Blood Crusade

by Billita Jacobsen

  Chapter 19: The Method of Humanity

  I followed Lozen outside to observe while she asked her supreme deity, Ussen, for guidance on the whereabouts of Claudius. It was her first attempt at locating an enemy since becoming a vampire and she was nervous that it wouldn’t work. I believe that she was able to help her brother and Geronimo track the location of the United States cavalry back in the day because she possesses unique psychic abilities. However, she believes the gift comes from a higher power and like a placebo effect, it works. I needed to keep my opinion to myself if this had a chance of succeeding.

  “Ussen gave me the answers before when I followed the sun and prayed. I can’t do that anymore.”

  “Yes, you can, to some degree,” I said. “Moon light is basically just sunlight reflected off the moon. It’s a small percentage which is most likely why vampires don’t flame up from the illumination but it should still work. Right?”

  That obviously hadn’t occurred to her and she seemed pleased. “Of course,” she said, running her hand over the emerald necklace she wore, bequeathed to her from Catherine.

  The bulk of Catherine the Great’s fortune was left to Camelot but she gifted each knight with jewels and gold. The men received quantities of gold and the women each received a stunning piece of jewelry. Lozen had once admired the emerald necklace and Catherine had thoughtfully left it to her.

  I was surprised that she had included me in her will since it was my belief that she didn’t like me at all. She left me her diamond choker, a gaudy unattractive piece that will never be worn. I decided to leave it to Heather, with instructions in my will that she sell it and use the money to buy something she likes. Still, it was extremely kind of Lady Catherine to leave me anything, especially considering my fuck a horse remark to her.

  Lozen, bare foot, wore a simple chocolate brown, casual, cotton sack dress that clashed with her worth a fortune necklace. She walked to the middle of Lance’s yard and turned her face up towards the moon’s bright glow. She raised her arms, palms facing up, and chanted her prayer to Ussen:

  Ussen, bestow on me your power

  To locate the enemy of earth and humanity

  Only you can shine your light of clarity

  Show me where to find him and make him cower.

  She slowly turned in the moonlight, keeping her palms up as if she could catch the rays from the force of the universe. “I’ll know when it’s working. I feel the power in my hands,” she told me, “they begin to tingle and I know the direction.” She continued to chant and turn, arms straight up, palms facing the moon. I watched her chant and turn for over an hour.

  Lance’s Las Vegas estate was perched high on a mountain and the scenic views of the valley below keep me occupied for a short time. I walked to the side of the house so I wouldn’t disturb Lozen and tried to call Mark. I wanted to thank him for saving us from a massacre but he didn’t pick up. I left a message to call me back, for the sixth time.

  When I walked back to the yard, Lozen was crumbled to the ground, her head in her hands. “My prayers go unanswered. I can’t see where he is, all I see are tunnels.”

  “Well, that’s it,” I said. “Your prayers are answered. Claudius is under the city. Let’s tell the knights—we need to search the Vegas tunnels.”

  “But we don’t know the exact location. I’m not getting full reception--it must be because the sun’s rays are so diluted by the moon.”

  I bent down to guide her up. “We have a good starting point,” I said, “now we know where to look. We’ll find him.”

  We went back inside where Lance, Master Kong, Harold, Otis, and Makeda were looking over a map of the city, spread out on the huge island in the kitchen, trying to figure where to search for Claudius. Makeda was sipping blood from a wine glass.

  Harold was making plans with Otis to find the hunters and ask for their help. “I believe they can be reasoned with. We need their help to find Claudius,” he said.

  “That’s not a good idea, at all,” I interjected. “That’s like asking the Keystone Cops to help you solve a murder.”

  “We need all the aid we can get,” Lance said. “We need a truce with them now that we have a common enemy. Harold and Otis have volunteered to find them and broker a deal.”

  Makeda noticed Lozen’s distress and poured her some blood. “Here, drink. It was freshly volunteered today and it’s Rh negative, AB.”

  “We need some better plans. Trying to work with those idiot hunters is a stupid idea,” I said, getting pissed and speaking out with my usual lack of a filter.

  Master Kong, taking notice of Harold’s look of dismay, smiled and me and said, “I know how much you like my Confucius analects, little one. I have said, many times, if you want to make a stand, help others make a stand, and if you want to reach your goal, help others reach their goal. Consider yourself and treat others accordingly--this is the Method of Humanity. We can reach the hunters if we act accordingly.”

  “Whatever you say,” I replied. “Harold, I apologize, we need ideas so we can defeat Claudius. It’s worth a try.”

  “So, do we know where to find Claudius?” Lance inquired. “How did the ritual go?”

  “I don’t know the exact location,” Lozen said, disappointment in her voice.

  “She saw tunnels,” I said, “we need to look under the city.”

  Lance quickly took charge. “We’ll map out the tunnels and take a grid, in teams,” he said.

  “We can each lead a team and mark the map if the tunnel is clear,” Makeda said.

  I searched the map for the area where I took the tunnels to find Harold. Pointing, I said, “This is an area I’m familiar with; put me down for the tunnels here.”

  They went to work dividing the city so search teams could be organized. That was my opportunity to pull Lance to the side and whisper, “Listen, Percy is avoiding me. I really need to talk to him. Can you ask him to meet with me?”

  He stepped in close, well into my personal space discomfort zone, and said, “Nola, I told you, he said Heather is okay. He told her the truth and he’s working on getting Heather to accept it. Please have some trust in him.”

  “We’re talking about my daughter, Lance. Please do this for me. I just want to talk to him,” I said, looking directly into his eyes, noticing that his pupils grew larger.

  “Very well,” he said, and turned back to work on the map.

  “Thanks. I’m going to search my chosen tunnels—I’m taking a taxi. I’ll call you if I spot anything,” I said.

  “Nola, wait. We said to work in teams, who are you going with?” Lance questioned.

  It was hard for me to tell Lance the truth but I’d already made up my mind. “I’m going to ask Mark if he’ll search with me. He’s already proven to be an ally and I want to thank him for saving us from a massacre.”

  Harold gave me a sideways glance and then raised an eyebrow at Master Kong. I saw a look on Lance’s face that I didn’t recognize. Could it be jealousy? I wondered as I walked out the door.

  ***

  What can you buy for someone who has everything? I wanted to bring Dashing a gift to thank him for saving Camelot. So of course, I bought him more of what he already has—Green Irish Tweed. It was actually less expensive than I thought it would be, costing several hundred dollars. Since it was several hundred less than I expected to pay, I decided to also buy some Green Irish Tweed shower gel and had both giftwrapped at the high end store that sold the items.

  The explicit feeling that Mark was home and ignoring my calls emanated into my being and I finally traced the origin. My amulet felt warm to the touch again, and whenever I stroked it, the image of Mark inside his penthouse flowed into my mind.

  What didn’t flow was a complete picture. Was he alone? Did Claudius discover his betrayal? Would he welcome me without an invitation? It was so extremely uncomfortable for me to just drop in on someone, especially someone I found so attractive, that I almost turned to leave, several times.

/>   Finally reaching the penthouse entrance, I was raising my hand to knock when Mark opened the door. “I knew you were coming, thanks to the amulet,” he said in his wonderful accent, his deep brown eyes so welcoming as he motioned for me to enter.

  “You know that there’s a connection with the amulet?” I asked, touching the ruby sun on the scarab which now felt warm to the touch. “I’d like to discuss that and a few other matters, if possible.”

  He walked over to the Italian-made Taurus dining table, an exquisite piece that had an oak wood top set on a sculptured metal base. The table was adorned with a floral centerpiece, Royal Copenhagen porcelain plates, a steaming bowl of spaghetti, and a poured glass of wine.

  “Wow, you really were expecting me,” I said with surprise.

  Apparently he had also dressed up for me, wearing a two-piece Brioni suit similar to that worn by the hero in the James Bond movies, although it’s possible that he always puts on expensive clothes. He seemed to favor Italian designers, which was understandable, given his background with ancient Rome.

  “I ordered from Nora’s, spaghetti with marinara sauce. Don’t worry, it’s fresh--I threw out the last order after you ran away from me.”

  I held out my gifts. “I brought you a little something to show my appreciation,” I said, “and I didn’t run away, I had to go on a mission.”

  He seemed astonished. “You’ve brought me a present! I haven’t had a surprise from anyone in hundreds of years. Nobody tries to get me anything.” He brushed a hand through his thick dark hair, as if trying to regain his confidence. Taking the packages, he said, grinning like a child at Christmas, “Thank you Nola. May I open them now?”

  “Of course,” I said, sitting down. “My main reason for coming uninvited was to thank you for your warning about Claudius. You saved us from a massacre. We lost twelve villagers, Sir Hector and Lady Catherine, but it could have been all of us. They even killed Harold’s little dog, Go-Go.” I said. “I did try to phone you. Why haven’t you answered my calls?”

  Slipping his fingers through the taped gift wrap, he said, “You made it clear when you left. It is better that we remain friends. I thought it best to lose contact.” He had his head bent, engrossed in unwrapping his presents. “That’s too bad about the losses at Camelot. I didn’t know Sir Hector or Lady Catherine that well but Go-Go was my buddy. Hypatia brought that little dog everywhere she went, such a sweet dog—poor Harold, I know how much he loved Go-Go.”

  Ripping the last of the brightly colored wrapping off the small boxes, he exclaimed, “Green Irish Tweed! My favorite cologne! How thoughtful!” He seemed so genuinely pleased I wished I’d really been more considerate and found him something he didn’t have.

  “It’s an alluring scent,” I said. “It’s just a little something. If not for you, everyone at Camelot would be dead. You’re not who I thought you were. You’re quite wonderful,” I said, gushing and girlish and telling myself to knock it off.

  Placing his elbows on the table and putting his hands together, he said softly, “Are we more than friends, then? Do we continue to see each other?”

  “Perhaps,” I said, knowing quite well what he meant by ‘see each other’ and feeling the need to tell him the complete truth. Well, the complete truth about Lance anyway. “You need to know that I’ve been in love with Lance for a while. It hasn’t gone anywhere but I love him. I’m attracted to you. I’m fond of you. But I love Lance.”

  “I appreciate you telling me,” he said. “You need to understand that I’ve known Lance much longer than you have. Your love for him won’t go anywhere. He still loves Guinevere and he’s hoping that she’ll return to him.”

  I didn’t believe it but that would explain never seeing Lance pay attention to women, let alone my unrequited love. The story I’d heard was that Guinevere had been kidnapped by Claudius when she was King Arthur’s wife and the knights’ main mission in those days was hunting down and destroying vampires.

  Claudius returned Guinevere after she’d been turned into a blood sucker in the hopes that Arthur would stop the mission and leave the vampires alone. Instead, he planned to burn Guinevere at the stake as a vampire and most likely revenge for the rumor going around Camelot that Guinevere was in love with Lance and Percy was his son.

  It was quite the scandal and one that floated around, becoming legend. Guinevere and Lance were in love before King Arthur pursued her. Lance traveled, performing his knightly duties, and she married the King in his absence. Lance married Elaine of Corbenic on the rebound and she gave birth to Galahad.

  I didn’t like the tales of the lurid romance that followed their respective marriages. It seemed so out of character for the Lance I know and love. His love for Guinevere knew no moral bounds. They continued their affair after taking vows to be true to others. It was rumored that Elaine committed suicide after learning of Lance’s unfaithfulness. Still, the affair continued, on and off, for years, until Guinevere was turned into a vampire.

  Camelot fell apart shortly after that. Lance came to the rescue and saved Guinevere from the execution, fleeing with her and Percy. Merlin and some of the Knights of the Round Table left with him. Arthur was never the same and was killed in battle a short time later.

  “She developed a taste for killing humans,” Mark said, pouring another glass of wine for me, “Lance wanted her to stop and after her betrayal, they split up. She’s in Europe now, you know, still murdering people and unrepentant.”

  I didn’t know. “How did the betrayal go down? I’ve only heard whispers about it.”

  “I was there,” he said, lowering his eyes. “I still killed at that time and ran with Claudius. The Knights of the Round Table had gathered forces and actually had us surrounded at a castle we had stormed, killing all the residents. The knights could have overrun and slain all of us. Merlin asked for mercy and a peaceful solution. He didn’t want to exterminate the entire vampire species.”

  He paused, thinking of the one time that the reign of vampires could have ended. “Lance decided to wait and called for a meeting of the Knights of the Round Table to vote on the measure—kill all the vampires or make a truce? Guinevere served them wine at the meeting. She turned everyone at the table, including her son, by mixing vampire blood in their goblets, unbeknown to them.”

  “What a fucking bitch!” I yelled. “How could he still be in love with her?”

  “I don’t know, why someone loves the undeserving is a universal question. She fled with Claudius after that so she could continue her blood lust and they haven’t seen each other since that betrayal. She never held power over any of them since the turning was done against their will.”

  I put down my fork, unable to eat anymore, and wiped my mouth with the linen dinner napkin. “Poor Lance. Poor Percy! No wonder Galahad has so much resentment. I had no idea.”

  “You know, none of the knights ever killed for blood. It amazed me. From night one, they all sought donations and rewarded those who provided them with sustenance. That, and Hypatia’s teachings about respecting life, helped me turn over a new leaf. I haven’t killed for blood since their example inspired me.”

  He touched my hand. “It had a great side effect. I started preaching to Claudius that he should follow the path of not killing and he got sick of listening to me. It worked to my advantage since he now leaves me alone, most of the time anyway.”

  He moved close to me and said, “I can’t stop thinking about you. I haven’t been with anyone else since we were together.”

  “You do know it’s only been a week, right?” I felt the amulet grow warm. “How is this connected to us?” I asked, pointing to the glowing emerald eyes from the artifact around my neck.

  “Hypatia and I often wondered about that. She believed it acts as a transmitter and is connected to me since I purchased it. It links me to whoever wears it. We always talked about doing a scientific study and never got around to it. Isn’t that ironic considering the time we should have had as immortals? T
hen I heard that Claudius had her killed and time would never be available for us again. I hate that piece of shit more than ever.”

  “That prick needs to be put down. All of Camelot is trying to find him; do you know where he is?”

  “I’m afraid I do not. The word around town is that he’s in hiding, finalizing plans for a complete take over. I’m sure he’s well aware that the Knights of the Round Table are in pursuit.”

  “That is the current quest. We believe he’s in the tunnels under the city,” I said, “and I’m going to search an area now. Would you care to join me?”

  “I’d be delighted,” he said.

  Realizing I’d walked out of Lance’s house totally unprepared, I asked, “Do you have a flashlight you could bring? And you might want to change your clothes.”

  “I’ll grab the flashlight and then we can go. I don’t need to change—my dry cleaner is adept at their job,” he said, smoothing his suit. I was certain his cleaners would earn their pay if they could tidy up that suit after a walk through the tunnels.

  ***

  Mark drove his caldera red Jaguar coupe to the tunnel location. He parked in a dicey area and I hoped we would return to find the sports car undamaged. “Shall we?” he asked, leading the way with the flashlight.

  It seemed a hopeless task. Finding Claudius in hundreds of miles of tunnels, even with teams, was akin to locating an honest politician in Congress. We walked past ABANDON ALL HOPE, and the skulls and penis graffiti that greeted anyone entering the tunnel. The dirty concrete walls and ceiling seemed to close in on me; the tunnel now seemed so much smaller than I remembered.

  We moved in silence to the spot where the homeless family had been as I shared the story with Mark of their misfortune. He stepped into a puddle of urine, ruining the bottom of his suit. “I hope your cleaner can get that out,” I said.

  “I may just throw it away,” he said, stepping over a pile of dog poop as a large cockroach ran out of the way.

  The poop reminded me of the dog that didn’t like me, so I had to ask, “Did you really like that little dog, Go-Go? You didn’t think he was crazy?”