David propped himself onto his elbows and looked at Abraham. He could not disagree with Abraham’s words in any way, but together they had done some good. He had hoped that reconciliation was possible. “So, even after everything,” he began, but Abraham silenced him by pressing the dagger tighter against his neck.
“Everything you do cannot change what you’ve done!” Abraham said, his voice cracking under the emotion. “You destroyed her life! You destroyed mine in the process! How can I forgive that?”
“So you’re going to kill me,” David said. It wasn’t a question. He knew what Abraham planned, but it seemed that Abraham was faltering on his own design. Besides, if he resisted, he was dead. He had to keep Abraham calm enough for him to have some kind of advantage.
“I told you I would,” Abraham said. Abraham appeared to be steeling himself for the satisfaction of the blow. David knew there was a certain taste to revenge that one had to savor before taking it, or it would lose its impact. This was that moment. David seized it.
He kicked his leg up into Abraham’s side, tossing the confused alchemist over his head and onto the ground behind him. In one deft move, David whipped to his feet, drew his sword, and pointed the blade toward Abraham.
“Today is not that day,” David said. He hated to threaten Abraham, but he had little choice at this point. He did not know if they were old friends gone wrong at this point or a Rastem standing over a Tepish. Either way, it appeared that today was not the day for reconciliation.
“If you’re going to kill me,” Abraham said in defeat, “then go ahead. I don’t deserve to live.”
“What will you do if I let you go?” David asked him.
“Make sure none of those things survived,” Abraham said. “If they did, I will track them down and destroy them. They are my responsibility, and I will take care of them.”
Abraham was no Tepish in David’s eyes. He was a victim as much as David was so many years ago, but he was forced into a different life. He still wanted to redeem his friend. “You can come with us,” David offered.
“I will not be a part of anything that accepts you,” Abraham said not looking at him. “If I find you again, I will not hesitate to try again to make good on my promise.”
David sheathed his sword and offered his hand to Abraham, even though Abraham had refused to come with him. The code did not require that Abraham become a Rastem. Only that he refrain from transmutation. Abraham slapped David’s hand away and rose to his feet, sheathing his dagger in the process.
“I don’t hate you, Abraham,” David assured him. “I regret what happened, but we must make the most of what we have. I’m not going to kill you. You are not my enemy.”
Abraham stared at David coldly. “I wish we could agree,” he said shortly. “Good-bye, David.”
Abraham turned and walked away. He slowly faded into the darkness. “Go in peace, Abraham,” David said.
“That was your friend?” Tiberius said walking up behind David. David looked at Tiberius, surprised, and wondered how long Tiberius had been watching and listening. Slowly, he looked back to where Abraham had gone.
“He was,” David said sadly. Tiberius put his hand on David’s shoulder and led him out of the alley in the opposite direction that Abraham left.
“No one can say anything to fix this,” Tiberius continued. “He chose his path. You chose yours. You can’t make him change his mind.”
“I know,” David said, but he was uncertain as to how much he believed it. David felt his path was chosen as much as Abraham’s was chosen for him. David was taken into the fold of the Rastem and trained just as Beth had been taken into the Elewo and trained. Abraham was taken by Vladimir and put to work. Could any of them have decided to do something else at any point in time? Did Abraham choose to make the Mutations or would the cost of his refusal have been his life?
Choices had led him and Abraham to this end so many years ago, but when were choices they made clouded by the choices everyone else had made for them? If Beth had decided to go her own way, would she be dead now? If Abraham had refused to help, would he have been killed or just turned out of the Tepish Order? If David had decided to be just another Fempiror instead of a Rastem, would he have even seen Beth or Abraham again? Or if David had decided to obey Zechariah so many years ago, where would all of them have ended up?
These were all unknowns that might have led to the same ends no matter what they did, if one were to believe in fate. If it all happened for a reason, then to what end would the insanity of the past few days lead him? And what kind of higher reasoning would justify any of it? From a larger scale, what was the purpose of the Mutation, and had they killed it entirely? Only time would tell.
“Good work, today,” Tiberius said, snapping David back to reality. “You’ve proven yourself, finally.”
“Thank you, Tiberius,” David said, smiling.
Tiberius led him around the smoking ruins of the Tepish Fortress to before a large formation of Rastem and Elewo warriors, who looked on him expectantly as he approached with Tiberius.
“Rastem and Elewo,” Tiberius announced proudly. “Appreciation for David, who destroyed the Tepish Fortress, and with it, their vampire mutations.”
The warriors cheered loudly. Whatever was in store for his future, he would have the support of the Order he had come to call his own.
EPILOGUE
He lay miraculously untouched by the collapse of the Fortress that had laid waste to everything and everyone around him. In his memory, he recalled the building shuddering beneath his feet, and then the Mutations invading the room. The bodyguards had left to fight, but in doing so, they had left the Malnak of the Order to fend for themselves with only the door guards for protection.
The Mutations had pounced on the Malnak and Triver, drinking hungrily, completely oblivious to the building falling around them. As timbers fell, bones snapped, bodies broke, and blood sprayed and splattered around them all. It was then he felt the teeth sink into his neck and arms, and the lips hungrily sucking the life from him.
He had sunk to his knees as his strength waned, but the Fortress had continued to fall around him. One by one, his attackers were broken and shattered by the collapse of the Fortress. He remembered the pain of their unencumbered blood mingling with his, and then he had fallen unconscious.
Now, he was alone. And he was hungry. Karian snapped open his eyes to take in his new world.
The Fempiror Chronicles
continues in
Razer Hunt
AFTERWORD
An excerpt from the journal of Hauginstown dated 17 October 1785.
A series of occurrences most strange we have had now these past few days. I hesitate to relate it to the events from 1775, and yet, given those concerned, I would be remiss not to consider the Taylor, Carpenter, and Barber families as I write this. Three events have come to my attention that I feel warrant simultaneous notation.
Four nights past, Mark Taylor, the brother of David, who was lost, reported that he thought he had seen both his brother and Elizabeth Carpenter while on guard duty. As these individuals have been lost for ten years, we all assumed these were tricks of the dark. Then, it came to my attention that both Patrick Carpenter and his wife had shared a dream where their daughter, Elizabeth, came to them, looking as young as she was when she left, to let them know she was doing well and to live and laugh again. The Carpenters have had a renewed vigor ever since.
But the strangest of these events came to my attention only today and prompted me to note all of this in the town journal. For many years, there have been tombstones in the Hauginstown cemetery in remembrance of David Taylor, Elizabeth Carpenter, and Abraham Barber. The ground in front of these stones has been undisturbed for many years, and indeed, with the exception of David’s, they are empty graves.
Today, someone noticed that the ground in front of Miss Carpenter’s stone had been overturned. Our undertaker, Xavier Stone, moved much of the dirt around and found
it to be soft for several feet. I considered carefully whether or not we should dig into the ground there to discover whether someone had buried something, but in the end, I thought it best to let it be. Everyone else agreed as we all considered it bad luck to dig up a grave, empty or not.
Whatever is down there, may it rest in peace.
Gerald Haugins, IV
Mayor, Hauginstown
Appendix A
Pronunciation of the Felletterusk Language
Felletterusk was the common language of the Fempiror. Use this guide to assist in pronouncing the language.
a = father
b = baby
c = cat, but never sit
d = dog
e = felt, unless at the end of a word, then = the ay in may
f = felt
g = grand
h = hi
i = police
j = Jacques like the French j (zh sound)
k = kit
l = land
m = maybe
n = never
o = hope
p = person
r = a cross between r & d, such as the British pronunciation of very (veddy), or the Spanish pronunciation of r in cara (face). It has a very slight trill to it.
s = simple
t = type
u = boo
v = visual
w = wish
y = yankee
z = zebra
ä = date
ï = bite
ö = person, but with the lips brought in to a sort of oo shape.
ü = like u, but with the lips tightened considerably.
Diphthongs
sh = sh as ship
gh = g as in goat
ch = k as in kit
tch = ch as in church
Unless otherwise indicated, words are accented on the second syllable. Accent usually only differs with the placement of the accent mark (á, é, í, ó, ú) placed on a separate syllable.
Phonetics of some Felletterusk words:
Fempiror (fem-PEER-or)
Rastem (raws-TEM)
Tepish (te-PEESH)
Elewo (e-LE-wo)
Kelïrum (kel-EYE-rum)
Japrinsa (zhaw-PREEN-saw)
Nilrof (neel-ROHF)
Elrod Malnak (el-ROHD mawl-NAWK)
Appendix B
The Tepish Hierarchy
The Cortz Sufru have no rank within the hierarchy and are not regarded with any importance by the Triver rank and below. They are the assistants, or more often bodyguards, to the Malnak level only and most never held any other rank within the Tepish Order. They pledge their lives to the Malnak and will do anything to protect them.
The Kurvatz and Morgad Malnak report only to the Elrod Malnak. The Triver Shradna also report only to the Elrod Malnak. The Triver Shradna rank below the Kurvatz and Morgad Malnak in rank, but these Malnak are not in the Triver Shradna chain of command.
Only a Triver Shradna can appoint more of any rank below them, usually by vertical promotion. They begin by adding another Redäl Kötz under a Kepinürsk, usually when the number of Fälskrüz under a Redäl Kötz increases to more than forty.
When the three Kepinürsk have four Redäl Kötz, the Triver Shradna will appoint another Kepinürsk, and the three Redäl Kötz will be moved under that new Kepinürsk. The same occurs when three Hashakröd have four Kepinürsk under them.This appointment process does not require the approval of the Elrod Malnak or the other Triver Shradna. Each Triver Shradna controls each of his Tepish beneath him, and all matters of promotion or discipline require no counsel from the other Triver Shradna or the Malnak, if they do not desire to have it.
If all Triver Shradna have four Hashakröd under them, the Elrod Malnak may decide to appoint a new Triver Shradna Forsh to handle the new Hashakröd. Since Triver Shradna tend to control specific areas, the Malnak will further subdivide the areas of control to account for the new Triver Shradna. This process continues and the Elrod Malnak may appoint a Triver Shradna Fit, Syork, Kyorsh, Byort, etc.
An exception to this involves the Redäl Kötz who are directly assigned to transmutation. They are a special position who outrank a Fälskrüz, but do not command anyone, and they report to a Kepinürsk who can appoint them. A known example of this is Rufus, the Redäl Kötz defeated by the Rastem Zechariah in 1775 in Hauginstown.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Willson was born in 1975 and has lived in Oklahoma the majority of his life. Following his graduation from Broken Arrow High School in 1993 where he excelled in the music program, he had a short tour in the U.S. Army as a trombone player before returning to civilian life in Oklahoma. He started by writing musicals, and eventually collaborated on one that had a small scale production in Sweden at about the same time he had a play produced in Tulsa, Ok in 2001. He became a member of the Simplyscripts.com screenwriting community for a time culminating with the production of a short film, No Better Loved Than Lost, and a feature, No Kind Of Life, both of which he wrote, produced, directed, and performed the soundtrack in 2007 and 2009. He still writes music regularly and can play piano along with a dozen other instruments as well as sing, all of which are talents he shares with his church on a weekly basis in its worship team. He has written four novels for the Fempiror Chronicles series, six from another series called The Maze, and two other novels of a miscellaneous nature. He currently lives in Broken Arrow, Ok with his wife and three princesses.
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