by J. C. Diem
We trotted through the lightless hallways, on guard for robots that might have been sent to hunt us down. We had no way of knowing how many had escaped from the factory as it was falling apart. The Viltarans would know that they had a limited supply of metal men now and I doubted they would be particularly happy about that. I wished I hadn’t warned Robert’s master that I was coming for him. I reminded myself that Uldar and his brethren would have figured out that we were gunning for him sooner or later after the Viltarans started turning up dead anyway.
After only a couple of wrong turns, we climbed another set of deep stairs that carried us to the surface. The winds were less severe now that we weren’t at the centre of the Viltaran version of a holocaust. We didn’t need to link arms as we jogged across the wasteland towards where I felt the Kveet and ten octosquids but most of us did so anyway.
We stopped where the elevator had brought us to the surface and waited. Moments later, the ground opened up and the elevator appeared. It was far less squishy this time now that we had lost almost half of our small family.
M’narl was waiting for us with an escort of several younger Kveet in tow. Their gnarled little faces were excited so I guessed they knew our mission had been successful. He didn’t have the robot with him to translate and he had no idea I could understand them so M’narl gestured for us to follow him without a word.
Their legs might be extremely short but they moved fairly quickly as he led us back through the maze of tunnels to their command centre. As I’d suspected, several of their monitors showed the now collapsed factory. Hopefully, the Viltarans wouldn’t easily be able to rebuild the factory.
“The Viltarans will be very unhappy with you and your people,” the crippled droid translated for M’narl as the Kveet gestured at the monitors and spoke in his piping voice. “You have disabled their ability to replenish their droid armies. This will make them very dangerous to both your kind and ours.” M’narl seemed more excited than nervous at the prospect of incurring the wrath of the Viltarans.
“We have the means to hunt them down and your explosives would come in very handy,” Gregor proposed.
M’narl barely waited for the nod the other elders gave him when the droid translated his words. “Our warriors are ready to join you in your battle.”
All ten octosquids came forward from the shadows where they had presumably been watching the proceedings. “We are curious how you are going to locate the Viltarans,” one of them said.
“I can sense them,” I replied.
“What device will you use to sense them with?”
“My sixth sense.”
When it appeared they had no idea what I was talking about, I elaborated. “Humans, or vampires as in our case, have five senses; sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing. I have a sixth sense and can send it out to find other creatures.”
“You cannot use this sense to find the droids?” M’narl asked with a hint of disappointment.
“Unfortunately, no. I can only sense living beings.” I could sense the undead as well but didn’t bother to mention that fact.
“Do all vampires have this sixth sense?” another of the black aliens asked.
Geordie snorted a laugh. “Our Ladybug is one of a kind.” That wasn’t entirely true. The Second had also gained the ability to sense vampires and humans after thousands of years of captivity in his underground tomb.
“Interesting,” the droid murmured. He was so reminiscent of Robert that he received double takes from almost everyone in our diminished group.
“We should work together to formulate a plan,” Gregor said to our host. “Would it be possible for our people to feed and perhaps get cleaned up?”
“What do you mean by ‘get cleaned up’?” M’narl queried.
“We require clean water to wash with,” Kokoro told the Kveet. The little aliens shared confused looks but one of them shrugged and gestured for us to follow him. In desperate need to be free of the dirt coating me, I hurried to Kokoro’s side. Our tiny guide led us through a series of tunnels to a small chamber that held pools of water. Thankfully, they were devoid of fungus. Kokoro crouched down and tested the water. Her fingers came away scum free so she deemed it to be clean enough for us to bathe in.
Our guide disappeared when we began to undress and we were left alone. It should have been awkward being naked in front of another woman but Kokoro ignored my nudity so completely that it was easy enough for me to do the same. We chose one of the smaller pools and cautiously entered. I was surprised to find the water only came up to my neck. The pool was so dark that it had seemed almost bottomless.
Wishing I had shampoo or some kind of soap, I scrubbed dirt, ash and imp goo out of my hair using only my fingers. Thinking of the battles ahead, I was glad the ex-seer could no longer probe my thoughts. I had the sinking feeling that the long ago prophecy that had been written about me was finally coming true. From the moment I had risen, our kind had begun to diminish. It had been foretold that only a remnant of our species would remain. I was beginning to suspect that the remnant would be even smaller than anyone had anticipated. There were already so few of us left but instinct told me the deaths weren’t over yet.
.~.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Before long, we were joined by the other few remaining female vampires. They paired up and chose small pools to bathe in. Naked, one of the Europeans dipped her toe into the pool and yanked it out with a small hiss. “How can you stand it?” she asked Kokoro and me. We shared a puzzled glance.
“How can we stand what?” I asked.
“The water is very cold,” one of the Japanese warriors responded as she crouched and put her hand into the liquid.
“It feels warm enough to me,” I replied. The water felt neither hot nor cold but somewhere in between.
Crossing over to our pool, the Japanese warrior knelt and plunged her hand into the water. Her fingers were only inches away from my chest and I had to fight against the impulse to cover my nakedness. No one else was showing any signs of discomfort and I didn’t want to be pegged as a prude on top of being the dreaded Mortis.
Yanking her hand out, the warrior narrowed her eyes at us. “What is wrong?” Kokoro asked. Unable to read her kinswoman’s mind, she sounded the slightest bit nervous.
“I would ask you the same question, Prophetess.”
Gathering around us, the women each tested the pool and deemed the water to be cold. From their expressions, we should have been semiconscious from lack of heat by now. “This is due to you feeding from the Viltaran, isn’t it?” one of the Europeans said almost accusingly.
Inclining her head, Kokoro remained calm in the face of their consternation. “Most likely.”
“Have you noticed any other changes?” the Japanese warrior asked. Her tone was respectful yet held a hint of greed. If we had been altered just from drinking Viltaran blood then they probably would be as well.
I fielded this one. “Well, their eyes all turned red after they chowed down on the alien. Apart from that, there haven’t been any noticeable changes.” That was a big fat lie. They were stronger, didn’t have the need to sleep yet and weren’t showing signs of hunger. The last thing we needed was for anyone from our small group to go out on a suicide mission to hunt down the Viltarans and snack on them just for a few extra perks.
“Oh. Is that all?” Crestfallen, the Japanese warrior headed back to her chosen pool. The others followed her lead and gingerly slid into the water. While the others were occupied, Kokoro and I took the opportunity to exit from our pool and dress. Kokoro was hiding it well but I sensed her distress at lying to her people and our allies. We both saw the need to keep their changes a secret to avoid any unnecessary loss of life.
Usually after bathing, the cold began to get to me fairly quickly. Now that it had been pointed out to me, I didn’t feel particularly chilly. Even with wet hair dripping down my back, I didn’t shiver. Squeezing as much water out of my hair as possible, I dressed and
hurried after Kokoro as she headed back towards the hub of activity.
The menfolk had been busy while we’d been bathing. Most had found their own pools to wash in and were still shivering slightly from the ordeal. Luc, Igor, Gregor and Ishida sported wet hair but only pretended to be suffering from the chilly water. Being male, they had washed must faster than we had and were already working on a strategy.
It didn’t bother me that they hadn’t waited for us before coming up with a plan. I was far from a master strategist and left that task up to Gregor. Speaking of the sophisticated one, he was crouched beside M’narl and his fellow elders with the robot lying nearby to act as interpreter. They were working out the final stages of whatever plan they had concocted. It was hard to tell but the Kveet seemed to be excited by the prospect of taking the fight directly to their oppressors.
Luc smiled at me. His dripping hair was slicked back from his face and my heart tried to stutter at his male beauty. I went to him and took the hand he offered. Following the subtle nod of his head, I saw Geordie standing off to the side. His arms were tightly crossed and his lower lip was pooched out. His hair was also wet but it was a dirty shade of blonde that would never look clean. “What happened?” I asked quietly enough that only a few of our nearest kin could hear me.
“Geordie tried to sneak off to join you ladies.”
From the way Igor was glowering at his apprentice, I figured he’d had to chase the teen down and drag him back, most likely listening to his shrill whining the whole time. My lips quivered and I broke into a snigger. Geordie saw me laughing at him and his lip pooched out even further before he turned his back. Igor turned his glower on me and I stifled my laughter.
“You’d better go and speak to him,” Luc suggested and nudged me towards the sulking youth.
Wondering who had voted for me to stand in as Geordie’s mother, I picked my way through the tiny Kveet and put my hand on the teen’s shoulder.
Flinching away, Geordie cast an angry look at me. “Go away.”
“Where do you suggest I go?” I asked him reasonably.
“I don’t care. Just leave me alone.”
He sounded so miserable that I couldn’t comply with his request. Moving around so I was standing in front of him, I studied Geordie’s face. Usually mischievous, he was far more solemn than usual. I sensed his misery was deeper than simply being laughed at. “What’s wrong, Geordie?”
Peeking through the dripping hair that hung over his eyes, he checked whether my sympathy was real or just a ruse. Seeing my concern, he shrugged his thin shoulders. “I am lonely, chérie.”
My mouth dropped open but nothing came out. That was the last thing I’d expected to hear from a fifteen year old, even one that had been undead for two hundred years. “Is that why you tried to spy on the women?” I wasn’t exactly an expert on the mindset of the opposite sex but surely there had to be a better way to gain someone’s attention than that.
Indignant, he scowled. “I was not trying to spy on any of you!” Turning to make sure no one was listening, he dropped his voice. “I was going to ask one of the Japanese warriors if she cared to share her flesh hunger with me.”
Blood wanted to rush to my face but it was far too sluggish to attempt the task. “Aren’t you a little…young for most of Ishida’s people?” I was pretty sure the Japanese emperor had brought only his oldest and best warriors with him.
Head sagging, he nodded. “It has been a long time since I have fed my flesh hunger. Since feeding from the Viltaran, my hunger is becoming harder to deny.”
Remembering how strong my own hungers were becoming, I couldn’t blame him for wanting to satiate his need for sex. For the first time, I was forced to think of Geordie not just as an adult, but as a man. It was a foreign concept to me and one I didn’t want to contemplate. But letting him stalk the women while they bathed was a sure fire way to start trouble. “Why don’t you let me talk to the other girls?” I couldn’t believe the words had just come out of my mouth but it was too late to take them back.
Brightening, Geordie gave me a huge smile. “You would do that for me?”
Desperately wanting to shake my head in the negative, I nodded instead. “I won’t make you any promises but I’ll find a subtle way of asking if any of the women are available.” Yeah, because ‘subtle’ is your middle name, my inner voice said with heavy sarcasm. Since I agreed with it, I couldn’t really argue.
“Why does Geordie suddenly appear to be so happy?” Luc asked me when I reached his side again.
Grimacing, I explained the new mess I’d gotten myself into. “I’m going to speak to the women privately,” I told him when I was done. I might as well get this debacle over with. “I’ll be back soon.” Giving Luc a quick kiss and ignoring his amusement, I headed back down the tunnels to the pools.
Kokoro caught up to me before I was halfway down the tunnel. “Did I hear correctly that you are going to try to…hook Geordie up with one of the other women?” It was weird to hear such a modern turn of phrase coming from a forty thousand year old vampire. With her newly black eyes and wet hair tumbling down her back, she barely resembled the seer I’d first met on the tiny Japanese island. Instead of the usual pure white kimonos that she preferred, she wore one of the modified droid suits that matched mine.
“I’m going to give it a shot. Do you think any of them will be receptive to the idea?”
Giving the matter some thought, Kokoro shrugged her dainty shoulders. “Perhaps.”
The rest of our walk was done in silence. Most of the women were dressed and finger combing their sopping hair when we reached the pools. Shivering, teeth chattering, a final European hauled herself out of the water and quickly donned her clothing. Kokoro and I received curious stares as we waited for them to gather around. There were seven females to choose from and I had no idea which one Geordie had his eye on, except that she was Japanese.
“Is something wrong?” one of the Europeans asked.
“No.” I didn’t sound very reassuring, even to myself. I’d told Geordie that I would find a subtle way to broach the subject but my inner voice was correct, subtle wasn’t exactly my forte. “I was wondering if any of you felt the need to share your flesh hunger.”
My question received stares of surprise and amusement. “I did not realize you swung both ways,” a European said. A wave of giggles sounded.
“I’m not asking on my behalf,” I replied.
“Then whom are you asking on behalf of?”
“Geordie,” I blurted. Instead of the expected laughter, my proposal was met with speculation.
“I have never shared my flesh hunger with a European,” one of the Japanese warriors said. Their barriers truly had been broken down if she was contemplating the idea now. When she spoke next, I understood her lack of reserve. “Tell us, Mortis, what are our chances of survival on this planet?” Her direct stare demanded an honest response.
Turning to Kokoro, I read the sadness in her gaze. We both knew the answer to that question but it looked like it was up to me to answer it. “I’d say they are fairly low.” No one was surprised by my answer. “Kokoro and I have both been sent visions of our extinction since I was first turned into Mortis. I think very few, if any, of us will make it through the next few nights ahead.”
At my stark honesty, murmurs swept through the small group. Heads bowed in sorrow and hands were clasped in solidarity. Kokoro’s hand grasped mine and held me tightly. My grip was just as crushing as hers. The truth was out in the open now, even though Kokoro had warned everyone that she had seen death and darkness coming. Trapped on a strange planet with no way to return home, we finally had to face the inevitable.
Composing herself, the Japanese warrior lifted her head proudly. “I will approach the young European and offer myself to him. If I am going to die, I would like to share my flesh hunger one last time or two.”
Her sentiment appeared to be shared by the others as nods met her words. I had a feeling most of t
he men were going to be in for a surprise. When we returned to the hub of activity, I discovered I wasn’t wrong. Geordie’s eyes went wide with trepidation and hope when the Japanese warrior marched over to him, bent slightly and whispered in his ear. With a dazed grin, he allowed her to take his hand and lead him off down a side tunnel.
Luc and Gregor were the only two who weren’t approached. Every other male, bar Igor, went with one of the females. Igor had declined the offer with a brief smile and an almost kind shake of his head. After fifteen thousand years, was he still mourning the death of his wife? His guilt at killing his family after rising as a monster had to be extreme if he could deny his flesh hunger even in the face of almost certain death.
.~.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“We will ensure that our people are ready,” M’narl was saying to Gregor when I turned my attention back to the pair.
“Thank you,” Gregor said as the tiny brown creature hurried away with his fellow elders following in his wake.
Whatever plan they had come up with would have to wait until our friends had fed their hungers. Since we had time to kill, I decided to ignore Kokoro’s advice and question the octosquids. I’d probably fail at being subtle again, but I would at least attempt to be circumspect. With Luc at my side, I approached the nearest black, tentacle ridden alien. It didn’t turn to face us, and I was pretty sure it didn’t even have a face, but I sensed it was waiting for me to speak.
“When sending out my senses, I’m pretty sure I came across a few of your kin that have been turned into Viltaran clones,” I told it. The dismembered droid lying nearby dutifully repeated my words in the octosquid’s bubbling native language.
“How can you be certain the beings are our kin?” the jellylike creature asked.
Waiting for the robot to translate gave me time to embellish my lie. I didn’t want them to know that I’d exploded one of their brothers or sisters, after all. “They share the same…signature as both your kind and the other clones I can sense.”