The Vexation of Vampires (Penny White Book 5)

by Chrys Cymri

  ‘Let me catch my breath,’ he panted. ‘Water?’

  I unscrewed my bottle and he did his best to fit his beak into the small opening. ‘You spoke to the Bishop?’

  Liquid ran down my arm, but from Morey’s noisy gulps, at least some of it was going down his throat. He pulled his head free. ‘Managed to find her and one archdeacon. But don’t expect much.’

  ‘They’re not going to help?’

  ‘They wanted to send out rats and take time to talk it over. Probably form a committee. Prepare a report. Take a vote in synod. That’s the Church for you.’

  ‘“Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of England.” Eglwys Loegyr sounds even worse.’

  Morey’s laugh was bitter. ‘Maybe they’ll have worked out something by the time the next colony comes through.’

  The vampires had halted. Elthan lifted an arm. The others pulled in close, crowding around as he spoke in a low voice. ‘Listen closely. We always knew this be not for ourselves, but for our pups. To give them that better life than we’ve known.’

  A hundred and forty adults could not come close enough for everyone to hear. So he waited while the message was passed through the group.

  ‘What be you suggesting?’ one woman asked in return.

  ‘We stay here. We send our pups over. They go on to the cathedral and cross to England.’ Elthan found my eyes. ‘Surely your government be unwilling to turn away children?’

  I had to look away. What would happen if the pups did make it through? Would the Dean at Nenehampton Cathedral be willing to host a colony of juvenile vampires? Or would Sue Harkness insist that they be caught and sent back to Lloegyr?

  ‘We send the pups over,’ Geffrai agreed in Welsh. ‘But we need to distract that lot over there. So we charge the river, like we’re planning to push through. Then the pups fly across.’

  ‘Listen, there must be another way,’ I said, well aware that my desperation was having a negative impact upon the clarity of my Welsh. ‘If you’d only wait, I could bring someone who could help…’

  But the vampires were breaking off into family groups. Parents knelt, placing hands on the bare shoulders of their pups. Some of the children seemed to take in quickly what was being asked of them, and their faces matched the determined looks of their elders. Others protested, a few breaking down in tears. I forced myself to watch, and to ignore the bitter mutterings of my Associate.

  The children shimmered, changing into bat form before drawing to one side. The adults dropped rucksacks and shed heavy coats. Raven strode around them to come to my side. ‘There are humans mixed in with the elves.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ I tried to look past the metallic barrier. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I know the difference in smell between an elf and a human. Your kind is more--musty. Not an unpleasant scent, but very distinctive.’

  Elthan looked around his group one more time. The adults gave him nods and raised hands. The bats fluttered their wings. And then, without any verbal signal, the vampires broke into a run and rushed towards the river.

  I shoved my trembling hands into my pockets. The trampled grass released earthy scents into the air, lightened by the higher tones of crushed flowers. Younger vampires pulled ahead of the group, and water splashed high as they threw themselves into the current. Then the rest of the colony joined them, their feet kicking up mud and rocks which tumbled downstream.

  With high-pitched screeches, the pups left the ground. Their thin wings looked as fragile as tissue paper as they flapped towards the city. Parents raised arms in greeting and gave shouts of encouragement as their children passed overhead.

  ‘What’s that?’ Raven lifted his head. ‘The humans are holding something large and metallic.’

  My mouth dried. ‘Guns?’

  ‘Surely not,’ Morey protested.

  I tried to look past the coiled wire. The grey tubes lifted upwards, massive ends supported on the broad shoulders of the human men. A series of loud booms made my heart jump. Black objects flew upwards, not at the bats, but above them. The canisters popped open, and a yellow-brown haze spread in the breeze. The smell of crushed garlic and vinegar hit my nostrils and made me sneeze. ‘It’s letherum.’ I raised my voice and shouted, ‘Turn back! It’s letherum! Turn back, turn back!’

  Some of the pups pulled up. But others were already too far ahead. The gas swirled around their bodies, coating their black fur with blots of brown. The vampires screeched. The sounds became screams as they were wrenched into human form and, to my horror, plummeted towards the ground. ‘Raven! Morey!’

  They were already in the air, wings pounding as dragon and gryphon hurtled towards the unfolding tragedy. Raven plucked a falling vampire from the sky, his golden claws closing around the small body. The other forefoot did the same. But more were falling around him. And Morey, too small to save even the smallest child, hovered and swore.

  Some of the pups had fallen into the river. The adults abandoned themselves to the current, desperately trying to reach the struggling bodies. I suddenly found my own feet and rushed towards the water. Far too late, it had occurred to me that vampires would’ve had no reason to learn how to swim.

  ‘Don’t you dare!’ Morey screamed above me. ‘Haven’t you done enough?’

  I glanced up, and saw that the tubes were once again rising into the air. Some of the pups were still in bat form, and nearly over the river. The men were preparing to fire the smoke bombs a second time.

  My foot caught on a clump of grass, and I stumbled. God, I found myself praying desperately, don’t let this happen, please don’t let this happen.

  And then a voice bellowed so loudly that my ears ached, ‘In the name of all that is holy, put down those weapons!’

  I skidded to a halt and flung my head back. Bishop Aeron hovered above the fence, her wings a pounding fury of red and orange. Her chaplain, a yellow dragon not much smaller than the Bishop, was at her left. More dragons, also bearing the cowls of priests, dived down to take positions nearby. And on the chaplain’s neck, her white face leading me to suspect that she was not used to riding dragons, was Skylar.

  ‘I said,’ the Bishop shouted, ‘put down those weapons!’ Puffs of flames accentuated her words.

  Morey thumped onto my shoulder, breathing heavily. ‘The Church Militant,’ he said in an awed tone.

  Elves, used to dragons as partners, might have held their nerve. But humans stood beneath the launchers. Faced with a half-dozen dragons, they did what any sane person would do. They lowered their weapons and backed away. I had the distinct impression that several of them would need a change of underwear.

  Adult vampires were pulling children from the water. Some held broken bodies in their arms, and their sobs tore through me. I called up to the Bishop, ‘They need shelter, and medical attention. Can you help take them back to their camp?’

  The priests landed and began the delicate operation of safely moving the injured. There was a movement behind the barrier, and I braced myself, fearing the worst. But the heddlu flew over to offer their help. Dragons landed in the river so their elf partners could grab the struggling vampires.

  Bishop Aeron quickly conferred with her chaplain, then strode over to us, Skylar at her side. ‘Father Penny, Father Trahaearneifion. You two are uninjured?’

  ‘Letherum has no effect on the one-faced,’ Morey said angrily. ‘I’ve never heard of it being used in this fashion.’

  ‘Neither have I,’ the Bishop growled. ‘And it must not be used this way again.’

  ‘Thank you for coming,’ I told her. ‘Morey said you were thinking it over. What made up your minds?’

  ‘Your curate.’ Bishop Aeron turned her large head towards the vampire. ‘She burst into our meeting and insisted that the Church intervene. We were reminded that it is our Christian duty to render assistance to the weak and to the poor. “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were s
trangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”’

  ‘Leviticus 19: 34,’ Morey said promptly.

  ‘King James Version,’ I added.

  ‘I didn’t plan to come,’ Skylar explained. ‘But I was in the study, and a call came through, that minister, Sue Harkness, and she left a message saying pretty much, “Don’t worry about the colony, we’re sending reinforcements.” And I didn’t like the sound of that, because you said that there were pups with the colony. And I thought it would be terrible if another pup had to go through what I went through, losing her parents and then her place in the colony. And then I thought how God keeps telling us in the Bible how we have to look after the destitute, and I felt so guilty that I wasn’t doing anything to help. So I asked Sally, Bishop Nigel’s chaplain, what I should do, and she told me to go to the crossing place in Nenehampton Cathedral. And so I crossed over and told Aldred that I had to speak to Bishop Aeron urgently, like right now, and he let me in. So then I said lots about the Bible, and helping people, and--’

  ‘Skylar,’ the Bishop said affectionately.

  ‘Yes, Bishop Aeron?’

  ‘Shut up.’

  ‘Yes, Bishop Aeron. But I was only going to tell Penny about the bit from Deuteronomy--’

  Morey hopped over to her shoulder. ‘How about you tell me? We can compare chapters and verses.’

  ‘Only while I walk to the camp,’ Skylar said. ‘I have basic first aid training. I think I can be of help.’ And she hurried towards the tents, head turned towards the gryphon.

  ‘Bishop Aeron,’ I said quietly, ‘I’m a bit surprised Aldred let Skylar interrupt your meeting. I thought the job of a chaplain was to stop that sort of thing from happening.’

  ‘Normally, yes.’ Her fur-fringed ears curved down towards me. ‘For as long as we have known Skylar, she’s shown nothing but contempt towards vampires. But here she was, begging to see the senior staff to ask for their intervention. Aldred can recognise the touch of God upon a soul. And we both know better than to ignore God when he sends us such a strong message.’

  ‘So it wasn’t so much what she said,’ I asked slowly, ‘as the fact that it was Skylar who was saying it?’

  ‘Precisely. Now, I suggest we have more pressing duties to undertake. It appears that the injured have been relocated. And, sadly, a number of these people will need prayers for their souls.’

  <><><><><><>

  Afternoon darkened into night. One of the dragon priests had a medical background, and she sorted the vampires into slightly wounded, badly injured, and the dead. I did what I could for those in the first two categories, which consisted mainly of carrying buckets of hot water and finding material which could be used as bandages.

  And as I fetched and carried, I kept asking myself why I hadn’t brought Clyde over with me. Why hadn’t I thought of opening a thin place sooner? The colony could have entered England and not faced this decimation of their numbers. The magister had once thanked me for my help. Now I wasn’t sure I could look him in the face.

  I delivered my latest batch of bandages, and backed out of the tent. My heel clipped against a hoof, and both the unicorn and I stumbled. ‘Sorry,’ I said quickly. ‘I wasn’t watching where I was going.’

  The unicorn shook himself, bright mane flapping. ‘Neither was I. No harm done.’

  He was little more than a colt, and the light from the nearby lanterns showed that he was weaving on his feet. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked.

  ‘Very, very tired,’ he said. ‘Please excuse me, there’s a child a few tents down with a broken leg.’

  ‘You’re healing them?’

  ‘Of course.’ He snorted softly. ‘They need help.’

  I stepped back to let him pass. Then I looked around the camp. A full-sized gryphon was carrying a bucket of steaming water in her beak. A were-wolf was adding logs to a fire. An elf ran past, arms piled high with blankets.

  A dwarf was placing extra lanterns by the food tent. I walked over and peered inside. A mixture of vampires, weres, elves, and several harpies chopped meat and vegetables and stirred pots of broth. ‘Where have you all come from?’ I asked the dwarf standing beside me. At his look, I repeated the question in Welsh.

  ‘O'r ddinas,’ he replied. From the city.

  ‘Why? How?’

  ‘The rats came to my forge,’ he said in Welsh. ‘Said children were hurt. A gryphon flew us to the camp.’

  ‘You’d help vampires?’

  A scowl darkened his face. ‘Children are children. Course I’m helping.’ He marched away with a lantern in each hand.

  The many people now assisting the living meant that it was time I turned to the dead. Aldred, comforting one bereaved mother, directed me to the tent which had been turned into a morgue. The number of bodies laid out across the bright rugs brought tears to my eyes. Bishop Aeron sat inside, a large rosary clicking through her black claws as she murmured prayers under her breath. I moved to stand beside her, and found myself joining in.

  Skylar joined us a few minutes later. ‘It’s terrible. Look at this. And you wonder why I prefer to live in England. Who would want to live in a place like this? The people here--look what they do to anyone they don’t want. It’s hopeless.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’ the Bishop asked mildly.

  The vampire swung out an arm, indicating the dead. ‘You can see for yourself.’

  ‘Look outside,’ I said, ‘and tell me what you see.’

  ‘What, all those crying parents?’

  ‘But what else?’ I led her to the entrance and pointed at a unicorn staggering past. ‘He’s nearly flat out, but he’s still using his horn to heal.’

  Skylar shrugged. ‘Priests are meant to be sacrificial.’

  ‘But he’s not a priest.’ I moved my head and nodded at a small dragon carrying a bucket in her jaws. ‘Nor is she. Nor is that dwarf over there, the one taking food around. Or that elf with the lanterns.’

  ‘The rats spread news about what happened here,’ Bishop Aeron said from behind us. ‘And these people came to help.’

  ‘And look at how young they are,’ I continued with sudden realisation. ‘This is the generation that’s grown up in the city. The first generation which wasn’t born into a homogenous society. They’ve gone to mixed schools, worked in mixed teams, might even live in mixed neighbourhoods. They don’t see each other as dragons, or gryphons, or unicorns, or vampires. They just see each other as people. Their own people.’

  Aeron rose to her feet and, with a delicacy which belied her size, walked past the bodies to join us. ‘I have already spoken to the magister. The Church will grant asylum to this colony. All those who have survived will be given shelter. I’ve sent Father Trahaearneifion and Father Aldred into the city to start making the necessary arrangements. Forgive me, Father Penny, but you might not see your Associate for a few days.’

  I smiled. ‘I’ll survive.’

  ‘But what about the next colony?’ Skylar asked. ‘And the next one after that?’

  ‘I don’t have all the answers,’ the Bishop said. ‘But the Lord rarely shows us the entire path. He only asks that we take the next step, trusting in his love and faithfulness.’

  ‘Some of them,’ I warned her, ‘might still want to cross over to England.’

  ‘We’ll discourage that.’ The Bishop sighed. ‘This is a Lloegyr problem, and our country needs to find a solution. It’s time we began to look at what unites us, beyond our physical and cultural differences.’

  Skylar looked up at the dragon. ‘So, you think there’s hope?’

  Bishop Aeron said firmly, ‘The Church is built on hope. The hope we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ She gave the vampire a gentle nudge with her muzzle. ‘Come, Father Skylar, we’ve done all we can here. Aldred will take you back to the cathedral so you can return to England.’

  <><><><><><>

  I found Elthan comforting an elderly vampire. Geffrai glowered nearby, firelight washing his face with red. ‘My
sorrow for your sorrow,’ I said to the magister. ‘How many have you lost?’

  ‘Eighteen pups dead, another twenty with injuries.’ Elthan swayed, and Geffrai hurried to give him physical support. ‘Twenty-seven adults also injured, and ten dead.’

  ‘Bishop Aeron told me that the Church will give sanctuary to the colony.’

  ‘Aye, for which we be grateful.’

  ‘To live in buildings,’ Geffrai said bitterly. ‘Never again to roam.’

  ‘Lloegyr be changing, and we must needs change with it.’ Elthan patted his hand. ‘Penny, we be thankful for your help, and the help of the Church.’

  ‘And that of people from the city,’ I added. ‘Lloegyr is changing, but that doesn’t have to be for the worse.’

  Geffrai stepped towards me, fists clenched. ‘Say that again, but this time to parents whose pups have died today.’

  ‘Geffrai.’ Elthan’s voice was quiet but firm. ‘You do little to honour their deaths by threatening a guest. If you cannot be civil, be elsewhere.’

  The younger vampire muttered a curse, then turned on his heel and stalked away.

  ‘I’ll check in on you, when you’ve settled,’ I promised. ‘For now, I have to go home. And I am so very sorry about what’s happened to your colony.’

  He placed a hand on my shoulder. It was hard to read his expression in the dim light, but the warmth in his voice was unmistakable. ‘You be not at fault. Go in peace, Father Penny.’

  I walked through the camp. The lanterns thinned out as I made my way out, and the dark night took over. I paused at the edge and peered into the blackness. ‘Raven?’

  ‘Here.’ The soft sound of talons pulling against grass told me that he was to my left. I forced myself to wait, knowing that the dragon had better night vision than I did. A minute later, his head hovered near mine.

  ‘I’ve done all I can in the camp,’ I said tiredly. ‘Could you take me home?’

  ‘The children?’

  I pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders, although the night was warm. ‘Eighteen dead.’