Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (3 page)

"Undead?"

"Yes," Keon said in an almost serpent like manner.
His smile and long teeth seemed to couple that comparison. "You are
one of the undead. You are a vampire!"

"A what?" Maurice sputtered, "I am what?"

Keon scowled. "You...are...a...vampire."

"What's a vampire?"

Keon rolled his eyes at Maurice's naivety. "A member
of the undead. A member of the immortal and superior race. A
creature who drinks the blood of others to sustain their own life
and eternal youth."

Maurice felt his strength leave him, and sank into
his coffin. "I don't understand. I don't understand." It was what
he kept repeating until Keon grew tired.

He then grabbed Maurice and hauled him out of the
grave. Maurice marveled at how easily Keon picked him up. He was
even further shocked when Keon kept lifting him until his feet
dangled above his head. "How?" Maurice stammered, "how can you do
this?"

"One of the benefits of being a vampire," Keon
grinned before throwing Maurice over his shoulder, "is being the
strongest creature in the history of creation."

Maurice had barely picked himself up off the ground
before Keon was beside him. "You know, considering this is your new
life I don't think the name Maurice McAlester fits any longer. I
think it's better you start your vampire life with a new name and
identity."

He yanked Maurice's head back and looked straight
into his blackening eyes. "So from now on boy, your name is Tavis."
He then let go of Maurice's head which went down hard onto the
ground. Keon then stood up and kicked Maurice onto his back. "And
you belong to us."

"Do it again!" The General barked, "and I mean
now!"

Tavis collapsed onto the cold dirt ground with half
of the other trainees.

"But we have been doing this for the past two days!"
One of them whined, "can't we at least rest?"

The General didn't say anything instead he just sped
towards the speaker and ripped his throat out. The other soldiers
did their best but one didn't succeed in stifling his gasp. His
body then joined the first one in the pile.

The General then turned his stony cold and
emotionless mask of a face to look at the other trainees.

After a few tense seconds was when he
barked,"again!"

The trainees then snapped back into position.

"First stance!"

All the trainees stood erect, none of them daring to
blink.

"Second stance." They spread their feet apart and
held out their hands.

"Third stance." All the trainees closed their
eyes.

"Now visualize a fog, thick and gray, rolling amongst
the hills of the mountains. Then visualize your body and being
becoming one with the fog. Imagine, visualize, and become."

In spite of the soft images the General described,
the feeling and sensation of tuning into one of their vampire
abilities was a rough one. Tavis felt his body being pricked with a
thousand pins, and his skin melting away like wax on a candle. He
had to stay focused on the end result or else he would lose his
concentration. If that he could look forward to starving for the
rest of the week. Such was the price of failure in the ranks of the
Sovereign's army. He endured five minutes of this agonizing
sensation until he felt his body almost float away. When he became
conscious again was when he found himself floating amongst the
field they were practicing in.
It's happened, I have become
mist...again.
Along with the fellow trainees, Tavis floated and
rolled amongst the field observing everything that happened. He
observed the ants moving in the grass from the bats flying in the
night sky.
We have company
, Tavis thought grimly.

After two more grueling hours was when they were all
finally dismissed. Tavis then dragged his almost broken body back
to the barracks. His coffin was there and according to Keon he
couldn't sleep without the coffin he was buried in.
Speak of the
devil
, Tavis thought as he saw Keon out of the corner of his
eye. He was in one the tents having an argument with another one of
the commandeers.

"I have brought more than enough recruits for you.
You don't need more!" Keon bellowed.

Tavis cringed at the thought of more recruits being
brought to the camps. If he had thought his human life had been
tough it was nothing in comparison to his vampire one. Since the
day Keon had taught him to control his thirst, he had been stuck at
this training camp. Training for a war he didn't really believe
would ever really come. Although the training had helped him become
aware of and control all his vampire abilities it didn't erase all
the pain and suffering he had been forced to endure.

Or the indignity of my enforced enslavement,
Tavis thought bitterly,
funny how I finally understand how our
slaves felt and why they longed for emancipation.
The fact that
he sympathized with his former slaves, the architects of his
father's ruin, was enough to make Tavis want to throw himself head
first into his coffin.

How much more of this can I endure? How much more
must I endure?

Gritting his teeth, Tavis decided then and there that
he would fund a way out.

"Rome!" The General cried, "what are you doing
here?"

Rome chuckled as he strolled into the camps. "Surely
you can find a kinder welcome for your superior."

The General's face twisted as if he was trying to
stop himself from scowling. He just held out his hand to shake
Rome's. Rome took it with enthusiasm.

"If I may be so bold sir, may I inquire as what you
are you doing here?" The General tried to force his rather
uncooperative face to smile.

"I am here to drop off the Sovereign's latest plans,"
Rome said cheerfully as he brandished a roll of parchment. "I have
also brought along my platoon. It's been years since we pitted our
soldiers against one another. I think it's high time to see how
much they have advanced or learned."

Keon winced, he had just been arguing with the
general about adding on ranks and didn't relish the opportunity to
further the General's arguments. These "tests" as they were called
frequently caused many of the vampire trainees to die.
Which
means I will have to bring in more soldiers,
Keon thought
bitterly,
I love the thought of being able to advance my career
but for the sake of God, this is getting boring.

He sighed heavily as he ran his fingers through his
hair.
But what can I do? If I don't stick to this assignment and
excel at it how will the Sovereign take notice of my skills? How
will I be able to advance my position? I will be stuck doing this
shit forever unless...

Keon cast one lingering glance towards the General
who was still talking to Rome. Rome, however, didn't seem to be
paying much attention as he watched his platoon march into the
camp. Keon, however, kept staring at the General with a sinister
grin growing on his face.

Jaxon looked at the area with trepidation as he
pulled the horses' rein. He hated the fact that he was in charge of
hauling some of Rome's personal possessions but he knew better than
to argue.

He tried to keep the cart as still as he could but
since it was nighttime he couldn't see the path that clearly.
Inevitably, the cart stumbled over a tree branch.

"Jaxon?! What's going on? Where are we?"

Jaxon sighed heavily as he stopped the cart. He then
threw the blanket back as he stared at the long haired red headed,
freckle faced, young man lying on the hard wooden surface.

"It's nothing Henry," Jaxon said reassuringly, "go
back to sleep."

Henry's blue eyes caught Jaxon's for a very solid
minute before Jaxon sighed again. "We are just stopping at another
encampment."

"You mean for the night?"

Jaxon shrugged. "I suspect it will be longer."

Henry snorted. "I guess you were right it was
nothing."

Jaxon chuckled. "Told you."

It took only twenty minutes for Rome's tent to be set
up.
Such is the benefit of vampire speed,
Keon laughed to
himself. He was lying against one of the trees, carving an apple
with a knife. He kept his eyes on Rome's soldiers as they hauled
their coffins out of the carts. Keon was stunned that none of the
soldiers spoke to each other as they laid out their own coffins to
sleep. They all moved mechanically and without any hesitation.

"It's my training methods," Rome said, "they install
a certain discipline amongst my soldiers." Keon shot to his feet
and sheathed his knife. Rome didn't seem to notice, he just gazed
around at the members of his army. He stared at them like a parent
would stare at a child. "While most people just jump into the
'tuning their vampire abilities' shtick I prefer other ways of
doing things."

Keon raised an eyebrow.

"At first we start with the starvation for every day
they starve the vampire ages more and more. Usually it's just a
method of disguising themselves amongst the local. However, their
looks are not the only things aging. Their bodies age as well and
their reactions slow as well."

"This," Rome added with a smile before leaning
against the tree, "is when we go into the flaming hot coal
methods.'

"The what?" Keon asked.

"I force all my recruits in their aged forms to walk
across a bed of hot coals." Rome was grinning like a crazed jackal.
"It does wonders for their reflexes in spite of their aging. It
also helps eliminate the weak links faster."

Keon caught himself staring at Rome as he rambled on
about his sadistic tendencies.
Good God! The man is insane. How
and why on Earth would the Sovereign bother keeping such a
crockpot?

He knew that Rome was one of the chief "inquisitors"
that help eradicate the Witches but other than that Keon wasn't
aware of any outstanding service he had done for the Sovereign.
Maybe he just keeps him on out of pity.

"Henry, you must eat something." Jaxon tried to
feebly push the spoon into his mouth.

Henry just turned his head away.

"Yes Henry, you must eat." They both turned around to
see the grinning demonic face of Rome. "I mean how else can I keep
feeding off of you unless you build your strength up?"

Henry muttered as he laid his head down. "I believe
you just answered your own question."

Rome's grin didn't break, he merely just pushed Jaxon
out of the tent and yanked the chain forwards. Henry's flesh burned
against the ruins carved into the neck brace right before Rome sunk
his teeth in.

Jaxon wanted to rush right in and save his friend but
the last time he did that Henry had been whipped within an inch of
his life. Still it was struggle to hold himself back. Jaxon kicked
up a whole slew of dirt as he walked away from the tent.

"Well nice to see you're still alive."

Tavis opened one eye warily as he recognized the
voice. "What do you want Keon?"

Keon chuckled. He grabbed a box that lay nearby. He
made a makeshift chair out of it by tipping out the contents and
flipping it over. He sat on the chair and scooted closer. "Can't a
guy stop by to say hi to his favorite recruit?"

Although his coffin lid was closed, Tavis couldn't
stop himself from turning his head away. "You are going to have to
be more specific seeing as you recruit a lot," he grumbled.

Keon's smile vanished as he clenched his fists.
"Don't remind me,"

Tavis didn't say anything and there was an tense
filled silence for the next few minutes.

Until Keon sighed and asked, "so how are things going
with General Dickson?"

Tavis chuckled softly. "You mean General Dick? Oh he
is fine! A real cream-puff."

Keon couldn't stop himself from smirking. "What's it
like training under him?"

"What do you care?"

Keon tried to keep his voice neutral, "just
curious."

Tavis snorted, almost inhaling a face full of dirt.
After coughing it all out he sat up and pushed open the lid. He
drew up his legs and folded his arms as he turned to face Keon. "He
trains us from dusk to dawn, sometimes even after that, like we are
nothing more than goddamn animals. We learn how to use our powers,
and how to fight other hiddens. Either way you look at it though,
the drills and the training are still nothing short of
torture."

Keon chuckled and leaned back. "I remember when I
first learned how to use my powers. It wasn't fun either."

Tavis raised an eyebrow. "Who taught you?"

Keon snorted before saying, "it doesn't matter. At
least not anymore."

Tavis just shrugged before he went on to describe the
torture. "We are trained to use the same power for two straight
weeks until we are ready to collapse. He gives us nothing more than
rabbits and other small animals to feast on in the meantime. Thus
aging our looks and our reflexes and yet still we train. He says
'it makes us better fighters.'"

"Doesn't it?" Keon inquired.

Tavis just shrugged. "I wouldn't know seeing as I
have been sent into battle yet. They teach us how to fight other
hiddens and yet they never give us any opponents to fight."

Keon exhaled a slow breath. "Maybe he's just trying
to make sure you are ready."

Tavis laughs scornfully. "Or he is just a
sadist."

Keon laughed aloud. He then crouched lower so his ear
rested near Tavis's mouth. "But what else does the General do?"

He shrugged. "You mean besides making us all
contemplate suicide? Nothing much else expect on Fridays he goes
into town."

"Why?"

Tavis rolled his eyes. "To get food why else?"

Keon was careful to hide his smirk while Tavis just
slowly raised his eyes to stare up into the tent.