Oh, Robert.
“Epkah, nonka insewe.” The African languages I learned in my travels, to my understanding, have died in the last few centuries. Understanding this, I find that I have an advantage. A language that can’t truly be replicated. The continent with approximately two thousand languages and to be the last one speaking this dialect.
How can one not be chuffed with himself?
I take a yellow powder and wipe it on my forehead in one flourish. Red on the cheeks. Now?
I wait.
Silence. A constant struggle to keep the demons at bay, yet when I want them to come to me they do not. Such is life, it seems. An ever-struggling battle.
“You know he calls for you,” one finally speaks. I recognize her. A child. It takes me some time to place, her but she is the alpha wolf’s daughter.
“I know. I hear him,” I reply.
“Then why do you not speak with him? You are lucky.” She walks out of the darkness and into the light, sitting beside me at the fire.
“Lucky?”
“Yes. You have the ability to speak with your family. Life or death, you are connected. He says I must send you his apologies for the crimes he has committed on you and your mother,” I look to her.
“Then why has he sent you? The crimes my father committed against us are most heinous. Leaving us to an eternal torture. She begged for death, in the end. I wonder what happened to her.” My mother was a powerful woman in her time. My father, a powerful man. The only one of his kind. A time manipulator. He gave my mother and me the same abilities. Traveling. One that I passed down to Robert. One that drove my mother insane.
“She’s with us,” the young girl finally says.
“No. That’s not right. Had she been, I would have felt her.”
“Your family is not why you called us to speak. I know that much. Who is it you are wanting to talk to?” She moves away from the touchy conversation of family. I can understand why. After all, her own is not a stone throw away, and she will not be able to speak with him again for a very long time.
“Company. I grow so lonesome in these times.” Honesty has never been something I have been good with giving out, but to lie to a child seems wrong. Even to me.
“Many find comfort at the bottom of a bottle, others in times of war, knowing that once they get their revenge, they will have peace. You have your servant.” She turns her head from the dancing fire to look at me.
“Robert is a good man, but he does not quite have what I need. He is afraid to speak with me as you would have been, had you not been behind the veil. In the in-between. I have been forgotten in my travels. Lost the great power I have created. Now? I have to fight to reclaim it. Respect and fear. These are my comforts. I do not expect a child to fully understand this.”
“It’s not the way the world works any longer. Where plans may have been the only way to forward your progress when you first entered the traveling state, things changed, as you may assume. Life happens when you are busy making other plans.”
“You are wise, child. I like that.” I turn to face her. We look into one another’s eyes for a moment. I take a long, deep sip of the bourbon I have at my left side.
These few minutes were too real for me. I need to dull the bitter pain with something a little more tasteful.
“Goodbye, Victor.”
She rises and begins walking back into the darkness.
“Goodbye, child. Keep your mother safe as only I know you can.”
Chapter Twenty-One: Mason
“A little disappointed you didn’t come sooner.” The snarky comment, more a waste of my time in its jest than a serious point.
“Yes, yes. I’m here now, isn’t that all that matters?” Drakka’s smug grin says it all. Much like everyone who hasn’t seen me in the ten-year gap, they all puff out their chests, thinking that they are the cock of the walk, when truly they are still nothing more than walking corpses.
“So, what brings you to my door?”
“I have a use for you.” There’s no other way to put it. His amusement is dead set on this idea.
“I thought you would have been back sooner after our last conversation.”
“All right. Anyway,” I may grow ever irritated if he continues, “I’ve been around the block. You seem to be my best bet.”
“And what do you want?” We’re standing in a bar, alone apart from a few of what I can only assume are Drakka’s most loyal. He grabs a bottle from beneath the counter and then a whiskey tumbler and pours himself a drink.
“I want you to be my eyes and ears in the field, simply put. As I’ve said, I don’t want a piece of your pie. I just want to bake my own.”
“And why do you need us?”
“Ten years go by quickly, and yet so much has happened. What may seem like a blink of an eye brings great change. Now, I can work my way back to the top without a second thought or struggle, but I would prefer getting there as quick as possible. I am out of the loop and don’t like that feeling. I want to use you and your people to get there. Who knows? It could become a very profitable industry for you and your kind.”
I pause a moment. Drakka sips his drink.
“Right. That’s where you’ve got my interest. Profit. What’s in it for me?” Like any barroom cliché, the next item Drakka brings forth is a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He lights one up.
“Shouldn’t you be saying us?”
“No. I will do just fine.” A grunt escapes my lips.
“A king who leads his people under the veil of illusions is a king that will fall, Drakka.”
I can see the statement resonates with him. He understands my subtle allusion to Daffyd. What I understand from this is that they are comparable. Not something I would dabble in again. Then again, I am not working under him. This time, it’s the other way around.
“Though, who am I to tell you how to lead your people? Much like the amulet, there is a lot more where that came from. This, or money, or both. You would be surprised how wealthy and already rich man can become in ten years with good investments.”
What exactly I mean by that, I will not say.
“Who am I to say no to wealth?” he finally says after finishing his glass, pouring another as he does.
I take a bag of coins from my pocket and drop it on the table. “Call this my down payment. Your spies – their information belongs to me. You do not share it with anyone but me from here on out, not that I think you are at the moment. Are we in agreement?”
He grabs the bag of coins and pockets it. “Yes, we are in agreement. Does this pertain to previous information, or just what we get from now? Because as you can understand–”
“You don’t need to tell me all your dealings, for I do not care about what you do when off my time. Just keep your eye out for what I’m looking for. Do you know what I’m looking for?”
“You want us to keep an eye on the vampires, I assume.” I can’t help but smile.
“More or less. I will return when I think you’ve had sufficient time. I may enlist proper services after if your worth is proven.”
“Got it, boss.” Another little snarky comment. One that I can agree with.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Jack
There’s never been a time where nervousness has consumed me to my core as much as tonight, standing outside Madison’s door, knowing that the moment I knock, the world will either change for the better or for the worse.
“No time like the present,” I mutter to myself, knocking on the door and waiting for her reply. The butterflies. I’ve never been able to stand the feeling. The knots in the pit of the stomach, awaiting a beautiful lady to open the doors.
Thinking about it, there was a realization that this could be considered wrong. A girl that woke up from what was nothing more than a coma, instantly falling into the lap of a man that has near fallen head over heels for her.
Does that mean I’m taking advantage of her?
I don’t know if I would go so far
as to say this, but there is the possibility. I am her protector. Her mentor. Her commanding officer. Now? I’ve broken all those bonds and barriers by merely asking her on a date. I don’t know what to think. Do I think anything at all?
No.
As I watch the door jiggle, that is where the thinking stops. Tonight is not about title and rank; it’s about a good time. If something comes from it, we are still both consenting adults. If nothing further happens, then it was good while it lasted, and when Monday comes, it’s back to business as usual.
“Damn it,” she says, irritated behind the door. “Sorry, I’ll be with you in a second. The door’s just jammed,” I hear her reply.
“Are you sure it’s not locked?” I tease. That, in turn, was the issue. In her own panicked state, she must have forgotten how doors work.
How adorable.
But what a sight she was to wait for. Her beautiful locks cascading down her shoulders. The tight fitting, black dress, that hugs and shows off each of her features perfectly. Finally, the natural beauty that has no need for makeup to bring out anything. A few well-placed strokes from her make up brushes make her eyes pop and contours flourish.
What have I gotten myself into?
There’s no turning back.
“This is quite the change from the training tights and tank tops,” I tease.
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” she strokes the ego, and I can’t help but accept.
“So, I’ve got a fun night planned,” I tease the evening.
“Oh, really? Well, what do we consider fun in the world of Jack?”
“Dinner, drinks and a movie. I’m old school like that.” I wink at her.
She giggles and blushes. “Well, I’m ready to head out.” On saying this, she runs back into her room and grabs a jacket and her bag before coming back to the hallway and out with me. Madison locks the door, and we are all set to go.
We walk down the hall. She wobbles as we do.
“I’m new to the high heels thing,” she giggles. “Never used them in my dreams.”
That could mean two things, I think.
“That could mean two things,” she says.
Then my cell phone buzzes. I know exactly what it is. There’s no other reason I would have been bothered on a Saturday night this late, had it been nothing but serious.
I take it out of my pocket and look at the contact.
“Yes, sir,” I say after answering the phone. “What do you mean missing?” I can see Madison has already fallen into a state of disarray. She was expecting a good night, and here it goes out the window. “I’m on it. I’ll be there within the hour.”
I put the phone down. I can see Madison’s great disappointment, but what can I do?
“I need to go. A child has disappeared. Isn’t that ironic?” I bow my head at the irony.
“I’m coming with you,” she adds.
“You’re not ready to get out in the field yet.”
“I don’t care. You promised me a good night out. You can’t give me the good part, but you can give me the night out.”
“Fine, let’s get going. Do you have any other shoes to wear? We never know what might be lurking.”
I’m half joking, but at the same time, there’s a level of seriousness. Years on the job teach you that. There’s nothing you can do but expect the worst.
“Give me a second to change,” she says, and when she returns, we leave about our business.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Mason
“Daffyd asked about you after you left last night.” The first words Brooke says to me when I enter the car.
“And what did you tell him?” Ankh waves from the door. Brooke and I wave back. She stays silent a moment longer until we are on the road and the engine is revving. I understand. She’s doing it to have some white noise in case there’s someone that could hear through the doors. Her luxury German car is not soundproof after all.
“I told him that we were discussing the future. You were weary of doing so on the Veil’s grounds and you wanted to speak in private. He asked what I wanted to talk you about, and I told him that I would only tell him once you’re on board with my plan. If you don’t get on board, there’s no reason to get his hopes up, and if you do join, then what else is there than to get him excited about becoming the most powerful vampire in our ranks?” She pauses, and I consider her words. Calm and calculated, I never rush into anything of this nature without taking the proper time to consider all the disastrous effects that may unfold.
“That brings us to this plan, I suppose. What does it entail? What’s my role? Am I merely a bystander, and would Daffyd go for it?”
The car is quiet, apart from the low hum the engine provides. Brooke, like myself, is the calculated kind. I knew it from the moment I met her. She had the potential for greatness, but instead took on her place as queen. A second in command.
“As you know, I’ve always been destined for greatness,” she confirms what I was just thinking. “And as one who doesn’t necessarily believe in the phenomenon, I create my own destiny. Like you, in many ways.” I can’t help but nod my head in agreement.
“Now, I don’t want to be the same as I am now forever. I would prefer to drop the smoke and mirrors and take charge where it is due. There’s nothing stopping me, apart from Daffyd and the council. You, too, Mason, but I do believe that you may be more inclined to have a new leader take charge than to watch the old one let the world burn. This is what’s happening and has been for ten or so years. There’s nothing we can do about it unless we change it.”
“You keep saying ‘we,’ but you seem to forget that I have no idea what your plans are, Brooke. I am merely a bystander in a plot you’ve conceived.”
Again, the conversation falls quiet while she thinks.
“Okay, look. I want to be queen. You called me Queen of the Damned last night. As much as I liked the reference, I’ve been awaiting your return for far longer than you can care to bother with. I knew you wouldn’t be gone forever. The great Mason – just another lost puppy in a world so cruel.”
“I was never lost. Just drifting...against my will, I might add.” She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Mason, my plan involves you to work very closely with Daffyd one last time. You won’t have to gain his trust, and we will pay you well for the crimes you are about to commit. Compensation is an item named by you. We will provide it. The vampires have struggled under Daffyd long enough now, and the only way that would change is to change management.”
I know where she’s going with this. “So the council, then?” I add.
“Yes, the council needs to be replaced. Daffyd has been speaking about it for a while now himself. Now, he wants to do it soon, and I can’t disagree with him. If we have you, an outsider to our kind, proclaimed by yourself, then he there will be no challenge or contest. Who would challenge an Ancient in his decisions?”
“They will know what you have done, Brooke. They will know that Daffyd called on me to do it,” We stare dead ahead. Brooke because she’s focused on the road, me because my quiet contemplation leads my reactions.
“But who will challenge the king once they know he has placed himself in the ideal position? He will no longer be a figurehead for them, but instead, he will rule them. He will dictate their decisions and not the other way around.”
“I fail to see your part of this plan, Brooke. How do you benefit with Daffyd becoming a high king instead of a pawn in a greater scheme now?”
“Because Daffyd’s going to believe that he’s in control. He’s going to believe that he’s the one in charge, and he’s going to have full confidence that nothing will be able to stop him or challenge him. The war effort will be won because he has no one to stop him in his future decisions. That is where I come in. I’m not going to let him take full control. I know the members he wishes to thrust in the council, and they have already signed over their allegiance to me. Don’t worry about how I’ve acquired it, but we are a
single entity moving forward to a better future.”
A king will die and a Queen will rule.
The prophecy. I couldn’t have hoped for it to fall into my lap so easily after my return.
“I would be a fool not to agree.” She won’t know my true intentions. I am preparing my own greater future. Now, with this simple plan in place, my future is secured. Godhood, ascension – it’s at my fingertips. I just have to take it. “When do you intend for this plan to take place? And do I have the final say in what happens when Daffyd meets his end? It does factor into my plans.”
“So long as Daffyd Llanelli meets the true death, there will be no qualms on behalf of how you conduct this business. When there is the next inauguration, I will be queen. The true queen.”
“Why do I get the feeling you will be worse than our current king?” I ask in jest. Brooke turns to face me, a smile on her face. Her hand inches down and rests on my lap a moment.
“You’re funny,” she compliments me, hand squeezing my leg.
“Daffyd may be one to partake in infidelity, Brooke. I am not. We are now entering a business agreement. Now, that is all we are. When this business is done, there will be nothing more. You will not use me as a toy to get back at Daffyd.” I wait a moment. She pulls her hand back to the steering wheel, and in a flash, I vanish out the door. She has her confirmation.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Venice
A coven of witches. Something that hasn’t happened in a very long time, a thought that only occurred to me when the Ancient vampire came to visit Atticus and me.
And it is something to consider.
They trusted us as their leaders. Me more than him. An innocent, young witch trying to find salvation in a world that she had been neglected in. Neglected? Not quite. Rather, forsaken.
Another interesting thought. Forsaken in a world of Forsaken. What is there really to say about it all? We are nothing more than a band of rebels. The Forsaken wanted us stripped of our powers completely. This, they could not do, so they had the vampires enslave us.
The Vampire Touch 2: Into the Uknown Page 6