by T S Paul
“Will do. Oh, before I forget. Does Agatha call in regularly?” Beatrice asked.
“Not every day but regularly. Why?” the Director asked.
“Next time that you talk to her, could you tell her that I found a replacement recliner and disco ball for Fergus’s new barn?”
The Director shook her head but said she would tell her. “How does a unicorn sit in a recliner?” she thought to herself.
<<< >>>
“Do we know who she is yet?” Lord Clearchus asked.
The servant cringed gripping his desk in fear, “No, Milord.”
“Why not?” the Vampire lord raged.
“Records… Records weren’t kept coherently after or during the Purge,” the servant stuttered out.
“I know that. I was there, remember? Most of those records were recompiled after the Demon War. What aren’t you telling me?” Clearchus bared his fangs and hissed at the researchers.
“If the FBI records are to be believed, she is able to limit her hunger.” The lead researcher stepped forward.
“So?”
“Sire, only those of our race five-hundred years or more can do that with any success. She could be an Elder,” the researcher stated.
Clearchus glared at the researcher. “You forget yourself. If you had children, you would understand.”
“Sire, I do. I have brought across three so far.”
“A worm like you was given permission? Outrageous. If you truly have children, then you should understand how what you say is impossible,” Clearchus replied.
“I don’t understand, Sire,” the researcher responded.
“All this technology has made you weak. We can sense the ones that we create. It’s how a Lord keeps track of their kingdom and why the Purge was so successful. Kill the creator, kill their creations. Simple and effective.” The Vampire lord scowled.
“If she were truly an Elder, then her master would have called to her by now. All of the truly ancient Masters are accounted for. None of which were female.”
The researcher nodded. “Understood. We will keep digging, then.”
Lord Clearchus ignored the comment and stormed out into the hall away from those he considered beneath him. It was time for him to report to his own Master.
Settling himself in his office, Clearchus dialed a special phone number. Only one number like it existed inside of Russia. Tsarina Maria authorized the phone addition herself.
The voice that answered was deep and dark. “Hello.”
“Master, it is Clearchus.”
“Report,” the voice replied.
Clearchus filled his Master in on the World Council’s most recent meetings and all the gossip related by the delegates.
“What of the Demon sighting? Is it real?”
“We don’t have any local Vampire representatives in that region. I have ordered a team from Naples to investigate. The human authorities are already on the scene,” Clearchus replied.
“Anastasia.”
Clearchus nodded to himself. “Yes. My research team thinks she might be an Elder, but I told them to dig further. All of our old ones are accounted for. We can sense our children.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Master? Are you still there?”
“Check the China and Japan records,” the Master replied after a moment.
“Who do I look for?” Clearchus asked.
There was nothing but silence, and then a loud click as his Master hung up the phone.
Clearchus stared at the phone in his hand for a moment. What was this about Asia? The Purge didn’t affect them as much as Europe. Shaking his head, he called down to his research team. Just one more data point they can use.
Chapter 17
Training takes time. For a Vampire, it might take centuries to learn the things you need to know to rule. For me, it took almost five centuries. I emerged from Stari Ras in what is known as the seventh century. My home was long gone. But so were any enemies and friends I may have once had.
“Aeliana it is time. Time for you to join those in the North. Time for you to take your place among the Royal Vampires as one who serves,” my Master stated.
“Time?” I peered out of the darkness of the entrance to our city into a world that wasn’t my own. A walled city stood before me. Stari Ras wasn’t just for Vampires anymore.
“The humans arrived when Rome fell,” Alukah remarked.
“Rome is gone?” The entire concept of Rome being gone shocked me to the core. Rome was eternal.
“It split. The Eastern Empire still exists. Constantinople is the heart of what is called the Byzantine Empire. These are refugees. We tried to prevent them from building this, but as you can see it was for naught.” We stood in the mouth of a cave overlooking the beginnings of a town. I could see a crude wall complete with guards surrounding it.
“Refugees from what?” I asked.
“War. Famine. Chaos. The things that drive humans to leave their homes. History is filled with eternal movement. This only changes the equation for us. We are Vampires, and that is enough.” Alukah brushed past me as he returned to the darkness of the tunnel.
“What did he mean by that? I already knew we were Vampires,” I asked Gaius.
“Vampires adapt. We rule the humans whether they know it or not. There are others out there such as the shapeshifters and our own Mother of monsters. They all bow to our superiority,” he replied.
“Why show me this?” I’d been training with several of the other Royals for centuries. They taught me court etiquette and manner along with negotiation and warfare. I could now fight a war or end one through politics if needed. I had been taught the ways of the boudoir as well. Winning a battle using my body didn’t appeal to me, but time in the sarcophagi was worse than dying again. Seeing the Goddess again because of something stupid was not the way to please her.
“The Master is sending you away. This is his way of telling you,” Gaius answered me.
“Where am I going?” Total news to me. I had assumed I would be negotiating trade deals now that my education was complete.
“Arkaim. Trade here has shifted further South, and he wishes for you to take an ambassadorial post in the East. You will be dealing with the Chin and Nippon as well as barbarian tribes to the North and East. That area is infested with horse-riding barbarians called Mongols. Avoid them if possible,” Gaius pointed out.
“He’s giving me an ambassador post? Why? Is my work not acceptable?” I knew very little of the East. All of my training was centered upon Vampire clans and cities within our area.
Gaius pulled me away from the moonlit cave entrance. “Aeliana, you have learned more than others in your age group. I argued that you would be unable to understand the politics in East without a primer. The Master said that Vampires adapt. His word is final, as you know and have learned.”
I shuddered at any thought of the sarcophagi.
“You are my finest student in the way of war. Your reflexes are better than most. Unless you are surrounded, I expect you to best any stinking barbarian.”
Gaius drew me even closer and whispered to me. His voice was so low that even I barely heard him.
“Alukah has a new student. Your brother, as we reckon things here. He intends for him to take your place among us. Keep this knowledge to yourself and do not react when he introduces you.” Gaius stepped back from me.
“You will be fine, Aeliana. I’m sending my best scout with you as an escort. The baggage train will have everything you need. Now come. The Master wishes to speak to you.” He motioned for me to follow.
Walking the dark path down I mulled over Gaius’s whispered words. A new student. The Master, like my father, favored men over women. We were beneath him. It was the reason that Alukah didn’t teach me himself or even tell me about the fall of Rome.
The Vampire race was male-dominated. It still is as far as I can tell. Just another reason for me to run rather than face the Wor
ld Council. They wouldn’t give me a chance.
The throne room was sparsely lit, but even in the dim light, I could see everyone's faces. The entire city was in attendance.
Gaius took his place next to the throne and rapped his staff of office on the ground three times. “Attention!”
Guards surrounding the dais snapped to attention. Anyone approaching the throne unasked for would be cut down. That applied to Royals as well as normals.
“I have called you here as witnesses to the adoption of another in our family.” Alukah stood and placed his hand on the shoulder of a middle-aged man standing at his side.
“This is Clearchus. He has come to us from our enclave in Alexandria. His time as a Novitiate is at an end.”
Clearchus looked a bit out of place dressed as if he was still in the deserts of Egypt. I smiled at the thought of him freezing in the snow. We are immune to most sensations but cold and heat plague us. Cold was the worst.
Alukah continued, “Our daughter, Aeliana, is traveling East. She is to take up a position as the new Ambassador to Arkaim. Our brothers in the East are on the cusp of greatness. A new philosophy has pervaded the human lands advancing our power and strengthening our bond as a race. Wish her well in her new endeavor.”
Many in the crowd looked my way, but most did not. I was the old child, not the new one. Best to forget me as the Master already had. I almost shook my head in sorrow but didn’t as I noticed him watching me. Alukah had the same smile he used when sentencing rule breakers to the box. Everything was a test.
“Thank you for the opportunity, Master,” I muttered. Thanking him publicly changed the equation.
Alukah’s visage darkened as he found himself trapped by me. Beating him at his own game would cause me problems in the future, but at least I would be away from here.
Carefully, I picked my way past those that wished my new brother well and returned to my place in the city. Gaius had long ago allowed me to occupy Varro’s old apartment. It was deep down near the disposal site where I first worked. Octavian lasted only a few short weeks before someone bigger, stronger, and hungrier took it from him. I stared at the few remnants of my former life. Deciding quickly, I packed very little. Just a few texts and a scroll that chronicled my life in Rome. Clothing and raiments would be supplied by my new Masters.
<<<>>>
“Should I say hello or good riddance?”
The voice from the doorway made me spin around suddenly. Only another Vampire can sneak up on someone like me. The figure in the doorway looked familiar.
“Some of both I would think. Has our Master sent you to me?” I asked Clearchus.
The young Vampire stared at me. He cocked his head and looked from side to side. At the time I might have given anything to know his true opinion of me. I was older and more aware of this life, but he was the newest golden child. He could do no wrong.
“No. I wanted to see you. Alukah never speaks of you. What did you do?” Clearchus asked.
“Nothing. The Master likes his games and his favorites. Women are not his favorite. Call me an experiment if you will,” I answered.
“That is not what the city says. They say you are the best of us. What a true Vampire should be. That he is making a mistake sending you away from here,” Clearchus pointed out.
I laughed at the serious expression on the youngling's face. “Look around you. This was once the living space of another of Alukah’s favorites. He was a mentor for me until one day he was gone.” I spread my arms to display Varro’s place.
“Watch your back and stay true to your own ideals. He will grow tired of you and move on. Prepare for that time, and you may survive. It is the Vampire way.
The youth nodded at me. “I will consider it. That is not what those in Alexandria say about our people.”
I snorted. “Call me a rebel then. I will tell Gaius to prepare this room for you if you wish. Tradition after all.”
“The Master says I’m to stay with him,” Clearchus stated.
“Good for you then. Anything else I can do for you?” I asked.
“No.” He stepped into my home and picked up things from the table. I watched as he tried puzzling out words on one of my scrolls.
“It’s in Babylonian. They ruled Persia before the Persians existed.”
“Why?” Clearchus asked.
“Why keep it and study it?”
He nodded.
“Information. Those older than us knew things that relate to the present. What did you do in Alexandria?” I asked.
“I was a fruit seller in the main part of the city before the Muslim army came. Cyrus, the city's leader, wanted to negotiate but was driven away. We survived the siege only to be conquered, anyway. I tried to escape and fell down one of the undercity entrances. Vampires found me asleep in a side tunnel and spared my life.”
I listened to Clearchus recount his history and smiled. I was so sure why brethren in far-off Aegyptus spared him. The Master and his people never do anything for a single reason. He would have been called a pretty boy by modern standards. Learning about the subsequent invasions and battles intrigued me. “And did the city fall?”
“It did. They sent me here before they went further underground. Do you know why they would do that?” he asked me.
“Politics. We have long lives. It is sometimes easier to wait out human changes than force them. The old rulers were dead. Whoever is in charge there wanted to wait until the new rulers are firmly in charge. We rule the humans. They just have to be taught that fact. It is much of what my job will be in the East,” I pointed out.
“Will I learn here?”
“Only if you wish it. My only warning is to not cross the Master. His punishments are terrible.” I looked sternly at him.
He laughed at me. “How bad can they be if you survived them?”
Any goodwill I may have had went away at that instant. “You may be the new favorite, but I am older. Leave. Now.” I pointed to the door.
It was the last I saw of the youth. I heard later that he was in line for his own city and rule.
I left the city I had grown to love and the country I was born in with little fanfare. Only Gaius was there to see me off. The ghosts of those gone before and the bodies of those I killed haunted me. I made no excuses for what I was.
<<<>>>
The journey to the East was long. We could only travel at night. None of the party were old enough to battle the sun without dying. That limitation made travel incredibly hard. Our trek was similar to that of long lost Alexander. He set out to conquer India and died for his trouble.
To look at it from a historical perspective, we were an ancient version of Marco Polo. Even he didn’t go where we were for another seven hundred years. What later became known as the Russian steppes were rife with barbarians and bandits. Genghis Khan wouldn’t invade the west for another four centuries, and his ancestors were devils on horseback. With names like Goths, Huns, Alans, Avars, and Sabirs they struck fear into villages and cities.
“Isn’t there any other way we can travel?” I asked as we ducked into a cave for the day.
“Not easily, mistress. Gaius entrusted your safety to us. Travel by sea is hard for our kind. A distance such as Chin is impossible. There are more than bandits in the ocean,” my chief guard replied.
“Sea monsters aren’t real.”
One of the other guards snorted. “Neither are Vampires.”
We laid out sleeping furs and bedded down for the night. It reminded me that not all of the classic myths are false.
The route we took was part of the silk route. Vampires can survive for several days without blood but only so long. Two of my guards were human. They served as walking snacks if we were unable to find a village or fellow traveler. My training taught me how to drain without killing. Something that many my age couldn’t do. It was another reason that sending me away made sense. I couldn’t fault Alukah for his choices but only his reasons.
Our journey wa
s without issue until the second month of travel. Northern India was ruled by peoples known as the Gupta. They had dynastic desires and had taken over the regions of India in large bites. Buddhism was spread far and wide across this area. It was the religion that worried my Master. Giving humans spiritual help and arming them for war was always an issue. We might be hard to kill, but we could die. Halfway through the trip, we encountered something we couldn’t go around. An army stood in our way.
<<<>>>
“Mistress, there is a barbarian tribe blocking our passage out of India.” My chief guard informed me.
“Can we go around them?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not easily.” My guard drew a rough map on the ground. “We are here. The barbarians occupy the entire center of this valley. They’ve built small forts on the edges and a large gate across the trail.”
Tactics and battle strategy was one thing pounded into me by Gaius. Looking at the rough map, I thought about trying to fight our way into and out of the valley. We could do it, but if we didn’t make it by the dawn, we would all die.
“What trade goods do we have?” I asked.
The guards looked at one another and nodded. “We have the gold you know about and some small jewelry items. There is ivory in the last pack. We picked it up in Bactria.”
I shook my head. We were nearly caught in Bactria. “Was this before or after we cleared that small town?”
“Before. The Master didn’t send funds for us.” The guard was unapologetic.
“See if you can discover the name of the leader here. Try not to kill too many of his people in the process. If I have to negotiate, I want a clean slate,” I directed them.
“Understood.” The guards slipped out of the cave we had found at dusk.
Digging into my unopened pack, I began pulling out my few items of presentation clothing. I needed to make an impression on this ruler, whoever he might be. I would have to appear as a Goddess or Demon. Few rulers would allow a woman inside that wasn’t for sex.
My men returned shortly, clutching a slightly battered human in their fists. “The ruler's name is Lakana. He is the master of his country.”