The Price of Life

by T. M. Nienaber

  “There’s nothing I can do, it seems she’s suffered some sort of attack. Her heart has just stopped, and when it’s been this long I have no way of reviving her, even on the other side of the wall.” William stood up, still looking down at the body sprawled on the floor, surrounded by pieces of a china teacup.

  “Well, she always had a sensitive disposition, but she was so young. Well, not young, but my age.” Madame Perkins shook her head and looked away. Miriel came into the room carrying a glass of brandy which she handed to Madame and then ushered the woman into a chair.

  “Oh, William, Elle has been just a blessing.” She patted Miriel’s arm. “She must be such a help to you, comforting us hysterical old women so you can do your job without worrying about us. It’s a shame no one has married her yet.” Madame Perkins was one for keeping priorities in line.

  “Yes, she has been quite a help.” William nodded, refusing to take the bait.

  Miriel took a tray filled with uneaten pastries and cold tea back to the kitchen where she made sure everything was disposed of and carefully cleaned. There wasn’t much of a chance someone would find any evidence, but she liked knowing all the ends were tied neatly and the only way to do that was to take care of things herself.

  William was talking to the coroner, someone else Miriel had begun to suspect was one of the founders, when Miriel returned and gave a slight nod. William gave Madame Perkins a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry about your friend. Rest assured she’ll be taken care of and that her soul is, I’m sure, now with God. Unfortunately now I not only have to leave you but I have to take your ward with me. I need her help with a few more things today, but I’ll be sure to send her back here as quickly as possible.”

  Madame Perkins nodded gratefully and then leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, trying to erase the whole afternoon. Miriel murmured her goodbyes quickly and followed William out, keeping quiet until they were out of sight of the house.

  “What does that bring our count to?”

  “Ten so far this month, but I don’t think it would be wise for any more women to drop dead around tea time. We need to start being more creative.”

  “We could probably go back to killing off sick patients. A radical number have survived surgery lately. I think we’re due for a string of horrible accidents.”

  “That would make for a change. Although I’m not terribly fond of the idea of going back to playing nursemaid.”

  “You’re the one who hates using poison. You want a more hands on approach, you take what you can get.” William gave a half smile and Miriel laughed. The past few months had been more enjoyable, and Miriel was finding herself less repulsed by William now that she was more or less free to play the game without him standing over her shoulder trying to make suggestions or interfere. He still wasn’t much of a partner. Miriel was going back to the person she had been before Lucian appeared, an assassin working alone. William was gaining quickly in his game and Miriel was transforming herself into the kind of woman everyone was starting to envy. Not to mention she had turned the subtle kill into an exact science. Her timing was perfection and the men playing the game could never find enough evidence to trace William’s new assistant to any of his kills. It seemed like William had a godly power over life and death, and as long as he had Miriel working for him he probably did.

  “Do you mind if we stop?” William started walking towards the gatehouse. “I’ve heard there’s quite the power shift going on and I like to stay informed. Make sure nothing’s going to threaten our little utopia here.”

  Miriel nodded, she’d tried to avoid the informational hub for as long as she could. She wasn’t concerned about what the outside world was going through, and not ready to see Kristopher try and smooth-talk his way to head of state. There was a small part of her that was curious about Lucian, but she’d tried to ignore it.

  “Good. I have to try to find Charles anyway. Turn in my newest count.” William winked and Miriel couldn’t help laughing.

  Inside the TV erupted into applause as the new fearless leader stepped away from several microphones. Miriel sat down and stared at the screen with very little interest as William went over to talk to Charles and brag about his statistics for the month.

  “Now, we know it’s hard to ask you all to put your faith in someone you haven’t seen much of and who you aren’t sure you can trust, but I can promise that everything we do is to keep people alive and get victories in our war.”

  Miriel’s eyes snapped back to the screen at the sound of that voice, her heart beat faster than she’d ever remembered it beating before. The voice was familiar, even after not hearing it for so long, and the face was one that had haunted her every night. “Lucian.”

  William turned at the sound of Miriel’s voice and focused on the screen, instantly recognizing the man he had seen with Miriel every time he had gotten close to meeting her in the city. He’d assumed the partner had finally gotten himself killed, or that Miriel had killed him for some sort of assassin infraction. He’d never imagined something like this, or that Miriel would have chosen not to be involved with it.

  “I can’t promise you that, when we do take control of the government, there won’t be changes you find strange or unacceptable, and I realize not being able to make that promise may cause many of you to rethink your support for our administration. Remember that we have the ability to bring your husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and friends, back from the dead. If you can have faith in nothing else we do you should have faith in that.”

  “Lucian.” Miriel shook her head as she stared intently at the screen. Lucian’s robes were spotless, any trace of the dust they’d been buried in was long gone. His hair was much longer than it had been, perfectly combed back and tied in a ponytail. His eyes held a power greater than any Miriel had ever seen there before. It was obvious to her what that said, he was no longer a partner but a leader. He was an icon, worshipped by every member of the fastest growing religion in the world. Miriel had heard rumors of a new, national religion, one that gave proof of its power over life and death, one that gave soldiers immunity to their greatest challenge, rumors about a miracle worker who could raise the dead, and a political champion who was bringing that gift to the people. You couldn’t help believing in them, all the evidence was strong. She had a hard time believing Lucian and Kristopher were working well together, but the images she’d gotten from the TV seemed to show them working in harmony. That harmony wouldn’t last long, but it had lasted long enough. They were both getting what they wanted.

  “One of our first actions will be to cut off all communes and gated societies. They will no longer be held to the laws and regulations of our country, but they will also forfeit the benefits we intend to share. Even though they are still technically on our soil, they refuse to fight with us, die with us, pay our taxes, even vote in our elections.” Now Kristopher had taken back control of the microphone. With the volume of authority in his voice it was hard to believe he hadn’t been officially elected yet. “These places will now have to fend for themselves. We will send ambassadors to seek alliances with them, and if they refuse to join us in a partnership we will treat them with the same caution we treat all our other enemies.”

  Kristopher trailed on with some more proposed rules and regulations to be followed, a few vague hints were dropped about the possibility of a curfew and rationing of food, but these were glossed over quickly. There was a lot of talk and complex explanations to simple problems. Miriel tuned it out and finally let go of the breath she’d been holding since first seeing Lucian on the screen. She was safe. Lucian and Kristopher might be controlling the rest of the world, or at least the part Miriel was on, but she’d managed to find a safe spot. She wouldn’t have to follow their rules, she wouldn’t have to see their guards, and she only had to see Lucian’s face on a screen every now and then.

  “Maybe we could bring back the vampire? That was always fun.”


  “I think it might be too soon. I mean, we all know no one here actually believes in vampires and we don’t want people to get suspicious about the rising number of natural deaths.”

  “Rising thanks to you. How do you manage it, Will?”

  Miriel was glad to see William too absorbed in his own secrets to pay much attention to hers. Unlike Kristopher, William only cared about her skills as an assassin, her connection to Lucian was just a curiosity. Until he found out what Lucian could do, and how strong her connection to him was. Maybe she’d been playing the sidekick instead of the partner all these years. Lucian could handle himself. She took one more look at the screen, but now Kristopher was back on. He was impressive and energetic, enough to make even the most alert citizens close their eyes to the fact their free democracy was being morphed into something worse.

  They were working on voting out term limits, soon they would be dealing with forced military service. It was just a matter of time before they stopped having a vote. They’d agree to it all. Miriel stood up and walked towards the door, closely followed by William. “We’ll talk again after we see how all this business on the other side plays out. Then we’ll know what move we need to make.” He waved a cheerful goodbye and walked with Miriel back to Madame Perkins’s house. “How are things on the outside? I saw you were very absorbed in the news today.”

  “They’re getting interesting.”

  16. Lucian and Kristopher

  “I think what we should really be focusing on here are short term results, make the people happy and then worry about our agendas when there’s less scrutiny.” Kristopher sat in his office with a group of likeminded, if not quite as ruthless, men. They were now all officially heads of some form of government office with Kristopher as their fearless leader, but the margin was much closer than they’d wanted it to be. The people were more cautious than Kristopher wanted them to be. Lucian was off organizing his cult, and for now the two partners were having as little to do with each other as possible. Kristopher and his Cabinet were planning their first wave of changes before Kristopher implemented the real thing. Their first goal was to keep support strong and follow up on promises, then get rid of term limits. Once Kristopher had ultimate power indefinitely he could start molding his perfect society without having to worry about what any of the citizens thought.

  “Well, what about roads, get people able to go from point A to B easily and things will start moving.”

  “Excellent. We should help rebuild them too, let the people see us sweat. Get the National Guard out clearing roads, stage some fatal accidents, get Lucian to raise them up so people can see it’s not a hoax, and there you go. We’ll have instant devotion along with their support. They’ll never want us to leave.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  “True, but we also have to let them think it’s all their idea. Otherwise it won’t work as easily as we’d like it to.”

  “And how do you suggest we go about getting people to give up their freedom, Kristopher?”

  “Easily. We make things perfect. We can sustain that just long enough to get people to think we can do it forever, and we turn into the easy choice. Sure, having Lucian work only for me helps, but we have to be able to run things as well.”

  “So what do you think our first move should be?”

  “Now we’re on the right track.” Kristopher smiled. “I already have an agreement with the head of all public works.” He nodded to a man a few seats to his left. “And he has made calls to his men all over the country. They’ll be hiring by the hundreds in every city. Until the roads are cleared. And with the help of the National Guard that should only be a few months at most.”

  “But enough time to get them to vote out term limits?”

  “Exactly.” Kristopher looked triumphant. “Now where are we with food prices?”

  “I can lower them to cost for three months at the absolute most. And only if you promise me a ration system immediately after that, Kristopher. Otherwise my companies are going to start losing money.”

  “Of course, of course. I give you my word that at the end of three months at the absolute top, you’ll have everything I’ve promised.”

  All the men looked pleased, and not even Kristopher seemed to show concern for the citizens who had so much faith in him. As far as he was concerned this was all just business. “Now, all of you are free for the rest of the day, go set things in motion. I have a few reporters coming so I can announce our improvements. Make it possible for everything to start tomorrow. I’ll be very disappointed if it doesn’t.”

  The men nodded gravely as they walked out. Even though they had all reached an arrangement with Kristopher, and power of their own, he still held all the cards in the form of Lucian. All of these men were entering into a very risky political coup and none of them would have agreed to Kristopher’s proposal if it hadn’t been for the promise of protection. Kristopher could take that away any time he felt his Cabinet wasn’t pulling its weight and everyone knew it. Especially Kristopher.

  The men left as the cameras and crews came in and Kristopher sat up a little straighter at the head of the table. He was well suited for his role as head of state and he looked good on camera. “Just let me know when you’re ready to begin.” Kristopher smiled.

  The crew nodded, not nearly as interested in what he had to say as the journalists. Still, they did their job the best they could and as quickly as possible. It took ten minutes before everything was set up and Kristopher was cued to go.

  “Now, I want to make this announcement as brief as possible. We are proud to announce that the first of many changes my administration has planned will be in effect starting tomorrow. These are just basic changes in addition to the ones we’ve made regarding the outside societies and communes, but they are important to get our nation back on its feet and they will only benefit those of you who are a real part of our nation. We will see, starting tomorrow, road crews whose job it is to clear and refurbish our roads so we can once again travel with ease. These crews are in desperate need of manpower, so they will be hiring large numbers of workers. All of you who have been unemployed the longest will be the first considered for these positions and will be paid a generous salary. Of course, it doesn’t make sense to clear the roads without it being affordable to travel, so starting tomorrow gas and basic groceries will be offered to the public at cost. The National Guard will be present to oversee all of these programs. Anyone caught taking advantage will be dealt with as severely as we see fit.” His eyes went dark. “But that shouldn’t be a problem. We all want things to get better and no one would risk jeopardizing that. As I said, these changes will begin tomorrow, and as I also promised to keep things brief, that concludes the interruption.”

  Kristopher could just imagine that applause, even the camera crewmen seemed to be looking at him in a different light. Sure there would be skeptics, but once he started getting results no one would bother taking them seriously. He needed to make sure some of Lucian’s men could be at the supermarket in time to resurrect the plant.

  “Alexander!” he called out into the hall. Of the three men Lucian had given him, Alexander was his favorite and even though all the necromancers were back under Lucian’s control the boy had become a mediator between the two.

  “Yes, sir?” Alexander was out of breath from running up from the basement, proof that Kristopher could be heard down there and Lucian just chose to ignore him.

  “I need you to have Lucian send one of his elders to this address as quickly as possible. There may be a shooting there tomorrow.”

  “Sure, I’ll just tell him to call the chapter leader.”

  “The what?!” Kristopher’s blood turned cold but it wouldn’t take long before it started boiling. “He never mentioned anything like that. Explain.”

  “Well, Lucian’s the best, and he’s in charge of, I guess we’re calling it The Order now, across the board. He can’t be everywhere and this thing spans across the globe. Ev
ery one reports to him, but some of the elders are the heads of groups too far away for Lucian to personally control.”

  “And Lucian’s still the best of them?”

  “Without a doubt. Nothing happens without his consent.”

  “Damn.” Kristopher had had a brief moment where he saw a way out from under Lucian but the window was tightly shut as quickly as it opened. Lucian would have to stay. “Go tell him what I need.” Kristopher wrote down the address on a slip of paper and sent Alexander back to the basement.

  It wasn’t long after Alexander had disappeared downstairs before Kristopher heard a set of feet stomping back up. He knew it was too much to hope Lucian had simply said yes and was coming to confirm. He sat down at his desk and tired to look as busy and powerful as possible.

  “I heard you needed me! Oh, Kristopher, here I was thinking I couldn’t be of use to you again.”

  “I thought people your age were supposed to start taking things like this more seriously.”

  “Things like this? Kristopher, your political paradise will eventually be reduced to nothing more than a chapter in a history book when all this is finally said and done. If you want to live forever you should try fiction.”

  “I’ll pretend I’m not insulted by that.” Kristopher tried to sit up taller in his chair. “Alex told you what I wanted you for?”

  “Of course he did. The boy is extremely bright, too bright to be reduced to running your messages back and forth like your lemming interns. But as you seemed upset about something I thought I’d come up and see which situation you’ve chosen to blow out of proportion this time.”

  “Lucian, we’re partners! You shouldn’t be withholding information from me like this.” Now Kristopher was angry, he always seemed to slump when he was angry and it made him look weak. That may also have been a side effect of knowing Lucian was right, and he was slumping because he’d been caught in a half truth and didn’t want to admit it. The deal had been immortality and Lucian’s help at the beginning. Lucian told him he would know nothing else about the cult. Lucian had had no obligation to tell him how far the network spread.