Memorias de vampiro libro IV

 

Lights and Shadows

 

He's

The beautifullest

Fragilest

Still strong

Dark and divine

Hides in the air

Can I hide there too?

Seek solace

Sanctuary

(Bjork, Hidden Place)

 

Kingdom of Hungary, 1610

 

Hephaistion and his 3 immortal friends rode through the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now known as Western Slovakia. It was winter and the snow was so thick and deep, that they progress was slow and hard through that dark and dreary forest; but Hephaistion made them rode as if they were pursued by a pack of rabid werewolves, clamoring for their blood.

 

The Macedonian had a dream, again a futuristic dream, that had showed him Alexander was in danger, his place of rest, in what in his mortal days was known as Illyria, wasn’t safe anymore and he had to reach him before it was too late. It was suicidal to do a travel like that in winter and they would have killed their horses if they hadn’t given them their vampire blood to make them stronger. Now they weren’t ordinary horses, they were truly mythological beasts with supernatural force and speed, Pegasus would be jealous of them.  

 

Now I understand the meaning of my dreams. I’m also a dream gazer, I can see the future through my dreams, but I never found a way to control this…ability. All my dreams are situated in the same age, the XXI Century, no matter how many years pass, and no matter what were my dreams showing me, they are always situated in this Century. Why? I think it’s because this Century is calling me, I’m sure I’ll see Alexander again in this time… 

 

- Phai! –Eric called him but the Macedonian ignored him and continued riding– PHAI! –the Viking had to catch him and when he was next to him, called Hephaistion again– PHAI! 

 

- WHAT?! –Hephaistion was nervous, worried and scared for Alexander. He had lived 1966 years, he had more than a millennia looking for a way to bring his King back to life, it was his propose, what gave sense to his false life as a vampire, and he couldn’t imagine what would he do if something happened to his beloved’s body.

 

- Phai we can’t continue –said Eric.

 

- Why not? Is still far from dawn –said Hephaistion, his gray eyes on the road in front of him.

 

- A storm is coming –explained the Viking—We can’t continue, the road itself is difficult, when it starts snowing will be impossible for us to keep going.

 

- Who says is going to snow? –said Hephaistion stubbornly.

 

- I! –Eric raised his voice again—Do I have to remind you where was I born? We have to find a place to stay until the storm passes.

 

- I don’t have time to waste, I need to get to Illyria –Hephaistion was determined.

 

- You are not going anywhere when the storm comes –the Viking insisted, taking the reins of the Macedonian’s horse.

 

The horse snorted and reared, almost throwing his rider before stopping.

 

- What are you doing?! –Hephaistion was furious, his long and silky hair falling on his face. His silver eyes shone savagely and one of his extremely white fangs was visible between his lips.

 

- You want to get to Illyria, you will, but only if you wait until the storm passes –Eric held his gaze, hearing how Lucius and Anaxagoras’ horses arrived to where they were.

 

- It’s going to snow –said Lucius watching the night sky, and Eric gave Hephaistion a half smiled.  

 

- We have to look for shelter –said Anaxagoras, surveying their surroundings, but he saw only trees and snow.

 

Hephaistion closed his eyes. They were right, they couldn’t continue, not with a storm coming; he had to calm down, he would get to Illyria in time, but not that night.

 

- All right, you win –he accepted—Where do we stay?

 

- I saw a castle near here –said Lucius—We can ask for shelter there.

 

And they did just that, rode back to the solitary castle on the mountains.

 

We spent 60 years in Japan and when we came back to Europe, we stayed in Italy for only one month when I had that strange dream, warning me to go to Illyria, in that time in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. It was a hard and dangerous journey but I didn’t care. The safest and longest route was through the Kingdom of Hungary; we couldn’t travel by sea, so we took our chances.

 

The castle Lucius had seen was standing like a gargoyle, guarding the mountains from the darkness of that stormy night. As the rugged terrain rose on, the wind’s force increased and the cold pierced their thick traveling coats. Hephaistion had never liked the cold and, like Lucius and Anaxagoras, looked the most uncomfortable, only Eric seemed calm.

 

- Bloody weather –cursed Lucius, shielding his eyes to see the road in front of him. The snow was falling, making it difficult to walk. They had to dismount and led their horses by the reins.    

 

Eric laughed softly.

 

- This is nothing Lucius; have you already forgotten Scandinavia?

 

- I’m trying to forget it, lad –complained the Roman, shaking the snow off his coat.

 

Hephaistion stopped at the middle of the road and lifted his head. A strong gust of wind shook the Macedonian’s coat, his gray eyes on the castle.

 

- What’s wrong? –asked Anaxagoras.

 

- I don’t know…I have a bad feeling –said Hephaistion in a low voice.

 

- Do you think this castle could be the haven of an ancient vampire? –asked the Spartan.

 

- Older than we are? –Lucius laughed—I don’t think so, in any case whoever live there –he pointed the castle with his chin—Should be more scared of us than us of them. 

 

Hephaistion nodded.

 

- You are right; I don’t know what I’m thinking –he felt like a fool for being worried.

 

They arrived at the gates and Eric called, hitting the thick wood that rang with an echo. The place looked lonely and gloomy, there was a heavy atmosphere and the air seemed to shout slipping through the stone walls.

 

- Nice place –said Lucius with sarcasm—I wonder what kind of person lives here.

 

- I don’t care as long as is warm inside –said Anaxagoras—Viking, called again, I’m freezing out here.

 

- My name is Eric –he corrected him, but the Spartan ignored him.

 

It had been 500 years since they met, and even after all this time Anaxagoras continued rejecting Eric. Hephaistion wondered if the night will come in which the Spartan would accept the Viking.

 

They heard the sound of a bolt running and, the creaking of the door was followed by a thin man with sunken eyes that held a lamp in front of his face. The only one who spoke Hungarian there was Eric, but again, the Viking had a soft spot for languages and he enjoyed learning new ones.

 

Hephaistion ignored the exchange between his friend and the stranger and saw the dark windows of the castle. Only one was lit and the soft wobble of the light told him there were several candles inside.

 

- He says we can wait inside, while he asks his mistress if we can stay until the storm passes –Eric informed them, while the strange man called a groom to take care of their horses.

 

To say the interior of the castle was warm was to say too much. Inside the walls were cold, but at least they were protected against the wind. The corridors were dark, barely lit by candelabra; a long dark red carpet on the floor and big ancient paintings covered the walls.

 

The man who received them told them to wait there and he, and the weak light of his lamp, disappeared through the stairs. They could hear how the storm worsted outside and the wind hit savagely the windows.

 

- And you wanted to continue the journey –whispered Lucius to Hephaistion.

 

- What are we going to do if they don’t take us here? –asked Eric.

 

- We’ll convince this mistress using Domination –said Anaxagoras almost sweetly.

 

Domination is the ability to control others’ mind and make them do as you please. Of course, if the vampire is an old one, is easier for him or her to bend the will of someone.

 

The man came back and informed them that his mistress acceded to give them shelter until the storm passed. Then, he took the 4 men to their rooms and informed them they would have to share. Better for them. Anaxagoras and Hephaistion would have one room and Lucius and Eric the other one. The man informed them it was prohibited to wander around the castle and one servant would bring their meals to be eaten in their chambers.

 

- I feel as if they were incarcerating us instead of treating us like guests –said Anaxagoras checking the room. He wasn’t worried, why would he? He was a vampire of more than 2 thousand years; very few things scared him. 

 

- Maybe they don’t trust us… —Hephaistion was still talking when they heard a terrible scream, a woman’s scream.

 

- Did you hear that? –asked the Spartan, his senses on alert.

 

- I did –Hephaistion stood up and went to the door. There he heard it again, it was a blood-curdling cry of pain, but one he knew very well—A woman is being torture here.

 

- Are you sure? –the last thing Anaxagoras wanted was troubles.

 

- Oh, yes, very sure…listen –they felt silent and heard the scream again, echoing through the dark corridors—Who said the man was his mistress?

 

- Mm, a Countess… Countess Elizabeth Báthory –said Anaxagoras at last. 

 

I see in your face that you know this name. Of course the Blood Countess is very famous in these modern nights, but I have to remind you that we spent our last 60 years in Japan, we knew nothing about her and certainly the last thing we imagined was that she bathed in young women’s blood. If I don’t recalled wrong she was accused of murdering and torturing more than 600 young women...and you thought Jack the Ripper was a bad guy…

 

- I’m going to check the castle –said Hephaistion—Want to come?

 

- No thanks; I prefer to stay here. I have to do some…preparations before going to sleep –he made an especial emphasis in the word “preparation”– Tell me if you find something interesting.

 

And Anaxagoras had no idea of what they were going to find there. As soon as Hephaistion closed the door the found Lucius and Eric on the corridor, they too had heard the screams, and the same as he, they wanted to know what was going on.

 

- I heard Hungary is in constant war with the Turks –said Eric—Maybe they have prisoners here –he said trying to find an explanation for the screams.  

 

- Maybe, but I have a hunch that is something else –said Hephaistion, walking with them. They moved with a stealth many cats would envy, without making a single sound. 

 

They heard steps and the 3 of them used their vampire Disciplines to hide in the shadows, as if their bodies were melting with the darkness until they disappeared. A middle age woman passed carrying a bloody blanket; they waited until she was gone and came out from the shadows.

 

- For fuck’s sake! What was that? –exclaimed Lucius.

 

This is getting interesting –thought the Macedonian.

 

- Come; let’s go –he said.

 

At each step the screams were more and more clear, and not only the screams, they could hear pleading words in a language that only Eric understood, voices full of agony that melted with the surrounding darkness of the castle.

 

They seemed to be walking down a road to hell.

 

The strong and delicious smell of blood filled their nostrils; so intense that it aroused all their senses and called out the beast in their own cursed vitae. They could be ancient vampires with a great self-restrain but that smell…there was just too much blood, and their last meal had been a night ago.

 

Eric was the youngest of the 3, he had almost 8 Centuries of no-life, but couldn’t restrained his fangs from elongate when they were just a few paces from the source of the smell.   

 

- Are you fine, lad? –asked Lucius, he wasn’t very comfortable either but he was very old and could control himself.

 

Eric nodded.

 

Hephaistion walked to a half open door; light was coming through it, as were the screams and the blood, and the acrid smell of fear. Inside many candles were illuminating the place and from what the Macedonian could see there were three cages hanging from the ceiling and within them 3 young women; 2 of them laid in the crude motionless of the deceased, and the last one, the one that had been screaming was just about to exhale her last breath.

 

Under the cage was a woman of almost 50 years old, a spear on her right hand and her arms extended. The blood was falling over her, and her expression was that of pure rapture. 

 

- What the fuck is this? –whispered Lucius at Hephaistion’s side.

 

- Beats me –said Hephaistion with all calm. He was a Tzimisce, therefore used to more horrible things than this. MUCH worst.

 

- Lets go back, I have seen enough –said Eric uncomfortable, the smell of blood was too strong. 

 

They walked back to their rooms, hearing past them the metallic sound of chains and how cages being opened, letting go the victims of that woman’s madness.

 

- And Anaxagoras says mortals are boring –said Lucius shaking his head—Why do you think she is doing this? –he was curious.

 

- Trust me Lucius, I have no idea –said Hephaistion.

 

A door suddenly closed near them.

 

They stopped. The darkness was awfully quiet in the aftermath of the Death; so, what could be lurking in there? A shadow with human form passed running near the windows.

 

- Jupiter Optimus Maximus! What’s going on? –exclaimed Lucius scared, and the Macedonian smiled.

 

- Now I see why I had a bad feeling –said Hephaistion with interest.

 

- Why? –asked the Viking and the Roman at the same time.

 

- This castle is full of wandering spirits –after all Hephaistion hadn’t studied Necromancy in vain. The place was so engrossed in dead and misery, that even common mortals would be capable of feel it.

 

Lucius shivered.

 

- Oh how I hate these things –he complained—Eric, do you think we can leave tomorrow?

 

- Hard to say, but I hope so, I don’t like this place either.

 

XXX

 

They spent the day in Ecsed castle. They locked the doors and windows and hid themselves inside the wardrobes, inside the shadows. Anaxagoras controlled the mind of the steward of the castle and ordered him not to bother them during the day. Those were the “preparations” he did. The servants left the meals on the antechambers and nobody bother to ask why they didn’t eat. They had other things to worry.

 

When night fell, the storm had passed and they were ready to leave for Lucius utterly delight; he wouldn’t admit it but he was a little scared. In his mortal days he had been extremely superstitious, like all Romans, and he felt uneasy knowing he was in a castle full with Wraiths.

 

- Fucking spirits! –Anaxagoras and Hephaistion could hear the Roman complaining in his room—I can’t find my bloody cloak, and one of those…things was hitting the door all day.

 

- I told you, I could have slept with you if you were scared –said Eric.

 

- Shut up, Eric!

 

The Macedonian smiled.

 

- I’ll catch you in a moment –said Hephaistion to Anaxagoras while the latter were arranging his baggage.   

 

- Where are you going?

 

- The basement.

 

- Why? I thought you wanted to reach Illyria as soon as possible –Anaxagoras frowned.

 

- It will only take a minute, I see you outside.

 

For what Hephaistion had seen, many of the Wraiths were wandering in the basement; he couldn’t help his curiosity. In his way down the stairs he felt that the temperature was getting colder and colder; the feeling of hopelessness and anguish also got stronger with each step, it clung to the stone and iron, becoming part of the air itself.

 

The castle was like the belly of a monster.

 

It was easy to get to the dark basement with his abilities, and there he found 3 young women, locked inside one rusty and miserable cell. Two were curled on one corner as if that could protect them of the fatality that had taken so many others, but the last one was a very beautiful young woman of about 25 years old, long straight black hair and white skin covered in mud.

 

She also had red eyes, but the must astonishing thing was that she was sitting with all calm at the center of the cell, as if she were lying comfortably in her living room.

 

She caught Hephaistion’s attention at once. Not only because her unnerving yet beautiful red eyes, but also because of her calm. Wasn’t she aware of the fate that was waiting for her?   

 

- You –he called her, speaking in Latin, he didn’t expect that she could understand him, but for his surprise she turned to see him—Do you understand me?

 

- Yes, I know a little Latin –she answered, still stoical.

 

- You aren’t scared.

 

- Why should I? I don’t care for life or death –she said indifferently. Sitting there waiting for pain and dead was so boring, she thought, but he on the other hand had caught her attention.

 

- Do you know what are they going to do with you? –this was interesting.

 

- Yes, I heard the screams, it is not difficult to deduce that much –still she was unaltered, almost jaded.

 

Hephaistion leaned against the bars. She was dressed in rags and her bare feet were dirty, but none of it seemed to bother her.

 

- You are a peasant, Slovak? –she moved her head up and down—How is that you know Latin?

 

- The Priest of my town taught me.

 

- Ah…tell me, what would you say if I take you out of here? –asked Hephaistion.

 

- In exchange of what?

 

- You would have to come with me –she saw him for a moment; she couldn’t distinguish his features in the shadows but there was something supernatural about him that caught her curiosity.

 

The darkness was attracted to him as well; she could see it.

 

- Fine, I have nothing better to do –that answer made Hephaistion laugh.

 

- Do you have a name, girl?

 

- Ladislava.

 

- Ladislava, my name is Phai.

 

It was very easy for me to open the door; a milestone on the door with my strength and the lock broke. Ladislava looked only slightly impressed, but that in someone like her was too much. When Lucius saw her, he thought she was a “snack” for the trip (and she dared to tell him her opinion about that) Truly amusing. First she was my ghoul, my servant, later she became my Child. I Embraced her and turned her into a Tzimisce. I think these nights she is better known by another name: Azrael, the Angel of Death…

 

- Azrael?! –exclaimed Zophiel surprised.

 

- What? Do you know her?

 

- Of course I know her –she said a little scared—She is a Templar within the ranks of the Sabbat in New York.

 

Hephaistion laughed.

 

- She is here? –Zophiel nodded—Definitely my destiny was to come. 

 

- Why did you Embraced her? For what I have heard she is… —Zophiel lower her voice—She is extremely cruel.

 

- She has something especial in her, she is brilliant and very strong –Hephaistion explained—And Azrael has always been a very loyal Child too.

 

- Was she…was she your lover? –she asked with curiosity.

 

- No, and she isn’t my friend either –explained Hephaistion—She is the perfect Tzimisce, cold and strong. If she wasn’t afraid of the Blood Countess when she was a mere peasant girl, what makes you think she is scared of something now? She is 400 years old.

 

Zophiel shivered, she had heard many terrible things of the Templar known as Azrael and, knowing that her Sire was a vampire as old as Hephaistion, made her fear even more. 

 

- What happened with the body of your King? –Zophiel changed the subject.

 

- He was fine when we got to Illyria –Hephaistion continued—I came before a fire could reach him, there was a conflict in the zone with the Turks but…everything went fine at the end.

 

They felt silent for a moment. A thought that had haunted Hephaistion for years came again to him. What was Alexander going to say when he discovered he was now a monster, a vampire…? He had done many terrible things in more than 2 thousand years, would his dear King be scared of him…that was something he couldn’t bear. 

 

- My friend is waiting us tomorrow night –said Zophiel, interrupting his dark thoughts—You know, the one that has the fragment of the sword.

 

Hephaistion nodded.

 

- Do you want to keep hearing my story? –she smiled.

 

- Yes, please. You haven’t told me what happened with your son…

 

 XXX

 

Again, all the credit for vampire Disciplines and clans is for White Wolf’s Vampire the Masquerade.