The Vampires' Birthright (14 page)

t would be near impossible for me to guess with any accuracy how long this pterodactyl-thing carried me through the air. Was it an hour or two? Or, maybe almost three? A better way for me to describe my trip is to detail what we passed and how the incredibly brisk air at the outset steadily became warmer. Warmer, I should say, especially after we left the glacial region of the Himalayas, and by my best guess, headed mostly south.

Traveling over ever-thickening forests, the foliage became less pine needles and more broad-leafed trees. An abundance of rivers and streams passed below, along with occasional ponds and lakes. My captor’s altitude steadily dropped once we left the mountains, and by the time we reached a sub-tropical area that followed a beautiful winding river, we sped along less than a hundred feet above the ground. Not that I felt any safer since the creature was still traveling extremely fast, but at least I was no longer looking down at gorges and other chasms several thousand feet deep.

Other than the steady flapping of its wings, the creature had been relatively quiet. For no particular reason, it screeched loudly and dove toward a jungle near the river. I feared this might be where its lair lay hidden, and tried to stay alert in case a brief opportunity to escape presented itself. It picked up speed, and I thought for sure we’d crash into the trees. Somehow, it managed to maneuver through the branches and we emerged next to the river. It stretched its wings fully extended, silent save for the feathery-leathery fluttering of membranes. We coasted for a while, following the path of the water. When we came upon a roped wooden walkway, the creature pulled up to halt in midair and dropped me gently onto a white sand beach.

Surprised to find warm sand under my knees and fingers, my aching joints gave way and I just rested there. For a moment, I forgot about the flying lizard, or the fact it would likely come back for me. I was exhausted and also not freezing, nor being pursued by killer dragons. I was too tired to move and frankly had no idea where to even start, so it wasn’t so much a conscious decision to wait as a lack of options. Despite, or perhaps because of that, I was struck with a deep sense of peace in the moment. Even the pain from the slashes in my back had dulled to a distant, almost but not quite numb throbbing.

While marveling about how the area carried such a settled spirituality, a white-haired naked man walked by, carrying a small gray pack as he hurried out of the sun’s direct reach and into the jungle less than fifty feet away.

There was something familiar about the man.

“Txema…come here… move quickly!”

Kazikli?

I couldn’t believe it—it sure as hell sounded like the vampire that had recently taken a keen interest in my plight. He had the same white hair and muscular build, too, although I hadn’t seen his naked backside before. Only the white hair made him look older. But nowhere near as old as a normal middle-aged man would appear. Thirty-ish Sam Elliot was the way Tyreen had described him.

“Kazikli… is that really you?” I staggered to my feet and walked over to where I had last seen him.

I figured he must’ve moved deeper into the shade after what we’d both witnessed earlier that day. I doubt this very ancient vampire ever worried about someone like Abraham Van Helsing trying to kill him. But playing in the bright light of day appeared to be a unanimously excruciating experience for any vampire, regardless of age.

I followed him into the coolness provided by the canopy of thick branches and leaves. It surprised me that I was actually happy for the slightly cooler temperature away from the sunlight after enduring sub-freezing temperatures earlier without a coat. The scent of fresh apples and spice grew stronger, and Kazikli soon appeared before me dressed in a Buddhist monk’s triple robe. The main part was bright yellow, and a sash hanging around his waist like a sarong was a reddish purple. A thick orange robe hung over his left shoulder―equally effective for a privileged follower of Caesar back in the day or a modern-day Tibetan monk.

He smiled and motioned for me to sit on one of the wooden benches that surrounded a small fire pit. Thick bamboo canes surrounded the area, and dense foliage from several banyan trees effectively blocked the sun’s rays from reaching the area. I wasn’t sure if this was his private sanctuary, or if it belonged to someone else and he brought me here for a chat.

It all seemed weird to me: the desperate rescue from death, the dangerous and weary flight to wherever we were, and now a little ‘get together’ with an ancient vampire turned ascetic monk.

I opened my mouth to express these thoughts, but he held up a single finger stop me from speaking and then he was gone. A second later he returned, and a part of his robe was wet. He ripped the corner off and walked behind me and began to clean the wounds on my back.

“Txema, you certainly must be wondering why I brought you here. Why here in a remote jungle instead of finding a modern facility like the Marriot or Residence Inn in your country… correct?”

He took a moment to dab some odorless salve on the rag. When it hit my shoulders, a shock of pain flashed through me―but only for an instant before it was gone.

“That’s a good place to start, I guess.” I frowned as I looked out through the trees toward the white sand beach and the swirling waters in the river next to it. “Where are we, exactly? This is beautiful, but I don’t think I have ever even seen a picture of it online or in a magazine or anything.”

“We’re in Nepal, near a small remote village that I’m quite fond of just north of the country’s southern border.” He returned to the facing bench and smiled proudly. “The water you see is the Kosi River—one of the few in the world with miles of white sand beaches. All that surrounds us are jungles and majestic mountains in the distance. Very few human beings reside here. If it wasn’t so hard to get to, it would make a fine resort, don’t you think?”

“If the food has some variety it would definitely be an upgrade over the Motel 6 we’ve been staying at,” I said, deadpan. The white peaks of purple and blue mountains in the distance looked as if the clouds and the sprawling snowcaps merged into one seamless band across the sky. It was like the cover to a fantasy novel. “But… I feel stupid asking because it is both so obvious and so unreal. Did you have something to do with that flying dinosaur?”

My mind had begun to clear, and the questions lined up.

“Ah, Txema, we have serious things to discuss,” he said, his brow furrowed for a moment as if disappointed in what I asked. The playful glint in his eyes said otherwise. “Do you really need for me to spell out how you and I got here?”

He brought out the light gray pouch and casually tossed it at my feet.

“There’s a change of clothes for you in there. The people you’ll be staying with until the birth of your child are flexible with some Western customs, but not when it comes to attire.”

I was about to say something smartass, but old man/dinosaur jokes kind of lose their humor when you are talking to someone that is actually hundreds of years old. Also, truthfully, I was still kind of in shock by the whole affair.

“That thing was
you
wasn’t it?”

I almost choked on the words.

“Yes, it was me,” he said. He wore an even bigger look of pride, as if what he’d accomplished was indeed a feat of wonder and deserved praise for its sheer brilliance. “First time ever as a pterodactyl, and I’m especially pleased that what I remembered one to look like turned out fairly accurate!”

“Does that mean you are like the others back there at the palace—the ones that like to eat young mothers in front of their children?”

“I must admit that keeping you safe from harm is wearisome employment,” he said, for the moment ignoring my question, yet showing no sign he took offense to it. “For weeks, Xuanxang and I have slept lightly during the day while we waited and listened.”

“Listened to what, for Christ’s sake?” I responded angrily. “Do you mean ‘listened while that poor woman was slaughtered,’ and perhaps others like her? How many orphans does Xuanxang need to run Huangtian Dadi’s palace?”

“I don’t care for the sacrifice of the innocent any more than you do, Txema.”

The glint in his eyes disappeared, and he regarded me evenly. But unlike other experiences I’ve had with angered vampires, he remained calm. In fact, the only time I had seen Kazikli enraged was in France, when he chided Gustav in public for not taking enough steps to protect the European nation of vampires from Ralu’s rapid advances.

“You should know that Gustav, Xuanxang, and I had formed an alliance to make sure you were never harmed by the growing insurgence among the Order of the Dragon,” he continued. “Those vampires are not many, and most have already defected to Ralu. The two dozen residing in Huangtian Dadi’s realm, unfortunately, do have their Emperor’s support, which Xuanxang shared with me after the Christmas Eve incident. Gustav wanted to keep you at Xu Zheng Palace despite my desire to move you immediately to a safer location. My king, however, did agree to keep a watchful eye on you and your continual whereabouts as did Xuanxang. Xuanxang has risked his life since being your guardian is in direct insubordination against the Emperor’s stated demand for neutrality.”

“So, let me get this straight,” I said, sitting up stiffly on my bench. “Gustav arranged for all of us―including me and all of the surviving vampires from the attack on Racco’s castle―to reside with this Huangtian Dadi jerk, who really doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to any of us? I mean, think about it. All he cares about is not offending a small group of evil vampires that have basically set up free child slavery for him. And, as far as Gustav is concerned? Well that fucker has always given me the creeps. He’ll never get his teeth into me or my little girl’s neck,
ever!
He can fucking dry up and start looking like his brother, Ralu, for all I care!”

I was furious, and if I hadn’t finished what I wanted to say right then, I’m sure I would’ve started shrieking at Kazikli. Meanwhile, he regarded me calmly, and with more compassion than he had even a moment ago when I first became aggressive.

“I understand your hostility toward Huangtian Dadi, truly I do, Txema,” he said. “He can be far worse than what you can imagine. I’m speaking from experience that runs well over two thousand years. He is as powerful as Gustav, and perhaps even older. If Huangtian Dadi decided he no longer needed commerce with us for any reason, he could single-handedly destroy us all. So, young lady, be careful of what you say about him. The oldest vampires have abilities the rest of us can only envy. You’ve already experienced that with Ralu, from what Chanson told me. Now understand that Huangtian Dadi has more power than Ralu could dream of having, unless one’s growing army counts for anything. If that’s the case, then things are becoming equal quickly. Hence, the need to be extra nice to your Chinese host, should you ever see him again.”

Kazikli didn’t have to go into detail about Ralu’s dealings with me to get his point across. The memories of being repeatedly taunted and murdered in the dreamlike visions were still fresh. When I was foolish enough to think about them during the daytime while my protectors slept, I sometimes felt as if Ralu had found me again, and was already lurking in the palace shadows. Even now as Kazikli and I silently studied each other, a smooth breeze moved through the trees around us, causing us both to look around cautiously.

“Like I said, be careful of the words you speak when dealing with any of the oldest vampires, Txema. Remember that always.”

“Okay,” I said, and then imitated something I used to see my mother’s youngest sister do when she stepped on someone’s toes in the family. “I’m so sorry Huangtian Dadi, and Gustav, I didn’t mean to offend you. Oh, and be sure to give my love to Ralu, as well!”

“Txema!”

Kazikli eyed me seriously, although a glint of amusement was back in those beautiful blue peepers again.

“All right, I’ll quit,” I said, and moved on down the growing list of questions I had for this particular immortal. “So, you said the pterodactyl was something you just came up with to transform yourself into. I take it that you’ve been doing this for a while. How did that happen, and can the others like Chanson do it, too?”

“Yes, I have been doing such tricks for a long time, actually longer than I’ve been a vampire,” he said. The air around us had grown colder, and he seemed to notice. He smiled impishly and waved his hand over the fire pit while whispering a quick incantation that I only caught a few syllables from. The partially burnt logs and remaining coals from previous fires sprung to life. “Long ago, I had reached the pinnacle of success as a magician in Xerxes’ court.”

“The King Xerxes of the Persians?” I said, with only slight disbelief in my tone. Having seen and experienced what I had the past two months, and especially since arriving in China, had at least softened some cynicism.

“Yes, the very same,” he said. “If I had carried less ambition, perhaps I would’ve died long before Alexander brought his ten year campaign against my homeland, and ended the reign of glory I had known so well a century earlier.”