by Jasper Kent
‘You believe me?’
‘The only unconvincing thing is that he remembers it at all.’
‘I think he regrets it.’
‘Regrets fucking me on the floor of his father’s church?’ She was shouting again.
‘No. God no. Regrets what came after.’ I had no idea why I was defending him, except that it was how I knew he felt.
‘Is that why he came to find me today?’
‘To be honest, no, not at all. He had no idea who you were until he saw you. We both came to see if you knew a way to get us out of this … predicament.’
‘You thought I’d help you?’
‘He thought you’d help Zmyeevich.’
‘So why let me transform him into a vampire?’
‘He thought that what’s good for him must be bad for me.’
‘He must have known I’d find out it was him when our minds joined.’
‘He knew, but he wasn’t concerned. He admires what you’ve become.’ It was revolting for me to say, but it was true. ‘I said he regretted what came after, but that’s not quite correct. He doesn’t regret that Honoré made you into a vampire, but that he didn’t join you.’
She reached out and took my hand. ‘Really? Truly?’
‘Truly.’ I squeezed her fingers in mine. ‘You were the first woman I’d ever known. How was I supposed to understand how different you were from all the others that I’d not yet met?’
She looked up at me, recognition showing on her face. ‘Richard?’ she whispered.
‘Yes, it’s me now.’ I wouldn’t like to have to decide whether the words I’d said to her were true, but Danilov had spun her a pretty yarn and she seemed to be falling for it. It was our only chance of survival. I could never have said such things to her myself. He had played Cyrano to my Christian – though I doubted that he would be falling for our own Roxane. But he had pitied her.
‘That wasn’t very kind; pretending you were Zmyeevich.’
‘No, it wasn’t. But everything Danilov told you was correct.’ I bent forward and picked up the razor from where she had dropped it, offering it to her. ‘Do me the honour that you were going to before. Make me a vampire again.’
‘So that we can spend eternity together?’
When she put it like that it did not sound a tempting prospect. She would not want it any more than I did. ‘So that we can make the world a more interesting place for having us both in it.’ An idea struck me. ‘And who knows? Perhaps together we will finally discover a way of bringing Zmyeevich back from the dead.’ Fat chance.
‘I’ve already begun,’ she said.
I tried not to react. Had she begun to bring him back, or merely to look for a way? ‘Really?’ I asked.
She shook her head. ‘Not now.’ Then she took the razor from me and began to walk around, not looking at me as she spoke. ‘You hurt me in many ways, Richard. You abandoned me with our child. You offered me up as food to your pet vampire. Even just now you chose to deceive me in the cruellest of ways.’
‘I’ve told you I’m sorry.’
‘But we still haven’t covered the foulest thing you’ve done to me.’
I tried to think. ‘Tell me then. Let me make amends.’
‘Tell you the worst thing that you did? The worst thing that can be done to any vampire?’
I began to understand. I said nothing.
‘I only saw your face once more after you freed us. You thought you were freeing just Honoré, but I was there too. I saw you – I think you might have seen me. Then we went and fulfilled Honoré’s promise to you. We went to the rectory and killed your father; ripped his throat out as he slept and fed upon him. We stayed together, Honoré and I, for a little while. I had much to learn. But finally we went our separate ways. We were never far from each other’s thoughts. The minds of two vampires, one who created the other, are intertwined. He was in Wallachia, enjoying a raid on a Russian encampment. I enjoyed it too, seeing through his eyes. We shared the exact same feeling of surprise when he opened that tent and found you in there.
‘You’d grown, of course, grown into a man, but we both knew you instantly. I was tempted to let you live – you’d done me a favour after all – but he was hungry and it was no business of mine. And the prospect of seeing you die intrigued me. But it didn’t turn out like that, did it? You were very resourceful. The sharpened point of a tent pole through his heart. And then … nothing more.’
‘It was self-defence. You saw that.’
‘Oh yes, absolutely true.’ She was behind me now. I could hear the edge of suppressed anger in her voice and could imagine the expression on her face. ‘But you and I both know how little that matters. You became famous over the years for your studies of our kind – or infamous perhaps. So you must understand that there can be no excuses such as self-defence when it comes to killing a vampire’s parent. It’s my duty. It’s in my blood. I’m sorry, Richard – and sorry too, Mihail Konstantinovich, if you’re listening – but this is simply how it has to be. I could do this in the usual way, but I’m not hungry, and I wouldn’t want to sully my lips.’
Her dainty little hand grabbed me across the mouth and pulled my head back. Even then, I noticed the slight, sweet fragrance of it. She rested the blade of the razor against my skin, just above my Adam’s apple. ‘I won’t make this quick,’ she said.
I tried to struggle, but she had a voordalak’s strength and I was no match for her. All I managed to achieve was to press my throat harder against the razor and feel it cut into me. It was a minor wound and I knew there would be worse to come. Somewhere in my mind I could feel Danilov gloating, pleased that Susanna was about to achieve what he had been unable to and admiring the fact that she had chosen the weapon that I had been so happy to use in his hand. The pain would be nothing to him, knowing that I shared it.
She moved the blade over to the far left of my throat.
‘Goodbye, Richard,’ she whispered. Then she emitted a gasp. Her hand – and with it the razor – moved away from me. Her grip on my face relaxed and I managed to twist free. I turned and stood.
We were no longer alone. Opposite her was the tall figure of Dmitry, gripping her arm so that she could not wield the razor. She struggled against him but, just as a man like him would have been the stronger if they were humans, so too it was the case as vampires. I plucked the blade from her fingers.
‘Who are you now?’ Dmitry asked me.
‘Danilov,’ I replied. I didn’t have time to think, so the best option seemed to be to lie. I realized as I spoke I should have said ‘Mihail.’
‘Rubbish!’ hissed Susanna.
‘What does it matter?’ asked Dmitry.
With a sudden twist Susanna broke free from him and ran out into the corridor. ‘Ilya! Sandor!’ she shouted. ‘Help me!’ It was an impressive sound that she produced, echoing along the corridors.
‘Where’s Ascalon?’ asked Dmitry.
‘Who cares?’ I replied. ‘Let’s just get out of here.’
‘No! We must find it.’
I knew I wasn’t going to get far without Dmitry, so it was better to do what he wanted. We both searched the floor. It was only moments before I saw it, nestling beside one of the coffins. I grabbed it and showed it to him.
‘Here!’
We went out into the passage. Susanna stood blocking the way in one direction. Dmitry didn’t hesitate, but went the other – towards the main chamber and the exit through the sewers. Susanna didn’t move, but I heard her calling after us. ‘You’ll never make it.’
She was right. We didn’t get as far as the stairs before the path was blocked by Ilya. I could see two more figures behind him. In the tight corridor Dmitry’s physique seemed immense. Ilya looked puny beside him. Dmitry did not pause. He grabbed one side of Ilya’s head and smashed it into the wall. I could see Ilya’s face deform as his skull began to compress. But for a voordalak it would not be a fatal wound, and there were two more behind him.
‘
This way,’ I said, turning back in the direction we had come.
‘It’s locked,’ Dmitry shouted.
‘I know a way.’
Soon we were back where we had started. Susanna was still standing there, blocking our path, a look of triumph on her face. I ducked into the alcove and allowed Dmitry to charge on past. He lowered his shoulder and hit her full in the belly. Any affection I had held minutes before for my unborn child was gone now, and I was pleased to see the pain on her face as she collapsed to the floor. Dmitry was already on his way and I leapt over her prone body before she could have a chance to recover.
Dmitry was halfway up the iron ladder by the time I reached it. I began to climb as quickly as I could. He’d now clambered through the opening and was peering back, holding the flagstone ready to be dropped into place. I felt a sharp pain in my calf, and I could not lift my leg from the rung. I looked down and saw Susanna’s face staring up at me, her hand on my ankle. Her teeth were bared and her eyes were full of hatred. She continued to climb smoothly, sliding her body over mine, enveloping it, like a snake swallowing its enormous prey. Her intent was to pin me against the ladder and bring her mouth up to my neck so she could strike. Already her head was level with my knees, and that was just what I’d been waiting for. I raised my other foot and stamped down on her face for all I was worth. She fell back, releasing me and dangling from the ladder by only one hand. I carried on up and was soon through the opening. At the same moment Dmitry released the stone slab. I saw her dainty fingers scrabbling to get a grip on the edge. The stone fell into place and we heard a muffled scream. The mashed tips of two fingers remained caught in the narrow gap.
Dmitry nodded along the corridor to where the iron gate could just be seen. ‘See? I told you; it’s locked.’
‘Then we go the other way,’ I said.
Just as I remembered, the passageway soon led to another spiral staircase. We ascended. Behind us we could hear the footsteps of our pursuers. The stairs ended in a sturdy wooden door. That hadn’t been there either, the last time I was here. I cursed my luck, but then smiled. There was a key in the lock. Dmitry had already seen it and a moment later we were through the door and locking it from the other side.
I breathed in the cool night air. We were outside. The whole of Petrograd lay as a panorama before us. As ever the streets were thronged with workers and soldiers. I could see as far as Palace Square, still densely packed. Behind us the red stone columns of the cathedral’s central domed tower rose upwards. A smaller tower, topped with gold, was just in front of us. We were on a parapet that ran all along the building’s roof. Fists began to bang from the other side of the door, but it looked strong enough to hold even vampires for a while.
‘So what are we supposed to do now?’ said Dmitry.
‘We climb,’ I replied. ‘Or rather you climb and I hang on.’
We made our way over the shallow slope until we reached that smaller corner tower, then Dmitry descended until only his upper torso was visible. He clung on to the lead roof with his fingertips. I scrambled forwards and climbed on to him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and gripping tightly on to his coat. He began to descend.
His instinct as a vampire was to go down head first, but I would have been quite unable to keep hold. For a while we could still hear them beating on the door, which gave us hope that they hadn’t thought to come down and wait for us at the bottom, though they could have split up. Dmitry made easy work of the smooth walls, but there were two wide protruding ledges along the way that made things more difficult – particularly with me on his back. At each one I dismounted and let him get over the obstacle before pairing up once again. Soon we were on the ground.
There was a round of applause and a few cheers. Quite a crowd had gathered, but amongst them I saw none of the faces of the vampires who were pursuing us. I could only hope that the sound hadn’t attracted their attention.
‘This way,’ said Dmitry, heading off at a run in the direction of the Admiralty.
I couldn’t keep up for more than a few seconds. I slowed to a walk, but failed even to maintain that for long. Ahead I saw him turn and begin striding back. I ducked into a side street, so that we couldn’t be seen from the cathedral, but I could do no more. I leaned against the wall and then gradually slid to the ground. My chest was on fire. I could scarcely breathe. Dmitry’s dark figure loomed above me.
CHAPTER XVIII
‘YOU FOOL, DMITRY. You blundering, ham-fisted idiot.’ My voice was a harsh whisper, emitted between tight painful breaths.
‘You’re welcome,’ Dmitry replied.
It took me a moment to notice the sarcasm, but I was in no state to say anything further. I thrust my hand into my pocket, but found it empty. I tried the other side, but realized it was hopeless – this was not my coat.
‘Shit!’ I muttered. I lay back, panting, knowing that if I was calm there was a good chance the pain would recede on its own.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Dmitry.
‘I need my pills. They’re at home.’
‘I’ll go and get them.’
I shook my head. I didn’t want Nadya to have to see him. ‘Just let me rest.’
He said nothing more and for a few minutes we remained in silence, but for the rasping of my breath, which gradually began to return to normal.
‘Who am I talking to?’ he asked at length.
‘Mihail, now. But it was Iuda until I sat down here.’
‘I thought as much, though you might still be Iuda.’
I could only offer a grunt as a reply.
‘Who’s the Chinese Emperor?’ Dmitry asked quickly.
‘There isn’t one. It’s a republic now. I can’t remember who the president is.’
‘Good enough.’
‘You should have let her kill me, Dmitry – kill us both. It’s the only way.’
‘I couldn’t just leave you.’
‘You could have been a few minutes later.’
He chuckled and then sat down next to me. ‘I nearly was. You’re lucky I got to you at all.’
‘Not lucky,’ I said, but he ignored me.
‘You must have left by the time I got to the cathedral. I waited, and saw you all coming back; I followed you up the stairs, but the gate was already locked. I tried the hidden panel we used before, but it was bricked up behind. Then I remembered where Iuda had gone to recover, after Zmyeevich nearly killed him. I visited him there – in the sewers under Saint Isaac’s Square. I knew there had to be a way through to the cathedral. It took a while, but eventually I found it, and found my way to you.’
‘That’s the way we got in,’ I said. ‘Iuda tried to convince Susanna that it was actually Zmyeevich who had been resurrected in me, not him.’
‘Susanna?’
‘Anastasia. It’s her real name. Apparently she and Iuda know each other from long ago.’ It felt intrusive to give Dmitry the full details.
‘I overheard some of it. It makes more sense now. Did she have any ideas to get you out of this mess?’
‘Aside from killing me, no.’
‘You really think that would do the trick?’ he asked.
‘Of course. How couldn’t it?’
He put his hands to his face and breathed out through his fingers. ‘You remember when you drank Zmyeevich’s blood? You’d hidden it in that nutshell like it was a poison pill.’
‘Of course.’
‘And after that, he daren’t kill you, because you’d become a vampire and he didn’t want that.’
‘That was because of the Romanov blood he’d already drunk.’
‘Exactly. And aren’t you in the same situation here? Iuda drank your blood, you told me, just as he was dying. And a couple of nights ago Anastasia forced you to drink his. If you die while it’s still in your body, you’ll become a vampire – won’t you?’
I let out a broad, mirthless laugh. ‘Jesus Christ, Dmitry. You could be right. Cut it down to its basics and that’s what we have.
Iuda drank my blood; I’ve drunk his. If I die then … Forget all the hocus pocus and it’s just the normal way.’ I laughed again, this time at my concept of normality. ‘And not even Iuda thought of it. Thank God you did. You’re a good man, Dmitry.’
His eyes flashed at me and his nostrils flared. ‘Don’t presume to understand me, Mihail. I act for myself. It won’t do me any good to have Iuda back.’
‘You don’t act just for yourself. You act for Russia too, sometimes. You’ve convinced me of that.’
He seemed keen not to dwell on the subject. ‘So what will you do now?’
‘Survive,’ I replied. ‘For a few weeks anyway – or months, or however long it takes for Iuda’s blood to leave me.’
‘Will you be able to? What if Iuda just takes over and … walks you under a train or something?’ It was an interesting method of death for him to pick. His own vampire parent, Raisa, had died that way.
‘I don’t think it’s possible,’ I said. ‘I tried it – tried to jump off a rooftop – when I thought it might do some good. He managed to stop me. I’m sure I’ll be able to do the same.’
‘What if he just walks you right back in there with Anastasia and lets her do the dirty work?’
‘I’ll have to try and avoid it. Or hope I get the chance to explain to her. If you see her, do tell her what will happen if I die. Perhaps she’ll become my protectress.’
‘I’ll be sure to mention it. But I have to go now.’
‘It won’t be dawn for hours.’
‘No, but I have to … to feed.’
The images of those men in the bathhouse came back to me: their awful deaths, and the pleasure I had felt Iuda take at merely watching. Suddenly I guessed at Dmitry’s predicament, and that of every one of his kind. Was he truly a vampire, or was he merely possessed by a vampire, which had taken him over many years before? I was possessed by a creature far worse. For him there was no return – and none for me either.
‘Will you be leaving the city,’ I asked, ‘now that the Bolsheviks have won?’