Trail of Tears (25 page)

“I am not abandoning her,” she shot back at
him, doing a better job of controlling her voice than he had. “She
is safe here. I haven’t known you very long, but I am certain that
you will protect her until I come back. You don’t know me and I
have no right to ask but I am asking regardless. Besides, I already
know you will not refuse me.” She lifted her hand to his cheek.
“The eyes don’t lie, Josh. I have already explained my reasons to
Jillian. She’s confused and upset, yes, but she will be brave for
her brother. Mark is out there all alone. No matter what you
accomplish here, it will be months before you’re ready to attack
the stronghold. Without hope Mark will not last that long. I have
to go to him and give him that hope. I know you’ll come for me when
you can.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on his
cheek. “I’m sorry, Josh.” She rose to her feet. She went over to
Jillian and hugged her and then slipped out into the darkness. Josh
sat there stunned. His thoughts rushed around his head chaotically.
He didn’t know how long he sat there watching the dark entrance to
the cave. After a time Jillian came over to him and laid her head
on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. He really did not
know if Tanya was the bravest woman he had ever met or whether she
was just insane. Did it matter? Somehow in the last few days his
world had changed. Somehow this diminutive woman and her daughter
had become the centre of his world.

There had been nothing physical but the air
between them was always charged with something that he had never
felt before. He had no idea how he was going to get her back. Once
the rest of the community found out she was gone they would want to
stop the raids. If they knew where she had gone they might even
want to throw her daughter out in their blind anger. Josh wondered
if they should move camp. If the thralls tortured Tanya, she might
give up their location. No normal person could hope to hold out
under torture. The question was whether the thralls would suspect
her of being part of the raiding party or just accept that she had
wandered free and it had not turned out to be all that she might
have wanted. But what reason could he give for them moving camp
without them finding out where she had gone? He would lose any
chance of gaining their support if they knew. He would scout
tomorrow and see if there was somewhere that would suit their needs
better, maybe somewhere closer to fresh water. If there was a good
enough reason they might move without questioning the motive.
Jillian moved in his arms, shifting position as she settled. He
wasn’t sure who gave who more comfort but soon they both slept.

* * *

Von Richelieu surveyed the remains of his
armoured patrol and felt his anger boil over. This was too much.
The humans had actually managed to kill one of his most loyal
Lieutenants. Another failure. He needed to make a statement. To
show these humans that there were repercussions to their
actions.

He watched the two vampires he had brought
with him. Turook was a vampire he had fought with since
Mesopotamia. The Turk was a true old vampire, respectful to his
superior, vicious in his fighting, and pitiless in carrying out his
orders. He would have no trouble with him. Shayna was a new vampire
and he was still not entirely certain of her loyalties. He watched
as she approached him now, her hips swung gently beneath her
flowing gown but it was lost on him. She still had not come to
terms with the fact that she could no longer use her sexuality to
gain favour. This was a familiar misconception among the female
vampires and accounted for the fact that few of them rose to any
authority. They lived their lives as humans using their wiles and
could not make the change when they became vampires. They still
tried to use their bodies to distract.

Shayna was still interesting though. She had
a keen intellect and she was very much of the modern age. She
understood the humans of this age better than his other advisers.
However, it was hard to see beyond her sultry eyes so her loyalties
were still unknown. He knew she would use him to gain position and
he had no problem with that as long as she did not aspire to
anything higher.

“We will take fifty of the captives and
execute them this evening. We will leave their bodies in front of
the pens to rot and show these humans the consequence of their
actions.” His voice was louder than he had intended and he forced
himself to calm down as he turned to leave.

“My Lord.” Shayna dropped her eyes as he
whirled towards her and he had to admit that she played her role
very well. He was, of course, not fooled for a second that she was
so subservient. “If you will permit me to offer another
course.”

He glared at her but her eyes remained fixed
on a point just below his chest. “Very well,” he agreed stiffly. He
had, after all, raised her to this position for her advice. It
would be foolish indeed not to even listen.

“You say that the humans have attacked four
patrols now.” He nodded and she continued. “We know that seventy
humans are still missing from the escape.” He growled low in his
chest, his baser instincts coming to the surface as she questioned
him and she hurried on. “I only state this to be certain of my
understanding, Lord. Even if we assume that all seventy of those
still free are part of this band of humans and yesterday’s
recapture of that human wandering on the outskirts of the pens
would suggest otherwise, it still makes little sense that they
would attack so many patrols.” He tilted his head in confusion. “If
we assume that they are attacking for food…”

“Of course they attack for the food, woman,”
he spat at her and turned to leave but her next statement caused
him to stop.

“They already have enough food to feed them
for many weeks, Lord. Why continue to risk their lives? There is
something else. Some other reason why they are doing this.” He
turned back towards her as her words penetrated his anger. “If not
the food then it is the patrol itself they are targeting. It would
be foolish to think they can kill your forces one by one and these
humans are not stupid. I assume that you increase the number of
thralls each time the patrol is attacked.” She paused briefly and
he nodded though his own train of thought had already caught
hers.

“They are tying up my resources, diverting
my attention.” She smiled and though her mouth contained more teeth
than her human mouth was designed for he still felt an ancient
response, long thought dead. “It might be better to allow them to
think they have succeeded, Lord. Rather than execute your food
supply you should play to their vanity. Make a show of increasing
the numbers on the next patrol, but force march most of them back
here to remain hidden. When the humans make their move you will
crush them once and for all.”

Von Richelieu smiled as he studied his new
Lieutenant. Her plan was excellent. He felt pleased that his
decision to raise her in the ranks had borne such fruit. Though, he
would have to watch her. She was far too clever for her own
good.

* * *

Tomas Ventredi watched as Von Kruger
approached them. Since they had destroyed the Flynn cabal, Von
Kruger had been surprisingly quiet. Ventredi had expected him to
urge his followers to follow through with the rout and continue the
chase but he had called them back. There were only five vampires
left including Von Kruger who had survived the nuclear fires and
they had decisions to make.

Ventredi suspected that Von Kruger wanted
word of the battle and Von Kruger’s new abilities to walk in
sunlight to spread. If his enemies surrendered to him without
having to fight each faction then he would not lose any more of his
precious army. The attrition rate for the new change was too high.
They had lost half their number the last time. Would that happen
each time they ventured into the flames with new acolytes? If so
then Von Kruger’s vampire army would be halved before a single
battle was fought. But could they sustain a divided army of both
blood and nuclear vampires?

Already many of those vampires who had had
to flee the dawn had begged to be made like them. Ventredi had
revealed the high cost to those he knew best and had been surprised
to find that most had still demanded to take the test. Could they
survive with half their number? They were no stronger than any
other vampire. They did not heal any quicker. If Flynn attacked
them at night with superior numbers then they would lose,
regardless of their new abilities.

It was a worrying situation. They needed to
understand this strange change. Added to this was the fact that the
fires were already reducing to a low smouldering burn. No longer
did the flames rage high into the air. They had already consumed
everything around them. Did they need the flames at all? Would the
radiation itself sustain them? If so, for how long? What would they
do then? Were they doomed to move from nuclear plant to nuclear
plant setting the world alight with radiation in order to survive?
How often did they need to bathe in the fires? The questions were
maddening. Ventredi had scouted earlier in the day with Von Kruger
back to the fires and they had both felt a welcome wash when they
flew low enough but how long would it last? Only one thing was
certain. Their sustenance was a finite resource. Eventually they
would run out of plants. Of course, by that time there would be
nothing left alive in the world anyway so would there be any point
in continuing on? He pulled himself from his thoughts as Von Kruger
continued.

“Today, we offer the chance to those brave
enough and worthy of the opportunity to join us.” So, it would
appear that he was willing to risk his numbers after all, Ventredi
mused. “Not all of you will survive this test but those who do will
join their brethren in glory.” There were twenty vampires among his
audience. Vampires carefully chosen from among the larger ranks.
These would be a further test to see if the fires still had the
power to change them and to see how many survived. Tonight’s test
would reveal much. If half died again then Von Kruger would be
forced to rethink his strategy, he hoped. If more than half
survived then would he rush into a mass change? There was so much
they did not yet know. But Ventredi’s future was now firmly tied to
Von Kruger.

“Make sure you swoop low. The flames are
lower today.” With that the twenty vampires surged into the air
heading towards the dull glow in the distance. How many would come
back? How many would they have to watch as they melted into
oblivion? He looked around at those who remained and was surprised
to see many of their faces eager to join those who raced towards
their fate. Ventredi shook his head. Were they all mad? He sighed
as he felt the energy flow through his veins. Would he have risked
the change if he had known there was such a risk? He snorted and
shook his head as he realised that, yes, he would be just as eager
as those in front of him now. They were all mad he realised in a
sudden flash of insight. This was one group of people Jesus had
forgotten about. He had catered to the meek, the good and the bad,
pigeon-holing their fates to their actions. What about the insane
though? He laughed and courted strange looks from those around him.
It would appear that it was the insane who were to inherit the
world after all.

There was a dry scratching noise that grated
on her. That was the first thing she noticed. That and the cold.
She couldn’t wriggle her nose. It was completely dark, intensely so
without a star above.
That couldn’t be right?
She thought.
Was she blind? How had that happened?
She tried to raise her
arm to ensure she could still see but her arm would not move.

She tried to concentrate, but it was so
hard. She seemed to be floating, but the motion was not smooth;
rather, it was jerky to the point that her stomach was nauseous.
She tried to rise but something was holding her down. She managed
to move an inch or so but then she hit a barrier of some sort and a
flood of pain rushed through her so she collapsed back down and
tried to order her thoughts.

There was a strange howling all around her
that she could not place. It seemed to whistle, building to a high
screech and then a roar would suddenly erupt and the whistle would
disappear, only to come back a few moments later. And something was
pressing on her intermittently; it felt as though someone had laid
a heavy blanket over her and then whipped it away. Other times it
felt as though small bundles were thrown at her as she felt the
pressure strike her and move away.

She tried to concentrate again but her mind
felt sluggish. Sleep pressed in on her but she fought against it.
She wasn’t sure why but it seemed that sleep was her enemy here. If
she fell asleep she thought she might not wake again. She tried to
call out but her throat was dry and a searing pain clamped her
lungs. Her cry sounded like a death rattle and she panicked.
Was
she dying?
She could feel her body respond to her fear and
adrenaline surged through her, pushing back the veil of
sluggishness momentarily. She saw herself raising her weapon and
then the felt the bullets slam into her again.
I was hit. But
where am I now? This isn’t the infirmary? Did the thralls
succeed?

She ignored the pain as she struggled to
rise again. The questions swirled through her mind, giving her a
focus, a tether to ground herself to. She tried again to cry out,
her throat tried to clamp shut again against the pain, but she
pushed through it and managed a weak cry. Something moved from her
face and suddenly light filtered in, blinding her. With the light
came the most intense cold she had ever felt. Wind lashed at her
face and big, cold droplets of ice struck her face. She opened her
mouth again but wind and snow rushed in making her cough and
setting off another wave of pain.
Had she been left out in the
storm?