J’Vor began to cry and Kevak took him into his arms. “We must put aside our anguish. It is your destiny. I believe the night your parents died, they were trying to return to their homeland. You must be strong. Remember, with Iam, all things are possible.”
ATONEMENT
Outskirts of Bazna
“This is madness, Nicolae,” said Sorin, “and it’s gone on far too long. We should have moved the flock months ago. They are depleting the pastures!”
“No!” insisted Nicolae. “Nosferatu will return, and as soon as we see him, you will raise the alarm in Bazna and come back with enough villagers to kill the demon, while others fetch reinforcements. There is a battalion of soldiers camped—”
“I know where the soldiers are,” said Sorin, rolling his eyes.
They had had the same conversation night after night, month after month.
“Nicolae,” said Sorin, “everyone has forgotten it. They don’t care whether or not you were drunk. They had their laugh and it’s over. We need to move the flock.”
“Yes, they had their laugh!” retorted Nicolae. “Yes, everyone has forgotten—forgotten about the Nosferatu demon we both saw long ago just before it was about to slaughter the lamb. You, above all others, should believe me!”
“It was only for a few seconds,” said Sorin, “and it seemed very real at the time. But truth be told, we had been drinking ale that night, and the shadow cast by our torches may have exaggerated its features. It could have been a wandering vagrant. After all, he ran away from us, and why would a demon run away?”
“You have convinced yourself that your own eyes deceived you,” scoffed Nicolae.
“My eyes have lied many times when I have been full of ale,” said Sorin with a laugh.
Nicolae suddenly became alert. Through squinted eyes, he could make out a blinking red light approaching from the distance.
*******
As soon as the bio-scanner had confirmed Chaluxi was free of blood toxins, it allowed him access to the homing program designed by Kevak. Upon reaching the outskirts of Bazna, all of Chaluxi’s attention was given to proceeding in the direction indicated by the flashing red arrow. He was forced to move painfully slow in order to allow the homing program to make slight adjustments. His instinct was to sprint, but he knew if he did, he could easily go off course, and that would result in a time-consuming correction. For over two hours he slowly made his way across the plain leading to the cliffs.
Kevak’s cave must be there!
The wind picked up on the plain and whipped his face. Unfazed, he continued at a snail’s pace. After what seemed an eternity, he stood at the bottom of the cliff row, and the arrow indicated he was directly below his destination. Turning the scanner off, he placed it in his pocket and began to climb. Minutes later he found himself on the ledge in front of Kevak’s cave.
I made it!
As he walked through the cave, it looked like a human hermit’s home. There was no indication of the stasis pod Kevak spoke of or any other Vambir technology. Some books were stacked in a shelf carved out with a lasgun, and he laid his burlap bag full of harvested hemo-crops next to them. Something caught his eye. The wall at the back of the cave was covered in murals. At its base sat a collection of colored chalky material and a bowl of murky water with a rag next to it. He stood aghast as his eyes scanned each image: a spaceship flying away from a devastated planet, two dark-skinned humans being chased by wolves, and a dark-skinned baby cradled in the arms of a smiling white figure with pointed ears and fangs beneath which the names ‘J’Vor’ and ‘Father’ were written.
The child of Iroto and Soueti! Kevak saved him from the wolves that killed his parents and has raised him as his own son!
It was patently obvious now why Kevak would not allow Chaluxi to recover with him in his cave. The human J’Vor would never have been safe around him.
I am no longer a threat to the child. All will be well.
Chaluxi could hardly contain his glee. Kevak would be returning soon with Emanui, Tariq, and Jasper. Together with J’Vor, they would live here in safety while formulating a plan of attack against any surviving Vambir. Humans would live on in blissful isolation, never realizing that they owed everything to the reviled Nosferatu.
As he stood engrossed in his thoughts, a familiar smell wafted through his nostrils.
Humans!
He quickly removed the bio-scanner from his pocket and changed the setting to detect human signals. The readout was devastating. A group of over fifty was directly beneath him at the base of the cliffs. He had not smelled them while crossing the plain because of the strong winds. So intent had he been on locating Kevak’s cave, he had not thought to consider whether anyone had seen the red blinking light emitted from the bio-scanner. Living in isolation for so long, he had assumed no humans would be out and about this far away from Bazna.
When he ran out on the ledge to see if any of them were scaling the cliffs, the crowd let out a collective gasp.
“It is Nosferatu!” yelled one. “Just as Nicolae described!”
“Look at the demon’s ears and fangs!” cried another.
Chaluxi effortlessly scaled to the clifftop and saw the remains of the rows that had held Kevak’s hemo-crop that he had harvested before setting out on his journey. Running past the remnants of animal enclosures to the other side of the cliff, he scanned the ground with his night vision. If no humans were waiting for him below, he would be able to escape. He was overjoyed to see nothing but a small, tranquil pond reflecting the twinkling stars.
Beginning his descent, he suddenly remembered that he had left the burlap bag containing the hemo-rations in Kevak’s cave. There was no choice but to return for it. Kevak might not be back for months, and without hemo-rations, Chaluxi would be forced to feed off humans and spiral back into the blood addiction.
Never!
He sprinted back across the clifftop and descended to the ledge as five villagers were making their way to the cave entrance. With one blow of his forearm he dislodged them from the cliffs, and they fell to their deaths in the midst of the villagers on the ground. Running into the cave, he snatched the burlap bag then quickly returned to the clifftop. Upon reaching the other side, he saw that the villagers now had the cliff surrounded.
He sat down and collected his thoughts. The situation would require him to go into berserker mode. He had done it before on the battlefield. It would be possible to defeat them all. Since he had no weapons, he would have to kill with his claws and fangs. Blood would spurt out from their wounds and cover him, triggering the chemical reaction in his brain that would bring on the cravings. But the knowledge that he carried hemo-rations would help him overcome the cravings long enough to escape.
Deciding there was no other option, he prepared to fight. He then saw his doom: hundreds of soldiers on horseback closing in fast on the plain. All was lost. He could never triumph against so many. Once the sun came up, he would be forced to cower helplessly in the cave until they charged him en masse.
No! I won’t allow it to end like that!
He calmly walked back toward the cave and saw that no more humans were attempting to climb up.
They’re waiting for daylight. Sensible.
He jumped to the ledge and entered the cave. Walking to the wall mural, he dipped the rag in the bowl of murky water and proceeded to blot out J’Vor’s paintings. Removing the palmcom from his pocket, he composed a final message to Kevak. Upon completion of his task, he opened the burlap bag and deposited the palmcom, along with his lasgun and bio-scanner. Closing the bag, he used his long arm to place it deep inside one of the ventilation shafts Kevak had hollowed out — deeper than any human arm could reach.
With nothing more to do, he waited patiently as the sky lightened. When he had determined that only minutes remained before sunrise, he walked out to the ledge and hissed at the terrified villagers.
“Satan is all-powerful!” he yelled. “I, Nosferatu, shall destroy every last
one of you and take your souls with me to Hell!”
He laughed hysterically as the sun became visible in the sky, his skin began to smolder, and the villagers watched in horror as he burst into flames. Minutes later, Chaluxi’s ashes were carried away on the wind.
RETRIBUTION
Carpathian Mountains
“Vambir!” yelled Tariq as he watched them scaling the cliffs toward their cave.
Jasper limped to his pack and removed his push dagger and axe.
“Try to pick them off as they approach!” he called out to Tariq.
Jasper handed the lasgun to Emanui. “Stay in here and hide,” he ordered. “We are going to have to engage in close-quarters combat. Much blood will be spilled. If they bring me down, they will all crouch over to feed. Do not hesitate. There may be only one shot left, and you must make it count.”
“Jasper, no!” she cried. “You could wave the lasgun in front of them! Chaluxi said it would keep them at bay!”
“It would give away the element of surprise,” he said, “and would only result in a temporary standoff. They would try for us one by one, and we might be able to kill one or two of them with it. Once they see that the charge is gone, we’re finished.”
He put his hand on Emanui’s shoulder. “If all of us die today, then humanity is doomed. You must live, Emanui! Live to fight another day with Chaluxi and Kevak!”
He turned away from her and joined Tariq on the ledge.
“What are you waiting for, Vambir vermin?” he taunted. His booming voice echoed off the cliffs. “Surely you are not afraid of two lowly vampires?”
Unseen by both groups, Kevak approached from the opposite side of the cliffs. From Chaluxi’s description, he recognized Tariq and Jasper taking up a defensive stance at the mouth of their cave.
Emanui must be inside with the lasgun. The men are preparing to die in order to give her time to escape.
“It’s Jasper and Tariq!” yelled Klopok to Mazja.
“They were the traitors who scaled down the monastery walls and left us vulnerable to Mehmed,” she replied. “And they will soon suffer for it!”
Once the Vambir came into range, Tariq sent a barrage of arrows in their direction. Klopok and Rujah were struck in the torso, while the side of Zof’s face was split open. As Mazja rushed forward to overtake Tariq, Jasper sunk his axe heavily into her thigh. Seemingly impervious to the pain, she struck him with the back of her hand, and the blow sent him skidding to the edge of the cliff. As his legs teetered over the side, he groped wildly in a desperate attempt to prevent himself from falling.
Mazja was too close to Tariq for him to aim his bow at her. Snatching an arrow from his quiver, he used it as a knife to stab at her face. She quickly moved her head to the side, and the arrow only grazed her neck. Grabbing Tariq, she opened up her mouth to tear out his throat.
A great rumbling caused her to lose her footing, and she tumbled down the side of the cliff. Another wave of aftershocks reverberated through the cliffs and dislodged several boulders that began to roll toward the Vambir. Gathering speed as they hurtled down, Klopok dodged one headed straight for him. His relief was short-lived. The boulder was diverted from its course when it rolled over a jagged rock, and Klopok suddenly found himself in its path. Putting up his arms in a futile effort to shield himself, his loud curses were instantly silenced as his head bore the brunt of the deadly force.
Mazja managed to avoid the tumbling boulders and paused to catch her breath. Jasper’s axe was still in her thigh. Gritting her teeth, she extracted it without a sound.
Seeing that Rujah and Zof were unscathed, she gave them a hand signal to ascend and watched as they climbed up to overtake the vampires.
Tariq ran to Jasper and pulled him back to the safety of the ledge.
“Get back to your post, Tariq,” he gasped. “They’ll be returning for us.”
Tariq ran back to the ledge and pulled an arrow taut in his bow. Limping to his side, Jasper prepared to fight armed only with the push dagger. They could hear the scratching made by the Vambir as they were clawing their way up to them. They were just underneath them — so close, yet hidden from Tariq’s aim and beyond Jasper’s grasp.
“This is it,” said Jasper to Tariq as they braced themselves for another attack. “You’ve been good company, boyo.”
Tariq met Jasper’s gaze with a sad smile. They would not be able to overpower the Vambir, but they hoped they would be able to buy Emanui enough time to escape.
In unison, Rujah and Zof hoisted themselves onto the ledge, but instead of attacking, a look of fear came over their faces, and they put up their hands. Standing behind Tariq and Jasper was Kevak, pointing a lasgun directly at them.
*******
The violent aftershocks caused a large rock to fall heavily on the edge of the stasis pod. The air hissed loudly as it escaped from inside, and the pod’s emergency revival sequence was activated. Within minutes, J’Vor was awake.
How long have I been in stasis?
The external dials on the pod indicated he had only been under for less than an hour. Grabbing the telescope and bio-scanner, he entered the passcode and deactivated the cloak. Climbing to the top of the cliff, he located several Vambir life signs and pointed the telescope in their direction. As he brought the blurred figures into focus, he could see Kevak pointing a lasgun at two Vambir. Tariq and Jasper were with him, and the Vambir had their hands in the air. He saw a figure emerge from the cave.
Emanui!
She took off running away from the others. Kevak was keeping the Vambir at bay with the lasgun as he backed away with Tariq and Jasper. Checking the bio-scanner, J’Vor detected another Vambir signal away from Kevak’s group. Readjusting the telescope, he saw Mazja come into view. She was creeping up the side of the cliff, and Kevak’s group was going to back up straight into her path.
I must warn Father!
J’Vor took off running in the direction of the scanner’s signal.
*******
Mazja fought through the pain as she slowly crept up the cliff behind the vampires. When she was able to see them, she momentarily thought her wounds were causing her to hallucinate.
Navigator Kevak!
*******
“Kill them!” yelled Jasper to Kevak.
Kevak held up his hand to silence Jasper and turned to face Rujah and Zof.
“Look at me!” he cried to them. “It is Navigator Kevak who stands before you. Your eyes bring you proof that you can live without blood. I did it! I harvested a hemo-crop and have thrived all these years. Join me, and you will be released from the bloodlust! I offer you a chance of a meaningful life!”
Rujah and Zof exchanged puzzled looks and nervously shuffled their feet. The standoff was brought to a halt by a high-pitched human cry.
J’Vor!
From her position below the cliff, Mazja saw a dark-skinned human child tumbling down a small embankment. His head struck a rock and rendered him unconscious. Blood flowed from his wound and Mazja raced toward him.
As Kevak jerked his head in J’Vor’s direction, Rujah and Zof rushed him. In the ensuing struggle, Kevak’s lasgun was knocked from his hand and somersaulted down the rocks, the sound echoing against the cliffs. Jasper and Tariq jumped into the fray. Tariq used one of his arrows to stab Rujah in the shoulder as Jasper drove his push dagger into his temple. Frantic with worry for J’Vor, Kevak snapped Zof’s neck, instantly killing him.
“Stand down, Navigator!” cried Mazja.
He watched helplessly as Mazja dangled J’Vor’s unconscious body over the side of the cliff.
“Mazja!” pleaded Kevak. “You are free to go! No one can stop you! Leave the boy and go!”
“He means something to you, Navigator?”
She laughed as she lifted J’Vor’s body close to her and sank her teeth into his neck.
“No!” screamed Kevak.
After a few seconds of feeding, she tilted her head back.
“Ah, that’s b
etter,” she said. “I forgot how hungry I was. This one is small, but sufficient.”
Again she sank her teeth into his neck. Her feeding was suddenly interrupted by an intense burning in her legs. She let go of J’Vor and collapsed to the ground. In front of her was Emanui, who had just discharged the lasgun. Mazja looked down and saw that her legs were gone. The charge on the lasgun had not been enough to vaporize her. As she began to slip over the edge of the cliff, she clawed madly to prevent herself from falling. The last thing she saw before plunging into the ravine was Emanui lifting J’Vor’s limp body.
Kevak sprinted to Emanui and took J’Vor from her.
“No!” he cried as the bio-scanner revealed J’Vor had flat-lined.
“I can save him,” said Emanui to Kevak. “But he will become damned, as we are. The choice is yours.”
“Please!” begged Kevak. “Save my son!”
She took Jasper’s push dagger and made an incision in her wrist. Opening J’Vor’s mouth, she allowed the blood to drip inside. Kevak’s bio-scanner began to beep.
“Iam be praised!” he cried. “He’s coming back! We must get him to my stasis pod for treatment immediately!”
*******
Kevak studied the external dials on the pod. J’Vor‘s life signs were growing stronger, and his DNA was transforming into the Vambir sequence. Jasper had watched in amazement as Kevak welded shut the small opening caused by the falling rock, despite being told to shield his eyes.
The Nosferatu Chronicles: Origins Page 24
