JAVIER

by Miranda Jameson

  Cassia sighed, “There is nothing wrong with her eyes. It’s all in her mind Javier. It is as if the sight she saw was so traumatic that she simply decided not to see. We have been told that the situation could reverse quite as suddenly; it hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Tell me how you got into the world of rare and valuable art theft? Your uncommon thievery as you call it. Have you never been afraid of being caught by the Human authorities, of being exposed?”

  “I have always loved fine art, always been interested since I was a small child. My father encouraged my interest; he was mad keen on Roman history himself hence the names he gave me and Flavia. Good Roman names he used to say. I read anything I could lay my hands on. When he died we had a little money but it soon went. My mother could barely function and Flavia, well she had to cope with losing her sight. Those were Victorian times Javier, there were not many options available for a young woman who could not possibly go out in daylight, you know what I mean. One day someone made me an offer as a joke. I got the piece of art easily of course, what with my speed and ability to shift not to mention being able to manipulate a human mind. It was child’s play, easy money that we sorely needed. Things went on from there. As for being caught by the Human authorities…you know as well as I do that there isn’t a Human prison that can hold our kind. I never harm anybody Javier. The worst I’ve ever done to a Human is to erase his short-term memory.”

  Javier nodded. She was right about her limited choices. He had come across a few very beautiful Vampires in Paris back in the nineteenth century who had resorted to becoming highly paid courtesans or actresses which in those days had usually amounted to the same thing. They had been hugely sought after in the Human world for their lasting, ageless looks and their robust good health. Vampires did not get any of the Human diseases.

  “And exposure, you operate mainly in the Human world, in their society, how do you handle that?” Javier found himself fascinated by her story.

  “With very great care. It can get tiresome; they have some extremely strange ideas about Vampires; especially about blood. Our laws and protocols governing blood taking and the fact that we nourish each other never occurs to them; they’d rather believe we go around preying on hapless Humans. I suppose the reality would be so much duller than the fiction. Actually I’ve managed to have a couple of good friends who were Human. They are dead now; they have such short fragile lives. Flavia says that I spend so much time living in their society that I have lost touch with what’s happening in our own world.”

  “And relationships, lovers? Human too?” Javier asked casually as he sipped his coffee,

  Cassia gave him a severe look;

  “That’s my business Javier of Seville. What about you?”

  Why would he ask that she wondered? It was none of his business, none of anyone’s business. She didn’t have a man in her life currently, Human or Vampire. Her heart was well guarded. Of course there was no way she was going to admit this to Javier; it didn’t go with her image.

  Javier watched her as she finished the last of her coffee; she certainly had secrets. He couldn’t believe there wasn’t a man around somewhere; she was a beautiful and challenging woman. He answered her question;

  “No one at the moment. Things have been rather busy these last few months.” He leaned forward;

  “You took care of everyone; who looked after you Cass? Did you ever need anyone?” He watched as her mouth tightened and her eyes grew hostile;

  “I don’t need looking after. I’m fine as I am.”

  She had retreated from him; her defences going up almost visibly.

  He was just about to press her further when the kitchen door was pushed open and Gabriel looked in, his expression urgent;

  “There you are, I have been looking for you. We have an interesting development.”

  “What’s up?” Javier got to his feet quickly.

  “Andreas took over the night shift with his team; there was no movement, none at all and the lack of lights made him really suspicious. Nothing more than a gut feeling. He entered the house and found three dead Empaths. The day shift says that only one car visited the house. We need to get in there and take a look ourselves.”

  Cassia looked at the two men;

  “How can you have a day shift?” she asked

  “Half-bloods. We have a whole brigade of them. Always have done. They are good warriors.” Javier answered distractedly.

  That was a surprise, thought Cassia; she had never known that the Warrior’s Council accepted half Human hybrids. It was a pragmatic decision though, they could tolerate sunlight. That would be very useful indeed even if they lacked all the abilities of pure bred Vampires.

  Javier and Gabriel left the kitchen and Cassia followed right behind them;

  “If you are going back to that house you should take me with you.” she said

  Both the men stopped and turned to her at the same time;

  “Why should we do that?” Gabriel asked flatly;

  “Because I know things about that house that you don’t. There is a safe hidden in one of the downstairs rooms and there is a secret cellar behind one of the panels in the hall. The ones who killed the Empaths may not have known…there might be clues.”

  Gabriel stared and Cassia was sure she saw a suppressed smile.

  “You’re very thorough before you commit a robbery then.” he commented dryly.

  “Extremely.” said Cassia, “I always like a clear picture of the lie of the land; that way there are no nasty surprises. I do my homework carefully.”

  The two men looked at each other then Javier spoke;

  “Alright. You will shift with me as before and do exactly as I say…exactly Cass. Are you clear on that?”

  “Crystal clear. I’ll need my set of picks back Javier.”

  “Tools of the trade?” he asked, as he fished them out of a pocket and handed them over.

  “You don’t know the half of it. I never go anywhere without them.”

  Cassia followed the two men as they crossed the hall and descended a staircase into a long stone flagged underground passage. Looking around covertly she noticed cameras and sensors along the walls. All the doors leading off this corridor appeared to be metal with biometric security panels. This must be the real hub of activity on the Island thought Cassia, not the elegant chateau above ground.

  Javier leaned forward before a retina scanner and turned to Cassia as the heavy door swung silently open;

  “Don’t touch anything in here.”

  The massive room they entered had an oily metallic smell and Cassia gasped as she looked round. It was obviously an armoury. She had never seen so many lethal weapons in her life. Both Gabriel and Javier had guns tucked into their belts; what more did they need? Nervously she plaited her hair quickly into one long braid then twisted it up at the nape of her neck; she liked her hair out of the way when she was working. Now both men appeared to be signing out big guns she recognized from TV programmes as AK-47 assault rifles. This was all normality for them; just a part of their job. Javier smiled at her reassuringly;

  “Don’t worry, just being prepared. Let’s go.”

  Cassia followed the two warriors back into the corridor. They barely spoke but seemed in total accord and she realized it came from decades and decades of living, working and fighting together. There was a similarity about the way they moved; Gabriel catlike and lethal and Javier with that stealthy grace she had noticed earlier. They were practically shoulder to shoulder, both of them about six feet five and she could suddenly see why the civilians of her race were in such awe of their powerful protectors. She felt slightly ashamed of the way she had always taken them for granted.

  Now they were just outside the chateau and Javier reached for her. Cassia felt a flash of irritation as her stomach seemed to do a flip when he pulled her in close. Really, it should be against the law for a man to smell that good. She couldn’t stop herself taking deep breaths; the scent of him was into
xicating.

  They materialized in the hallway of the house she had left so dramatically a short time ago and all three of them scented the air and stiffened;

  “Blood. A lot of it. Cassia, stay here. Don’t move till I come back.” Javier muttered.

  The warrior Andreas appeared in the doorway Cassia knew led to the living room;

  “One in here Sir, one in the study and one just inside the kitchen door; looks like he was trying to make a break for it.”

  As Javier and Gabriel moved from room to room checking out the bodies Cassia eavesdropped on their quiet conversation.

  “Messy, a single bullet each would have done it. The killers enjoyed their job.”

  “They were caught by surprise; see, no blast marks. They trusted their killers.”

  “We need to get Chronus here; this is an Empath house, his jurisdiction.”

  “Andreas, send Stephan to fetch him. I’ll phone ahead to warn him. Wish I could see his face, he hates shifting.”

  “Empaths usually do.”

  Cassia jumped as heavy boots pounded down the stairs and two more armed warriors pointed their weapons at her;

  “It’s all right, she’s with me.” Javier appeared in the doorway of the study then turned and spoke over his shoulder;

  “Cover him up with something. Cass, where’s that safe?”

  Cassia pointed;

  “The study. Behind the second rate landscape.” She moved to go into the study but Javier held her off for a moment then gestured with his head, his expression grim;

  “Alright now.”

  Cassia moved swiftly across the room avoiding the shrouded figure on the floor. The smell of blood was overwhelming and she swallowed then concentrated on moving the picture to one side.

  “I wasn’t interested in the safe, my target was the Goya in the living room but I like to familiarize myself with the full set-up so I knew this was here. It’s a pity I don’t have any of my equipment; this isn’t a hard design to open.”

  Javier peered closely at the safe;

  “Should I try shooting out the lock?”

  “Not sure that would work. Hold on, let me try something.”

  Javier watched, intrigued, as Cassia approached the desk and opened the top drawer then ran slim fingers round the edge and underneath. She shook her head then repeated the same action on the second and third drawers, her face a picture of total concentration. As she ran her hand under the last drawer she suddenly smiled at Javier in triumph then pulled the drawer completely out and unpinned the piece of paper stuck to the bottom with a drawing pin;

  “They do it every time, so predictable. No shooting required Javier, here’s the combination.”

  She had the safe open in an instant. Javier rifled through it; two handguns, jewellery, some documents which he handed to Cassia and a blue velvet box. He opened the box and frowned; the item inside had been removed but it had left its imprint and it looked familiar. Javier went to the door and shouted for Gabriel then came back to the desk and checked through the documents;

  “These are old, all in Latin…”

  Cassia peered at the writing;

  “I read old documents all the time. This is a covenant, very old. See all the signatures? This newer looking one is a copy but updated. See the heading? Flavia and I heard correctly…The Knights of the Obsidian Dagger…” she stopped abruptly as Javier exhaled on a hiss.

  “But that’s a myth isn’t it? I mean, it doesn’t exist. Javier?”

  At that moment Gabriel came in and Javier opened the blue velvet box;

  “What do you think was kept in here Gabriel?”

  Cassia watched with alarm as Gabriel visibly paled and raked a hand through his hair;

  “Oh shit, I really hoped it had been lost over the centuries. The legend must be accurate, we have captured four of them, there is at least one other out there, possibly two. It’s all starting again.”

  Cassia grabbed Javier’s arm;

  “What? What’s starting? Are you telling me it isn’t a myth? The Obsidian Dagger? It’s not possible.”

  “It’s no myth I’m afraid,” Javier’s expression was tense, “The daggers exist, I have seen what happens when they are used, so has Gabriel.”

  Gabriel nodded, “They exist alright. Cassia, where is this hidden space you mentioned?”

  Cassia stared at the two of them then headed into the panelled hallway; now where was it exactly? Running her hands over the ornate carving in the wood she shut her eyes; sometimes the body remembered better than the mind. Delicately her fingers traced over the wood until…there it was, she pressed firmly. The panel slid open silently revealing a dark yawning emptiness.

  She heard it first, the faintest of scuffling sounds. Jumping backwards she grabbed Javier;

  “There’s something down there!” she hissed.

  Javier motioned to Gabriel and they both listened intently; there it was again. Carefully Javier reached round the edge of the panel and felt about then smiled. A light clicked on revealing steps descending into the gloom. Levelling his AK-47 he started silently down the stairs with Gabriel close behind. They didn’t instruct her not to so Cassia followed them.

  The steps led down to a large dimly lit cellar. It appeared completely empty. Gabriel moved slowly round one side and Javier covered the other then Gabriel turned and caught Javier’s eye. He made a quick hand signal pointing to a shadowed corner of the space partially obscured by a pile of boxes. Cassia attuned her hearing to its most acute and caught the sound; a frantic weak heartbeat. The sound of extreme fear. The men were hearing it too, she could tell from the way their bodies were poised. Javier inched silently into the shadows then darted forward so fast his body appeared to blur. When he emerged he was holding someone by the scruff of the neck; briefly he stared then gently lowered his prey to the ground.

  “Dios! It’s a young girl.”

  The girl was filthy; long blonde hair cloaking her shoulders as she gazed at the two men in terror and tried to crawl backwards making small breathless sounds of distress. She was one of them; a young Vampire not long past adolescence.

  Cassia inched forward slowly, murmuring;

  “Pull back, she’s terrified, let me…”

  Dropping to her knees in front of the girl she reached out and gently swept back the tangled mass of hair, her heart contracting as the girl cringed.

  “It’s okay sweetheart. I’m Cassia, those big guys are here to rescue you. We are your kind. You’re safe with me, understand?”

  The girl fixed huge dull eyes on her and nodded then looked again at Javier and Gabriel who had retreated a little distance away. Her face was chalky white and when Cassia touched her cheek it was icy. She was in desperate need of blood. Slowly, so as not to startle her, Cassia put an arm round the girl’s shaking shoulders and pulled her close. Then she raised her wrist, scored her own vein and held it to the girl’s lips;

  “You need to take blood right now, come on, try.” She said gently then flexed her wrist slightly to increase the flow allowing blood to drip onto the girl’s mouth; surely that would trigger her feeding impulse.

  The girl whimpered weakly then, to Cassia’s relief, her canines descended and she struck Cassia’s vein hungrily, hard and clumsily enough to cause pain. She couldn’t help it, thought Cassia as she suppressed a gasp, she was desperate. She drank in long thirsty drags making small whimpering sounds; snuggling in closer like a frightened child.

  Something soft and warm was draped round the two of them and looking up Cassia saw that Javier had covered them both with a blanket and was sitting on an old box, out of the girl’s line of sight.

  Gabriel was examining something that covered the walls and other surfaces of the room; rubbing it between his fingers. He turned and raised his palm towards Javier; it appeared to be covered with fine grey ash. Then he pointed silently at the centre of the floor. Cassia followed Javier’s eyes; there was an odd starburst pattern marking the old stone flags. She wonder
ed what it meant, both men clearly knew because Gabriel’s eyes darkened with fury and he took a deep breath and moved across the room. Javier joined him and the two of them talked quietly. Cassia tried to listen but she was concentrating on the girl, rocking her gently as she started to sing a lullaby in the old language.

  “Sir, Chronus is here.” Andreas called down from the hall;

  “I’ll come up,” Gabriel said then turned to Javier, “I don’t think the child could take seeing an Empath right now.”

  Javier agreed; he knew what the young girl had witnessed. Sitting on the bottom step he cradled his weapon and watched the two women huddled together on the floor. Cassia was singing an ancient lullaby in their old language he remembered from his own childhood. Even though she sang quietly the sound was sweet and beautiful. Her attention was focused completely on the young girl as she drank thirstily. She was taking a lot, thought Javier, Vampires newly transitioned through adolescence had voracious appetites for blood; their bodies needed it. He was glad Cassia had taken blood just hours ago but, at this rate, she would need more fairly soon.

  He watched her, letting her pure voice seep into him. Her face had lost its usual wary watchfulness and was gentle and tender, framed by wisps of black hair as her plait came undone. She hadn’t hesitated; she had just taken the girl in her arms and tended to her, giving her blood, life itself. In Vampire society to give blood to a stranger in need was seen as an act of great generosity and selflessness creating a bond between the one who gave and the recipient.

  At long last the young girl raised her head, finally sated and leaned on Cassia’s shoulder. Javier moved quickly, acting on an impulse he didn’t understand. Cassia’s wrist was a mess and her hand trembled visibly. Kneeling by her he lifted her wrist to his mouth and gently sealed the wounds, his tongue easing over the ragged puncture marks until the enzymes closed them then started the healing process. Her blood tasted rich, like port wine and he felt a low hum of need vibrate through his body, deep inside his blood and bones.