Darwin's Sword: Savannah - Book Two
Page 11
February 15, 2018
“You knew Bram Stoker?” Nigel’s eyes were about as wide as they could be.
“You’re full of shit.” Sheila shook her head.
“Bram frakkin’ Stoker!” Nigel repeated.
“No, no shit. I worked with Stoker, Tennyson, and Conan Doyle during my time there. Bram was the business manager at the Lyceum and introduced me to many of your literary figures from London. I almost killed Winston Churchill, even.”
To Graven’s surprise, Nigel’s eyes widened further.
“Being the figure of historical significance I knew Churchill to be, I didn’t.”
“How did you…?” Sheila shook her head.
Nigel stopped her question. “The man was rumored to be a drunk and a womanizer. I don’t think I want the details, though.”
“Fair enough.” Graven grinned and sipped.
Sheila lifted her wine and stopped before drinking. “Dracula?”
Graven’s grin blossomed into a smile. “Dracula.”
VIII
London – Vincent’s Public House
December 9, 1894
“You sir, are a vampire.” Arthur ignited the wooden match on the arm of his chair and lifted it to his pipe.
“You sir,” Graven said with a grin and wink back, “think you are your own fictional detective.”
“I’ve been studying vampires, and they are fascinating.” Bram lifted his pint and tilted his head back to empty it. “Lady Amanda?”
“Yes, sir?”
Bram jumped feeling her hands on his shoulders. “Oh, didn’t expect you so close.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stoker. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Her dark hair fell far over her shoulders as she smiled at the three.
“No concern, but would you be so kind as to fetch us another round?” Bram requested.
Graven winked at her.
Her smile back at Graven widened. “Of course, gentlemen, right away. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Candles and torches provided lighting the dark cherry fixtures of the place.
The three men sat around a table with plates in front of them.
Arthur leaned forward and locked eyes with Graven across the round table. “How many women is it? I can’t decide if you’re Vlad the Impaler or Jack the Ripper.”
Graven’s eyes widened as laughter erupted from him. “Vald the Impaler? Me?”
“Perhaps both?” Bram laughed along as his eyes passed between Arthur and Graven. “Wait, Arthur, you are kidding, right?”
“And we never see these women again,” Arthur continued, ignoring Bram’s question. “What do you do with them?”
“You mean after I take all the naughty photographs?” Graven held Arthur’s gaze. “I don’t want them to die silently. I always make them scream first.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
Bram straightened in his chair.
“Here we are,” Amanda announced her return and lowered three pints onto the table.
The men remained silent until she had moved on to the group next to them.
“Now, where was I? Oh yes, I feed on their sensual energies.”
“Brilliant,” Arthur whispered.
“Vampiric, indeed!” Bram agreed.
“No, you idiot,” Arthur scolded. “He’s Don Juan.”
“Oh, sorry, hard to keep up.”
“I bring them to the point of utmost pleasure in order to give flavor before I feed upon them.”
Bram smiled. “Take them to Heaven before sending them to Hell.”
Graven nodded at Bram and returned the smile.
“That’s wonderful,” Arthur whispered sitting back in his chair. “Would be difficult to write such a piece without being censored.”
“There are always ways, gentlemen. I think our friend Bram could do it. You said you were studying vampires.”
Taking a fork full of crab meat, Bram nodded and swallowed before speaking. “I’ve been studying a lot of Eastern folktales. Just as you suggested, these vampires feed on the lifeblood of people.”
The table beside them murmured and got up to move away.
“Not so loud, Bram, we don’t want to scare off the locals.” Arthur took a long drag on his pipe.
“I’ve been looking at writing something about one. A leader or elder of vampires.”
“Dracula?” Graven asked.
“Who?” Bram leaned forward for another bite of crab.
Graven waved him off.
“The man would be dead, but not dead. What was that name you asked?”
“Undead,” Graven agreed.
Arthur gasped. “Undead. I like that.”
“Yes,” Bram said with half a mouthful. He swallowed before continuing. “But not a zombie. He is between human and zombie.”
“He would have near magical powers of seduction,” Arthur agreed. “Gender would not matter; he could control all.”
Bram took another bite and winked at Graven. “Like Don Juan.”
“Again, Lawrence, much like you.”
“I’m sorry?” Graven turned his gaze to Arthur.
“It’s not just women, is it?”
Graven laughed. “Does it matter?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“It wasn’t Drake, was it?” Bram asked.
“What?” Graven and Arthur asked together.
“That name you said.” Bram smiled at Graven.
Ignoring Bram, Graven turned back to Arthur. There was little doubt that Arthur was serious and suspected something. Arthur was an observer, much like the fictitious detective he had created, and could draw many conclusions from what he saw. He had seen something in Graven.
Graven shrugged. “Were I Vlad, do you think I’d tell?”
Arthur shook his head, but held the gaze. “No, perhaps not.”
“And besides, it’s not men. I prefer the softer touch of women.” It was a half lie for Graven. For sex he strongly preferred females, but for feeding he preferred the strength of male energy.
Arthur lifted his pint and sipped. “Bram, you’re going to make yourself sick.”
“The crab is delicious,” Bram responded through a half full mouth. “But Lawrence, what was that blasted name?”
IX
Garbage Scow – The Captain’s Mess
February 15, 2018
“Hold on and let me get this straight.” Nigel took a long swig from his cup and eyed the floating waiter to signal for a refill. “You, Bram Stoker, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once sat around a pub table and contrived the beginnings of Dracula?”
Graven chuckled. “I guess we did. I suspect Bram already had most of the story in mind already, but when Arthur first accused me of being one, it seemed to be the kick Bram needed to finish the story. In fact, he later claimed all that crab gave him a nightmare of a Vampire King.”
“What about Jack the Ripper?” Sheila asked.
Graven turned his gaze to her. “I don’t know about that story much more than you do. I have suspicions, though.”
“Do tell.” Sheila lifted her glass and emptied it. Another was already placed beside her as she set it down.
“Perhaps we will come back to that, but I’d like to continue further into the future if you don’t mind.”
“Into the past, you mean,” Nigel corrected with a chuckle.
“Whatever. Did Savannah tell you of Cooper? The Kettelgian Leader?”
Both Nigel and Sheila shook their heads.
“I think you’ll recognize some of his story. I first met him on Earth.”
Nigel squinted. “I thought you said he was Kettelgian?”
“He is, but he was human first. Not that I realized who he was when I first met him. When your Lunar landing happened, I knew that eviction needed to stop. I continued on Earth after that only because I had secondary orders to find a scientist names Carson DeBoer.”
Chapter Three
Paradox
I
Portland,
Oregon – Grossman Labs at Pacific University
July 21, 1971
“Really, people, this is a lab.”
Graven laughed and looked at the redhead in front of him.
She moaned and writhed on her back as Graven’s erection plowed into her. Only her white lab coat was between her naked body and the black lab counter.
“Mandy and I are researching what the orgasm does to female libido!” Graven’s voice was choppy between thrusts. “Aren’t we, Mandy?”
Mandy grunted her response.
“Of course, you are.”
“Come on, Carson, you can help even,” Graven stepped back, pulling his cock out.
Carson DeBoer stood for a moment longer before giving in. “Fine. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” By the time he got to them, his pants were to mid-thigh and his cock was already erect. He slid into her slowly at first.
“See! Easy.”
“Graven, you bastard, she’s tight.”
Graven smiled down at Mandy and brushed her hair from her face. “Yes, she is.” A further thought occurred to him that he couldn’t share with them. He liked her and didn’t want to feed on her.
There had been a few occasions when Graven had sex without feeding before, but Mandy was the first he had done this with multiple times.
Graven put a hand on Carson’s ass and pushed to encourage further depth. “Just remember, she’s mine,” he whispered.
“Yes, sir,” Mandy agreed with him. “Thank you, sir.”
“Good girl. Give Carson a good orgasm.”
She nodded and closed her eyes.
“Dude, her legs could end wars.” Carson slipped his arms under her legs until the nook of each elbow was under the nook of her knees. Lifting, he pulled her calves to his shoulders and thrust harder. “These legs would confuse the combatants as to why they were fighting in the first place.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Graven asked.
“See! You’re confused already.”
“Glorious as her legs are, it’s her eyes that get me.” Graven touched her face again. “Her intellect is what keeps me with her.”
II
Portland, Oregon – Grossman Labs at Pacific University
October 19, 1971
“So I can push this button?” Carson eyed the device.
Graven nodded. “And you flash away to wherever you can think of.”
The device was a silver cylinder of about four inches. One end was also covered in silver, but the other offered a thumb-sized black button.
“Just like Star Trek?”
“Yes, just like Star Trek.”
Carson pushed his glasses up on his nose. “It’s so small, though.”
“It’s not transporter room sized, no.”
Carson looked across the lab counter at him. “Could you imagine what we could do with this?”
“I’ve a pretty good idea what you will do with it, yes.”
“We could fix the human race.”
Graven nodded.
“Bring food to the hungry. Get rid of the bad guys without them knowing we’re coming.”
“Yes, all that.”
“What powers it?”
Graven shrugged.
“Right, you’re a literary major with a knack for science. I forgot.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
“Does it only travel through space? What about time?”
“I know there is one that does, but not this one.”
“All it would take is lightspeed travel. Not that hard.”
Graven laughed. “Lightspeed? Not that hard?”
Carson eyed him. “So this device can take me anywhere?”
Graven nodded.
“How do I put in the coordinates?”
“Just think of where you want to go. That’s all it needs.”
Carson pushed the button and flashed away.
Graven smiled. “Mission accomplished.”
III
Portland, Oregon – Pacific University Male Dormitory
October 22, 1971
“Dude, wake up.”
Graven did not sleep as humans did, so he mimicked the wake-up stretches and yawns he had watched them do. “What the fuck, Carson?” His eyes squinted, attempting to adjust to the light coming in from the hallway.
Carson wore a long black leather coat over his jeans and white T-shirt. “You were right! The fuckin’ thing worked!”
All pretending aside, Graven pulled off his sheets and sat up on the side of his bed. “Where did you go?”
“Everywhere, man. Spent time in Hawaii, Vegas, Zurich, almost froze my ass for five minutes in the Arctic, but I kept going.”
Graven grinned.
“Where did you get this?”
“I have one built in.”
Carson’s mouth fell open. “Built in?”
Graven reached for his room key on the side table. “I’ll show you.” He flashed away. Only to the hallway of the dormitory where, naked, he put the key in his door and walked back in.
Carson, sitting on Graven’s bed, put both hands flat on the mattress behind him to keep from falling over. “I thought you were kidding?”
Graven closed the door. “I had orders to find you, Carson.”
“Me? Ah…had?”
“Well, I’ve found you, thus the past tense.”
Carson shrugged.
“I was told you needed to see that device.”
He pulled the metal cylinder from his pocket. “Why?”
“I was not told why.”
Carson stood up. “So now what?”
Graven shrugged.
“Where’s Mandy?”
Graven chuckled. “Technically she’s not allowed in our dorm, remember?”
“Yeah, but not like I’d mind or tell anyone. And with this,” Carson said holding up the device, “you could get her in and out.”
“Oh, she’s quite aware of my abilities. I’ve gone to her several times.”
“What are we to you? I mean, you’re not human, are you?”
Graven had no orders not to say anything, but he considered the question for a moment. “I am Emmi, not human.”
“Where do you come from.”
“Kettelgian Five is my home planet. Our leader, Cooper, sent me on this mission.”
“To find me?”
“No, not at first. First I was to prepare Earth for eviction. That will not be happening now, as humanity is confirmed to have space travel capabilities. Limited, as of yet, but it is coming along.”
“Am I to keep this?” Carson held up the device and seemed completely oblivious to what Graven had just said.
“I have a second one for you, as well. My orders were to give you one to use and the other to experiment on.”
“I’m a biologist? What am I supposed to do with it?” Carson’s eyes narrowed as he studied the device again. “It’s not like I could clone it.”
“You have an interest in temporal travel. I suspect that’s what they want you to look at.”
Carson’s eyes shot to Graven. “Why should I trust you on this?”
Graven laughed. “Carson, I’ve known you four years. Almost took me this long to make sure you were the one I was to give this to.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve shared my girlfriend with you.”
“True.”
“Plus I haven’t killed you yet.”
Carson’s eyes widened.
“I’m a warrior among my people, not a literary major.”
“Wow, this is far out.”
“I imagine it would be.” Graven sat down on the bed beside him.
“I’m gonna need money for research, though. I can’t tell anyone I’m working on this.”
Graven nodded.
“When do I meet Cooper?”
“Very, very soon.” Graven smiled.
IV
Portland, Oregon – Grossman Labs at Pacific University
10:20 pm �
� November 24, 1971
Graven stepped through the door into the lab. His eyes were drawn to a group of technicians huddled around a television in the back corner.
The group murmured among themselves excitedly, muting out the volume on the set.
“What’s going on?” Graven asked with the tone of a ship’s captain. “Where’s Carson? Where’s Mandy? Why are you all still here?”
Nicole West, one of the technicians, looked over at him. “A plane hijacking on TV. He just landed in Reno.”
“Fascinating.” Graven rolled his eyes. “Why are you all…”
She interrupted, “The sketch of the guy looks like Dr. Cross.”
“That is interesting.” He walked over to join them at the set. A few minutes of viewing and he was up to speed on the story.
The event had begun in Portland. The hijacker had released all the passengers in Seattle where the aircraft refueled. With only the flight crew and hijacker on board, the plane was airborne again.
“Wait,” the news anchor put a hand to his ear and listened. “An update coming in. Officials on the ground have stormed the plane and the hijacker, so far identified as D.B. Cooper, has not been found.”
A sketch flashed up on the screen.
Graven felt his head snap back involuntarily. “It does look like Carson.” He looked at the five lab coats at the TV. “Where is Mandy?”
“She never showed up,” David Oates offered as he glanced from the screen to Graven.
Graven stepped back from the group as panic hit him. He flashed.
V
Portland, Oregon – Pacific University Female Dormitory
10:25 pm – November 24, 1971
“Nooo!” Graven screamed and fell to his knees.
On the bed was Mandy’s lifeless body with a single red bullet hole through her forehead. She was left naked and spread-eagle on the bed with wrists and ankles each tied off to their respective bedposts.
“You had your orders, Graven.” The voice was female, but the speaker’s face was shrouded beneath a hood in the dark room. The assassin wore a long dark cloak over her short body, not giving any further identity clues beyond voice.