by Stead, Nick
I paid little attention to the mansion after that, pacing the corridors without really taking in the layout or the furnishings. The only other portrait to really catch my eye was an artist’s depiction of a male lion, majestic and regal on the African plains. There was also a life sized statue of a lion rearing up on his hind legs, with claws unsheathed and fangs bared in an eternal display of ferocity. It seemed this vampire liked lions then, and perhaps he still missed his human family. Beyond that he still remained a stranger.
After a while I found myself back in the entrance hall and hunger drove me to venture back out, into the woods to hunt. I was able to track down and kill a large stag, eating my fill before I returned to the mansion. Then I made my way back to the guestroom and turned on the TV, hoping to find something to distract me from the dark thoughts that constantly circled my mind like carrion crows. Eventually I nodded off, sinking back into the nightmares.
The vampire seemed happy to find I was still in the mansion when he rose at nightfall. He invited me into his billiard room for a drink and I seated myself nearest the door to give me the best chance to escape if he did turn out to be false, something that was not lost on him.
“I am not in the habit of harming guests under my own roof. You need not fear anything here; not Ulfarr, nor the Slayers,” he promised.
“Tell me again why you’re choosing to help me when it seems every other vampire out there wants me dead.”
He sighed but didn’t answer immediately, giving me a penetrating look that I thought would pierce right through to the hole where my soul should have been. I got the impression he was reading me like an open book, as if my every thought and emotion were open to him. I cracked under the weight of his gaze and broke eye contact, frowning down at my glass of wine. Somewhere inside the wolf squirmed, uncomfortable at what he perceived to be a challenge for dominance, though I didn’t think the vampire meant it to be.
Finally he answered “You have become as infamous as the deranged Aughtie you fought! Like I said, you have become the object of much curiosity. But you are correct, I am driven by more than mere curiosity. You were right to strike back at the Slayers. Too long have we run from them, letting them hunt us down when we are alone and vulnerable. If we are to die, better to do so fighting, I think. Most of the undead might have lost their stomach for battle, but I yearn for it. Is it not our right for us to fight for our very existence? If we wait any longer there will truly be too few to wage war against the Slayers and our only option will be to fade from existence, save for in myth and legend. That is not the fate I would choose. I believe we should fight while we still can, and remind mankind why they still fear the darkness.”
“So why do you need me?” I asked.
Again he studied me before giving me an answer, perhaps weighing me up against the stories he had heard from those who fought with me in the battle for my hometown. “Why? You convinced a number of us to fight once. I believe you can do so again if we can prove your innocence to the rest of my kind and gain their trust in you. I admit I offered you my help and companionship not out of kindness but because I wanted to meet the last surviving werewolf for myself – find out what has made you so intriguing to my kind and humans alike. Not every wolf could inspire a group of us to join together and fight, after all. Perhaps you are the one we’ve been waiting in the shadows for, these long years past.”
“Even if we do prove my innocence, I’m not sure they’ll trust me enough to follow me into battle again,” I said bitterly. “Destroying the base back home was nothing to the Slayers. It’s just one small town, a mere fraction of their forces. I’m sure they’ll soon re-establish themselves there. Those undead that remained in the surrounding area may have been given a brief respite, nothing more. They’ll be hunted again soon enough, just like me and Lady Sarah have been since we fled. The others know this and they’ll call open warfare futile, just as Lady Sarah did when I suggested it to her, and maybe they’re right. At least if we stay in hiding we’ll endure for longer.”
“You underestimate what it is you have already achieved,” he replied. “You did us all a great service that night in slaying Aughtie and thwarting their operations in the area. It was hours before the Slayers learned of what had transpired. And once they realised the utter destruction you had wrought on the unit stationed within that particular town, it was too late to cover everything up before the bodies were discovered by those ignorant to the reality of our existence. The news reports were most amusing. They attributed it to some kind of gang war at first, but that didn’t explain the desecrated graves from which the inhabitants had been ‘stolen’ and moved to the scene of the crime. Then they talked about a gas explosion which, I think, was too unbelievable. The Slayers attempted to take control of the situation as best they could but they didn’t entirely succeed in steering the public to a satisfactory cover story that kept both our existence and their own hidden. So you see, in a single night you may have changed everything.
“And then there’s all the deaths you’ve caused in other areas. You’ve been so busy over the last few months, the Slayers couldn’t successfully cover up everything you’ve done. The public are aware something is amiss, since no mortal wolf could cause so much destruction.”
I thought about that. If the world found out about us I doubted it would be a good thing but on the other hand, if they discovered what the Slayers had been doing in secret for all these years they would be horrified, I was sure. They would no doubt agree the monster should be slain but they may question their methods, especially those which had cost human lives. There would no doubt be an uproar over the fact they had kept everyone in the dark as well. If the world had been presented with undeniable proof that we were more than mere myth and legend then they would have had no choice but to accept our existence. That in itself could have saved lives if people were prepared.
It was fair to assume the Slayers wanted to avoid that as much as we did, if only to save their own skins. Perhaps this meant they would have to be more careful now in their quest to bring about our extinction, although it hadn’t done me any good so far. But if the vampire was right, maybe I was the exception. Maybe they’d decided I presented the most danger for the time being and if there was any chance to kill or capture me their patrols had to take it, no matter the risk. I smiled to myself at that, feeling a strange pride at the idea. My ego liked the thought they were afraid of me, and so they should be, it added in Luke’s voice.
“So how come you just happened to be there in the midst of my latest breakdown? Have you been following me?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “That you left Lady Sarah’s side is no secret. Ulfarr knows you have been wandering around unchecked, and he was not happy with your former travelling companion when he learnt of it. You should not be too hard on her – she is trapped by old allegiances that make things difficult for her.”
“It took you, a stranger, to save me from the execution Ulfarr would have sentenced me with. She stood there and did nothing to prevent it!” I snarled.
“It was difficult for her to continue speaking out against him. It is not for me to explain, however. You should return to her once we have proven your innocence and make amends.”
“She should be the one to come to me,” I growled, and then I was forced to ask once again “What do you care anyway?”
“If we are to convince the undead to go to war we need all the allies we can get. She helped you gather a force before – perhaps she will do so again.”
Silence fell while we concentrated on our drinks. I was beginning to wonder if I’d made the right decision in staying. I had no intention of dealing with any other vampires after the way they’d treated me, not even Lady Sarah who had pretended to be my ally, if not my friend, only to stand by and let it happen when I needed her aid most of all. If she’d been more willing to help when I’d visited her the previous night then maybe I would have forgiven her for everything, but her unwillingness to aid me in proving m
y innocence had only pushed me further away, not just from her but from vampires in general. I’d only come to this vampire out of desperation, as a last resort.
“Tell me, what skills has Lady Sarah taught you?” he asked, breaking the silence and changing the subject.
“Just stuff to help me survive in case I ended up on my own, stuff to help me pass undetected by the Slayers wherever my wanderings might take me.”
“But what of war; has she taught you nothing of battle, no fighting skills?”
“No, nothing like that. I did used to do taekwondo as a human, though.”
“Then in this I believe I can help,” he said. “You have been lost since severing the ties with your human life; that is plain to see. I will give your life that new purpose you are in dire need of, if it pleases you, and help set you back on the path you’re meant to walk. From what I have seen so far, you are like a rampaging force – a formidable foe, but lacking control and discipline, or any kind of finesse. Many of the Slayers still fight with blades as well as guns, as you have seen for yourself. I can teach you how to wield a sword. I can train you to fight, in case you should ever face opponents against whom your greater speed and strength alone is not enough to ensure victory. I can take the rough brute you are now and polish him into a warrior.”
I didn’t answer immediately, considering his offer. To learn to sword fight did appeal to me, even if I no longer felt like engaging the Slayers in open warfare. At least it would give me something to focus on, and it could only serve to help me survive any future unavoidable clashes with the Slayers, or even other undead. I’d already decided to give the vampire a chance, though I couldn’t trust him completely, especially for as long as he remained a stranger to me, so it seemed I might as well accept his help.
“I would be grateful for any training you can give me,” I answered him.
“Then we will begin as soon as you are ready.”
“But shouldn’t we focus on clearing my name first? That’s why I came here, after all.”
“Of course, but that may take time and I think it will be wiser to wait till the full moon has passed for another month.”
“Okay, well we can get straight to it tonight I guess. But I have questions first. I don’t even know your name.”
“I’ve had many names, but you can call me Leon.”
I didn’t need him to explain why he’d taken different names over the centuries. It made him harder to track by the Slayers, and by the authorities. It wasn’t always possible to hide a kill from humans, and most undead probably didn’t have others to clean up after them, as I’d had. Before technology grew so advanced, the Slayers probably had a harder time of hiding our kills from the rest of humanity, and if they’d had reason to suspect Leon he would have been hunted by Slayers and the authorities alike.
“Leon, like a lion?” I asked him.
“It’s as good a name as any.”
“You really do like lions,” I laughed.
“I have always had an affinity for cats, but if everyone has an animal, I’ve always felt mine was the lion. The king of beasts,” he said, before correcting himself in response to my growl “The king of mortal beasts.”
“And how come you get to live in a place like this, when most of us are forced to hide in the shadows, on the fringes of the human world?”
“Ah, I am quite lucky in that respect. You see, there was a time when those who practiced magic were more numerous and some of them wielded great power. Much greater than those now working for the Slayers, by all accounts. We would be doomed if they had any truly competent spellcasters among them.
“I laid claim to this place over three centuries ago, at a time when one of the most powerful witches to ever walk the Earth happened to be in this area. We struck a bargain, and she placed a spell on this building and its grounds to protect it from prying eyes. No human can find this place, unless they are led here by someone who already knows the way.
“In the modern world, aircraft passes overhead all the time, of course. But thanks to the witch’s magic, the humans only see a stretch of woodlands from above. From the ground, they never get close enough to lay eyes on the clearing. The power of the spell manipulates them in such a way that they never find their way through the woods to these grounds, and any perceived strangeness around the area soon strays from their thoughts. The nearby villagers never even try to enter these woods anymore. They have too many local legends to deter them, without the need for the magic. So I am able to remain here, quite safe from the Slayers, unless something were to lead them to my door.”
“So that’s why you don’t want me stirring the locals,” I said.
“Precisely.”
“But the magic doesn’t work on supernatural beings?”
“No, our minds are too strong. But there has never been a need to hide from my fellow undead.”
“How come this place has electric if it’s so old then? And if it’s so well cared for, you must have some dealings with humans.”
“You are quite right, I have invited humans here who possess the necessary skills to suit my needs, and I do employ both a cleaner and a gardener who come round once a week. But you are no doubt aware of the hypnotic powers most of us vampires possess, and I have each under my spell. As soon as they leave the grounds, they forget all about this place, and it’s only when they’re due to come back that they feel compelled to come here, though they can’t explain why and if anyone asks I’ve given each a cover story. I haven’t lasted so long in this place by being careless.”
There was more I could have asked, but we’d finished our drinks and Leon needed to feed. I paced restlessly through the building while I waited for him to return, but he was not gone long and the night was still young. The vampire had answered my biggest questions and I was more eager to start training than I was to continue talking, so he led me to a large room adorned with weapons along its walls. More weapons hung in racks within the room itself, but he ignored these, retrieving two blunt swords which had been propped in a corner of the room.
“Shouldn’t we be training with wooden swords?” I asked, eyeing them with uncertainty.
“With our strength, wooden swords break too easily, and you’ll learn quicker if you get the feel for a proper weapon straight away.”
“But isn’t there a risk of us doing a hell of a lot of damage to each other with real swords?”
“You won’t hurt me – I’m too fast and too skilled a swordsman. And I’m skilled enough that I won’t accidentally cut you, if you trust me to train you in such a way? The only alternative is to bring a human in for you to fight, but finding a skilled swordsman in this era will be a challenge. We’d have to try and capture one of the Slayers trained in swordsmanship, which could be dangerous. So will you trust me?”
I didn’t want to place any trust in him so quickly when I was still only just getting to know him, but I could see no other way to learn the skills he was offering to teach me. And the boy I’d once been had always loved fantasy, which was probably why learning to wield a sword held such appeal. So I nodded.
“Good. Now, show me your fighting stance.”
I’d spent a year training in taekwondo, and the stance I’d adapted for sparring still came naturally to me. It felt strange when Leon corrected that stance, advising me not to spread my legs too wide or place my back foot too far to the side, as a matter of balance. Once he was satisfied with the positioning of my feet and my hold on the blunted training blade, he invited me to strike at him.
I’d only ever handled a sword once before, during the fight against Aughtie where she’d almost killed me when she’d stabbed me through the chest. And as with the last sword I’d wielded, the blade felt long and awkward in my hand. I was also wary of striking too hard, despite the vampire’s reassurances that his skill would prevent either of us from doing too much damage. Even if the swords were too blunt to slice through flesh, they could still break bones, and it seemed a waste of energy t
o have to transform multiple times to heal any serious wounds sustained during training. So when I clumsily swung at Leon, the blow was much slower than it could have been with my lycanthropic speed and strength, and with his even greater vampiric powers, he blocked the attack almost lazily.
“Come on wolf, is that the best you can do? The moon rises as full again tomorrow night. Don’t you feel its power coursing through your veins?”
With a snarl, I struck again, faster but still awkwardly, and my aim was off. Leon blocked again and retaliated with a thrust to my chest, deliberately slowing his movements enough to give me a chance to parry. I barely managed to bring my sword up in time, before the vampire struck again at my head.
We traded a few blows, mine far too slow and clumsy to ever land on the target, but before long I’d instinctively reverted to the stance I’d grown so used to in taekwondo, leaning in on my leading leg to stab at the vampire constantly dancing out of my reach. Leon easily dodged and retaliated with a blow to my leg, instructing “Be careful of spreading your legs too wide. If you ever find yourself fighting in a line you don’t want to step out too far or you’ll make your front leg a target, and you’ll find your balance is off in that stance.”
I tried to follow his advice but the taekwondo stance came so easily to me, I received several welts to my leg before the lesson stuck.
With our supernatural abilities, it meant we were able to keep sparring far longer than mortal humans without beginning to tire. Obviously I wasn’t going to become a master swordsman in one night, but my hand-eye co-ordination had always been good, perhaps as a result of all my human years spent gaming, and I was quick to learn. I was soon parrying and dodging Leon’s blows more naturally and my aim was fast improving. I still couldn’t hit him but at least my blade would have found its mark if he’d been any slower at blocking and dodging.
