with,” she said as she dropped her gaze back to her daughter, now greedily chewing on her mother’s thumb. “Some might even call her difficult.”

  “Yes, difficult is not a stretch when one is describing the Lady Bryn,” I agreed with a smile in spite of myself.

  “I also am well aware that there are many who don’t appreciate her presence here.”

  “Your sister is a good woman,” I countered, feeling suddenly angry toward anyone who would say otherwise.

  Jolie smiled and nodded. “Yes, I know she is. But she’s also stubborn and she turns most people off.” She eyed me for a few seconds. “But not you.”

  “Perhaps I see beyond her rough exterior.”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “You do. You see her the same way I do. And for that, I am deeply grateful to you.”

  I did not say anything more, as I found subject suddenly unbearably uncomfortable. I stood up and smiled down at my queen and the little princess. “I shall not tarry long.”

  “Thank you for what you’re doing … for her,” Jolie added. “I’m sure she would thank you herself if she knew what you were planning.”

  “She would not,” I argued. I did not dare imagine the conversation that would ensue if I were to inform the shrew of my plans.

  “You’re right,” Jolie said as she shook her head and laughed. “She wouldn’t let you go through with it! Of course, I wonder if I should be saying the same.”

  “Regardless, it is my choice,” I reasoned.

  “Yes,” Jolie answered with a small nod.

  “And on that note, I bid you adieu, my queen. I will report back to you as soon as I am able.”

  “Thank you, Sinjin, and please be very careful,” she said. I nodded and started to turn away. “Sinjin?” she called out to my retreating back.

  “Yes?” I answered as I turned to face her.

  “She’s perfect for you,” she said with a little knowing smile. “But you already knew that.”

  I chose not to respond.

  ***

  It was the dead of night.

  And the fourth night in a row that I was camping out in the forest just beyond Luce’s training facility. Betta informed me of the wards surrounding the perimeter of the facility that were designed to deny me entry. There was also a handful of human guards walking the grounds, but they did not even deter me. Magical wards, on the other hand, did. As with all well-conceived plans, I could not rush my preparations. I had to, instead, be patient. Despite having lived a very long life by anyone’s measure, I could never describe myself as a patient man. Regardless, my sole intent was to be ready for the moment I could enter the camp without tripping the wards.

  He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious. I had to remind myself of Sun Tzu’s words more than once. I had schooled myself on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and now those lessons came flowing back to me, concrete in their truth and practicality.

  Fortunately, on the evening of the fourth night, that revered opportunity came. Having ventured into the nearest town in order to satiate my persistent hunger, I was painfully aware that I could be no good to anyone, including myself, if my sustenance were jeopardized. After encountering a willing, albeit inebriated, female donor who eagerly supplied my supper, I returned to the woods. I made my bed beneath a gargantuan, ancient oak tree. During the few days of camping in the woods, I avoided the sun’s lethal rays by hiding inside a large hole which I dug into the ground. I covered myself with the remains of a half-rotted tree. The hulled-out trunk provided ample shade and shielded me from would-be spectators. In the evening, I simply awaited an opportune moment.

  This particular evening, I did not wait long. While leaning against my tree and studying the map of the facility for the umpteenth time, I heard a sound. Shooting to my feet, keen to investigate, I followed what sounded to me like a ruckus, the nature of which confounded me. At perhaps one hundred yards away from the commotion, I concluded the sounds were merely people giggling and overall merriment. Although the intimate words spoken between the man and woman were whispered, I could hear them as clearly as if the couple stood directly in front of me, owing to my superior sense of hearing.

  The dark forest concealed me effortlessly, especially as I was attired in my customary black clothing. I ventured closer to the couple and levitated perhaps a foot or so above the ground lest they hear the crunching of leaves and other forest debris underfoot. When I was fifty feet away, I managed to identify them: the male was a human, and the female, an Elemental. How was I able to infer as much, you may inquire. It is not a difficult feat in the least. In general, humans are quite easy to detect. I can sense a human simply by the rushing of their blood and the beating of their hearts. Those who possess skills in magic, on the other hand, emit an electrical force field that surrounds them. This force field thrums with the energy inherent from their magic. The Lady Bryn’s electricity, for example, is magnetic. I have a difficult time unleashing myself from it. The sound of the shrew’s force field is like that of a tsunami, crashing in my ears.

  I approached the couple, keeping my feet fully airborne so as not to make a sound. They were lying on the ground now, exchanging sexual promises. They frolicked for a few moments before the man asserted the dominance natural to his sex and held the woman beneath him. The whispering ended as the woman circled her arms around the man’s back and he leaned down to steal a kiss.

  When I was close enough for an ambush, I dematerialized through the air, reemerging right beside the man’s head. Perhaps the disruption in the air caused the woman to open her eyes. She saw me immediately before her eyes went wide in horror. Unable to utter a sound, her mouth was still playing captive to the man’s. Wasting no time before securing the man’s neck between my hands, with a deft twist, I shattered his cervical bones, which were as fragile as a swallow’s.

  Before the woman could scream and alert someone, or attempt to use her magic on me, I gripped her cheeks with the fingers of my left hand. I pulled her upwards until she was standing before me. The man’s body dropped away from her. It rolled off as she glanced down at it, her eyes wide with shock and fear.

  “If you scream, you will incur the same demise,” I threatened her in a soft yet steely tone of voice.

  She nodded and I released her mouth before her eyes found mine. “I understand.”

  “What is your name?” I inquired. This was the one and only promise I made to Betta—I would not destroy, but, on the contrary, I would protect her friend, despite her being an Elemental. I did not find fault with this agreement as Betta’s friend had assisted Betta and the Lady Bryn in their escape. As far as I was co
ncerned, I was eternally beholden to her.

  “Je … Jenna,” the woman stammered. Jenna was not the name of Betta’s friend. That meant this woman did not deserve my mercy.

  “You will drop the wards surrounding the facility and grant us both entrance,” I informed the frightened woman. She simply nodded at me. I held each side of her face between both of my palms. Then I stared down at her, ensnaring her gaze with my own. As a Master Vampire, I was well versed in the art of persuasion, which I used upon this unfortunate creature now. She fell helpless to my power almost immediately, which was made more obvious by her enlarged pupils.

  Betta informed me that Elementals, like vampires, possessed varying levels of strength and power. Some were just learning to harness their abilities, and others had full control over their magic, such as the shrew. I deduced, after the gentle strumming of her electricity, that Jenna was a neophyte in her magical abilities. That made her very easy to control. A fact that pleased me.

  “Do you understand what I am requesting of you?” I asked, just to be certain.

  “Yes,” she answered, sounding as if she were under a heavy daze, which was not too far from the truth.

  I dropped my hands from both sides of her face and nodded curtly before turning my attention to the chain-link fence ahead of us. The fence outlined the perimeter of the training compound, complete with razor wire along the top. “Lead the way,” I said to my young colleague. With her dark brown, wavy hair, perfect complexion and bright amber eyes, Jenna was a very attractive woman. In some other reality, perhaps she could have provided my supper, or warmed my bed a time or two. So much for lost opportunities.

  Jenna nodded as she started forward with me directly beside her. When she was two feet or so in front of the fence, she paused. With a deep breath, she glanced at me, looking as though she needed more encouragement. I nodded quickly. Facing forward again, she brought her arm out in front of her, placing her palm against the fence. She closed her eyes and mumbled something, moving her lips with the effort.

  A popping sound came from the direction of the fence and I glanced toward it just as a bright burst of light interrupted the otherwise still darkness of the night.