by J. C. Diem
“No, unfortunately.” We shared a short, glum silence. “She did whack some of the older vamps and their sentries on her way to the Court, though,” I added to soften the news a bit.
“So, our gambit failed.” The kid shook his head sadly. “What became of our soldier?”
Admitting that I’d been the one to pop her head like a balloon probably wouldn’t endear me to the Japanese vamps. It might be best if I kept that detail to myself. “She was overwhelmed by guards and then executed,” I lied and only just managed to avoid sliding my gaze guiltily away from his.
“I assume that you have come to our island to seek out the Emperor so that you can take your revenge against our soldier,” the kid said. He rested the sword tip on the ground with both hands on the hilt. He didn’t seem to be afraid of me at all. Then again, he had no idea I was Mortis, queen of death, so why should he be afraid?
“You assume wrong. I’m not after revenge,” I contradicted him. “I want to learn how to fight like her.”
He blinked at me slowly, letting the information sink in. “Why would we teach our enemy our way of fighting?”
“I’m not your enemy,” I told him but didn’t really expect him to believe me. I could see by his small, disbelieving frown that he didn’t. If I was having this much trouble explaining myself to a kid, how badly would my interview with the emperor go?
“All foreign vampires are our enemy,” the teenager said solemnly.
“Wow, that’s not racist at all,” I said sarcastically. “You know, not all European vampires have plans to wipe you guys out. Most of them are just trying to stay under the Councillor’s radar and live their miserable unlives in peace.” Leaning back against the windowsill, I crossed my arms.
“The Councillors are evil scum who should be annihilated from the earth,” the young vamp said with absolute seriousness.
“You’ll get no argument from me. That’s actually why I’m here.”
Eyes widening, the kid swept his gaze from my head to my feet and back up again. “You want the Emperor to teach you how to fight so you can kill your own rulers?” He seemed shocked, almost appalled by the idea. His idea of loyalty and mine were vastly different.
“They aren’t my rulers,” I defended myself. “I was turned by one of their rebels when he fled to my country. He…died and I was left to fend for myself.”
“What happened to you after your master died?” Intrigued, the kid relaxed his stance enough to lean against the chest of drawers.
“A guy called Lucentio found me. He’s a sort of cop, I guess, and he’d been hunting down my master.” The word almost caught in my throat but I forced it out. Admitting Silvius had been my master for even a short time was galling. “He couldn’t just leave me there since I was so new so he took me back to France. I met the Comtesse and saw the other Councillors.” My lip curled at the recollection of being forced to strip down for the entire room. I could hold a grudge for a long time, forever if necessary.
“What is your opinion of the Comtesse?” the kid asked me curiously.
“I think she’s arrogant, evil and lives only to cause misery for all those around her,” I said honestly.
“Why do you wish to kill her and the other Councillors? What have they done to you to deserve death?”
Telling the kid the praying mantis had made me strip naked in front of the entire Court simply wasn’t going to happen. It was a lame excuse to kill the hag and it was too embarrassing anyway. “Look, I have my reasons and they’re private. I’m going to kill them, someway, somehow. If I can learn to fight like one of your soldiers, I figure I’ll have a much better chance.” Once they were gone, then I had a whole bunch of the damned to hunt down.
“If the Emperor did agree to teach you how to fight, would you not then attempt to assassinate him?”
“Of course not!” Jeez, where was the trust? He was pretty cynical for a teenager. I had to remind myself that he might look young but he was probably far more ancient than he appeared to be. I had to give him some kind of explanation without telling him the whole story. “The person he sent to kill the Councillors thought she was doing a job that was meant for someone else,” I felt forced to explain. “I’m on that person’s side and I want to help her.” I stopped there before I accidentally spilled the beans about who I really was. “My fighting skills are pretty sucky so I’m not much help to her like this.”
Staring at me thoughtfully, the kid placed the tip of the sword on the ground and rested his hands on the hilt again. It reminded me strongly of Luc the last time I’d seen him and I felt a stab of sorrow at how things had ended. “Come with me,” he said and swung the sword up so it rested on his shoulder. “I will take you to see Emperor Ishida.”
Finally! Now I’m getting somewhere. I’d always been better at getting along with kids than with adults. My mother had often told me I’d never grow up when she’d still been alive. Luckily for me, she turned out to be right.
The kid sauntered through the doorway and down a corridor. The floor was covered in pure black tiles that were shiny enough to send my reflection back at me. It must have taken centuries to carve the rock walls into perfectly straight lines. Oil lamps lit the way, not that we needed it. Then again, I’d seen humans in the city below. They most likely performed all sorts of chores in the emperor’s domain.
Any moment now I expected to run into some guards and to be skewered again. We were fortunate and encountered no one during our journey down a series of corridors. We finally emerged into a large, open room. The tiled floor turned red and black again with an intricate pattern of a gigantic gold dragon in the centre. In the middle of the dragon was a black throne. It reminded me a little of the stone altar I’d been tied to when Alexander had performed his hideous experiment on me. It was made from a different type of stone but it was just as dark and shiny.
Two men stood beside the throne. One was General Yasui. The other was about six feet tall and wore a suit of armour. Made of thick metal, it was painted dead black and was contoured to his body. He was either very well-muscled or the armourer had exaggerated the physique of its owner.
That has to be the Emperor. I hadn’t even met him yet and I was already intimidated. Suddenly, my plan to ask him for help seemed stupid. What was I thinking? I’d been thinking that I couldn’t take the Councillors down without training. Why didn’t I just join a martial arts class, I wailed internally.
“General Yasui, it seems we have a visitor,” the kid said in Japanese as he sauntered towards the men. It was automatic for me to translate his words into English. I slowed and stopped a safe distance away. My hopes of making a run for it were dashed when I heard movement behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see a number of guards filing into the room. I thought we’d been unobserved during our journey but I’d been wrong. I wasn’t sure why they hadn’t attacked me when they’d had the chance. Because you’re about to suffer through some kind of new humiliation, that’s why. There was my subconscious again, cheerful and optimistic as usual.
General Yasui broke off what he’d been saying, turned and saw me. I believe it was shock that briefly crossed his almost expressionless face but it was hard to tell. The rage that followed was easy enough to interpret, though. He grasped the sword hilt poking over his left shoulder and pulled the blade clear. The emperor turned and stared at me curiously. He was a grownup version of the kid and was just as handsome as the teenager would have been if he’d been given the chance to grow up. I wasn’t sure if I should curtsy or bow or not so just stood still.
“I was informed that our visitor had been beheaded and was then thrown into the pit,” the kid continued in his native language. Passing the two men, he turned and took a seat on the throne, resting the sword across his knees. Only when he sat did I realize that the chair was far too small for a fully grown man to squeeze into.
Way to go, Nat, you’ve been treating the Emperor of the Japanese vampires like a normal kid. You’ve really outdone yourself t
his time. I would have given myself a sarcastic pat on the back but I was afraid to make a sudden move with so many weapons ready to be hurled at me. The leather suit I currently wore would be ruined even if the weapons didn’t have a lasting effect on me.
“Lieutenant Su,” the general barked. The man who had speared me through the heart stepped forward from the crowd of male and female vampires that now ringed the room. From the look of superstitious dread on his face, he was now fully aware that I wasn’t a normal vampire. I wondered if it was me surviving three projectiles through the heart or springing back from being beheaded that had convinced him of that. Then there was somehow living through being burned to a crisp by the sun, or so they would assume. “You told me that the European scum had been destroyed!” General Yasui snarled.
Bowing his head submissively, the lieutenant gave me sidelong looks as if he didn’t want to take his eyes off me in case I did something else miraculous and inexplicable. “General Yasui, I myself pushed the intruder into the pit. I also personally checked the pit once night fell and only her clothing remained.” His tone was humble and incredulous.
“How then is she standing before me?” the emperor queried. No one had an answer for that and I kept my mouth shut, sensing he wouldn’t want to hear from me at the moment. “I am afraid that such gross incompetence must be punished.” The kid gave a nod to the vamp I’d mistakenly thought was the emperor. “Takeshi.”
The heavily muscled and armoured vampire turned and grabbed the general’s head in his hands. Then, with a wet, tearing sound, he tore the general’s head from his shoulders. Black blood splattered his face, arms and chest and dribbled to the floor. General Yasui’s stunned expression lasted for only a second before his head and body disintegrated. His sword clattered to the ground then was buried by his empty clothing. The goon turned and started for me. A grin stretched his mouth wide but his eyes remained dead and blank. I didn’t have to be a psychic to sense that he was going to enjoy tearing me apart with his bare hands.
Chapter Fourteen
I backed away from the advancing guard, wracking my brain for a way to avoid further bloodshed. The child emperor watched impassively from his seat on the throne. Large hands reached for me and I instinctively put my own hands up to protect myself.
“Wait!” the emperor called as Takeshi was about to clamp his hands on my head. The child king stared at my palms. “What are those marks on your hands?” He already knew but the sight was so unexpected that I think he was having trouble believing what he was seeing.
“They’re, uh, crosses,” I mumbled. Vampire hearing being what it was, astonished murmurs echoed around the edges of the room. Even the armoured guard took an uncertain step back. I dropped my hands but the damage was already done.
“So, the European prophesy has come true,” mused the emperor in wonder. So much for my pathetic ruse that I was just a Mortis supporter. He now knew I was the actual Mortis. “I wish to see the power of your so called ‘holy marks’.” Pointing to a guard seemingly at random, he obviously expected the guy to sacrifice himself. Without hesitation, the chosen one bowed then ran over and came to a stop beside me.
“If I use the marks, he’ll either melt or explode,” I said just to make it clear that the guy was either going to die slowly and painfully or quickly and painfully. The kid nodded with a complete lack of concern and gestured for me to continue.
I read panic and resignation on the chosen one’s face and decided not to prolong his agony any more than I had to. Clasping his head in my hands, I unleashed the dark power that made me Mortis and the poor guy’s head popped. Oohs and ahhs came from the crowd and even the kid seemed to be impressed.
“How is it possible that you survived being beheaded?” he queried.
I shrugged, still not having much clue myself. “I don’t know. My body parts just seem to be able to reattach themselves when they’re hacked off.”
“I would like to see this for myself. Hold her arm out,” the kid said to the armoured guard. Takeshi seized my right arm and I didn’t fight him. The kid wanted a demonstration and he would have it whether I fought the goon or not.
Stepping down from his throne, Ishida crossed the tiled floor and did the job himself with the sword he’d been holding onto almost casually. It whistled through the air and sliced through my wrist just beneath the sleeve of my stolen leather suit like it was made of paper.
My hand flopped to the floor and lay there like the dead thing that it was. Everyone stared at it and I decided to give them a show. “Want to see something cool?” I asked the teenager. He nodded almost hesitantly then started back a step when my severed hand twitched. Takeshi released me and backed away when Righty flipped over onto its palm. I made it go onto its fingertips then ran it in a small circle. Tiny splatters of my blood hit the floor and blended in with the black tiles. Small cries of shock from the guards observing this were quickly stifled.
They haven’t seen anything yet. Grinning inwardly, I made Righty run over to the dead general’s clothing and rummage around until it found his sword. Metal scraped along the tiled floor as it dragged the weapon back to me. Gripping the sword tightly with its pinkie and ring ringer, Righty climbed up my leg until it was lined up with the stump of my wrist. The severed ends touched and, with a flash of pain, my hand became reattached. I held the sword up and swished it through the air to demonstrate that my hand was in perfect working order once more.
Unafraid, yet wide-eyed with wonder, the emperor reached a decision that reflected his true maturity. “I think that it would be beneficial for us to become allies rather than enemies.” No kidding. I was an un-killable vampire with who knew what sort of mystical powers. I wouldn’t want me for an enemy either.
Taking the lead, the child emperor disappeared down a corridor with Takeshi on his heels. Followed by four guards, I hurried after the pair. Silent and grim, Takeshi sent frequent glances over his shoulder to make sure I wasn’t sneaking up to try to stab his boss. No one had tried to take the sword from me so I kept hold of it.
I studied the weapon in quick snatches during our journey. It was ancient, going by the aged ivory hilt. A lion had been carved into the blade in magnificent, realistic detail. I didn’t possess the skills to use it but I kind of hoped I wouldn’t have to give it back anyway. The general sure as heck wouldn’t need it again.
We emerged into a large open space with several windows cut into the rock to let cool mountain air into the room. Heavy metal shutters stood ready to be closed against the daylight. More black-lacquered furniture graced the room. Instead of chairs and couches, there was a scattering of cushions around a low table.
Choosing a black cushion at the head of the table, the emperor sat and indicated for me to sit opposite him. Takeshi took up his post to the left and behind the kid. The four guards stood silently around the edges of the room, barely moving.
“I have known of the European prophecy, that one shall rise and turn against our kind, since the Prophet first saw your coming,” the kid said thoughtfully. My purpose didn’t sound all that wonderful when he put it so starkly. He kind of made me sound like a psychotic mass murderer.
“It’s not really like that,” I struggled to explain. “I don’t feel the urge to stake all of the vampires on earth to death.”
“It is said that when you rise, the damned shall fall. Is this not true?” Ishida cocked his head to the side, wearing a slightly puzzled expression.
Thinking before speaking had never been my strong suit but now was a good time to start. If I began babbling about sentient shadows and the alien demi-god that had created us, I’d lose what little credibility I had. “Not all of us are damned,” I said in explanation.
“Is this so?”
“It is.”
“But you are the one to choose who of us are damned?” I could tell he wasn’t a fan of this theory. In his place, I wouldn’t have been either.
“I don’t choose who are damned. I can just, uh, tell who
is and who isn’t.” I almost squirmed on my red cushion but managed to control the urge.
“How can you tell?”
I really didn’t want to tell him but he ruled a nation and was used to having his whims met. Even the childish ones. I was going to have to tell him even if I did end up looking like an idiot. “What do you know of our origins?” I asked him.
Blinking at the question, he lifted an eyebrow. “That we were created by an evil being who fed his blood to a human, promising him eternal life. All know this.”
“Well, what you may not know is that the evil being was an alien with almost divine powers.” He seemed utterly unsurprised so I guess he did know this. “He infected the First with his diseased blood and that has been passed on from master to servant. Our blood has been evolving over the millennia and it’s been making changes in us that most of us don’t even know about.” From his uncomprehending stare, I was going to have to explain it in detail.
“The blood is targeting our shadows and it is changing them.” Now his eyes flickered and narrowed. I’d hit a nerve.
“Changing them how?” he asked almost too casually.
“They’re becoming sentient.” A guard at my back shuffled his feet and I believed I heard muffled laughter from another.
“You believe that our Father’s blood in our veins has altered our shadows and that the shadows are becoming aware?” A hint of a smile tilted Ishida’s lips up but it was just for show. His black eyes reflected his dread and recognition of the fate I’d described.
“I know they are.” Gripping the sword tightly, I jumped in with both feet. “I’ve seen one possess its vampire master. A couple of them have even spoken directly to me.” Yep, that was definitely dread on the child king’s face. “One told me that they were going to take over the world.” I could tell that emperor Ishida believed me, he didn’t need to say it in words when his expression told me so clearly.
