July 19, 1705
Cook has returned with news. His men, who he trusts, are loyal. His pirate friends, as he sarcastically calls them, have a code. Cook has left them alone and they, in turn, have left him alone. That trust has created a method of communication that I have found most useful. His friends work in the darker areas of towns and they know our dark secrets. The vampires will come to them with news and the news that Cook has given me is well worth the money that I have paid for it.
Lord Blackraven, my sire and love, has disappeared. My heart is sorrowful. I longed for him, but I could not respect him. Cook learned through another vampire that Lord Blackraven had sired many powerful vampires. They said that Blackraven was trying to achieve true immortality. I know that I am still mortal. I can be killed. Blackraven was working on a spell or a method to achieve true immortality. He wanted to raise a vampire from the dead.
The vampires said that before Lord Blackraven had vanished that he was in the Far East with his most powerful minion. A minion, who had grown so powerful, that he rivaled the strength of Lord Blackraven himself. They believed that his name was Viktor. He and Viktor were rumored to be close to raising dead vampires, but their secrets disappeared with Lord Blackraven. The vampires have said that they had tortured and killed many council warriors and they did not say that any warrior had ever claimed to have killed Lord Blackraven.
I wonder if he is still out there. Be well, My Love.
Lady Sangre
Mikhaeli nearly spilled her drink. The tome slipped from her fingers. She barely noticed the massaging chair. Lord Viktor, her sire, had been sired by Lord Blackraven. The same Lord Blackraven, the leader of the Order of Twelve, was the sire of her sire. She immediately became lost in thought. Was Lord Viktor trying to raise Lord Blackraven or was he researching the very spell for me to raise him? Her mind raced. Is Lord Blackraven alive? He couldn't be, could he?
She closed the tome. She turned off her chair. She lowered the leg rest and stood. She returned the tome to its chest and locked it. Her mind continued to race. She had more questions than answers.
"I need answers," she whispered.
She stopped and closed her eyes. Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled. A sparkle had returned to her deep blue eyes.
"I know where I can get those answers," she whispered, "And I know just how to get them."
She smiled.
* * *
After his outburst, David and Larry were escorted out of the cathedral. Instead of one large, muscular guard, they were surrounded by four very large guards. They marched them to the elevator and immediately out of the building. A car was waiting for them when they left the cathedral. The guards told them to get in. The car took them back to their hotel. They were ordered to remain in their room and await further contact from the council. For the last five hours, they waited.
Since they could not leave their room, David ordered room service. He ordered the most expensive items on the menu. When asked who was going to pay for it, David told Larry that it was placed on their bill. Larry instantly broke into hysterics. Their room was purchased on Chris' council account. Everything associated with their stay would be paid for by the council. David enjoyed every second of his fleecing of the council as the two men sat at the lone table in the room.
Larry dipped a piece of his steak into a small bowl of dipping sauce. "You know that they could cancel his account," he said.
"Yep," David mumbled through the piece of steak that he had just placed in his mouth.
"Do you care?"
"Fuck'em," David said as he chewed on his steak.
Larry smiled and shook his head. "I thought that you got my angry speech in the elevator," he said before he placed the piece of dripping steak in his mouth.
David nodded as he swallowed. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I did," he said as he placed the napkin on the table, "But I have a complete distain for how my so-called trial was handled."
Larry nodded as he swallowed. "I agree, but are you angry at the council, the trial or…"
"Everyone except you," he said as he cut into his steak.
Larry smiled as he placed his glass of beer to his lips. "Well, that's reassuring."
"Seriously," David said as he placed his utensils on his plate.
Larry placed his glass next to his plate. "Well, you could blame me for not having your back during the battle."
David chuckled as he picked up his fork. "You were unconscious. You couldn't do anything to stop it."
"Then who are you really angry with?" Larry asked.
David tapped his fingers on the table. He placed his fork in his vegetables. He stabbed several carrots before placing the fork in his mouth. He slid the carrots off his utensil and chewed. His teeth clicked as he chewed the very soft food. Larry waited patiently as David continued to eat. He picked up his beer and sipped. David mirrored his movements. David let out a satisfied sigh as he placed his beverage back onto the table.
"It's good," he said.
"You're ignoring me," Larry said sternly.
"Absolutely."
Larry sipped his beer again. "Ignoring it isn't going to make it any better," he said.
David chuckled as he angrily cut into his steak. "I'm not ignoring it. I know exactly who I am angry with."
"Okay, we've established that it is not me, so who is it?" Larry asked again before he took another sip from his beer.
"Hitting that a little hard aren't we?" David asked.
"Yep because someone else is paying for it. I've answered your question, now answer mine," Larry scolded.
David dropped his utensils onto his plate. Unlike before, he let them drop. They clanged against the glass plate. He stared angrily at Larry. He inhaled and exhaled to calm himself.
"Chris," he said finally.
He picked up his beer and he drained the glass. The dark, bitter drink tasted better with each angry gulp.
"You're supposed to sip it. It's not the mass produced swill that you're used to," Larry said.
David blinked several times. He slowly placed the empty glass onto the table. He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. His eyes never left his mentor. Larry casually sipped his beer.
David was shocked. "You're more concerned that I slammed my beer?" he asked.
Larry placed his glass next to his plate. He picked up his napkin and he wiped his mouth. Unlike his student, he placed it on his thigh instead of tossing it casually onto the table. He smiled.
"No," he said as he picked up his fork.
"W…W…"
"I want you to explain it to me. You obviously need to verbalize your reasoning due to your curt answer. I doubt that you actually believe it, but I will humor you," Larry said as he scooped up his vegetables, with his fork, and he continued to eat.
David threw his hands in the air. "It's fucking obvious. He's a goddamn vampire!"
Larry continued to eat. "No, he's not," he said calmly.
"Yes, he is. At the end of the day, he drinks human blood. I don't care if he mixes his Bloody Mary with holy water or vodka. He drinks blood. He's one of them," David said angrily.
Larry calmly placed his utensils on his plate. "And I could say the same thing about you," Larry said.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"You shot him in the back. I believe Chris to be a genuine warrior. I consider him to be human and you helped the vampire, who he was fighting who we've all been fighting, escape."
"I was under her influence. Just like you," David protested.
"Yes, I was and my results of that influence are evident," he said as he pointed to his broken nose. "You on the other hand have minor wounds and she made out with you before leaving."
"I…I…I was hypnotized," David stammered.
Larry pointed at him. "And you are smart enough to know that you will only act under hypnosis if you don't protest against it. You had to want to shoot Chris before she even suggested it."
David closed his e
yes. He fought away his tears. He inhaled and released it slowly. "Yes, I did. I wanted him dead."
"Because he was a vampire?"
"No because he didn't stop her from killing Myles but I know that he did everything that he could and…and…"
"And you had your chance to stop her," Larry added.
"And she threw me away like a ball."
"So you really don't blame Chris for Myles' death then do you?" Larry pressed.
"No…I blame me," he said softly.
Larry picked up his beer. "Why not blame her?"
"I…I…I don't know."
"Her looks?"
"Maybe," David answered.
Larry chuckled as he sipped his beer. "Regardless of the reason, you have to let it go," he said softly.
"I can't let Myles go," David replied.
"Your anger at yourself," Larry said. "You have a great mind, but it doesn't work very well when you are angry. You don't focus."
"Am I going to the dark side, Master?" David quipped.
"Maybe, but I'm not your father," Larry joked.
Both men laughed. They resumed their meal. David actually felt better. The loss of his best friend truly hurt. It was extremely hard not having Myles around to tease or get his geeky references. His friends were limited and they were disappearing rapidly. He shot one of them in the shoulder and now he had only Larry left. He picked up his empty glass and wished that it was still full. He glanced at Larry who continued to eat. He was about to speak when his computer beeped.
"I doubt that it is the Avon lady," Larry quipped as David stood.
"Me too," David said as he walked to his computer.
He picked up his laptop which he had placed next to the television when their food had arrived. Larry quickly cleared a space on the table. David shoved his food to the side to clear even more space and he placed the laptop on the table in front of him. He entered his passwords. Larry shrugged and continued to eat. David entered a few keystrokes. He paused.
"What is it?" Larry asked when David stopped typing.
"It is the verdict," David said.
Larry dropped everything and he stood. He walked behind David and he read:
Mr. Spires/Dr. Efron:
The council clears Dr. Efron of any wrongdoing and we look forward to working with you in the future.
Now, concerning the charges against Mr. Spires, after many long hours of debate, the Council of the Light has decided to give you the opportunity to resign your position without any further punishment. We, despite several dissenting votes, had originally considered probationary actions, but if you open the attached video file, you will understand our decision.
Sincerely,
Imam Owusu-Antwi
David clicked the video file. They waited patiently as the video player loaded. Larry yawned and stretched. He suddenly felt fatigued. He wondered if he had over indulged himself at the expense of the council. He also considered that it was all the stress of the past few weeks suddenly catching up with him. However, he realized that the video that he was going to see could be quite damaging and he was trying to shake away his nerves. He placed his hand on David's shoulder as the video opened.
The beautiful face of Mikhaeli Lanaova appeared on the screen. She smiled.
"Hello," she said as she sucked on the tip of her finger, "I am so thankful that you gave me back my tome. It is such wonderful reading. I cannot forget to thank my helper with that troublesome vampire hunter of yours. Without you darling, he might have gotten away."
She blew David a kiss. He pressed pause. The video stopped. Her beautiful, yet evil smile, stared at him. He pressed a key and her picture filled the screen. David scratched his chin and stared.
"Need a moment to be alone?" Larry asked.
David chuckled. "Yeah, get me some tissues."
Larry glanced around the room and reached for a box of tissues.
"I was joking. I thought you were too."
"No," Larry admitted, "I thought that you might need a moment to collect your thoughts. This video is quite damaging."
"I know but I don't care," David said.
Larry turned completely white. "You don't care?"
David turned to face his friend. "No, I don't. If the council believes this video, then I don't know if I want to be associated with them."
Larry sighed heavily. "I can't argue with you. So how do you want to do this?"
David pulled his head back slightly. "Do what?"
Larry walked towards his briefcase. "Resign. I have several documents that we can recite to make your resignation…"
"I am not resigning," David said.
Larry paused and turned slowly. "So you're quitting?"
"No, I am not quitting. I don't care. If they don't want me, they don't want me. I will just move on with my life."
"You can't have this over your head," Larry said honestly.
It was David who sighed heavily. "You're right as usual."
Larry looked directly at his friend. "So how do we make things right?" he asked sincerely.
David shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't think anything I do…"
"We," Larry corrected. "We are in this together."
David nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "I don't think that there is anything that we can say that will change their minds, but I can't sit around and wait for my friend to magically appear and clear my name."
"What do you suggest that we do?" Larry pressed. He was relieved that his prized student was using his mind to think clearly instead of relying solely on his eyes and his heart.
David rubbed his face as he stood. He kept his hands over his mouth momentarily as he sorted through all of the thoughts in his head. "Do you still have your council privileges?" he asked.
"I would assume so," Larry said as he touched his bandaged nose. He sat down on one of the beds. "They have cleared me of any wrongdoing."
"Do you know any of Chris' group of warriors?" David asked as he began to pace.
"I know a couple of them. They would never disobey orders," Larry replied as he made assumptions regarding his line of thought.
David shook his head. "They would not be disobeying the council. I want you to recruit a handful to help you track down his location."
"A rescue mission?" Larry asked. "The council will want to know how they know where to look."
"We don't tell them," David said matter-of-factly.
Larry shook his head. "David, the council…"
"Fuck the council. I am sick of hearing the council this or the council that," he said angrily as a vein began to stick out in his forehead, "They preach their rules and they act if they are an allknowing entity that is never wrong. Well, why did they keep these precious fucking tomes for centuries when they had to know that vampires, like our queen, would come hunting for them and that they would kill everyone to get them?"
"Well they thought that they would be safer if they were guarded," Larry replied calmly.
David shook his head. He slapped his palm to his brow. "Oh hell, I forgot that they could guard them. Wait, she has fucking eleven of the twelve and we have no idea if she is on her way to the twelfth or not."
"David," Larry said softly, "This is not helping us."
"No, but it is helping me. Listen to me, Larry. If they had destroyed the tomes, then the vampires would have been pissed but they wouldn't be able to get their hands on them. You know that they kept the tomes for some other reason that they are not telling us."
Larry nodded. "I cannot find fault in your logic. They said that they were studying them but they were in some language that they could never translate."
David blinked several times as the reason came to him. "You need to be a vampire to translate them. Did Chris ever…"
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