A Vampire's Reckoning, page 11
part #2 of Stone Masters Vampire Series
“Not Father.”
“Yes, Father. Look!” Alex thrust up his wrist. “He did this to me.”
Alex was shaken. When he was well again, he would be ready to face the truth.
“Where is Father now?” I asked.
“God knows. He has not come to visit me. Not that I want him to.”
“I see.” I tried to unravel his scrambled words.
“Daumia, he said that I had to give you something.” Alex reached into the pocket of his shirt and pulled out a gold ring. He handed it to me.
I examined it carefully, recognizing the crest. A gradual fear came over me. The engraved scribe read, “Stone Master.”
I heaved and struggled for words, “When did you last see . . . Velde?”
Alex, do not tell me the answer.
“He left a few moments ago, just before you arrived, Jadeon.”
“No!”
“Yes. Why?”
“His ashes.”
“What ashes?” Alex stared at me.
“Oh, my God! Father.” I leapt up.
“Daumia mentioned he had a rendezvous with the Church.”
I sprinted from the room.
I hurried to the convent in Marazion, riddled with guilt. My father’s remains were now entombed with his enemies. And I had put them there.
There was no time to grieve. Only the blame was welcome.
On my arrival at the convent it was typically quiet, the air still, nothing out of place. I had to see Catherine. Aware that breaking down the door would cause the other nuns distress, I restrained myself and rang the doorbell, pacing the ground before the entrance. Peering into the courtyard through the wooden shutters I strained to glimpse any sign of danger.
A small frail nun soon arrived at the door.
I towered over her. “Catherine, where is she? Is she here?”
“Master Artimas, is that you?”
“Yes. Catherine?” I pushed for an answer.
“She . . . she is gone.” The nun stepped out from the convent.
“What do you mean she is gone? Where did she go?”
“A gentleman came for her. She was reluctant at first, but he persuaded her. They were heading for St. Michael’s Mount.”
“How long ago did they leave?” I asked.
“Oh, a while back.” She handed me a string of rosary beads. “Sister Catherine asked me to give you these.”
I clutched the beads. “Thank you, sister. How did he persuade her?”
“Why, he told her you were distressed. I assumed it was because of Master Alexander’s terrible accident. But now that I see you—”
“What accident?”
She appeared confused. “Why, Lord Velde informed us of the—”
“What accident?” I pressed.
“He said that your brother had been badly burned.”
I staggered back.
Chapter 18
Orpheus
ALEX LINGERED UPON the castle steps, waiting for Jadeon’s return. The night faded fast. He was well. No bandage upon his wrist now, and the fever had left him. I dreaded the moment but had to inform Alex that the time had come for me to leave. Alex pleaded with me not to go. I managed to subdue him with the promise I would only return for him if he calmed down.
Just minutes before I had rested on Alex’s bed, staring down at the weakening mortal. Jadeon had left for the convent and I had taken great pleasure in watching him panic, knowing that Catherine was secretly locked up in the dungeons of his castle and he had not detected her.
I pushed some strands of Alex’s sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes, reconsidering whether I could cope with leaving him behind. “Do you remember anything of our conversation the other night?” I asked him.
“For some reason things are still a little fuzzy. I don’t really remember much about the night of the ball,” Alex said.
“Taking a small amount of my blood can do that,” I said.
“What?”
“That night, we shared a moment.”
“I don’t get you.”
“I know, it’s one of those things in life where an explanation inadequately explains the reality,” I said.
“Reality of what?”
“Perhaps I could show you?”
He stared at me with his large blue eyes.
“Alex, it would be sacrilege for me to let you grow old.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“The greatest bestowal of all is life itself.”
Alex shuffled uncomfortably.
“It’s time I gave you your gift,” I said.
Chapter 19
Jadeon
A MAN POSSESSED, I flew toward St. Michael’s, my skin tingling with the imminent sunrise. Alex lingered on the castle steps, waiting for me. I swooped down with dizzying speed and pulled him by his shirt collar, dragging him as fast as possible into the dungeons. We tumbled into the Stone Master’s chamber and I slammed the door shut, shielding us from the light.
The items used in the sacrificial ritual were now scattered upon the floor. The dark room remained disheveled, a cruel reminder of what had transpired earlier that week. The four decaying bodies of the men remained strewn out in a hideous fashion. We both recoiled at the bloodbath. It was too late to escape the sickening stench.
Alex ran to the door and tried to open it.
“No,” I shouted and pushed him away. “We cannot go out. The light, it will kill us.”
“What are you talking about?” Alex panicked, his voice shrill. “How do you move like that?”
I stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Move out of the way,” he said and headed again for the door. “I refuse to stay in here a moment longer. Open the damn door.”
“You need to calm—”
“Let me out!”
“Please, let go of the door.” I shoved him hard and he flew across the room, landing on the floor.
I had misjudged my strength. I locked the door and removed the key, grasping it, and knelt at Alex’s side. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Who did this to them?” Alex stared at the bodies.
“Alex . . .”
“Father?”
“Not Father, Lord Velde.” I tucked the key into my coat pocket.
“No.”
“Alex, we are in complete darkness and yet your vision is clear!”
“That’s not possible.”
“We are changed. We are . . .”
“What?”
I mouthed, “Vampires.”
“You’re talking madness. Did you have anything to do with this?” He pointed at the massacre.
“For God’s sake, you must listen to me!”
He nodded.
I tried to calm my tone. “Do you remember when we witnessed Father and his men carry that woman from this room? Father held the title Master of the Stones. He led an ancient alliance. That woman whom they dragged into the dungeons was called Sunaria. She and Daumia had been lovers for centuries when Father killed her. “
“That was years ago. Daumia is our age.”
“Daumia is a vampire, as was Sunaria.”
Alex scurried backwards away from me. “You have lost it.”
“I can prove it to you.”
On the floor beside the altar I found Father’s blood stained knife.
Alex cowered.
This was the only way of proving it to him, but more importantly, to myself. With shaking hands I rolled up my shirtsleeve and proceeded to cut into my left arm.
Alex’s sobs grew louder.
Together, we watched my wound miraculously heal.
Time to face the truth. My mind reeled.
“That is not possible,” he muttered.
“You’re next.”
“I believe you. I believe you.”
I threw the knife down.
“But I hate the dark,” Alex said.
“Now would be a good time to get over it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The name Sunaria called out was Orpheus. Daumia is Orpheus. He sought revenge for the death of his lover.”
“And now you say we are . . .”
“He has transformed us both. I believe it is through the passing of his blood to us,” I said.
“Not possible.” Alex beheld my expression. “Oh, my God, what have I done? It was I who brought him.”
“He would have found some way to get to us.”
“No, Jadeon, I brought him here.”
“There is something more pressing. I need you to remember everything Orpheus ever said to you. Places he has traveled to, homes he may own.”
“No, I never want to see him again. I want nothing more to do with him.”
“He has Catherine.”
We stared in the direction of the dead men and cringed with the realization that we were trapped for the day with the decomposing bodies.
* * * *
The following night I attempted to impart some of the information to Alex that I had gathered. Alex coped better than I had thought he would, though looking back, he was still in denial.
Like I had been.
His disregard was only to be expected. To persuade Alex I dragged him to the library and sat him down, hoping the books would prove that I was not crazy.
He still thought I was.
With no time to pander to his moods I instructed him to stay home and guard the castle while I went in pursuit of Orpheus to bring back Catherine. Leaving Alex was unbearable, but I was pulled. Not finding Catherine was equally wrong. Her face haunted my every waking moment.
Hold on, I am coming for you.
Although my prayers were many, they included my hope Catherine would not be repulsed by me now. I hated the fact Orpheus had her. The thought of him touching her tortured me. I considered whether Catherine was strong enough to cope.
My rage was unbearable. On finding Orpheus, I would kill him. It was imperative I keep such feelings hidden from Alex. We lingered upon the steps of St. Michael’s Mount and embraced. I reassured him we would soon be reunited. When certain he was ready for me to leave, I ascended high into the air.
With the faint detection of Catherine’s presence, I sensed a glimmer of hope. I sent her a message out into the night. “I will not rest until you are home.”
Impossible for her to hear.
Dismayed, I glanced down. Alex headed for the servant’s quarters.
Chapter 20
Orpheus
OF WHAT DO VAMPIRES dream? Of times gone by, when they once walked as humans, when they ate, drank and made love as mortals do. During such times when enclosed within naiveté life was simplicity itself. Alex dreamed of Jadeon and Catherine as all three played within the castle walls, no cares other than that of avoiding their parents and stealing time together. The all-consuming nightmares came, too.
Alex had dismissed all the staff within the castle. Many of them had worked there for most of their lives. The task had not been easy, and despite not wanting to alarm them, he told them his father had died of an infectious disease. For their own safety they left.
Alone and bewildered, Alex walked the corridors. He longed for Jadeon, and despite all that I had done he still pined for my company. Wandering St. Michaels’s he was lost within its vastness, trapped by what he had become. He dared not venture out, afraid of everything and nothing. He would wait. Jadeon would return soon. Then and only then would he explore the changing world that lay outside the castle.
Alex had made a room for himself after clearing the corpses and removing all evidence of the Stone Master massacre. Here he could sleep in safety, engulfed in total darkness during the daylight hours. His bed now lay in the corner of his dark domain. An ironic twist of fate that he had once been forbidden to even enter this room.
A noise startled him and he awoke from a troubled slumber. Three weeks had passed since Jadeon had left his side and for a moment he hoped it was his brother. Alex detected more than one person within the castle walls.
“Pirates!” Alex jumped up out of his makeshift bed. Unlocking the door he made his way toward where the men had now gathered.
He listened carefully to the voices within the large dining room, detecting several men, and was shocked to discover them busying themselves stealing the silver cutlery. He pushed the door ajar and watched the burglars place their finds into the hessian sacks they had brought with them. The men were large of frame, rugged in appearance, and dressed as sailors with dark breeches and dirty white shirts. Two of the sinister buccaneers wore bandannas. Alex’s urgent need to feed partially distracted him from his fear. Their human odor intensified his hunger.
“Gentlemen,” he announced, standing at the doorway. “You are trespassing. Leave immediately.”
The men appeared startled to find anyone at all living within the castle.
The largest of the three, the apparent leader, neared him. “We had heard news that this place lay empty now.”
“I live here, and those things which you are taking belong to me. Now leave.” Alex entered.
“I very much doubt you can take all of us on.” The pirate scowled.
“What makes you think I live here alone?” Alex asked.
“Lord Artimas is dead. You must be one of his sons. You live here alone, no servants, no guards. Even your dogs are all dead. We saw them lying upon the ground by the water’s edge when we arrived.”
“Care to join them?” Alex asked.
The imposing man sneered. “This is how it’s going to be. You will allow us to proceed unhindered, and we will leave you alive. How does that sound?”
“Get out of my castle!” Alex yelled.
Alex staggered, stunned by the jab in his abdomen. He looked down, horrified to see the silver tip of the pirate’s weapon protruding through his stomach, blood flowing readily. He fell.
The fourth man, initially undetected, now stood behind him and had run his sword through Alex’s body. The sword was yanked out, causing his blood to spurt. Alex struggled to rise. Using all his strength, he staggered and pushed his attacker out of the way, shocked to view his blood on the pirate’s sword. Alex fled.
He moved fast but they followed. The telltale trickle of blood that poured from his injury guided them to him. They followed him down the stairs, past his room and along the corridor where the many dark cells of the dungeon were lined on either side
They walked into each ready to finish off their victim. The trail of blood now ceasing they split up, each searching the cells for him separately.
One of the men continued along down the dark corridor and into the last cell. Finding nothing he turned to go, but on hearing a scratching sound stopped to investigate. The pirate was thrown back by the wall that swung out and knocked him to the ground.
Alex appeared from nowhere, pulling the man into the secret vault that led to the castle’s clandestine underground pathway. He dragged him down through the dark passageway used before on so many occasions by Lord Artimas. The wall grated closed behind them and silence now replaced the man’s screams. His colleagues ran into the cell, startled to find it empty.
With the struggling pirate cradled in his arms, Alex stood upon the dirt floor as he—the aggressor now—leaned into the man’s neck. The full force of his victim’s blood poured into his mouth and for the first time he felt fortunate. His eyes rolled. The man weakened, surrendering with the loss of blood. Alex could feel the mortal’s heart beating, and though it slowed he continued to drink, quenching his thirst, savoring. He dropped his dead victim to the ground.
Alex gazed at his bloody shirt. He lifted the wet material to examine the fatal wound upon his abdomen, which to his relief healed before his eyes. He shoved open the stone doorway and sauntered toward the center of the line of dungeons. He used his new refined senses to locate the three remaining men. He could see the pirates standing at the end of the corridor and noisily entered one of the cells, glancing back to ensure he was followed.
Alex readied himself for them.
They soon trapped him at the entrance, their menacing expressions taking Alex off guard. They drew toward him, snaring him in the corner of the dark pungent cell. Alex rose up into the air and scampered along the dungeon’s ceiling. Within a moment he stood on the outside of the cell, slamming the door with a clang and placing the rusty padlock in place, sealing the men inside.
“Wait!” The pirate’s hands were wrapped tightly around the jail bars, his knuckles white.
Alex faced him.
“You must let us go, boy. We have a ship anchored just behind your castle. Set us free or others will come to look for us.”
“Really?” Alex’s eyes grew large. “I think that’s probably the best news I’ve heard for weeks.”
Alex was gone.
* * * *
The years advanced with an inevitable flow, proceeding with either speed or at a monotonous pace. Spending most of his nights reading in the large library, Alex made up for lost time. Although he had rarely ventured into the room on his own volition when a mortal, he found himself devouring the numerous collections of books and his knowledge of the world grew with each passing day. He took to studying music again, and as time was in abundance he eventually mastered both piano and violin, entertaining himself upon the lonely evenings.
The occasional uninvited visitor ensured he never needed to leave the castle and helped disrupt his boredom with the passing of such predictable seasons. Such visitors would come and go, and in doing so would often bring with them fascinating articles. Alex soon learned that to kill these victims before they used their machines of the new age was foolish. He would lie in wait for his captives, studying them while they demonstrated their contemporary appliances.
With the modern era came modern gadgets—electric shavers, music boxes, and even small talking contraptions which they called phones. He was able to master the workings of such devices, left behind unwillingly by those who provided his food source. He would drink their blood. Then taking their noise boxes, making them his own, he would listen and dance to the new way of creating music, distracted by the loud, deep base that played, only to sink into a depression when the thing would stop altogether, as if broken.
