by J. C. Diem
Fear and panic were beginning to claw at my insides. There’s no way out of this trap. Like all the others who had been cast inside, I was going to die a fast yet excruciating death. What I did next was completely childish yet impossible to control. I threw a tantrum.
Cursing and sobbing tearlessly, I kicked aside the empty clothing of the fallen. Pants and shirts went flying. Shoes and boots soared through the air and hit the smooth wall. A black leather uniform from a deceased guard caught on my foot and stuck to it like cling wrap. I staggered around in a circle, shaking my foot but the damn thing just wouldn’t come off.
I finally managed to peel it off then threw it as hard as I could at the wall. It hit the wall then fell harmlessly to the ground. Sinking to my knees, I put more effort into sobbing. Without actual tears, crying just wasn’t as rewarding as it should have been.
Giving up on sobbing at last, I shifted my knee away from an uncomfortable crack in the ground. If I had to die here, I could at least die in comfort. Wait a minute, if there’s a crack then maybe I can dig my way out of here! Shifting my hands away from my face, I examined the crack. About a centimetre wide, it was several feet long and ran in a crazy path towards the wall. I’d focussed exclusively on the wall during my intensive search and hadn’t thought to turn my attention to the ground. I was going to pay very close attention to it now.
Dropping to my hands and knees, I bent down closer to the crack. Beneath several inches of rock, I smelled soil. A crafty look stole across my face. After my daring escape from the tiny coffins in the cemetery, I was an old hand at digging. All I needed was something to widen the crack with and I’d be in business.
Searching through the discarded clothing again, I found a spearhead that was worn with age but might still be useful. I slipped it into the widest part of the crack near the wall and stomped down hard. Rock crumbled and the crack widened fractionally. I was grateful that the sentries hadn’t stayed around to watch me. I doubted they’d stand idly by, taking bets on the likelihood of my success or failure as I started digging my way to freedom.
After an hour, I had the crack open to the width of my hand. Then the spearhead crumbled to pieces and I was reduced to using my hands. They were nowhere near as tough as steel but at least they healed whenever the skin tore or a fingernail snapped off. Working as quickly as I could, I still wasn’t moving fast enough.
Desperate to be underground before the sun rose, I punched the rock with my right hand in sheer frustration. Bone splintered, poking out of my skin then reknit even as I punched the crack with my left hand. Rock crumbled and split at each blow. My hands weren’t as good as a sledgehammer would have been but they were the only tools I had to work with now. The remaining throwing knives wouldn’t be any help and would only shatter against the dense rock floor.
I pounded at the crack for another hour, widening it to the size of my head. Blood splattered both my sleeves and the ground. The fluid that had once flowed through my veins was beginning to smell rancid. It was probably thanks to Alexander’s experiment that the conversion had occurred so quickly. I didn’t like to think what that meant for me. He might have speeded up my shadow’s transformation and forced me a lot closer to becoming possessed. Worry about that later, you have a job to focus on here.
The hole wasn’t quite wide enough for my hips to fit through when I felt the earth beginning to warm. Throwing a desperate glance up at the top of the hole, I saw the faintest hint of light and my eyes began to burn. Killing rays of sunlight wouldn’t enter the hole for at least another half an hour but I planned to be underground before that happened.
My eyes landed on the leather uniform. Not only would the tough fabric protect me, I figured it would also help me to slide through the jagged rock as well. Stripping at lightning speed, I pulled on the discarded uniform and boots that matched it. I almost had to be a contortionist to lace it up at the back from the waist to my neck. It was a bit tight in the bust and hips but it was the right length. The boots were a size too small but they were better than the sneakers I’d stolen back in England.
Worming my way headfirst into the hole, I began to shovel dirt backwards. I probably looked like a dog frantically trying to bury a bone. It would have been a hilarious sight but fortunately no one was around to see me.
As I’d thought, my hips got stuck at the crucial point and I could go no further. Heat filled the hole and the first rays touched my back. The leather saved me from bursting into flames but my flesh instantly began to boil inside the borrowed clothing.
Shrieking in pain, I wrenched myself into the hole, breaking my pelvis and not caring at all. That pain was insignificant compared to the agony of being boiled alive. The sun torched me from the hips down, crisping me through the leather. I’m melting like candle wax. The thought sickened me but I wasn’t capable of vomiting and I didn’t have the time to even if I’d still been able.
Tunnelling my way through dirt, I dragged my diminished body into the hole, stopping only when the searing heat finally cut off. Flopping onto my back, I writhed in agony that far surpassed any pain I’d ever felt before.
Gritting my teeth, unsurprised to see my incisors had lengthened to wicked points, I gingerly pulled open the top of my pants. Instead of a slender pair of legs, I saw only gaunt bones that were held together by cartilage and not much else. All of my flesh was gone and from the waist down, I was now a skeleton.
Chapter Thirteen
When I’d accidentally burned one of my fingertips off, it had taken several long hours to heal and the pain had been excruciating. Now that I was juiced up with Alexander’s blood, the healing went faster but it was still far slower and more painful than I liked.
Sunlight really was the ultimate killer for vampires. It might not be able to kill me outright but it did a pretty good job of making me pay for being an evil, undead creature of the night. The image of me being burned entirely down to the bone wouldn’t go away. I saw my fleshless skeleton sizzling in the sun, still being aware but unable to crawl to safety because I no longer had the muscles that enabled my body to move.
The pain was so intense that I couldn’t even doze throughout the long, long day. Every now and then I checked on the progress of my reknitting flesh. First, the muscle appeared, then tendons and ligaments, followed by the necessary fat and finally the skin. It was nearly nightfall again before I was completely healed. The memory of agony lingered even if the actual pain was now gone.
I’d left a pile of dirt and broken rock in the pit that would advertise my escape pretty clearly if I didn’t do something about it. The last thing I wanted was for my captors to see my escape tunnel. Digging out a space large enough to turn around in, I wormed my way back out of the hole. I stopped at the crumbled entrance and squinted against the faint traces of sunlight peeking through the trees far overhead. They would disappear soon enough as the sun sank down beyond the horizon. Then the guards would be back to check on how I’d fared after a day spent in the pit of death.
Working quickly, I scraped the dirt back into the hole and threw the rocks in after it. My stolen jumper and jeans would help hide my escape by covering the hole. It was fully dark by the time I was ready to go back into the tunnel again. Sensing several sentries drawing closer, I went in feet first and quickly dragged my clothing over the opening.
I lay stock still just inside the mouth of the tunnel as a group of guards inspected my empty clothing from above. “Inform General Yasui that the spy has been incinerated,” the first guard to spear me through the heart instructed.
Ha! I was only half incinerated, you moron. Personally, I thought his tone of self-satisfaction was overdone, not to mention peremptory. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he saw me next. Boy would they all get a surprise when I turned up whole and sound again.
Obviously, boldly striding directly into the stone city wasn’t the best way for me to go. They’d just take even more drastic action to try to kill me next time. I was going to have
to try a stealthy approach. Maybe the ruler of the Japanese vampires would be a little more willing to listen to my story. The emperor might even hear me out before he ordered someone to chop my head off.
It was as good a plan as any and I couldn’t just stay underground forever. Checking that the guards were gone, I worked my way deeper into the tunnel. It occurred to me that I hadn’t had any trouble getting in and out of the hole this time. I finally noticed the uniform was now less snug around the hips. It seemed that another slight change had happened during my healing process. It was a bit creepy the way my body decided for itself what size and shape it wanted to be. Unless I’d made the decision deep in my subconscious and had made the changes myself. That was a more likely scenario.
Reaching the end of the short tunnel, I dug sideways, moving away from the death pit. Angling upwards, I could tell I was getting close to the surface when thin, cobwebby roots appeared in the dirt. They grew thicker and more numerous until they were actively hindering my journey. The higher I dug, the more roots I encountered. I’d travelled a good distance from the hole and seemed to be coming up into an area far from any paths.
Working my way up to the surface, I sent out my senses and didn’t feel anyone in the vicinity. As I’d hoped, the leather suit made sliding through the dirt easier. I emerged into the cool night air, shaking soil out of my hair. The suit was snug enough that no dirt had gotten inside.
It was a cloudless night and the top of the mountain was exposed. Tilting my head back, I had a clear view all the way up to the top. Dark rock stared back at me, giving me the impression that my intrusion wasn’t welcome.
All bird, animal and insect activity in the area ceased upon my arrival. When they figured out I wasn’t a threat, the noise started up again. Squeezing between two trees, I tripped over an exposed root and careened face first into a bush. I’d lived in cities my whole life and had rarely had the misfortune of being in the bush. Trekking through a forest had never been my idea of a good time while alive, and it still wasn’t now that I was unalive. Dusting leaves and twigs from my leather outfit, I continued on.
Finding a track that led uphill, I followed it. The path was too narrow to have been created by humans or vampires so I deemed it to be safe enough. It veered around to the right, taking me further away from the stone city.
Taking a short break in a natural clearing, I peered up at the mountain again. Towards the top, I spied the flicker of firelight. If I was an emperor, where would I live? High above my minions, of course.
Jogging up the path, shielding my face from tree branches, I left the track when it began to amble away from the mountain. I was slowed down by the thick underbrush but did my best not to break too many branches. It didn’t appear that the sentries patrolled this deep into the forest. Still, I didn’t want to leave too clear a trail for them to follow if they discovered I’d escaped from their trap.
The forest abruptly gave way to rock then the mountainside was stretching up towards the heavens before me. Tilting my head back so far that it almost made me dizzy, I searched for the best path up and realized there wasn’t one. This rock didn’t look as hard or as sheer as the sides of the death pit had been. To test the theory, I drew one of the throwing knives from the belt I’d cinched around my waist and punched it into rock. It went in and stayed in place. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to use the knives but they were a good backup tool.
Climbing was easy to begin with and I swiftly reached a couple of hundred feet just by using my hands and feet. The borrowed boots were excellent for mountain climbing and gave me good traction. Then the handholds became fewer and harder to find. I reached a point when the side of the mountain began to lean outwards. I was glad I’d kept the knives because they would come in handy now.
With a bit of practice, I got the hang of sticking a knife into the rock, hauling myself up, sticking the next one in and repeating the procedure. Without my vampire strength, I’d never have gotten the knives in or out of the mountainside let alone been able to pull myself upwards like this.
A small ledge had been cut into the rock at the top of the overhang. The perfectly smooth surface warned me that it was manmade. Peering over the top, I almost expected to see a guard standing above me, wearing a grin behind his black mask and pointing a spear at my head. To my relief, the ledge was vacant. It ran off to the left and right, curving out of sight with the shape of the mountain. It was clear at the moment, but for how much longer I had no way of knowing.
Now that I knew a guard could appear at any time, I would have to be far more careful. I was only a quarter of the way up and still had a long way to go. If there was a path, then there had to be openings leading into the mountain. I didn’t want to enter just yet. Climbing up would give me a greater chance of finding the emperor.
Hauling myself up onto the ledge, I reached for a handhold and recommenced climbing. The dark clothing helped me blend into the shadows, giving me even more reason to be glad I was wearing it. It didn’t bother me that the suit had belonged to a dead vamp. She no longer had any use for it and her goo had dried up a long time ago. Besides, it wasn’t the first time I’d worn a dead person’s clothes.
I passed two more manmade ledges, pausing each time to check for sentries before continuing the climb.
At last, I reached the opening I’d spotted from the ground far below.
A large window had been cut out of the rock and was more than big enough for me to gain entry. The edges were perfectly straight, as if they’d been cut by machine. From the carvings in the stone city, this place had been made long before machines had been invented. The view during daylight must have been fantastic. It was a pity none of my kind would be able to look at it without their eyeballs exploding.
A quick peek through the window gave me the all clear so I hopped over the sill and snuck inside. My boots made no noise on the black and red tiles that covered the floor in graceful patterns. Ingeniously, thin sheets of rock the same colour and texture as the mountain were attached to a pair of shutters currently resting to either side of the opening. When the shutters were closed it would be impossible to tell there was a window at all. I could make out thick black fabric poking around the edges. Like all vampires, even the emperor wasn’t taking any chances with the sun. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the Japanese ruler’s room. It was far too opulent to belong to a mere lackey.
It was a large bedroom with a gigantic bed that could easily sleep five or six people. The bed might just be a big mattress lying on the ground but it still looked pretty comfortable to me. Curtains hung from the ceiling and could be drawn for privacy. Made of silk, the predominant colours were red and gold. At the moment they were tied into four neat bunches at each corner of the mattress.
To either side of the bed was a matching pair of low, black-lacquered bedside tables. Fragrant candles, possibly jasmine, sat in glass dishes, waiting to be lit. A wardrobe, also black, took up the wall opposite from the bed. It was easily three times the size of my wardrobe back home. The doors were closed and I resisted the urge to snoop inside. I wasn’t here to admire the emperor’s clothes.
On the wall above the bed were ancient paintings of birds, mountains, animals and more birds. Less soothing was the display of samurai swords hanging above the chest of drawers. There were over a dozen and all were kept in elaborate or plain sheathes that hid the deadly blades. I wasn’t an expert but some of them were probably thousands of years old.
On top of the heavy black chest of drawers was a small collection of priceless vases and figurines. I was pretty sure they were made from jade. I picked up a carving of a jaguar. It was heavier than it looked. Just like my skin, the stone was cool. Definitely Jade, I decided.
“That carving is over ten thousand years old,” a young voice said nonchalantly in easily understandable English from the doorway.
Startled, I fumbled the jaguar and almost dropped it. I put it back on the dresser before I could smash it into a million pieces.
“I was just, um, admiring it,” I said lamely.
At first glance, I thought the kid was human. He looked about twelve, had thin shoulders and wore a leather skirt. At least it looked like a skirt. Made of the same black leather as my borrowed uniform, it hung to just above his knees. He was fairly muscular for a boy and would be handsome when he grew up. Then I saw his eyes and knew he was as grown up as he was ever going to get. Black as night, his eyes were far more ancient than his face and body suggested.
“You must be the European intruder,” the kid said and stepped into the room.
“I’m Australian, not European,” I corrected him and backed away nervously.
I wasn’t exactly well versed in vampire law but turning a kid into one of us just seemed cruel to me. How could a child, who hadn’t even finished going through puberty yet, handle the flesh hunger that rose once the blood hunger was satisfied? I don’t want to know. “Look, kid, I’m trying to find the Emperor. Can you point me in the right direction?”
He gave me an astonished look then glided over to the wall of swords. Selecting one, he slid the blade from the sheath and checked the edge. “What business do you have with Emperor Ishida?”
“I was hoping he could help me.” I really didn’t want to explain myself to a child, even if he was way older than me in vampire years.
“Help you with what?” the kid persisted.
What the hell, I might as well lay it out for him. Maybe he’d put in a good word with Emperor Ishida for me. “I was at the Court mansion in France when a woman dressed like this,” I indicated my borrowed outfit, “started carving her way through the guards.”
Interest flickered across his almost blank face. “Did she manage to kill any of the Councillors?”