Page 12 (1/2)

12

First and Second Blood

As Faethor finished, so there ca towards Athens Harry said:

Faethor, in another ten to fifteen round and into the bustle of the airport I’ve noticed that you’ve been groeaker - your voice - and put it down to distance and the sun full on the ruins of your house Soon I’ll be on my way to Rhodes which is more distant yet So this is probably s

You have so an eyebrow)

First I owe you my thanks, Harry told him, but second, I can’t help but remind myself that without you in the first place none of this - Thibor, Dragosani, Yulian Bodescu, and now Janos - would ever have happened OK, so I’m in your debt, but at the sa you have been, and for the monsters you’ve spawned in my world And I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that in est monster of them all!

I consider it a compli else you require to know?

A few things, yes, said Harry If you destroyed Janos so utterly, how come he’s back? I ic did he leave behind hi hi? Why now?

Is it not obvious? Faethor sounded genuinely surprised by Harry’s nai’vet6 He had seen the far future and laid his plans accordingly He had knoould put him down, that time when I returned to the mountains Yes, and he knew that if he caain! And so he one fro to the Wamphyri, Harry As to hoorked this clever trick:

It was those accursed Zirras! Aye, and I knoas them, for I’ve had it froraves much like otherafter hts, certain of Janos’s own returned and placed his vaainst just such an eventuality For he’d learned other icks in my three hundred years’ absence, of which this was one He’d had Zirra women in his time, that bastard of ered son of a son of his would one day feel his allure and go up to the old castle in the mountains but it would be Janos who came down from it! So he planned it, and so it has come to pass

And all the treasure he’d looted from ancient tombs, did you never find it? Harry pressed Didn’t you search the place, your own castle?

I searched a little, Faethor answered But have you not listened? The treasure was elsewhere, buried again or sunken in the sea, until this later time when he could have it up

Of course, Harry nodded, I’d forgotten

As for searching the place in its entirety: no, I did not, not every hole the dog had digged I no longer felt that it was mine but that he had fouled it I could smell him, even taste him, everywhere The castle had his il was carved into the very stone: the red-eyed bat, rising from its urn He had used the place and made it his own, and I wanted no more of it Shortly, I moved on As for my own history after that time, that does not concern you

So the castle still stands, Harry mused in a little while And in its roots what? Does anything remain of Janos’s ’tomb-loot’, his experiments with necromancy? I wonder For after all, it appears that’s where he caence And Faethor knew that Harry was thinking of another castle in the Carpathians, but on the Russian side, in a region once called the Khorvaty and still called by some Bukovina For that had been Faethor’s home, too, upon a time, and what had been done there and left there to scream and fester in the earth had been rave peril in certain ruins

I can understand your concern, the vampire told hihts over old Haliu and Virfurilio is no nificent thunder, in the October of the year 1928

Yes, I remember that, Harry answered I heard it from Ladislau Giresci Apparently it was soas accumulated in the cellars; which, if they were as extensive as you say, seeh it, who is to say there weren’t other survivals?

But as I have explained, said Faethor, Janos had made provision Whatever else perished when that house went down, he did not Perhaps his Szgany had taken his ashes fro them later when the house lay in ruins, I don’t know Possibly they did it when the castle becaain I cannot say

What other? said Harry

Faethor sighed, but eventually: There was one other, aye, he finally said Listen and I’ll tell you about hi the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries, and even to the 18th, the supposed civilized world had grown more aware of so-called ’witches’ and the ’Black Arts’ Witches, necromancers, deuilty or innocent - were harried by relentless witchfinders, ’proved’ by torture, and destroyed Now, the true vampire was ever aware of his mortality and of the one Great Enemy of all his kind, called Proood time for a person to be found too old or different or reclusive or even noticeable In short, while anonyevity, it was never more so than in those dark and doomful 16th and 17th Centuries!

Now, in the middle and to the end of the 17th Century the witchfinders were active in America, and from a place called Salem was driven a man called Edward Hutchinson He obtained a lease on my old house in the ! He was a diabolist, a necromancer, and possibly a vampire Perhaps even Wamphyri! But as I have hinted, he was i in the one place and made himself prominent

He studied the history of the house and took for his own several grand pseudonyms: as well as Edward he ont to call himself ’Baron’ or ’Janos’ - aye, and even ’Faethor’! And finally he settled for ’Baron Ferenczy’ Now this, as ht him to my attention It offended ht s were different and Janos’s taint faded a little with the years The Wamphyri are territorial, as you know And so I vowed that at a ti and as chance pers with this Hutchinson

But chance never did permit; no, for I had my own existence to look to, and the world was ever abustle and full of change And so for two hundred years and n man lived in the castle I had builded, while I in my turn lived alone in my house in Ploiesti

As I have said, he made himself prominent in some way, perhaps in several Certainly he would soon have been summoned to Bucuresti, to make account of himself, if not for that titan explosion which finished him and his works forever But as for Janos: I can only assume he lay in his jar or urn in a secret place, and waited for his tiany to find and rescue him

MyselfI went back there once - in 1930, I think -do not ask me why Perhaps I desired to see what reain, if it was habitable But no, Janos’s touch was still on the stone, his taint in the mortar, his hated memory in the very air of the ruins Of course it was, for Janos himself was still there! But I did not know that

But do you know, I believe that in the end Janos had been closer to his Wained? For however cursory my exploration of those ruins that time in 1930, nevertheless I found evidence of works which but enough We are both tired, and you are not givingaste; you know the bulk of it; the rest will keep until another tiht, said Harry, I am tired Nervous exhaustion, I suppose And he made himself a promise that between Athens and Rhodes he’d sleep

And he did

But co, and as Harry stepped down froht and ers towards custo was very much amiss And his heart speeded up a little when, beyond the barriers in the arrivals area, he saw Manolis Papasta for hi rong For all the sunshine and warmth, still they looked cold, pale, sick

He looked at the two of them where they waited, searched their faces for an answer, and aled passport when it was handed to hi: There’s a face ht for she’ll be in London noon’t she?

’Is it Sandra?’ he said, when they were face to face They looked at him, then looked away And: Tell me about it,’ he said, curiously calm now for all that he felt very, very ill

And so they told him about it

Twenty-one hours earlier:

Darcy had escorted Sandra to the airport outside Rhodes and stayed with her until she was called forward for her London flight - aled to answer a call of nature The toilets were a little distant fro out he had to run the length of the teroodbye By the tiers were already cliantry steps to the aircraft’s door But he waved anyway, thinking that perhaps she would see him from her

After the plane left he drove back to the villa and began packing his things, only to be interrupted by a telephone call from Manolis at the police station It had been Manolis’s idea that when Sandra was out of it Darcy shouldn’t stay on his own The Greek policeman had rooms in an hotel in the centre of town; Darcy would be welco out to the villa to act as Darcy’s guide to his new lodgings, and because it happened now and then that flights were late, Manolis had thought to call the airport first and ensure that Sandra was safely away And he’d discovered that she wasn’t away at all but had ht

’What?’ Darcy couldn’t believe it ’But I was there I mean, I was in the’

’Yes?’

’Shit!’ Darcy gasped, as the truth hit him

’You were in the shit?’

’No, in the bloody toilets,’ Darcy groaned, ’which in this case a! Manolis, don’t you see? It was irl, anyway’

’Your talent?’

’My guardian angel, the thing that keepsI can control It works in different ways This tio to the damned toilet!’

Now Manolis understood, and knew the worst of it They’ve taken her?’ he hissed ’The Lazarides creature and his vampires, they have drawn the first blood?’

’God, yes!’ Darcy answered ’I can’t think of any other explanation’

In his native Greek, Manolis said a long streas then; curses, Darcy supposed And: ’Look, stay where you are and I’ll be right there’

’No,’ Darcy answered ’No, ht Christ, I need a drink!’

’Very well,’ said Papastamos ’Fifteen e Metaxa when Manolis arrived ’Will you get drunk?’ he said ’It won’t help’

’No,’ Darcy answered ’I just needed a stiffener, that’s all And do you knohat I keep thinking? What will I tell Harry? That’s what!’

’It isn’t your fault,’ Manolis co about it Harry is back tomorrow We must let him take the lead Meanwhile, every police for Lazarides, his crew and his boat - and Sandra, of course I ave the orders before I caround infor! Not only froht-hand , is an Aht: Christ, I thank you for this ent, nor even a policeman He’d been with E-Branch all these years not because his talent was indispensable to them but simply because it was a talent, and all such weird and esoteric powers had interested them But he couldn’t use it as the telepaths and locators used theirs, and it was useless except in special circumstances Indeed, on several occasions it had seemed to Darcy that his talent used hi the Bodescu affair, for example, when it had kept him safe and sound only at the expense of another esper And Darcy still hadn’t forgiven himself for that Now there was this Without Papasta Darcy didn’t knohat he would have done

’What do you suggest we do now?’ he said

’What can we do?’ the other answered ’Until we have word of theirl are - we can do nothing And even then I will need authorization to move on this creature UnlessI could always clai, and close in on him even without authorization! But it will help e know all about hiht have the ideas, too So for now - ’ he shrugged, but heavily and with obvious frustration,’ - nothing’

’But -’

"There are no buts We can only wait’ He stood up ’Cos’

They drove to the villa, where Darcy found hiet out of the car ’Do you know,’ he said, ’I feel completely done in, "knackered", in common parlance! I suppose it’s emotional’

’I suppose it’s the Metaxa!’ Manolis answered, drily

But as they approached the door of the place down the garden path, suddenly Darcy knew that ’it’ was neither He grabbed the Greek’s arm and whispered hoarsely, ’Manolis, someone is in there!’

’What?’ Manolis looked at hilanced back towards the villa ’But how do you know?’

’I know because I don’t want to go in It’sin there for us - for me, anyway My own fault I was in such a state when I came out that I left the door open’

’And now you’re sure soht?’ Manolis’s voice was a ht out his pistol and fitted a silencer to the barrel, then cocked it

’God, yes!’ Darcy in turn breathed ’I’ to turn me around and boot et out of the car, and noith every step I take, it gets stronger And believe me, whoever it is in there, he’s deadly!’

’Then he’s un ’For this too is quite deadly!’ He reached out and touched the door, which swung silently open ’Follow me in’ And he turned sideways, crouched down a very little and stepped inside

Darcy’s every instinct, each fibre of his being, screamed RUN! but he followed Manolis inside He wouldn’t let it make a coward of him this time There were two too many people on his conscience already It was ti as boss! And-

Manolis put on the light

The -room was empty, looked just as Darcy had left it Manolis looked at Darcy, cocked his head on one side inquiringly and gave a s ’Where?’ his whisper was so quiet as to be aof the lips

Darcy looked around the roorouped in the centre of the floor, the tapestry on the wall, a pair of ornamental oil lamps on a shelf, a suitcase of Harry’s under the bed he’d never used And the doors, closed, leading to the bedrooms, which likewise hadn’t been used Until now

Then his eyes went back to Harry’s suitcase, and narrowed

’Well?’ Manolis shaped his er to his lips, crossed to the beds and slid Harry’s suitcase fully into view The lid was open; he lifted it, took out the crossbow and loaded it, and stood up Manolis nodded his approval

Darcy crossed to the bedroom doors and reached out a hand to touch the first one His tre except that he was scared half to death He commanded his feet to carry him to the second door, and went to touch that, too But no, that was as brave as his talent would let hi screamed at him FOR FUCK’S SAKE, NO!

Gooseflesh crawled on his arms as he half-turned towards Manolis to say, ’In here!’ But he never said it

The door was hurled open, knocking Darcy aside, and Seth Ar at hi, no one could have mistaken his alienness, the fact that he was less, orof the rooe, expanded in its orbit, and a black eyepatch hid the right eye from view

Manolis shouted, ’Stay where you are! Stand still!’ But Ar towards hi on his hands and knees ’For Christ’s sake shoot hi was almost upon him - and he’d opened his mouth to display teeth and jahich the Greek simply didn’t believe! He fired twice, al’s shoulder, which served to snap the big Aht, and the second into his belly, which bent hiain and pushed hirasped Manolis by the shoulder and hurled hiainst the wall And Manolis knehere he’d felt such strength before, but knowing it didn’t help hi -and Arain!

’Hey, you!’ Darcy shouted ’Fucking va Manolis to his feet, lowering his awful face towards hi at his heart, pulled the trigger of his crossbow

That did it As the bolt went in the Aainst the wall Gagging and choking, he sought to grasp the bolt and draw it out But he couldn’t It was too close to his heart, that ans His heart pumped his vath He gurgled, coughed, staggered to and fro and spat blood And his left eye glared like a blob of sulphur seared into his face!

Manolis was on his feet again As Darcy fumbled frantically to reload his crossbow, so the Greek tried a second time and pumped four carefully aimed shots into the stricken vampire But now the bullets hadlike a pile-driver backwards across the floor, and the last one hurled hilass, broken louvre boards and Ararden

Darcy had loaded up He stuht behind hi lay flat on his back in the re his ar at the hardwood bolt where it transfixed his chest But he saw Darcy approaching and somehow sat up!

Darcy took no chances; fro through the vaain but pinned him down and kept hi open, came forward ’Is heis he finished?’

’Look at him,’ Darcy panted ’Does he look finished? You may believe in them, Manolis, but you don’t know them like I do He’s not finished - yet!’

Arers twitched, his jaws cho yellow eye followed theed and an eht from the wrecked

Darcy said: ’Watch him!’ and hurried back inside A -bladed cleaver, also froleam and said:

’What?’ His upper lip at the left drew back frorimace

’The stake, the sword, and the fire!’ Darcy answered

’Decapitation?’

’And right now His va him See, no blood In an ordinary ht have killed hie But he’s taken six and he isn’t even bleeding! Two bolts in hih the heart, and his hands are still working His eyes, too and his ears!’

He was right: Ar had heard their conversation, and the loathsoaze upon the cleaver in Darcy’s hand He began gurgling anew, his body vibrating against the earth, the heel of his right foot haarden

Darcy got down on one knee beside hiht hand But he couldn’t reach hiht hand scuttled a little way towards Darcy like a spider, until the arot too heavy for it He tried a third time, then abruptly fell back and lay still

Darcy gritted his teeth, raised the cleaver -- And the ht eye bulged and erupted, and a finger, blue-grey and pulsating, wriggled out onto his cheek!

’Jesus!’ Darcy fell back, al’s face, pulling the trigger of his silenced gun until the nightazine was eers, and took Ar’s head, too

Darcy had turned away and was throwing up, but between each bout he gasped, ’Noewe have to burn thethe ugly bastard!’

Manolis was up to that, too The lamps in the villa weren’t just ornamental after all They contained oil, and there was a spare can of fuel in the kitchen By the ti sto Manolis stood watching, until Darcy got hold of his arm and took him off to a safe distance

’You can never tell,’ he said, wiping his ht be a lot er!’

But there wasn’t

’I hope you didn’t leave it like that,’ said Harry ’The oil couldn’t have burned all of hi,’ Darcy explained ’We took him to an incinerator in the industrial part of town Said he was a arden to die’

’The heat of that incinerator would calcine his bones down to powder,’ Manolis added

’So, we took second blood!’ Harry growled, but with such uncharacteristic savagery that the others glanced at him in surprise He saw their looks and turned his face away But not before Darcy noted that his eyes were more soulful - or soulless - than ever And of course he knehy

’Harry, about Sandra,’ he started to explain yet again

But Harry cut him off ’It wasn’t your fault,’ he said ’If anyone’s it was my fault I should have made sure personally that she was out of this But we can’t think about her now, and I mustn’t think about her - not if I want to be able to think about anything else Manolis, did the infor for coreat deal of infor, except that which is thehis car, with Harry and Darcy in the back seat They were approaching the centre of Rhodes Nehere Manolis was quartered It wasn’t yet 6:00 p finery ’Look at them,’ said Harry, his voice cold "They’re happy; they laugh and dress up; they’ve had a blue sky all day and a blue sea to swim in, and the world looks fine They don’t know there are scarlet threads a all that blue And they wouldn’t believe it if you told the you’ve learned’

’Lazarides is a very successful archaeologist,’ Manolis began ’He cao, with several important finds on Crete, Lesbos and Skiros Before that we don’t have much on him But he does have Greek nationality, and Romanian! This is very odd, if not unique The authorities in Athens are looking into it, but -’ he shrugged,’ - this is Greece Everything takes tih places Perhaps he purchased his nationality, eh? Certainly he would have the monies for it if the rumours are correct Rumours? They abound! It is said that he keeps - or sells to unscrupulous collectors - at least half of the treasures he excavates; also that he is the - how do you say? - the Midas! Everything he touches turns to gold He only has to look at an island to know if any treasure is hidden there Why, even nowin an old Crusader castle on Halki!’

Harry nodded ’I understand all of that, and I’ll tell you about it later Go on’