Chapter Thirteen

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Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve

Lord Radek and Hillard stood across the room from each other after Sarah left, watching each other like wary dogs before a fight.

“So, you are the renegade,” began Lord Radek. “I have sensed your presence here in my lands now for the past ten or fifteen years. I have wondered what exactly it was you were doing here. I know that it is my job to destroy anyone not sanctioned by the Vampire Council, but you have intrigued me. You do not feed on any of my subjects – not that I am aware of anyway. Are you so pathetic that you feed on the dumb blood of animals?”

“If I choose not to kill my own kind to quench my thirst, I would say that it’s no business of yours,” asserted Hillard calmly. He hadn’t been sure of what this confrontation with Lord Radek would bring, but this was definitely an interesting beginning.

“But they are not your own kind, Hillard. Surely you know that. You are above them now. Like a god. Who was it that made you? Who left you so unaware of your place in life?” Lord Radek was curious as to what vampire would not only go against the Vampire Council in making another without permission, but also leave that newvampire alone and unaware of his rightful place in the world.

“Cedrik of Zwischenmeer. I know you know who he was.”

“Ah, my old whelp. He was my great mistake. Do you know why he made you?” Lord Radek was truly curious. He was unaware that Cedrik had had the courage to do anything except take his own life.

“Yes.” Hillard was curious as to where this was going. How could Lord Radek be aware of him all this time and not know of his true intention in coming to Donner?

“You seem so hostile. I know that there are things to be settled between us. Perhaps that is why Cedrik made you. But it has been so long since I have been in the company of one of my own kind. This has been a most interesting day. Come, sit my boy, allow me to share my Geschenk with you. Let us exchange stories before we get down to business. It is always good to know your enemy. Perhaps we could become friends, or even allies. This day has changed my plans for the future, and I am still waiting to see how things will turn out.” Lord Radek sat on one of the couches and indicated that Hillard should take a seat in the adjacent one.

Hillard was now even more curious as to where this was going than before. He had no intention of becoming Lord Radek’s friend, let alone his ally, but it was said that you should know your enemy, and he was curious to see how much more he could learn of his own kind before he had to deal with Lord Radek. Plus, the longer he kept Radek talking, the more time Sarah and Christine would have to escape.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sarah stared into Christine’s eyes with horror. What did it mean? Christine saw the look in Sarah’s eyes and knew that her sister saw the difference in her.

“What is it Sarah?” she asked softly, afraid to hear the answer.

“Your eyes. They’re green – so very green. What did he do to you Chris?”

Christine felt the thirst throbbing within her. It had begun even before Sarah had entered the room. She was resisting the urge to drink from her sister with every single ounce of her being. It was bad enough that Sarah could see that she was changed – there was no way that she would ever drink from her. Inwardly, Christine was in despair. How could she continue to live, knowing that she might accidentally take a life, like she had almost done with Gervis only a few hours before? How could she ever walk among humans again, feeling this irresistible urge to feed upon them? How could she go with her sister now, when Sarah’s unselfish act of rescuing her could end in her death?

When Christine didn’t answer, Sarah became deeply afraid for her sister. Was this even her sister? If they were in a parallel world, it was possible for this to be an impostor.

“It’s me Sarah.” Christine had sensed her sister’s suspicion and knew the thoughts that were coming with it, even if she couldn’t read them directly. “I’m okay. But I’m not the same. I don’t think I can go with you.” Seeing Sarah’s look of despair, she continued. “I want to go with you. I really do. But I can’t trust myself. This feeling, this urge, it’s just too strong. I never want to hurt you.”

Sarah looked at her sister in horror. “He made you like him,” she gasped in realization. She just stared at Christine for a moment. “How? Why?”

Christine smiled a wistful half smile. “I tried to escape this morning. He caught us. He was so very angry. I think that he almost killed me. But at the last moment he stopped. He isn’t a total monster, Sarah. There’s something about him that is so very lonely. We have become … friends … almost. But I betrayed that when I tried to escape and, in his anger, Lord Radek almost drained me. I think at the last moment he regretted it, because that’s when he did this to me. He saved me, Sarah, but I think he cursed me at the same time.”

“Not a total monster?” Sarah couldn’t believe that she had heard those words coming out of her sister’s mouth. “He drank your blood! He’s a vampire! Of course he’s a monster!”

Christine looked at her sister. “Am I a monster then too, Sarah?”

“You haven’t drunk anyone’s blood!” Sarah protested, realizing her mistake. Christine was just Christine. She was not a monster, she was her sister.

Christine looked down at the floor. Tears welled to her eyes. “I have though, Sarah – the man who was escaping with me, Gervis. I almost killed him.”

“You drank from someone? You actually drank his blood?” Sarah backed away from Christine in horror. She almost fled from the room, but then she saw Christine’s face. There was a look of utter despair painted across it. There were tears in her eyes. It was obvious that this was still her sister. “Why did you do it?” Sarah asked, needing to hear a logical answer for it all.

“I couldn’t help myself. The thirst – you wouldn’t understand how powerful it is. Even now, I can almost smell your blood. But Sarah, I will never drink from you. I’ll die before I ever hurt you, or anyone, ever again. I’ll kill myself. I want to die. I think it would have been better if Lord Radek had just let me die. I wouldn’t have to worry about hurting other people and I wouldn’t have to see that look of disgust and horror that’s on your face when you look at me.”

Sarah tried to stifle the fear of her sister that she felt. This was still her sister. They had been through so much together that she couldn’t imagine her life without Christine. She needed to find some way to help her sister.

“Maybe Hillard knows a way to help you. Maybe not all vampires are evil. Maybe you can drink just enough to survive and not actually hurt anyone.”

Christine started at hearing Hillard’s name. “Is Hillard the vampire you were with? Is he as bad as Lord Radek said? He said that Hillard was a rogue – whatever that means.”

Sarah just stared at Christine, unable to believe what she had just heard. Hillard? A vampire? Suddenly, the significance of the emerald green eyes struck her. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.

“You didn’t know.” It was more of a statement coming from Christine’s mouth than a question. It was obvious when she looked at Sarah that she was shocked and even more horrified than before. Christine hoped that Sarah would be able to handle all of these shocks coming at her.

“No.” Sarah wanted to say more, but didn’t know what to say. She felt horribly betrayed by Hillard. He hadn’t tried to drink from her, but knowing that she had been alone with him so much, and even unconscious in his presence, made her wonder if he really had drunk from her without her realizing it. And the feelings she had been developing for him – were they real? Or were they simply projections from him? Were the things that he had told her about vampires true? She had no idea what to think anymore. She just knew that her sister was standing in front of her, afraid that she would be left alone.

There was a knock on the door and Sarah grabbed Christine’s hand. “We’ll figure out what to do together. That’s what we always do. I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“But what if I hurt you? Maybe I’m better off staying here with Lord Radek.”

“NO!” Sarah voice was emphatic. “I am not leaving you here with him. You are my sister – you won’t hurt me. I trust in you. Now you need to trust in me.”

Sarah led Christine to the door and opened it. Adalaide stood in the hallway, with Giselle and a man. “Gervis” she heard Christine whisper softly behind her. She knew from the man’s pale countenance and the fact that he was being held up by both Adalaide and Giselle that this must be the man her sister had fed on.

“Giselle made me promise to take Gervis with us when we leave. She is afraid that Lord Radek will kill him,” Adalaide said by way of an explanation. Her eyes widened as she noticed the colour of Christine’s own shining orbs.

“You take him to his parents! Don’t let her be alone with him! I’m holding you two responsible for him. Don’t let her cause him any more trouble!” Giselle snapped, her face white with anger.

Sarah didn’t know what to say, so she just took Gervis’ arm from Giselle and started helping him down the hall. Christine was quiet and subdued as she followed. Giselle led the way down through the servant’s area and out through the kitchen.

Before they left, Giselle threw out one more, “You keep him safe, Adalaide. Don’t let that vampire witch alone near him. I’m holding you responsible!” Then she slammed the kitchen door after them and they were moving as fast as they could towards the woods and Adalaide’s hideaway.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Let me first tell you my story, then I would like to hear yours.” Lord Radek picked up a small bell from the table beside him. He rang it and a petite young girl came into the room carrying a tray with two glasses of red liquid on it. Hillard stared at the glasses. He had rarely partaken of human blood in the past and always found it difficult to go back to drinking animal blood afterwards. He would have refused outright if he was not afraid of enraging Lord Radek and putting the plan to rescue Christine in danger. He sipped the blood sparingly, trying to ignore the instinctual need within him to gulp it down. He had fed on animal blood the night before, slipping away from the hideout after Sarah had fallen asleep, so his need for nourishment was not great, but the temptation of real human blood was almost irresistible and his thirst was raging.

Lord Radek seemed to notice Hillard’s discomfort. “Drink as much as you like. I have a copious supply and do not mind sharing with you today, if you will grant me the pleasure of your company for a short while.”

At that, something within Hillard snapped, and he downed the blood in one gulp, feeling deeply ashamed immediately afterwards for his lack of self-control. He tried to comfort himself with the fact that, by drinking, he was increasing his strength so that he would be at his strongest when he had to finally face Lord Radek in battle.

Lord Radek rang the bell twice, and the young girl re-entered the room, her tray holding three bottles of dark liquid. She placed the tray on the table and left again, never saying a word.

“She is very pretty, is she not?” mused Lord Radek, “Her father died before she was born, and her mother died when she was three. I took her into my own house when there was no one in the village willing to take her in. Despite what you may think of me, I try to take care of those under my responsibility.”

Hillard said nothing. He thought that it was more likely that the girl’s parents had been killed by Lord Radek, but knew better than to say so out loud.

Watching Hillard for a moment, Radek finally cleared his throat. “Well, now. I was born in the year 1512, in a small village in Germany. I remember when Charles came into power. I was just a young man when I joined his army. I rose quickly through the ranks, distinguishing myself in battle. I was alone in the world, you see, and the army became my family.”

“I was turned by Charles himself in 1535. We had no special bond, he and I, but I was one of his greatest human soldiers, and became one of his best vampire warriors. Those days were filled with blood. I remember drinking my fill and then some at every battle. It was a glorious time for the vampire!”

“When the Vampire Council came into power, those times ended. It was obvious that if we kept killing humans at such a high rate we would soon deplete our food supply. Many of the members of the Council felt threatened by my battle prowess and I was banished to the New World, where I established the settlement of Donner.”

Hillard nodded. He doubted the part about the Vampire Council feeling threatened by Lord Radek, but the rest of the history was familiar to him. Cedrik had told him some of Lord Radek’s history, before succumbing to the fires, and the rest he had read in the libraries of Cedrik’s castle, before heading out towards Donner.

“As to your sire,” Lord Radek continued, “I was given permission to create a new vampire when the Lord Vampire of the neighbouring land, Zwischenmeer, was killed by the rioting of his own subjects. The Council was mortified that one of their own could be so weak, and they wanted me to make a point of filling the position quickly. Cedrik was the captain of my guards at the time. I never thought to ask him if he wanted to serve as a Vampire Lord, I simply thought it was such a great honour that he would be eager for the chance to serve. I also saw the opportunity there to increase my own power in the area. Cedrik would look to me for guidance, or so I thought.”

“But I had never considered Cedrik’s past. I had been responsible for the deaths of both his parents. He hated the vampiric gift and all that it represented. I put him in place in Zwischenmeer and it all fell apart. In a village where the subjects were already angry, Cedrik was far out of his league. He knew how to use his emotional influence, so the villagers could not get too close to him. But, the first time one did get close, his hunger overtook him and he killed, not one, but several villagers. I believe it was the foolish guilt he felt over their deaths that pushed him over the edge.”

Hillard nodded again. Cedrik had told him much of that. In fact, it had been Cedrik who had told him that it was possible to survive on animal blood alone. In the weeks where he had been too afraid to leave the castle, and not able to bring himself to request the Geschenk, he had been sneaking out of the castle at night, draining any animals he could find in the forest. It was not the same as human blood – much in the same way that wild game tasted different from a cow raised on grass and feed, animal blood tasted wild and was not as satisfying to the palate.

“Now, tell me of the end of Cedrik,” Lord Radek insisted. “And tell me of how you came to be here. I do believe we can be of some use to each other. There is no need for us to be enemies.”

Hillard paused for a moment before beginning. It was strange how Lord Radek kept referring to the potential of friendship between them. It wasn’t something he had been expecting. He had hoped to be able to engage the Lord in some sort of dialogue before initiating battle with him, in the hopes of extending the amount of time that Sarah and Christine had to escape, but this was completely unexpected.

“Well,” he began, uncertainly, “I suppose I should start at the beginning. When I was a boy, my parents lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of Zwischenmeer. I remember being very happy there. In my ninth year, a terrible illness came through our village. The Vampire Lord, Lord Cathal, healed as many as he could. However, by the time the other villagers noticed that my parents were missing and came to investigate, they were both dead, and I was very near death myself. They brought me to the castle and Lord Cathal not only healed me, but allowed me to stay in the castle, under the care of his servant, Gretchen, who probably filled a role very similar to your Giselle.”

Lord Radek nodded and Hillard continued. “After the plague, the villagers became more and more unhappy with the rulership of Lord Cathal. He had charged his normal rate for healing during the time of the plague – one Geschenk – and afterwards, many of the villagers did not have enough Stück left to buy food. A time of great poverty hit Zwischenmeer then, although those of us who lived in the castle did not feel its effects. The villagers became so dissatisfied that a rebellion started – first quiet, and then it came out in the open. It began with villagers quietly beginning their own bartering system, disregarding the Geschenk system. It was the logical way for them to go when most of them had no Stück left with which to buy food. All they had was their services. The village really pulled together. But Lord Cathal noticed that his blood supply was getting low and began to punish the villagers for breaking the law. He took blood from the offenders against their will. The villagers had realized by this time, however, that they could survive without the system of Blood Economics. They needed someone to blame for the deaths of those who had succumbed to the plague and focused all of their energy and rage on Lord Cathal. The rebellion became more and more vocal then and, at the end, the villagers came together, destroyed the Blood Bank, and fled into the forest. Lord Cathal had been slowly becoming weaker as time progressed and his blood supply shrank. He went out into the forest one night to find the villagers and punish them, but was too weak by that time to focus his emotional powers on all of the villagers. He, unlike me, did not know that he could have kept up his strength by consuming the blood of animals. They overwhelmed him and set him ablaze. That was the end of Lord Cathal.”

Hillard paused. “I had liked Lord Cathal. I had never experienced any of the things that had so angered the villagers, so I felt nothing but grief at his death. In all the time that he was suffering from hunger, while the villagers were withholding the Geschenk from him, he didn’t take from any of his household staff. He could have – it would have saved him – but he was of the old vampires and believed that it was his right to have the Geschenk and he was outraged that any of the villagers would withhold it from him after he had served them and their ancestors for over two hundred years. I think it was the thirst that caused him to so badly misjudge the situation. A merchant group came through a few days after his death, and the people of Zwischenmeer had no Stück left to trade with. The merchants left, I assume coming here, and the villagers began to realize that their situation was not as good as they had first considered. Without the Geschenk, they could trade with no one outside of their own village. Of course, some merchants might be willing to trade for goods, but they would fear reprisals from the other Vampire Lords if they got caught trading with a group of rebels like the people of Zwischenmeer.”

“Then, a few weeks later, you arrived with Cedrik. I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I remember seeing you. I was the one who stabled your horses when you arrived. Cedrik seemed much more confident when he was in your presence than he did after you left. I performed most of the household chores for him. I was the only one who had stayed in the castle after the death of Lord Cathal, everyone else having family in the village. One or two of the servants returned to the castle after Lord Cedrik took his place, but Cedrik and I became close simply because we were the two loners. For some reason, Cedrik found it easy to talk to me. We had long discussions that continued late into the night. We went through Lord Cathal’s library, reading the books about the history of the vampires. We had debates and discussions about the course of history and we agreed on most things, both of us taking the human view. Cedrik never really saw himself as a vampire, you see. He told me that the only time he had fed on human blood was when he was with you in your castle. He had learned a better way, he said, when the two of you were travelling to Zwischenmeer and you taught him to survive by drinking the blood of animals. He knew that you thought it was uncouth and an unworthy meal, only suitable for travelling when the human blood ran out, but he saw it as his salvation. If he never had to kill a human, he could deny his vampiric side. This system worked well for him for over a year. The villagers were provided with Geschenk credit for goods and services that they provided to the castle. In this way, they were able to barter between each other and pretend that they had no debt to the Vampire Lord of their village. This changed, however.”

“One day, a small girl from the village arrived home with an animal bite. The girl’s parents cleaned and bandaged the wound themselves, as the villagers had been all avoiding coming to Lord Cedrik for any healing since he had arrived. The girl soon began showing signs of illness, however. Her parents waited until she was very near death before bringing the girl to the castle. I am sure that Cedrik truly wanted to help the girl, but he took only a few steps toward her before he stopped. The girl’s parents were begging him to help, to save their daughter, but Cedrik just stood there. I now believe it was because, after a year or more of subsisting on only animal blood, the temptation to drink from the young girl was too great. He was afraid that if he got too close to her, he would give in to temptation and drain her. In reality, the result would have been the same either way. The girl died in the arms of her parents.”

“It was like the aftermath of the plague all over. The villagers blamed Cedrik for the girl’s death. Despite the fact that they had avoided him, had not served him like they were supposed to since his arrival, they blamed him for not saving her. This time, however, there was no Blood Bank to destroy. They began attacking the castle, and Cedrik fended off most of the attacks using the Emotional Influence. Finally, however, after months of random acts of violence, after being deserted by every house servant except for me, three men finally succeeded in breaking into the castle one night. I didn’t see what happened – I was in bed until I heard the screams. I rushed downstairs to find Cedrik leaning over the bodies of the men, draining the last of them. His thirst had finally beaten him.”

Lord Radek had been silent up to this point, seemingly enthralled by the story. “But that was a good thing. Animal blood can help you to survive, but it is the human blood that makes you strong.”

“Well,” continued Hillard, “I don’t know if Cedrik even knew that human blood would make him stronger. If he did, I doubt he would have cared. I think that, after that incident, Cedrik felt his last bit of humanity slipping away from him. He cried that night, raging against himself, calling himself a monster. He blamed you for everything. He wanted to kill you for making him into a monster. He wanted you to pay for, not only the deaths of his parents, but for making him into a killer as well. It was then that he was contacted by the Vampire Council.” Hillard looked up, his eyes meeting those of Lord Radek, wondering what he would make of this new information.

Lord Radek was so still that he seemed almost to be made of stone. Hillard could see him thinking and wondered if Radek could even imagine what the Council had told Cedrik.

“The Vampire Council contacted Cedrik,” the words came out of Radek like a sigh. “I never knew. In all of my communications with the Council since then, I have never had an inkling that they had communicated with Cedrik before he died.”

“That’s because they never wanted you to know,” said Hillard.

Radek’s eyes quickly shot up to meet those of Hillard. “What do you know of it?” he demanded.

Hillard paused for a few moments, enjoying the sight of Lord Radek squirming.

“You called me a rogue when I first arrived. That title would only have been correct if my creation had not been approved of by the Vampire Council.”

“I know what I am,” Hillard continued. “I have outlived many of the people I once knew. I have fed on humans only when needed, and then only sparingly. Those were the conditions placed on me by the Council when I was created.”

“But, why do you not rule Zwischenmeer if the Council approved your creation?” Lord Radek seemed genuinely confused by now.

“They gave me another job. They did not trust you to place another vampire in Cedrik’s place – I am sure you expected that after his death. They sent one of their own to rule the village. And they sent me here to be their spy.”

Lord Radek sat back in his seat. Hillard just imagined the thoughts that were running through his head at this point. Lord Radek knew that he was breaking most of the Vampire Code in the way he was ruling Donner. In fact, he was paying the travelling merchants that passed through high prices to be quiet about the goings on in the village. Now he had just learned that it had all been for nought.

“Why should I believe you? You might just be trying to save your own skin. If you could make me believe that you were sent by the Council then I would never dare to kill you. The only problem is, if they knew what was going on in this village, they would never have let things stay this way for so long. You would have been ordered to kill me long ago.”

Hillard just smiled at Lord Radek. “You mean because of your harsh way of dealing with criminals? Your practice of taking the fog travellers as your own personal food supplement, instead of integrating them into the village to prop up the population? Those practices they could overlook. They know that these lands across the ocean are wild, and they can forgive harsh practices in a harsh land, as long as the human population does not drop too much. But, they could not forgive the creation of a true rogue.”

Hillard had known that Christine was a vampire at the same time the Council had become aware. New vampires were never very good at protecting their thoughts, projecting them all over the place, if they had not been properly trained in how to shield them before being turned. Hillard had spent most of the walk from Adalaide’s hide out to the castle, mentally pleading with the Council to spare Christine’s life. They still had not made a final decision. The lone female member of the Council was supporting Hillard’s plea on the grounds that the number of female vampires was extremely low. They were withholding their final judgment until they could determine how Christine was adjusting to the change.

Lord Radek was just sitting in his seat, stunned that Hillard knew about Christine. He had greatly underestimated the power of the Council. All of his plans were coming down around his shoulders. He would not allow Hillard to kill Christine!

Lord Radek jumped up from his seat and faced Hillard. “I cannot allow you to harm her,” he said. He opened a small drawer in the table in front of him and withdrew a wooden stake and quickly hurled it at Hillard, aiming for the chest, expecting to surprise him and paralyze him with the wound.

Hillard was expecting something of the sort from Lord Radek, however, and jumped aside, pulling a stake of his own that had been tucked into the back waistband of his pants. As he did so, however, the thrust from Radek caught him on the shoulder and dug deep into the muscle. When Hillard pulled the wood from the wound, blood gushed out before the wound healed itself.

Hillard was grateful at this moment that you couldn’t kill a vampire by simply injuring him once. It would take a significant number of such injuries to weaken him.
This small injury did not even slow him however, and Hillard quickly struck out at Radek. His opponent was quicker, however. The gift of age and a plentiful supply of human blood provided Radek with the upper hand over Hillard. Hillard repeatedly tried to get a strike through Radek’s defences, but the older vampire was just too fast. Radek, however, hit Hillard again and again, until he was starting to feel the effects of blood loss.

He had come here to kill Radek, for the Council and for Adalaide, but he was not succeeding. If he wanted to have the chance to try again, he had to flee now. Knowing that the girls had had plenty of time to escape, he threw out the last shocking bit of information he had, trying to buy himself a break to escape.

“I was never going to harm Christine. She’s gone now. Not even you can reach her!”

That stopped Radek in his tracks. Hillard took the two second reprieve to flee from the room and out of the castle. Radek must have gone straight to Christine’s room, because Hillard heard him calling for her as he ran through the village and into the woods.