The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith (30 page)

Greyfriar's map led her to the outskirts of little Canterbury.

The town was so much smaller than London. Buildings were overgrown, covered in vines, and trees grew out of collapsed roofs. The
tower of a great central church rose out of the red-roofed morass like a
mountain above the jungle. There was something orderly and clean
here. The air didn't stink of blood and offal. Her feet didn't crunch over
the skeletal remains of long-discarded meals. Adele felt comforted as
she walked under the bright starlight. And the sky was empty of dark
figures.

As she made her way into the outskirts of the wise old town, Adele
recaptured the same sense of security she had felt clinging to the monoliths. She had a strange awareness that some vague protection seemed to
waft from the ground, from the grass-choked cobblestones under her
sore feet. Perhaps it was just the fact that less blood had been spilled
here than elsewhere. Perhaps it was just the knowledge that she was not
under the eyes of vampires that gave her an irrational sense of freedom.

Adele didn't know where to go. There were no notes on the mapjust a mark under the word "Canterbury." It made sense, though, to
choose the main landmark, the church tower, as a rendezvous spot.

When Adele reached the magnificent cathedral, she began to feel a
sweet heaviness in the air, ancient and inexplicable. Pleasure tingled
through her. She entered the massive church slowly and was nearly overwhelmed by a surge of emotion that felt like a sheet of warm water
rushing up. She couldn't understand it, but she knew it was natural,
something that she was meant to experience. It brought a peace and contentment she had expected for so long and had been missing, although
she had never experienced it before. At the same time she was burning;
every nerve was shimmering. Adele dropped to her knees and clutched
her hands before her, hoping for some guidance to help her understand this thunderbolt that racked her exhausted but energized frame. She was
enveloped by the glory around her and she was lost.

Then Adele found herself standing in the sunlight with her hands
on the peeling wooden door frame for support. She had no idea how long
she had been inside the cathedral. The young woman staggered out and
settled on the stone steps in magnificent exhaustion and tried to collect
her thoughts. Her clothes were drenched in perspiration, and she could
feel tears still running down her dirty face.

A hand reached for Adele. She saw it out of the corner of her eye and
recoiled, but the gloved hand snagged her cloak. Her blade glinted.

"Don't struggle, Princess."

Greyfriar!

She gasped and fell against the swordsman as he knelt at her side.
"You're alive!"

He took her hard by the shoulders, holding her for a long moment
without speaking as her fingers curled in the material of his thick jacket.
They both silently rejoiced they had found each other. Then his masked head
tilted as he regarded her soaked, shaking frame. "What happened to you?"

Adele wasn't able to discuss the "event" in the cathedral because it
didn't seem real now that she was again beside him. Back in a world of
masks and swords and guns and blood. And she was more concerned by
the distress she sensed in him. He was tense and stiff, as if in pain. His
voice was strained, even though the sound of it exhilarated her.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just tired. Lack of food.
Light-headed."

Greyfriar released her and stood back. "I'm grateful you made it
here. I'm sorry I couldn't find you in London." He handed her a canteen.

Adele drank greedily, then wiped her mouth and eyed him with a
slightly curious smile. "You sound as if you didn't expect me to make it
without you."

"No, not at all."

"You just tossed me a knife and a map and sent me off. Didn't you
think I could survive alone?"

"Yes, Princess. Of course. I'm just grateful that you did survive.
Were you followed?"

"Not so far as I could tell. I saw a few vampires along the way. I
thought two surely saw me, but they didn't. I was standing next to some
stones. Like monoliths."

Greyfriar nodded. "That was fortunate. Vampires don't like those
places." He indicated the towering church behind them. "This place too.
They never come to Canterbury if they can help it."

"Why?"

The swordsman shrugged and ran a trembling hand over his masked
face. "I don't know. The place disturbs them."

Adele touched his arm. "Are you okay? You don't seem well to me.
Did Flay injure you?"

He pulled farther back. "Nothing to worry about. Come. I know
where you can hide and rest. But only briefly. We must move fast if we're
to keep you out of Flay's hands again."

"Of course. Lead on." Despite his apparent illness or injury, she
couldn't hide her joy, so happy she was to see him alive.

They left the center of tranquil Canterbury and returned to the
rolling green ruins. Adele didn't feel as safe away from the cathedral, but
she noted with relief that Greyfriar seemed to have recovered his energy
and stamina. He moved with his normal lithe ferocity.

Soon they topped a low rise, and Adele drew in a sharp gasp at what
lay before them. A farm. A small house with a few rude outbuildings
surrounded by freshly plowed fields. A couple of cows and pigs wandered the dirt yard around the house. And beyond it were more farms
just the same. There were humans working. This picturesque glade
could have been anywhere in the world. The Nile Valley. Cyprus. Adele
couldn't believe it. The humans of the far north were ignorant animals.
This village was impossible.

At the farmhouse, Greyfriar knocked gently on the door. An old
man with silver hair opened it. The man's crinkled eyes widened in surprise and delight, and he opened the door even wider and gestured for
his guest to enter quickly. He was dressed shabbily and was very ill
kempt, but his humanity remained.

"Greyfriar! It warms my heart to see you again and that God has kept
you safe." The old eyes paused on Adele for a moment, and even in that brief span of attention, she felt as if her whole soul had been weighed and judged.
He smiled kindly at her and then returned his gaze to the swordsman.

Greyfriar said, "It is good to see you well too, Alphonse." His voice
lowered even further, as if he was ashamed to ask a favor of this man. "I
need shelter and food for my companion."

"I figured as much. It is rare that you travel with anyone." Alphonse
turned to Adele. "Greetings. Our humble abode is at your disposal."

"Th-thank you," the girl replied with a small bow, feeling as if she
was doing a poor job of hiding her shame at a lifetime of dismissing poor
gentle souls like this man as cattle.

"We don't have much in the way of food, but it is yours to share."
He waved a hand behind him, and a small frail form came into view. She
was an elderly woman whom Adele assumed was Alphonse's wife, with
snow white hair to match his.

The woman said to Adele, "Come, little one. You look done in. Sit
here. My lord, you're injured. Look at the blood on your clothes. You
need tending!" She glared at Greyfriar. "Men!"

Adele smiled at the silent swordsman as she collapsed onto a threelegged stool. "No, I'm fine. Very little of this blood is mine. What may
I call you?"

"Nina."

The old woman disappeared for a moment and brought back a
steaming bowl of soup. Soup! The wafting aroma encircled Adele with
soothing warmth. She briefly wondered what it was made of, but when
Nina slid a spoon in front of her, Adele dug in with relish. It was a vegetable soup, thin but delicious.

Nina held up a second bowl for Greyfriar, but Alphonse waved her
aside. After all this time, the swordsman had never eaten with them, as
if he knew they had little enough and had no wish to place more burden
on them. Greyfriar inclined his head politely toward Nina, acknowledging her graciousness. Nina smiled and returned the bowl to the pot
bubbling on the fire.

The old woman sat beside Adele and observed the young girl as she
ate. A hesitant hand reached out and touched the once-fine cloak that
hung in tatters over Adele's shoulders.

"I'm sorry about my appearance," Adele said through a mouthful of
soup.

"I've never seen anything so fine as that garment must have been.
Are you a free human?"

Before Adele could answer, Greyfriar informed Alphonse, "She needs
a change of clothes."

"You are being hunted," the older man said.

Greyfriar nodded. "She was in the Tower in London."

Nina's hand flew to her mouth. "They could follow you here."

Alphonse looked sharply at his wife while he said, "Of course they
could. And it doesn't matter. They have asked for help and they shall
have it."

Nina straightened a bit, ashamed, and glanced askew at Adele.
Then, drawing a gentle sigh, she announced, "I'll get some clothes."

When she returned, she handed them to Alphonse. He patted her
frail old hand and then offered the bundle to Adele.

"They aren't pretty, but they will serve to hide you, make you one of
us.

The clothes were rough homespun, like the attire of practically every
human she had come across since entering vampire territory.

Adele pulled Greyfriar aside and whispered, "We must go."

He replied quietly, "We'll go soon enough. You need to rest."

"No! We have to go. Flay will come again. I won't have these people
killed because they harbored me."

"They know me. They accept the risk."

"So did the people in Riez," Adele snapped. "The risk is too high."

"These people live with the constant threat of vampires, Princess.
They could be struck down any day. Helping you will give their lives a
purpose. You must see that."

Adele rubbed her face in exhaustion. She nodded against her will.

"Change now and then rest," Greyfriar told her. He stared out the
window, as if anxious to be gone. "We'll only stay a few hours. Then we
will be on our way."

Nina showed Adele where she could change behind a blanket
stretched across a corner of the cabin. When the princess emerged, she was dressed like any other human in the north. If Greyfriar hadn't known her
to be royalty he would have thought her only a mere farm girl except for
her poise and the determined expression on her face. Even dressed in rags,
she was powerful and beautiful. She regarded him curiously, a silent smile
in her eyes. He half expected her to twirl for his inspection.

Adele placed her original garments on the table. "Nina, you may have
these if you wish. Perhaps you can sell them. A little money could-"

"Burn them," Greyfriar commanded.

"What?" Adele retorted with angry surprise.

"Flay will have her hunters out. They know your scent."

"Hunters?"

Nina's whisper was laced with so much fear it sent chills up Adele's
spine. The princess looked at Greyfriar with fearful curiosity.

"Hunters are raw vampires," Greyfriar explained. "Throwbacks.
They have changed little since the dawn of time. They are more primal
than clan vampires. They are true to the animal nature of the race. They
are trained to track and kill prey."

Adele flashed back to the tunnel under the Thames. That creature
had behaved more like an animal, but it had the same twisted sickness
she had witnessed with vampires.

"What do they look like?" Adele's voice was no louder than Nina's
now. "I think I saw one."

Greyfriar immediately turned to her. Even through the smoked
glasses she knew she had alarmed him.

"I doubt it. If you had seen one, you'd be dead."

"I killed it in the tunnel. Under the Thames."

"You came through a tunnel?" He stepped up to her and grabbed
her shoulder.

"I-I was trying to lose Flay's soldiers. There was someone, something in there along with the ..." She glanced at Nina and Alphonse
nervously, but couldn't find the words to describe the encounter. The
very memory of its touch and breath made her ill. "It was hairy and ...
like an animal. It didn't speak. It just growled."

"You say you killed it?" The disbelief in Greyfriar's voice was
evident.

"Yes." Adele straightened determinedly, pushing back her dark
memories in the face of Greyfriar's impertinent doubts.

"You ... are amazing."

That shocked her. "What?"

"You killed a vampire when your ship crashed. And now a hunter. I
know of no human who has managed that."

"She killed a vampire?" Alphonse's response was a mix of awe and
dread.

"Indeed." Greyfriar squeezed Adele's shoulder. "Get some rest."

"What about you?" Adele was worried about him. He never seemed
to rest when she rested.

"I'll rest in a bit. But I want to check the area first."

She couldn't control the swell of anxiety that flooded her as she
watched him leave. She felt safer with him than without him; bad things
happened when he wasn't around.

Greyfriar walked beside the freshly turned fields, observing the
valley's farmers as they settled for the night. One young man was putting away his herd, two cows. His farm was near the edge of the woods,
where it was dark and remote. He was ideal.

Greyfriar slipped into the woods and removed his glasses, relishing
the moment when he could look upon the world with unshaded eyes. It
was much brighter, with much more color. He unwound his head wrap,
letting the breeze dry his heated skin. Then he pulled off his gloves and
unstrapped his human weapons.

The young farmer was in the process of closing the gate of his cattle
pen and had his back turned to Gareth. A cold hand fell upon the man's
shoulder, and he spun around and saw the marked features of a vampire.
There was no scream from his throat, almost as if he were expecting it.

Gareth's fingers brushed along the man's jaw. "Do not be afraid. You
will not die tonight, but I need sustenance." Gareth wished there was
some other way, but the fight with Flay had drained him, and there was
still a long flight ahead. He could not protect Adele if he did not feed.