Real Vampires and the Viking

by Gerry Bartlett

  “Yes, of course.” Gretchen pulled Jerry forward. I was attached to him, afraid to let go of his hand. “This is my cousin, Jeremiah Campbell. Though he’s going by Jeremy Blade this decade. And his wife Gloriana.”

  “A pleasure.” The men shook hands. “My wife, Elsa. I’d already heard you were here.” Bjorn smiled. “Our vampyr community loves gossip, I’m afraid. You are on your honeymoon?”

  “Yes, we are.” Jerry gestured toward Richard and Flo. He introduced them then Ian.

  “It seems this honeymoon has turned into a party.” Bjorn stared at Gunnar. “And who is this?”

  Gunnar signaled to the other men and they suddenly grabbed and unzipped the duffle bags then pulled out their machine guns. He crossed his own arms over his chest as Bjorn tucked Elsa behind a wing-backed chair.

  “What is this, a robbery? Gretchen, who have you brought to my home?” He started toward a bell rope hanging next to the fireplace. Ian moved in front of it before Bjorn reached it.

  “No, it’s not a robbery.” Gretchen pulled Elsa, who’d picked up a cell phone, next to her, and grabbed the phone, shoving it into her pocket. She dropped her purse and suddenly had her own gun in her hand. She pointed it at Elsa’s heart. “I’m sorry for this but I brought a man who thinks he knows you.”

  “And that calls for holding me and my wife at gunpoint?” Every other gun was aimed at Bjorn.

  “Yes, it does. Don’t call for help if you want your wife to live. You may die no matter what you do.” Gunnar walked forward until he was inches from Bjorn. He had his own gun in his hand. “We have wooden bullets.”

  “Of course you do.” Bjorn’s hand dropped to his side. “Gretchen, I heard Fredrick sold to vampire hunters. I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead. But what is this? I had hoped you were his victim, not part of his filthy trade.” He wasn’t letting his fear show and I admired him for that. He was tall, well-built and had the typical Viking look. In fact, facing Gunnar, he was a match for him in size at least. Gunnar had the advantage in the hatred coming off of him in waves.

  “No, I was never a part of Fredrick’s dirty business.” Gretchen wasn’t about to let Elsa go but I could see she hated what she was doing. “Just listen to what this man has to say, Bjorn. Then you will understand why we are here.”

  “It seems there have been many Bjorn Brodins. When were you made vampire?” Gunnar jabbed the gun into Bjorn’s stomach.

  “Back up, Gunnar. He can take the gun if you do foolish things like that.” Jerry knew Gunnar was an amateur when it came to guns. “Of course that would endanger his wife.” This was a warning to Brodin.

  “Even I know that much.” Flo had her own machine gun in hand and waved it around. “I would hate to shoot up this beautiful room. I’ve never seen so much Fortuni silk in one place.” She smiled at Elsa. “You have exquisite taste.”

  “Enough! Explain yourself.” Bjorn didn’t grab the gun but I could see he was thinking about making some kind of defensive move.

  I stepped up to him. “There is nothing this man would like more than to kill you where you stand. I have the power to freeze you in place so you can’t move. Listen to this man and answer his questions or I will paralyze you and you’ll be helpless. Must I do that?”

  “No, I will listen. Answer any questions. But I don’t understand why you are here. Money? I can open my safe. But it’s in my office.” Bjorn nodded toward the hall door.

  “Money is not the first thing on our agenda.” I turned to Gunnar. “Tell him your name.”

  “I am Gunnar. Gunnar Ellstrom.” He looked around the beautiful room then straight into Bjorn’s eyes. “Does that name mean anything to you?”

  Bjorn closed his eyes and his lips moved. In silent prayer?

  “Answer him!” I didn’t know if it was fear or recognition that made Bjorn stagger over to sink into a chair.

  “It cannot be. Gunnar Ellstrom died over a thousand years ago.”

  “How do you know that?” Gunnar grabbed him by his designer sweater and hauled him to his feet again. “Is it because you led a party of men to find him while he was in his death sleep to bury him in the ice? Is it because you hoped he would melt some bright sunny day and be burned to death? Is that why you think I am dead?”

  “I was told it was true.” Bjorn didn’t fight when he was flung to the floor. “You were vampire. Hated for what you were. It seemed a fitting end for you. Or at least that’s what I was told.”

  “Told. So you are not the Bjorn Brodin who left me for dead over a thousand years ago?” Gunnar stood over him. He tossed the hand gun aside and walked over to the duffle bag that held his sword. “Am I just supposed to take your word for that?” He ignored Elsa’s cries. Gretchen held her back when she would have rushed to her husband’s side. Gunnar pressed the blade against Bjorn’s neck. “The word of a Brodin?”

  “I am not a Brodin.” The man on the floor didn’t bother to defend himself. “Kill me if you think it will right the wrongs done to you, but you might come to regret it.” Blood welled as the sword bit into his neck.

  “And why would I regret that?” Gunnar stared down at the man. “Not a Brodin. What does that mean? You call yourself Bjorn Brodin to the world. You live in this fancy place, own stores with your name in gold over the door. Are you telling me you are an imposter?”

  I held my breath. None of us moved. The machine guns were pointed at the floor. No way could anyone take a shot without hitting Gunnar.

  “I was adopted as a young man. Forced by Bjorn to take his name. I didn’t want to do it. But it was the only way I could seek revenge for what he did to my father.” Tears filled his eyes and ran down his pale cheeks. “You should kill me, Pappa, for being so weak that I would betray our name and our heritage.”

  “What did you call me?” Gunnar’s sword shook and I was afraid he would do even more damage to the man, perhaps by accident.

  “Pappa.” He pushed the sword aside and dipped a finger into the blood at his throat. “The scent of my blood should tell you it is the truth. I am your son, Edvard.”

  Gunnar inhaled then leaped back. “No! It cannot be. I saw them burn my village, take away my wife and children. I was one man, without a chance to stop them. So I watched and knew I would have to wait to get them back and take my revenge. But I never had a chance. Because I was taken while in my death sleep.”

  “You don’t know me. Of course you wouldn’t.” The man put his face in his hands. “I was a child. Some things I had to do to survive were shameful. Some I regret. The worst was that the jäkel stole my name from me.” He looked up, his eyes bleak. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Stop it, Edvard.” His wife wrenched away from Gretchen and fell to the floor beside him. “What are you saying? Surely you can’t believe this man is who he says he is. What proof does he have?”

  “We found him in an ice cave.” I’d moved back to Jerry’s side. The men still held their weapons but Flo had put hers away. That was a relief. No one in the room wanted my pal’s finger on that trigger. “He looked like a wild Viking and had clearly been there for over a thousand years. An ice-quake freed him. It was a lucky thing that we happened to be there that night with blood to offer him.”

  Edvard raised his head and tears streaked his cheeks. “I believe you. It is a miracle that you survived.”

  “Your wife called you Edvard.” Gunnar had gone very pale. “She knows?”

  “Elsa and my sisters are the only ones who know it is my birth name.” He gripped his wife’s hand. “It was wrong. I should have died before I accepted the Brodin name.”

  “No!” Elsa threw her arms around her husband. “He had no choice. Bjorn said you must be dead. Edvard looked for you, Gunnar, so many times. In the ice caves.”

  “Gunnar, if this man is your son, then what does that mean?” I had a feeling I knew. “What happened to the Bjorn who put you in the ice?”

  “Answer her!” Gunnar staggered over to a chair and rested his sword across
his knees. He looked confused, like he couldn’t figure out what was happening. Ever since he’d fallen out of the ice, he’d had one driving need, to find Bjorn Brodin or his heirs and get his revenge. Now what? Gretchen ran to stand beside him and pressed her hand to his shoulder.

  Edvard got up and went to stand in front of Gunnar. “The night he burned our village I saw him take my mother and sisters. I followed him. I was just a small boy and he thought I was unimportant so he let me live.” Edvard looked at the rest of us. “Bjorn wanted what my father had. He was jealous. He wanted my mother for his concubine and took her.”

  Gunnar groaned. “I knew it. Ursula was a beauty.”

  “He made the rest of us into slaves. But as I grew he came to see that I would be a decent warrior, like you Pappa. And no matter how he tried, Bjorn never had a son of his own grow to manhood.” He sank down on the blue sofa, his wife beside him. He looked around and noticed that all of us were still standing. “Please, all of you sit. I am not being a good host.”

  “Don’t bother with that. We want to hear this story.” Flo found a seat on a needlepointed footstool. “What happened to your mother? And when did you become vampire?”

  “Mother?” He glanced at Gretchen who was holding Gunnar’s hand. “She is well. I finally persuaded her to become vampire when she learned it would keep her from having more of Bjorn’s brats.” Edvard sighed. “She will not believe this news, Pappa.”

  “By Thor’s hammer, Ursula still in this world.” Gunnar looked up at Gretchen. “It does not change what you mean to me, älskling.”

  That raised Elsa’s eyebrows. Oh, yeah, Gretchen had only been a widow for a day and a night. Hmm.

  “Mamma gave Bjorn many daughters but no sons, much to his disgust. The king liked Ma and stepped in to make sure she was taken care of and given her own home when Bjorn tried to set her aside.”

  “That is good.” Gunnar kept staring at Edvard. “It is true? You are my son?”

  “Yes, Pappa.” He sat up straight, shoulders back. “Bjorn finally realized that becoming vampire would give him immortality. He took me with him to the land where we heard you had been turned and we both became vampyr. He was older by this time, a tyrant still and head of the family. I bided my time, determined to see him in hell. And now I had forever to plan.” Edvard got up and paced in front of the fire.

  I could see now how much he resembled Gunnar. His blond hair was close cropped but the broad shoulders, sharp features and blue eyes were the same. There was no reason to doubt his story and I hoped the Viking was ready to accept it. Even his stride looked similar as he stopped in front of the fire and cleared his throat.

  “I knew Bjorn was suspicious of me. He caught me going out to the ice fields where I thought he’d buried you. As Elsa said, I searched for your body every chance I got.” Edvard stalked over to his father. “I wanted to kill him every day that went by. But he threatened my sisters. He told his warriors that if he died by my hand that they were to slaughter them and all their children at once.” His fangs slid down. “You see what a bastard he was.”

  “Oh, yes. He was without a conscience.” Gunnar got up and stared long and hard into Edvard’s eyes. “Tell me. Tell me how you avenged the wrongs done to me.”

  “I gradually made sure that each of my sisters was well protected by men of my choosing. This took years. All of them married well and had children of their own.” Edvard smiled at Elsa. “I don’t know if you realize it, but you have many fine grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As time went on, some of them chose to become vampyr as well. We have prospered.”

  “Yes, yes!” Gunnar clearly didn’t care about that. “Go on, boy.”

  “I had men in place that I could trust. I made sure we all were ready when I asked for an audience with Bjorn. Before this, he had decided I must take his name. The shame of it.” Edvard pressed his fingers to his eyes. “But I had no choice. Now it is too late to turn back. I hope you understand, Pappa.”

  “Yes. We must survive any way we can. Especially if it was part of a plan to get your revenge. You were wise to lull him into a false sense of security. I’m sure once you took his name he thought he could trust you.” Gunnar glanced at Gretchen. “And sometimes we do things for love that we might not do otherwise.”

  “Ah, you do understand. Tack, Pappa.” Edvard suddenly grabbed Gunnar and gave him a hug. The men stood there for a moment then pounded each other on the back before stepping apart.

  “Are you going to finish this tale or will the sun rise before you are done.” Gunnar’s voice was hoarse, as if he was close to shedding tears.

  Edvard laughed. “It is something Elsa tasks me with constantly. I cannot seem to get my stories out quickly.”

  “Then come on, boy.” Gunnar looked around the room. The men still held their machine guns. “I think you can all put away your weapons. Jeremiah? Will you take my sword for me?” He handed it to Jerry.

  “Of course.” Jerry smiled. “Sorry that we came in ready to blow you to hell, but we had no idea what we were going to be facing. If it had been the original Bjorn, you know Gunnar would be carrying his head in a sack by now.”

  “I should hope so.” Edvard slapped his father on the back.

  Gunnar nodded when the guns were all safely out of sight in the duffle bags.

  “We must call for refreshments.” Elsa waved an elegant hand when Gunnar protested. “Please, it is important to be civilized and I had ordered some special cakes for us all and premium synthetics. Now I think we have cause for a celebration. Father and son reunited. Do you all agree?”

  We murmured the polite thing. Besides, a chance to enjoy cake and blood? No one was going to turn that down. We waited while she pulled the bell rope and ordered Dalmar to serve tea at once. Gunnar paced the floor until the butler and a pretty housemaid had set up the trays then left us to our refreshments.

  “At last.” Gunnar took a goblet of blood then settled on a sofa. “Tell us the rest, son.”

  Edvard beamed at hearing the word. “Certainly. Where was I? Oh. So the men were in place to protect my sisters and their families, my own family as well, and I was now called Bjorn Brodin. We were meeting to talk about the stores we had begun building in the capitals in Scandinavia. The old Bjorn had no imagination. He would not change what we offered and the business was suffering. I asked to speak to him alone. He thought it was about new products. He agreed to hear me out because he was convinced he could bully me like he always had.” Edvard smiled. “But I was not the timid boy he’d taken as a slave hundreds of years before. The hatred inside me gave me courage. And I’d carefully replaced his guards over time with men loyal to me.”

  “Wise of you.” Gunnar looked around the room. “He is a fine boy, isn’t he, Jeremiah? Richard? Ian?”

  “Yes, and I can see the resemblance.” Ian spoke up. “There’s no denying you two are kin. Of course I would be glad to run a DNA test if you would like. Just to be sure.”

  “What is that?” Gunnar looked to Gretchen as usual.

  “It is a special test, to see if your blood matches.” She had settled on the sofa beside him, apparently not embarrassed to let the Brodins see their relationship was more than casual.

  “Pah, we need no test. I can smell the scent of an Ellstrom on him. He was right about that.” Gunnar took a sip from his crystal goblet. “It is a fine drink, Elsa. You have made my son a good wife, I think.”

  “Thank you, Gunnar. I see the resemblance between the two of you too.” Elsa smiled. “Go on, Edvard, you are getting to the best part.”

  “Yes. I took what Bjorn thought was the new product into the room. It was a spear. Supposedly a toy for children that we would sell at the Christmas season.”

  “A wooden spear?” Gunnar slapped his knee. “Did the fool not see the danger?”

  “He thought himself invincible.” Edvard smiled. “I walked right up to him and told him how this would be a fine piece to add to our inventory. He laughed of course and
said what use was a spear without a metal tip?”

  “And did you show him?” Gunnar was grinning now.

  “I certainly did. I held it in front of me and said, ‘Sir, it’s the perfect weapon for killing a bastard vampire.’” He laughed. “I thought about shoving it into his jävla heart right away but then I decided that would be too easy a death.”

  “Edvard, there are ladies present!” Elsa tried to look stern. “But I am still proud of you. The family has prospered ever since with you at the head of it.”

  “Wait. You didn’t kill him?” Gunnar leaned forward.

  “You wanted to torture him of course. It would be no fun for him to die in an instant.” Flo had selected a second chocolate cake. “You must tell me where you get these, Elsa. They are delicious.”

  “My bloodthirsty darling.” Richard smiled. “Is she right? Was that what you had in mind, Brodin?”

  Gunnar winced at the name. “I hate to hear him called that.”

  “You must get used to it. We have a prosperous business and large family that use that name. Forget who made us carry it in the first place. We have taken what once stood for a bastard who had no decency and made it into an honorable and distinguished brand that we are proud to claim.” Elsa sat next to her husband on one of the sofas and leaned against him. “Now tell them what you did to Bjorn, darling.”

  “Ah. The fate of that bastard.” Edvard got up and walked over to stand in front of the fireplace again. He was restless, as if the telling of the tale had made him relive it. “I had arranged for the guards to come into Bjorn’s office and back me up. We surrounded him and chained him so he could not get loose. I had picked out an ice cave high in a mountain where it would be unlikely anyone would find him. My men dug a trench and filled it with water.” He paced the room. “It was a very cold winter and the water was already freezing when we dropped him into the trench and piled snow on top of him. He was buried in the ice just as you were, Pappa.”