Jasper let out a sarcastic laugh as Chaluxi had expected.
“I have no reason to lie,” said Chaluxi. “It would have been a simple matter to kill you earlier.”
“Assuming you speak the truth,” said Tariq, “why did you choose to come here and live amongst such primitive beings as ourselves? Surely the Vambir would prefer more sophisticated company.”
Chaluxi laughed at Tariq’s use of the word “primitive.”
“A natural disaster killed our only food source, which, strangely enough, was a plant,” he explained. “Earth was the best match regarding breathable air.”
“Why didn’t you grow your plants and leave us in peace?” asked Jasper.
“An attempt was made, but things didn’t work out,” he said.
“No!” exclaimed Emanui bitterly. “Things most certainly did not work out!”
“We digress,” said Chaluxi. “Our ship crashed and we were on the brink of starvation. With our rations nearly depleted, we tried desperately to grow crops, but our first encounter with humans resulted in blood being drawn, and Mazja set us on a course that brought us to our present condition.”
Chaluxi looked into the eyes of each vampire.
“You said we tried to grow the food source” said Emanui. “Then there must be other Vambir who feel as you do.”
Chaluxi shook his head. “There was only one other. His name was Kevak, and Mazja sentenced him to death for attempting to dissuade the Vambir from ingesting blood.”
“He died trying to save humanity?” asked Tariq.
Chaluxi shrugged. “I arranged it so that the devices set in place to record his daylight vaporization malfunctioned.”
“You believe he could still be alive,” said Jasper.
“I never thought it possible until I heard the Nosferatu tale. The description matches the original Vambir appearance. Ingesting blood brought about a physical change that enabled us to blend in with humans.”
“And Bazna is where your ship crashed?” asked Jasper, remembering the details of what Steffen had said about the demon.
Chaluxi gravely nodded.
A look of disgust came over Tariq’s face. “Steffen did not fall to his death — you killed him!”
“If Steffen had repeated his story in front of Mazja, the entire population of the monastery would now be in Bazna hunting down Kevak, and humanity’s last chance of surviving the Vambir plague would die with him.”
“How can this Kevak help us?” demanded Emanui.
“If he still retains his original form, he must have been able to grow hemo-crops. If that is the case, then there will no longer be the need to ingest blood. Since you are now part Vambir, your systems should also respond to treatment. If I am successful, I will come for you with a supply.”
“Why should we trust you?” asked Tariq.
“Because if all of us are free of the blood lust, then we might have a chance to rescue others who feel as we do,” he said.
“But Kevak could be anywhere by now,” said Jasper. “Why would he remain in Bazna?”
“Years ago the Vambir were locked out of a surviving section of the original ship,” said Chaluxi. “It was called a ‘lifeboat.’ At the time I believed Kevak was dead and never suspected the lockout was a ruse. If I could obtain access to the technology inside the lifeboat, the entire Vambir hoard could easily be wiped out. I’ll begin my search for Kevak there.”
“What if your lifeboat has been discovered?” asked Tariq.
“It is invisible,” said Chaluxi.
“More of your alien magic?” asked Emanui.
Chaluxi turned and faced the wall. “Somewhere in this room,” he said, “is a second tile like the one I showed you. See if you can find it.”
The vampires spread out in the room and began to gingerly press the tiles on the border pattern.
“Here!” said Tariq.
“Open it with the same code I used earlier,” said Chaluxi.
Tariq successfully repeated the code and the metallic panel opened, revealing a collection of strange objects.
“Don’t touch them,” ordered Chaluxi as he walked to the panel and carefully removed the objects. The first was a vial containing yellow liquid.
“I heard you mention the Carpathian Mountains,” he said to Jasper. “It is a wise choice seeing that no humans live above the tree line, and there are many caves in which to shelter.”
“What good is that if the Vambir can easily detect our scent?” asked Emanui
“And what do we use for food, if we can’t feed off animals?” asked Jasper. “I will not take any more human lives.”
“This is concentrated blood,” said Chaluxi, indicating the vial. “One drop will sustain you for months once you have put yourselves into semi-stasis.”
“Why is it yellow?” asked Jasper.
“I was able to make a centrifuge to separate the red matter,” answered Chaluxi.
“What are you talking about?” asked Emanui.
“The force of spinning pushed the red matter to the bottom,” he explained further.
“And what is this semi-stasis you spoke of?” asked Tariq.
“Think of it as hibernation,” said Chaluxi. “Emanui, you saw it for yourself. The Strigoi you first encountered escaped the daylight by submerging themselves in a pond. They must have been beneath the surface for hours.”
“The Strigoi were demons who had sold their souls to Satan,” she said, “and it was through him that they attained that ability.”
“They believed themselves to be Strigoi,” said Chaluxi, “and their minds willed their bodies into hibernation. There is no reason why you could not do the same. Your vital signs would slow to the point of being invisible to the Vambir.”
“But how will you find us?” asked Jasper.
Chaluxi picked up another of the mysterious objects. “This is called a bio-scanner. Your signals will be faint, but it will lead me to you when I get within range.”
“And those other objects?” asked Emanui.
“One is a communication device called a palmcom, and the other is a weapon that will give you an advantage over the Vambir, should they catch up to you,” said Chaluxi. “It is called a lasgun and cannot be fired in its present state. You must move this setting all the way up to the top. It is now ready to fire and is set to kill. If you squeeze this pad, it will reduce whatever you aim it at to ashes.”
He set the lasgun back to the safety position and returned it to the vault.
“Objects such as these became useless once drained of power,” he explained. “We were cut off from the replacement source inside the lifeboat. These are the last functional ones, but the charges are dangerously low. Mazja does not know I possess these. When the time comes to make your escape, I will give you the lasgun. Only use it if you encounter a Vambir, and only discharge it if they rush you. They will be instantly vaporized. The mere sight of a lasgun might be enough to save you, so even if the power has been depleted, continue to act as if it is in working order.”
“If that weapon does what you say, then we could eradicate the Vambir,” observed Jasper.
“If it could be recharged, it would change everything,” said Chaluxi.
“Anything else?” asked Tariq.
“There is much,” answered Chaluxi. “Before leaving, you must bathe and dress in clean clothing in order to remove as much of your scent as possible. As soon as you come upon a stream, cover any exposed skin in mud. Do this as often as possible. Every droplet of sweat is a signal of your location. Spend the hours in darkness running. Do not ride horses. They are too easy to detect. Resist ingesting the concentrated blood until you have found shelter in the Carpathians and are ready to enter semi-stasis. The lid is self-sealing. Put it to your lips and suck out a small amount each. Do not let it make contact with the air, or the Vambir will instantly smell it from a great distance.”
“How are we supposed to enter semi-stasis?” asked Jasper.
“I w
ill teach you meditation techniques that the Vambir were forced to practice when we were on the brink of starvation and cut off from our stasis pods,” said Chaluxi.
“Sta-what?” asked Tariq.
“Hibernation chambers,” explained Chaluxi. “Practice the techniques whenever you can. If you are discovered, say that you were trying to learn a skill possessed by the Strigoi that the Vambir could develop for their advantage, and you were keeping it a secret until you knew for sure it would work.”
“How does one keep up with so many lies?” asked Emanui.
“It’s not so difficult when your life depends on it,” answered Chaluxi
“What happens if it turns out Kevak has been dead all this time?” asked Jasper.
“Then we are truly cursed,” said Chaluxi, “and a single discharge from the lasgun will put an end to our blood cravings if we stand close enough together.”
*******
Mazja heard a coded knock on the door of her chamber. “Come in, Chaluxi.”
Chaluxi entered the room and stood before her. “I questioned them in my chamber, Commander,” he said. “Their story made sense. They claim to have heard rustling in the bushes beneath the cliffs but were too far away to tell what it was. Concerned that it could be Strigoi, they went to investigate. Jasper and Tariq were armed, while Emanui was carrying several cloves of garlic. They had no other supplies with them.”
“What was it?” asked Mazja.
“By the time they got to the bottom of the cliff, whatever was there had gone,” answered Chaluxi, “but they spotted fresh deer droppings.”
“Did you believe them?” asked Mazja.
“They showed no signs of deception, Commander,” answered Chaluxi, “but, with your permission, I’d like them assigned to my patrol, where I can monitor them. If they are disloyal, then at least one of them will betray the others with a look or gesture.”
Mazja nodded her approval and dismissed Chaluxi. His face gave away nothing as he exited, but his heart leapt with the excitement of new hope growing within him.
GROWTH
Outskirts of Bazna
The cave walls were covered in illustrations that J’Vor had painted throughout the years. Kevak had collected discarded feathers for him to use as paintbrushes, and several bowls held various pigments he had concocted from burned wood and red ochre. The first images the boy had produced were rudimentary stick figures, but most precious of all to Kevak was the depiction of a baby with charcoal skin being held in the arms of a white figure with pointed ears. Both subjects were smiling and beneath them were the names ‘J’Vor’ and ‘Father.’
Also included among the illustrations was the journey the Isla had taken from Vambiri to Earth, complete with the jettisoned stasis pods. J’Vor had smeared splotches of red dye on a rendering of Vambiri to signify the vast hemo-fields that had once dotted the planet.
The cave had gone through many changes. Kevak had used the lasgun to construct an elaborate array of ventilation shafts, enabling them to enjoy the warmth of a fire during the winter months.
The hemoplants on the clifftop were thriving, and Iam had provided many things over the years. Occasionally a bumpy cart would dislodge a trunk or package, and the contents always contained a treasure trove: books, clothing, tools, grain, fabric, a chessboard, coins, spectacles, and even a magnifying glass.
Three sheep and two goats had wandered away from their respective flocks and were now housed in a makeshift shelter on the clifftop that Kevak had constructed from the disassembled wagon that had carried Iroto and Soueti on their last journey. He had taken the extra precaution of growing a thick, outer layer of tall grass to conceal the shelter and the vibrant red blooms of the hemoplants from any human eyes in the unlikely event that the cloak failed.
Milk from the goats had nourished J’Vor in his first months of life. Most helpful to Kevak was a book that was a primer on home economics, destined for some wealthy woman who had not been raised in the country. He had learned how to bake bread and make cheese for J’Vor and had used one of the wagon wheels to spin wool into yarn. J’Vor had laughed at Kevak’s first attempts at knitting and had included a depiction of his struggles on the cave wall.
Kevak constantly wore the gold crucifix he had found the night he rescued J’Vor as a symbol of his devotion to Iam. Each time he touched it, he was reminded of the parents who had sacrificed themselves in order to give their newborn a chance at life.
Every night, he and J’Vor knelt in prayer to thank Iam for their many blessings. Their outings in the countryside had been conducted far away from Bazna, and there had been no encounters with humans or the Vambir in all that time.
Not once had Kevak’s palmcom indicated an attempt to enter the lifeboat. Kevak himself had no need for anything in there. The hydrogen cells he had taken would provide power for the pod, cloaked shielding, lasguns, and portable terminals for hundreds of years. The lifeboat, although safely cloaked, was too close to Bazna to risk a visit, and there was always the possibility that the Vambir could return at any time.
Long ago, the pod ceased to be needed for emergency stasis, and it now served as a bed for J’Vor. Kevak slept next to it on a pallet made from a twig mattress and woolen blankets
From time to time, Kevak wondered what had become of the Vambir. Since they had been permanently locked out of the lifeboat without warning, any technology in their possession would be useless once the charge was depleted. Had they remained together as a group? Had some or all of them been caught out in the daylight or been overtaken by the hemostim madness? It seemed unlikely that they had survived, for to do so would require feeding, and feeding would lead to many unexplained human deaths, which would surely lead to the Vambir being exposed.
Chaluxi…
Thoughts of the friend who had saved his life always brought on feelings of sadness. Kevak remembered what he had seen the night he had entered the lifeboat, when it became clear that all attempts at hemoplant cultivation had been long abandoned. Had Chaluxi given in to the hunger, or had he resisted and incurred Mazja’s wrath? What he knew for sure was that Chaluxi was not at liberty in the countryside surrounding Bazna, and that did not bode well.
Ever vigilant, Kevak always used his heightened senses to scan for any traces of the Vambir or humans when he and J’Vor ventured outside. He always packed a lasgun, but thankfully, there had never been an occasion that required its use. It was important to keep J’Vor’s existence a secret from the villagers, since Kevak had personal experience of how beings different in appearance were treated.
The wolves Kevak had killed the night he rescued J’Vor were part of a pack that had moved out of the region. After racing back to the cave and depositing the infant in the safety of the pod, Kevak had returned to the scene to remove all traces of the carnage that had taken place. He vaporized the remains of the horse, and had used his superior strength to pull the cart to the base of the cliff where he quickly dismantled it and carried the pieces up to the cave. His final duty had been to bury the bodies of J’Vor’s parents. As he gently covered them with dirt, he had solemnly promised to protect their son with his own life.
Once the boy was old enough to safely climb down the cliff, they passed the nights by fishing in the nearby pond with poles whittled from branches and line made of yarn. Kevak had twisted and sharpened the wire frames of the spectacles into hooks. Even on nights that yielded no catch, they enjoyed the activity.
The spectacle lenses and magnifying glass made it possible for Kevak to construct a functional telescope, and on cloudless, starry nights, he would locate the constellations depicted in a newly acquired book. J’Vor loved looking through the telescope and knew the names of all of the constellations by heart.
“Did you look up at the same constellations on Vambiri, Father?” he asked.
“No,” Kevak answered with a smile. “Vambiri is on the other side of the galaxy, close to stars that cannot be seen from Earth. We had different constellations. I can s
how them to you on the palmcom.”
“Which one was your favorite?” asked J’Vor.
“The one called Hutik,” he answered, “because the stars formed an outline of the five petals of the hemo-blooms.”
“Hemo-blooms taste disgusting,” said J’Vor.
“As I’ve told you many times, Iam made hemoplants for the Vambir,” said Kevak, “and Iam has provided milk, bread, cheese, and fish for humans. Human food is as disgusting to me as the hemo-blooms are to you.”
“Why did Iam send the gamma ray to destroy Vambiri?” asked J’Vor. “Was Iam displeased with the Vambir, as he was with humans when he brought forth the Great Flood? Was the Isla the same as Noah’s ark?”
“Iam’s ways are mysterious, and it is not for us to question why bad things happen,” said Kevak, remembering the night he rescued J’Vor. “Think of it this way: if the gamma ray had not destroyed Vambiri, I would never have traveled to Earth, and we would have lived our lives without knowing one another. Out of something tragic, came something wonderful.”
“Is that what divine purpose is, Father?” asked J’Vor.
“That is what I believe it to be,” answered Kevak.
Kevak was painfully aware that there would come a time when J’Vor would want to experience life among his own kind. A solitary, nighttime existence was not human, regardless of Kevak’s attempts to make it as pleasant and intellectually stimulating as possible. There was no mystery as to when J’Vor would be physically mature enough to leave, since humans appeared to complete the childhood cycle by the teenage years. The greatest challenge for Kevak would be how to prepare J’Vor for interaction with other humans, when he himself was perceived as a monster.
When the time comes, Iam will guide us.
PARTING
Encampment of Mehmed II
The Nosferatu Chronicles: Origins Page 20
