by Jonah Hewitt
Rivenden was completely encircled by dense, urban decay, sandwiched somewhere between Germantown and Fairmount Park. Though it occupied a couple dozen acres in the middle of the city, very few residents of the modern world were aware of its existence. It was on no major routes, and the old estate was far removed from any recent development. It had been stubbornly ignored as a rich man’s folly when the city grew up around it in the 19th and 20th centuries, and now that the city surrounding it was falling apart, it was completely forgotten. It was surrounded by a high wall made of a grey local stone, Wissahickon Schist. If you tried to find a street view of the estate online, this wall was the only thing you would ever see. The entrances were bricked up long ago. In the center of the walled estate, completely concealed by the overgrown oaks, tulip trees and black walnuts, was an elegant, red brick, Palladian manor home that predated the American Revolution by more than fifty years.
Rivenden was still on all the old maps but very few of the new ones. Old books in libraries did record it was the country home to seven generations of distinguished Philadelphian physicians, but if you tried to find any current information about it, all you could discover was that it was owned by some unnamed private trust. Push any farther than that and you got threatening letters on the letterhead of the oldest legal firm in Philly. The only ones who ever bothered to look for it anymore were little old ladies from local historical societies, but there were fewer and fewer of them every year anyway. And none of them were likely to try to scuttle up the high, stone wall like Tim Riggle was now struggling to do.
Miles, Hokharty and Schuyler were already on the inside standing in a small clearing of the dense undergrowth. Graber was waiting on the other side for Tim to finish, and he was taking forever to do it. All of the vampires had managed it easily. Even Miles, who was known to trip up often, had done it handily. Hokharty had offered to carry Tim over the wall, but Tim protested it was somehow beneath his dignity, and for some inexplicable reason, Hokharty had acquiesced to let Tim try it on his own. Tim was climbing up slowly and Schuyler was beside himself in frustration. Already the horizon was growing faintly bluer and Schuyler was chewing frantically on his plastic lollipop, pacing back and forth. It didn’t help that the trip took longer than expected and dawn was now less than an hour away. It had been a miserable car ride over.
Miles and Schuyler had had to sit in back with Graber in the middle, one of his enormous arms around each of them. Even in a big car with a wide bench seat, Graber was so large that Miles felt squeezed against the window. Tim and Schuyler had argued the whole way there. First about the music selection: Schuyler wanted to play some of his own custom dance mixes off his iPod, but Tim was strictly committed to authentic vintage restoration and the car only had an eight track. Then they argued over the radio selection. Tim wanted to listen to the university alternative station and Schuyler wanted techno. Then they argued about the route. Tim wanted to take the Schuylkyll expressway, while Schuyler wanted to take the surface streets. Hokharty let Tim get his way on this one at which point Schuyler started screaming, “KILL ME NOW!! For crying out loud, just KILL ME NOW!!” That lasted for several minutes until Graber put him into a headlock, and Schuyler was forced to spend the rest of trip with his head in Graber’s armpit. It was at least quiet after that.
Miles, on the other hand, was pumped by Hokharty for information about Wallach. How old was he? Where had he come from? What were his capabilities? Who were his chief henchmen? etc. Miles didn’t know much more than what the vampires spoke only in whispered gossip: that Wallach was some Eastern European noble from the 18th Century who had come to the new world and never left. Miles had only seen Wallach exercise his powers on rare occasion, but that was enough to scare him out of his mind. Miles told Hokharty how once he had seen Wallach toss Forzgrim, his largest henchmen, through several walls in a fit of frustration. Then he told Hokharty about Wallach’s more charming qualities: his sadism, cruelty and capriciousness. Then he told him about what he hadn’t actually seen and was only rumored – that Wallach could transform into a monstrous, black dog.
He told Hokharty about Forzgrim and Ulami. Forzgrim was a big brute with long black hair and a goatee – fast and very tough. He preferred straightforward bludgeoning attacks. Ulami was thin, practically skeletal, and pale blonde, but she was even quicker and deadlier and always caught you from behind or the side in a slashing attack with long, razor-sharp nails. “Thrasher” and “Slasher,” the other vampires called them, but only when well out of earshot.
Each time Miles answered one of Hokharty’s questions Schuyler shot Miles a look of utter contempt, but Miles couldn’t see it from Schulyer’s position under Graber’s arm. All in all, Hokharty didn’t seem very impressed. The whole time Hokharty never looked at Miles but instead sat in the front pouring over Tim’s collection of vintage roadmaps of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. He seemed to be remembering every detail of them. Then he asked several questions that made no sense to Miles. He had asked who Wallach’s master had been, and if he had ever seen Wallach with any silver chains or a small, green emerald. Miles had no answers for any of these, so he had been glad when they finally parked the Impala outside an empty stretch of the high, stone wall.
Schuyler had been right of course. Even in the early morning the Schuylkill was a disaster. So now, they were here even later than expected, and Schuyler was watching precious moments drift away as they waited for Tim to climb the wall. It didn’t matter much to Miles. In fact, he was certain death was just minutes away, either by Forzgrim, Wallach or Graber, but he could tell by the way Schuyler was manically chewing on his lollipop that he had not yet given up hope of survival. Now, as Miles watched him, he knew that in his last moments Schuyler was desperately clinging to any possible chance of escape. Inside that blond, blow-dried head he was still gaming every option, scheming and plotting each possible scenario. He probably had a dozen monologues on tap right now, each tailored to a particular variable, each desperate to convince Wallach to spare him. No doubt in each outcome he was prepared to lie, backstab or trick any of them just to stay in Wallach’s good graces. Schuyler had always expected to rise higher in the vampire hierarchy than mere flunkey and seeing that slip away from him must have been tearing him up inside.
Until that night, and his fight with Hokharty, Miles had never seen any real evidence that Schuyler could be more than a simple toady, so in spite of himself, Miles suddenly felt a small twinge of pity for the preposterous peacock. Miles had always lived in the moment, day by day, just getting by, but Schuyler had lived in a future of possibilities. All those possibilities obviously took time to unfold, time Schuyler was seeing frittered away needlessly by some Renfield that couldn’t climb a ladder, let alone a stone wall, and didn’t have the sense to upgrade the stereo on his gas-guzzling beater.
So when Tim’s shaky frame finally appeared, panting and scraped at the top of the wall, it was no surprise that Schuyler practically yelled in exasperation, “THANK YOU!! Finally. Can we GO now?!” Miles smiled at this and even felt a tiny amount of shame at enjoying Schuyler’s anguish. For Miles’ part, he was strangely calm. He couldn’t possibly imagine any scenario where he lived past the next hour. Oddly, being a vampire had always made him edgy, nervous, and this was probably why he was such a lousy one. Now, near the end, he wasn’t nervous anymore. Ever since he had given up hope, he had felt much better. His only concern now was that the passing wasn’t too painful.
As Hokharty looked up at Tim bent over panting on top of the wall he must have taken pity on Schuyler. “Perhaps we can ask Graber to help you down, Tim?” Hokharty’s politeness was off-putting and creepy at times, but it seemed sincere. Tim just nodded, gasping. In the fraction of a second it took for Miles to look from Tim to Hokharty and back again, Graber had joined Tim on top of the wall. Whether he had just materialized there out of thin air or whether he was just that wicked fast, it was terrifying to see something that big move so suddenly.
G
raber unceremoniously grabbed Tim around the waist and jumped down the full fifteen feet of the high wall. Tim slapped his hands over his mouth to stifle the scream, and Graber landed with a colossal thud. Graber let go and Tim pushed himself away from the hulking corpse in disgust, landed face first on the dry leaves, spun around and shot back up quickly. Schuyler was cringing from the all the noise. Most vampires made less noise than a cat walking on pillows, but these three tromped around like a bunch of kindergarteners with tin cans strapped to their feet. They just didn’t care, and Miles couldn’t tell if they were fearless, crazy or stupid.
Tim safely down, Hokharty turned to Miles and asked calmly, “Where now?”
Miles was about to point into the dense grove of trees when Schuyler interrupted him in a deranged whisper.
“What does it matter?!! They’re bound to know we’re here already!! Forzgrim and Ulami are probably watching us right now!! They’re just waiting to find out who we are before they kill us!!” Whether this outburst was part of one of Schuyler’s schemes or whether he had succumbed to panic Miles couldn’t tell.
Hokharty’s answer surprised both Miles and Schuyler. “Of course they are. They are here now.”
Miles looked around but saw nothing. “Really?” He was a bit surprised and scared all at once. The look of surprise on Schuyler’s face confirmed that even though he had suggested the idea, he hadn’t really believed that Forzgrim and Ulami were that close by. There was a difference, of course, between knowing and knowing.
“Yes,” Hokharty said flatly in a conversational tone. “The large dark one is in the tree above us waiting to pounce. The small, slender female is hiding in a shadow forty yards down the wall to the left projecting a mind haze over us to conceal the larger one.” Hokharty said this as if describing a clinical skin condition to a convention of dermatologists. His calm was unnerving. And then, as if it were nothing more than talking about the weather said, “They are planning an ambush.”
Miles looked up and down the wall, but saw nothing. Schuyler tensed up and stepped very slowly, picking up his feet as if he were walking in a minefield. He was searching the tree and wall intently, but couldn’t see anything.
“Then why haven’t they attacked us?!” Schuyler whispered so low only a vampire’s keen ears could hear it.
Hokharty replied at a normal, conversational volume as if talking to a bank cashier. “Up until now, our only shield has been their ignorance. They knew we were here, we knew they were here. As long as they didn’t know we knew, they would continue to observe us and wait for the most opportune moment, and we would be protected by their false sense of supremacy.” Miles rolled his eyes when Hokharty said this. Hokharty continued on ignoring Miles’ expressions of doubt.
“But they bloody know that we know now.” Miles looked up. That last thought sent chills through his already chilled blood.
“You mean you knew they were listening and you said it out loud anyway?!” Schuyler’s hoarse whisper came back.
“Yes, of course.”
Schuyler gritted his teeth in agony and grabbed his blonde hair in both fists. Then he seemed to writhe in a silent fit for a moment. It was like watching a movie of someone having a seizure without the sound on. Eventually, Schuyler came back to himself and whispered angrily at Hokharty through clenched teeth.
“But why?!!”
“They were planning an ambush. For an ambush to be successful, it must have the presumption of surprise. I only waited to make sure that Tim was safely over the wall where I could protect him before revealing I knew about the ambush all along.”
“Gee…thanks,” came Tim’s sarcastic reply.
“The Renfields in their clan must have it pretty good if they can talk back to their masters like that,” thought Miles.
Miles braved a low whisper, “Then why haven’t they attacked if they bloody well know we know?!”
Hokharty kept up the same moderate tone and volume as if giving a lecture on accounting practices. “By removing that surprise I have introduced confusion and hesitation. They must reformulate their plan and attempt a new strategy. Even now the large one is shifting his position above, and the female is concentrating all of her hazing powers on me in the misguided notion she can cover this new assault.”
Schuyler had another silent fit before responding in a slightly louder tense whisper, “WILL. YOU. PLEASE. STOP. TALKING?!”
Hokharty turned slowly to face Schuyler. “Master Schuyler, I am not here to start a fight, I am here to talk and negotiate. I hope that by showing an open hand I can make your friends see that their ambush is futile and that they will come out and negotiate peacefully. I have shown them that I have knowledge of their plans and their capabilities. I hope that they will see reason and not resort to a sudden, imprudent show of force out of rage or frustration.” A long, tense pause followed and Miles realized that Hokharty wasn’t really talking to Miles and Schuyler at all, but was trying to communicate to Ulami and Forzgrim. The woods were dead silent. A few spare leaves drifted down. If there was any sign that those two were going to come out peacefully, Miles couldn’t see it.
Hokharty kept up the lecturing tone. “Knowledge and reason are the ultimate powers, Miles.” Miles turned to look at him. His tone softened and became almost somber. “Strength, agility, skill, all talents and advantages will ultimately fade, disappear and pass away as all flesh and spirit must.” Hokharty turned and looked directly at Miles. His gaze was intense but unfocused, as if he were looking right through him. “But knowledge and reason will always remain. Always remember that, Miles.”
What was he trying to tell him, thought Miles. Miles looked into those eyes, and suddenly, they focused on him and Miles got the distinct impression that he should jump.
Miles jumped aside and, instantaneously, Forzgrim crashed down like an anvil dropped from great height exactly where Miles had been standing. If Miles hadn’t jumped, Forzgrim would have driven him into the ground like a nail hit by an air hammer. Had Hokharty just saved his life?!! Forzgrim turned on him, crouching and growling like an animal. Miles froze.
“Here!” Hokharty called out to Forzgrim. Hokharty had instantly moved to Tim, knocked him down and stood over him to protect him. Forzgrim disregarded Miles and charged at the threatening opponent on all fours, like an animal. Hokharty stood there unreacting, his hands folded behind his back waiting for Forzgrim to hit him like a freight train. Less than a half step from reaching Hokharty, Forzgrim was hit by a colossal force. It was Graber. He had plowed his shoulder into Forzgrim and sent him spinning just in time to save Hokharty. It must have been like standing with your nose less than a half-inch from a train wreck, but Hokharty never flinched. Had Hokharty known that was going to happen?! Had Hokharty just distracted Forzgrim and saved Miles’ life a second time in as many seconds?!! Miles’ head was spinning.
Forzgrim recovered and rolled to his feet. He stood to his full height and paused to look at Graber. He was taller and broader across the shoulders than Graber, but Graber was wide in the gut and hips and the same width from the shoulders on down, with legs and arms like tree trunks. Forzgrim was built like a hyena, but Graber was built like a rhino. Forzgrim paused just a second to consider his opponent. Graber didn’t pause at all. He tackled Forzgrim below the knees and the two rolled into the bush. The sound of their battle was truly horrifying, like two grizzly bears going after each other.
Crouched on the ground, Miles had less than a second to catch Schuyler’s eye. He saw that Sky was having the same internal conflict he was having. “Run or fight?” If “fight” then which side do we join? Forzgrim and Ulami weren’t exactly friends, but they were still their clan. However, Hokharty had just protected him, but if it weren’t for him they wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. They exchanged looks again. Run. Definitely run. They didn’t get far. Miles only saw the white-blond blur of Ulami’s hair after she clipped him from behind mid-stride. He landed on his face, his legs burning where Ulami had slas
hed him. Schuyler only got a half step farther before being cut down. His jeans were slashed behind the knees, and he flew into the air, his feet above his head, before falling hard on his left shoulder, groaning.
Ulami was moving so fast she was almost invisible. She sped towards Hokharty and Tim, who was cowering in the fetal position. A black and blue-green blur cut off Ulami’s path. It was Hokharty. He had rushed forward at an amazing speed and clotheslined Ulami with his left arm across her neck. She did an underhand flip but landed on her feet and immediately rushed at him again. He held forth his right hand and yelled, “Stop!”
After that the most astounding thing happened. She stopped. She was hissing and spitting and flashing her eyes like a half-drowned cat for a while, but she had stopped! A long pause followed. Ulami grew silent. Graber and Forzgrim tumbled out of the bush, wrangled for a bit, and then disappeared back into the undergrowth to continue fighting.
Ulami and Hokharty stared at each other…intensely.
In the distant background Graber pulled Forzgrim from a tree and the two tumbled into a hedge of azaleas.
Hokharty continued to stare, arm outstretched towards Ulami. Ulami returned the stare, only more fiercely.
Graber stood up from the hedge with Forzgrim in a headlock. Forzgrim pummeled him with body blows then tripped Graber. They fell over and disappeared again.
Ulami stared at Hokharty. Hokharty stared at Ulami. She stared back. He stared back, only more so.