If all went well.
Adele felt Greyfriar looking at her because he sensed her reaching for a rift. She snapped back to the frigid deck and gave him a shrug of failure. He took a pensive breath and would have warned her off her plan, as he had done countless times over the last few days, except that Yidak was standing within earshot. Adele then noticed the old vampire staring at her too with great interest. He obviously sensed her geomancy, as did all vampires. She held his gaze boldly, as if to say that the power he had sensed could fall on him if he crossed her. Anhalt poked Yidak in the side with the shotgun and motioned for him to take his attention off Adele and put it back on the geography. The vampire laughed as if this was a skit.
Greyfriar suddenly twitched nervously. He glanced at Yidak, and then over the side. He cursed out a warning.
Adele pushed beside him. In the valley below, a weird swarm of blackness erupted out of the cliff face. The mass shifted and changed shape like a flock of swallows, rising with the wind, twisting toward the little airship.
“By the way,” Yidak said, “we’re here.”
“Damn you.” Greyfriar seized the old vampire and pressed the edge of a dagger across his throat. “I’ll kill you.”
Anhalt shouted over his shoulder, “Major Shirazi! Form square! Captain Hariri! Stand by for action!”
Within seconds, steam horns sounded across the ship and men ran for cannons or leapt into the ratlines to scale into the tops. The dark vampire swarm continued to lift toward them. The ship’s guns rumbled out. Shirazi took Adele’s arm. “Get below, Your Majesty.”
Adele ignored him. She stretched out her hands, desperately reaching for the power of the rifts. She touched faint embers, but they were too weak. She needed a great rift to bring fire on the approaching horde, to ignite them and send the lot drifting back down as burnt husks. With a curse, fighting her fear, she sank deeper into the Earth. Threads of power trickled just out of reach. With the most tantalizing pressure, slivers of fire grazed her fingertips. She stretched, trying to grab them or hook a fingernail around them so she could drag a rift toward her. The music of the Earth was beautiful but muffled, and she only smelled the scent of ice and snow.
She felt the hard deck beneath her feet again. Greyfriar had Yidak in a death grip, but his attention was on her. Anhalt watched too. Adele shook her head at Greyfriar in alarm. The red-coated Harmattan scrambled to form a square around her. The front rank of troopers knelt, and the back line stood with bayonets out and up.
Yidak reached up gently to Greyfriar’s wrist. With a subtle motion, Greyfriar’s blade flew away from the old vampire’s throat. In an instant, Yidak leapt into the air, vaulted over the soldiers and sailed beyond the side of the ship. Greyfriar was already pulling his pistol while Anhalt had barely registered the rapid action. Adele stretched her hand out toward Yidak. She hoped she could summon power enough to at least burn him out of the sky.
The old vampire stared at her with a nervous narrowing of his eyes, and he screeched into the wind. The horrific sound pierced Adele’s ears just as a wave of bodies roared up above the rail. Inside the dense mass, individual vampires could be seen staring with cold blue eyes. The flock thundered past with a terrifying flutter of cloth like the beating of hundreds of wings.
Adele recovered from the stab of the vampire’s cry, but felt something grab her arm and Greyfriar was shouting, “No!”
Startled soldiers fired an irregular volley into the swarm of torsos. The ear-numbing report from several cannons reverberated under their feet. Murderous shrapnel shot tore ragged holes in the undulating vampires.
Then the horde was gone, arcing away under the curve of the dirigible and splitting into smaller clutches. The twisting flock rolled away from the airship.
Yidak remained alone, floating just off the side. His head turned to watch the throng of vampires slipping away through the sky. A gun boomed and glowing green shot tore into the old figure. Yidak tumbled wildly through the air. Anhalt broke the smoking breach of the shotgun and reached into his coat pocket for new shells.
“Stop!” Greyfriar grabbed the shotgun by the barrel and pointed it at the deck. “Don’t attack him.”
Anhalt looked at the swordsman in shock, then at Adele. She was surprised too. In the distance, she could see the vampires dropping back the way they had come like blurry lines of charcoal smoke in the sky.
“Cease fire!” Adele shouted, although all fire had already stopped.
Soldiers and airmen looked at their commanders and at each other for answers. The attack had come and gone in seconds. It couldn’t be over, however. That wasn’t the way of vampires.
“Don’t.” Greyfriar extended a cautioning hand at Adele because she was still poised to burn Yidak. The old vampire drifted haltingly back toward the ship, grimacing in pain. “He’s no danger.”
“How do you know that?”
“His cry. He was calling off the attack. That’s why his pack turned away at the last second.”
Yidak fell onto the rail and crouched with gasping breaths. He looked at the gaping hole in his coat. Underneath, his abdomen was raw and the flesh steamed. Yidak winced at Anhalt. “A little closer and it might have taken my heart.”
The general kept the deck sweeper aimed at the Demon King. “This is a Fahrenheit gun. Those pellets burn, don’t they?”
“They do.” Yidak huffed loudly. “I’m not used to pain. Remarkable. When does it stop?”
“I don’t know,” Anhalt replied.
The old vampire sucked air with painful hisses. His eyes shifted to Adele and Greyfriar. “I told you, I am not your enemy. I welcome you.” He extended his hand down off the ship. “There is what you seek.”
Adele moved to the rail next to Yidak, with Greyfriar close at her side. She peered over, but saw nothing except mile upon mile of grey rock and white snow. And then suddenly, there it was. About halfway down the valley wall, nestled into a steep cliff face, almost as if it were a gecko on a mosque wall, was a miraculous structure. It seemed to hide against the mountainside. White walls gave it the appearance of fallen snow, masking it from view. A collection of large buildings surrounded a multitude of smaller ones stacked up along the cliff face, but it was hard to see where the rock and snow ended and the monastery began.
Then Adele noticed what appeared to be narrow, irregular stairs carved into the mountain itself, providing what must have been a treacherous and dizzying approach to the monastery from the valley much farther below. In certain spots the stairs gave way to hemp bridges that looked treacherous. She wondered how anyone but vampires could call it home. It was difficult to reach without wings.
“So,” Adele said cautiously, pushing down Shirazi’s pistol that was still aimed at Yidak’s head, “we can land our airship at your monastery?”
“I won’t allow your soldiers or your ship.” The old vampire forced a smile. “I value peace with you, but I’m not stupid. You may land your ship at the foot of the Ten Thousand Steps.” He pointed at Adele, Greyfriar, and Anhalt. “You three will be my guests. Whatever you seek, I will help you find it.”
Adele took a deep breath and she could hear Major Shirazi’s teeth grinding with fury because he knew she was preparing to agree to go with the Demon King into his fortress. The major snorted angrily and muttered under his breath, “Why even have a bodyguard?”
From Adele’s vantage point at the bottom of the Ten Thousand Steps, it certainly seemed that the name sold it short. The endless stairs were little more than flattened steps carved from the mountainside. Each step was barely two feet wide, worn slick and smooth, with a rough mountain wall on the one hand and the abyss on the other.
Adele gave a final glance at the center of the small plateau where the Edinburgh sat moored. She took a picture of Major Shirazi noticeably annoyed at the railing. Once they were out of sight, Captain Hariri would take the airship down to a more hospitable berth, where he would await Adele’s recall signal. The frustrating distance from useful
rifts meant that her original plan of sneaking into the monastery had gone by the boards. She could not hide from vampires here. They had no hope now but to get inside through the good graces of their enigmatic host.
They climbed with Yidak in the lead. Adele saw iron rings driven into the stone wall, but the rope guide that may have been there once was long gone. Countless prayer flags fluttered overhead. She couldn’t help but wonder at who had planted these flags. It couldn’t have been the vampires, and humans wouldn’t come all the way up here for fear of the demons.
Step after weary step passed. Leg muscles burned. Lungs seared for breath. The wind pounded as if someone was trying to shove them off the edge. Adele watched Yidak’s back straight ahead of her. He seemed unaffected by the effort. Gareth removed his scarf and smoked glasses. The pretense of Greyfriar was no longer needed. Just behind her, Anhalt rasped painfully through the breather. She tried to keep the pace moderate, but she knew this was torture for him. He grasped his leg frequently, grunting with effort. There was hardly space on the steps to look back, so it would have been perilous to turn around and try to help him.
Hours passed without notice. The only measure of time was the sound of feet scraping on stone. There was no space to sit and rest, but every so often, Adele called a halt and they would crouch and drink water from canteens. Clouds drifted by beneath them and, through the gaps in the white, she saw dark patches that must have been the ground somewhere miles below. To step off into space would have been meaningless. There couldn’t be any sense of falling, only misty nothingness. And then the exhausted metronome of footsteps would continue.
Adele was shocked when they came around a bend in the cliff and suddenly the monastery rose in front of them. She was so light headed, she almost forgot why she was walking. Glistening ice-covered walls sparkled in the sun. Even this close, it seemed to be levitating in the white sky. The sprawling complex reached up the side of the mountain, level after level of long straight windows and columned arcades. A few domes and spires created some visual relief from the unrelenting cold white slabs.
The rock steps led Adele and the others to a towering red wooden door. She paused to take one picture, but she was running low on film because she hadn’t wanted to burden herself with unnecessary weight.
Yidak lifted his face toward the wall and within moments the door creaked open. Shadowy figures stood atop the ramparts staring down. They wore robes of dark crimson. Adele flexed her fingers, searching for a dragon spine in the Earth beneath her. A faint trace beckoned from the east. She doubted the rift would be strong enough to unleash fire if this turned into a trap.
They passed into a windy courtyard. From out of a tall sparkling building above, a figure drifted down along the glinting snow. Adele gasped. “He looks like a samurai.”
This vampire wore a long pleated skirt, a hakama, tied at the waist. He had a wide-sleeved jacket, a haori, over it. The color was a simple grey and black. Even more amazingly, he had a long katana sword shoved into his belt. Another vampire with a sword. His suspicious gaze swept over the party behind Yidak. He minced no words and demanded in vampiric, “What happened? You have been gone for too long.”
Yidak smiled soothingly. “A slight misunderstanding with the villagers on the plateau.” He gestured to Gareth and company. “These travelers were kind enough to smooth things over. As recompense, I invited them to stay with us. And speak English, as they prefer it.”
The samurai’s glare did not ease as he scanned Yidak in his torn coat, and then studied the strangers. Gareth tensed and Anhalt’s hand went to his weapon.
Yidak said quickly, “May I introduce Gareth. And his companions, Adele and General Anhalt. This is my right arm. Takeda.”
“These strangers,” hissed the samurai vampire in serviceable English, “helped you?”
“Yes, they did.” Yidak chuckled, then glanced at General Anhalt. “Mostly. It goes to show that even as old as I am, I can still be wonderfully surprised by the world.”
Takeda’s deep blue eyes, penetrating and full of mistrust, fell upon Gareth and his weapons. The tension between them rose and, for a moment, Adele feared they were preparing to fight. But the moment passed and Takeda nodded. “You have my sincere gratitude for returning him to us.”
Yidak laid a wrinkled hand on Takeda’s arm, and gestured toward Gareth. “He uses tools. He fights with weapons.” The old vampire then nodded at Adele with a wink. “That woman allows him to feed from her, and she tends his wounds. They consider themselves friends perhaps.”
Takeda’s eyes widened.
Gareth said, “Both of these humans have saved my life many times over, even knowing what I am.”
Takeda snorted with derision. “They’re buying his power.”
Yidak shook his head. “No, I think not, but come, I am tired. Let us go inside.”
Takeda waved his arm and two other vampires scurried from the shadows. In their arms they carried bundles of red and yellow. Yidak carefully unbuttoned the coat and slipped it off. The wounds from the Fahrenheit gun had healed. He handed the coat back to Anhalt with a word of thanks. He then turned and raised his arms. The two new vampires, one male and one female, draped the Demon King in silk brocade and stepped back, bowing to him with their hands clasped in reverence. The elder vampire adjusted his colorful new robes. Suddenly he went from eccentric, old stranger to a figure of dignity and respect. Yidak smiled at Gareth and Adele, and motioned for them to follow him into the monastery.
Takeda bowed deeply to Yidak. “Welcome back, Your Holiness.”
CHAPTER 22
Adele jerked away from the grip of her nightmare. Her chest rose and fell painfully and her heart pounded. The fires of the dream rifts that had just been scorching the world and burning Gareth to bones faded into the thin, crisp cold of the mountains. The disturbing music of the Earth lingered.
Sunlight streamed around the edges of heavy yak-skin rugs that draped the windows. Her breath misted into the air above the makeshift bed. Gareth was not beside her. Turning her head, she saw him standing with General Anhalt next to the low fire pit in the center of the plain room. The smell of smoldering yak dung rose from the brick ring, but so did heat. Adele hurriedly slipped from under the dense pile of hides; luckily she was sufficiently dressed. She jammed into her boots and, dragging a thick blanket, scurried next to the glowing pile.
Gareth moved behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. He spoke in Arabic. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, not bothering to mention her dreams again.
Anhalt bowed his head toward a clay pot of simmering water on the glowing coals. “There will be tea soon, Majesty.”
“Thank you, General.” She glanced back at Gareth. “Do you think they have herds here?”
“If you mean humans, I don’t smell any.”
“Why would they have animals for dung otherwise?”
“I don’t know. I don’t smell animals either.”
“I dreamed I heard musical instruments, but I think I still hear them. Maybe the altitude is affecting my ears.”
“You aren’t dreaming, but it isn’t music. It’s vampiric language.”
Adele furrowed her brows. “It is? It was so melodic. Are they singing?”
“I don’t know.” Gareth sounded irritable at not having answers.
Anhalt poured tea. “Have you been able to locate this Tear of Death?”
“No.” Adele moved to the edge of the low fire pit, enjoying the radiating heat from the bricks. The thick dung smoke wasn’t rank enough to drive her from the warmth. “I have a limited connection to the rifts here, but I didn’t sense anything unique.”
“Is it possible,” the general asked cautiously, “that this entire mission is for nothing?”
“Yes. However, the risk of not coming was too great.”
“Of course, ma’am.” Anhalt strapped on his sword belt. “If what Selkirk said about this object is true, I rather hope it is for noth
ing.”
“I do too,” Adele admitted. “But it isn’t a fruitless trip in any case because we’ve found this clutch of unusual vampires. Another clutch of unusual vampires.”
Gareth went to peer out of the window. “I’ve told you, my kind is going mad. But at least these lunatics haven’t talked about me as their guide for the future.”
Adele paused, listening. “Now I hear bells. Do you?”
“Yes.” Gareth moved to the door. “Let’s have a look around. I’m tired of waiting.”
Sunlight blasted through a blue sky, but the air was dangerously frigid. The sound of small bells bubbled without a source, as if an invisible herd of sheep wandered the courtyard. Several vampires lifted off the rooftops and slipped into an open window in the largest temple above. Within minutes, Yidak and Takeda dropped down to the dirt square and approached.
The Demon King bowed to Adele. “Did you rest well?”
“I did, thank you. It was surprisingly warm, for which I am grateful.” She waved her hand in the air. “Do you have herds? Animals, I mean. Your fuel?”
“No, no. However the bells you hear are those of goats ascending the Thousand Steps.”
“Goats?”
“And men. A group of travelers are coming. They’re coming to appease us.” Yidak laughed. “To placate the mountain demons.”
Takeda appeared less amused. “Humans make pilgrimages here and do certain duties for us.”
Gareth asked, “Do you feed from them?”
“Oh yes,” Yidak replied. “They come every few months.”
“You only feed every few months? Do you prey on local villages in between those times?”
“If there are injuries that require nourishment, we may visit some of the villages. Normally the pilgrims serve. We have trained ourselves to go for great lengths of time without feeding.” The Demon King tilted his head, listening to the bells. “I admit I’m glad they’re coming because I’m a bit weak from my recent misadventures below. And Takeda has told me there are wounded from a recent attack.”
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