“You really can’t stop now.”
“Right outside of their walls, in a clearing by the woods. There were piles of bodies. It looked like Kristopher’s people had been by because some at the bottom were charred, but some looked fresh. So the people running the place would almost have to be in on it.”
“Oh.” Lucian seemed uninterested, the man cringed like he’d done something wrong and Lucian smirked. He liked watching his scouts squirm, it made them go further out of their way to get him good information, and everything this man had brought him was information worth having. “Well, get out then.” Lucian waited until the man was ready to step out the door before he called him back. “Good work though.”
“Thank you, sir.” The man seemed to breathe a little. “Oh, there was one more thing. I almost disregarded it because it sounded ridiculous, but maybe you’d want to know.”
“And what is that?”
“Some of these rumors. They talk about a vampire being responsible for all these deaths. I didn’t think it was possible, and all these people seemed a little odd. But a lot of strange things have been happening lately.” The man shrugged at Lucian and finally managed to get out the door.
“Hmm.” Lucian closed his eyes. Something told him this was a lead worth following, and if he was going he needed to go soon.
Lucian armed himself with all the weapons he thought he would need and brought along one guard. He didn’t want any of Kristopher’s men to take his trek as an attack because that would make it impossible to get to the compound and figure out what was going on. One guard wasn’t much of a threat and would probably remain unnoticed.
“Belle!” He found the elder sitting in the basement, looking beside herself.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Lucian.”
“Everything will be over soon. You know these kinds of wars never last long.”
“You’re still talking like Kristopher is just a regular man. There’s never been a war like this before. We’ve tried to never get involved. We don’t really know what this will lead to.”
“You worry too much. It’ll make you age faster you know.” Lucian winked.
“Don’t joke, Lucian.”
“I’m going out to follow up on a lead that sounds promising, and if we’re lucky I’ll be bringing back some bodies for you as well. If I’m not back here in a week have the cult come out in force.”
Belle nodded, hoping Lucian would be back before then. They didn’t need any more battles. All the elders were taxed bringing people back in decent shape as it was, they couldn’t do that and control the armies. None of them could afford another showdown between Lucian and Kristopher.
The congregation had become name only followers. The classes had to be cancelled so the cult could focus on training new members they could use for something. That suited the congregation members just fine. The congregation was comprised of people who didn’t like Kristopher, or people who believed Lucian had the better chance of winning. The members of the cult were actually invested in their art, and the few times the two groups of the sect met, they hadn’t blended well. The congregation thought the members of the actual cult were a bunch of delusional freaks, in the same category as people who have fangs surgically implanted over their canines and then claim to be vampires. The cult saw the congregation as a body farm, just ripe with spare parts, but not actual people. It never occurred to either side they were all clinging to Lucian to keep them alive.
Lucian decided it would be better for his trip if he changed out of his robes. He wasn’t sure why he kept wearing them anyway, they had been Kristopher’s idea and they did nothing to enhance his abilities. It felt good to finally be rid of them and get back in his own skin. Things were starting to feel normal, a little less controlled. He’d heard rumors about this little society before, but always from different channels and never anything solid. They played a killing game, and the number of refugees who fled there must have made the sport even better. Even with the disappearances it was probably safer there than out in Lucian and Kristopher’s game. He had also heard about the ‘vampire’ that had shown up right after immigration was made illegal. Bodies found, drained of blood. It was a clever trick. Just another false hope of immortality for people to follow, but it worked.
He’d heard another rumor about the place as well, and that was the real deciding factor in going. A few years ago, right after the official split, one of the players started killing off everyone else. This player would have managed to kill all of his competitors, but for whatever reason he’d just stopped. From what Lucian had heard there was no defense, even the later victims who had been warned and were on guard, who knew what to expect, hadn’t stood a chance against that killer. All of them had been found drained of blood, with no sign of a struggle. A man who could kill like that would make a valuable ally.
Lucian thought about taking a pack with him, really get into that going on a quest persona, but he didn’t see the point. Food was heavy and it wasn’t as if he could die of thirst or starvation. He might be uncomfortable for a while, but he could live through it. Besides, no pack meant he might go totally unnoticed by Kristopher’s men. They weren’t much of a threat, but Alexander was always on the lookout for his former mentor. The boy thought that if he could beat Lucian he would become the leader of the cult, or at least the greater necromancer, and Lucian wanted to avoid any kind of duel along the way. Not to mention Kristopher had found himself groups of religious nuts looking for an excuse to do something about Lucian, their personal devil on earth. They weren’t the best choice for getting work done quickly or getting their hands dirty, but they would attack Lucian with every futile move they had, and Lucian wanted to avoid that annoyance as well.
The necromancer had to admit things had gotten out of control. Instead of an orderly and well-calculated fake war, Lucian and Kristopher found themselves leading one of the most dangerous civil wars in history. Not everyone wanted to participate, but there was no choice if you wanted any kind of safety. Kristopher wasn’t as weak as he seemed, and with his new Fellowship of the Righteous campaign his followers were armed with the knowledge they were killing for good, which gave them more of an incentive to die willingly. Lucian needed a supply of bodies to keep the cult immortal, and anyone without the brand was marked as fair game. A few people still chose to run away, but nowhere was better than where they had started out. There was nowhere to run death hadn’t found first.
Lucian had a car take him up to the woods, beyond which this compound supposedly lay. The car cut down on travel time, but otherwise was not very safe. The roads were too deserted to present any kind of security and usually cluttered with bodies. Everything Kristopher had done to get them back in working order had been undone even quicker by the war. The roads near Lucian’s bases were usually cleaner than Kristopher’s but only because they could get the bodies to move themselves. The burning process was more time consuming. People were piling up faster than they could get rid of them, and there were still other issues to deal with.
Lucian killed the driver before getting out of the car. The man had done his job well, but Lucian needed the kind of protection only death could give him now. He had one day to get to the new settlement before trying to track down someone else to kill, it would be plenty of time.
The woods on the outskirts of the city had been an unspoken neutral zone. The war was kept mostly to urban areas, as that was where both Kristopher and Lucian could do the most damage. Lucian had no reason to place men in open spaces because there weren’t enough bodies there to make a difference, and Kristopher was still paranoid about running into Miriel. The new interest in the settlement was causing serious problems. Kristopher knew it was the kind of place Lucian would be interested in, they had both heard the same rumors. Kristopher also knew it was close to where Miriel had escaped. If the assassin was anywhere, she’d be behind those walls. A reunion was inevitable.
“You!”
Lucian couldn�
��t help but roll his eyes. He had hoped to get further in before running into any of Kristopher’s new guardians.
“Why, hello.” Lucian turned to bow, and then realized there was no way the woman before him had anything to do with Kristopher. She seemed to have been living out in the wild. Her hair was matted to her head and covered with dirt and leaves, her clothing was torn and worn, and he was surprised it had managed to stay together. There was something about the girl’s face he thought he recognized, but it was so caked in mud he couldn’t tell for sure. “Who are you?”
“Don’t you remember me? You did this to me!” The woman started to shriek.
“And exactly how is it my fault you came to live in the woods?” Lucian was starting to think she was just an ordinary crazy.
“You sent me to him. It was all your fault, you sent me to him and all he did was lie!”
“I’m sure that sounds tragic. But I don’t know who you are.”
“You wouldn’t,” the woman scoffed. “I bet you didn’t care about any of us you sent off to work for Kristopher.”
“Emily?” It suddenly dawned on him why the face was so familiar, but the girl’s unfailing optimism had been replaced with hardened cynicism. Lucian couldn’t blame her.
“It was all your fault! I could have stayed home where it was safe, but you made us all think we could make the world a better place. And look at what it is now! I tried to go back and he tried to kill me. If it wasn’t for Elle I wouldn’t be alive at all! Not that this is much of a life. Can’t go home, can’t go to the cities.” Emily started muttering to herself.
“You lived in the compound? And this Elle, who is she?” Lucian started to put the pieces together. Who else could kill like that.
“Yes, and it’s no better there. All those people dying. I never thought it could be him.”
“Who is he?”
“William. Her husband. Poor Elle.”
“Husband.” Lucian repeated the word over to himself. “This Elle, did she have another name, is it her real name?”
Emily looked at him blankly. “Her name is Elle. She’s an angel. Saved my life.” Emily managed a small smile for her friend.
“Can you take me there? To the settlement?”
“I know where it is. But I can’t go back. He’d kill her if he knew she let me go.”
“That’s fine.” Lucian tried to keep his voice calm. “But can you at least get me to the gates.”
Emily nodded. “I don’t like you, Lucian, you or your cult. But if anyone could be a match for him, it’s you.” Emily started walking quickly through the trees. Lucian had to jog to keep up. The air started to change as well, it was thicker, like the trees were waiting with baited breath.
It was Kristopher’s territory now, Lucian could tell. His 24 hours were far from over, but he was concerned for Emily. Kristopher’s men would kill her without a second thought, but being led to the compound would go a lot quicker than trying to track it down alone. Emily knew shortcuts through all the clearings, and a trip he thought would take all day was over in a matter of hours. Lucian could see the walls of what he hoped would be a future allied society rising above the trees. If he made it through without any more interruptions he’d be there in minutes. Emily kept running, stopping short at the clearing filled with bodies.
“You see what he’s done? All good people.” Emily let out a cold laugh. Her heart had finally been hardened.
“Well, maybe we’ll be able to change that.” Lucian managed a smile.
“Really? By turning them into more soldiers for your army? That’s not much of a life. I’d rather stay dead. Do what you have to do with William, but leave me alone.” Emily returned to the forest to live out a life that couldn’t have had much to it. Lucian wished her well. Maybe she could survive the war without having to take sides. She looked sharply to her left where the trees grew denser than in the other areas, then called out to Lucian.
“There’s a chance you’ve been followed.” She shrugged, giving no more thought to the patch of trees that was now unnaturally quiet. It wasn’t her war and she wanted to keep it that way.
34. Three Years Into the War (Alexander and Kristopher)
“His little guide saw me, or heard me. I’m not sure how, but she knew I was following them. Weird little forest child. I didn’t think we were allowing people to live in the forests and off our radar.”
“And what did Lucian do?” Kristopher was entirely uninterested in the girl guide.
“Nothing. But she told him about Elle. I was hoping that wouldn’t happen.”
“What about Elle.” Kristopher snapped around to look directly at Alexander and his expression was not pleasant. “I don’t recall being told anything about Elle.”
“I, um, I,” Alexander started to stammer.
“Was keeping information from me!” Kristopher was furious. If he hadn’t needed Alexander to keep people’s support he would have killed him. Not a prudent move, but Kristopher hadn’t been taking time to think things through lately.
“Not exactly. I wasn’t sure it was her.”
“How long have you, as you expect me to believe, suspected Miriel was living in that compound.”
“I’d only seen her once, under very stressful circumstances if you’ll remember, I wasn’t sure it was her.”
“How stupid do you think I am, Alex! If someone had tried to kill me I would never forget what they looked like.”
“And I never forgot your face, Kris,” Alexander spat. He hadn’t brought up what had gone on in that clearing for a long time, but whenever Kristopher started berating him he was reminded of it.
“Yes, and see how far you’ve come since your rebirth. I made you, little Alex.”
“Lucian made me, Kris. I just work for you,” Alexander snarled.
“Aren’t we getting a little off topic here? Tell me about Miriel.”
“I thought I saw her once when I went to spy on the immigration process, she saw me but I don’t think she recognized me. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. But once I heard that girl say someone named Elle was living there I knew it had to be her.”
“Do you think Lucian knows?”
“It won’t take him long to find out for sure, but I have a feeling he picked up on the name immediately.”
“And what does this mean for us?”
“It can’t be good. If the two of them join forces Lucian’s going to have a very good reason to use everything in his power to kill you.”
“It’s possible, but maybe.” Kristopher started to smile and he was suddenly in very good spirits. “Miriel still thinks Lucian’s the one who tried to kill her. If things go well, she could kill him before she finds out the truth!”
“But Lucian can’t be killed. He’d come back and explain everything. Between the two of them it won’t take long before they figure out exactly what you did.”
“Hmm, that does present a problem. Maybe Lucian hasn’t been keeping track of his days? He might think Miriel will welcome him with open arms.”
“I doubt that. Lucian’s been alive longer than I think you realize. In all that time he hasn’t missed a day. He won’t go into this situation weak.”
“What’s going on with his armies?”
“Things are quiet. I think everyone’s waiting to see what happens at the compound.”
“Send our men home for a while then. We’ll pretend I’ve negotiated a truce.”
“That doesn’t seem like a very smart idea.”
“Maybe not, but it’s not my life I’m sacrificing.”
“I don’t think you can afford to lose any more followers by doing something stupid.”
“Do it.”
“And what if I say no?”
Kristopher chuckled. “You won’t. Like you said, you work for me. Besides, with Lucian distracted by finding out his long dead partner is alive, things will stay quiet for a while. And if we can get circumstance on our side, they’ll stay that way for a while.
”
“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“Keep an eye on things. If we’re lucky, Miriel and Lucian will kill each other and I’ll be free to get things back to the way they should have been. But if not, we’ll just have to adjust.”
“You seem fairly certain their first reaction will be attack.”
“I know Lucian. It’s his first reaction to almost everything.”
“I think you’re wrong, Kristopher.”
“We’ll see.”
35. Three Years Into the War (Miriel and William)
“Mira, we talked about not putting things in your mouth when you’re working with mommy. Put that down. It has blood on it.” Miriel left the side of her latest target and walked over to her daughter, taking away the blood bag the girl had been gnawing on. Luckily, the bag hadn’t been punctured.
“Mine!” The child looked up at her mother and pouted.
“I know you want it, darling, but this isn’t a toy. Well, not the kind of toy you should be playing with until you’re older.” Miriel sighed and picked her daughter up, the two sat together and watched the last of the blood drain out and fill the last bag.
Miriel had worried how she was going to raise her child. She knew she wouldn’t be capable of being a good mother by any society’s standards. William had been against the child from the beginning and as their child grew he seemed to hate the girl and his wife more and more. At first Miriel kept the child on principle, then just to frustrate William, but finally she realized she cared about the child. When she had found out she was going to have a daughter Miriel could not have been happier. She finally had a chance to create a woman who would be her equal. Miriel felt more energized spending time with her daughter than she had felt in all the years of tea and conversation with women her own age. She was convinced her daughter was already more intelligent than at least half the population of the compound, and Mira had taken to her mother’s work with curiosity instead of fear. Raising a child to be an assassin was something they frowned upon in childcare books, but it was all Miriel knew how to do and her daughter seemed to be a natural at it. It was a skill the girl would eventually have to use on her own, especially if the world stayed the same both inside and outside the gates. Her daughter would be prepared to survive, just like Miriel’s father had taught her.
The Price of Life Page 24