The pig squealed loudly as they punctured its throat and slaked their thirst with the warm haemoglobin. Disgusting, thought Oscar, tastes like shit! Afterwards, they sat for a while just staring at the dead animal until the first glow of dawn could be seen on the horizon. Then, they made their way to their coffins hidden away in a nearby cave. Oscar wondered why he even bothered going through the ritual of waking, eating and sleeping anymore. Ever since Mankind had managed wipe itself out by accidentally releasing a virulent plague, the vampire population had found itself in a situation unheard of in its entire history. How ironic, he mused, it wouldn’t be crucifixes, holy water or even daylight that brought the noble Nosferatu to their knees. It would be something as simple, undignified and human as starvation. For centuries, Oscar’s kind had relied on the natural skepticism of the Human Race. The greatest weapon the vampire had was the refusal of the vast majority of the world’s population to believe that such creatures existed - but that counted for nothing now. The blundering ignorance of their prey had brought about an unwitting end to both themselves and those that would feed upon them.
All around the world, he imagined vampires just like Werner and himself. No longer kings of the food chain, they scrabbled and scraped to survive on bitter globules torn from the necks of lowly beasts and he pictured the fluid of this particular creature coagulating in his gut like the very embodiment of his own corruption. What price nobility now?
It was with a sense of despondency that he finally closed the lid of his coffin and left the planet to its accursed sunlight for another day.
The next night, they feasted on a deer but it didn’t taste any better than the pig. Oscar watched in disgust as Werner sank his fangs into the stag’s neck and wondered why he should feel so negatively about his friend. After all, was he any better? Did he have the strength to say no? Of the three, only Sofia had displayed that vampiristic nobility and refused to debase herself on such low blood. As his turn to feed arrived, he crouched beside the terrified creature, pierced the flesh with his teeth and tasted the warm, bitter fluid. He fought the urge to vomit as he drank the low quality haemoglobin and forced his mind to think about something different; anything but the nauseating and degrading act he was performing. He felt a trickle run down his chin as he wondered about the others. It had been months since they had last encountered another of their kind and it seemed that colonies had either fragmented into smaller groups or had become extinct either through choice or starvation.
Werner stood over him. ‘I’m going hunting again.’
Oscar looked up and raised an eyebrow. ‘But we’ve just fed. We’ll be fine for a while.’
His friend shrugged. ‘I just need to go do something…something to get all this shit out of my veins.’
Oscar nodded. He knew exactly what his companion meant. Feeding on these wild animals was like drinking their own self-loathing. He understood Werner’s need to do something was a direct result of that sense of being tainted. It wasn’t a thing that could be separated from the whole but sometimes just the act of trying was enough.
‘There’s still a few hours before dawn,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry,’ Werner replied, ‘I’ll be back in plenty of time.’ He gave a weak smile and disappeared into the night.
The sun was almost up when Werner returned. Oscar was still sitting by the deer corpse but stood when he saw the look of consternation on his friend’s face.
‘What’s wrong?’ He demanded.
‘The old town a few miles down the road,’ Werner replied in a shaking voice, ‘a light. I saw a light.’
Oscar felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Certain,’ Werner spat in excitement.
‘One of our own?’
Werner shook his head rapidly. ‘I sensed nothing.’
Oscar let out a great heaving sigh. ‘It can’t be.’
‘It must be,’ the German countered. ‘What else could it be?’
‘Did you see it?’ For some reason that he couldn’t explain, Oscar felt angry. Perhaps he just couldn’t take another disappointment. There had been so many false alarms. ‘Did you actually see it?’
‘I didn’t have time. I had to get back here before dawn.’
Oscar dropped back into a crouching position and stared at the cloudy eyes of the dead deer. Can it be? ‘Tonight, we both go to town.’
It was around midnight by the time they approached the hinterland of the settlement but there was no sign of life.
Oscar studied his surroundings. Debris and abandoned vehicles littered the roads but the corpses in the street had dwindled noticeably since his last visit. No doubt the work of feral dogs dragging meat to their dens. The dead that were left were either nothing but bones or desiccated to such an extent that they could provide no sustenance to his kind. But light! That meant human life, which, in turn, meant good blood and possibilities.
Oscar needed some reassurance to shore up his hopes. ‘You’re certain you saw a light?’
‘Positive,’ Werner asserted.
They stood on a hilltop studying the town for a while and Oscar had already begun to feel the faint glimmer of optimism start to fade when they saw it.
Werner pointed to a particular building that looked no different from the rest except for the orange glow in a window. ‘There.’
They peered through the glass to see a man, who looked to be in his thirties. He was hunched over the flame of a small candle. He looked emaciated and his clothes were in tatters, otherwise he seemed in reasonable health. Nothing wrong with him that a little fattening up couldn’t sort. Oscar shivered in anticipation as his mouth began to salivate and his taste buds tingled with the promise of high quality blood. He gripped Werner’s arm but his eyes never flinched from the sight of the human in the house.
‘We need to keep this one alive,’ he whispered. ‘We take just enough for ourselves. We build a cage in our cave. We feed him, keep him healthy and use him sparingly. Agreed?’
‘Agreed.’ Werner replied.
‘Most importantly,’ Oscar continued, ‘he’s ours and nobody else’s. If we run into any other vampires, we say nothing of this.’
With no answer forthcoming, he turned to look at his companion. ‘Agreed?’ He rasped.
Werner merely nodded in reply. His unhappiness was obvious in the lines of his face.
‘It’s the way it has to be. The old days are gone. We need to think only of ourselves.’
‘I know,’ said Werner, ‘but it was always our custom to share our sources.’
‘This might be the only human left in the world. There’s just not enough of him to go around.’
‘It just doesn’t feel right.’
‘Neither does sucking the life out of a pig. Now, let’s get it done.’
The vampires stood and studied their catch from the opposite end of the cave. The fire in the centre of the cavern served as the only illumination and caused stalactites to cast eerie shadows on the curving, limestone walls. In the far end of the grotto, the human captive paced the distance of his enclosure and wrapped his arms protectively about himself.
‘We need to treat him gently,’ Oscar said softly.
Werner looked at him quizzically. ‘Why? He’s just a human.’
Oscar sighed. ‘In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you at work. You probably just hide in the shadows and then pounce on your victim.’
‘So what? It gets the job done.’
‘But it doesn’t improve the product. Me? I’m a seducer. I like to ingratiate myself into my victim’s company.’ He held up his right hand with the ring and its large gemstone on his third finger. ‘I use this to put them at ease with hypnosis and then have my fill.’
‘It seems like a lot of work for nothing,’ the German replied.
‘Your victims are terrified when you attack them. Mine are lulled into a false sense of security. Don’t you know what a difference that makes?’
Werner shook his head.
‘Fear. It causes adrenalin and lactic acid to taint the blood. It ruins the bouquet. Do this my way and I’ll provide you with the best blood you’ve ever tasted. It’ll be warm, fresh and untainted by terror.’
Werner shrugged. ‘If you say so.’
‘Good,’ Oscar replied. ‘Now go find me a deer. We need to feed this human the best of meat and keep his strength up. It’ll be a few days before he’s ready to feed from but his blood will be worth waiting for.’
He watched Werner head out into the night and considered the future. The months spent in the German’s company had exposed his companion’s shortcomings. It had been different when Sofia was still around. She had acted as something of a buffer between the two male vampires but, now, Werner’s deficiencies were becoming all too obvious. It was with some disdain that Oscar realised the Teuton probably wasn’t even aware of the importance of perhaps the last human being left on earth. For a vampire, that equated to the greatest treasure in existence and it was a wealth that Oscar was not prepared to be parted with. He would have to watch his German friend carefully.
He walked across the cave until he stood next to the cage and stared at the terrified man. ‘Easy. We’re not going to hurt you.’
‘Y,you’re vampires,’ the human stuttered as he backed away from his captor, shivering.
‘Are you cold?’
The human shook his head.
‘Then why do you shiver?’
‘Because I’m scared. I know that you’ll kill me and drink my blood.’
Oscar gave a soft laugh. ‘Not at all, my friend. Things have changed. The old ways no longer apply.’
The man stared at his captor in wide-eyed astonishment. ‘You won’t kill me?’
The vampire shook his head. ‘Of course not. We need you alive. We’ll feed you and keep you safe. We’ll protect you. In return, we only ask for a little of your blood every now and then. You can see that it’s not in our interest to kill you? What good would you be to us then?’
Before the human could answer, Oscar raised a fist, brandished the ring and caught the man’s attention with an intense stare. He began the process of hypnosis.
‘In a moment, you will close your eyes. When you awaken hours from now, you will feel refreshed. You will have considered our proposal and will agree to it. You will be ours to feed from and we will be your protectors. Now, sleep!’
The vampire snapped his fingers and the human slumped unconscious to the floor of the enclosure.
Oscar arrived at the cave dragging a live wild pig by the snout and hoped that, perhaps the next night, the human would be strong enough to feed upon. That would finally put an end to the disgusting ritual of drinking animal blood. He been reluctant to go outside because, so much had his mistrust grown, he hated leaving Werner guarding their captive. Unfortunately, he knew that he would have to take his turn hunting or arouse the German’s suspicions. What he saw when he entered the cavern proved that he was correct to be wary. In his astonishment, he let go of the pig and it grasped the opportunity to escape squealing from the mouth of the cavern to the dark exterior beyond.
The cage door was open and Werner was inside, feeding on the human.
When Oscar reacted in fury and pulled the German away from their captive, Werner was immediately remorseful and apologetic.
‘The temptation…’
‘Shut up!’ Oscar snapped. ‘I’m not interested in your pathetic excuses.’ He gestured to the unconscious male. ‘Look at what you’ve done! You’ve almost killed him. He wasn’t ready to give us blood yet and now it’ll take us days to help him recover. Days more of drinking filthy animal blood all because of you!’
‘What can I do?’ The German pleaded. ‘How can I make amends?’
‘You’ll have to do all the hunting for us now. I’ll have to stay here. I can’t trust you to be alone with him.’
Werner let his head drop. ‘I’m so ashamed.’
‘Just get out of my sight!’ Oscar spat as he continued to tend to the comatose human.
It had taken a week to restore the prisoner’s vitality but by then it was obvious that something was wrong with Werner and Oscar could guess the truth. Their human was a carrier, his blood tainted, and the plague had jumped species. The Teutonic vampire was dying and it turned out to be a horrible death.
He was aware of the human watching him as he prepared the German’s funeral pyre at the mouth of the cave but he ignored the creature. All thought of caring for his captive had been abandoned now that Oscar knew the human was a plague spreader. Once Werner’s body began to burn, he returned to the cage and stared at the frightened creature inside. What was left for him now? Raising a fist, he initiated the hypnosis that left the man unable to move. He then opened the door of the enclosure, stepped inside and began to feed from the neck of his victim. So sweet, he thought, and yet so deadly.
He continued to drink until he was left with nothing more than a cold corpse. Satisfied, he dropped the cadaver and made his way back to the pyre. He paused for a moment and thought of the old ways. Hundreds of years worth of memories surfaced in his mind and faces long gone crowded his consciousness seeking recognition. He wondered if he was the last of the Nosferatu – the end of the noblest hunter on Earth. In a way he hoped that he was. Now that the plague had crossed the barrier dividing the species, the demise of any existing vampires would be even more humiliating than before. Ironic, he pondered in bitter amusement, I had in my possession perhaps the last man alive, the greatest blood treasure in the world, and ultimately it will kill me.
He spread his arms in deference to the night. He knew now that there was nothing left to hope for but, if he were the last of his kind, he would go with some dignity. Raising his chin high, he stepped into the flames. He was Nosferatu. He wouldn’t cringe like some human and let the disease decide his fate. He hissed and bit his lips in defiance as the flames began to sear his flesh. As the agony increased, he felt his awareness move beyond his body to a place above the blaze. Here, he watched incredulously as Sofia’s lamp, still hanging from the tree, began to pulse with a crimson light. The inferno began to boil his infected blood and Oscar let out one final howl of tortured laughter…
THE END
Sacrifices by Jim Lee
Running full-out, Neese shifted again.
Now a small red fox, he slipped unscathed between the tangled sweetbriar. He tucked his tail, dipped his muzzle and darted under complex deadfall without the slightest delay.
Behind him, the maddened thing roared and crashed heedless through the natural obstructions.
Good, Neese thought. Make more noise. Be certain they hear our approach!
He made his last shift at the last possible moment and lunged forward as a set of dagger-sharp claws whistled past his ear. Back in human form, Neese dove into the clearing. He landed on his toes and yelped incoherently as he scrambled aside.
Bolts from three heavy military crossbows, each tipped with a sharpened wedge of the Lady’s purest silver, exploded past him. They slammed into the werewolf’s chest in quick succession.
Another rank of three jumped to their feet immediately behind the first, now kneeling row of mercenaries, waiting only for their Captain’s order to unleash a second volley.
This time, no such order came; the first three had been enough.
The werewolf screamed, thrown onto its back amid more sweetbriar. It writhed, thrashed blindly. Frantic claws gashed its own thick-furred torso and bloody saliva slobbered across its grotesque man-wolf visage. A last sound came—half-growl and half-whimper.
Then it was quiet. Still.
Another almost mindless man-wolf, hated threat to man and vampire alike, was dead.
One of the mercenaries led the way, a crossbow strapped to his back and a blazing torch in his hand. Another brought up the rear in similar fashion with Neese and the Captain and the remaining hirelings walking between.
With another hunt success
fully completed, the mood was one of happiness—of relaxed satisfaction and relief. Even Neese allowed himself to be lulled by the mortals’ positive emotions. He spoke easily, bantering with Captain as never before.
“Dangerous, yes—but the Black Forest is my home, Orlando. Wouldn’t you risk much to protect and defend what’s dear to you?”
Orlando DeMitri paused then shrugged. Like his men, the Captain was a Genoese, a Crossbowman of the First Order and a veteran soldier-for-hire.
“Haven’t you personally done just that, Good Captain? Fought long and hard for what matters most to you?” Neese truly liked this comparatively powerful mortal, but could not resist the opportunity to probe and gently mock Orlando’s motivations.
The Captain and his men had been Crusading alongside the Englishman, Lionheart. Then it had been to Iberia, to fight Moors under a contract of three years with the King of Portugal. A brief tour with the City Guard back home had followed—tracking and destroying threats mortal and otherwise that lurked in Genoa’s darkest corners.
And now here they were—in this Germanic wilderness.
In a war-torn empire that was no empire at all. And in service to a woman, of all things, who somehow owned and operated her own silver mine. A woman so extraordinary all called her Lady, despite the utter lack of royal pedigree. A woman, it seemed, far wiser than most men and surely of more use than the petty Barons who pretended to control the region.
It was Lady Maximus, after all, who came to Genoa for soldiers to replace those the Barons sent in support of Philip of Swabia in his battle for the crown against that other German, Otto. The weak, small-minded Barons hid behind castle walls as their subjects suffered—disorder all about and these Black Forest man-wolves, a dozen-times worse than their alley-haunting city cousins, running unchecked.
Considering all this, Orlando DeMitri was inclined to ignore Neese’s less-than-respectful tone. He blinked, shook his head. “Woodsman, in certain manners you are as extraordinary as the Lady herself!”
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