Loyalty

by Charles E Yallowitz

  “Stop making this situation worse,” Decker says, recovering quickly. Picking pieces of cabinet out of his mussed beard, the dwarf makes it as far as the nearest chair before he needs to sit down again. “I saw the moron over there running through the halls with his lance and then the idiot came in through one of the main windows as a raven. If anybody else had seen you two then you’d already be in the dungeon or executed. What would possess you three to take such a stupid risk? The situation is bad enough with Lord Tempest and Lady Sylvan secluding themselves and only working through phantoms. Behave yourself, Winthrop, and everyone will be fine.”

  “Wait, do you not know what’s going on?” Luther asks, putting a calming hand on Titus’s shoulder. He lets himself get pushed away, but swiftly steps between the two men. “Chastity and Mab are being tortured. I thought you would have visited them since they’re supposed to be your friends. Yet, it sounds like you have no idea what they are being put through. What exactly have you been doing since our capture?”

  “I’ve been checking security and standing guard at the entrance,” the soldier replies with a scowl. Seeing the seriousness on the others’ faces, he takes a seat and tries to appear as non-threatening as possible. “Look, I’ll admit that Xavier has been acting strange. He has a right to be afraid of the Dawn Fangs since he doesn’t know their allegiance. The escape attempt didn’t help even though I tried to end that as quickly as possible. You have to understand that Mab attacked Nyte without provocation, so I couldn’t let her go. That would have enraged Xavier and you three might have been executed in her place.”

  Titus swats Luther away again and rushes forward to lift the creaky chair along with the dwarf. “That doesn’t mean you torture my sister! Don’t act like you’re ignorant of what’s going on. Even if you haven’t been told, you have to know that your maker has declared war on the Dawn Fangs. It isn’t about their allegiances at this point. He downright hates that they exist and treats them like monsters, which you would realize if you paid attention. I always wondered what would happen if your loyalties were tested and I guess I have my answer. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your head off.”

  “Because then we’d definitely die,” Bob casually blurts out.

  With a primal growl, Titus puts Decker down and sits on a couch that groans from the rough landing. Grabbing a bottle from the nearby table, he bites off the end and takes a long drink without averting his gaze. Unable to stop his rage, the vampire hurls the empty container at the wall near the dwarf’s face and slams his hands down. The couch legs snap off and he crashes to the floor, which only makes his temper worse. Bob and Luther casually pack up their game while their friend heaves the broken furniture over his head and throws it through the wall. The guards in the other room jump to attention and scramble for their weapons, but stop when Decker waves for them to leave. Turning on the soldier, Titus moves to deliver a punch and is about to make contact when his body locks up. He snarls as the other man moves out of the way an instant before he regains his momentum and drives his entire arm into the floor. As he starts to free his fist, the dwarf sits on his back and presses his axe against his neck.

  “I thought a paralysis spell would be a useful tool, but I’d rather not cast it again,” Decker explains before dropping his weapon. Getting off Titus, he offers a hand to help the man up, but receives a glob of spit instead. “Luther is right. I don’t know what’s going on here. Due to my friendship with all of you, I’ve been kept in the dark. That doesn’t mean I believe everything you say since this is my maker you’re talking about. He has always been kind and honorable, so I won’t turn on him without seeing this torture for myself. If that isn’t good enough for you then we can skip to being enemies.”

  “I still haven’t forgiven you for giving them Chastity,” Luther admits while picking up the enchanted axe. Tossing it to the soldier, he does his best to help Titus stand, the larger vampire still stiff from the paralysis spell. “You explained it at our apartment, but I still wonder about your intentions. Her business and home are protected against scrying and you were the only other person who could know about her transformation. Did you only admit to your betrayal because you realized too late that we’d figure it out?”

  “I didn’t betray you,” the soldier argues as his beard gains a red tint. Letting his own temper get the best of him, he clenches his fists until all of his knuckles pop. “As I explained already, Xavier wanted to know more and she was the best choice for a talk. That was all it was supposed to be. Clyde and Mab would have been too confrontational and Gregorio seemed intent on pretending he hadn’t changed. Not that any of those three would come in the first place. Chastity is known for having information and being willing to share if given something in return. As far as I know, she attacked Kai soon after arriving and that’s why she was put in the dungeon. It seemed believable considering Clyde has demonstrated a violent temper since his return. Dawn Fangs could simply be more aggressive than us.”

  Regaining his strength, Titus lands an open hand strike to Decker’s chest and sends the dwarf crashing through the door. “Get out of here and don’t come back. Not until you feel like telling us the truth. There is no way you could have been in Nyte all this time and remained ignorant of what’s going on. You’re not an idiot, Kenneth, which means you purposely kept yourself in the dark. Don’t think any of us are going to forgive you, especially Clyde when he gets here. I only hope I’m there to see how that chat goes.”

  “Probably violently,” Bob chimes in with a laugh.

  Sensing that another fight is about to break out, Decker holds up his hands and slowly walks away. Within seconds, the heavily armed guards from the next room arrive to escort the trio to another location. Titus manages to grab two of the shorter men and hurl them after the departing dwarf before his friends get him to calm down. One of the flailing warriors hits Decker in the back of the head and he is sent stumbling forward. Instead of turning around, he catches himself on the edge of a painting and continues walking away.

  *****

  “All I’m saying is that you should take a moment to think things through,” Gregorio repeats from atop the tree. Peering into the darkness, he has trouble adjusting his eyes to watch the battle that rages around him. “Eliminating the council was one thing and I agree that it had to be done since they were after your blood. Going after Xavier isn’t nearly as simple. As of seven hours ago, he is the last noble and the official ruler of all vampires. What do you think will happen if you kill him like you’re planning?”

  “For one thing, I wouldn’t have to fight vampiric giants again,” Clyde replies as he dodges a house-sized fist. Punching the monster’s wrist, he knocks the limb away, but can tell that he has not caused any damage. “Do we really have to talk now? I can’t kill these as easily as the smaller ones. Pretty sure getting smashed into pulp is one way to kill a Dawn Fang. Not to sound ancient, but, back in my day, we had standards for what we turned. Even Bob knew not to turn a horse unless it was an emergency, which always showed a lot of restraint on his part. Can’t say anything about him now since he turned all those camels, so maybe I’m just stuck in my archaic ways. Still, I can’t think of any reason to turn giants unless you’re paranoid, overcompensating, or trolls and ogres no longer exist.”

  “I’ll tell you what will happen,” the gnome continues, ignoring his son’s complaints. He leaps to another tree when one of the giants picks his perch up and tries to bat Clyde out of the air. “See, your fists can get through their skulls. Although, now you’re stuck and . . . Let go of whatever you’re holding. Fine, don’t listen to me. The problem with killing Xavier is that it will leave a void in our power structure. Many will attempt to take his place and some will see killing you as the way to claim the throne. Chaos will ensue, which will reveal the Dawn Fang’s presence to mortals. If you were willing to take Xavier’s place then this wouldn’t even be a problem.”

  With a roar, the younger vampire rips out the giant’s
brain by the frontal lobe and angrily beats the large body with the dense organ. “I . . . don’t . . . want . . . to . . . rule. At least, I don’t feel like it at this very moment. Such a decision shouldn’t be rushed into and I’d be forcing it on the others as well. The gang needs to agree to being in charge of the Dawn Fangs instead of blindly following me. Might not make any sense to you, but I don’t feel right putting them in an awkward position. Besides, why should I care about the vampire world falling into chaos when it doesn’t really want me in it?”

  “You should care if you’re the one to topple it.”

  “So, I need to clean up my messes.”

  “If you want to be blunt then yes.”

  “Fine, but I still want to make it a group decision.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  Leaping onto an incoming fist, Clyde digs his fingers into the giant’s flesh to avoid getting knocked off by the wind. Once the limb has stopped moving, he races through the thick hair that leaves large globs of sweat on his body. Seeing a massive palm coming down, he leaps for his enemy’s chest and clings there while another gale threatens to send him flying. Clyde rips into the ashen skin with ease and crawls inside until he is standing on a large rib. He is about to jump for the rotting heart, which is bloated with gallons of putrid blood, when a giant fist punches through the other side of the torso. The Dawn Fang drops to avoid getting grabbed, but clambers back up to grab the other hand by the pinky finger. With a yell, he leaps out of the vampire’s body and pulls the other enemy further into the screeching beast. Releasing his grip, Clyde kicks the hand with enough force to make it bend and strike the injured giant in the face. The two monsters roar before turning on each other, the brief scuffle resulting in the first vampire being torn in half and the healthier one receiving a flailing strike that caves in its skull. Seeing an opening, the Dawn Fang picks up a full-grown pine and jumps to drive it into the winner’s softened head. The needles and trunk abruptly burst into flames that ripple throughout the giant’s body, which steadily turns into an enormous pile of ashes.

  “Thought you were going to stay out of this,” Clyde says to his maker. Tired of playing with the giants, he rips the arm off one of the corpses and puts it on like a massive sleeve. “Ungainly and hard to control, but it should get the job done. So, do you think the Dawn Fangs should remain hidden for as long as possible? I’ve been wondering about that myself recently. Mortals will see us as nothing more than vampires, so it will be an uphill battle no matter when our secret is revealed. Considering the rather public war between the old guard and the Duragians, they’d mistake us for ravenous monsters who can hunt them in the sunlight. The more of us there are, the higher the chance that we’ll be discovered. It’s why I’m really hesitant to transform more than the gang. Not unless I have a good reason.”

  “You’re truly all over the mental map, my son,” Gregorio states with a smirk. He winces at the sight of a giant getting half of its head punched off, the severed part dangling from a long strip of rubbery skin. “Stop distracting yourself and think about your future. Before the Great Cataclysm, you had the luxury of living day by day without a real plan, but that is the past. Right now, you are the progenitor of a new breed with a clean slate. Dawn Fangs can be a plague on Windemere or a rumor that the mortals whisper amongst themselves. It all depends on what you want to do instead of this group decision that you are using as an excuse. Do you want to make more Dawn Fangs and lead them? Just answer the question with the first thought that comes to your mind.”

  “Stop bugging me!” Clyde roars before hurling the limb through a vampire. Unleashing his Lord’s Rage, he rushes the remaining giants and begins throwing them around as if they are lightweight dolls. “I don’t want to be alone for eternity, but I still don’t know if this is a blessing or a curse. You, Chastity, and Mab are fine with what you became because you don’t have my level of power. I can feel this energy gnawing at my brain and pushing me to release it at every possible threat. Do you really want to put a man like me in charge of anything? I could turn into the next monster that Gabriel sends his chosen after. Maybe I’ll be the one to destroy the entire world if I let myself give in entirely to this bloodlust, which refuses to go away. Yes, I joke and talk like I used to, but there’s something wrong in my head and soul. It’s darker than the void that Mab travels and that should be scaring everything that exists.”

  Waiting for his son to dispatch the final giant, Gregorio approaches without waiting for the red mist to dissipate. “I trust you not to fall. For no other reason than you have never let your doubts drive you to make mistakes. Overconfidence has always been your weakness, but that can help you here. The bloodlust cannot win if you always believe that you are in control. Look at how you just utilized the Lord’s Rage without being pushed into a corner. You may see this as a mistake, but you have turned it on and off with more ease than before. Please keep all of this in mind when you confront Xavier. Killing him will not be as simple a decision as the council since there is more at stake.”

  “The bastard is lucky I took them out first,” the black-haired vampire snarls while staring at his blood-drenched hands. With the battle over, he finds the total silence both exhilarating and terrifying. “I think you’re ignoring another reason why I need to talk to my friends before I make my final decision. All of you may trust me to retain control, but I can only do that with the gang by my side. Nobody else will be able to see the signs that I’m going too far and have a chance to bring me back or put me down. The day I become a threat to Windemere is when I expect all of you to kill me without hesitation. I say this because what you’re proposing I do will put my control at risk every day. We’ll need precautions.”

  “As you wish, Lord Clyde . . . That sounds terrible.”

  “Another reason I wasn’t big on the idea of ruling an entire species.”

  “Well, you do get to choose your own title.”

  “Nah . . . Regardless of how this ends, I’m always go to be nothing more than Clyde.”

  Surprised by the humble statement, Gregorio can only stare as his son uses part of a giant’s pants to clean up. Summoning his book, he reads the four entries over and over again to see if there is anything in their powers that can truly stop the rampaging progenitor. He snaps out of his morbid thoughts when he hears one of the giants groan, the noise cut off by the breaking of its massive neck. No longer interested in continuing to Nyte, the gnome whistles to get Clyde’s attention and throws a small towel to the man. Knowing that they have said all they can, the vampires turn away and head in separate directions. Neither bother to turn around or call out to the other, their attention drifting towards the challenges before them.

  “Good luck with your final step, my son,” Gregorio whispers to himself. Breaking into a top speed run that makes his old knees ache for a minute, he passes through the forest like a blurry phantom. “I truly hope you begin this journey with wisdom instead of rage. From what I saw at the castle, there are too many who need you now. May the gods allow the Dawn Fang Empire to start off strong and with a mighty roar.”

  17

  “Stop yelling at me!” Mab screams before charging the cell door. Her head bangs off the bars and she falls into the bodies, her vision blurred by a swarm of disturbed flies. “I don’t know who any of you are anymore. Please talk one at a time or shut up altogether. What do you mean Xavier did all of this? How would you even know that? There’s no reason for me to believe some voices in my head. I don’t care why you’re clearer now than ever before. All I want is for all of you to go away. Ooze back into the shadows or wherever I picked you up. My head isn’t your home and it feels like it’s going to split. I said be quiet!”

  With a loud pop, the voices recede from Mab’s mind, but she can still sense them lurking on the edge of her consciousness. For the first time since returning to her cell, she has enough clarity to take in her surroundings. The stench of bodies and the stinging bites of the flies make it difficult to con
centrate on anything beyond the bars. Running her thumbs around two oddly shaped objects, she glances at her hands to see that she is holding her own ears. Groaning and whimpering, she reaches up to press them against the tattered stumps that gradually connect to the cold flesh. It is only when she feels a solid object hit the back of her head that the burglar remembers she is not the only prisoner. Reaching back to get the moldy and blood-covered bread out of her hair, Mab turns to Chastity and swiftly looks away from the woman’s gaze. Her rival’s open concern and worry makes her squirm in discomfort like a scolded child as she goes to take a bite of the food. She stops with her teeth a hair away from the bread, her eyes drawn to the urgent gesturing of her fellow prisoner. Getting a closer sniff of the meal, she recoils at the stench and throws it into the pile of bodies.

  “I plan on taking a long bath when we get out of here,” Chastity announces while she hangs her arms out of her cell. Using her telekinesis, she repeatedly opens and closes her door, but makes no move to escape. “Figured that trick out an hour ago. Didn’t think it would be smart to leave without you and I sure wasn’t going to drag you along, dear. Not with all the screaming and slashing. Good to see that you finally purged yourself of that shaman drink. Anyway, want me to draw a bath for you too? I swear it will be private.”

  “Sure, but only because I really stink and you promised privacy,” Mab says with a forced smile. Using one of her claws, she works to unlock her door and waves to stop her companion from interfering. “I have a vague idea of what happened since I remember hearing you and Luther talk. So, all these voices are the dead and they’re attracted to me. That doesn’t make much sense, but I can’t do anything about it. My muscles feel like they’ve been shredded, so I give up. Don’t even have the strength to slice the lock off.”