“Who said you were going to participate!”
“Whose saying I'm not?” She retorted.
“I'm saying it right now.” I said hotly.
“You may be Elder, but I do not suggest you go there with me.” Sonafi said menacingly, and she meant it, I could see. She had grievances to air with the Others, grievances she meant to make heard. “You will need all the help you can get. Nor do you have a say in the matter.”
“I had merely hoped to keep you out of this.” I said as I saw the measure of her resolve. “I was only thinking about you.”
“Tell it to someone who doesn't know you better.” Sonafi said, having none of it. “There are few enough Elders as it is. You can turn none of us down. You think only of yourself and the years you would spend breaking in a new woman. I know you well enough.”
“If you are what you call broken in then I have failed utterly.” I gave her an exasperated look and was rewarded with the smallest glint of amusement twinkling in her eyes. But that was only her eyes. She scowled at me meaningfully.
My Sonafi is an independent soul. She does not concern herself with what others think. Honestly, I do not think our relationship could have worked in any other way. The dominant/submissive relationship model would have long grown stifling, if Sonafi had been that type. It would have suffocated our independent natures, for both the dominant and the submissive. Such relationships might suffice for short lived humanity, but we who measured our lives in eons, possibly eternity itself, we had to find something with more meaning. Sonafi and I had found that, and maybe I was selfish, but having found it, I did not want to lose it.
This is why so many Vampires go rogue. That they have simply been unable to find meaning in these long lives, and that they have not found it because they do not know where to look. A Vampire’s physical prowess may increase as he ages, but we Vampires are no more intelligent than our Human counterparts. Our increase in physical prowess does not equate to an equal increase in intelligence. In many cases it actually serves to cement narrow minded views into immovable ways of seeing the world and the things that are going on within it. A Vampire may educate himself, but an education in itself does not always elucidate, make clearer the unknown, and there was nothing more unknown than the mysteries of the mind; be it a Vampire, a Human, or an Other. I do not think that anyone would argue that the Others had any mysterious other-worldly comprehension of the working of mind, not with their callous unconcern for the sovereign right of other beings, their total lack of morality in the face of what amounted to genocide of an entire sentient species. No race which was completely sane could do what was being done here. There was something missing. Sanity was not a trait I could attribute to the Others.
“I really just cannot face the prospect of losing you.” I said. “I truly do not think that I could go on if I did.”
Sonafi softened, seeing that I was serious. “Why do you think that I must insist that I participate? You blind old fool.”
Maybe I was a blind old fool, after all.
CHAPTER 7
Sonafi and I were no different than any other Vampires in our need for Human retainers to aid us in those things we could not do for ourselves. We had possessed, as servants, a family now prosperous and numerous for their fealty, service and loyalty to us. Humans with such loyalty were not as easy to find as one might think, and money alone could not purchase such devotion. The head of that present day household, James Ray Burns (an Americanized name, to be sure) now stood in front of me, patiently and confidently listening to what I had to say, full of the awareness that he would never have anything to fear from me. That was the trust we held.
Though he was right that he would never have anything to fear from me, we needed our Human retainers more than they needed us, and yet, Humans were remarkably short on the kind of awareness that makes a Juvenile Vampire so afraid of an Elder. Something that might even be equated as common sense, I thought, and yet, was I absolutely correct in my own analysis? Weren't Vampires even now learning the spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit? In either case, James Ray Burns stood before us now, in our parlor, a room they called the 'living room' here, unflinching, unafraid, though it was the full of night and neither Sonafi nor I had yet fed this evening. He was simply not afraid.
His family had served us for so many generations that my face must by now be recorded in his racial memories. I supposed that it was possible that far from bringing him fear, I brought him the feeling of instinctual security, comfort and assurance. It was a mutually beneficent arrangement. A price tag could not be effectively affixed upon the services the Burns have performed for us. We have always compensated them accordingly. They are, in effect, our life-line, and without them, in these times, we would not be as comfortably secure as we were.
I handed James Ray, as he preferred to be called, the keys to our new home and a slip of paper with the address written down upon it. I normally used the Burns to locate such new residences. That was one of the big things Human retainers could do that a Vampire normally could not do for himself, but Brid had made this purchase electronically, the home purchased through a mortgage lender who had foreclosed upon it and who had been, apparently, only too happy to resell it in this manner. It was right here in the city. I was even familiar with the neighborhood.
James Ray took the keys and the address, towering over me as he did so, a huge man, green eyed, lightly skinned, his face neutral and unemotional. I felt the slightest tickle of fear run through him at our nearness. Then I smelled it as it came out in his sweat. James Ray was not a Human who feared easily, either, and he had no reason to fear me, but it was not something that could be controlled at these closest moments of contact. He stepped back quickly and looked away.
“I always get just the slightest bit of nerves when I am close to you.” James Ray said, as if reading my mind. “I don't know why I can never entirely get used to you. It simply seems beyond me.” He exhibited just the slightest nervous give away by twirling the key ring on his finger, for something to do other than think about his fear.
“Only the slightest bit.” Sonafi complimented him. “Few Humans can control themselves so well.”
“Due only to long association.” James Ray said, with the ever so slightest smile. “It never seems to get any easier, though I know in my conscious mind that I have nothing to fear from either of you. I just seem to react.”
“No more so than any other and a great deal less than most.” I said. “You are a man peculiarly in control of your faculties.” Though James Ray had served us all his life, was now in his late sixties, knew thoroughly well how much I counted on him, how much we counted on him, I always tried to give him a word of encouragement or praise whenever business brought us together. To stay the mania that close association with a Vampire could instill- insanity, paranoia, schizophrenia, others, all to which men were susceptible when in close association with Vampires. I did not know how that felt personally but I had seen many others succumb to it and knew it to be a very real thing. I could smell its results. Besides, I did not enjoy creating fear or making others suffer. I’d had my fill of that.
“Thank you.” James Ray said modestly, and then looking around the room, with its packed boxes and appearance of readiness. “Are you ready to be moved?”
“You may make the move today.” Sonafi answered. “Will you be able to move everything in one day?”
“Will we be moving the two of you, as well?” James Ray asked discreetly, looking aside as he spoke. It was a position of ultimate power over a Vampire and why having trusted retainers was so important.
“Just our belongings.” I answered. “We have made arrangements elsewhere.”
“I hope we have not displeased our Masters.” James Ray asked deferentially, in Old World etiquette, bowing as he did so.
“Not at all.” Sonafi said. “We have done away with the coffins. Detestable things. There would be no way for you to transport us securely. Our trust of you and yo
ur family is secure.”
“That is reassuring to hear.” James Ray said, raising and momentarily meeting her eyes. “If there is nothing else, I should retire and get my rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”
“There's nothing else.” Sonafi said, and James Ray excused himself, and departed, having to stoop to go through the doorway and then closing it gently behind himself. When he was gone, Sonafi said; “It won't be long now.”
“I suppose not.” I agreed, knowing she referred to the changing of the guard. When James Ray would choose one of his family members to replace him. The Burns, or the De La Fonts, as they had been known previous to coming to the United States, had been serving us a long time. I remembered each one of them in turn. Humans did not evolve in the same way as Vampires. We had a living evolution, where Humans had constantly to undergo the cycle of death and rebirth. A continuity of genes that carried forward the best of what had been retained, but also the addition of those little changes included along the way. Human evolution was the addition of small little changes in each generation that multiplied into large alterations over extended periods, yet the past easily intermingled in my mind with the present, when often the present individual closely reminded me of one of his predecessors.
“Forty years he has been serving us.” Sonafi said.
“He reminds me physically much of Julian. Do you remember Julian?” I asked.
“As if I should forget. The fool.” Sonafi said. “He almost cost his entire line their place with us. He was so good with a sword, too.”
“He let his mouth get him into something, finally, which he couldn't fight his way out of.” I said. “After he was killed in that duel and we had to go to his brother Marote we have seen a steadier hand at the family rudder.”
“A cooler head, I'll grant.” Sonafi agreed. “It has always amazed me that there could be two such sides to the same coin. Such a disparity even among brothers. Those wild genes crop up still.”
“Johnnie is James Ray’s favorite, but I have made it clear that I prefer Charles.” I said.
“You made a decision without me!” There was fire and ice in her eyes.
“Johnnie is a drug addict, dear. He seems very unreliable.”
“Julian was a drinker and opium user, yet you held no grudge against him.” Sonafi pointed out. She had always preferred the more extroverted members of the Burns/De La Font family, while I the steadier, less interesting but more reliable side. The two personality traits were always to be found in every generation, no matter from which personality trait side they had sprung.
“I'm sure his opium use had nothing to do with his untimely death.” I said with remarkable calm. “It would have put us in a very serious position had the circumstances been different.”
“So now we are forever stuck with the stodgy side of the family!”
“A mix of strength and reserve.” I said. “I believe that is why we chose Malcolm De La Font in the first place.” Malcolm was our first Human retainer. His family and line had served us well, since.
“Boring.” Sonafi said, but she was only being difficult. We had to trust our lives to our retainers and she no more wanted to take unnecessary risk than I. An eternal life contains a lot of potential. Too much to risk foolishly or needlessly.
“So am I stodgy, as well?” I asked, attempting to be as difficult as she but failing miserably. I could not help the smile which slipped onto my face. I was smiling because I knew the statement to be very much true. But would she admit it? She smiled slightly.
“Yes. You're stodgy. In your case it's a good stodgy, though. A stodgy I like. I'm just a homebody Vampire. I wouldn't know what to do with you if you were any other way.”
“Kind of how I feel about the Burns.” I said.
“Yes I know. How could I not.” She said then changed the subject. “So this is our last night in this house. I would like to think of some special way to commemorate it, but nothing is really coming to mind. Everything is packed away. Nor am I in a hurry to proceed to Brid's home. We will have to go there soon enough but I prefer that to being moved.
“I have never been particularly fond of having to rely on others to move me.” I agreed. It makes me feel weak and vulnerable. The sun so close that it warms the wood of the casket.”
“Detestable things.” Sonafi said again. “I am glad we have gotten rid of them.” Vampires did not require coffins or the soil of the Old World to assure them a restful day’s sanctuary, nor were we the undead, as was commonly believed. Coffins are simply utilitarian. They quickly and efficiently serve our purpose, especially the newer, modern models which did not need carpentry modification to ensure a light tight seal. We slept in a mechanically sealed room these days, in a normal bed like normal beings. I had given in to her desires in this, though I was indifferent myself.
When I was a Juvenile I had burrowed like the other wild animals I had encountered in nature. Often times driving them from their own burrows or caves and I too fierce to be driven out in turn. I had learned to be at ease in almost any environment, so for me, sleeping in a casket had never been any particular hardship. Sonafi had never really ever grown used to it, despite the thousands of years she had done so.
“The river is always enjoyable.” I suggested.
“You will take your Katana with you?” She asked.
“We'll keep out of sight.” I said by way of answer. I had not packed it away and chances were we would not return here again once we left. I had not packed it away because I did not want to be separated from it. Not even for one day. “I prefer to keep it with me.”
“I prefer you keep it with you, also.” She said. “I have seen what you can do with it.”
We soon found ourselves, once again, walking hand in hand along the river. I carried the Cumosachi Katana within a back sheath that was mostly hidden under a black nylon hoodie. Only a bit of the hilt could be seen above the rumpled hood. Still we avoided the trafficked areas and slipped down to the very water’s edge. One of the few places left within the city where one might yet find the wild or untamed, besides those which walk upon their two hind legs. The breeze blowing in off the water carried wisps of fog and the scent of living things.
“It is chill.” Sonafi said, then suddenly she stiffened.
I felt it at the same moment. My blade was in my hand before I even knew I had moved. I could not remember reaching for it, but it appeared there, as if by magic. Sonafi was holding two long-knives, each nearly the length of her thighs, from their tips to the ends of their grips. She went into a crouch and stared back up into the sparse tree-line above us. I followed where she was looking and discerned just the slightest hint of a heat signature. Then another and still more, a half dozen, even more. They were all around us.
“I do not know what they are. I can sense nothing.” Sonafi said. Her features were fierce and primordial in the moonlight. The blades she held she held knowingly, almost lovingly. I knew with what consummate skill she could wield them, as well. She was ready to use them.
“Show yourselves.” I said. I assumed they had to be the Others, under the guise of some new technology. I was hardly prepared for what happened next.
Brid stepped out of the trees wearing a football helmet and strange baggy clothing. Now even fully visible to me, under the decent illumination of the cloudless night sky, I could still only vaguely see the faintest smudge of thermal outline. Only the smallest amount escaped through the front of the helmet. Otherwise it was entirely thermally sealed. I was furious.
“What are you trying to prove?” I demanded, but then I saw the faces of the others as they stepped out to stand beside Brid, and I stopped mid-tirade, before I had even gotten started.
“Sorry.” Samon Du Bon said. “We had to know if these would really work.”
“They really work.” Sonafi said. I wasn't looking at her but I recognized the sound of her blades sliding home into their hidden sheaths. We were in no danger, of course.
They were te
sting Brid’s new Low Emission Magnetic Field Generators. They worked well. “The helmets aren't a bad touch, either.” I said. They were not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but they had allowed them to get within striking distance of us. We would have been dead, no doubt.
“Thank you, Father.” Brid said. He sounded sincere. I was not exactly sure how to respond. This was some new Brid.
“You're welcome.” I said.
CHAPTER 8
The Burns were still moving our things the next evening after dark had fallen, so after finding them still busy we decided to hang back out of sight, across the street, upon an adjacent roof. There was almost no better place for a Vampire to slip out of sight, out of the hectic cares of the world, than upon some inconspicuous rooftop. It wasn't as if the residents were going to come out onto the rooftop after us, or even know we were there, when we made no more noise than a bird alighting. We were as comfortable upon its steep, slippery slopes as we were on Terra Firma herself.
“I'm sorry.” I said. “I just couldn't stand to be there anymore.” As soon as the light had fled Brid's front door had practically burst off its hinges as Vampires began to come and go, upon all manner of mysterious purpose. Hauling in boxes and strange apparatus. Receiving and disbursing orders. I had no idea what they were doing, but it was too much activity for my taste, and I can say, in all honesty, that my presence wasn't helping with their peace of mind, either. They had been happy to see us off.
The Burns were moving the last of the small stuff, it appeared, and would be finished shortly. We were only known to James Ray himself, and though some of the older generations, James Ray's brothers and sisters, knew that they served an eccentric, strange family, they did not know just how strange or eccentric. They certainly did not know we were Vampires. So even though we could pass as human, our perpetual youth would be impossible to explain. So we waited. We only appeared to the one who was chosen and never any other.
The Vampire-Alien Chronicles Page 7
