Aris Reigns (12 page)

“An excellent plan.” Sebastian nodded his head in agreement with Richard and Gabriela.

“So that is settled. Richard, we need fifty of our most well trained for this mission. I want them chosen by tomorrow morning.”

“Aris, we know there will be those of us who will be lost. We go into battle with that thought, yet what do we do with the bodies of our fallen comrades? Do we burn them and end their existence or do we simply bury the dead, leaving their essence to float until they are able to enter another body?”

“A question that must be addressed. Of course we hope the casualties are few or better yet, none. However, we know that will not be the case.”

Richard began to pace. “How can we decide what should be done. I surely do not want the responsibility of deciding their ultimate fate.”

“Nor do I, Richard.” Aris sat silent for a moment. “We will allow each warrior to decide what should be done with their lifeless bodies
if their Immortal light is extinguished.” He turned to Gabriela. “Do you agree?” He looked at each one of his comrades. “Each Immortal chooses their own destiny.”

With one voice, they answered. “Yes, each Immortal chooses before we leave for Spain. They must know there is a grave chance they will never see the Catacombs again. They must prepare if that is to be their fate.”

“And the evil ones? We burn them?”

“Everyone who is impaled is burned. We must give them no chance to return to attempt to steal the Diaries again.”

“Aris,” Gabriela spoke, “what if there are those who seek clemency, who lay down their weapons in surrender?”

“That is an issue I have been contemplating for several days. I propose to put it before the Council that any who ask for clemency be spared if they return to the Catacombs and take the Blood Oath.”

“What if they lie to save themselves? What if they have no intention of living an Immortal life?”

“We will watch them carefully. They will never be given a position of any power. The Council learned well from the experience with DeMarco. I believe we will not be so trusting again of those who come from outside our society.” Aris rose, pushing his chair under the table.

Seeing the meeting was at an end, they gathered their things to leave. Sebastian broke the silence. “Have any of you seen King Khansu? I do not remember the last time he was seen in public.”

“No, even with the threat of war I have not seen him. Not since I was condemned during my trial for the murder of Cardinal Woolsey and Queen Katherine in the Boleyn affair and that was hundreds of years ago.” Aris turned to Richard and Gabriela. “Have either of you seen him? The Queen has been present several times, but she is always alone.”

The couple shook their heads ‘no.' Richard answered for them
both. “Not since the trial is true for us as well. It seems he has completely withdrawn from public life. I have heard it told that he is retreating into a trance of seclusion, perhaps never to return. They say his melancholy is so great because he longs for his own planet and his own society, so he withdraws from this one. We know so little of their way of life and he has been on earth for so many millennia. Is it any wonder he longs for his home?

“But what for us? Since our kind came into being there has always been a Queen and a King. What now for the Catacombs?”

Aris stood. “What now for the Catacombs is war. We must prepare for the future, but live in the present. Presently, my friends, there is a coven of evil, twisted vampires that want to wipe us off the face of the earth. I suggest we look at the weapons at our disposal for the coming battle and worry about our King when we are assured of continuing to have a kingdom.”

Richard nodded in agreement. “So we meet at dawn to survey the arsenal.”

The four friends quietly moved toward the door and out into the corridor.

Jane brought Sarah's breakfast and chatted pleasantly with her while she ate. The Immortal spent time with Sarah whenever she could. It gave her a great deal of pleasure to be in the company of a human. Sarah was the first human Jane had known since her changing and she waited patiently as her new friend showered and dressed for her day above ground with Aris.

It had not been Jane's choice to be made Immortal. It was not a choice she would have made. She would rather have died a human death when the time was upon her, but she had been unconscious and the Council made the decision for her. Her only memory of
any of the events of the day of her changing was the early morning. She remembered preparing to ride out with the Queen for a hunt at dawn. She mounted her beautiful white stallion and sipped from the warmed wine in the stirrup cup to take the chill from her bones. The spices in the wine had a strong flavor, but she recalled it was warm and welcome in the early morning fog.

She recollected the sound of the trumpets as the Queen arrived and all the courtiers mounted their horses. Essex, the Queen's young favorite, had maneuvered his huge black stallion next to hers in an attempt to join her in conversation. It was then her head began to swim and her vision blurred. She wondered if there had been something added to the wine she drank. That was her last rational thought as a human.

The rest of the day was lived as if in a dream. She knew Essex was involved. She could remember him tearing at her clothes, the smell of wine on his breath and the stink of his sweat as he wrestled with her. She had no recall of why they fought or what the outcome had been. She could remember she felt as if she moved in a heavy black shadow as she tried to run.

Her next memory was the agony and the ecstasy of the changing, her heightened awareness as she gazed around the room at her first sight of the members of the Council, her first sight as an Immortal. Her new eyes saw a different world. She could see the individual hairs on the head of Bartholomew as he stood above her. His long eyelashes shaded his eyes and cast shadows on his cheekbones. She marveled at his thick lips, his perfect skin without flaw or wrinkle. His first words to her sounded like music to her ears. “You are safe with us in the Catacombs. No one will ever harm you again.” For the moment she was glad to be alive and out of pain. But those feelings of joy were only momentary. As she became more aware of what she had become, she longed for her human life, for human death.

“Jane?” Sarah entered the sitting room to find her friend deep
in thought. “What shall we do this morning while Aris is with the commanders?”

“Whatever is your pleasure. When will he be joining us?”

“We have a lunch appointment with the owner of the gallery showing his paintings. At the moment he is with Richard and Sebastian. They're doing a weapons check and preparing to send them to Spain so I would think we have an hour or so of girl time.”

Puzzled, Jane asked, “Girl time?”

Laughing, Sarah explained. “Time for just the ladies to be alone and talk of lady things.”

“I understand.” Jane stared at her new friend for a silent moment then spoke. “Sarah, may I share something with you?” Jane stood, moving closer to the human.

“Of course.” Sarah took her hands, leading her back to sit once again on the sofa. “What is it?”

“I have never spoken of my feelings to anyone, not since being brought to the Catacombs. I know the Immortals here love their society. I know it is an honor to be a part of it. In recent centuries, all of them have been changed at their own desire; my case is very different.”

“Yes?”

“I was torn and dying when my wolf brought me here. I have no memory of the journey or even where the wolf came from. That time is all a blur somewhere inside my mind. I have tried desperately for centuries to remember, yet I cannot. I know the story of you and Aris, how he came to you through someone who you had placed in a hypnotic state.

“Sarah, do you think you could hypnotize me? Do you think it would help me to remember?”

“I don't know, Jane, but I am more than willing to try.” She hesitated. “I've never hypnotized an Immortal vampire before, but you're still half human so I don't see why it wouldn't work.”
Sarah glanced at her watch. “Aris will be here before long; we really don't have a lot of time left alone together right now. Let's plan for tomorrow rather than just an hour today. How about we do a session in the morning right after breakfast?”

“Thank you.” Jane was silent for a moment, deep in thought. “I feel nervous, but I must know what happened. I am willing to do whatever is necessary to find out.”

“Alright, tomorrow then.”

Jane rose and left the chambers, the white wolf following at her heels.

The huge room was empty except for the three Immortals and several narrow wooden crates containing weaponry. Richard held a perfectly crafted stiletto in his hands, checking its balance and weight. Aris watched his friends as they practiced with the unfamiliar weapons of destruction.

Light bounced from the shining blade as Richard made tentative thrusts at an invisible enemy. He noticed ancient runes carved into the metal. “Aris, what are these symbols?” He handed the knife to his commander.

“These are the runes Queen Akira etched into every blade.” He ran his fingers over the delicate carving. “They are engraved through a process only the Queen knows.”

“What power do the runes give?”

“The runes cause the weapon to release quickly and easily from the heart of the enemy. When impaled, the vampire heart locks onto the stake and it is nearly impossible to remove. Akira used the ancient science so the blade will slide out easily, saving time and hopefully the lives of our soldiers.”

Richard took the weapon back from Aris and gingerly ran his
finger over the edge of the blade. “The edge is not sharp.”

“Only the point. A direct hit to the heart is the only way to make a kill. There is no reason for the edges to be sharpened.” Motioning his friend to place it back in its carrying chest, he nodded. “All is as it should be.”

“As it should be? The thought of impaling one of our own kind, eliminating them for all time, is that as it should be?”

“Richard, I understand. To kill when we have spent centuries finding ways to live without taking life. To wittingly kill when we have fought the beast that lives within each one of us and won. To become less than what we have strived to become. War. You question how we are able turn our backs on our own integrity, our honor. How can we become like human beings who kill without mercy? But remember, our war is not a human battle. Humans fight wars for power. It is greed that drives them. Greed for money, for material goods, for land that belongs only to the earth, not to any man. The battle in Spain is for our society and for the society of humans that lives above ground. Without this fight, both ways of life will be lost forever.”

A sound behind them caused the three to turn quickly. Gabriela joined them with fresh information from their spies in Spain. “Bartholomew received additional news from Alexi late last night. It is most certain that the Spanish King and Queen must reconcile to have any chance of victory. She is unable to control her faction at all; Esteban keeps killing and burning his own soldiers and DeMarco is left without enough vampires to win a war with us alone without having to fight Mariska as well. The Council believes the royal couple's mutual desire to rule the Catacombs will bring them back together. We must move as quickly as possible. If Queen Mariska returns to DeMarco, we will have them all in a single location. If we strike before her army is settled, we will have surprise as well as distraction on our side.”