Rise of the Seventh Reich

by Jeremy Croston

  Chapter Fourteen

  “W hat has the witch been near?” the blind vampire said as she laid her in the ground. Cassie's body had gone into full convulsions.

  Reacting fast, I explained how we got here through the use of ley lines and the church assassins that tried to stop us.

  “Radu and I dealt with the buffoons while the witches fired up the line,” I finished.

  Abigail placed her hand on the witch's chest. “She is going to die unless we do something. She is suffering from malediction poisoning. If you wish to see her live, we need to work together.”

  It was an easy decision to make when Cassie started vomiting up blood. “What do we need to do?”

  Abigail placed her hands on the side of my head. Even though she no longer was the kind, yet aloof woman I grew up admiring, in this moment she was. I ignored the black outfit that was fit more for an outlaw and the almost gaunt appearance she'd fallen into and remembered the good times.

  She nodded her head quickly. “You've met Luka, good,” Abigail said sharply.

  I was taken aback by how she knew. “I don't under-”

  She shushed me. “I will teach you how to channel the energies of the Dracul blood that runs deep in you. Use Luka's presence as an anchor.”

  Her hand latched onto my shoulder, hard.

  Immediately, my head snapped back and an overwhelming sensation whisked me away. I was losing control and fast. Abigail's instructions were starting to fade away. In the matter of seconds, I had royally screwed this up.

  I'm right here, Castor.

  And just like that the flood went away. I opened my eyes to see a red aura around me. I felt primal, angry, and powerful.

  Don't let it consume you.

  For a second time, Luka brought me into focus. I fought off the darkness that wanted me to give in and concentrated on Cassie. I reached out and like a leech, the red aura began sucking out this black, viscous mass from Cassie's body.

  I'd never seen anything like this in my life.

  “Focus Castor. The power of our family will draw out the poison,” Abigail instructed.

  To be honest, I had no idea what was happening. Weird stuff happened all the time in this family, so one learned just to roll with it. I expected after this that I'd get some crazy ass explanation that'd not make a lick of sense.

  Cassie was reacting positively to the event happening. The moment the final drop of curse released, Abigail's hand left my shoulder and everything returned to normal. We were just a guy, a witch, and a vampire in a cozy graveside shack.

  “What just happened?”

  “You were exposed to primal forces that the human body was never meant to touch,” Abigail answered roughly.

  The two women traded annoyed looks. “Not about that,” she shot back. Clearly she was not intimidated by the elder vampire. “What sorcery did Castor perform on me?”

  “Why are you asking me dumb questions, witch? Do not pretend you don't know what lurks within my grandson's body.”

  Tell them, Castor. Tell them that you know.

  In that moment, weeks of the unknown became clear. “I'm the one to replace Vlad.”

  That shut them both up.

  “It never made sense before but Luka's helped me see things clearly. I wasn't born for good; my soul is tainted with evil. That's what Francisco meant, isn't it, Cassie?”

  It was Abigail who spoke. “You were never supposed to know, Castor. No one was.”

  Just because a person was born with a capacity doesn't mean he acts on it.

  The spiritual wall that had kept our interactions were crumbling. I felt Luka's presence beside me, as well as another. I assumed it was my father; maybe he was waiting to show me his life before revealing himself to me.

  “I'm a human, I ain't no vampire like Vlad was.”

  Abigail reached into her pants pocket. “Vlad's concubine was a witch. While his research and notes were lost to the Vatican, hers were not. That’s what the German has.”

  “Are you referring to Koenig?” Cassie asked.

  “His name matters not. Between how he is poisoning the world and how corrupt the church has become, is humanity even worth fighting for?” Abigail asked. “I think not,” she answered her own question.

  She tossed the old, hand bound collection to me. I caught it carefully, worried that something this ancient would fall apart. How silly of me, the thing was forged together with a spell. The faint echo of it still resonated.

  Ignoring the two women in the room, I began reading words I shouldn't have been able to understand:

  I have foreseen the end and it is clear, the soul of Vlad Dracul will never disappear. New life will be breathed into his soul, a terror that will end the world foretold.

  That passage was depressing, as it basically confirmed what both I felt inside and what Abigail said. Unfortunately, there was more. To sum it up, old Vlad’s evil was not something that freely disappeared, no sir. The witch came to the conclusion that someone as touched by the Devil as himself would find a way to cheat death. In this instance, the clear conclusion was that any and all related to him had a chance to have a tainted soul, a soul marked by sin and travesty.

  Lucky me. I won the lottery.

  “Castor,” Cassie said as she touched my shoulder.

  “What could you possibly have to say about this?” I asked.

  “A person’s choices define them; remember that’s what you told me. I didn’t have to kill those people in London, but I chose to do so. I’m not a good person, but I can tell you are.”

  “I agree with this woman.”

  I slumped into the corner, the boyhood innocence finally lifting from me and the world as everyone else saw it coming into vision. “I’ve been so naive.”

  “Not naive, my child. Hopeful, better than the rest of us.”

  Even Abigail’s reassurances couldn’t stop the feeling from building up. This entire adventure, the one Julia warned me not to go on, I’d been seeing everything through rose tinted glasses. The world was black and white, you did good and good things happened to you, you ignored the bad and pretended it wasn’t there, things would be okay. Deep breaths, I told myself. I was getting all worked up.

  “No wonder you treated me like a child, Cassie.”

  “Not a child; someone who expected better of me and everyone around them,” she answered.

  The third person in all of this, Luka, had gone strangely silent. I’d come to rely on his insight and candor, mainly because he reminded me of myself.

  I’m still here, Castor. I have nothing to offer because I never wanted to go down this path. Trust your thoughts and feelings; no one else’s.

  As quickly as Luka appeared, I felt his spirit leave. I couldn’t tell if it had been by choice or not. Either way, he gave me advice, guidance I felt compelled to take. I stood up and went over to the lone window on the other side of the room. The grime and filth kept the sun’s rays from penetrating, yet I could still see that noon was slowly encroaching. Julia and Radu still had hours before they’d come out to see us gone.

  “I think a nap is in order,” I said to no one in particular.

  “I’m exhausted after this entire ordeal,” Cassie agreed.

  “A few hours should do the two of you good. I shall wake you well before dusk settles; I imagine you came here for a reason, Castor.”

  Abigail was trying to do me a courtesy by pretending she had no clue why I was really here. “When we wake, we can talk about the murders you’ve been committing.”

  Finally, a genuine smile. “One side of the coin is murder; the other side is revenge. I don’t believe either one of us is going to like what the other has to say.”

  With that, I leaned up against the portion of wall just under the window and closed my eyes. I knew we were both safe; what bothered me was going to be how Abigail reacted to the ideas I had to bring about a resolution to all of this.

  We’d find out soon enough.

  ****


  “Castor,” a soft voice met my ear. “It’s time to wake up.”

  Cassie’s head was propped upon my shoulder and the witch was really sawing logs. I shifted it back gently against the wall and saw Abigail reaching down with a hand. She helped me up and the two of us retreated to the other side, as not to wake the slumbering girl.

  “Whatever you have to say, allow me this. Julia, my daughter, has decided that my bloodlust has gone too far and she might be right.” It was tough to hear such a thing from family. “I cannot imagine what you have to propose will stop the inevitable.”

  “What if you left Texas?” I asked, seriously.

  The question surprised her as much as it did me. “You want me to flee? No Castor, not while those who played a hand in my family’s murders still walk this Earth. I’ll either put them down or be put down myself.”

  “Are these simple, scared people truly the ones you want to kill?” It was a rhetorical question; one I didn’t give her a chance to answer. “A corrupted church is the reason for so many Brinzas not to have experienced full lives. I’ve seen it firsthand with this mad inquisitor, Jean Pollard.”

  Her lame eyes turned their attention, no longer looking off into nothing. “A Frenchman? The church is really getting desperate,” she cracked.

  “He’s dangerous. He’s dabbled in arts that ought not to be dabbled in. I’m telling you, this one is out to kill us all, if he gets the chance.”

  “I witnessed some of it, too.” Cassie was awake, apparently. I was curious how long she’d been playing possum. “I just assumed it was the church taking any means necessary, even ones that they’d officially deny.”

  “This changes everything,” Abigail said softly

  “Are you ready to give the rest of my plan a try?”

  The old vampire tittered. “Castor, you are beginning to remind me of Maximus.”

  I took that as a yes and went into my partly detailed thought. Radu needed help against a crazed German who also was trifling in the dark arts. With the home base of the church being in Italy, I began to formulate a plan to take it to both parties looking to mess up the world. If Abigail was willing to put this insane feud against the people of El Paso to an end, she could go to Europe as well and meet with Shaman Francisco. The two of them would be a formidable team to draw the inquisitor away from the rest of us, giving Cassie, Julia, and I time to assist Radu. Once the German threat was neutralized, we could then rejoin together and put a stop to the church’s prosecution for good.

  Cassie shook her head eagerly the entire time I laid out my thoughts. Now, it was time to see what Abigail said. “Julia will never go for it.”

  There was no hesitation in the answer. Disappointment was an understatement to say the least. That’s when the door behind us opened and two heavily cloaked figures walked in. “You don’t know what I’ll say Mother because you stopped talking to me.”

  Shit - it was Julia and Radu.

  “Abigail, it has been a long time,” Radu offered very formally.

  The tension in the shack began to skyrocket. Abigail gave no indication of how this would go over, not at first. When she moved, taking steps towards them, I flinched, expecting an attack.

  Instead, what we got was a mother and daughter hug. “I am so sorry, my beautiful daughter.”

  “I’m sorry too, Mother.”

  That’s when Julia’s hand reached up and brought a wooden stake down towards Abigail’s chest.

  Chapter Fifteen

  M y hand was barely holding back Julia’s and that was with magical help from Cassie. “You don’t have to do this,” I growled through gritted teeth.

  “Let go, Castor,” Julia demanded. “Even your pure intentions can’t save her.”

  The only person not doing anything was Radu. Abigail seemed resigned to losing her life to her daughter’s hand, but too many of us had already been killed. Don’t stop fighting for your family, Luka’s voice spoke softly to me.

  He was right - we never stopped fighting for our family. “Julia, Luka wouldn’t want you to do this. I know, because he told me.”

  “Luka's dead. I've accepted that and have made peace,” she snapped. “If she had done the same, we wouldn't be here.”

  “Enough!”

  My anger at these two boiled over and I did the impossible. I overpowered both women, sending them to different spots in the room. I looked up just in time to see Radu terrified. His gaze was directed at me and it seemed he was seeing me for the very first time.

  “That power,” he gasped.

  Before anyone could say anything else, a dull roar began to roll throughout the shack. “Those are voices,” Cassie offered.

  “Not just any voices.”

  Julia was right. Those were the voices of a mob. “How did anyone find us?”

  We all knew the answer; the church had agents everywhere. We were already on the blacklist with the good people of El Paso, so it was no surprise that a mob had formed. I just wanted to know how they tracked us to this specific point.

  Unfortunately, I doubted we'd be able to ask any of these lovely individuals.

  Another noise overtook the angry mob rushing our position. I quickly went outside to see someone dressed in all black dancing in the graveyard casting fireballs this way and that. When she noticed someone was watching, she dropped her hood.

  “You!”

  It was Cassie's sister Alura. “Ye be missin’ me?” she said seductively.

  A spell flew over my shoulder, towards Alura. It missed as the witch cackled and ran off. The villagers were closing in, too. Oh hell.

  “Get back here, you bitch!”

  Cassie stormed off, chasing her sister into the fiery mess that surrounded us. As much as I wanted to help, I wasn't abandoning my family. Abigail, Julia, and Radu joined beside me as the angry crowd carrying torches, pitchforks, and guns surrounded us. At their forefront, a man dressed in the holy armor of one anointed by the Vatican.

  “This is a bit ironic, ain't it?”

  “The church does have their tried and true monster hunting methods,” Radu joked.

  The man leading the charge addressed us with a thick Texas drawl. “Under orders from the Vatican, by direction of the holy inquisitor, the Dracul and Brinza bloodlines shall be put to death by fire.”

  “No one needs to die today,” I answered.

  “No human will die, just daemons.”

  With that, the residents of El Paso attacked.

  **Cassie**

  “Alura, what're you doing here?” I asked.

  “Admirin’ ye work, Cass. The last of the Draculs in one place? Well done, lass.”

  That was what I was afraid of. “Did Gerhard send you?”

  “Koenig's a shrewd one, but even he canna keep track of me. He'll reward us with so much power if we bring all of them in.”

  No. “The agreement is one, preferably Radu. I drew him out and you can have him, per the agreement with the German.”

  Alura's eyebrows arched a bit. “Yer sweet on the boy, ain't ye?”

  “My personal feelings have no place here.”

  Sparks flickered from her fingertips. “I gave that church man the power of Koening; justa teenie bit,” she laughed. “By the time they’d be done with that, it’d be easy pickens fer the two of us. Donna let me down, Cassie.”

  **Castor**

  “By the power the angel gave unto us to defeat our enemies, so shall it be!”

  I had no idea what the holy man was referring to until it was too late. The folks lined up behind him each took out little glass vials and drank whatever was in them. The effects were immediate.

  The humanity in each of the people in the crowd was replaced by something horrifying. Skin turned ashen, eyes blazed a daemonic blue, muscles bulged, and the recognizable sound of angry chatter evolved into terrifying groans of agony.

  “How did he get that?” Radu asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Castor, that's exact
ly what the Germans look like under Gerhard Koenig. Whatever they just took, it had to come from Koenig.”

  That was all fine and dandy but right now we were in some deep stuff. It was one thing to subdue humans but I'm pretty sure that choice went right out the window. Nothing about what those folks did to themselves seemed to be reversible.

  If they were willing to do that, then the consequences weren't on me. I took my mace off my belt; the vampires behind me each reacted by unsheathing their own weaponry; fangs and swords. No words were spoken, but Radu handed Abigail Max’s old sword with a slight nod. I recognized what he was doing, returning the weapon to the rightful owner. She was reluctant to take it, but when she did, a tear streaked down the side of her face.

  Say what you want to about her, Abigail’s love for family never disappeared.

  Including for her husband.

  That’s when the first wave of villagers attacked. The one closest to me jabbed at me with a pitchfork, missing by a bit. As he pulled it back, I could see that his strength was well beyond that of a human. No man should’ve been able to thrust that weapon so quickly and with that much force.

  “Koenig’s serum won’t improve upon their skills; nonetheless, these people will be devilishly strong and all but impossible to kill.”

  I found that out the hard way as I smacked one in the head with my weapon. The blow was certainly hard enough to kill a normal man, but pitchfork kept coming. The only difference was that his head was hanging off at a strange angle. I'm pretty sure his neck was snapped.

  That's when the scene went crazy. All the newly-formed daemons closed in our position as the holy man began backing away. That scared coward! “Get back here!” I yelled.

  “Castor, go after him,” Julia barked as she stabbed a villager. “We can handle this.”

  There was no use arguing. We needed to know where he got the juice from. I twirled the face around, the flail portion releasing from the handle and spinning around. My attackers backed away for a moment, giving me enough space to make a break for it. The Vatican's chosen warrior, instead of turning to face me, kept running.