The Vampire Burns

by Amy Cross

  “And what's wrong with being comfortable?”

  “I've already agreed to rent a flat in Paris,” I told her. “I didn't mention it before, because I knew you'd try to stop me, but I've signed up for it and -”

  Suddenly I flinched as I felt a sharp, burning pain on my left wrist. I looked down, convinced that I must have been stung by something, but to my surprise my arm looked perfectly normal. The pain continued, however, as if something was trying to force through and get my attention.

  At the same time, my head was starting to feel a little woozy.

  “You have no idea what the world out there is like, my girl,” Mum continued. “You think it's all sweetness and light, but it's not! Oh, this is all my fault, I sheltered you while you were growing up and now you're not equipped to deal with things.”

  “I'm not a child,” I pointed out. “And I'm not naive.”

  “You can't live all alone in a place like Paris.”

  “What's the worst that could happen?” I asked.

  “Don't get me started,” she said with a heavy, theatrical sigh. “You'd find some kind of trouble to get involved with. You always do.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, “that's a real vote of -”

  Before I could finish, I felt one of my teeth coming loose. Shocked, I used my tongue to try pushing the tooth back into place on the left side of my mouth, but instead the damn thing fell all the way out. I reached up and slipped it out of my mouth, and I stared in numb confusion at the bloodied root.

  Over by the sink, Mum was going on and on about all the terrible things that would happen to me in Paris. She was talking about cities and murderers and stalkers and rapists and riots and terrorists and all sorts of other things she'd heard about on the news, but I was zoning her out as I stared at my dislodged tooth and felt – to my surprise – another already starting to come loose near the back of my mouth.

  I pressed against the next loose tooth with my tongue, hoping to force it to stay in place.

  “Are you listening to me?” Mum asked.

  “I'm trying,” I replied, barely able to speak as I felt my gums starting to swell. “Something isn't right. This shouldn't be happening.”

  “Those French men will eat you for breakfast,” she said haughtily. “I know you, Chloe. You'll be swept up in the romance of all those funny accents, and you won't look after yourself. They have a drinking culture over there. A bar culture!”

  “And we don't have that in London?” I asked, although all that came out was a garbled mess. “Wait a moment.”

  Getting to my feet, I hurried into the hallway and stopped to look at myself in the mirror. I looked perfectly normal, but I could already feel my gums getting bigger and bigger, and my mouth was filling with saliva. Another tooth had come loose, and I spat it into the palm of my hand. There was blood all around the root, and I felt as if my head was spinning. At the same time, I was becoming increasingly certain that there was something I needed to notice, something on the very edge of my perception.

  I looked at my reflection again, and this time I felt as if my eyes weren't actually open.

  “They have riots over there almost every week,” Mum was saying nearby. “Proper riots, with things being set on fire and everything. Don't you ever watch the news, Chloe? Paris is far too dangerous for a single woman. Now, if you'll just accept the inevitable and tell me everything, all the pain can stop. Wouldn't you like that? Just start talking, and you'll be fine.”

  Suddenly I cried out as I felt a sharp pain slicing into the side of my neck. I clutched my throat and fell to the side, and then I toppled over and landed hard on the carpet as I felt something swelling at the back of my mouth. I let out a slow, gurgling whimper as I rolled onto my back, and then finally I blinked and found myself facing a man I recognized from somewhere. It took a moment, however, before I realized that I was back in the basement room at Chateau Malafort.

  “That's better,” Doctor Loman said calmly, as he slid a needle out of my neck. “You passed out there for a moment. We can't be having that, can we? You need to be conscious for the next stage.”

  He held up a hammer.

  “You will break,” he continued with a slight smile. “First physically, and then mentally. You will give me everything I want.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Matthias

  Zieghoff reached into the bucket and pulled out another chunk of meat, which he examined for a moment before tossing across the yard.

  The dogs rushed to the meat and began fighting among themselves for the best piece. They seemed well cared for but also slightly frantic, as if it was hunger that kept them under control. They hung on Zieghoff's every word, most likely because they knew they'd die if they did not.

  “Look at them,” Zieghoff said after a few seconds, smiling as he watched the dogs. “Every single one of them was found homeless on the streets of Paris. How can people do that? I have them brought here so that I can feed them and make them better. If we do not look after our animals, how can we possibly claim to be humane?”

  He held up another piece of meat, this time with a section of bone on its edge.

  “Before you ask,” he said, “it's pork.”

  He threw the meat, and some of the dogs scurried off to catch it as it landed.

  “Human pork,” he added, before chuckling. “Relax. Just a little joke.”

  “How can you care so much about these dogs,” I asked, “and yet you allow such pain and suffering to flood the streets of Paris?”

  “The dogs have done nothing wrong,” he replied. “The dogs deserve happiness and satisfaction. People, on the other hand...”

  His voice trailed off, and he watched the dogs with an expression of satisfaction. Even pride.

  “I meant what I said earlier,” he continued after a moment, glancing at me. “It gives me no pleasure to witness your weakness. I like to see the natural world being... Well, being natural, I suppose. I don't like great creatures to be held back by anything, and you and your species are great creatures. All of you, you're magnificent. I look at the greatest specimen of aryanism and I wonder if they can ever come close to being as perfect as the vampire. Believe me, that's food for thought in these strange times.”

  “What do you want from her?” I asked.

  “I want to know the future.”

  “Why?”

  “Why would I not?”

  “What do you think you can possibly achieve?”

  “I can change it, if necessary,” he replied. “Let me put that another way. If I know how the future goes, I can perhaps make changes so that it's improved. Imagine that. Imagine entering a battle and you already know how it went the first time. That would give you a sizeable advantage, would it not?”

  He took more meat from the bucket and threw it for the dogs, and for a moment he watched as they fought over the scraps. This seemed to give him great joy. It was as if he somehow genuinely cared more for a dog than for a human, and I found that strange. The man clearly had compassion, yet it came out in such strange ways.

  “If you were at full strength,” he said finally, “you'd have torn this place apart by now, wouldn't you? Perhaps you've even have killed me.” He turned to me. “And then you'd have carried the lady off, like a great big shining hero. But you're not at full strength, you're even weaker than you admit, which means that you're having to think for once. You're not used to that, are you?” He smiled. “You're not used to having to talk to the likes of me.”

  “You're right,” I replied darkly. “I would rather you were dead by now.”

  “You can still kill me.”

  “Your guards would likely have something to say about that.”

  “True. And I might be able to fight back. The playing field has been somewhat leveled.” He stared at me for a moment, as if I fascinated him. “What if I offered you a deal? It's within my power to release the woman, and I could do it right now. Her pain could end in an instant.”

  “I
know what you want from me.”

  “Then give it to me.”

  “Never.”

  “But you can change a man into a vampire, can you not? You have the power to give that gift.”

  “It's rarely done, and for a reason.”

  “I want to be like you,” Zieghoff replied, getting to his feet and stepping closer. “I want that power. That potential. You were human once, were you not? You were like me, and another vampire changed you.”

  “No, I was born like this,” I told him. “As was my brother. We are pure stock.”

  “Then you don't know how it feels to be a mere human.”

  “And you will never know how it feels to be a vampire,” I replied, and I enjoyed seeing the flicker of irritation on his face. “You will remain a pathetic little human for the duration of your short, miserable life, and then you will die without ever having tasted true strength. You will rot back down into the mud, and your name will be forgotten, and eventually it will be as if you had never lived at all. And at the end of all that, even I will laugh at the memory of you. That's assuming I even remember that you existed in the first place. Which I might. After all, you have been excessively irritating.”

  I waited, but now he stared at me with an expression of pure hatred. I could tell that I had finally broken my way through to the core of this pathetic, petty little fool.

  “Sir?”

  Startled, I turned to see a man standing in the doorway nearby. He was wearing a white coat that was covered in blood.

  “I'm sorry to interrupt,” he continued, eyeing me a little nervously before turning back to Zieghoff, “but the Carter woman has finally broken. She's begun to tell us everything, and I thought you'd like to be there to hear it first-hand.”

  “You're quite right, Doctor Loman,” Zieghoff replied, and now his customary sense of self-satisfaction seemed to have returned as he stepped past me. “I must admit, she didn't last quite as long as I had expected. I thought that perhaps her sense of determination would hold until at least morning.”

  I began to follow him, but suddenly several soldiers stepped out through the doorway and stood in my way. I reached out to push them aside, but they raised their guns and I realized that in my injured state I might be delayed by bullet wounds. In all my existence, I had never felt so powerless.

  “Please, entertain yourself for a short while,” Zieghoff said to me with a smile as he walked away. “I'm sure we'll have a great deal to discuss later.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chloe

  “No!” he snapped, slapping the side of my face again. “These are all just more lies! I demand the truth!”

  “You're hated,” I whispered, slurring my words slightly as I struggled to keep my eyes open. “I told you before. You lose the war and the world moves on to become a better place.”

  “Doctor Loman,” Zieghoff said with a sigh, “when you brought me down here, you claimed that you had broken this pathetic creature. It would seem that you were mistaken. She is merely telling us more lies about the future. I think you need to go on with your work.”

  “I understand your skepticism,” Doctor Loman replied, as I tried to stay conscious, “but I think maybe you should consider the possibility that...”

  He hesitated for a moment.

  “Well,” he added cautiously, “I think there might be a slightly change that she's, uh... telling the truth.”

  “How can you even consider such a possibility? The empire will last forever!”

  “That it might,” he said, “but has it occurred to you that this woman has been sent to us by a higher power? Perhaps she does come from a future in which the unthinkable happened, in which we somehow lost the war. But perhaps, by sending us this warning, the universe is trying to fix that terrible mistake. We should not let pride stand in the way of this opportunity.” He paused. “She has broken. Of that I'm certain. She believes what she's saying.”

  I felt a hand on my chin, and a moment later my face was forced up until I found myself staring into the eyes of Klaus Zieghoff.

  “How?” he barked. “What catastrophe caused us to lose the war?”

  “I don't know,” I murmured. “I never really paid attention in school. I was too busy with -”

  Suddenly he slapped me hard.

  “You're gonna lose,” I replied. “Big time.”

  “This is completely ridiculous,” Zieghoff sighed. “Even if this woman is telling the truth, it's useless without details.”

  “Sorry,” I replied, “but all your dreams of glory are going to go unanswered. There'll be no victory. No great army sweeping across the world. And all that nonsense about using the power of witches and vampires? Forget it. Not going to happen.”

  I waited, but now Zieghoff was simply staring at me, as if he was finally starting to believe what I was telling him. I could almost see the confidence ebbing away from his features, and he was starting to seem almost sick with horror.

  “I've carried out this type of work before,” Doctor Loman said. “I know what it's like when someone breaks, when they surrender and tell you everything they know and, well... That's what's happening right now. I would bet my professional reputation on that assessment. She's telling us the truth, or at least she's telling us what she thinks is the truth. And I don't think she's insane.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered darkly.

  Zieghoff hesitated, before letting go of my chin, allowing my head to tilt down once more.

  “Yes, Doctor Loman,” he said, his voice thick with tension, “I think perhaps you are right.”

  “You won't win,” I whispered, trying to remind myself that at least these assholes would go down in flames one day, even if I didn't live to see it happen. “It doesn't matter what you do. You can rage all you want, but I've seen how the world ends up after this war, and you lose. End of story.”

  A moment later, I heard footsteps walking away.

  “What should I do with her now?” Doctor Loman asked. “Should I kill her?”

  “She might yet remember something else,” Zieghoff replied from the far end of the room. “Even the smallest detail could potentially be of use. Keep her talking and let me know anything she says, even if it seems insignificant. I refuse to believe she can be so ignorant of the history she claims to tell us. She must know more. If I am to use this information, I require far more detail. I need to know how we lose.”

  With that, there was the sound of a door slamming shut.

  “Oh dear,” Doctor Loman said after a moment, “it seems that we're not done here. I'm sorry, I know I promised you a break earlier, but... Well, you've heard my orders. I'm afraid we're going to have to push on.”

  I heard him picking something up, and I tilted my head just far enough to see that he was once again holding the pair of pliars.

  “I suppose I see his point,” he continued. “You've given us the bigger picture, but I'm sure you know a few more things.” His grin began to grow. “Don't leave anything out, even if it feels like the most insignificant little scrap. The future of the human race could very well rest upon what you do and don't remember here tonight, Ms. Carter, so don't be shy.” His smile grew as he snapped the pliars in front of my face. “Let it all out.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Matthias

  Another scream, this time ringing out not only through the building but also through my mind. Standing all alone in one of the bare rooms at the rear of Chateau Malafort, I kept my eyes closed and reached out with my mind as the woman's torture continued.

  I could feel every shred of pain she was enduring. For me, of course, this pain was almost nothing, but I knew that it was enough almost to tear her mind apart. She was struggling, trying to stay strong, but in truth she had no chance. In such cases, the torturer always wins, and it was clear to me that this particular torturer was well practised in his craft. He was building the pain up slowly, taking great care to make sure that his victim remained conscious. Whenever she was clos
e to passing out, he found a way to make her stay alert. And the more I listened, the more I felt great anger burning through my chest.

  “You're too weak, Matthias,” I heard Hugo saying, remembering the last time he'd reminded me about my injuries. “You still need to heal.”

  He was right, I knew that. I also knew that I was sick of waiting to regain my strength. Hugo had been protecting me for so long, I'd almost fallen into the habit of feeling as if I couldn't fight. I was clenching my fists as I felt the woman's pain, but Hugo's words continued to swirl through my thoughts, reminding me that there was nothing I could do to help.

  “You came so close to death,” his voice whispered. “You'll only damage yourself further if you push before you're ready.”

  “Matthias Bane?”

  Startled, I turned to see that one of the soldiers had come through to find me.

  “Colonel Zieghoff requests the pleasure of your company in his library,” he continued. “He says that it's a matter of some urgency.”

  “Tell him to end the torture session first,” I replied. “Then we'll talk.”

  “I'm afraid he insists on your cooperation,” the soldier said, raising his gun and aiming at my chest. “I'm not to return without you.”

  “You dare to threaten me?”

  “I'm telling you what you need to do.”

  “And do you think it's wise to point that thing in my direction?”

  “Colonel Zieghoff said that you might need some persuasion,” he replied, and now he allowed himself a little smirk. “I can fetch reinforcements, if that's what I need.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him to do just that, but then I hesitated. This pathetic little scrap of humanity was ordering me about, and at the same time he showed no fear whatsoever. In my proper state, the wretch would never have dreamed of getting within ten feet of me, yet now he thought he could swing his gun around and tell me what to do. Clearly someone had told him that I was weak, that he could be smart with me. I felt a growing sense of rage at such an unnatural situation. At the same time, I also knew that I couldn't resist.