The people in the town showed mixed emotions. They were distraught at the loss of their family and friends, but the killing of their overlord made them joyous. We left the little town as soon as the sun went down with the knowledge that the church had closed the book on Manzili.
Manuela had many questions, but I didn’t have the answers, just speculation.
“What just happened?” She asked me.
“The Church has finally found and killed Manzili.” I replied.
“I don’t understand. How did they find us?” She asked as we moved through the moonlight.
“The question you should be asking is how they always find us. This last chase, the past few weeks, seemed too well coordinated. We never lost them, not once. They always seemed to be waiting for us.” I said.
“I didn’t understand that either.” She added.
“We were being herded. I realized it the night before we entered the village.”
“What do you mean herded?” She asked.
“Someone guided our movements by putting obstacles in our way to move us in certain directions. What I didn’t realize was that the Pope’s men were also being herded to the same destination.”
“I don’t understand.” She repeated.
“I don’t either, not entirely.” I replied. “All I know for sure is that Manzili is dead.”
I watched as she stared transfixed in thought. Her brow furrowed every now and then as the unanswered questions haunted her thoughts. She gnawed at her bottom lip. The ruby colored flesh gave way as the fang pierced through. Blood trickled from the tiny tear. Her tongue darted nervously in and out of her mouth lapping at the blood.
“Was jealousy the reason you allowed him to die? Was it the fact that she chose him to replace you? What was it? Why did you decide he needed to die?”
“I didn’t make that decision. His fate was sealed long before I met him.” I replied.
I could tell she didn’t find the answer satisfactory, but she let the subject drop. Without the Pope’s men chasing us we were able to relax for the first time in many years. We discarded the robes of priest and nun. It was easier for me than for her. They were all she had ever known since she was a young woman, but it had to be done. Adrian under torture would surely tell the story of the priest and nun who visited him. Churches would be forewarned and on the lookout for our visits. I didn’t want the fortunate events that had just happened to be wasted.
I was once again free from the scrutiny of the Pope and his followers. I intended to enjoy it. We quietly left Italy bound for France leaving terror and death in our wake. We lived as the creatures of nightmare that we are, cruel and fearless. New stories of horror told our tale as we cut our path through the European nights. These stories didn’t go unnoticed by all. Unbeknownst to us we were once again, sought after. It wasn’t by the Church this time, but by an old friend.
We were sitting at an outdoor café in Paris, pretending to sip from the glasses of wine in front of us. We were talking about the Americas. I smelled her before I saw her. Manuela was on her feet in an instant. With bared fangs she took a defensive stance, glaring at the figure that stood behind me.
“She is a feisty one my love.” A voice whispered in my ear.
Interlude: Mandy’s Nightmare.
The razor-sharp fangs bit into her skin again and she screamed. Mandy couldn’t understand how she had come to this. The idea of this being a nightmare long forgotten, as she stared into the dead face of the old man crumpled in the corner. His priest’s collar lay on the floor next to him. In the old man’s neck was a gaping wound that would have been the envy of any special effects technician. Ragged flesh surrounded the wound but not enough to hide the remnants of the arteries.
Blood fell from her thigh and struck the bottom of her chin. He quickly bent down and licked it clean. Her throat, hoarse from screaming, felt as if it would close on her any second.
Now, the more she looked at him she saw his beauty for what it was, a disguise. She had heard the term “Wolf in sheep’s clothing before,” and that described him perfectly. She watched in horror, as the face of a demon replaced his previous beauty.
The ropes had started to cause a burn on her ankles and she cried again. The more she cried the more he seemed to enjoy it; when she yelled out in pain it was met by the sweetest of smiles. Her greatest fantasy had come true. She had met a vampire, but he wasn’t trying to convince her to love him. He was going to kill her, and it wasn’t going to be quick.
Mandy knew her only hope was that Casey had made it out of the church and had gone for help.
Chapter 14
Irisi hadn't changed at all. Of course, she hadn't because she couldn't. As she stood her ground in front of Manuela, I couldn't help but be amazed. I reached out to both and laid a hand on each of theirs.
"I am Irisi, of Egypt. I am the oldest vampire, save one. I am his first child. You wouldn't stand a chance," she said in a voice that was as cold as it was beautiful. It was a tone not meant to threaten, but also to show no quarter.
After hearing these words, Manuela's posture shifted. Her aggressive stance loosened into one of subjection. Irisi stopped her.
"No child, that is not why I told you. I wanted you to know that Manzili is as safe with me as he is with you."
Irisi reached out her hand and took Manuela's in her own. She pulled her into a tight embrace and then gently kissed her on the cheek. She kissed her again as they separated this time on the lips. Then they both sat across from me in different chairs.
"He is dead. I let the Church have him." I said to Irisi.
"That was his purpose, my love. It is sad though, he was such a beautiful creature. Still, I thought you would find him so much sooner." Irisi said confirming my suspicion. "When so many years had passed, and I had learned how close they had come to catching you, I knew I had to do something. I started feeding reports of sightings to the church, hoping they would find him themselves. Then when they spotted you, I had to change strategies. I had to lead both the fox and the hounds."
"You could have told me," I said.
"What fun would that have been?" She replied laughing.
Manuela also found it amusing and joined in on the laughter. Within seconds, they were laughing together as if they had known one another their whole lives.
"I knew he would take your name. After I gave him the necklace, all he ever talked about was you. I let him believe I thought you were dead. Knowing he would not be able to resist the temptation, I planted the ideas that would later lead to his demise."
"He was an arrogant, albeit handsome pup.." I added.
They both laughed at my attempt at a self-compliment.
"Did you hear about the fate of the village?" She asked.
"No, what happened to it?" Manuela asked.
"The priest, in shackles, told about the children that they kept under the church. The investigators found them down there, some with fresh bite marks. After being released, the children told the story of what the people had been doing.
Upon confirmation from neighboring towns, they went door-to-door rounding up every adult, male and female, and beheaded them in the middle of the street. They burned the village to the ground and took the children to an orphanage in one of the nearby towns." She explained. For the next few hours, I watched in amazement as the two women chattered on as I have seen human women do so many times.
"Have you eaten yet?" Irisi asked Manuela.
"No, we haven't yet. We were eyeing the local cuisine when you arrived." Manuela replied with a smile.
"Then that is what we shall do, you and me. First, we will feed. Then we shall shop in the finest stores." Irisi said happily. "You can tag along if you are feeling lonely." She added, winking at me. I followed the two vampiresses to a tavern in a back alley, where we all found suitable candidates for our meals. I looked on in amusement as Irisi nearly choked, upon seeing M
anuela's prayer for the dying. Looking upon the two of them giggling with one another as they fed brought a warm smile to my face. With little drops of blood falling off their chins and smiling blood-stained teeth, they waved at one another using the hands of their victims.
The fact that we enjoyed ourselves immensely was, of course, no comfort to our prey. They squirmed uselessly in our grasp as we fed slowly off them, relishing every moment of our first time together. When we finished feeding, we discarded the corpses and entered the streets of Paris. They each interlaced their arms through one of mine and we walked down the street, three beautiful devils with mischief in our eyes and bloodlust in our hearts. We were painting the town red. We lived a quiet life in Paris. While in the city, we made sure not to tear or rip at our victims. Now, we politely bit in, leaving only the smallest of punctures, easily hidden by a sharp nail drug across the site. Our victims appeared as if they had been mugged and their throats slit.
Paris was just starting to transform into the beautiful city it is today. They were tearing down the old and bringing in the new. Irisi came to the city sixty years before and made a home for herself. She made good use of the coin she had collected over the years. Her home, palatial in its architecture and décor hosted parties for special guest.
"The opera has been very good to me," Irisi stated, as the three of us browsed the halls of her home, appreciating the artwork throughout.
"Do you perform?" Manuela asked
"No silly, that's where I meet my benefactors or victims, whichever you prefer" she replied. Irisi, because of her father's betrayal and the life it caused her to lead, chose to hunt lecherous men. Men that only saw her as something to be used and discarded soon found themselves in the clutches of a very angry and powerful vampire. Now understand, in a pinch, a female would do just fine. She wasn't trying to right the wrongs of all women or become their savior and protector. Men just piss her off.
"Oh, you should come with me, it's wonderful." She said gleefully to Manuela.
"What is wonderful, the opera or the benefactors?" I asked.
"Both," she said, her eyes never leaving Manuela.
"I have to show you what is downstairs," she said changing the subject.
I followed the two, uninvited I might add, to the rear of the house and down a cast iron spiral staircase that led underground. The staircase ended in front of a huge stone door. The door weighing almost a ton was too heavy for any five men to move it, and not more than five would fit in the space provided between the staircase and the door. Placing both hands on the massive door, she pushed it gently to the side.
Shouts erupted as soon as we stepped through. They pleaded, cursed and threatened, mostly threatened. Men hung suspended by their wrists all throughout the underground dungeon. Ignoring all their cries, she turned around and closed the heavy door behind us. Irisi turned back to face us, glanced over the room and extended her arms outward as if to embrace them all.
"Meet my benefactors." She said with a wicked grin.
"Pleased to meet you," I said to them courteously.
Manuela followed suit, giving the hanging men a curtsy of sorts.
"I feed on them until they tell me where they have hidden their riches. Then and only then do I allow them to die."
"And, the people do not notice that their wealthy have gone missing?" I asked. She walked past an elderly man of about sixty, who I am sure looked healthy and robust before she started feeding on him; now he looked to be on the losing end of ninety.
"Not my pets." She answered. "These men are tourist come to see the Paris nightlife. They were looking for beautiful women to conquer, to mount as if they were trophies on their wall." She said as she poking a nail into the belly of the old man. "This one thought to buy me and spoke of great treasures. Where are your treasures old one?" She asked, grabbing him under his chin. "You do not have a use for them anymore. Tell me where they are." She said sweetly.
She trailed a nail down his chest around his waist and down the back of his leg.
He screamed as the nail sliced into his Achilles' tendon severing it. He shrieked when she brought the bloody ankle up to his face stretching the cut tendon even more. She licked at the bleeding wound and then bit into the ankle, causing the man to scream even louder.
Watching her, I realized how much I'd missed her. Even though I am the first of our kind, I have never felt dominant over Irisi. She is a monster of the purest form.
After offering each of us a wrist, she apologized.
"I cannot allow him to die just yet; he still has stories to tell." Irisi said.
His blood tasted tired and old. His heart was weak from his time spent in the dungeon, and the blood oozed weakly from his veins. Still, it was blood, and blood is always good.
We moved through the room with Irisi greeting all her guest, who literally hung on every word. At each stop, she told the story of the man suspended before us, always taking time to give a little dig or take a little nip. One young man broke before us, telling her everything she had wanted to know, including where his wife and in-laws had hidden their riches.
"Do you feel up to a feast?" She asked us.
Manuela replied first. "Mmmm, are you thinking of a delicious family meal?"
"There will be that and more if what delectable Daniel has told us is true. There are riches to be had, and these shoes do not come cheap my dear."
Looking down at Manuela's shoes, she shook her head.
"This will just not do, this is Paris, and my only sister will not be wearing anything but the finest of fashion. We need to find you a few benefactors of your own. Tonight, we will all feast and tomorrow you, and I will visit the opera." She said with a devilish smirk.
Everything and everyone was just where Delicious Daniel had said they would be. We collected the jewels and the coins first. I moved them to the bordering woods under a large stone. While I was doing this, the ladies prepared the family for the feast to come.
Several servants also resided in the home, these too they collected. When I returned, I found them all bound and gagged, family and servants alike. There were seven in all, the three family members, three young chambermaids, and a manservant sat neatly bound in the center of the hall. The master of the house was found with one of the young maids in the wine cellar having sex. The fear only narrowly outweighed the shame she showed as she sat naked in the center of the room across from him. He looked less concerned about his trousers wrapped around his ankles, and more about the demons that walked his halls. Irisi, always one for the theatrical, put on quite a show as we feasted.
"These clothes are too beautiful for this," she said slipping out of her garments. Ever the pragmatic Manuela followed her actions and stripped herself. Four eyes stared at me, waiting for me to join them. Extending my fangs, I smiled and disrobed. The bloodlust seemed unquenchable as we spent the whole night feeding, first from the staff and family, then from each other. Morning found us naked except for the blood that covered our bodies. We lay together in silence, me in the middle, one under each arm. I felt the embrace of both as they reached across my chest caressing one another's hair. I didn't expect the words that broke the still of the morning.
"I want to take Manuela with me," Irisi said still staring at Manuela across my chest. "Ah yes, the opera," I said remembering the conversation from the night before. "Yes, the opera, and then to live and travel with me. I want to spend time with her." Then almost too quiet to hear, she added, "alone."
I cannot say I was shocked at the request, I had watched as the two grew closer. "Alone?" I repeated.
"Yes alone," Manuela said stroking Irisi's face.
"I want you to take the treasure we collected tonight, and leave Paris to the two of us, for now." Irisi told me.
She said it so sweetly and matter-of-factly that I didn't take offense at being ostracized from our trio that was becoming a duo.
"You should go see America like you spoke of," added Manuela.
"Yes, A
merica," I said. "I think that is a wonderful idea. I was ready to see the world on my own again, anyway."
I guess the look in my eyes betrayed the words that my mouth spoke because after I had spoken them, Irisi and Manuela both kissed me softly on my cheeks.
"We will not be separated forever, my love, we are immortal. Time is nothing but a plaything to us." Manuela whispered in my ear.
"We will be together again soon." Irisi whispered in the other.
I lay there between them thinking of our times together, how each of them had affected my life and the course it took.
We set the estate ablaze before we left. Irisi, ever the careful one, didn't want to risk being found out. She had liked the life she had made for herself. She was so different now from the brazen young woman I had first met long ago. Because of this, she was able to guide Manuela and me to safety and to cease the Church's hunting of us, of me. There was no way I could deny her any wish. A week later, during a crimson teared farewell, I started my journey to the brat of a country that had defied a monarchy.
Chapter 15
I chose the infant country because it was in the middle of a civil war. I love wars, my killing fields are easily concealed by your own. The smell of blood in the air attracted me to the injured. They howled in the night like wounded animals as their limbs were sawed from their body. They called out for death to take them. I am always happy to oblige.
Silently creeping, I quietly pulled them from their tents and fed undisturbed. Their screams intermingled with those of the other wounded and went unheeded, often followed by yells for silence from their compatriots.
The weapons that tore their flesh to shreds easily hid the evidence of my attacks. I followed the smell of the blood into the camps of Union and Confederate alike. It didn't matter to me whether their uniform was grey or blue: it was the red of their blood, I found interesting.
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