The Kaiserine's Champion

by Derek Paterson

  It occurred to me that I didn't know who'd won the contest. Certainly not I—the third vampyre's death had blown me into oblivion.

  Her face brightened with amusement. “You don't know, do you? Did you not tell him, m'lord Duke?” she said over her shoulder, and Duke Wilhelm stepped forward.

  “No, Your Majesty. Events overtook us before I had the time to explain, and Herr Manfred was too busy saving my life to hear me out in any case."

  “Ah, yes. The mysterious assassins in the coach.” She glanced at Thenck but didn't pursue the matter further. Instead she said, “Please wait next door, Herr Thenck. I'll speak with you in a moment, privately.” Her voice had an edge of steel to it which could not be argued with. Thenck slowly bowed and did as she commanded. The Kaiserine gave a clever and complex hand signal, and two of her Guardsmen followed him. I guessed she'd ordered them not to let Thenck out of their sight.

  Then she looked into the room, saw the girl on the cot and Schmidt lying on the floor and the color drained from her face. Slowly, deliberately, she reached out and closed the door. I didn't know what to make of this. I presumed she knew Schmidt, but did she know the girl too? Did she know that it was Thenck's daughter who had supplied her with body parts to replace those areas of her own body that had succumbed to the wasting disease?

  “Do you remember anything of what happened after you killed the vampyre filth, Herr Manfred?” she asked a little too quickly, as if she wished to either distract me or forget what she'd just seen.

  “No, Your Majesty. I awoke in the Duke's house. I recall nothing in between."

  “Then permit me to be the bearer of the news. The remaining warriors withdrew from the contest when Count Laszlo told them you were still alive and might be able to continue fighting after a suitable rest period. Normally the adjudication committee would have refused to allow them to withdraw, but I requested they bend the Rules on this one occasion. The committee kindly consented to my wishes."

  I couldn't imagine the adjudication committee refusing a direct “request” from the Kaiserine, but neither did I see what she was getting at. Duke Wilhelm came to my aid.

  “What Her Majesty is telling you,” he said, smiling, “is that you won the contest. By default, admittedly, but that's beside the point—the adjudication committee has already posted the results so there can be no turning back. You are the new Champion. May I be the first to offer you my heartfelt congratulations, Herr Manfred."

  “Thank you, m'lord,” I said numbly. I should have been overjoyed at the thought of the fame and wealth that accompanied the title, but all I could see was the sleeping girl lying behind the door and the ghosts of the brave men I'd killed in the Arena. “And to you also, Your Majesty,” I added, bowing again.

  “You'll have a chance to thank me personally later tonight,” she said. “We are having a small celebratory party at the Imperial Palace. Naturally, you are to attend."

  I glanced down at my repaired Corsican mercenary's uniform, wondering how suitable it would be for such a grand occasion. Duke Wilhelm, seeing my doubts, chuckled.

  “Don't worry, Herr Manfred. I'll see you're properly attired from my own wardrobe."

  “You are too generous, m'lord."

  “Generosity has nothing to do with it; my motives are purely selfish. I fancy you'll look good in my livery. I also fancy you'll make a rather excellent swordmaster. I'm looking for one, you know. My old swordmaster just resigned."

  The Kaiserine smiled and said, “I'll leave you two to discuss your private arrangements. I have some pressing business with Herr Thenck, then I'll return to the Palace."

  “Very good, Your Majesty,” the Duke said. We bowed as she glided serenely away, followed by her Guardsmen. I didn't envy Thenck what was coming next, having had a brief dose of the Kaiserine's wrath myself.

  “Back to my house, I think,” the Duke said, once the Kaiserine had gone. “We'll have a celebration of our own, Herr Manfred. I've been looking for an excuse to open a certain bottle of vintage Espanyan wine, and you have provided it. You'll join me in a glass, I hope?"

  “I would be honored, m'lord.” He turned to leave. Using my foot, I tapped open the door the Kaiserine had closed. The cot was empty; both the girl and Schmidt were gone, vanished through a side door I hadn't even noticed. They could be anywhere in the building.

  Duke Wilhelm stopped at the end of the hallway and looked back. “Is anything wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing, m'lord,” I said, moving to join him, dismissing the tingling feeling that ran up and down my spine. “Nothing at all."

  * * * *

  The “small celebratory party” turned out to be a grand affair attended by the nobility of the Empire. A thousand or more guests filled the great hall and a sixty-piece orchestra provided dancing music. The Kaiserine greeted me when I arrived with Duke Wilhelm and insisted upon personally introducing me to her most important guests.

  There were field marshals and generals and admirals everywhere, all eager to make my acquaintance. Their ladies smiled and curtsied as if I were royalty and fanned themselves when I kissed their hands. The Kaiserine saw my embarrassment and laughed. Duke Wilhelm smiled and stroked his mustache, pleased I was wearing his uniform.

  Gradually the feeling that I was a fraud who'd only won the contest by default began to fade. When the music struck up, dozens of young ladies who wished the honor of being my dancing partner pressed forward. Things might have turned ugly if an aide hadn't told them to form an orderly queue or else forfeit their turn.

  I found myself waltzing around the floor with the Empire's most eligible young women, who were as putty in my hands. Occasional embarrassments occurred when some of them refused to let go of me when the music ended, but the Kaiserine assigned two of her personal ladies-in-waiting to ensure good behavior and things went more smoothly after that. One of the ladies-in-waiting was Rosemarie. She showed no sign of remembering me, or what I'd done to her in that room beneath the Arena.

  During one dance I happened to glance up from my charming partner, whose numerous interests, she told me, included growing orchids and horse riding. To my surprise Otto Thenck stood at the edge of the dance floor, a menacing spectre in black, glaring at me. The crowd kept its distance from him, giving him plenty of room.

  My first thought was, What is he doing here? My second, how naive I'd been in thinking the Kaiserine would get rid of her chief of intelligence. Thenck was too useful to her, most especially in her war against the vampyres. Presumably she'd punished him in far more subtle ways. Not too painless, I hoped.

  The music ended and I automatically thanked my partner, who had to be helped back to her seat. Someone else took her place while my attention remained on Thenck. When the music started up again and we began moving in step, she said, “I've heard so much about you, Herr Manfred. My father isn't pleased with you at all."

  It was Eva. I instinctively tried to draw away from her, surprise guiding my reaction, but she held onto me with considerable strength—a strength which I knew came from the vampyre's gift.

  “You need hardly fear me,” she said, easing her grip. “I don't share my father's views on everything. I'm grateful for what you did for me, even if you didn't know you were doing it."

  “I'm pleased to see you're well,” I said, unable to think of anything else to say. Thenck had used my momentary distraction to vanish into the crowd. Rosemarie stood in his place, and I wondered whether she'd spoken with him. She held an empty champagne glass, which she placed upon a passing servant's tray. Had her hand trembled, or was that just my imagination?

  “Thank you,” Eva said, and I looked at her.

  “What for?"

  “For healing me—and for this.” I knew exactly what she meant. She was feeling the room with her enhanced senses, reaching out to touch all those around her.

  “It won't last forever,” I said.

  “I know, my father told me. But it's so wonderful. And you smell so nice."

  I l
aughed, taken by surprise. “What do you mean?"

  She leaned closer, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “It's what's driving all the young ladies wild tonight. Doctor Schmidt should have told you. The male vampyre exudes certain body odors that attract women. They find it irresistible. Female vampyres give out other odors that attract men, of course."

  Which put paid to the idea that my roguish charm and rugged good looks had earned me all those smiles and fluttering eyelashes. I couldn't remember when I'd last felt so stupid.

  “That won't last, either,” I said, with equal measures of relief and regret. On the one hand I wanted to be human, yet I also wanted to retain the more desirable benefits of being a vampyre. But the matter wasn't for me to decide anymore.

  “Oh, I don't know,” Eva said, sniffing me again. “It's very strong. How long ago were you bitten? You'd think it would have started to fade by now."

  I didn't want to go into details about Schmidt's elixir or his counter-elixir, so I changed the subject. “You smell nice, too,” I said. “And you dance beautifully."

  She smiled. “Liar, I've stepped on your toes twice already."

  “But you do it so well,” I said, and then we both looked round as a figure broke away from the crowd and began walking toward the Kaiserine. It was Rosemarie. Eva and I watched her in silence, both of us sensing that something was very wrong indeed.

  The Guardsmen allowed the Kaiserine's lady-in-waiting to pass through their ranks without comment. The Kaiserine, talking with Duke Wilhelm, looked up curiously as Rosemarie drew near.

  Eva said, “Is it my imagination, or is she—?"

  “Great Mother, yes!” I let go of Eva and began running. The Guardsmen saw me coming and two drew their swords, while others who'd been standing over by the windows raised their muskets to their shoulder and thumbed back the hammers. My new-found fame meant nothing to them—I dared approach their mistress without due authorization, which marked me as a target.

  Rosemarie, who'd changed from human to vampyre in a space of moments, sensed my bearing down upon her and changed direction to meet my attack. She snarled, her cat eyes blazing with anger, and slashed at me with a slim dagger. I slammed into her, knocking her to the floor. I caught her wrists, deflected her rising knee and pinned her with the weight of my body. Only then did my senses begin to register pain, and only then did I notice the dark red blood that soaked her dress. It was mine. I pulled the dagger out of my shoulder and sent it spinning across the floor, out of harm's reach.

  Heavy footsteps clumped around us and hands lifted me off her struggling form. Guardsmen carried me away, while others grappled with the vampyre. But try as they might, they couldn't hold her; Rosemarie broke free and took several halting steps toward Duke Wilhelm before a crash of musketry rang out. A nobleman in the line of fire went down, along with a servant whose yellow uniform jacket blossomed scarlet. But Rosemarie had been struck also and fell to her knees, clutching her wounds. An instant later her death-scream shattered windows and sent the party guests scurrying in confusion. Her corpse burned and I whispered farewell to Rosemarie, my heart aching. Another innocent soul had perished because she'd had the misfortune to cross my path.

  My vision came back into focus as the Kaiserine came to stand before me. “This is getting to be something of a habit, Herr Manfred,” she said. She looked at my blood-soaked clothing. “Are you all right?"

  A mustached colonel of Dragoons offered me a napkin. I nodded my thanks and stuffed it inside my jacket, staunching the wound. “A mere trifle, Your Majesty,” I said, grimacing with the pain. “But before I lie me down to rest, I've some business to attend to."

  “Does it concern Herr Thenck?"

  “Indeed it does,” I said. Who else could have engineered Rosemarie's transformation with such precision, placing her within striking range of his arch-rival, Duke Wilhelm, just as the change occurred? I remembered how he'd vanished, and the empty glass in Rosemarie's hand. Doctor Schmidt had only given me a single drop of the vampyre elixir—Thenck must have given Rosemarie a far greater dosage, triggering the full evolution from human to vampyre almost instantly, and compelling her to obey his commands without question. I could not imagine that such a rapid change would have benefited Rosemarie, had she survived.

  “He has been a useful servant, but he has ignored my warnings, and now follows his own agenda,” the Kaiserine said, and the note of pain in her voice touched me. “Do what you must do, Herr Manfred, with my blessing. He must not be permitted to endanger us again."

  * * * *

  Thenck ran through the cobblestoned streets of High Sazburg, his footsteps echoing in the night, his long black cloak streaming behind him like a bat's wings.

  A hunted man he might be, but he had at his command the entire resources of the Ministry of State Security. Once he went to ground, no one would find him, not even a wrathful Kaiserine. Therefore I had to catch him and catch him quickly. I'd decided there would be no more deaths, save for Thenck's own. Permitting him to live was out of the question; he would seek me out for thwarting his plans. His vengeance would be neither pretty nor pleasant ... if I allowed him to set the wheels of that vengeance in motion. Thus I pursued him, not only out of desire for retribution, but also because of the need for self-preservation. If I didn't kill Thenck, he would surely kill me.

  He looked back over his shoulder frequently, as if sensing he was being followed, but I kept myself hidden from sight, shifting from shadow to shadow, every step bringing me closer to him. Even at this distance I perceived his harsh breathing, his pounding heart, his steadily increasing terror. At last Thenck understood something of what it felt like to stand in the Arena, with Fear whispering in his ear and Death poised to embrace him at any moment. He stopped, fumbled with something beneath his cloak then dropped it and let out a wail of despair. His injured right hand had made him clumsy. He ran on, stumbling now, his legs trembling with exhaustion. I moved past the fallen flintlock pistol and left it lying there. I needed no weapon to deal with Herr Thenck.

  He turned onto a narrow street that led ultimately to the sinister headquarters of his equally sinister organization. There he would find people willing to protect and conceal him. He'd gather servants and guards and monies, and then The Magician would disappear, using his own magic upon himself. But long before he reached the end of the street, I swung down from a rooftop above and landed directly in front of him, as silent as a cat, my teeth bared. Thenck recoiled in alarm and nearly fell over in his haste to scramble away from me. Before he'd gone three steps I grabbed him, spun him around and pushed him up against the brick wall with sufficient force to drive the air from his lungs.

  Alone and isolated from his power base, the man who'd terrorized the Empire cowered and whimpered and pleaded for me not to hurt him. The vampyre within me raged, demanding to be freed from its cage, but again I held the creature in check, though this took all my strength and left me shaking with effort. My dark self demanded vengeance for Rosemarie and every decent man who'd died in the Arena.

  The snick of a released spring mechanism warned me. Thenck went down on one knee and thrust upward, the point of his dagger aimed at my heart. I twisted away so the gleaming blade slashed into my side instead of piercing that vital organ, but the burning pain wrenched a scream from my lips, and that was sufficient for the vampyre to break free. I grasped Thenck's wrist, squeezing his bones until they snapped, and at the same time I took hold of The Magician by the throat and lifted him clear of the ground, slamming him against the wall.

  He went limp instantly. Nonetheless I shook him until he dropped the dagger, and I let him down cautiously, prepared for more of his deviousness. Yet my heightened senses told me Thenck no longer posed any danger to me or to anyone else. His head hung to one side and his eyes stared into eternity. His neck was broken. His reign of terror was ended.

  The vampyre wanted to drink his cooling blood but my human half would have none of it; the very thought repelled me. I let Th
enck's body fall and stepped back from the lifeless heap, taking long, deep breaths. The vampyre retreated into its lair, seemingly content to sleep now that I'd dealt with my—with our—nemesis. Yet part of the creature remained active, stopping the bleeding, healing the wound Thenck had inflicted upon me.

  I spun, saw Eva standing there perfectly still, her hands by her sides. She looked at me, then at her father's body. Her face might have been chiselled from stone but tears brimmed in her eyes and her hands trembled. Without a single word spoken, she turned and walked away. Within moments she'd vanished into the night and I felt no great desire to pursue her. What could I say? I'd murdered Otto Thenck, and even though the swine had thoroughly deserved his fate, he was still her father.

  Footsteps came from the other direction. The Duke's Wardens, or perhaps Thenck's Noseys, came running to investigate the disturbance. I climbed a stairway, jumped onto a window ledge, swung over onto a balcony, pulled myself up onto the roof and was gone before they arrived.

  * * * *

  The Guardsmen recognized me and admitted me into the Imperial Palace, where the Kaiserine waited for me.

  Without a word she led me down the hall, through a door, into a small room with comfortable high-backed chairs and walls covered with bookshelves. A window overlooked a private garden and oil lanterns burned steadily. The availability of the room suggested it was kept ready for those occasions when the Kaiserine felt the need for private conversation. She closed the door behind me and we were alone.

  She looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow at my somewhat dishevelled appearance. “May I assume you have concluded your business?” she asked.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” I replied.

  “Is he—?"

  “Herr Thenck is dead, Your Majesty."

  Her expression was unreadable but I saw something deep in her eyes, an unfathomable emotion that might, at a pinch, have been regret.

  “What do you know of the girl you were dancing with before the disturbance took place?"

  “I know she's Thenck's daughter,” I said, deciding to tell the truth in stages, and to judge her reaction to each snippet of knowledge.