by J. C. Diem
I found nine more undead on the same level as the guards and attempted to scan their minds. Six were asleep and were beyond my ability to read their minds. The other three were awake. I’d met one of the vampires before and knew him to be honourable. Hopefully, he would be able to give me some useful information so I wouldn’t have to barge into a situation that I didn’t fully understand.
Before I transported myself halfway across the world, I figured it would be a good idea to find some clothes. I wouldn’t be very intimidating if I arrived in the nude.
·~·
Chapter Four
It was the middle of the night in Brisbane and the streets would thankfully be mostly empty in the centre of the city. For the first time since finding myself in the cemetery, I left the mausoleum, but not by the door. With the blanket wrapped around me, I teleported directly into the clothing store that I’d once been the manager of.
Over twelve years had passed since I’d last been inside the store. I’d spent most of that time floating around in space as a vampsicle. Not much had changed in the shop since I’d become a creature of the night. Jeans were even tighter, if that was possible, but the shirts and blouses still seemed to be the same. I was both surprised and glad to see underwear was also available in the store now. I wouldn’t have to waste time trying to find a nearby place that sold them.
I quickly picked an outfit. Being slender and average in height, I had no trouble finding jeans to fit me. I went with black and picked out a t-shirt and leather jacket to match. The dark colour would help me to blend into the shadows. My feet were still bare, so I moved over to the window to see whether the shoe store was still across the street. It was, so I popped inside and found socks and a pair of black boots in my size.
Finished shopping, I materialized outside the store and prepared to teleport myself to Europe. Then the dark alley across the road caught my eye. It was the very spot that Silvius had snatched me from so long ago. Drawn by my morbid curiosity once more, I crossed the road and stepped into the mouth of the alley. Used syringes, broken bottles and puddles of vomit decorated the length of the passageway all the way up to the white door at the far end. This bathroom was where most of the store owners and staff in the area took their infrequent toilet breaks.
I’d once been afraid to use the facilities after dark for three different reasons. Firstly, it was dark and spooky and the only illumination came from a single bulb at the mouth of the alley. Secondly, the alley was a haven for rats, which I’d been deathly afraid of back then. Thirdly, junkies, muggers, rapists and other lowlife scum frequented the area and sometimes used the narrow laneway to conduct their various businesses.
My fear of the dark had fled when my life had been taken from me, and so had my terror of rats. As for criminals, they no longer held any danger for me. I was the monster creeping through the shadows now and I was the thing to be feared.
Remembering back to the last time that I’d used the bathroom, I’d had a close encounter with a rat and had very nearly peed my pants in fright. Right on cue, two rats squeezed out from a hole in the bathroom door that hadn’t been there the last time I’d seen it. Huge and bold, they were river rats that had left the Brisbane River behind and had headed for the comfort of city life.
One stopped beside me and stood up on its hind legs in an attempt to intimidate me. I bent, picked it up and stared into its beady eyes. “Who is afraid now?” I asked it as we examined each other from a few inches away. With a squeak of anger, it sank its teeth into my hand. Surprised by the attack, I dropped the critter. The tiny tear in my hand healed even before the rat hit the ground. My brow wrinkled in puzzlement when, instead of the usual black crud that passed for my blood, a bead of fluorescent yellow blood stained my skin.
The rat had doomed itself to death by biting me. Heaving for air and squeaking in pain, it tottered a few steps, fell onto its side then twitched a couple of times and died. Usually when I was bitten, the offender’s mouth and insides were melted by my highly acidic blood.
Hunkering down beside the deceased vermin, I saw no evidence that my blood had eaten through its flesh this time. “Strange,” I said then started back and almost landed on my butt in a pool of vomit when its eyes snapped open. A red glow emanated from them, illuminating the passageway around us. Uh oh, I had time to think before the rat opened its mouth and squealed with hunger. Its eyes latched onto the other rodent that was now frozen in fear. Scrambling to its feet, the newly risen rat streaked towards its kin. Fur and blood flew as the critter fed on its companion. The second rat didn’t go down without a fight and sank its teeth into its attacker.
Mouth hanging open in amazement, I watched as the second animal died and was almost instantly reborn as the undead. Holy shit, they’ve turned into vampire rats! Both rodents turned towards the bathroom door, no doubt with the intention of feasting on their kin. Picturing a vast horde of vampire vermin sweeping through the city, I leaped forward and snatched them both up an instant before they reached the hole.
Neither of the rodents made a move to bite me and both went quiet in my hands. Their beady, fiercely glowing eyes latched onto my face. While I could understand and speak every language known to man and intelligent aliens, I seriously doubted I’d be able to communicate with animals. To test the theory, I tried to read their minds. Apart from a few pictures of their newly awakened thirst for blood, I couldn’t really grasp the thoughts that were going through their tiny brains.
I’d never sired another vampire before and I was at a loss of what to do with the rats. I was both immortal and capable of healing any wound, no matter how dire. What if the rats are just like me? If so, then I had a serious problem on my hands. There was only one way to find out just how much alike we were.
I wanted privacy to perform my experiment and it was possible that a human might stumble across us if we remained in the alley. I didn’t want to leave any evidence of myself behind, so I popped back into the clothing store long enough to grab the blanket that I’d dropped. Eventually, the store manager would figure out that some of their merchandise was missing, but hopefully they wouldn’t be able to pin it on me. I hadn’t seen any cameras inside either of the stores so I hoped I was in the clear. I already had a bad enough reputation without being labelled a thief as well as a monster.
Returning to the mausoleum, I made sure the door was still firmly closed before setting the rats down on top of one of the stone sarcophagi. Sitting up on their haunches like dogs begging for food, they watched my face without blinking. Suddenly reluctant to harm them, I forced myself to pick up the rat that I’d inadvertently sired. It stared at me trustingly as I gripped it in both hands. With a twist of my wrists, I tore it in half and felt a small pang of regret as it immediately broke down into a puddle of goo. It was easier to destroy the second rat, since it was my minion’s minion rather than my direct descendant.
While my blood was now fluorescent yellow, the rats’ blood had still been red. I wasn’t sure when my blood had been transformed. It had probably happened after I’d been infused with the barrage of nanobots. It seemed that they’d altered me far more than I’d realized.
Thinking back on all of the horrible situations that I’d gotten myself into, most had resulted in my dismemberment, or at least in intense pain. I came to the realization that each episode had ended up with me receiving a new type of power. Luc’s apparent death had caused me mental anguish rather than physical pain, but I could now read the minds of every being on the planet, if I so chose. Fate had pushed, prodded and bullied me to where I was today. It had created the legend of Mortis and it had made sure that I was equipped to deal with, and to destroy, any threat to humanity. In a way, it made sense that most of my kind had been culled. Even the vampires who didn’t have aspirations of taking over the world still needed to drink human blood to survive. We could all be considered a threat to our former species.
Vampires were obviously a lesser race to the powers that ruled the universe. Like
it or not, I’d been created to serve humans. The thought rankled and rebellion rose. Why don’t you rescue Luc first and worry about saving the humans next? It was a sound suggestion and I couldn’t fault my inner voice for making it. Fate had told me that only I could save my beloved and I took that as encouragement to try to help him. If he really was still alive, that was. I wouldn’t believe it until I saw Luc for myself.
It would still be daylight in the northern hemisphere, but I couldn’t wait any longer. Sending my senses to the caverns, I pinpointed the only vampire who wasn’t an enemy and transported myself into his room. It was small, cramped and had an ancient wooden bed against the back wall. It was so old that the mattress was made of straw. Age had made the wood fragile and it would no doubt collapse if I attempted to sit on it. The prisoner hadn’t been given the option of using the bed and was chained to the wall. Rusty yet sturdy manacles pinned both of his wrists.
Sensing that he was no longer alone, Danton opened his eyes. “Hello, Natalie.” He was completely unsurprised to see me. His master must have foreseen my coming, but I wasn’t yet sure why Danton was locked up.
“Hi, Danton. How is the Prophet?”
Chained tightly, he managed a worried shrug. “I can only hope that my master is still alive.” He didn’t seem to be surprised that I was speaking to him in his native tongue.
“He’s alive,” I reassured him. “He’s asleep at the moment.” It was more like a state without animation rather than sleep, but he knew what I meant.
Relieved, Danton nodded at the manacle on his right wrist. “Do you think that you could free me?” Much stronger than a normal vampire, I wrenched the shackle from the wall then freed his other arm. He inclined his head. “Thank you.” With a fringe of white hair on his otherwise bald head and wearing a stained, torn white robe, he looked like a monk, but was actually the prophet’s main protector. The five other men in nearby cells had once guarded their leader as well. I assumed they were all that was left of his personal retinue.
“What’s going on? Who locked you in this cell?”
“We have been imprisoned at the behest of a lesser vampire who has risen high during the past few months. He calls himself Magerion.”
“Sounds pretentious,” I said with an inner snigger. “What’s his real name?”
“Melvin,” Danton replied and smiled at my eye roll.
“What’s Melvin’s story?”
“It is the classic tale of an insignificant man with delusions of grandeur. One of Vincent’s servants, Melvin spent the past few centuries snivelling at his master’s feet.” Vincent had been in charge of the mountain lair in Romania where the prophet had made his home. As evil as he’d been ugly, he’d been the first vampire that I’d tested my holy marks on. “With Vincent’s demise,” Danton continued, “Melvin was freed from his servitude. He pledged his allegiance to the Prophet and was amongst the few of us who survived the purge.”
The purge had been instigated by General Sanderson, back when he’d still been a colonel. He’d wiped out as many of our kind as he could find but he’d kept a few alive. I wished I could resurrect the Comtesse so I could kill her again for ratting out her own kin just to save herself and her courtiers.
“What gave this guy the right to lock you all up?”
“The Prophet woke from his coma shortly before the aliens invaded Manhattan and predicted that you would return. He decreed that you would rule over all of the remaining vampires. Melvin had gathered a few followers and one of his lackeys was present when the Prophet made his pronouncement. Unfortunately, the Prophet spoke quite clearly, for once.” The prophet had been stricken with visions over two thousand years ago and had foreseen my coming. The visions had scrambled his brain, so he usually spoke in gibberish. The few times that he was lucid, his prophecies had been dutifully noted down by his followers.
“Melvin and his henchmen had secretly begun to build a small army of fledglings,” Danton said. “After the Prophet’s vision, he changed his name to Magerion and declared himself to be the new ruler of the European vampires. His supporters agreed that you do not have any authority over us because you aren’t European.”
“Gee, and it’s just the job I’ve always wanted; Empress of the European undead.” Danton smiled slightly at my sarcasm. “How does Magerion plan to stop me from usurping him?”
“The fool believes he can change fate itself. He sent his lackeys to France to find some kind of leverage that he could attempt to control you with.”
While I winced at his choice of words, since I’d also been a fool that’d attempted to control fate, wild hope clutched at my dead heart again. The possibility that someone had kidnapped Luc’s bits and pieces had never even occurred to me. Maybe he hadn’t died at all, but had instead been stolen from me. “They found it,” I told him. “They took Luc.” My fists clenched in fury that my one true love was being used as a pawn.
Compassion and understanding shone from the monk’s black eyes. He rested his hand briefly on my shoulder. “I am sure that Lord Lucentio is still alive and well.”
“Actually,” I responded, “he’s in about a thousand pieces and is hovering on the brink of death.” Danton blinked in wordless astonishment. “It’s a long story, but a few of us are kind of immortal now. Luc was blown apart but he hasn’t broken down into slush yet. Apparently, only I can heal him.”
“Is your blood by any chance now yellow?”
Now it was my turn for astonishment. “How could you possibly know that?” Even as I asked the question, I knew what the answer had to be. “Don’t tell me, the Prophet saw it in a vision.”
Danton inclined his head again. “Indeed. Before you rescue Lucentio, I ask that you first visit my master. He has information that you need to hear.”
Knowing that Luc was so close, I didn’t want to delay his rescue any longer, but Danton’s urgency convinced me to see what his master had to say. My senses told me the prophet wasn’t currently conscious. He’d either allowed himself to fall into what passed for their sleep, or he’d fallen into a coma again. He had a penchant for starving himself to the point of having very little energy.
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to communicate with an unconscious vampire, but I shrugged and followed the monk’s suggestion. “Brace yourself,” I told Danton as I took his hand. Before he could ask me why, I transported us both out of his cell.
·~·
Chapter Five
Danton staggered a step when we suddenly appeared in the prophet’s bed chamber. It was far smaller and shabbier than his previous bedroom had been. We were deep beneath the ground and the cave system was dank, dark and depressing. I had to admit that even this place was more welcoming than my mausoleum.
Blankets were piled on top of the slight figure in the bed. The smell of cinnamon wafted from the wizened vampire. The prophet was in even worse condition now than the last time I’d seen him. Wispy white hair floated around his wrinkled face. His mouth was sunken, as if he’d lost most of his teeth. Black bags crouched beneath his eyes. Starvation was never a pretty sight and, for creatures like us, it was downright hideous.
Turning in a circle, Danton came to a stop and stared at me. “How did you bring us here so quickly?” He spoke barely above a whisper so the two guards standing outside wouldn’t hear us.
“Teleportation. I’ve learned a few new tricks since I saw you last,” I whispered back.
Motioning me closer to the bed, he checked on his master. “I hope one of your new ‘tricks’ will serve to revive the Prophet.”
“I only just found out that my blood is yellow a short time ago,” I warned Danton. “I have no idea what will happen if I feed it to another vampire.” I knew what happened when I fed it to rats, but I wasn’t about to divulge that embarrassing episode to him.
“My master’s vision foretold the healing powers of your blood.” From the disturbed glance he shot sideways at me, I guessed there was more to the story than he was telling me.
“The Prophet foresaw that, while your blood has become a great blessing, it also has the potential to become a great curse.”
Raising my eyes heavenward, I was completely unsurprised. “Of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? I’m Mortis, so everything about me is cursed.” I said this bitterly and he flinched when my voice rose slightly.
On the other side of the crude wooden door, the guards halted their conversation. “Did you hear something?” one of them asked.
“It was probably just a rock falling somewhere,” the other one replied.
Apart from these two guards and the ones who were keeping watch over Luc, the bulk of Magerion’s force was in the caves beneath us. It seemed prudent to dispatch these two before I tried to heal the prophet. “I’ll be back in a second,” I said to my companion and teleported out into the hallway.
Dressed in ragged clothing that had to be several decades old, the guards gaped at me when I appeared before them. Before they could reach for the swords at their hips, I grabbed them both by the hair and bashed their heads together. Their skulls split apart but their brains never had a chance to leak out. Dead instantly, their empty clothing fell to the ground and their bodies joined them with a wet splatter.
Fishing keys out of one of the puddles, I wiped them clean on a shirt, unlocked the door and pushed it open. Danton relaxed slightly when he saw it was just me. “There is little point in trying to rouse my master while daylight still shines above,” he said. “I suggest we free the Prophet’s guards from their confinement.”