Vampiris Sancti: The Elf (21 page)

Zyre had her
reasons for dragging the reluctant Vampire along because she knew
that even though the demons wouldn’t be able to trap her, they
could make life difficult. A Vampire at her side meant a protective
witness for as predictable as the Empire might be to underestimate
a Martyc would be a foolish gesture and what Zyre had planned was
foolish indeed.

Florian had
lapsed into a stream of babble while she directed the car away from
the safety of Vampire clubs into the centre of the business
district. Zyre had him park the car down a deserted side street and
he glanced warily around as his Vampire senses would note any
creature attempting to hide in the vicinity. His magical passenger
appeared unconcerned by both their location and the possibility of
an unprovoked attack by whatever might have entered from the
Reveal. She hummed her Elf song as she grabbed his sleeve and
before he could blink had transported them to a roof opposite the
most frightening view the city had to offer—the Martyc
fortress.

If resting
across the street from the demonic owned building was not enough to
stir Florian into panic then the sight of several Oric detaching
from the side of the roof certainly would be. Instead of attacking
them the Oric gave the pair a baleful glare as their mousy haired
leader approached Zyre with a familiarity that left the Vampire
certain of imminent betrayal. The Elf was not the least bit worried
over their human audience and gave the leader a cheerful grin,
which he reciprocated with a fierce glower while his compatriots
gripped their weapons in readiness. An unarmed, and obviously
combat ignorant, Florian attempted to blend into the background
while Zyre waved imperiously at the group.

“Shoo, shoo.
The Vampire and I are busy here, go away.”

The leader
hissed at the errant Elf, “You would dare bring a Vampire—you would
dare to dismiss the Holy Order of the Oric. You would dare to keep
interfering in our business?”

There were many
things an Elf would dare and sending a few Oric over the edge of a
building was one of them. Sparks flew as Zyre snapped her
fingertips causing him to step back to hold a murmured conference
with his men before slipping away with a threat.

“This will not
be the last of it, Elf!”

“I hope not!”
she responded with merry disregard.

Zyre pulled the
immaculate Vampire down onto the dirty roof as they crawled closer
to the edge for a better view of the street below.

Florian grabbed
his sleeve from her. “You are getting it all crumpled,” he
complained irritably.

The teal of her
eyes caused him to swallow his outrage and the Vampire had the
common sense to shut up when surveying the most dangerous building
in the city.

Demons and
Vampires had no overt friendship for they interacted out of
necessity and their uneasy truce held only because their interests
were to protect the world they currently inhabited. Whatever
misgivings the Vampire might have he knew it could be a lot worse
if the Varkja below noticed their surveillance, so he employed a
seldom-used wisdom and kept quiet.

The street
below might have looked vacant to a human observer, but both the
Elf and the Vampire took note of the sturdy silent silver beings
guarding the powerful presence of the Empire. Zyre didn’t bothering
looking for the chameleon Poqir and the slight curl of her lips
could have been the memory of him toppling down through a skylight.
Florian started several queries, but each time her startling eyes
reduced him into silence and he learned—as most do—that magical
beings were not the wayward simpletons that legend would have them
believe. Zyre kept her hand on Florian for this allowed them to
stay off the radar of the efficient Varkja. She could hide herself
with her natural abilities, but the Vampire alone would be easy
fodder. Protected under the magic of the Elf they lay there while
the stars came out as the air cooled into night and until a large
black car purred out the hidden garage door.

Zyre needed to
know the occupant of the car before it drove out of her range, but
this required a risk for to focus upon their essence would mean
leaving the Vampire open to discovery. She let go of Florian’s
sleeve and let her senses soar through the sky until they reached
the vehicle, which only took a moment for her to read it as for
once the power of the being within worked against him. The will
that was Vryn Dhaigre impacted upon her mind and she quickly
grabbed hold of the Vampire before the guards below could taste the
ambience of his fear dancing throughout the air. They stayed flat
against the roof remaining motionless, disparate companions
watching the car fade into the distance. Zyre held the Vampire
still; long after the car was out of view as one used to measuring
capacity for escape she knew that time was often the decisive
factor. When satisfied she dragged him upright knowing the action
would alert the Varkja external to the building and they turned en
masse as if the two groups were joined by an invisible wire.
Despite their fearsome strength and speed the security force was no
match for a magical dissolve and by the time they reached the roof
the Elf had removed the Vampire to the opposing roofline. Florian
gasped in shock as they balanced on the ledge, but he was not as
frightened by the potential fall as the welcoming committee that
would be gathered by the time he hit the ground.

The creak of
shifting stone caught their attention and Zyre watched in curiosity
as the Gargoyle attached to the corner turned its head to gaze as
the impertinent intruders. The Vampire froze while an unconcerned
Elf munched on a bar of chocolate because all these dissolves were
eating into her energy and there were a few more to go. They
vanished before the Gargoyle transformed any further and much to
the Vampire’s obvious distress arrived in a dishevelled heap inside
the office of the great Vryn Dhaigre.

Afir was busy
arranging the papers on the desk when the clatter of the Elf and
Florian left him frozen with disbelief at the audacity of this
creature of Folly. Zyre smiled at the demon knowing he wanted to
vent at her madness of invading the chambers of the Martyc with a
Vampire in tow. But then again she was an Elf; sort of almost
betrothed to Dhaigre via the Elders, so she had liberties that were
not afforded to others.

She glanced at
Florian who looked like sinking into the floor below was a
preferable state than inside a demon fortress. She watched Afir
narrow his eyes and interrupted his usual demon rhetoric about how
dangerous and foolish her sudden appearance was.

“Hey hey,” her
eyes burned teal but Zyre was not about to be shouty creature; at
least not just yet.

“I am visiting
the wonderful Vryn Dhaigre. Maybe we do a cup of tea!”

The Elf knew
she didn’t fool the demon and his query was expected.

“And you
brought a Vampire for?”

Zyre linked her
arm through Florian’s. “This be my new friend and all his friends
are my new friends. They are very nice to give me a bed and a
pretty dress for a Ball. They be very upset when we find the stink
of demon on my nice party dress.”

While Florian
looked both terrified and confused Afir did not and she could feel
his comprehension before any shade of it crossed his face. She
strolled over to the desk and shuffled the papers on it.

“Tis shame that
Vryn is not here when I specially came to visit him.”

Other than a
flash through his eyes at her continued use of the Dhaigre’s first
name the Druqe remained silent as she continued to make her
point.

“I wanted to
chat to him about the trespass in Vampire affairs.”

Confusion
cleared on Florian’s face as he finally grasped that somehow there
was an affront to Vampires. The outrage tinging the edges of his
mouth didn’t go unnoticed by the Druqe who gave the Elf an
irritated glare.

Afir nodded.
“I’ll see he gets the message.”

Florian was not
so easily silenced. “What trespass—where?”

His query was
interrupted by the Varkja guards who came bursting through the
doors with the head of security in the lead. The sudden
interruption didn’t surprise Zyre who had felt them as they rode
the elevator up the building. To enforce her point about demon
discourtesy she gave her hand an imperious wave causing the Salvae
to scorch the carpet and the majority of them leapt back into the
hallway. Only the head of security remained and Zyre crossed the
room to give him the benefit of her full attention. This was an
effective way to keep safe in the short term for demons would often
succumb to the hypnotic effect of her proximity, but she knew she
couldn’t hold one as powerful as him for very long. Her immediate
worry was laid to rest once the silver of his eyes met hers as his
longing filled the air, clogging his mind, seeping into a cloud
around his aura. She knew that while the Martyc would be drawn to
the warmth of an Elf being the Varkja was drawn to the violence of
her passion and the evidence of her aggression had him start to
lose control of his objectivity.

She used the
moment of Varkja weakness to turn back to Afir. “Make sure that you
do.”

Finding voice
again Florian objected, “But...But....”

The demon
blinked rapidly for a second, but a second was all an Elf ever
needed and before anyone could react—they were back inside the car.
Florian sat in numb shock for a few seconds before spluttering.

“That was a
bad, crazy, bad, bad thing to do!”

His protests
had no impact upon his companion, so he returned to the purpose of
their intrusion.

“How did they
trespass against Vampires? Did they touch dresses and what dresses
did they touch?”

Zyre watched
the large Mercedes come tearing past the end of the side street
before turning to her appalled companion.

“Mine,” she
said with a joyful lilt. “That big car be Vryn Dhaigre.”

The name of the
Martyc had the Vampire start the engine and squeal down the street
as fast as he could navigate. Driving at breakneck speed Florian
kept his eyes upon the slower human traffic, so he never saw the
look of dismay slip onto the face of an Elf who knew she was well
and truly trapped.

The Aegai

Those from the
Reveal knew of the lumbering servants of dark masters, the Aegai
who served the mutants upon their old world. Focused solely upon
their tasks they walked the human realm unmolested by Vampire,
demon, and human alike. Protected by the Ghuvk, a Council respected
even by the full-blooded demons living along side it, the Aegai
were not accosted out of choice. Their role in the Vampire world
was to protect the Veil, which they did with an obsession that
would allow no interference and any that chose to—did so at their
own peril.

Taken from
their demon world these hulking beings were chosen for the very
reasons that kept their realm from progressing within the Reveal.
Their dim wits and imposing bodies made the perfect combination
required for loyal service. The Ghuvk required beings that were not
only strong enough to deal with the demonic element within the
world, but also those once sent on a mission who would never allow
personal agenda to divert them. They needed servants that would
remain content with superficial authority while performing menial
duties. Standing at seven foot with a breadth no earthly and few
demons possessed a group of Aegai could withstand almost any
demonic attack against the Vampire nation. Their thick scaly skin
provided protection against ordinary bullets and swords, the
greenish hue was protection against most chemicals, and their
bright yellow eyes with feline pupils saw perfectly in the dark.
With these fearsome physical attributes they could have been a
formidable presence within the demonic universe. Instead, due to
their dim wits and startling appearance they remained in the
shadows as loyal servants of the Vampire Council.

Young Vampires
were often scorned as weak impersonators of demon majesty, but the
Ancients, though not accepted openly by other demon factions, were
acknowledged as creatures of impressive attributes. The Ancients
learned how to negotiate demon worlds and how to utilise their
unique skills to ensure all detractors appreciated their increased
power. They found and employed the Aegai in order to keep the Veil
intact and the streets clean of demon or Vampire misdeeds. For the
Ancients didn’t remain on world and wasted no time relocating in
settlements throughout the Reveal. They were not the police or
military force of the Vampires—that providence belonged to the
Runners and instead, the Aegai were the muscle of foot
soldiers.

The Ghuvk
required a class of custodian who had loyalty to none other, who
were incapable of formulating plans of betrayal, and most
importantly could perform menial repetitive tasks without causing
unwarranted attention. Trained for many years these demons from
other worlds had nothing to look forward to beyond being slave
labour to those in power. The Ghuvk in return offered them a titled
status—Honourable Aegai—the creatures never caught on that it was
simply a word in front of their name. They had uniforms resplendent
enough to appear ridiculous, covered with decals, gaudy epaulettes,
and more importantly the freedom to traverse the human world at
night. They were to do their tasks without attracting attention and
no one from the Reveal—if in their right mind dared to stand in
their way. Those demons who refused to appreciate the importance of
the Veil found themselves facing not only a Council of capable
Vampires, but also the support of other demonic factions who
enjoyed trading and traversing the human world. The Aegai were
given one more duty, one they cherished with an almost spiritual
solemnity because they were allowed to rename the Tyros that come
their way. The renaming of a Tyro was done when an unsanctioned
Vampire was found wandering the streets and had not been instantly
destroyed. Their renaming served many purposes; one was to remove
any trail of the human to the Vampire world, another was the final
step in leaving their previous life behind for their Vampire
identity. For reasons never explained or examined, the Aegai were
given the privilege of renaming any unclaimed Vampires and the
results tended to be ridiculous. The Aegai were not the most
imaginative of creatures and easily influenced they tended to enjoy
the lowest form of entertainment. Their range of knowledge came
from dreadful romances, soap operas, and a variety of tawdry
consumer products. From these sources came the outlandish and often
hilarious names that saddled a Vampire for eternity.