by J. C. Diem
At a tap on my shoulder, I turned to find the colonel holding a small device in his palm. I was pretty sure it was a miniature camera. “I’d like to pin this to one of your people so I can keep track of your progress. If it looks like you could use our help, I’ll send my soldiers in.”
Geordie sidled in beside me, looking at the device curiously. “I’ll wear it,” he volunteered. Sanderson raised a brow at me and I nodded. Knowing Geordie, he’d be sensible and stay back from the throng and throw his explosives at a safe distance from the enemy. I’d be in the thick of battle, which would be confusing to watch on the small monitor that one of Sanderson’s men held.
It took only a few moments to pin the camera in place and then we were on the move. I caught a brief glimpse of Anna-Eve sharing a look with the colonel before she flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder and took off. She had changed into a pair of tight black pants and a low cut black top. Her skin was so pale it almost glowed in the dark. I didn’t like the secret communication that seemed to be going on between her and Sanderson but what could I possibly say to either of them that wouldn’t make me sound paranoid? Maybe I was paranoid and I was just imagining that there was something sinister going on.
More gunshots sounded as we raced across scrubby ground towards the battle. The soldiers were holed up in the centre of the village that they had been sent to search. Wailing villagers were huddled inside the buildings. Most probably had no idea what was going on. If any were brave enough to peek out of their windows, they would have seen dozens of fledglings surrounding their community in a rough circle. The soldiers must have been running low on ammunition. They took single shots at the circling vamps instead of cutting them down with wild bursts of gunfire. That was good for us as there would be fewer bullets to avoid as we moved in for the kill.
The fledglings had no idea we were behind them until Igor fired the first shot. One of the newly risen vampires exploded but the rest barely even noticed being splattered with his gore. Enough of their numbers had been reduced by the soldiers that they had learned a rudimentary type of caution but they were far too intent on feeding from the humans to pay us any attention. We weren’t food so we barely registered to them at this stage in their undead lives.
Battle lust descended as my swords came free from their sheaths. Orange light, a side effect of being fed imp blood, burst from my eyes as I began to carve my way through the fledglings. Explosions rang out as the prototypes were fired or small bombs were thrown. The joy of the kill carried me away until there was suddenly no one left to fight.
Swords dripping with ooze, I turned in a slow circle and saw only a few remaining soldiers huddled together. As I came to a stop, I was faced with a terrified guard from the French Court. The prototype he had just used to cut down the fledglings was pointed at my chest. “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?” I asked him uneasily, secretly knowing what the answer would be.
His reply was to pull the trigger. A split second later, the bullet thumped home and came to a stop beside my dead and unbeating heart. I had enough time to meet Luc’s horrified eyes then my body was torn apart in a burst of fire that felt like it came directly from hell itself.
Chapter Five
I regained consciousness quickly, mainly because my head had been blown clear of my body instead of being disintegrated in the blast. Hands were clasping my head to a heaving chest. “Look what they have done to you, chérie,” a young voice moaned between dry sobs.
“Geordie? Is that you?” At my questioning croak, my head was turned and lifted.
“Natalie…you’re awake!” Geordie’s joy didn’t last long. He turned my head and angled it downwards. “Look what has become of your poor body.”
It was hard not to look at what was left of me when it was lying right in front of my eyes. From the knees down, I was fine. Everything above my knees wasn’t in such great shape. My flesh had been reduced to gobbets of meat, guts and gore. If I’d still had a stomach, I would have heaved at the sight before me.
Heated voices drew my attention. “I say we kill them all,” a gruff voice rose to drown out the others. “They have just proven how treacherous they are and how little they can be trusted.” I didn’t need to see Igor to recognize his voice. His Russian accent was so thick it was barely understandable.
“I agree,” Luc backed up his friend. “Let us put an end to them once and for all.” His usual calmness was gone and cold rage had taken its place.
Anna-Eve’s voice went up a few octaves. “You can’t prove that he was following my orders!”
“He was your servant, was he not?” Gregor damned her by pointing out. Even the most sophisticated one amongst us was barely managing to contain his anger.
Since I was just a head at the moment, I couldn’t move closer without help. “Geordie, can you join the others?”
“Of course.” Tucking my head beneath his arm, the teen ambled over and came to a stop beside his mentor. Igor did a double take when he saw me and his brows lowered in a heavy frown at my condition.
Anna-Eve was too flustered to take note of our arrival. I doubted she thought Geordie was even worth her notice. Her band of guards and courtiers were outnumbered by more than two to one. I was pleased to see Ishida’s warriors were on our side.
“None of you have the authority to order our deaths,” the blonde said with more than a hint of desperation in her tone.
I had no idea why she had ordered her lackey to shoot me but it had been a terrible decision that she was going to pay for with her life. “They might not, but I do.” Heads turned when I spoke. Those who hadn’t witnessed my miraculous healing abilities were stunned to see my detached head talking.
“What are your instructions, Mortis?” Luc asked me. He’d never called me Mortis before. It was a stark reminder to everyone exactly who and what I was. The guard who had shot me was nowhere to be seen. I assumed he’d already been turned into a sticky puddle by my beloved.
Before I could give the order to attack, a truck pulled in between our two opposing groups. Anna-Eve and her cohorts were cut off from our view and took instant advantage of it. Rapid footsteps quickly faded as the French guards and courtiers ran for their lives.
“After them!” At Ishida’s curt order, his warriors darted around the truck to stop the Europeans from fleeing but they were already too late. The child king recalled his people with a terse command before they moved too far away to be able to hear him. As much as I wanted to see Anna-Eve dead, I agreed with Ishida’s decision. Dividing our forces wouldn’t be a good idea.
Colonel Sanderson’s jeep lurched to a halt behind the truck that had allowed our quarry to escape. He wasn’t holding the small monitor anymore but he’d have watched our interaction. Why do I get the feeling that he deliberately stopped us from annihilating Anna-Eve? My thought was a mixture of confusion and annoyance. What possible motive could he have for interfering in vampire politics?
“What the hell happened here?” Sanderson asked in a near shout, raking his gaze across the remaining vampires.
“Anna-Eve tried to have Natalie killed with one of your guns,” Geordie explained with a scowl. “We were just about to execute them but, thanks to you, they got away.”
“You think she deliberately had one of her people shoot you?” he addressed the question to me. The fact that he hadn’t turned green at the sight of my head resting beneath Geordie’s arm confirmed that he had witnessed the whole thing on his monitor.
“He had been ordered to shoot me and he was Anna-Eve’s servant,” I explained. “He was terrified and didn’t want to shoot me but something forced him to. No one except Anna-Eve would have had the power to compel him to try to kill me.”
Putting his hands on his hips, Sanderson looked up at the sky for a few seconds. Geordie copied him, inadvertently tilting my head back as well. The night sky was clear and the stars were bright. They were different from the constellations I was used to seeing back home but they
held zero interest for me right now. The teen didn’t see much of interest up there either so turned his attention back to the soldier.
“I realize you have issues to sort out,” Sanderson said to us all, “but I’m hoping you can put aside your vampire politics until after we’ve wiped out the remaining fledglings.”
“The courtiers can wait, for now,” I replied. “After all, we know where they live.” I hadn’t meant to be funny but low chuckles sounded throughout the gathering.
“You will not be hunting them alone, Mortis,” Ishida said. “Treachery such as this needs to be repaid.”
Geordie turned to view the child king. “So, you’re suddenly on our side again, are you?” His tone was slightly bitter and more than a touch belligerent. I’d never had a little brother, or particularly wanted one, but Geordie came close to filling that role for me. Except when he was trying to get me to sleep with him, that was. Since Luc and I had publicly declared that we were an exclusive item, Geordie had mostly given up on flirting with me. He still lapsed every now and then.
“Natalie saved my life,” the emperor said with quiet dignity. “I am in her debt.” His eyes touched on me briefly and he offered me a short bow. He was stiff and formal but maybe there was some hope that we could mend our shattered friendship after all. If my body hadn’t been splattered all over the ground at the moment, I would have returned his bow. Held tightly by my young friend, I couldn’t even nod.
Luc moved to Geordie’s side and gently lifted my head from beneath his arm. “How long will it take you to heal from a wound this grievous?”
He turned my head towards my remains so I could assess the carnage again, not that I wanted or needed to. “It will take at least a few hours to repair that much damage,” I told him. More startled murmurs were issued that I could repair myself so quickly. It might seem quick to everyone else but for me, it would feel like a lifetime.
“We need to head to the next village and check for more freshly risen vampires,” the colonel reminded me.
We really only had one choice of action. “Someone needs to scrape my bits and pieces together. I’ll heal as we travel.”
Geordie made discreet gagging noises at my terminology. “Does anyone have a bucket?” Igor asked, probably deliberately to goad his protégé. The teen’s gagging increased in volume.
Working together, Luc and Igor used a shovel one of the soldiers provided to scoop up my blasted body and tip it onto a small sheet of plastic. Gregor picked up my lower legs while Geordie cradled my head again.
I had to close my eyes when my gobbets were tossed onto the sheet of plastic. This wasn’t the first time that I had been reduced to a ruin but it still had the power to revolt me all the way to my core. Not that I even had a core in my current state.
Luc and Igor carefully climbed into the back of a truck, gingerly carrying the sheet of plastic. Geordie plucked the camera from his chest and handed it back to Sanderson before climbing inside. Gregor was the last to enter with my boots containing my lower legs tucked under one arm. Aventius and Ishida’s people took alternate transportation, for which I was grateful. I didn’t like the idea of anyone who wasn’t a close friend watching me as I slowly regenerated.
As I’d expected, healing was a long, slow process. When my limbs were cut off, they simply had to touch my body again to become reattached. When parts of me were blown up, they had to regenerate from scratch. Luc and Igor placed the plastic in one corner of the truck and Geordie gently put my head down next to it. As soon as Gregor placed my legs on the sheet and they came into contact with the jumble that was the rest of me, I started to reform.
Geordie wasn’t the only one to watch in fascination as my shredded torso slowly began to piece itself back together. “I’m sure this is all very interesting for everyone,” I said acerbically, “but would you mind covering me up?”
Luc flashed me a guilty smile and flipped one side of the plastic sheet over what would be my body, leaving only my face exposed. Except for the boots, I would be completely naked once I was whole again. I preferred Luc to be the only one to see me unclothed.
“Have any of you come up with any theories as to why Anna-Eve would order her servant to shoot Natalie?” Gregor asked.
Igor pulled a knife from his belt and began to sharpen it with the stone he had found somewhere. “Are you saying you don’t have a theory?”
“Of course I do,” Gregor replied. “I merely wanted to hear your thoughts on her possible motives.”
Luc supplied the answer we were all thinking. “I would bet my own life that the Comtesse is behind this assassination attempt.” Igor nodded in support of the idea.
Gregor smiled tightly and inclined his head in agreement. “Anna-Eve was a lackey for the Comtesse long before she became a Councillor.”
Although I was curious about Gregor’s origins, something precluded me from prying into his past. Igor had reluctantly coughed up his story and Geordie had spilled the beans about his origins readily enough but digging into Gregor’s private life seemed taboo. “You were there when the Court was formed, weren’t you?” It was as close as I could bring myself to pry into his personal affairs.
Inclining his head in agreement again, Gregor seemed to look back into his memories. “After a thousand years or so of living beneath the rule of the English monarchy, I wearied of the intrigue, backbiting and politics. I’d heard rumours that a faction had risen with the intention of overthrowing our King but I had already distanced myself by then.”
Geordie opened his mouth to ask a question but closed it again at a subtle head shake from Igor. “I was approached by delegates from both sides,” Gregor continued, “but declined to offer myself or my guards to join their feud. I wasn’t particularly surprised when I learned the Comtesse was behind the revolt. Mucia had always been ambitious.”
If I’d been able to, I would have held up a hand to stop him. “Hang on, the Comtesse’s real name is Mucia?” Geordie sniggered at my tone as much as at the praying mantis’ real name.
Humour glinted in the dark depths of Gregor’s eyes. “She would kill me if she knew I had let that slip.” Let it slip my backside, he deliberately told us her name.
Igor came very close to smiling but it died before it fully formed. “I once witnessed the death of a courtier when she forgot herself and spoke the Comtesse’s name. It took many servants to clean up the mess that was left.”
Luc was the one to bring us back on track this time. “It is agreed then? The Comtesse tried to have Natalie assassinated again?” The first time she’d tried to have me killed, Luc had been the one to swing the sword. It was painful for both of us to be reminded of that fact. He reached out and stroked my hair, offering me a silent apology. I’d forgiven him for beheading me but I doubted his guilt would ever fade completely. He seemed to think that having his bones broken nearly every time we had sex was some kind of cosmic payback.
“So it would seem,” was Gregor’s reply. “I find it strange that she would make the attempt after seeing just how difficult it is to kill Mortis.” I contained an eye roll at being referred to in the third person, as if Mortis was an entity that was completely separate from me.
Luc eyed his old friend, knowing he had an insight the rest of us didn’t share. “What is your theory?”
“I can only imagine blowing Natalie apart was intended to be a message to someone,” the crafty vamp said softly, as if regretting having to say the words.
“Who was the message intended for?” I asked.
Turning to study me, Gregor shrugged. “I am not sure yet but time will tell.”
On that uncomfortable note, we subsided into a morose silence.
Chapter Six
When we stopped at the next village, everyone jumped out and I was left to stew in my own juices again. Judging by the sounds of terrified screams, a band of fledglings had beaten us here and had begun to feed on the villagers. Geordie hesitated, clearly unwilling to leave me alone but Igor grabbed h
im by the collar and dragged the teen away. “We’ll be back soon, chérie!” Geordie called as their footsteps rapidly receded.
It was frustrating not being able to help them. It was also incredibly boring. I had nothing to occupy my time and all I could do was listen to the distant battle and heal slowly. Misshapen lumps beneath the plastic meant my body was beginning to reform, albeit unevenly. I was pretty sure my arms and legs were mostly back where they belonged.
Knowing the damage would still be extensive, I carefully shifted my right hand and was relieved when it obeyed me. It slid out from beneath the sheet and I winced at the sight of the malformed appendage. My palm was still raw and the skin hadn’t grown back yet. Neither had my fingers and they were still just stubs. Glancing away for a few seconds, I looked back and saw that they had grown slightly. It was going to be a long process but in time I would be whole again.
Curiosity got the better of me and I moved my hand up to the top of the sheet that rested just beneath my chin. Lifting the plastic away, my lips wrinkled back from my teeth in disgust when I surveyed the ruin of my body. I looked a bit like chicken guts that had been put through a blender. Once I adjusted to the grossness, I could see the outlines of my organs forming.
Feeling slightly ill, I let the sheet fall back into place. How can I feel ill when I don’t technically even have a stomach right now? Maybe Gregor could have answered the question but I sure couldn’t.
Somewhere in the distance, Geordie screeched in triumph. That seemed to signify that the skirmish was over as the explosions and gunfire petered out. Several minutes later, my friends returned.
Luc was the first to enter the truck. He settled beside me and made a move to check on the progress of my healing. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” I told him softly as the others climbed inside. “It’s not a pretty sight.”
