by Jon F. Merz
Holiday In Malancrav
A Wolfric Vampire Novel
Jon F. Merz
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Also by Jon F. Merz
Preface
Welcome to the world of Wolfric Schwarzwalder. This book is the first in a new series spun-off from my Lawson Vampire universe. Lawson, the sarcastic and lethal Fixer operative, was not the only Fixer in his family. And these tales will show how Wolfric was a legend in his own right.
If you’ve never read any of my Lawson series before, then a little backstory will help ensure your enjoyment. In the Lawson universe, vampires are not undead; they are an evolutionary offshoot of humanity. They are mortal, but live longer than humans. They have increased strength and stamina and derive life force energy from the blood they must ingest to survive. In all aspects, they are remarkably similar to humans, but if they get wood into their bloodstream, it will kill them. The Council is the vampire governing body based in Boston, Massachusetts and makes the laws that all vampires must adhere to or else they are sanctioned and an elite group known as Fixers carries out the termination order. Fixers would be best equated to the world of special operators and covert operatives, for their work is always in the shadows as they protect the secret existence of vampires by any means necessary. Lawson is the legendary Fixer working current day.
But he is by no means unique, and all legends start somewhere, and so we journey back…back to the beginning. Back to when Wolfric was a far cry from what he would eventually become. And we learn about the man that showed him how to become one of the very few, one of the elite…one of the very first Fixers.
Enjoy the story!
-Jon F. Merz
Chapter 1
“Wake him up.”
The voice belonged to someone he didn’t know. Educated, cultured, with a vague accent he couldn’t quite place. Of course, his head wasn’t functioning as well as it should have been given the beatings he’d received - beatings that would have killed a human being a long time ago.
Fortunately, he wasn’t human.
A torrent of water washed over him and sluiced through his hair, running down his sharp-angled jaw. His eyes popped open, but he kept his head bowed, wondering if this was some sort of ruse and if they would start beating him again.
“Look up at me, Wolfric.”
He frowned. The new speaker knew his real name. That might not be a good sign. Slowly, he allowed his head to turn and look up at the man who now stood before him, flanked by dungeon guards on either side. The guards smiled as the evidence of their handiwork revealed itself as the light hit Wolfric’s face for the first time.
The speaker was dressed smartly, he decided. A hooded cloak hung over a well-tailored tunic and trousers. It was obvious that he possessed wealth, but the clothes were not so extravagant that their cost preceded him. Only a man who knew what to look for would see it.
The speaker was older than Wolfric, perhaps by many decades, but age had not yet given him the appearance of being weak. Indeed, as Wolfric turned fully now, the expression on the man’s face changed from suspicion to revulsion as he realized what the guards had been doing to him.
“You have beaten him almost to the point of no return.”
One of the guards shrugged. “He’s a common criminal. He deserves to be punished.”
“He deserves justice,” said the speaker. “And it is not for you or your brethren to decide what form justice shall take. The fact that you have indulged in such senseless and barbaric behavior tells me that perhaps the wrong man is imprisoned here.”
“Now just one sec-“
But the guard never finished his sentence because the man with the cloak simply spun and used the edge of his hand to chop into the guard’s throat. The second guard barely had time to react before the man stabbed him in the heart with a length of wood and then turned back and did the same to the first guard who had desperately been clawing at his throat, trying to relieve the pressure induced by the collapsed trachea.
Wolfric watched as they both sank to their knees and fell forward. Their incisors lengthened and then quickly retracted as they died.
On the floor of his cell lay two dead vampires.
And one of them was not Wolfric.
“Can you walk?”
For a moment, Wolfric was too stunned to understand. It wasn’t until the man repeated himself that he nodded. “Yes.”
“Then get to your feet. We have important matters to discuss. But such discussions would be better undertaken far from this place.”
Wolfric rose and studied the man anew. He could see it now, obviously, as evidenced by the simple yet lethal actions that had just occurred: the man was dangerous.
“Who are you?”
“Who I am is not nearly as relevant to our conversation as what I am.” He smiled. “And what I represent to you.” He turned and opened the door of the crude cell and nodded. “It’s time we were away. My actions here will no doubt displease the Burgermeister, and despite the fact that I do not answer to him, he would almost assuredly take it upon himself to impose any number of obstacles to our departure.”
“But what do I call you?”
The man produced a dark traveling cloak of the same type he wore and draped it across Wolfric’s shoulders. “Call me Felix.” And with that, he led them out of the dungeon, up a spiral of stone steps toward the exit of the castle.
Wolfric pulled the cowl low over his face and followed at the man’s heels, restraining himself from breaking into a full sprint to escape. He knew he wouldn’t get far, though. He had not eaten properly in some time and Felix could no doubt easily chase him down and kill him if need be. Although that didn’t seem to be what was on his mind at the moment.
Felix brushed past another set of guards and then led them to two steeds as dark as the night itself. Without a pause, he swung astride his mount and nodded for Wolfric to do the same. Not bothering to look to see if Wolfric had complied, Felix dug his heels into the side of his mount and sped off toward the raised portcullis. Wolfric urged his own steed on and they barely had left the grounds when a bell tolled behind them.
Felix broke into a gallop and Wolfric followed. No words were spoken, but Wolfric could tell that Felix was urging his mount to greater speeds than Wolfric thought possible. To his surprise, his own horse seemed to have no problem keeping pace with the other and before too long, the castle and hamlet it oversaw lay miles behind them.
> They traveled through the night, across barely trodden paths deep into a forest that took them far away from any sort of civilization. Wolfric found himself weary and barely able to keep his eyes open. Food had not been the only thing he’d been deprived of; they’d never let him sleep longer than three hours during his entire imprisonment. Granted that had been but a week, but the toll it had exacted on his body felt immense.
At last, as dawn’s tendrils yawned across the horizon, Felix slowed his mount near a gushing waterfall and then slid down from his saddle. Wolfric gratefully did the same, collapsing on the mossy ground as he did so.
Felix spun and threw a small flask at him. “Drink. Then we talk.”
Wolfric caught it, tore the topper off and inhaled the scent of sweet copper. He tilted the flask to his lips and drank deep, letting the warm blood flow down his throat. Within seconds, he felt the jolt of energy hit his bloodstream. Fatigue vanished and he felt more aware and alive than he had in some time. He drank the entire contents before he realized what he was doing. He lowered the flask slowly and bowed his head.
“Sorry. I got a bit carried away.”
Felix took the flask from him. “I expected as much. Don’t concern yourself with it.” He stowed the flask in his saddle bag and then fished another out for himself.
Wolfric watched him as he drank. Every one of Felix’s movements was careful and precise. There seemed to be no wasted movement to them. Felix embodied a certain economy of movement that Wolfric found himself admiring.
“How are you feeling now?” Felix asked when he was done drinking.
“Much better. More like my old self.”
“You want to tell me why you were rotting in that dungeon?”
Wolfric paused. “You don’t already know? I assumed you would given that you showed up and rescued me.”
“I’ve been following your so-called life with some degree of interest, but even I lose people from time to time. It took me a while to relocate you. You should consider yourself lucky that I found you at all. Something tells me your jailers would have been much happier if they could have staked you themselves.”
“No doubt,” said Wolfric. He paused again and wondered what he should tell Felix. And then a part of him nudged his brain in the right direction. He knew nothing of who Felix actually was. Or what he might be. Perhaps truth then was the best course of action.
“I slept with the Burgermeister’s daughter.” Wolfric paused. “Several times.”
Felix eyed him for a moment and then cracked a grin. It spread slowly as if it were a block of melting ice. Finally, he nodded. “Good. I’m glad to see that there is still a degree of integrity within you.”
“You knew.”
“Of course I knew,” said Felix. “It’s my job to know.”
“And if I had lied?”
Felix shrugged. “Then clearly you were not meant to follow the path that I’ll set before you. And in all likelihood, I would have killed you myself.”
“Well then,” said Wolfric. “I’m pleased I passed the test.”
Felix stared at him. “My dear fellow, the tests have only just begun. And you have many, many more to pass before you are fit to serve.”
“Serve who?”
“Your people,” said Felix. “It’s high time you stopped thinking only of yourself. Your talents and skills and mind are worth more to our people than they are to you alone. To live as you have lived is selfish; I intend to teach you how to live a life that is selfless.”
Wolfric frowned. “I like to think I was doing pretty well on my own.”
Felix chuckled. “Rotting in that cell? If that is your definition of a successful life, then by all means, go on back and finish your existence there.”
Wolfric looked at the waterfall and then back at Felix. “I might hang around and hear what you have to say.”
“I thought you might,” said Felix with a grin. “Very well then, get comfortable.”
Chapter 2
Felix drew a wineskin from his saddle bags and took a long draw on it before he passed it to Wolfric.
It tasted sweet and tepid and Wolfric gulped a few mouthfuls before handing it back. He felt warmth spreading throughout his body, counteracting the effects of the blood he’d had a few moments earlier. The result was a vague buzz that relaxed him tremendously.
“You have heard, I’m sure, that there are members of our…society who have been moving things toward a more forward-looking status. While we have a body of government, it has largely been ineffective at enforcing the rules and laws that were established to help all of our people across the world.”
Wolfric shrugged. “Unenforceable laws aren’t really laws.”
“As you’ve no doubt demonstrated,” said Felix. “And I myself have only heard of some of your exploits.”
Wolfric smiled to himself recalling some of his reckless adventures.
Felix pointed at him. “Yes, they are fond memories, no doubt. But surely you must realize that at the same time, they might well have compromised our people if your true nature had ever been discovered.”
Wolfric shrugged. “The world is full of legends and myths. What one person claims to be reality may not be believed by others.”
“That’s a very short-sighted view,” said Felix. “The world as we know it will continue to shrink. Lands and nations will grow ever more connected with the rest. Communication will improve. And those legends you speak of will either be disproven or accepted as fact. The danger for us is that our existence must never, ever, become fact. Were it to be so, we would be hunted down and killed to the very last.”
“Are you suggesting we go to war with the humans?”
Felix chuckled. “Certainly not. But we must have a system in place that maintains the secrecy of our race. And when members of our society step out of line, then there must be consequences.”
“What sort of consequences?”
“Absolute,” said Felix. “We must hold ourselves to a higher standard of behavior such that no human ever suspects we exist. Our actions must never provoke suspicion. Our world must remain in the shadows for it is only there that will we remain safe from extinction. And those of us who enforce our laws must remain hidden in even deeper shadows.”
Wolfric eyed Felix. “Let me guess: you are one of these men?”“I am,” said Felix. He paused for only a moment. “And I want you to become one as well.”
Wolfric laughed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Deadly serious,” said Felix. “You have a choice to make: you can come with me and learn to do what I do, or else you can die for your crimes against our people. Your past actions could very well have compromised our security. And for that, you’ve already had a death sentence handed down from above.”
“Who has the authority to do such a thing?”
Felix leveled his gaze. “You know very well who does: the Council.”
Wolfric waved his hand. “Bah, I’ve never so much as seen any one of them. How could they hold sway over me? I don’t answer to anyone.”
“We all answer to someone,” said Felix. “And it’s most fortuitous that we do, otherwise the humans will stalk us mercilessly if they learn of our existence. There will be no refuge, no safe harbor. We will be exterminated.”
Wolfric fell silent. The dawn was expanding its reach and he marveled at the sunlight filtering through the trees. Sounds of animals coming awake trickled into his ears and the entire forest seemed utterly peaceful. He could sleep, he decided.
“What does this job of yours entail?”
“Certain skills that you seem to have an inkling about already. It’s one of the reasons I was able to prevail on your behalf with the Council.”
“You’ve seen them?”
“I take my orders directly from them,” said Felix. “And believe me when I tell you that being known by them is not necessarily a good thing. The fact that you are means they have learned about your activities. And as a matter of course, they d
ecided to take steps to ensure you don’t continue your reckless ways.”
“So they agreed to spare my life?”
“Provided you become one of us.”
Wolfric frowned. He’d spent the majority of his life running from any sort of authority figure. He liked his freedom. And yet deep down, some part of him realized that he couldn’t go on like this forever. That there had to be a day when things would change. Still, he hadn’t expected it quite so soon.
“Are you certain I can do it?”
Felix smiled. “You’re extremely clever. In remarkable shape, current lack of nourishment not withstanding. You speak a wide array of languages-“
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for some time.” Felix paused. “And frankly, we are in a bit of need for more like me. We have a fair bit of work and not enough resources to handle it all.”
“How many of you are there?”
Felix smiled. “One.”
Wolfric shook his head. “One? Just one?”
“It has been that way for many, many years. One of us would hold the position until it was time to select a replacement.” He shrugged. “Things change. Times change. We now find ourselves at a sort of crossroads, where the world of vampires and the world of humans are mixing far more than ever before. Time was, one man could handle the job. Now, we need more. Now we need you.”
“So you say,” said Wolfric. “But what’s in it for me?”
“Your life, most importantly,” said Felix. “You’ll work with me for the time being until I get you trained up to speed. Then you’ll be on your own. Just like you were before. With the small difference that you report to the Council and take your orders directly from them. They hand down a sentence, you carry it out.”
“You mean I kill.”
Felix nodded. “That…is what we do.”
“I’m not so sure I’m cut out to be a murderer.”
“What we do isn’t murder,” said Felix. “It’s preservation. We preserve the secret of our existence. We do this by stopping individuals who are committing acts that would expose our people.”