Hunger

by Lillie J. Roberts

  We’d discussed the Council, the Magistrate, and Rafael, arguing if should we interfere, but no other options presented themselves. Rafael had someway found his way into the Council, torturing, maiming, and murdering Loupgarin’s sanity, maybe over the centuries. And, maybe Loupgarin wasn’t his only target, others could fail prey to his form of hunting. All while the Council looked the other way.

  “The Magistrate encouraged Loupgarin’s torture, then held us responsible, threatened us all. It’s the Magistrate and Rafael who pose a threat to us and humanity, to all vampirekind. We can’t let that go. If we do, not only are we setting ourselves up for an easy kill for the next vampire who wants Chicago, but to the Magistrate’s vile needs. And that’s not even the Magistrate’s worst offense. He wiped out two other families to achieve his sick desires and vampiric plans. For them, I seek justice as well.”

  As the law enforcer for Chicago, there wasn’t any way I could let either bastard continue to exist. The Hierarchy demanded obedience, loyalty under the threat of death, but shouldn’t the same penalty hold true for them, and for those held in their highest ranks? They’d threatened my family, threatened the city, threatened the exposure of us all, surely to bring us to the true death.

  *

  Stalking the Draugen, I found the Magistrate once again living in the lap of luxury now that he was secure in the knowledge of Loupgarin’s end. When called for, vampires have a great capacity for patience. So, I planned, observed, and waited for the Magistrate to make a fatal mistake.

  I stationed myself outside his apartment and watched for the right opportunity. I glimpsed the Magistrate moving through his quarters, always surrounded by his guards or his pathetic blood slaves whom he took to his bed from time to time. Finally, the young woman, Sybil, who had offered herself to us, was brought to him, his favorite cow. She’d lost her youthful glow, a sickly shadow of the once vibrant girl.

  Her body had weakened, finally unable to replace what he’d taken. As I focused in to listen, her heart quit beating. With a sigh, her humanity evaporated. Her drained and dying body graced her master’s bed. The young female had wanted nothing more than to be fed from, to allow the richness of the pheromones to wash through her body. As I looked on, he patted her cooling body, disgust lined his face. She was a disposable commodity.

  “Remove this chattel from my sight,” he called to the guards who came to bear the body away. It was the opening I’d been waiting for. With silent movements, I crawled the exterior wall, crept into the room where the chilling form had once laid. I let a little fear color my features, my voice soft and unsure for any guards passing my way, one of the powerless, seeking the Magistrate’s forgiveness; they’d all seen him abuse me.

  The Magistrate had begun to relax, safe behind the authority of the Council, his biggest mistake. Maybe he had forgotten our encounter. Maybe he thought I wasn’t a threat. There was a passageway that led from one suite of rooms to another, and this is where I found myself. The Magistrate must not have sensed my presence, because he turned into the same narrow passage, bringing us face to face.

  “So, now what, you came here to try to kill me?” the Magistrate questioned, a grim grin stretched his pale face, sure he’d best me.

  “No, Magistrate, I would never think only to kill you,” I ground out. “I thought first to maim, beat, and bruise your body as Loupgarin did those I care for. That is Magistrate, unless you choose to give me Rafael in your place.”

  The Magistrate hung his head as quiet laughter erupted from his lips. “You—you think you can come here? To threaten me? Who do you think you are?” His thoughts merged with mine, pictures of death, slavery, a massive turning, an army. Humans kept in pens, drank from and drained, tossed aside like trash, propagated to keep the blood pure. Horrific images with he and Rafael as the new leaders of this strange kind of vampiric breed. A new Vampire Hierarchy from hell. His thoughts I had perceived with our earlier encounter were the mere beginnings of his demented plans.

  I shuddered as I returned the ancient vampire’s stare. “Oh no, Magistrate, I didn’t come here to only threaten you. I, Magistrate Dumas, am the bringer of your death, the unending one. Soon you will sleep, unwaking. As you sought your vengeance, so shall I. The vampiric way will remain secret.” Feeling my muscles bunch tightly with tension, I rolled my shoulders, and likewise, my beast readied for release. But I tamed it back once more. “I’m going to make you wish I’d killed you, quick and fast.” Then I let my head fall forward and joined his amusement.

  The laughter turned into a roar and sudden fear grew in the bloody-golden eyes of the all-powerful Magistrate. He tried easing back, to employ the guards, but too late. My beast reveled in its sudden freedom. The Magistrate scurried away, trying to find refuge, but my beast struck out furiously. It captured him in his flight, his throat clamped in my tight grip, claws digging deep into his chest. His feet scraped the thickly carpeted floor.

  “Give me Rafael,” I demanded as the Magistrate’s face darkened to a ruddy red, then purple as the vessels burst and his blood spilled. “Give me Rafael, and maybe you’ll remain undead.” I grinned into the Magistrate’s face, and he shuddered. Pure unadulterated hate swept the room.

  “He’s within the Council chambers. Go. You’ll find him there. I swear it,” he wheezed, as my fingers scraped inside his skin, ancient muscles pulling apart, and the vertebra of his neck popped. The bone shown clearly through the old, tired flesh. One by one, the bones crumbled beneath my beast’s powerful grip; my hand clasped his stony heart … ceasing in its struggle to beat.

  “You said to give you Rafael,” he rasped out, “you’d take him in my stead.” The Magistrate’s precious fluids flowed down and over his silvery robes, dark red-black gleaming in a shiny case.

  “I lied.” With a final snap and last decaying groan of ancient muscles, his head fell from his shoulders, rolling to my feet. I kicked its ugly countenance away. In another moment, his heart joined his head.

  Cleaning the remnants of the Magistrate from my hands, I considered my options. There had already been so much death and destruction, but knowing what I did, and how the Council worked, if Rafael was left undead, he’d seek us out. Maybe to give us a taste of his torture or maybe he’d use the Council much like he had Loupgarin, hoping to distract his opponents and reassure those who supported his plan. I’d have Council assassins, the Magistrate’s loyal Draugen, dogging my footsteps. No, he had to go, or I and my family were in greater danger than ever before.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The Council’s chambers rested in one of the newly renovated warehouses, sun-tight rooms readily used by Council members. It was a huge space, remodeled to the Council’s specifications. It resembled a luxury apartment building, each space had its own entrance, nicely appointed, and sun protected. When I checked, several members were in residence right now. Rafael would be close enough to contact the Magistrate, though it no longer mattered. As the vampire law enforcer, the security devices had been mounted to my stipulations. I oversaw every step of their installation. A small hidden door, unknown by others, remained for safety’s sake, and I planned to use it on this occasion.

  Members of the Council were some of the most powerful vampires left walking the Earth. I didn’t stand a chance breaching their defenses, nor did I plan to. An unsanctioned taking of a vampiric life was what led to the Sangreets and Belagos’s slaughter. I could not have our family ruined as payment for my actions. Luc hid Isabella, David, and Michela with our friend, Jon Paul, coming to our rescue once again.

  “Say the word, and we’ll stand with you. Truer friends will not be found.”

  Luc’s cagey response telling. “You’ll know if you need to get them out of the country.”

  “Go with the Earth Mother, my friend,” Jon Paul replied.

  “The same to you.” It would kill Luc to lose Isabella. “Keep them safe.” Jon Paul hurried away.

  I grasped my father’s hand. “Be prepared. They’ll be comin
g for you.”

  “Hurry, do the deed. I’ll be ready.”

  Now, I stood inside the Council’s residence. I reached out with my sense, hoping to find the unique signature of Rafael, his ability to drink life-force energy an unusual gift. I relaxed against the wall, unassuming, quietly probing when I locked onto the strange energy … There he was, in a feed. If Rafael escaped me this night, he’d demand Council justice, and rightfully so. If my plan succeeded, the Council might listen to my plea. It was my only hope.

  Rafael was enshrined in the belly of the Council, absorbing energy from all those around him, vampire and human alike, stealing energy, before he sought to appease his baser needs. Blood. He was a smallish man, with a shimmering glow surrounding his head like an angel’s halo, a fallen angel, demonic in place of goodness. His musings disturbed me, images of death to humanity, a vampiric rising, and those humans left yoked in the robes of slavery. I remembered enough of my human life to know I could not let this happen. Even if he hadn’t destroyed Loupgarin’s diseased mind, he deserved to die for the plans he was propagating, fomenting, salivating to put into action.

  When he found me in his thoughts, I felt his pleasure grow as he showed me what my death was going to look like. But I’d already died once, twice would matter even less. Entering the room where he appeared to be slumbering, I brought out the small wrist bound crossbow only used once before, fashioned for rogue vampire extermination. He tried to absorb my energy, to use me as he feed on the others. He opened his bloody orbs to find me and my crossbow waiting.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, his eyes growing wide as he focused on the deadly weapon.

  “I’m Lucius Draco’s underling, Benedict Draco, and you’ve tried to kill us.”

  He attempted to deny the facts of his betrayal but I’d already seen the truth.

  “You are mistaken, I’m a valued member of the Vampire Council. You’ve crossed a line that will bring your ending, that weapon is forbidden. Leave, now, before I call the others. We shall strike you down where you stand, Benedict Draco, and your family too.”

  He grinned and his argument would have been sound if the Magistrate hadn’t given so much information away in his attempts to goad me. With his death, the full force of their sick plan had leaked into my thoughts. It was a perversion of everything I’d fought to protect throughout my undead life.

  “Your logic is flawed, underling,” he replied.

  “You drove Loupgarin past reasoning,” I answered, ignoring his words. “He viewed all as his enemies, insane with bloodlust which could never be sated. Killing and maiming. He has greeted his death and you will join him on this night. My family will not be endangered. Nor will the entirety of our race.” My beast growled greedily, hoping for a second release. I wondered if he thought he could escape me, if his reasoning was to kill me? But, if he did manage to defeat me, Lucius waited to take my place as his executioner. Rafael would meet his end, by one means or another.

  He gazed over at me and grinned. “Already you are weakening, young one. Can you not feel the drain of my pull?”

  My arm drooped, and I peered at him, letting him believe he was winning, letting him believe that soon I would be bowing down at his feet, begging for my own life. But my shields were strong. He was the one who was mistaken.

  “Soon you will be little more than a husk, but I will have enjoyed your life’s meal.” He cackled, mad with what he saw as his greatest power, but he could not survive the sting of the wooden spike when it punctured his unfeeling heart. My finger grew anxious to pull the crossbow’s trigger.

  “I think not.” He’d felt sure of his victory before I swung my arm back up, aiming the crossbow. The wooden spike released as his undead eyes grew in size. It whistled through the air, embedding in its mark.

  For a moment, his eyes widened further, and he hissed, before falling to the ground, his fingers groping, there would be no escape. His eyes glowed with hatred. As he fell, smoke billowed from the wound, the air permeating with the smell of burnt copper. It was useless for him to struggle; the battle was already lost. I squatted on the floor, bending over him, hand tightened around his throat. In his last moments, before his head separated from his body, he poured out his death to the rest of the Council. His death curse. There were rumblings around the building, shouts from those closest, coming to the old vampire’s rescue, but they would not be in time. Another second, and it was over, soon to be the dried husked he’d promised me.

  I knew the consequences before ever making my ploy. The Council would not allow my escape, not now. I readied myself to plead my case or greet my death. I’d made my peace, either way.

  *

  Lucius and I had already discussed the Council’s justice. Taking one of their members was strictly forbidden, and I’d have taken two. But Rafael and the Magistrate had perverted the Council’s power and planned to expose us all. On the next night, the Council sent their representatives to our apartments, bringing Lucius to their chambers. I stood encircled by Draugen, awaiting my fate.

  When he arrived, it was to find the Council members sitting in judgment, some with the Magistrate’s appearance, and others looked younger than my years. In reality, they were all older than my centuries and, together contained the power of the ancients.

  “Lucius Draco, was it with your knowledge your underling, Benedict Draco, sought legitimate justice by taking Magistrate Dumas and the Master Rafael?” one of the youngish members enquired.

  “I knew and welcomed his decision to end the unnatural existence of Magistrate Dumas and Master Rafael. They were corrupting the power of the Council to torture another, poisoning him beyond rational thought. Then they allowed him to escape, and he spread the toxins contained within his body, turning young ones who became sick and demented from the blood exchange.” He explained what the Council already knew, what they had watched happen, and did nothing to prevent.

  “Benedict Draco, please step forward. The Council desires to hear your reasoning before passing judgment.”

  My silvery eyes glowed with the knowledge of the Council’s cowardice. The Draugen separated, and I stepped forward, ready for my fate. I bowed, then stood to face them. “Council Members,” I started, “I’m sure had you been aware of what was happening, it would have been stopped. Loupgarin was using Chicago’s poorest as his personal hunting and making grounds. I couldn’t let him continue. My father could not halt his advances, one of Loupgarin’s secret strengths prevented his children from retaliation. As the enforcer for the city, and my father’s trusted guard, it was my duty to prevent further exposure of our kind. Master Rafael forced my hand and Magistrate Dumas had his own reasons for wanting my family destroyed. I had but little choice in the deeds I deemed necessary. It was my responsibility, and mine alone, to keep my family and the city safe from predators, even from other vampires such as Rafael and Dumas. I regret having to take their lives, but it could be no other way. They would have taken mine, my family’s, and exposed us all.”

  Another of the members questioned me. “Master Rafael and Magistrate Dumas were important members of the Council, yet you brought them to their deaths without consulting us?” He gestured to his brothers and sisters sitting alongside him.

  “Dumas planned to enslave humanity. If I could have brought it before the Council, I would have. I had seen only inklings of what was to happen. On the night of his demise, he poured out the war to come, all the destruction, and his alliance with Rafael, into my thoughts. When I discovered their plan, I acted with the urgency necessary. Together, Dumas and Rafael planned to create a race of blood slaves dependent on vampiric pheromones, blood slaves that would perpetuate themselves with their offspring. He didn’t try to shield his thoughts, sure he would see my family’s death instead.” My voice dripped with disgust as I glanced around the room to see some astonished eyes, and some not so surprised, and I wondered who else on the Council might be complicit.

  Sighing, I glanced up at the Council. “I will
accept the Council’s findings, but know both Rafael and Dumas planned to bring vampirism to human knowledge. War would have been inevitable.”

  The horror of what I’d seen rested in my eyes. I felt the brush of different consciousnesses as the Council members delved through my mind to see for themselves, this new society Dumas and Rafael wanted to make. If left unchecked, it would have become all too real, bringing ultimate warfare with the humans they hoped to enslave. One thing I remembered about humanity, the chain of slavery is not one easily worn.

  The Council closed in amongst themselves, the reasoning of the case complete. The Draugen drew tighter around us, their bitterness toward us palpable. I’d taken two of their supporters. Then the Council once again widened its circle. “Lucius Draco, step forward to face our judgment.” Lucius moved to the front of the assembly. “Do you take responsibility for the underling, Benedict?”

  He turned to gaze at me, all our years together shown in his eyes. “Yes, I take full responsibility for his actions. If his hand had not provided justice, it would have been my own.”

  “He was following orders, both given and expected to be abided by?”

  “Yes, Council Members, I knew and approved of his actions.”

  The Council smiled as a whole. “Very well. Benedict Draco, are you ready to receive our determination?” Their smiles faded, a new seriousness and foreboding expanded into the room.

  For maybe the last time, I reached out to David, Isabella, and finally, Michela, letting them feel my regret if forced to leave them. Michela’s pain cut like a jagged knife. If death was going to come for me, at least I’d known her, cherished her body. “Yes, I’m ready to receive the Council Members’ judgment.”

  “This is a blood bound verdict, unimpeachable and irrefutable. Lucius Draco, as Regent of the city, it is within your authority to sanction the taking of vampiric life when deemed necessary. However, in the future, the Council should be consulted.” We had our reasons for not conferring with the Council, and they knew it too.