Apotheosis of the Immortal (21 page)

Chapter 42

“What has happened
to you, Father?” Solomon asked after a long silence. The man who had been with his father had disappeared a while back, and Solomon and William were now nearly halfway back to the castle.

“It’s a long story, my son, a long story. I have been reborn into unimaginable power, and I can give you the same gift.” William had stopped walking and was gesturing wildly in his excitement.

“I have no desire to be anything like you, Father. I would rather die.” Solomon fired back, and then spat at his feet.

“That can be arranged, but it would be a shame. Then I would have to kill the entire family,” William spoke without any signs of emotion.

“What would you have me do that you might spare my family?” Solomon was suddenly frightened again.

“Just follow me and do whatever I say. I am going to make you powerful and immortal. I have been blessed with the power over death; I can take away your brothers’ lives and give them better ones, but if I die, they will also die.” William turned and continued toward the castle.

After what seemed like only a few moments, Solomon could see his home in the distance.

“Listen to me, Son. Whatever happens in here, just remember I have the power to give your brothers life, even if I have to kill them first, as long as nothing happens to me.” William spoke softly, almost as if he was trying to comfort Solomon.

“You are going to kill them?” Solomon shouted hysterically. “No, Father… please, I’ll do anything.”

“Not necessarily, Son. Anyway, I have the power to give them much more than I could ever take away,” William grinned and laughed.

“Help! No! Elijah!” Solomon could hear Malaki crying out as his father opened the castle door and they walked in.

Solomon froze in the doorway, only halfway in, overcome with a feeling of panic. What could he do?

Roman was almost at the bottom of the stairs with Malaki slung over his shoulder when Solomon heard a loud thud followed by a few more. Seconds later Roman handed a kicking and screaming Malaki over to his father, and Solomon, still standing in the doorway, saw Elijah tumble down the stairs and lie still at the bottom.

At first Solomon thought he was unconscious, but he soon dragged himself to his feet.

“Father?” Elijah cried. His eyes narrowed and his brows knitted.

Solomon noticed Malaki had stopped screaming, and then, after a moment, he heard one loud scream and then a cracking sound. He looked over to see his father had just bitten his brother on the shoulder and then snapped his neck before throwing him to the ground. Blood was everywhere.

Solomon stood silent, in shock and horror. His frustration grew and he picked up a log that lay near the door. William looked over at him threateningly, and Solomon recalled his father’s words and hoped what he’d said about giving new life was true.

A moment later he saw Elijah lunging for his father. Elijah didn’t know! If he killed their father, then Malaki would be gone forever. Reacting to protect his youngest brother, Solomon stepped forward and swung the log like a bat, smacking Elijah directly on the temple.

His brother fell to the ground unconscious. Now in the room, Solomon had a better view over the table and could see a horribly mutilated body. His
mother!
As he struggled not to vomit, shame overcame him and he understood that he, too, was now vile and disgusting. His heart broke. What had he done? What terrible things had he helped his father do?

He ran to his mother’s body and knelt down beside her. He wiped the tears falling from his eyes off of her cold, dead face. Behind him, he heard the most awful sound. As he turned to look, he saw his father plant his boot on Elijah’s shoulder and pull ferociously on Elijah’s head, ripping it from his body.

“You said you would give them new life!” Solomon screamed accusingly.

“If you do what I say, I will bring Malaki back, but you know Elijah. He is too weak; he could never understand what we need to do.”

William wasn’t convincing, and Solomon’s heart was now broken beyond repair. He was burning with rage, but what could he do? He had just lost one brother and didn’t want to risk losing another.

He turned around and knelt once again beside his mother’s body. As he kissed her forehead, he noticed the pendant she wore lying on her shoulder; he wanted to keep it to remind him of her, but was too ashamed. Rising hopelessly to his feet, he walked towards the door.

Before he could step out the door, William jerked him close and sank his teeth into Solomon’s neck. Solomon almost welcomed his certain death.

“Now, you have also been reborn,” William said, smiling.

Solomon was confused, but was soon overcome with a tingling sensation, a great pain in his chest, and then an overwhelming calm. He felt good. He felt strong.

Ayda

1256 AD

“It’s not your strength or your skill that are lacking. It is your discipline. You are a volcano of emotion; that emotion gets in your way. It makes you careless and vulnerable, especially when you are fighting an adversary who cares for nothing.” She laid her sword on the ground and walked towards him. “I can teach you the control you need; I can teach you to find your center.”

Chapter 43

The letter from
the imam instructing the Assassins to surrender the fortress had reached Alamut in advance of the army, so the surrender was swift. Elijah watched as the Mongols raged through his long-time home, destroying all the towers and battlements. He remained in the hills outside the fortress, perhaps because of guilt or shame, but, whatever the reason, he did not want to enter.

Looking up at the nearly impenetrable fortress perched on the edge of a steep cliff, Elijah thought how it was in a much better position to defend than Maymundiz. It could have withstood a long siege, perhaps long enough to dissuade the Mongols, but not his father. If his father really was calling the shots, and there was something he wanted in that library, then he would not stop.

Perhaps it is better this way.
Elijah exhaled and loosed another arrow that ricocheted off of the edge of his targeted tree. Looking to his left, Elijah saw the Khan walking up the hill to meet him.

“It is done, then?” Elijah asked as he laid the bow on the ground and turned towards the tall man.

“No. Whatever William is looking for was not in the library.” The Khan lowered his head and raised his eyes to look at Elijah. “I am going to have to ask more of you.” He spoke in a low, tired tone.

“We had an agreement: I give you Alamut and you take me to my father. That’s it.” Elijah could feel shards of anger shooting from his spine in all directions. This was the second time the great Hulagu Khan had reneged on his word.

“You have to understand, Elijah; I had no idea. They only tell me what they think I need to know. My brother has informed me that what they were looking for wasn’t here, and now he is sending me to Baghdad. He now believes it must be there, in the House of Wisdom.”

Elijah was breathing heavily as he paced back and forth.

“I haven’t any choice, Elijah. Help me take Baghdad, and I will take you to William, I promise,” the Khan pleaded.

Elijah stopped pacing and looked at the ground for a moment before looking up at the Khan. “How can I trust you now?” Elijah drummed his fingers against the hilt of his sword.

The Khan narrowed his eyes, acknowledging Elijah’s threatening gesture. He was a strong man, not easily frightened. He cocked his chin to the right and smiled.

“You can trust me.” He looked back to Elijah. “Because I would see every last one of these monsters struck from the earth, and you know that. I promise you; I will take you to William.” The Khan spat on the ground and turned to walk away.

“Hulagu!” Elijah shouted. The Khan turned to meet his exacting gaze. “Bring me your most trusted man, one of your generals. Bring me your second in command.” Elijah was still drumming the hilt of his sword.

“What do you want with him?” The Khan’s brows tightened together.

“Just bring him to me.” Elijah kept his face cold and expressionless.

The Khan sent one of his men to find the general; they were both back at his side in a matter of minutes.

“This is him? This is the man, your second in command?” Elijah stepped closer and firmly clasped the hilt of his blade.

“Yes, I am General… .” Elijah drew his blade and swung it with such speed it was nearly back in its sheath before anyone noticed. The man who had been speaking stood silently for a moment with his eyes wide. Seconds later his head fell from atop his body.

“Your promises mean nothing to me anymore. Now I am second in command. Do not lie to me again.” Elijah reached down to pick up his bow and laced an arrow into its string. Turning towards the tree, he loosed the arrow and watched it as it glanced to the side.

“This is outrageous!” Another man standing beside the Khan shouted. The Khan quickly quieted him and stepped to within inches of Elijah’s ear.

“You do something like that again, and you better hope you can withstand the force of my entire army,” he whispered. “You are not ready to face William right now; he would surely defeat you. You have no control, no faith. I am trying to help you, to teach you, and you disgrace me in front of my men. This will not be forgotten.” The Khan lowered his eyes and drew a deep breath to calm his nerves before looking back up at Elijah.

“For now, I cannot accept a commander in my army who has not mastered the bow. Listen and take instruction well so when that day comes, when we finally make it home, you might have a chance.” He grabbed the bow from Elijah’s hand and quickly fitted an arrow against the string.

“Shooting a bow is all about faith; it starts with faith in yourself and extends to a faith in, and unity with, everything. That faith brings peace; it brings perfection. Perfection is spontaneous right action, with no thought. Don’t think about your target; think about yourself and learn faith in what you can control. Your grip around the bow, only as firm as is necessary; your pull of the string, even and steady.” The Khan seemed to be in a trance as he talked.

“Aim your bow with the same assurance with which you point your finger. You don’t have to eye your target, just point with your bow like it is an extension of yourself and trust that your arrow will fly true.” The Khan raised the bow and turned from Elijah towards the tree, loosing the arrow before the tree was even in full view. The arrow vibrated proudly from the dead center of the tree’s large trunk.

“Now keep practicing,” the Khan snarled as he threw the bow at Elijah’s feet and strode away.

Chapter 44

A
s night fell
upon Alamut once again; the removal and destruction of all battlements was complete. Elijah had practiced with his bow for hours before finally taking a break. He was happy to be back at Alamut. He was anxious to see this through, and to see Hassan.

“Ayda!” Elijah shouted as he saw her exiting the Khan’s tent, but she paid no attention. Elijah appeared seemingly out of nowhere and she stumbled into him.

“What do you want, Elijah?” Ayda grumbled under her breath.

“What were you doing with the Khan?” Elijah looked down at her eyes, inspecting each one, as well as her guarded expression. He could never tell what she was thinking.

“Elijah, forget what I said. You were right; you are not a good person. You are no better than the Khan.” Ayda pushed passed Elijah and continued walking. “Actually, you are worse. At least he is just following orders.” She turned around; her walls had fallen and a look of disgust filled her face.

“What are you talking about, Ayda?” Elijah stepped forward and grabbed her by both arms. He could see her eyes were now wet with tears; she was obviously distraught.

“You truly are willing to do anything to get what you want. Betraying your own people by negotiating their surrender was one thing, but to stand by for this… .”

Elijah had heard enough; he needed to find out exactly what was going on. He turned and walked into the Khan’s tent.

“What is going on?” He shouted before he realized the tent was empty. He demanded the Khan’s whereabouts from one of the guards. The guard pointed down the hill, towards the valley at the bottom of the castle. Elijah could see a ferocious blaze and heard loud cheering.

Elijah quickly raced to the bottom of the hill, where he was shocked to see Hassan and the imam in chains. The Khan stood in the front of the crowd directing the entertainment.

The imam was on his knees with his head on a barrel; the executioner’s blade dropped swiftly before Elijah could reach the Khan. His head rolled to the Khan’s feet; he lifted it up and roared. The rest of the men cheered and roared back, even louder. Two men then lifted Hassan’s limp body and another tied his head to the same barrel. Elijah had been betrayed again. If the Khan was trying to make a point, it would be made at great cost.

Elijah redirected himself and rushed to Hassan’s side just as the blade was about to fall. Elijah came from behind and clasped the executioner’s blade as he held it above his head. Then he yanked it down and rammed it straight through the executioner’s back. A number of vampire soldiers pulled their swords and came at Elijah as he shoved the dying man to the ground with his blade still inside him.

Elijah was unarmed. He had left his weapons on the hill where he had been practicing. The first soldier thrust his sword towards Elijah’s chest; Elijah quickly turned to the side, avoiding his blow. He held the man’s outstretched arm and grasped his sword by the blade. Jerking it from the vampire’s grip, he spun around and thrust it into his stomach.

Another vampire swung his blade; Elijah leaned back and the sword swept over, barely missing his face and decapitating the first vampire while Elijah removed the blade impaling him. Elijah then loosened his grip on the blade until it fell just enough for him to grasp the handle firmly. He quickly swung the sword with his right hand until the blade fell across the neck of the second vampire, who was overextended and at the end of his swing.

With two bodies at his feet and warm blood upon his cheeks Elijah was once again caught up in a whirlwind of rage as he reached down and grabbed the other dead man’s sword. Elijah was nearly encircled by the Khan’s men; he twirled both swords, reveling at the prospect of spilling their blood. As the men pressed forward the Khan’s voice rang out.

“Stop!” The Khan shoved through the ranks of his men and appeared in front of Elijah. “You took my best man today. This was in recompense, to show you that you are not in command here.”

Elijah’s pulse was racing, his breathing fast, his mind teeming with thirst for bloodshed. He quickly raised both swords and tightened them around the Khan’s neck like scissors. The masked man’s hands moved instantly to his sword before the Khan raised his hand to stop him.

“I have an eternity to find William, so I do not need you as much as you might think. Betray me again, and your entire army won’t be able to protect you from my wrath; I promise you that.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before throwing the swords to the ground and kneeling to care for Hassan. He broke the chains binding his hands and lifted him to his feet. “What have you done?” Elijah shouted as he noticed the bite marks covering Hassan’s body.

“I must apologize; my vampires grew hungry in the absence of battle.” The Khan frowned condescendingly as his eyes moved from one bite mark to the next. He turned towards the lot of vampires, who roared with laughter. The masked man stood silently at the Khan’s side, gazing at Elijah through the narrow slits in his mask.

“He will live, and the blood of your own men will see it so.” With blinding speed, Elijah jerked a man from the gathering crowd and ripped out his throat. He laid Hassan on the ground and held the man’s wound over his face, allowing the blood to flow into his mouth. In only moments, Hassan’s wounds began to heal, and he regained strength. He grasped the lifeless body as he sat up and pressed it to his mouth, continuing to feed.

A minute later, just as it started to rain, Hassan dropped the body to the ground and rose to his feet, a new vigor and strength corrupting his mortal flesh.

As the Khan’s men stood frozen. Elijah rose to stand beside Hassan. He turned his attention to the man wearing the mask.

“Your men seek blood!” Elijah growled. “Well, so do I.” He pushed Hassan to the side and picked up a sword lying at his feet. “I would see blood flow, enough to fill the heavens.” Elijah watched as blue flames burned through the slits in Roman’s mask. “A coward who hides behind a mask, let yours be the first.” Elijah spoke as he stared into the blue eyes behind the mask. Roman immediately pulled his sword and came at Elijah.

The masked man thrust his sword towards Elijah’s chest. He was faster than Elijah had anticipated, much faster than the other vampires. Elijah tried to maneuver away, but the sword lodged just beneath his shoulder. Elijah spun behind him and leapt into the air as the vampire withdrew his blade. Elijah fell, plunging the blade toward the big man’s neck, but he ducked and rolled backwards, avoiding Elijah’s blow. Elijah quickly turned and deflected another thrust from Roman.

Elijah’s rage was now fiercely focused; he didn’t notice the two vampires approaching behind him. Stepping towards Roman, he heard the footsteps behind him just in time to duck beneath their swinging swords. As he turned to quickly dispatch the two men behind him, a fierce pain swelled in his back. Elijah looked down to see Roman’s sword jettison through his chest. This time, Elijah spun quickly enough to jerk the blade from Roman’s hand. As he spun, he slammed the hilt of his sword against the back of the masked man’s head. As the man stumbled forward, Elijah lifted his knee and thrust his leg forward, kicking the big man to the ground.

Roman grabbed a dead vampire’s sword, quickly pushed himself up, and turned towards Elijah. He watched as Elijah reached around and pulled the sword from his back. Now holding sword in each hand, Elijah twirled them both as he lifted his head and roared like thunder from the heavens.

The two warriors stood facing each other, both eager and willing for more. The Khan jumped between them before either one moved. “Stop! Please, just stop.” The Khan turned towards Elijah. “I am sorry about your friend; I overreacted. Please, just allow me to get you to William.” Elijah looked into his eyes and remained silent for a moment before throwing down his swords once more and turning from the Khan.

“Come with me.” Elijah pulled at Hassan’s shoulder, and the two pushed through the crowd, back towards Elijah’s tent. There they sat on the dirt next to the burning embers of an unattended fire. “I can’t believe the nerve of that fucking Mongol.” Elijah fiercely stroked the bridge of his nose.

“He is a Khan, and a Mongol. What did you imagine would happen when you loosed them upon us? Besides, I would be more worried about the man in the mask.” Hassan rested his elbows on his knees.

“Him? He is nothing. Although, I keep wondering who he is, why they keep trying to hide him from me. I have only seen eyes like his once before, but he is not my father, he couldn’t be. I think he may be the one who was with my father that night; do not worry yourself my friend, I will kill him soon enough.” Elijah looked at Hassan and smiled.

“Don’t worry about him?” Hassan nearly shouted. “The man nearly bested you today, Elijah. He is something fierce.” Hassan raised his head from his knees and looked at Elijah. “Do you still think all of this was worth it?

“I know you are angry with me Hassan, but I only did what I had to do in order to find my father.” Elijah rose to his feet and paced near the dying embers.

“And you think this crazy bastard is really going to take you to your father, or even knows who he is?” Hassan looked back at the fire.

“They know his name, Hassan. There is no other explanation. After we take Baghdad, Hulagu will take me to my father.” Elijah pulled a half-burned stick from the fire and twirled it in his hand before sitting back down. “Or he will pay the price.”

“Your father?” Elijah heard a condemning voice behind him and turned to see Ayda holding a small pile of firewood. “William is your father!” Elijah could see shock and confusion in her voice as she stumbled and nearly dropped the fire wood. Elijah quickly grabbed her and held her on her feet until she was steady again. “So what you told me about Solomon not being your brother, that was a lie?” She narrowed her eyes and frowned. Elijah wasn’t sure if she was mad or empathetic.

“Ayda, what are you doing here?” He took the firewood from her.

“I came to apologize for earlier. I didn’t realize that you didn’t know. Anyway, I’m sorry.” She turned to leave.

“Wait!” Elijah shouted. “Hassan, this is Ayda, the one who saved your life. She informed me, accused me rather, of your impending execution.” Elijah opened his hand towards Ayda, as if presenting her to Hassan. Hassan stood up and knocked dirt from his knees and elbows.

“Thank you for your kindness.” He bowed graciously and then sat back down.

“You’re welcome. I am glad to see you are still of this world,” Ayda said, smiling politely. She lingered for a moment more and then began to walk away.

“Wait, please.” Elijah rushed over to her as she stopped and turned back to him. “I’m sorry for lying to you. It is hard to…” Elijah paused as he looked up into the sky and closed his eyes.

“It’s okay,” Ayda’s voice was a gentle whisper. Elijah opened his eyes, disappointed to see her walking away once again. He watched as she faded into the blackness surrounding them before he walked back to the fire and sat next to Hassan.

“Elijah, I’m sorry, but I refuse to drink anyone’s blood. You have saved my life, only to let me become something I despise. I will not kill the innocent to see a monster live, even if that monster is me.” Hassan lay on his back and looked up at the stars. Elijah joined him and pondered his words.

“Those men are not innocent, Hassan.” Elijah spoke as he placed his hands behind his head.

“They are human; that is enough,” Hassan said flatly.

Elijah raised his head to look at Hassan.
Could he be serious?
Hassan’s eyes were closed. He seemed to be at peace. Elijah knew then Hassan meant what he had said.

Elijah lay back down and closed his eyes. He thought about Sara, how he had given her life, and how he had sworn no one else would ever drink his blood. He lay quietly for a few moments, contemplating the fate he had laid upon Hassan.

“You won’t have to.” Elijah sat up and turned to Hassan. “You will drink my blood. I will cut my flesh every day, and you will live.” He laid back down and looked up at the stars once more. No more words passed between them that night.