5
The sight of Mount Asharoth was a great relief, an even greater relief to unburden myself of the old man, and pure bliss to avail myself of the Temple. Neolas came as we gorged ourselves on mortal blood and immediately dispatched one of his abuellas to inform Zenzele of our return. “Welcome home, Gon!” he cried. “I see that you have been restored to your true form, and none the worse for wear, it seems. The Mother will be pleased.”
“What is the news?” I asked, after the blood ecstasy had faded. I licked my lips, feeling the nourishment rejuvenate my body, freshen my strength. The hand with which I wiped my mouth was soft and pink and warm again.
It was night, and the Temple of the Bloodletters was torch-lit and idle. The others were still feeding, attended by Neolas’s blood priests, all except Vehnfear, who had loped away shortly after we traversed the northeast pass. In the flickering torchlight, the stone obelisks appeared to twitch and sway. The moon was faintly orange overhead, and swathed in a diaphanous skirt of clouds. Summer had passed in our absence and winter was nudging autumn impatiently from behind.
“News?” Neolas said. “Why, you are the news, Father! Or you will be shortly.”
So no one knew about the Tanti yet.
He took note of my pensive expression and frowned. “What is it, Gon?” he asked. “You look uneasy.”
“Summon the high council to the Aerie,” I said. “There are matters of great import to discuss. Have your priests tell them it cannot wait.”
Neolas bowed. “I will see that it is done.”
I looked around the temple grounds. I wished to say goodbye to my compatriots but they were all still engrossed in feeding, or basking in the afterglow, and too blood-addled for rational discourse. They had risked their lives to restore me to my true form, suffered terrible deprivations for my sake, and I was appreciative beyond measure, but the fate of the Tanti weighed heavily on my mind. I nodded to them gratefully, though none were looking in my direction, and set my sights on Mount Asharoth.
I departed the Temple of the Bloodletters, headed towards the Aerie. I would see my beloved Zenzele now, and tell her what we had learned of the Tanti. I desired her counsel, for I did not know what to do about the situation, and I missed her terribly. I wanted to see her before the others came. I wanted to hold her in my arms, and be held by her.
As I made my way through the outer district where the mortals dwelled, I spotted two figures coming down the north side of the mountain, set at a little distance from one another. The one in the lead was unknown to me—the messenger Neolas had sent to the Aerie-- but the other was Zenzele. I recognized her gait, even from a distance.
I turned in their direction as the first figure, the messenger, crossed the tree line and vanished into the forest. I passed through the inner wall into the canton of the blood drinkers, and made my way to the foot of the mountain, where the Path of the Guardians let out into the city. I started up the trail, jogging through the moon-shadows of the forest. Neolas’s priest stopped and bowed respectfully as I passed him on the path. And then I saw Zenzele, and I hurried to her embrace.
“Gon!” she cried softly as I enfolded her in my arms, kissing her all over, her lips, her cheeks, her neck. She held me away after a moment and looked at me, looked up at me, as I was once again the height I was before. “You are yourself again!” she exclaimed. “You did it!”
“I am restored,” I pronounced. “Our mission was a success.”
“And the others?”
“We lost one,” I said. “One of Rayna’s elite guard. He was crushed in an accident. I could not save his life. But I took his Blood. I have him now, here, in my mind. It was all I could do. The rest are alive, unharmed. And we vanquished three of the God King’s Eternals. Qor, Jelt, Baalt. We Divided them, and scattered the pieces upon the great ice sheet where they hid my torso, far to the north, in a strange land where the sky burns green at night.” I could tell by her expression that it was a little much to take in all at once. Laughing, I said, “Drink my Blood, my love. Then you will know everything. There is so much I would tell you, but it is quicker this way. I have summoned the high council. There are matters of great import to discuss. We haven’t much time.”
She nodded and inclined her mouth to my neck. I leaned forward, exposing my jugular to her, and gasped as her fangs penetrated my flesh. I was quite instantly erect, almost painfully so, and closed my eyes in pleasure as she suckled at the wound.
I was tempted to drink from her, too. Bend my lips to her neck and sink my fangs into her flesh. Close the circle. Become one. But I would not do that without her leave. And we did not have time. A vampire can lose himself in such rapture. For hours. Even days at a time. Feeding and being fed upon, a closed loop of ecstatic Sharing.
I held the back of her head, groaning as she bit into me once more, pulling forcefully at the arteries in my neck, and then she drew back, eyes dreamy and unfocused. Her tongue slipped out and lapped delicately at her lips, and then she woke to the present, shook off the hallucinatory visions that came with the Sharing, and turned her sharpened gaze on me.
“The God King has captured the Tanti,” she said.
“Yes.”
She extracted herself from my arms, stepped away, eyes turned down, thinking hard. She looked sharply back at me and asked, “What do you intend to do? Will you offer yourself for them, as you did your blood child Ilio?” She was prepared, I could see, to be furious if I answered foolishly.
“Of course not,” I said quickly. “I may be a fool, Zenzele, but not twice over a fool.”
She visibly relaxed, offered an apologetic smile. “I was afraid…” she began.
She did not finish the thought, but let it trail off, an unspoken I-told-you-so.
“I knew the God King would betray me,” I said. “I am no idiot, Zenzele. But I thought-- I hoped-- that Khronos would surprise me. That he would actually keep our bargain. He was an honorable man once, after his own fashion. Cold, yes, and brutal for certain, but honorable. But the mortal man he once was has long since been consumed, devoured by the rot of his decadence and hunger for power. No, my love, I swear to you. I will not make the same mistake twice.”
“You would let them go then? Let them perish? Your own mortal progeny?” She looked as though she did not believe me.
I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t believe it myself.
“For the good of the whole? Yes. If I’ve no other choice,” I said. “But perhaps there is a way…”
“A way to save them?” She looked doubtful.
It was hard enough to rescue me, and I was just a head on the wall, all but forgotten by my Uroboran captors. We were talking about rescuing an entire tribe now, segregated and under heavy guard. Khronos would not be so careless a second time.
“I have some ideas,” I said.
6
What ideas?
Mostly hairbrained ones, it seemed, after I had shared them with the council.
Respectful as they were, my advisers were not afraid to voice their opinions, but that is something I had always encouraged. I valued their judgment. Primitive though they were, prehistoric men and women with no written language, no mathematics and little understanding of the laws of physics, they held in their minds the combined wisdom of several hundred human lifespans. None of them could have told you what the stars in the heavens were, or why we clung to the face of the earth and did not fall into the sky, or why the sun rose in the east and set in the west, but they were experts in human behavior, in military theory, in political philosophy. They were wise, if not learned. They were cunning and resourceful. And even I, stubborn as I am, was smart enough to heed their advice, whether I decided in the end to take it or not.
“Now is the time to launch an assault!” Drago exclaimed. “We have destroyed four of the God King’s most powerful Eternals. Our rebellion has undermined his authority, sewn discontent in the hearts of his followers. He has never been so vulnerable. We would be fools to pass up
this opportunity.”
“And what of the Tanti?” Eris asked. “They are the mortal descendants of the man you’ve sworn allegiance to. They are the Father’s living heart, and Khronos holds it in his hand. Would you sacrifice them to satisfy your need for vengeance?”
“But surely there is a way to do both, rescue the Tanti and defeat the God King,” Aioa said.
“And how do we accomplish that?” Drago asked hotly. “I no more wish to see these mortals come to harm than you do. I just don’t see any way to free them.”
“The Tanti are safe so long as Khronos believes they have value to us,” I said, hoping to comfort my granddaughter a little. Her daughter, Meegan, was one of the hostages, as well as Irema’s two sons.
“To be used against us,” Drago countered. “There is nothing we can do to help them! If we refuse his demands, Khronos will destroy them. If we attack him directly, Khronos will destroy them. If we offer our lives for theirs, Khronos will destroy us, and then he will destroy them. They are lost, no matter what course of action we take.”
“So it’s best we proceed as if they’re already lost to us?” I said, and when he agreed-- not without sympathy-- I shook my head. “I refuse,” I replied. “I’ll not avenge the living. Not without trying to rescue them first. There must be a way to save them. If not all then at least some of them. Even one is better than none at all.”
“If we cannot prevail by bargaining or force,” Zenzele put in, “then we must resort to trickery and deceit.”
“What sort of trickery?” Bhorg asked.
“A false attack, perhaps?” I offered. “Make him believe we’ve launched an assault. That we intend to liberate the Tanti. If he believes we’ve made a mistake, that we have committed our forces too soon, or unwisely, we may lure him away from the city, draw his attention away from the Tanti.”
“And what then?” Drago demanded.
“Irema,” Aioa answered.
“What can one woman do?” Drago scoffed. “She is not even an Eternal!”
“There are many in Uroboros who are unhappy with the God King’s rule,” I said. “And not just the slaves. There are dissenters among the freemen of the Arth, as well. Even a few immortals. I have tasked Irema to seek out these rebels and recruit them to our cause. If we can draw the God King’s forces away from the city, she may be able to bring together some of these malcontents and liberate the Tanti while Khronos is distracted.”
“That would require a great deal of coordination,” Drago said. “I know Irema is invisible to the God King’s Eye, but how do we get word to her of these plans? No one else shares her powers. Not even her sister can do what she can. No, it is impossible! A pleasant fantasy, little more.”
It was impossible to argue my case. He was right. Perhaps it would be different if Aioa and Irema could communicate telepathically at will, but so far Aioa had been unable to contact her sister. Unless they made some sort of breakthrough, Drago was right. My schemes were just a pleasant fantasy.
“Have you had any success trying to contact your sister?” Zenzele asked Aioa.
Aioa shook her head, looking down at her hands. “No, Mother, I am sorry,” she said, picking at her nails. “I have tried. I haven’t stopped trying since the last time she contacted me. I have seen little flashes, as if through her eyes. When they crucified our cousin. And later, inside the Fen, when one of the God King’s priests grew suspicious of her and pursued her through the corridors. She managed to elude him, but it was a very near thing. That was why she was able to make contact for a moment. It only happens when we are frightened or surprised, and she was very frightened when she was running from the priest. But that is all. I cannot will it to happen, and it is so brief when it does happen that it is hard to communicate anything very complex with her. I do not know if I would have time to convey grandfather’s plan.”
Her misery was so palpable, and so intense, that no one commented for a moment or two. Even Drago, who was as garrulous as he was impatient, held his tongue out of respect.
“So what have we decided?” Bhorg finally asked, looking around the circle.
“Our forces are nearly the equal of the God King’s army,” I said. “And there are more Eternals on our side now than his. The people of Uroboros are angry and restive. Drago is right. Khronos has never been more vulnerable.” I met Drago’s eyes and an understanding passed between us, a unity of purpose. “We should attack, before the God King marshals his strength. We cannot allow the Tanti to be held against us, nor bargain for them with our enemy and hope he doesn’t betray us.”
Aioa, head down, began to weep.
For the good of the whole, I reminded myself, but I felt hollow inside. I felt like a traitor.
“We will set aside one legion of our elite warriors,” I said. “As our main forces engage the God King’s army, they will be tasked with liberating our Tanti brothers and sisters. If we can draw off enough of the God King’s men, our warriors may be able to breach the city walls and free them. I do not believe they will be successful in this venture. I fear Khronos will slaughter the Tanti the moment we march on Fen’Dagher. But we will do our best to save them.”
“When?” Drago asked.
“Now,” I said. “Send out runners. Recall all of our patrols to the city. As soon as we have assembled our troops, we march on Uroboros.”
My pronouncement electrified the council. They did not expect such decisiveness of me. Even Zenzele seemed shocked. They looked to her as I continued to bark orders, dispatching them to various tasks, wondering if she stood by my decision.
Not a word passed her lips, but the fire in her eyes, the stiff set of her shoulders, left little room for doubt.
She was with me. Without reservation.
One by one, the members of the council scurried away.
Finally, there was just the two of us.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Zenzele said, rising from the council fire.
“Did you see the look on their faces?” I asked. A wan smile touched my lips, but it quickly wilted. I felt tired. Tired and old and used up.
“So we march on Uroboros,” she said, walking to our sleeping chambers.
“We have talked of war with Khronos for so long,” I said, following her tiredly. “I am finished talking about it. What was said at the council is true. Khronos has never been so vulnerable. If we wait, he will only make more Eternals, rebuild his army. The time is now.”
“And you are certain about the Tanti?” she asked, slipping off her vest.
“I see no way to save them,” I confessed with a sigh. “Not realistically. If we wait, refuse to bargain for their lives, Khronos will slaughter them. If we try to free them by force, Khronos will slaughter them. There is a chance that Irema can save a few of them, perhaps, if we throw all our might at the God King now, while he is vulnerable, but I find that unlikely as well. I know him. I have tasted his Blood. There is a part of him here in my mind. He will slaughter the Tanti as soon as he sees that we are moving against him.”
“I am so sorry, my love,” Zenzele said. “I know how you revere them.”
“Would that I could trade my life for theirs, but we know how that would go,” I said with a bitter laugh. “I tell myself that it is for the good of the whole, but my anguish is still unbearable. They are my flesh and blood, Zenzele! And I must sacrifice them!”
“Gon, come to bed,” Zenzele said. “It is nearly dawn. You need comfort and rest. We will make war tonight, when the moon has risen and beckons us to our duties. For now, let us simply make love, man and woman. My flesh did not cry out in pleasure at Yul’s touch, not as it does with yours. I have missed you terribly.”
She had thrown back the covers and lain down, legs slightly parted, fingers absently circling her small, dark and quite aggressively pointed nipples. Normally, I would have offered some humorous remark. Something vulgar and egotistical, no doubt. But I was too dispirited.
I sank beside her with a sigh.
&n
bsp; “It is hopeless!” I said.
“You will save them,” she said, moving down sinuously between my thighs. She nestled in, smiled up at me, her gaze keen with desire. “We will march on Uroboros, and you will defeat the God King.” She took my organ in her hand and very lightly, teasingly, ran the tip of one fang down its length.
My cock was more optimistic than I.
But before we could march on Fen’Dagher, something very surprising happened.
The God King sued for peace.
7
Yes, I know what you are thinking. I thought the same thing. Another ruse! Followed closely by: Just how big a fool does he think I am?
It happened like this.
Two nights had passed since my return to Asharoth, and not quite a fortnight since I was restored to my true form. We were down in the military encampment on the north side of the city, reviewing the troops. Many of our furthest patrols had yet to return, but our forces were amassing. You could feel the energy in the air, as before a mighty storm. The entire populace of Asharoth was galvanized. War was coming! Finally, we were taking on the God King!
The past two nights had been a whirlwind of activity. There were tactical meetings to attend, troop movements to direct, new blood drinkers to train and military exercises to supervise. Zenzele was with me, as well as Drago, Bhorg, Rayna, Hammon, Eris, Usus and several members of the blood priesthood. An astounding number of mortals had volunteered to join the war effort, “giving up the sun” so they could take part in the battle. And it was not just the young men. Women, the elderly, they too were taking the Blood. The priesthood was in charge of giving them the Strix, seeing them through the agony of the transformation, but they still needed to be lodged. They needed to be trained how to fight as immortals. We were discussing these matters when Drago spied a messenger racing in our direction. He pointed the lad out, and we broke from our conference to receive the young man.
The Oldest Living Vampire Unleashed Page 14
