Prophecy of the Undead

by McGier, Fiona

  “I’m not less frightened but knowing you are there with me will be some comfort.”

  Yuri smiled grimly. “I won’t let any harm come to you if I can help it. Not much of a comfort but the best I can do.”

  The plane was landing, so they stopped talking to make preparations to disembark.

  Chapter Ten

  As they exited the airport, Keisha gasped at the blast of hot dry air that slapped her in the face.

  “Wow. I haven’t been cold since that first night, when your advice about the long hot shower was just what I needed. But this? How does anyone breathe in this kind of heat?”

  Yuri grinned. “I was born close to Siberia so I find it uncomfortable. Casimiro has lived all over the world, but will live wherever Apolinar chooses. He was born in Spain so hot and dry is his first choice. This is as far north as he will usually come. Most of the year they are both in either Mexico or Central America. They have estates in quite a few places.”

  At Keisha’s questioning look he said, “Remember? Lots of years equal lots of money. Especially when you don’t care how many mortals are being hurt or killed by the violence that accompanies drug sales. As for the many houses, I repeat—you can never be sure just where you will be when the sun comes up so it’s nice to have options.”

  “So, do they live near Tucson?”

  “No. They own a small piece of land southwest of here, near the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Only a small part of it is above ground, so it looks like a modest adobe casa. Most of the rooms are underground, so there is no need for you to seek shelter when the sun rises. For those as old as these two, there really is no need for much sleep at all. You, on the other hand, will appear dead to the world for quite some time when the sun comes up. I can usually fight it for a while but even I have to succumb and lie down eventually. I get up earlier also. The blood has many odd peculiarities we must learn to adapt to. In exchange, there’s the whole eternity thing.”

  “So, how are we going to get there? Fly?”

  Yuri held her hand to lead her along the walkway to a rental station.

  “Actually, no. I didn’t learn to drive until about fifty years ago. Now that I do know how, I really enjoy it...especially when I get to pick out such a fine car.”

  Yuri gave his name to the clerk, who handed him the paperwork and indicated a silver Jaguar parked outside the door.

  They walked back out into the heat where Yuri held the door for Keisha to slide into the passenger seat. He stood still for a moment, admiring her legs now that her skirt had ridden up to her thighs. She noticed what he stared at and giggled while snapping her fingers in front of his face.

  “Hey, Romeo. Pay attention. We’ve got some important people to see first. Later.”

  Yuri shook his head and went around to the driver’s side of the vehicle. He opened the door and climbed in.

  “You’re right, but damn. You’ve got some great-looking legs.”

  Keisha pulled her skirt down demurely. “Thanks. Let’s just concentrate on keeping me alive long enough to get another chance to enjoy wrapping them around you again.”

  “I want them wrapped around my head while I...”

  “Stop it. Just stop it.”

  He smiled and turned on the radio. They argued over the stations but decided they could both live with an oldies channel out of Phoenix. Driving at almost one hundred miles per hour, the car ate up the miles they crossed in no time.

  * * * *

  There were No Trespassing signs posted everywhere as they approached the property. Signs in both English and Spanish warned of attack dogs and armed guards. Keisha shifted around uncomfortably in the soft-as-butter leather seat.

  “The signs are not for us,” Yuri pointed out. “There are both mortal and vampire guards, and mortal and vampire dogs. That way the property is defended against drug runners and anyone else who might attack a simple adobe home. Because of the warning signs, the owners figure that anyone who disregards them deserves the swift, yet painful, death they will encounter. Really, out here, who is going to notice—let alone pursue the disappearance of anyone?”

  When they got to the main gate there was a guard hut. No one was in it, but Yuri stopped and got out to sit nonchalantly on the hood of his car. He pulled out a cigar but before he got anything lit, a man suddenly swooped out of the night sky to land in front of him.

  “Name?” he growled.

  “Yuri Kozakov. The female is Keisha Brown. We are invited guests.”

  The vampire spoke into the walkie-talkie attached to his collar.

  A voice crackled back to him, “They are expected. Let them pass.”

  He nodded at Yuri who offered him the cigar he planned on smoking. The vampire sniffed at it then smiled briefly, deliberately showing his fangs.

  “¿Cubano?”

  “Sí.”

  “Gracias.”

  Yuri got back into the car and continued driving up the road. He glanced over at Keisha who frowned with anxiety.

  “I’m still terrified,” she said in reaction to his unspoken question.

  He nodded. “Good. Never forget for an instant that these two are the monsters from under your bed. They have the power to destroy your mind or snap your neck like a twig, and they don’t need to even touch you to do either. Be respectful and polite.”

  “Show a little leg?” she asked nervously. “That won’t do any good. You said they are partners. So, they’re gay, right?”

  “For the most part. No man, alive or undead, will turn his eyes away from an attractive woman’s legs.”

  They pulled up to the entrance and parked next to a beige dirt-covered Humvee. Keisha didn’t wait for Yuri to walk around to her door to open it for her. She climbed out of the car and stood uncertainly until Yuri claimed her hand, pulling it up to his mouth to kiss her fingertips gently, making her shiver.

  “I will be with you at all times. Even when you don’t feel me, I will be there. I won’t let you out of my sight.”

  “Why are we here, exactly?” Her voice shook from nerves.

  “To find out why your research made you a target. And to impress upon them the importance of calling off the attack dogs so you can answer my questions. They pretend not to care but there are few among us who haven’t wondered what makes us what we are. We need to be sure you will be allowed to find those answers.”

  “So, we’re asking them to let me live?”

  “Basically.”

  Keisha took a deep breath and strode up to the front door to knock. Before her knuckles hit the wood, the door swung open.

  A slender blond man stood in the doorway, smiling at them both. He wasn’t as tall as Yuri, but the similarities in bone structure and coloring made Keisha fairly positive which one of the powerful Old Ones this man was. She would have guessed his age to be slightly younger in mortal years than Yuri.

  “Yuri Kozakov, welcome to our home. This must be...”

  Yuri answered quickly, “Keisha Brown. Keisha, this is Casimiro Pavlenko, the countryman of mine I told you about.”

  Keisha offered her hand for a shake, but Casimiro bowed and took her hand in his to gently kiss the backs of her fingers. He stood again and waved into the house.

  “Bienvenido á nuestra casa. Welcome to our home. Apolinar is painting but asked that I bring you down to meet him when you arrived. We so seldom have visitors.”

  Keisha found it hard not to scream from nervousness. Somehow even the normal pleasantries of polite conversation threatened her. She hoped that she only imagined things but she felt like the proverbial fly entering the spider’s web.

  She followed their host down the hallway to an elevator, with Yuri close behind her. The door was open so they got onto the elevator and Keisha watched as Casimiro pressed a button. The door swished closed in an efficient manner.

  In just a few minutes, they walked through the open door into a hallway lit by wall sconces burning scented oil. They continued down the hall to a large d
oor at the end of it. Casimiro knocked briefly and then threw the door open.

  “They are here but then you knew that already. Come and meet them. She’s delightful. I think you will be pleased.”

  Keisha and Yuri both turned to look in the direction that Casimiro spoke. There was a large canvas on an easel and two legs were visible under it. Keisha tried to hide her surprise when a teenager looked around the canvas at them. His face lit up with a smile as he walked around the easel to approach them still holding the paintbrush. He was about the same height as Keisha, who was the average height of an American woman at five feet four inches. His long black hair was pulled back away from his face and held by a piece of red ribbon, tied in a bow. He had an olive complexion and a faint mustache barely darkened his upper lip. His black eyes sparkled as he looked at them and smiled.

  Keisha fought the momentary urge to scream and run with panic away from this monstrous boy-child. She was well aware that to a stranger, she appeared the oldest in the group since she was the only one over thirty in mortal years. These men were all suspended in the bloom of their youth. All healthy young men who hadn’t yet achieved full adulthood. Yet, according to what Yuri told her, this boy in front of her was more than seven hundred years old.

  She felt faint but realized that was only her imagination. Fainting involves a change in blood pressure and she had no real heartbeat to have speed up, slow down, or otherwise change. She took a deep breath and waited for him to speak.

  “Is this Moorish queen the woman you spoke of, Casimiro?”

  His tone still held the breathy squeakiness of a young man whose voice has not yet finished changing to an adult’s. Combined with the jeans shorts and T-shirt that he wore, he looked like just another teenager holding a paintbrush. However, his words and his mannerisms belied his age. He bowed to Keisha, who extended a hand to him. He took her hand and kissed the backs of her fingers, as Casimiro had done. Then he turned to Yuri.

  “You must be Yuri Kozakov. I was told I met you once, long ago, but I’m afraid that I don’t remember. Forgive me, but when your mind is as old as mine, there are memories which must be purged in order for there to be room to make new ones. You are both welcome in our home. Let us move to a more comfortable area where we can sit and talk. It’s exciting to have new people to talk with—especially someone as interesting as you are, my dear Keisha Brown.”

  They all walked over to a grouping of low couches with huge overstuffed cushions. There was an open bottle full of a dark red liquid on the table and four wine glasses.

  Casimiro regarded Yuri gravely, “I hope you won’t mind but I wanted to have something to offer to our guests. I assure you that it was voluntarily donated by one of the servant girls no more than an hour ago. She is upstairs sleeping. You are welcome to meet her later—if you desire—so you can tell by her smell that she is the donor.”

  Yuri bowed deeply. “I would never think to impugn your honesty in your own home. We are comrades from the same mother country. I am honored that you would offer such hospitality to us.”

  Keisha tried to be as invisible as possible but took the glass the teenager offered to her, waiting for them all to hold a glass.

  “A toast: to good friends who brighten the monotony of endless nights by bringing new ideas to share with us.” Apolinar raised his glass and smiled at all of them.

  They all raised their glasses and said, “To friends,” before taking a sip of the liquid.

  It was still warm and quite tasty to Keisha, who forced herself not to gulp it greedily. Her eyes met Yuri’s and he shook his head almost imperceptibly. She took only one more small sip before putting the glass down on the small table in front of them. She leaned back into the comfortable cushions trying to quiet her nerves.

  “Ah, what fools we are. Querido, we have forgotten that she is new to the blood.”

  Apolinar looked distressed as if he had been an impolite host. He turned solicitously to Keisha.

  “You can have more. Go ahead and finish the glass. See, the bottle is still half-full.”

  Yuri cleared his throat. The two hosts turned to him expectantly.

  “Casimiro hinted that you could answer some of our questions.”

  The teenager nodded with a smile that was on his lips but didn’t extend to his eyes.

  “What is it you want to know?”

  “You told Casimiro to bankroll the research that Keisha was doing. Why? What possible interest could there be for you in learning how to create intelligence in our mortal brothers?”

  Apolinar laughed an awkward sound that made Keisha’s skin crawl.

  “Why should I care to increase the intelligence of our cattle? You are silly to suggest that. The answer is I don’t care to. Decreasing their intelligence can’t be done until you have found out what causes intelligence in the first place. Now that this wonderful woman has found that key, we can begin working on a compound to work in concert with the decline in respect for education and intelligence already put into place so many years ago. The coarsening of public discourse, the dumbing-down of educational standards, the idiocy which passes for entertainment—all of these will be supplemented by the discovery and secret dissemination of a supplement to decrease the curiosity and general intelligence level of a significant portion of the population. That, my dear Yuri, is a part of what I am celebrating today. That was worth every penny I had Casimiro invest. That was worth all of the years of hard work done by this fine woman. That was worth everything.”

  Yuri persisted, “But why? What is the point? They are already beating up nerds and laughing at kids who enjoy school. Already everyone has a computer but the main uses for it are socializing and viewing porn. Why do you feel a need to decrease the general intelligence level more than it has already done on its own?”

  Apolinar fixed him with a penetrating look.

  “What year is it, Yuri Kozakov?”

  “2012. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Do you have any idea who it was who brought me across so many centuries ago?”

  Yuri shook his head. Keisha began to have a very uncomfortable idea of where this discussion headed.

  “If I say Mayan, would that make anything clearer to you?”

  Yuri shook his head wearily. “The Mayan prediction of doom for 2012? That’s been proven a hoax. Even the Mayans of today don’t believe anything special is supposed to take place this year. It’s just another year with some special celestial events, but there are special celestial things going on every year.”

  Apolinar hugged himself as he giggled. Keisha watched him with horrified eyes.

  “The Ancient One, who brought me over, confided in me before he disappeared into the ground. Humans are only to be allowed to advance so far and then we need to stop them. They need to be dumbed down so they will accept what is coming.”

  “The end of the world?” Yuri asked with disbelief evident on his face.

  Apolinar shook his head, smiling.

  “No, silly. The world won’t end for you and me...for any of us. We are eternal, remember?”

  “But we need to feed so it can’t end for our mortal brothers either, right? They don’t need us but we sure need them.”

  “The blood doesn’t care if they are smart or dumb. In fact, the less intelligent ones make for better servants. For you...for us...for them.”

  Yuri leaned forward.

  “Who is them?”

  Apolinar giggled again.

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out. They’ll be here soon enough...of course, soon is relative when you’ve been alive as long as I have. Certainly they will be here before 2021. That’s the really special year. The whole 2012 thing was a goal for us to figure out how to decrease worldwide intelligence while increasing the population. Now that we are well on our way—thanks to your research you lovely lady—all we have to do is wait. He was promised that they would leave more than enough of them here to keep all of us fed. There weren’t eno
ugh mortals for them to take more than a few hundred the last time. This time there will be.”

  Keisha felt nauseated by the knowledge that her research would be so misused—as well as—terrified by his words. This ancient teenager insinuated that aliens visited the planet in the times of the Mayan empire and planned on coming back to take large numbers of hapless human beings back to their planets as servants. She also realized that once she shared blood with these two Old Ones they would be able to read all of her thoughts— including her opinions of them. What if they were upset to learn what she thought?

  She shot a panicked glance towards Yuri and realized by the look on his face that he already knew what she thought. At that moment, Casimiro, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

  “I think it is time for us to share our ancient blood with our new friend. Since I am younger, I am more anxious to taste your intelligence. You have an analytical mind schooled in the methods of scientific inquiry. I am more interested in mathematical equations but science is science, eh?”

  He moved from the couch he sat on, to the cushion next to Keisha. He smiled at her in what he apparently thought was a warm manner and took her hand in his.

  “I assume Yuri has explained to you that we both want a taste of you. We crave your youth and intelligence. In return, we offer you the strength and protection of our ancient blood. Yuri is the only one who burns to know how and why...but all of us know that the longer the blood is alive within a body, the stronger it becomes. You had a taste of age from Yuri. I now ask that you let me sample you and then take from me.”

  Keisha had a moment of panic and then felt herself relax under the concentrated gaze of Casimiro’s eyes. Their light blue color burned like twin flames and she leaned towards him as his head tilted to one side to allow his descended fangs to penetrate the skin of her neck.

  Instantly the noise in her head exploded. She was invaded by another mind that trampled all through her memories, peering into the corners of the parts of herself that she kept private. She fought him, and then felt him calming her down with his voice of reason.