"Have you ever met an immortal older than yourself?"
The vampire thought for several seconds. "Every Maker I met after my transformation was no more than fifty or sixty years older than myself. But there was one. It was around the time of the first Crusades. I met him one night prowling the streets of Jerusalem like a crazed beast babbling incoherently. When the sun began to show in the sky, I took him with me to my home and cared for him. I learned little from him, only that he was well over five thousand years old, possibly older, but who could say for sure. I remember he seemed to be obsessed with finding his pet cat. I let him go the next night and never saw him again."
"Five thousand years old! That's amazing."
"I must admit that even as old as I am, I cannot imagine living for that long. I believe I would walk into the sun long before that point. Perhaps that is why he was insane. Perhaps his mind had left him long ago and only the most basic reasoning skills remained. Who can say? Anyway, we are running out of time and I have much of my tale to tell."
"I'm sorry. Please continue." Jake said.
"Well as I said, I began to feel that my companions wanted to be free of me. On several different occasions, I was attacked by other immortals while my companions were conveniently occupied with something else. Of course, they were nowhere near my power, so I dispatched them easily enough. However, after the fourth attempt I knew it was just a matter of time before they found a way. So without so much as a goodbye, I left their company.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. I did not see my grandson for nearly six hundred years. By that time, a new land had been discovered. Though I am not exactly sure as to how it was suddenly ‘new’ when our ships had sailed there centuries before. I am getting off topic again. I was in England at the time. Raleigh had set up his colony at what was called Roanoke. My kind had nearly been hunted to extinction in Europe. The Templar Knights led by Grand Master Richard Bishop with his brother and sons at his side led a great campaign to rid the world of vampires and they did their job very well.”
Bishop! Jake’s heart leapt into his chest. He knew the vampire could hear it so he struggled to calm himself down. It didn’t work.
“Are you alright young one? Your heart is racing quite fast?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just, it’s getting close to the time I usually have to get up is all. I just don’t want to get caught.” Jake lied.
“Should we end it now then? I assure you the corpse’s slav . . . servant has not yet risen.”
“No, please . . .” Jake said, trying to hide his nervousness. “Please continue.”
“As you wish young man. I will try to wrap it up quickly then. As I was saying, Lord Bishop and his men did their job very well, almost too well. They came with swords, sharpened lances, crossbows, armor that our fangs could not penetrate. They used fire to burn us out of hiding places during the day. Those of us wise enough to bury ourselves in the earth were pulled from their graves, set a blaze and reburied. I am sure that more than a few of my kind buried themselves too deep to dig themselves out. I imagine they are still buried in the earth, starving, insane.” The vampire’s voice shook slightly. “A hell I would not wish on my worst enemy.
“Within ten years time only a handful of us remained, hiding wherever we could, afraid to even feed. Somehow, they always seemed to know exactly where we were resting. The great Council of the Immortals, of which I was a founding member, was wiped out first. Beings that I had known for hundreds of years. Friendships so deep and rich you could not possibly comprehend them unless you had lived more than one lifetime, all of them . . . gone. Soon only I remained. Of my grandson and his companions, I had no word. I never felt their deaths so I knew that they were alive. I assumed they were in hiding as I was.
One night I encountered one of the Bishop sons, the youngest, Nathaniel. I asked him point blank how had they known?"
Jake’s mind raced. What would the Maker do if he knew a Bishop sat in front of him now? Now, more than ever, he knew he couldn't let him know his name. Surely, he would do his best to kill him if he knew he was the descendant of the ones that had nearly caused the extinction of his entire race.
"Are you sure you are alright young man?" He asked again peering through the tiny hole.
"Yeah I'm fine." Jake lied again. "It's just . . . I should really be getting back. If I am caught out of my room, Paul won’t be happy. The last thing I want is to catch another beating.”
"Very well then, I am sorry to have kept you so long. I forget sometimes that humans do require sleep. It is something I can honestly say I miss a great deal. Even when I must hide from the sun, my mind does not shut down as it does when you sleep. So go young man, rest yourself, I hope I have not been boring you with my tales."
"Oh no, not at all." Jake said, inching his way up the stairs.
"Good. Well good night then. Will I see you tomorrow night?"
"Yes." Jake said, not entirely sure if he still felt comfortable in his presence. "Good night." He said quietly from the top of the stairs.
The entire next day Jake dreaded his upcoming meeting with the vampire. A very large part of him didn't want to go back. However, another part had to hear the rest of the story. How had he come to be locked up? What had happened with Nathaniel Bishop?
That night as he sat across from his grandfather, he didn't even hear when the old man addressed him. He didn't know he had missed it until Paul smacked him in the back of the head. Jake saw red. He seemed to go outside of himself and when he came back, he was standing over Paul’s unconscious, bloodied form. He'd had enough abuse, and for the first time it was just him and the old man. Jake wiped his bloodied knuckles on the white tablecloth and took several steps towards Riker.
The old man’s breathing became ragged as fear filled his eyes. He coughed uncontrollably. But Jake didn't feel an ounce of pity for him. This man was keeping him against his will for his own personal gain. He cared nothing for Jake and had cared nothing for his mother. Jake could kill him and there was nothing he could do about it.
For a brief moment, Jake entertained the idea of pinching his oxygen hose. A perfect picture formed in his mind of wrapping his hands around his throat and choking the last bits of life from him. No one would ever know. He took two steps toward him when his mom's smiling face appeared in his head. This isn’t me! I’m not capable of murder! Even if it meant his freedom, Jake could not do something so terribly evil. He wasn't a monster like the pitiful creature locked down in the basement.
He took two more steps and leaning down close to his grandfather said, "Good night Grandfather." then yanked the power cord from his wheel chair. He turned and walked away with a newfound self-respect he had never felt before.
Chapter 13
Jake
The Riker Mansion
May 7, 1995 8:05pm
Jake made up his mind right then and there. He was done. One way or another he was getting out of that house. He wouldn't sit and rot waiting for that miserable old man to trade him to the vampires just to satisfy his own twisted desire for immortality.
Tonight had been the last straw. Tomorrow morning he would make his escape. There was no telling what Paul would do after the beating he had just received and he sure wasn’t waiting around to find out. Paul would never lay hands on him again. No one would. Jake promised himself that much.
He had one last thing to do before he left. The Maker. His tale wasn’t finished yet, and Jake had a feeling that kind of knowledge would be useful to his dad and the other hunters. But that wasn’t the main reason, not really. He wanted to hear it, but mostly he needed to hear it. Vampire or not, he had been a friend when Jake needed one the most.
Walking back into the dining room he found Paul still unconscious on the floor. Riker sat in his chair trying desperately to move the plug back into its socket, but he just couldn't move his arms the way he wanted to. When Jake stepped into the room, he started hyperventilating. “What are you
going to do?” He yelled between violent, hacking coughs.
Jake ignored him and grabbed hold of Paul’s left leg. The old man began a tirade of cuss words calling him every name under the sun, but Jake didn’t care, after this night he would never have to listen to him again.
Using all his strength, he pulled Paul through the dining room and into the kitchen. Paul moaned loudly as his head bumped on the hardwood floor. Opening the large freezer door Jake dragged him in dropping him to the freezing cold floor then slammed the door shut behind him. He grabbed the small pin hanging on a chain and shoved it through the door handle. He couldn't help but smile to himself. Now Paul would know what it was like to be locked up.
Stepping back into the dining room, he found his next target. “What are you going to do?” Riker wheezed again.
Jake got down to eye level with him. “I’m thinking maybe I'll feed you to the vampire you’ve got locked up down in the basement.”
Riker’s eyes lit up with fear. “You wouldn’t! I’m your . . .” he coughed again. “I’m your grandfather!”
“Yeah well, I’m your grandson but you were more than willing to trade me in. You’ve hurt a lot of people old man, ruined a lot of lives.”
“Jake . . . I’m sorry . . . please . . . I can give you anything you want!” he wheezed. “Money! I've got more money than you could ever dream of!”
“I don’t want your money!” Jake said, reconnecting the battery to his wheel chair. “I don’t need anything from you. As far as I am concerned, you’re already dead to me. I just want to go home. So tell me where I can find a phone and I’ll be on my way.”
Riker stared daggers through him. “You’ll never get out of here alive. My guards will make sure of that.”
“Yeah well, we’ll see about that. First, I’m going to lock you up, and then I’m going to make a phone call. When I’m done fifty pissed off hunters will know what you have locked up in that dungeon of yours. I’m betting within twelve hours they will be beating down your front door, two of which will be my dad and my grandpa. I’ll let them deal with you.” It was a bluff, Jake wasn’t even sure exactly what sate he was in, but Riker didn’t know that.
Once again, fear filled the old man’s eyes. He knew how much John and Cort hated him. Jake had to fight the old man’s feeble attempts at controlling the wheelchair for the better part of a half hour as he wheeled him into his study. He would have just unplugged the thing entirely but the wheels seemed to automatically lock down when not powered.
He had never been in Riker’s study before. It had the musty smell of disinfectant mixed with old sweat. It was filled with various medical devices from IV poles, oxygen tanks, to a large hospital bed with what Jake assumed were heart/blood pressure monitors next to it.
“You’ll pay for this boy!” Riker said, as Jake wheeled him into a large closet. “I’ll have every bounty hunter, every cold blooded killer I can find hunting you and your family! I’ll put a price on your head so big, you won’t be safe anywhere! You hear me boy?”
Again, Jake yanked the battery cable from his chair then started to close the closet doors but stopped short. “Riker, my family hunts vampires for a living. Vampires! Do you think that there’s anyone that my family is afraid of?”
“I guess you’ll find out won’t ‘ya?” Riker said, and then spit a wad of phlegm at Jake’s feet.
Jake slammed the doors shut and though he doubted it was needed, he shoved a chair up against them as well. The old man’s coughing and cursing continued to grow louder from inside the closet.
Now to find a phone. There, on a nightstand next to the bed, was an old antique looking rotary phone. Jake picked up the receiver and dialed his Grandpa Cort’s number. It rang and rang but no one answered. “Come on Grandpa! Answer the phone!” After about thirty rings, he gave up and angrily tossed the phone across the room. That had been his only chance, his only way out.
It was five minutes until ten when he made his way downstairs to the basement. From the other side of the house he heard the faint sounds of Paul banging on the freezer door.
"You caused quite a fuss today.” The Maker’s voice called out to him when he was only half way down. “I smelled the servant’s blood all the way from here.”
“Yeah well . . .” Jake replied. “He hit me one time to many.”
“Oh how I would love to feast on him.” The Maker said, sucking in a lungful of air. “So many times he tortured me. Did you know that once he cut every one of my fingers and toes off? And they call me monster!"
"You can regenerate entire limbs?" Jake said, pacing back and forth across the floor.
"You seem distracted my young friend.” The vampire said, brushing his question aside. “Is everything okay?"
"I have to get out of here!” Jake yelled slapping the wall with his palm. “I . . . I . . .don’t know what to do! I locked Paul and Riker up! But it’s only a matter of time before the guards realize something is wrong!”
“My, my! You have been busy today! Fear not young one, I'm sure it will all work out.”
“What do you know?” Jake yelled at him angrily. “You’re just a . . . a . . . damn blood sucking vampire! You have no idea of what I’m going through. I bet if you were given the chance you’d drink my blood in a heartbeat!” A deep silence settled over the two of them. Finally, Jake let out a deep breath and broke it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. It’s just . . . look I’m sorry.”
“No.” The vampire replied coolly. “You are right. I have no delusions of what I am. However, I give you my word I will not harm you. It has been a very long time since I have had someone to talk too. I will not forget your kindness. I would not worry so much my young friend. Your father and grandfather will not let anything happen to you.”
“How do you know? You don’t know them.” Jake said, beginning to pace again.
“I may not know them but I know your family very well Jacob Bishop.”
Jake stopped pacing. “You know my name?”
“I do.”
“What? How? When did you learn it?”
He chuckled. “I’ve known since you first got here. I hear everything that goes on above.”
“Then why have you been so nice to me? Why have you . . . well let’s face it, been my friend? Didn’t you tell me that my ancestors nearly wiped out your entire kind?"
"They did. It was also a Bishop that imprisoned me. I hold no grudge against you. It was not you that bound me in chains that buried me alive."
"Why would they do that?” Jake asked. “Why didn't they just kill you?"
"They needed me. You see, I am the oldest living vampire left in the world. Well . . . as far as I know of course. I am also the creator of the most powerful free vampire on this continent. Caligula."
"Where have I heard that name before?” Jake said, scratching his head. “Is that your grandson?"
"I didn’t get to finish my tale last night, while it was hunters that wiped out every Immortal in Europe; it was an immortal that led them to do it. A master of manipulation, my own adopted grandson, Caligula.”
“What kind of person would betray his own grandfather?” Jake asked.
“What kind of person would betray his own grandson?” The Maker countered. “We can’t always comprehend the actions of those around us. Even those we consider family.”
"But you told me before that you knew he was crazy. So why did you make him into a vampire? Feeling guilty or not, you had to know it would end badly."
The Maker sighed. "I was a fool. I believed I could change him into the boy I had once known. I see now the boy I thought I knew was the real act. He did what he had to do to grow close to me - to ensure his place on my throne.
“I know your name Jacob Bishop. Therefore, it is only fair that I trust you with my own. I am Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus. I was the second emperor of the Roman Empire."
Jake’s jaw dropped. "I just learned about you from my tutor! And Caligula! That’s
where I’ve heard that name! He was also a Roman emperor."
"Yes."
"Wow! This is just insane." Jake exclaimed
"For years Caligula worked with the Templars. If I had had any knowledge of it, beforehand I would have put a stop to it and him. He deceived them by pretending to be a priest that received visions from God. Using the network of immortals he gave the Templars the location of every single immortal save himself, his sister Julia Livilla and her brutish lover Macro.”
“Did you say her name was Julia?”
“Yes, though most called her Livilla. A vile creature really, I never should have allowed Caligula to turn her."
“That’s my mom’s name.” Jake said, quietly.
“Odd.” The vampire said, “A strange coincidence indeed.”
“Yeah maybe . . .”
“For whatever reason I was the last of my dark brothers and sisters. Why I was saved until the very end, I do not know. However, one thing was for sure, I was his Maker and he could not kill me. His attempts using other immortals had all failed, so he had the hunters try to do it and at the same time sent them to their deaths.
“You wiped out the Templars all by yourself?”
“No, I did not. He sent them on two hunts. The one led by young Nathaniel and his brother Daniel was to kill me. The other was led by their father Grand Master Richard and their Uncle Edward. The Grand Master, his brother, and all of their men were slaughtered like lambs."
"How?"
“Caligula set up an estate filled with over two hundred beasts. As soon as they entered, gates slammed down trapping them inside. None of the Templars escaped. I could have easily killed Nathaniel and his brother, but I disarmed them instead sparing their lives. Then I exposed Caligula for what he really was. The Bishops were enraged beyond words. They led me to the church where Caligula had taken refuge, but it was too late. He was already gone. Ransacking the place, we found documents where he had planned to board a supply ship bound for the Roanoke colony. I do not know the exact details of what happened after that, as I was tricked and put in chains by Nathaniel and men loyal to his Uncle, Sir Francis Drake."
C.O.T.V.H. (Book 1): Creation Page 18