Twice Bitten

by Aiden James

  Chapter 8

  It would be near impossible for me to guess as to how long this pterodactyl-looking thing carried me through the air. Was it an hour or two? Or, maybe it was almost three? A better way for me to describe my trip is to detail what we passed and how the incredibly brisk air at the outset of the trip steadily became warmer. Warmer, I should say, especially after we left the glacial region of the Himalayas, and by my best guess headed south.

  Traveling over ever-thickening forests, the foliage became less pine needles and more broad-leafed trees. I could see an abundance of rivers and streams below me, along with occasional ponds and lakes. My captor’s flying altitude steadily dropped once we exited the mountain region, and by the time we reached a sparsely human populated sub-tropical area that followed a beautiful winding river, we hovered less than a hundred feet above the ground. Not that I felt any safer since the creature was still traveling extremely fast, but at least I was no longer looking down at gorges and other chasms several thousand feet deep.

  Other than the steady flapping of its wings, the flying lizard had been relatively quiet. But, suddenly it screeched loudly and dove toward a jungle near the river. I feared this might be where its lair lay hidden, and tried to stay alert in case a brief opportunity to escape presented itself. It sped even faster, and I thought for sure I’d crash into the trees. Somehow it managed to maneuver through the branches and it emerged next to the river, where its wings fully extended and it coasted. When we came upon a roped wooden walkway, the creature dropped me gently onto a white sand beach next to the river.

  Surprised to find warm sand under my knees and fingers, my aching joints found comfort. For a moment, I forgot about the flying lizard, or the fact it would likely come back for me. I felt strangely at peace, as if I’d recently returned home from a long arduous journey.

  While marveling about how the area carried such a settled spirituality, I saw a white-haired naked man carrying a small gray pack with him as he moved quickly out of the sun’s direct reach and into the pristine jungle less than fifty feet away. I recalled seeing the pack tied around the creature’s neck earlier.

  There was something familiar about the man, and my mind was already putting two and two together. As for the pterodactyl’s presence, for all I could tell the damned thing had left the area. I held out hope that it had vanished for good.

  “Txema…come here…. Move quickly!”

  Kazikli??

  I couldn’t believe it—it sure as hell sounded like the vampire that had recently taken a keen interest in my plight. He had the same white hair and muscular build, too, although I hadn’t seen his naked backside before. But at least I would be right in my assumption that his youthfulness extended to a firm and toned body. Only the white hair made him look older. But nowhere near as old as a normal middle-aged man would appear. ‘Thirty’ish Sam Elliot’ was the way Tyreen had described him when she first encountered Kazikli that first night at Xu Zheng Palace.

  “Kazikli…is that really you?” I staggered to my feet and walked over to where I had last seen him.

  I figured he must’ve moved deeper into the shade after what we’d both witnessed earlier that day. I doubt this very ancient vampire ever worried about someone like Abraham Van Helsing trying to kill him. But playing in the bright light of day appeared to be a unanimously excruciating experience for any vampire, regardless of age.

  I pursued him into the coolness provided by the canopy of thick branches and leaves. It surprised me that I was actually happy for the slightly cooler temperature away from the sunlight after enduring sub-freezing temperatures earlier without a coat. The scent of fresh apples and spice grew stronger, and Kazikli soon appeared before me.

  Dressed in a Buddhist monk’s robe—one of the ‘triple robes’ I had learned about in a high school social studies class—he smiled and motioned for me to join him near a small fire pit with wooden benches on either side. Thick bamboo canes surrounded the area, and dense foliage from several banyan trees effectively blocked the sun’s rays from reaching the area. I wasn’t sure if this was a private sanctuary for this mysterious vampire, or if it belonged to someone else and he simply brought me here for a chat.

  It all seemed terribly weird to me: the desperate rescue from death, the dangerous and weary flight to wherever this place was, and now a little ‘get together’ with an ancient vampire turned ascetic monk. Kazikli chuckled as he sat down, his gorgeous blue eyes filled with mirth.

  “Txema, you certainly must be wondering why I brought you here.” He straightened his robes to where the only flesh I could see, in addition to his neck and face, were the tops of his feet and his lower arms. The main robe was bright yellow, and the one tied around his waist like a sarong was a reddish purple. A thick orange robe hung over his left shoulder—equally effective for a privileged follower of Caesar back in the day or a modern-day Tibetan monk. “Why here in a remote jungle instead of finding a modern facility like the Marriot or Residence Inn in your country…correct?”

  “That’s a good place to start, I guess.” I frowned as I looked out through the trees toward the white sand beach and the swirling waters in the river next to it. “I’ve never seen this river before, not even pictures in a magazine or on the Discovery Channel…. Where are we, exactly?”

  “We’re in Nepal, near a small remote village that I’m quite fond of, and that’s just north of the country’s southern border.” He smiled proudly. “The river you see is the Kosi River—one of the few in the world with miles of white sand beaches. All that surrounds us are jungles and majestic mountains in the distance. Very few human beings reside here. If it wasn’t so hard to get to, it would make one hell of a resort, don’t you think?”

  “If the food has some variety it would definitely be an upgrade over the Motel 6 we’ve been staying at,” I deadpanned. Peering up at the purple and blue mountains in the distance, the white peaks looked as if the clouds in the sky and the sprawling snowcaps were merged into one seamless connection. Like the cover to a fantasy novel. “But…hey, wait. How did you even get here? Did you have something to do with that flying reptile?”

  My mind had begun to clear, and the questions were now lining up.

  “Ah, Txema, we have serious things to discuss,” he said, his brow furrowed for a moment as if disappointed in what I asked. The playful glint in his eyes said otherwise. “Do you really need for me to spell out how you and I got here?”

  He brought out the light gray pouch and casually tossed it at my feet.

  “There’s a change of clothes for you in there. The people you’ll be staying with until the birth of your child are flexible with some Western customs, but not when it comes to attire.”

  I was about to say something smart-ass, but then what should have been easy finally blasted its way into my head.

  “That thing was you??”

  I almost choked on the words, and yet it was so damned obvious.

  “Yes, it was me,” he admitted. He wore an even bigger look of pride, as if what he’d accomplished was indeed a feat of wonder and deserved praise for its sheer brilliance. “First time ever as a pterodactyl, and I’m especially pleased that what I remembered one to look like turned out fairly accurate!”

  “Does that mean you are like the others back there at the palace—the ones that like to eat young mothers in front of their children?”

  “I must admit that keeping you safe from harm is a wearisome employment!” he said, for the moment ignoring my question, yet showing no sign he took offense to it. “For weeks Xuanxang and I have slept lightly during the day while we waited and listened.”

  “Listened to what, for Christ’s sake?” I responded angrily. “Do you mean ‘listened while that poor woman was slaughtered’, and perhaps others like her? How many orphans does Xuanxang need to run Huangtian Dadi’s palace??”

  “I care not for the sacrifice of the innocent any more than you do, Txema.”

  The glint in his eyes disappeare
d, and he regarded me evenly. But unlike other experiences I’ve had with angered vampires, this one remained calm. In fact, the only time I had seen Kazikli completely enraged was in France, when he chided Gustav in public for not taking enough steps to protect the European nation of vampires from Ralu’s rapid advances against them.

  “You should know that Gustav, Xuanxang, and I had formed an alliance to make sure you were never harmed by the growing insurgence among the Order of the Dragon,” he continued. “Those vampires are not many, and most of them have already defected to Ralu. The two dozen residing in Huangtian Dadi’s realm, unfortunately, do have their Emperor’s support, which Xuanxang shared with me after the Christmas Eve incident. Gustav wanted to keep you at Xu Zheng Palace despite my desire to move you immediately to a safer location. My king, however, did agree to keep a watchful eye on you and your continual whereabouts and Xuanxang did, too. Xuanxang has risked his very vampire life since being your guardian is in direct insubordination against the Emperor’s demand for neutrality.”

  Huh??

  “So, let me get this straight,” I said, sitting up stiffly on my bench. “Gustav arranged for all of us—including me and all of the surviving vampires from the attack on Racco’s castle—to reside with this Huangtian Dadi jerk, who really doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to any of us. I mean, think about it. All he cares about is not offending a small group of evil vampires that have basically set up free child slavery for him. And, as far as Gustav is concerned? Well that fucker has always given me the creeps. He’ll never get his teeth into me or my little girl’s neck—ever!! He can fucking dry up and start looking like his brother, Ralu, for all I care!”

  I felt incredible rage, and if I hadn’t finished what I wanted to say right then, I’m sure to God I would’ve started shrieking at Kazikli. Meanwhile, he regarded me calmly, and with more compassion than he had even a moment ago when I first became aggressive.

  “I understand your hostility toward Huangtian Dadi—truly I do, Txema,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “He can be far worse than what you can imagine. I’m speaking from experience that runs well over two thousand years. He is as powerful as Gustav, and perhaps even older. If Huangtian Dadi decided he no longer needed commerce with us for any reason, he could single-handedly destroy us all. So, young lady, be careful of what you say about him. The oldest vampires have abilities the rest of us can only envy. You’ve already experienced that with Ralu, from what Chanson told me. Huangtian Dadi has more power than Ralu could ever dream of having…unless one’s growing army counts for anything. If that’s the case, then things are becoming equal quickly. Hence, the need to be extra nice to your Chinese host, should you ever see him again.”

  Kazikli didn’t have to go into detail about Ralu’s dealings with me to get his point across. The memories of being repeatedly taunted and murdered in the dreamlike visions before Relance de sang brought me peace were still fresh. When I was foolish enough to think about them during the daytime, while my protectors slept, I sometimes felt as if Ralu had found me again, and was already lurking in the Palace shadows. Even now as Kazikli and I silently studied each other, a smooth breeze moved through the trees around us, causing us both to look around cautiously.

  “Like I said, be careful of the words you speak when dealing with any of the oldest vampires, Txema—remember that always.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, and then imitated something I used to see my mother’s youngest sister do when she stepped on someone’s toes in the family. “I’m so sorry Huangtian Dadi, and Gustav—I didn’t mean to offend you. Oh, and be sure to give my love to Ralu, as well!”

  “Txema!”

  Kazikli eyed me seriously, although a glint of amusement was back in those beautiful blue peepers again.

  “All right, I’ll quit,” I said, and then moved on down the growing list of questions I had for this particular immortal. “So, you said the pterodactyl was something you just came up with to transform yourself into. I take it that you’ve been doing this for a while. How did that happen, and can the others like Chanson do it, too?”

  “Yes, I have been doing such tricks for a long time—actually longer than I’ve been a vampire,” he told me. The air around us had grown colder, and he seemed to notice. He smiled at me impishly and then waved his hand over the fire pit and whispered a quick incantation that I only caught a few syllables from. Immediately, the partially burnt logs and remaining coals from previous fires sprung to life. “Long ago, I had reached the pinnacle of success as a magician in Xerxes’ court.”

  “The King Xerxes of the Persians?” I said, and with only slight disbelief in my tone. Having seen and experienced what I had the past two months—and especially since arriving in China—had at least softened some cynicism.

  “Yes, the very same,” he said. “If I had carried less ambition, perhaps I would’ve died long before Alexander brought his ten year campaign against my homeland, and ended the reign of glory I had known so well a century earlier.”

  He seemed to grow sad as he reminisced, and I started to tell him that he didn’t need to delve into painful memories. But, he raised his hand to stop me.

  “Truly, it’s okay. I’ve long since healed from my human regrets,” he said. “Back then, an alchemist worth his salt could shape shift, and I could do that easily for as long as I can remember—definitely long before I was orphaned and taken to Persia as a Greek slave. Once I was accepted for my talents, we used to hold contests in Xerxes’ court, and the biggest challenge was to try and become something so minuscule that the naked eye could not see it. You would be most surprised at the other direction the universe travels. Not everything is part of the ever-expanding energy movement beyond our planet. It’s as un-ending and magical in the other direction.”

  “What, sort of like reverse infinity?”

  “Yes…I guess that’s an excellent term for this phenomena,” he said, nodding thoughtfully before going on. “To become a magician for the great King Xerxes, one had to master both directions of the energy flux. It’s the only way a magician could effectively cloak the king’s assassins. It also enabled us to be effective spies for his Highness—either as invisible or as a domestic pet, like a bird, dog, or cat.”

  “It sounds really cool…I don’t suppose you can teach someone like me to do some of that?” I saw endless possibilities, and not all bad. It could actually provide the means for me to return to America with my baby to visit my family, friends, and Peter, and then return to wherever our latest hideout was without anyone being the wiser for it.

  “I’m not sure if that’s possible…yet,” he said, offering me a wry smile. “I believe you have the talent and most other spiritual qualities. My main concern is your level of control and maturity. Having the ability to perform such magical spells also means knowing exactly when to employ them and when to hold back. It sounds easier than it is—especially if you must allow someone you deeply care about to perish for the greater good….”

  He grew quiet for a moment, and then peered carefully through the banyan leaves.

  “It appears that the sun is moving below the mountains to our west,” he said. “Once dusk arrives, I’ll need to bring you to Suddhodana and his village. They already know we’re coming, since Xuanxang convinced them to take you in with them.”

  “Are these more vampires, then?”

  Hearing about Xuanxang’s connection to them made me wary.

  “Only Suddhodana is a vampire, and he was turned by Xuanxang long ago,” he said. “Most of the village’s population are males, with only a few females for the men selected to propagate.”

  “That sounds really old fashioned,” I said, thinking maybe we should continue on until we found a more suitable place to stay. “Isn’t Kathmandu in Nepal? I’ll bet there’s a hotel there that would be safe.”

  “Have you already forgotten what happened to your friends in Tennessee?” Kazikli’s tone became stern again. “Ralu is gaining support for his cau
se throughout the world. I assure you that at least one vampire sympathetic to what Ralu wants is waiting in Kathmandu. This is the case in any city larger than twenty to thirty thousand souls. You’ll be safest right here.”

  “So, it’s true that vampires exist everywhere, huh?”

  Not a question asked from a hopeful perspective. I felt so surrounded by enemies, and yet I’m quite sure this is the way it’s always been for me. The difference is that when I’d get a creepy feeling back in high school, as if someone was studying me from a nearby rooftop or in the taller trees back in Richmond, I assumed it was some odd paranoia brought on by too much partying and too little sleep. I would’ve never in a million years considered it to be a vampire—or vampires—watching and who lusted after my unique blood.

  But, this is my reality. No matter where I go—or where my child and I reside—we will be hunted. Always. Like a pair of walking T-bone steaks trying to tiptoe past a pack of ravenous Dobermans.

  “It’s not only vampires,” he said, after deliberating in silence while rampant thoughts raced through my head. “There are many different kinds of immortals. Some fit in easily with society to where no one would ever suspect they are ‘different’ in any way. Others—like the scores of different vampire breeds—could never blend in with mankind. Many of these have been forced underground, and only come up for fresh air—and meat—every few centuries. That’s why folklore changes from time to time, and things like trolls, fairies, and goblins disappeared from literature and reported sightings for hundreds of years. But such creatures have recently risen again.”

  “I see….”

  “Why don’t you ask me one last question, and then I think you should rest a while. I might turn into a seagull and see if I can catch some fish for supper, and afterward it’s on to the village.” He laughed.

  “How about two questions, and I swear that will be it,” I said. “Just two, and then I’ll be more than happy to shut the hell up for the rest of the night.”