by J. C. Diem
“Dawn is drawing close,” Gregor reminded us. “I suggest we finish up here while Natalie informs Colonel Sanderson of our progress.”
Giving Gregor a mock salute that he returned with a small grin, I turned towards the van. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nicholas take a step after me. Luc stepped in front of him, blocking the path. “I’m sure you wish to assist with removing the bodies from the huts, Nicholas,” my beloved said smoothly. It wasn’t a request and the newest member of our team knew it. Maybe we didn’t have much of a democracy after all.
Reaching through the open window of the van, I picked up the radio. “Are you there, Colonel?”
“I’m here.” His voice was gravelly with fatigue. He was going to have to adjust his sleeping pattern if he wanted to keep up with us. Until this was over, he and his men would all be temporarily nocturnal.
“We’re at the second village and there are a lot more survivors this time.”
He was immediately suspicious. “What are the disciples playing at?”
I shrugged then realized he couldn’t see the gesture. Maybe I also needed to get some rest. “I think this was a diversion. If I were the disciples, I’d split my forces up and attack several villages at once. They’d be able to make a lot more servants fairly quickly if they do.”
“Do you believe that ten villages will be attacked each night from now on?” Sanderson was as appalled at the idea as I’d been when I’d thought of it only a few moments ago.
“I took one of the disciples down so that should lessen the attacks slightly.” Yeah, only nine villages instead of ten will be attacked.
“Can’t the new vampires attack without one of the disciples in charge?”
Remembering that I’d sensed one of their leaders briefly, I thought this was most likely the case. “I don’t think so. Without someone organizing them, they’d just scatter and attack people indiscriminately.”
“As opposed to what they’re currently doing,” the colonel muttered sarcastically.
“They’ve been pretty organized so far,” I argued.
Sighing heavily, Sanderson battled a few moments of frustration before speaking again. “I’ll start moving our forces closer to your location. We might not be of much use fighting the creatures but we can at least help the survivors.”
Turning to eye the terrified mob of humans huddled together, I had an idea. “Do you have anyone with you who could communicate with the survivors?”
“Probably. Why?”
“Because none of us speak their language and I’d like them to know that help is on the way.”
“I’ll see if I can rustle someone up.” The radio went dead. While we waited for him to return, my friends and allies rounded up the deceased and placed them in a pile. Igor set them on fire, doing his best to ignore the bereaved keening of their surviving kin.
“Are you there, Natalie?” Sanderson said a few minutes later.
“I’m here.”
“I’ve found someone who speaks the local language. Hand the radio to one of the villagers.”
Striding over to the mob of survivors, I chose the oldest man, thinking he’d be the best person to take the call. Dressed in feathers and beads, he wasn’t used to modern contraptions but he got the hang of the radio quickly enough. An African soldier explained that we were the good guys and that help was on its way. Babbling gratefully in his native language, the village elder handed the radio back to me.
I found myself examining his neck and quickly turned away. Normally, I could go for a few days without feeding. Then I realized it had been a few days since I’d last had a meal. If I was hungry then the rest of the group must be suffering as well. I hadn’t put much thought into what we were going to eat while hunting the disciples down.
Finished burning the dead, we gathered at our vehicles again. “Does anyone have any ideas about what we’re going to do for food?” I asked hopefully.
Several of the Japanese guards glanced back towards the villagers then looked guiltily away.
“If Colonel Sanderson is serious about offering us aid, I suggest you request that his soldiers offer us their blood,” Gregor suggested.
That thought had crossed my mind but I’d dismissed it quickly. I just couldn’t see any of the soldiers volunteering to feed the very creatures they’d been sent to eradicate. “Can’t we just feed from animals?” I asked. “The jungle must be full of them.” I’d noticed several types of monkeys swinging through the branches, watching us curiously but keeping their distance.
Almost identical looks of disgust swept through the group. “Our kind does not drink from animals, Natalie,” Ishida said in the snobbiest tone I’d heard since the brief time I’d spent at the Court.
Well excuse me for being uncouth, hovered on my tongue but I swallowed the sarcastic remark down. “Fine. I’ll ask the Colonel for food. What do we do if he refuses my request?”
“Tell him that we will refuse to hunt our own kind down and leave the job to him and his soldiers,” was Nicholas’ vote. Luc’s expression told me that he wanted to argue but he nodded reluctantly. Even Kokoro agreed and gave me a small nod.
“I suggest we begin to search for somewhere safe to spend the daylight hours,” Gregor proposed. “Natalie can broach the subject with Colonel Sanderson when we rise.” As if I’ll be able to sleep with this hanging over my head. It wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to.
It was decided that Igor would take the lead again and Geordie cheekily scrambled into the passenger seat of the van. I didn’t feel like arguing with him about it so climbed into the back beside Luc. Even with my eyes closed, I felt Nicholas staring at me. I was going to have to decide what to do with him after this was all done. That was another conversation that I’d be happy to skip.
If he continued to annoy everyone then I wasn’t going to let him stay with us. The ex-courtier had three alternatives; if he behaved himself he’d get to stick around, he could strike out on his own and spend the rest of his nights lonely; or he could go back to the Comtesse and beg her for forgiveness for deserting the Court. The last choice would end in his immediate death so I didn’t think he’d be choosing that one. Pity, my subconscious roused itself to say then subsided again.
Chapter Twelve
Pulling over when dawn drew close, we parked nose to tail on the edge of the muddy, seldom used track. Igor debated about attempting to hide the van but deemed the ground to be too soft. The vehicle would just sink into the soil and we’d have to struggle to pull it out again. Ishida’s trucks were too large to even think about taking them off the track. Being in a remote area deep in the jungle, few humans would be likely to stumble across us anyway. Most of the humans in the area had already been either killed or were in the process of being turned. Any that were about to become fledglings would be of no danger to us during the day.
Ishida and Kokoro disappeared into the back of one of the trucks, joining an already crowded group of their guards. Without curtains to keep the sun out, our van wasn’t ideal to bed down in. Unless we wanted to cram into the back of the refrigerator trucks with our allies, we’d have to get creative and find somewhere else to spend the day.
After being hacked apart and buried, you’d think I’d be afraid of tunnelling beneath the ground. It didn’t disturb me in the slightest and I found the idea to be almost comforting. Deep in the earth, I’d be safe from both the sun and hidden from my enemies.
“Where are we expected to sleep?” Geordie asked crankily. “Beneath a pile of leaves?” He kicked at the ground, sending a clump of dirt and twigs flying.
“You’re such a prima donna, Geordie,” I accused him with a smile. “Haven’t you ever had to dig yourself a nest for the day?”
“No,” he said sulkily. “I’ve always had my cell to sleep in.”
I grimaced at the memory of the tiny, bare place that had been his to call home. Both he and Igor had lived in the catacombs beneath the Court mansion in France for far too long. “I
t’s not that bad,” I reassured him. “I’ve done it a few times now.”
Nicholas curled his upper lip at my plan. “Do you really expect us to dig out a burrow as if we are insects?”
Geordie sniggered. I heard him mutter ‘Ladybug’ almost too quietly to be overheard. I cut a glance at him and he smiled innocently, pretending he hadn’t been laughing at me.
Dropping to my knees, I thrust my hands into the soil and responded without looking at the ex-courtier. “I really don’t care what you do, Nicholas. Stay out in the open and burn to death if you want to but I’m digging myself a lair.”
Kneeling beside me, Luc efficiently helped me to widen the hole so he’d also be able to fit inside. His lips were pressed together tightly and I assumed that was to contain his amusement. His eyes were crinkled at the corners, a dead giveaway that he found this to be funny.
Grumbling quietly, Geordie moved a short distance away and was soon waist deep in the ground. He might not be happy about it but he was efficient at digging. Igor and Gregor moved off to hollow out their own temporary shelters. Nicholas glowered at me for a few seconds then stalked off into the trees when I continued to ignore him. The sun would be up in minutes so he would have to dig fast if he wanted to survive.
Burrowing out a lair roughly fifteen feet beneath the earth, Luc and I lay on our sides facing each other. “Are you alright, Geordie?” I called.
“I am fine, chérie,” was his muffled reply. “Covered in dirt, but fine.” He had resigned himself to spending the day in conditions even worse than he was ordinarily used to.
“Igor? Gregor? How are you going?” They both replied in the affirmative. I hesitated but forced myself to check on the final member of our team. “Nicholas?”
His reply took even longer and came reluctantly. “I am well, my…Natalie.”
Luc exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and I was suddenly muffling laughter. “What is so funny, chér-” Geordie’s question was cut off as the sun made its appearance and he succumbed to its spell.
One by one, my friends surrendered to the sun’s pull until only I and several of Ishida’s guards were still awake. Just like any normal human, even I had to sleep eventually. Snuggling against Luc’s chilly body, I closed my eyes and was drawn into thoughts that I instantly knew came from the Second.
Resting in the nest I’d dug, surrounded by humans that would soon rise and become my servants, I resisted the urge to slide into unconsciousness. My brothers were too far away for me to feel. I felt a strange sense of loss after being able to reach out to them for so many thousands of years. It had seemed prudent to split our forces. We would now have a far greater chance of creating more of our kind at a far greater pace.
I was intrigued and disturbed by the female who hunted us. She was unlike any vampire I’d ever encountered before. After being banished for so many thousands of years, I had no way of knowing just what kind of creatures roamed the planet now.
My brothers and I were outnumbered and being hunted by our own kind. If I had been the First instead of the Second, our existence would have been so very different. Bitterness flowed through me that fate had been so unfair.
Casting my mind back, I remembered the night my life had changed forever. The First had been a thug and a braggart who I’d hated since we’d been children in the same cave. I had long ago forgotten the names that we had been born with. I did, however, remember why I’d despised and wanted to murder the First. He had attracted the attention of the woman I’d hoped to pair with myself.
Desperate to stop him from stealing my female, I followed my adversary on his next hunt. My intention was to kill him and finally put an end to our rivalry. Thanks to a recent drought, game was scarce and our hunting trips took us further and further away from our cave. I knew that I would have plenty of opportunity to stalk my prey and that no one would witness the deed.
On the second night of my hunt, I waited until it was very late and snuck up on my enemy only to find that he was not alone. A gigantic, grey skinned creature with red, glowing eyes towered over him. It spoke a crude form of our tongue and offered the First everlasting life. I watched with angry jealousy as my opponent drank from the creature’s wrist and became the first of our kind.
As if feeding the First had taken the last of its energy, the grey creature stumbled away, presumably to die. I lost sight of it as my enemy writhed in pain, howling his agony to the stars. With some strange new instinct, he burrowed beneath the soil, hiding from the sun just before it rose.
Disturbed by what I had witnessed, I decided it would be best not to approach my adversary alone. It was impossible to predict what changes might have happened to him after drinking the blood of the strange grey creature. I returned to the cave and gathered some of the other warriors together. Once they saw what had become of my nemeses, I was confident that they would help me to destroy him. It took three nights to run for help and return to the campsite.
How my enemy had changed when I saw him next. He was faster, stronger and infinitely more evil than he’d been as a human. I was his first victim, thus becoming the Second. He drained me of my life then dribbled foul tasting blood into my mouth from his torn wrist. From that moment, I was doomed to be his slave and to obey his every command. How it galled to be Second to someone who was so intellectually inferior to me.
Three nights later, I and my nine brothers rose and became bound to the First. Being the only creatures of our kind, we were forced to rely on our strange new instincts. It took months to learn how to control our hungers. During that time, my brothers and I created hundreds of our kind. As my intelligence returned, I began to worry that we would eradicate our food source. The First seemed not to care. After making us ten as his slaves, he had opted not to create more. Even back then, at the beginning of our creation, he had been paranoid and had no trust for the creatures he had created.
Eventually, I persuaded our hated master that we must stop making more of our kind. Finally seeing the wisdom of my words, he agreed. At his direct order, my brothers and I could no longer create creatures like ourselves. We didn’t need to restrict our servants from swelling our numbers. They were aware of how close to starvation we had all come. When desperate, we fed from animals but humans would always be our preference.
As the millennia passed, the First became secretive and withdrawn. I began to notice something strange about his shadow. It almost seemed to be alive at times but perhaps that had merely been my imagination. What wasn’t my imagination was the change in the First’s skin. It had lightened from dark brown to an ashy grey. I became afraid that he was turning into the very creature that had been the father of us all.
My nine brothers, who I had doomed by bringing them with me to hunt down the First, were almost as unhappy as I at our fate. I pointed out the changes that were occurring in his body. They became convinced that our master was turning into an even stranger monster than we already were. It was reason enough for us to plot his demise. Sensing our unrest, our master had banished us to our earthy graves in revenge and punishment before we could instigate his death.
Now that he had been vanquished, it was finally time for me to become all that I was meant to be. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes that the First had. I would build my army of servants quickly, sacrificing as many as it took to slow the enemy down. As I’d planned, the ploy had already worked tonight.
Soon, I would engineer the disposal of my brothers, ensuring that I would have no competition for my ultimate plan. Within months, I would have control of the country that they were now calling Africa. With millions of our kind thirsting for blood, the humans would be forced to submit to me or risk the complete annihilation of their species.
Fate had erred when I’d been made Second and it was time to correct the mistake. I would achieve my destiny and become what I was meant to be; ruler of a vast vampire nation with humans as our cattle.
Waking from the dream that was really just a disturbing trip through the Second
’s power hungry thoughts, I lay beside Luc without moving. The sun was still high in the sky and my beloved was dead to the world.
What is it with ancient vampires being obsessed with taking over the world? I was arguably the strongest, most powerful of our kind that had ever existed and I had no designs on ruling mankind at all.
At least I now had confirmation of the Second’s plan. I’d caught a glimpse of where he’d sent his remaining eight brothers and their servants. If I was correct, they had begun to spread out in a wide semi-circle. With a total of only sixty vampires on my side, we were going to be hard pressed to stop them from spreading like a contagion.
Chapter Thirteen
Luc’s elbow nudging me in the side woke me just after dark. We dug our way back up through the loose soil of the tunnel we’d made the previous night. I could hear the others also digging their way free. One by one, we emerged from the ground like zombies in a low budget horror movie.
Geordie was the last to dig his way out. Igor grabbed his flailing hand and hauled the teen to his feet. Shaking dirt out of his hair, Geordie grimaced at his stained clothing. “I would not like to make a habit out of spending the day beneath the ground,” he complained. “Give me a pallet on the floor any time.”
My suit had kept most of the dirt out and the soil just didn’t seem to stick to it. Luc’s clothes were dark enough to hide most of the new stains. Igor and Gregor both wore earth tones that were even earthier now.
Nicholas sauntered into view, pulling his too tight t-shirt over his head, making sure I had a good look at his abs and chest as he did. His clothes were as clean as they’d been before he’d gone into the ground. “If you’d had even a scrap of intelligence, you would have stripped off before digging out your little burrow,” he informed Geordie.
