Holiday In Malancrav: A Wolfric Vampire Novel (The Wolfric Vampire Series Book 1)

by Jon F. Merz

  “I dunno. But not these pale, scary creatures. I’ve heard legends about strigoi but not looking like this. I expected they’d more or less resemble us, you know?”

  “I think this is a peculiar mutation then,” said Felix. “I’d go so far as to say this is anything but normal.”

  “Well,” said Davo, “they’re all dead now, so that’s a good thing indeed. Thank you for your help.”

  Felix chuckled. “It is us who should be thanking you. If you had not come when you did, we never would have been able to kill them all. We were armed, but not with weaponry sufficient to do the deed, so to speak.”

  “Glad I could help,” said Davo. “Now if I could just manage to find my way out of here, that’d be a good thing indeed. I wouldn’t mind putting back a few drinks tonight at the inn to celebrate killing these things.”

  “Nor would we,” said Felix. “But I’m afraid Wolfric and I must tend to something before we are able to join you in celebration. But you go on ahead and we’ll join you later.”

  “I’ll see you tonight then,” said Davo.

  “You will,” said Felix. “And thank you again.”

  Davo ducked out of the opening and they waited until the sound of his footsteps faded away and they knew they were alone once more.

  Felix retrieved as many crossbow bolts as were still functional and slid them back into his belt after loading one. He also took the staff that Davo had crafted along with his other weapons. He urged Wolfric to do the same. “A good thing Davo brought these. I might start carrying on around with me instead of just relying on the crossbow. Although it’s not exactly easy to conceal it.”

  His teacher hadn’t said anything to him yet as far as what they were going to do next, but Wolfric knew they had to finish the job. Which meant killing Father Mirescu.

  “But how is he connected to all of this?” Wolfric asked.

  Felix checked over each of the corpses, ensuring they were dead. “I’m not entirely certain. But it seems obvious enough that he made a bargain with these creatures and in exchange for staying clear of each other, they were free to hunt. But I wonder if that’s the entire story. Mirescu didn’t seem happy with that pact, so did he deliberately draw attention here in order to have the Council send us to put an end to these things? And once we’d departed, would the priest continue to hunt here or would he have left everyone alone?”

  “You mean you think that Father Mirescu deliberately started hunting in the village hoping we’d come here and find out about these things?”

  “Yes,” said Felix. “Again, I’m not certain of it, but given what we heard them saying to each other, at some point there was an agreement. And then there was conflict. Enough of a problem arose that Mirescu felt enough pressure to do something about it in order to protect his own welfare.”

  “What bizarre bedmates they were,” said Wolfric.

  “There is no accounting for what some people will do to justify their own actions,” said Felix. “Lie, cheat, steal, kill, defame…it doesn’t matter. Humans don’t have a monopoly on stupidity. Our people do it just as much. And the worst ones think they are above the law, that they cannot be touched or brought to justice. That’s when we show up and reveal how utterly incorrect their pathetic assumptions were.”

  “By then it’s too late,” said Wolfric. “If we show up, then the matter has all but been resolved with a certain finality.”

  “Indeed,” said Felix. He drew himself up to full height and paused. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Still exhausted, but capable.”

  Felix smirked. “Good answer. But here, take some of this and it will help clear your head.” He tossed a small flask to Wolfric.

  He took the cap off and poured some of the blood into his mouth and swallowed. When the energy hit him moments later, he felt a surge of energy washing away all the fatigue. His sweat dried and his heart rate spiked momentarily before settling down to a comfortable pace.

  “Better?”

  “Much.” Wolfric handed him back the flask. “We’ll pursue him now?”

  Felix nodded. “We’ve no choice but to. Our mission here is not over until we deliver justice. I think the priest was hoping that we would think the creatures here were responsible for the village attacks and think our assignment done as soon as we had killed them.”

  “But he said that the strigoi were supposed to kill us.”

  Felix shrugged. “That could have simply been a ruse to get them to do his dirty work. I think Mirescu wanted them out of the way and then for us to leave. He’d be safe after all of this and free to continue doing whatever it is he actually does here.”

  “So why show up in the cavern at all?”

  “Clearly he didn’t trust Vusola to carry through on his end of the deal. And he was right.”

  “He’s a priest, though,” said Wolfric. “How can he even reconcile what he is with what he does?”

  “The Council doesn’t make judgments on what its people choose to do for work. If Mirescu wants to be a priest, then he had that right. He crossed the line, however, with the hunting in the village and now we have to bring him to account for it.”

  “Something still seems off,” said Wolfric. “And I don’t know what it is.”

  “Don’t think too much on it,” said Felix. “There are times - and there will be times in the future - when the simplest explanation usually suffices. Overthinking leads to far too much stress. And frankly, sometimes people are just terrible and that is all there is to it. There’s no great underlying goodness to them; they’re just rotten. The fewer of them there are, the better. And if I - if we - can help put some of them away, then we’ve made the world a better place, not just for our people but for everyone.”

  “What if Mirescu felt pressured to do something and just made a bad decision? Does that mean he’s inherently evil?”

  “Not necessarily,” said Felix. “But the problem comes when you start second-guessing yourself about such things. He might not be evil, but a bad decision can have the same consequences as an evil one. We cannot afford to judge one less than the other for they both might compromise our people.”

  “I hope some day I can make judgments as easily as you seem able to,” said Wolfric.

  “It’s not that they’re easy,” said Felix. “It’s just that I have the benefit of experience. I’ve seen a lot more than you have. I’ve dealt with a lot more of our people than you ever have. And I know what they are capable of doing and saying - especially when they feel their lives are at stake.”

  “We should find Father Mirescu then,” said Wolfric. “If he knows we’re coming for him, he might well try to escape.”

  Chapter 38

  Wolfric stood in the cavern and watched as Felix worked. “Are you sure this is necessary?”

  Felix nodded. “Better to remove all traces of evidence than leave it behind for someone else to find. The last thing we need is something like this scene inflaming legends and making them seem all too real. As I said, the less we are known, the better.”

  “Obviously,” said Wolfric. “It’s just…I don’t know. The dead seem to deserve better, I thought.”

  “The flames will be contained to this room alone,” said Felix. “And this harkens back to a time when we used to dispose of our dead in this exact fashion. Funeral pyres as it were. It takes care of everything and ensures there’s nothing left to be investigated.”

  They had already laid the bodies nearest to the fire and now Felix scattered the rest of the wood he could locate around the corpses. Then he blew on to the embers and stoked the fire until it started catching with the other wood. In a short time, it was already burning into the corpses.

  Wolfric wrinkled his nose. “Can we leave now?”

  Felix nodded. “The sooner the better. While the flames won’t leave this cavern, the smoke might well fill the tunnel running under the village. We need to find our way back.”

  “To where?”

  “The c
hurch,” said Felix. “I think he will head back there.”

  Wolfric frowned. “But he knows we will come for him.”

  “Yes, he does.” Felix readied his weapons. “But I also don’t think he will run. He knows what we are and he knows we won’t stop until we’ve finished our assignment. And frankly, he might well be tired of running.”

  “You’ll kill him, won’t you?”

  Felix looked at Wolfric but said nothing. He pushed through the opening and back into the tunnel. Wolfric followed him into the darkness. They passed the chain where the first corpse had been hung. Felix had placed that body in with Vusola and his people to again erase any evidence. The less left behind, the better.

  Felix still insisted they maintain tactical awareness as they moved through the tunnels, although this time, they kept their staffs out in front probing in case Father Mirescu lay in wait for them. Wolfric frowned. Why had the old man done such a thing? Surely he must have known they would be dispatched by the Council. Why take the risk?

  They came to the intersection and paused. The air inside the tunnels was now acrid with the stench of burning flesh. Felix pointed up at the roof and said, “I wonder if they can smell it in the village?”

  “One thing is certain,” said Wolfric. “We’re going to stink by the time we get to the church.”

  “It’s just a bit further on,” said Felix. “The sooner we get there, the better.”

  They continued on until they came to the ladder. Felix put a finger to his lips and gestured that he would go first. He handed his staff to Wolfric and then removed his crossbow pistol and kept that in one hand while he climbed. It wasn’t as fast as he was capable of, but at least he had a weapon in his hand.

  Wolfric watched his feet vanish up the ladder and then seconds later, he started up the ladder as well. It was even tougher going while holding their staffs, but he gradually made the ascent and soon got to the top.

  They were still in the darkness, but Wolfric could see regardless. The air up here was fresher and he filled his lungs, grateful to be out of the tunnels with the stench of burning corpses.

  Father Mirescu had mentioned the exit was behind the confessional, so Wolfric knew they were in the chapel itself. But where was the priest? If he was still here, he could be lying in wait for them to show up.

  Wolfric frowned. He had no wish to fight anyone, let alone potentially kill them, inside a church. He wasn’t exactly a religious person, but he respected holy sites. The thought of killing anyone here repulsed him.

  Felix squatted next to him, staying absolutely still and motionless. If Wolfric didn’t know him as he did, he would have suspected that Felix was asleep. But he knew his teacher was merely acclimating himself to the environment again. Felix would trade the need for speed for the need for safety in this case. As important as it was to get Father Mirescu, Felix wasn’t about to lead them into an ambush.

  He was far too experienced for that.

  Wolfric was grateful that they at least had the freedom to operate as independently as they did. The Council couldn’t tell them which steps to take to fulfill their assignment; they could only issue the directive with its goal clearly stated. It was up to them to carry it out the best way they saw fit.

  Not a bad way to handle things, he decided.

  Felix nudged him. It was time to move.

  His teacher picked up his staff and moved out of the secret exit first. He moved to one side and waited as Wolfric did the same.

  They had emerged in a small room that appeared to hold various implements for the services at the church, including extra robes, incense, and more. The air smelled of frankincense and to Wolfric, it reminded him of Christmas. He smiled in spite of the situation.

  Felix pointed to the door leading out of the room and presumably into the chapel. Wolfric moved without thinking, heading to one side of the doorway, pausing, and scanning the chapel for any sign of life. He saw none. In fact, the only things that moved were the flickering flames of the candles illuminating the place. The stained glass windows showed that the afternoon sun was already waning. It would be dark sooner than later.

  He frowned again. If darkness fell, it wouldn’t necessarily be harder to find the priest, but it might aid in his escape. Wolfric wasn’t so sure he agreed with his teacher that the priest wouldn’t try to get out of the town while he still could. After all, he had to know that he would be executed for his crimes. Who would wait around for their own demise?

  Felix moved up and into the chapel, pausing every few steps to look and listen. Wolfric did the same as they cleared the chapel and then had a decision to make. Wolfric could see that Felix was wrestling with a choice, but he appeared to finally make up his mind when he motioned for Wolfric to come closer so he could talk to him. As always, Felix cupped his hand and placed it over Wolfric’s ear.

  “We’re going to split up. You will head to Mirescu’s living quarters and I will clear the other rooms. If you find him, do not try to engage him. Call for me and I will be there in seconds. I will do the same if I come across him first. Understood?”

  Wolfric nodded and Felix took his hand away. He clapped him once on the shoulder and then moved out of the chapel, leaving his student behind.

  Wolfric took a breath and looked at the corridor leading away from the chapel. He knew that Mirescu would have several rooms at the back of the church where he would sleep and study.

  Or drink blood, he realized.

  How strange that the priest was one of them. Wolfric had a hard time reconciling Mirescu’s role with who he was in reality. But he supposed it was possible to be both, provided he obeyed the laws of their people and didn’t compromise one for the other. Although in this case, Mirescu should have compromised his religion for the safety of his people. He hadn’t, and that was why he was now in violation of the laws set forth by the Council.

  Wolfric moved slowly, taking his time and not rushing. It was how Felix had taught him to move. And he had no desire to walk into an ambush, either. If he rushed headlong into the rooms, he might well find himself staked before he could even truly become a proper Fixer.

  As he moved down the corridor, he heard something. He frowned. Voices?

  That didn’t make sense. Father Mirescu wouldn’t be conversing with someone right now, would he? Wouldn’t he be preparing himself to fight for his life? Wouldn’t he be setting a trap for Wolfric and Felix? Talking now would only allow Felix and Wolfric to pinpoint his location and kill him more easily.

  He crept forward and heard the voices more clearly.

  Two of them.

  He couldn’t distinguish one from the other except by the depth of the voices. Once was very deep and he assumed it was Mirescu. The other was a higher pitched voice.

  Woman, he realized.

  He moved right up next to the doorway leading to Mirescu’s living quarters and paused again.

  He heard the voice speak again and knew even as his stomach sank into his bowels.

  The voice belonged to Mila.

  Chapter 39

  Wolfric came around the doorjamb and entered the room, registering everything as he saw it. Father Mirescu standing behind Mila who was seated in a chair with thick ropes binding her to it. In Mirescu’s hand was a wicked-looking knife positioned very closet Mila’s neck. Mirescu was outfitted in traveling clothes; a pistol was stowed in his belt along with a sword.

  “And here, at last, is one of them.”

  “Felix!” Wolfric cried out. He glared at Mirescu. “Don’t even think about doing anything.”

  Mirescu laughed. “While we await your ‘father?’ What is he really? Your teacher? Your boss? How does it work with you types anyway?”

  Wolfric frowned. Speaking about this in front of a human was forbidden and the fact that Mirescu was doing it made Wolfric even angrier. What would Mila think? And more importantly, would Felix demand that she be executed too because she might have learned the truth?

  “Let’s talk about you
,” said Wolfric. “Why do you have Mila tied up?”

  “The little bitch tried to ambush me when I returned here.”

  Wolfric glanced at Mila who was clearly enraged. “You did?”

  “Something has never struck me as right about him. I decided to see what I could find out here in the church, specially after you and your father sent me packing instead of letting me tag along.”

  “That was for your own good,” said Wolfric. “Trust me. Where we went was no place you ever wanted to lay eyes upon. I won’t be able to forget it as long as I live.”

  “That ought to be my choice,” said Mila.

  “Yes,” said Mirescu. “Let the lass decide for herself. If she wanted to see the horrors of what lay beneath us, then she ought to have been able to. After all, you’re not responsible for saving her from nightmares, are you?”

  Wolfric glanced at the door. Where was Felix? “No, I’m not. But I am responsible for saving her from the likes of a monster like you.”

  Mirescu pouted. “That’s not a very nice thing to say. Why would you think that I’m a monster?”

  “Given what you harbored beneath the village, I’d say it was fairly accurate.” Wolfric looked at the doorway again. Something had happened. Felix should have been there by now and he was not. Worse, Wolfric didn’t hear him calling out.

  Mirescu noticed and a smile slithered across his face. “Wondering where your teacher is? Tell me, which way did he venture off?”

  Wolfric frowned. “He went to explore the rest of the church.”

  “Oh, my.” Mirescu feigned concern. “I’m afraid he probably will not be coming back anytime soon then. You see, we’ve had a bit of water damage in one of the ante rooms. So much so in fact that the floor gave way and there’s a rather large pit underneath it.” He grinned now. “That pit just happens to be lined with sharpened sticks that I’m afraid might well have put an end to your good friend if he stumbled upon it. Literally.”

  Wolfric felt an immediate desire to run and see if Felix needed help. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not with Mirescu threatening to kill Mila. And he couldn’t let Mirescu get away in any event.