Loyalty

by Charles E Yallowitz

  “Perhaps it is best to give Clyde a team,” Nadia suggests while putting her husband’s arm around her shoulders. Slightly annoyed with Stephanie being so close, she gracefully kicks the pouting seer into a nearby chair. “Sorry, Mistress Talon, but I need some space. Back to the subject at hand, Clyde is used to operating with a team. Putting him back in such an environment could put him at ease enough that his secret will be revealed. I am not recommending that we pry, but merely make our old friend feel like he is home.”

  “I can do a ritual to reveal the perfect team,” Stephanie says, removing her robe. She is halfway to the basin when a plume of fire dissolves the blood inside. “My apologies, masters, but I want to be helpful. Please tell me what I did wrong.”

  Beckoning for the seer to sit next to Nadia, Xavier pulls a battered letter out of his pocket and hands it to Kai. “Make copies and bring it to everyone listed at the top. There is no need to waste energy scrying for a team. Clyde already has one. Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing what his old gang can do. Entertainment of that level is so hard to come by during these dark times.”

  4

  The dish shatters against the wall as the two vampires continue fighting, neither one showing concern for their injuries. Wearing the brown and green uniform of an old-fashioned woodsman, Luther Grathan uses his superior fighting skills to avoid most of his opponent’s wild swings. The lean and toned warrior shows no emotion beyond a faint glint of joy in his green eyes, which are repeatedly blocked by his mangy, red hair. Catching the other vampire by the wrist, he attempts to flip the elf into a chair and put an end to the scuffle. While sticking out his tongue, Robert lands on the cushions and remains upside down until Luther turns around. The lanky vampire takes a second to tighten a strap on his dusty leather armor before pushing off with all of his strength. His polished riding boots slam into the back of his friend’s head and sends the warrior crashing into a table covered in medical supplies. Neither of them listen to Titus clearing his throat from his chair and they charge to deliver simultaneous punches. They are inches from each other when Luther’s side splits open and Robert’s legs snap, their aggravated injuries causing them to collapse in a bleeding heap. Rolling onto their backs, the tired vampires stretch to shake hands and pull out canteens of blood, which they discover had been broken in the fight.

  “I have a few questions,” Clyde says from the doorway. He leans to the side to let Mab in with a platter of blood bags that have been enchanted to increase their friends’ healing. “First, I want to know why there’s a horse without skin eating that potted plant and how you even got it in here. Second, is there a reason for the yellow on the left and black on the right hairstyle, Robert? Third, why are you two-”

  “I demand to be called Bob!” the elf loudly declares, leaping to his feet. Due to his useless legs, he falls face first into a pillow that Titus kicks into his path. “Calling me Robert takes too long. Bob is shorter, which means it saves us time when in danger. Say both names and you’ll see I’m right. I got the idea when I noticed that my horses responded faster to simpler names than the long ones I used to give them. Why can’t it be the same for us? Anyway, Luther refused to listen to my explanation, so I had to defeat him to earn his respect.”

  “No, we were fighting because you told me this story five times while we were being healed,” the vampiric forest tracker states while squeezing his flesh together. After willing the ugly gash to close, he crawls over to Bob and puts his friend’s arm over his shoulders. “You take most of the blood because your injuries are worse. I can make due with two bags and a day of rest. That is unless we’ve been reunited for something urgent. By the way, it’s good to see you’re alive, so to speak, Clyde. I find your timing curious since we could really use your help, but I assume Mab finally wore Xavier down.”

  “Actually, I heard she went with Nadia’s blessing,” Bob interjects as he is helped to a small couch. Clicking his tongue, he gets the horse to come over and casually strokes the skinless animal’s head. “Fran here heard about it from Constance who listened to Nadia and Kai discussing their decision. She couldn’t understand most of what they said because they moved a barrel of apples close to her. In their defense, I had put an invisibility spell on the old girl and forgot to take it off before I left the stables. So, are we all in agreement that you’ll be calling me Bob? If so then thank you for visiting and you’re all dismissed.”

  Walking by the couch, Mab gingerly flicks the elf’s ear and hands him the biggest of the blood bags. She is less gentle with Titus, her younger brother earning a kick to the thigh in order to get his attention. The siblings head out the door and they can be heard grunting before returning with a heavy wooden panel. Splintered legs are still attached to the underside of the broken table, which once sat in the gang’s former hideout. They place it against the wall and set up torches on both sides to show the names that are etched into the top. Many of them have been crossed off, some of the grooves deep enough to puncture the memorial. Clyde tosses Titus a chisel, but the towering vampire lets the small tool sail by his head. Instead, he draws one of his claymores and goes about marking off those who died on their most recent mission. Mab grows a claw to write in a few new names, which are promptly crossed out due to them dying before they could be listed in the first place.

  “As you can see, things haven’t been going well for us,” Titus says as he finishes. Returning to his seat, he takes a moment to stare at his hands and gather his thoughts. “We didn’t have any problem recruiting thanks to our reputation and Xavier’s help, but I have a feeling those won’t help us now. People are saying that the Vengeance Hounds are cursed, so it might only be the five of us and Decker. He’s sorry that he couldn’t make this meeting, but Xavier wanted to talk to him about a military issue. Well, there’s the other one who is missing, but I’m sure she will help us if we promise that Mab won’t attack her.”

  “Guess she’s not helping us then,” Clyde replies with a smirk. Flipping a satchel off his shoulder, he empties it onto a table and stacks the scrolls. “We’re going to be a special unit that works independently from . . . I hate talking like this is a real army. The gang is back together and maybe we’ll recruit some fresh faces because our job is to go after the traitors. That means we’re fighting other vampires, which could get a little awkward. Against his better judgement, which he wants me to make clear, Kai has painstakingly created these maps and reports. They show the locations and estimated strength of our targets. Each one will be a unique mission and I’m sure there will be surprises.”

  “How many require horses?” Bob asks while he swings an empty sling over his head. With a grunt, he leans back and allows Fran to nuzzle his cheek. “I only want to know if I need to make some specialized steeds. Most areas are easy, but it takes me a little more time to make them for water and deserts since getting parts is tougher these days. Luther is a good supplier, but the forests are getting dangerous and the Duragians wiped out the vampire black market two months ago. At least in our area.”

  Titus takes one of the scrolls and opens it, the detailed picture of a mountaintop fortress causing him to cough. “This place is better defended than Nyte. The six of us might be able to take it as a small force, but the plan would have to work without the slightest hiccup. That hasn’t happened in decades. If the job is simply to take out the leaders and strongest warriors then that would be easier. Not that it would do much because I’m sure someone else would rise to the top of the garbage dump. What do you think, Luther?”

  “It depends on how much time I’m given to gather more information,” the forest tracker replies as he takes another scroll. Scowling at the picture of a desert oasis, he can already think of ten questions he would ask a prisoner. “Not that I don’t trust Kai and his network, but this is all new and I prefer to get a look for myself. Like in the old days, my investigation would put all of us at ease. I suggest that we go through the targets as a group and rate them by difficulty. The
ones that require further investigation can be handed to me and I’ll work on them. With there being so few of us left, I’d rather be cautious than mindlessly aggressive.”

  “Why did you look at me when you said that?” Titus asks with a laugh.

  “I just remembered the time you greeted me with a full-grown oak to my entire body.”

  “Thought you were an assassin sent by an enemy.”

  “At the time, I was an assassin sent by your enemy.”

  “Then I was perfectly justified.”

  The old friends start to laugh until they hear a loud grunt from the hallway and see that Lou is quietly standing outside. Too broad to get through the door, the ogre points at Clyde and makes a strange chattering with his teeth. Unsure if his point is coming across, he beckons for the black-haired vampire to come with him. It is obvious that Lou is uncomfortable with the gesture, his oily cheeks blushing and his ebony eyes aimed at the floor. Wanting to get a rise out of the well-dressed bodyguard, Clyde shrugs and turns away to continue talking to his gang. The simple trick works better than expected when the ogre barges through the wall, which results in his sleeves getting torn. The muscular creature is about to grab the smaller vampire, but stops when his primal instincts scream that he is in danger. Letting his arm drop, Lou snorts at Clyde and returns to the hallway. Not wanting to get in trouble for the mess, he tries to put the fallen bricks back in place, but ends up dislodging more of the thick wall. Scratching his head, the ogre gathers all of the debris and carries it to an open window in order to toss it into the courtyard below.

  “I’ll leave everything else to you guys since I’m apparently being summoned,” Clyde whispers before nodding to Mab. Lou growls in response to the gesture, which causes the other vampires to sigh in unison. “Seems I’m wanted alone, which is never good. Let’s look on the bright side. Considering I don’t know much about this new world, I’d probably only get in the way during the planning stage. I have the utmost faith in you four and the horse. I’ll get back as soon as I can and we can swap stories over dinner. Not sure why, but I can’t seem to shake this nagging hunger ever since we got back from that cabin. That means leave some of the food for me or I’ll be really mad. Good luck with the boring stuff.”

  “Wait, did you plan on leaving us with this?” Luther asks as their grinning leader hurries after the ogre. Taking another scroll, he stops and glances at Mab, who has yet to move away from the memorial. “Are you going to be okay? I know it’s hard to look away since you’ve been doing solo missions for so long. If it helps, we didn’t have time to say good-bye either because we didn’t see any of their deaths coming. Really doesn’t feel right that only seven names remain out of so many. Maybe it’s time to start over.”

  “Yeah . . . start over,” Mab replies, barely listening to the others. Running a finger along the table, she stops at the name of the newest recruit. “Only met this kid once and shared maybe a few words. Now, she’s gone and I don’t feel anything. Sorry if I sound cold, but I keep thinking that the gang really died fifty years ago. Everything we’ve done since then has been in the form of something else. We acted like we were the same family as before, but maybe we were fooling ourselves. I fought so hard to bring Clyde back and didn’t consider that what he created was gone.”

  “But we’re still here,” Bob happily declares. Leaping off the couch, he lands next to the burglar and his body awkwardly tilts when one of his legs breaks. “Some of us might be banged up, but we’re still here. The family isn’t dead and we don’t have to start over. All we have to do is move forward together. I think the gang has been sleeping and now it’s back with a new purpose. Just look at all of these targets, Mab. I’m sure I can get some new horses and you can find some sparkly goodies while slaughtering the traitors. You know you want to get back to taking jewels and gold instead of killing.”

  “I’m in it for the fighting!” Titus shouts from across the room.

  “You’re my friends, so I go where you go,” Luther casually adds.

  Mab forces herself to smile before facing the others and leaning against the table. “That’s the thing that worries me, boys. Where exactly are we going?”

  *****

  Clyde kicks the door open with enough force to snap the hinges and send the wooden obstacle thudding into the far wall. Instead of barging in, he meekly peeks inside to make sure he has the right room. Xavier makes no effort to rise from his chair and merely waves as if his guest’s violent entrance is normal. Unlike his maker, Decker remains on edge and keeps his hand near his axe until he realizes the stance could be perceived as a threat. Clyde disappears for a moment before entering with Lou gripped by his upper jaw, the ogre unconscious and leaving a trail of red-tinted drool on the expensive rug. With a casual flick of the wrist, he sends the large vampire sailing toward the dais steps. Xavier casts a spell to roll his wife’s bodyguard into a corner and props him up against a suit of armor. The awkward silence continues even after Clyde sits in Nadia’s chair and demurely flutters his eyelids at the nobleman.

  “I told you he wouldn’t want to be pulled away from the others so soon after they were reunited,” Decker mentions before covering his mouth. Bowing his head in apology, he is relieved to see that his maker is amused by the statement. “I’m sorry, Lord Tempest, but I forget my manners when Clyde is around. Old habits from my time in their gang. I simply meant that it has been a long time since all of us were together. Perhaps this meeting could have waited? We do have a lot to plan for.”

  “In that case, I recommend you help your friends,” Xavier says, waving the soldier away. He waits for Decker to retrieve Lou and leave before he casts a silence spell on the room. “Do not think I am setting a trap. I wanted us to have a private conversation. No other opinions and thoughts. Just two old friends discussing the present and future. Those are all that matter now since the past cannot be changed.”

  “True, but there’s something to be said for reminiscing,” Clyde replies as he scans the room for illusions. Finding nothing more than a minor color spell on an old portrait, he relaxes and curls his legs under him. “Decker was right though. I wanted to talk to the others about how the world has changed. Being out of action for so long means I can’t be the one to come up with plans. Honestly, it feels like I’m along for the heist instead of being in charge. All those years thinking I’d be okay out here, but even the air smells different.”

  With a friendly smile, Xavier turns his chair and rolls up his sleeves in an attempt to appear casual. “That is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Please hear me out since this may sound like something Kai would say. I am worried about your mental state since you were trapped for so long. There have not been any obvious issues and you appear to be mellowing since you first arrived. My concern is more that you are having a difficult time adapting to the new world. I take some responsibility since I have kept you busy from the moment you returned to Nyte. Our situation is dire, but that is not an excuse for pushing you, especially since I do not know what you want.”

  “On the other hand, all of this means I’m not bored, which was always a source of trouble in the past,” Clyde interrupts in amusement. Stretching out his arm, he slowly makes a fist and listens to every knuckle pop. “While I appreciate your concern, I’m going to take things day by day. Figure I can always go back into the hole if I don’t like it up here. Probably wouldn’t stay down there for more than a decade, but it’s an option. Definitely not what I want, which is a question I need to start asking myself.”

  “I am surprised you never thought about it before.”

  “At the time, I only wanted to be free.”

  “To do what?”

  “Steal and cause trouble with the gang, but most of them are gone.”

  “You could always make a new one.”

  Taken aback by the blunt reply, Clyde is barely able to suppress a low growl. Enough slips out for Xavier to notice, the nobleman quickly realizing he may have crossed a line. A glimm
ering barrier appears around the silver-haired man in response to the waves of aggression that are wafting off his guest. Sparks of lightning run along the floor and slip out of the sealed window, the shutters rattling from the passing energy. A wave of potent magic rolls across the room to give the walls a prismatic shine, which is the only sign that the stones have been weaponized. The vampires silently stare at each other until the tension fades away, which prompts Xavier to drop his spells.

  “I did not mean for that to be as crass and heartless as it sounded,” he admits while pulling a piece of paper out of his shirt. He keeps the note folded and taps it on his knee, the corner remaining crisp and sharp. “The loss of family is difficult and I am sure part of you blames me for it. Know that I weep for them because they were my friends and allies. All I meant is that you need to move forward. Whether it be with new recruits or those who remain, the decision is yours.”

  “Noticing that you didn’t really explain what you meant,” Clyde mentions with a half-hearted smirk. His eye on the paper, his fingers wiggle as if they are about to snatch the curious object. “You do have a point. We can’t dwell on the fact that we lost friends. Mourning is necessary even for our kind, but anyone who joins us now won’t be replacements. You can’t take a stranger and think they’ll be a perfect stand-in for an old friend. The dead know that. Now that we’ve gotten the philosophical part of this meeting out of the way, what’s with the paper? You’d have crushed the thing if it wasn’t enchanted.”

  “This is something that I need you to keep secret for as long as you can,” Xavier requests before passing the note. He waits for his friend to read the information and is amused that the man has no reaction to the names. “Kai found this information spread out among the other documents that you and Mab took from the cabin. All of those are members of the council and it appears that they are working with the Duragians. We do not know why, but Stephanie Talon believes it is a plan to pit their enemies against each other. My fellow nobles were severely weakened in their failed battle, which means I am the strongest of the council. That holds a lot of power and influence, which does not sit well with them. You can share this with your gang since they will figure it out if any of those people are at the strongholds. Make it clear that nobody else is to know. Letting news of this spread will be met with execution because this is the only advantage we have over our enemies.”