Embracing a new life

Chapter 22: Sunrise



Eventually, everyone who had confirmed their attendance was present. Tea had been served, a token of hospitality, usually meant to make the guests feel welcome and comfortable, that had quite the opposite effect on Andreji because he wondered what Sunan was playing at. Had the Council’s chairman not figured out that he had been betrayed yet, despite the (apparently) obvious evidence at hand? Or was this pure tactic, an attempt to lull Andreji into a false sense of security? In any case, Andreji played along and poured himself a cup of the steaming drink, but no fluid moistened his lips when he put the porcelain brim against them. It did not seem like the man for Sunan to try and poison him, but Andreji’s paranoia had served him well in the past, and he was not going to start taking risks, now.



Sunan, clad in a strict but richly embroidered robe as he always was, was the last to lower himself into his seat. ‘I have called this impromptu meeting for a very serious reason. Two hundred years ago, this council passed the resolution that Alaric, as the head of the countermovement that tried to preserve the old ways of ruthlessly killing humans, could no longer be tolerated in our midst. We had to keep him from spreading his immoral beliefs. Andreji insisted that at least he should be given a fair chance: a fight for his seat. A duel between Alaric and his potential successor – Andreji.



‘The duel was fought, and Andreji emerged from it as the winner,’ he nodded respectfully in said man’s direction, a gesture that Andreji returned. ‘He reported that Alaric was gone and proved that by demonstrating his newly won power over Alaric’s spirits.



‘Over the centuries, there were always rumours going round about sightings of Alaric, but none of them seemed genuine. It seemed only natural that an old and powerful man like him, with so many influential connections all over the world, would not be easily forgotten. However, of late, the reports have grown more numerous – instead of lessening, as the course of time would suggest. Furthermore, they are more precise: “Alaric” – or a man looking very much like him – was spotted several times in Scotland in the past weeks, and yesterday I had two calls from people claiming they had seen him in a specific museum in Edinburgh last weekend.’



Fabien glanced sideways at Andreji, who ignored him steadfastly.



‘They saw him in the company of the French council member,’ Sunan added and fixed Fabien with his stare.



Fabien played the innocent, claiming he had already been in Scandinavia at the time, but Andreji saw how the hand in his trouser pocket tightened around the hilt of the dagger he always carried with him. He also silently cursed Fabien’s sudden lack of cunning. Had the Frenchman admitted that he had been in the museum (though how he had been coaxed into such a house in the first place was a mystery to Andreji), things would be much more plausible. Mistaking one person for another was one thing, convincing Sunan that both his informants had been wrong about the identity of two men, of which one was widely known, because he attended each gathering, bordered on being an impossible feat. He had to make up his mind fast or this would wind up to be a very messy business. He placed a hand on Fabien’s forearm to tell him to keep calm and countered Sunan’s probing gaze coolly. He usually preferred remaining uninvolved, but that was impossible at this point, so he chose to follow old wisdom: attack is the best defence.



From his recent meandering through Europe without the slightest attempt at secrecy, Andreji concluded that Jawid’s will to keep his head down had run out. Thus, there was no reason to shield him any longer. Andreji leaned back leisurely and crossed his legs in a gesture of relaxation and indifference. ‘I really don’t understand what all this fuss is about. I never said I killed my tutor in the first place. That would be very disloyal, would it not?’ He pointed out in a bored voice.



The Council members stared at him, some in disbelief, some in outrage, some in a facsimile of either to appear clueless even though they were anything but. Sunan, however, barely let on to his surprise. His gaze measured Andreji. ‘Do you believe that disloyalty to this Council is of no consequence?’



Andreji pulled the corners of his mouth lopsidedly upwards in a humourless imitation of a smirk. ‘I did consider many consequences. The consequences of murdering a man of such age and wisdom, for nothing but standing in for his beliefs. They are not entirely mine, but is not the philosophy that made you oppose his world views one of living and letting live? How does that correspond with killing people who are of a different opinion?’ Andreji’s gaze was relentless.



‘I also considered the consequences the death of Alaric would have for the Council. Consequences that I believe you sorely underestimated. You do not honestly believe that those who were – and still are, I might add, now – on Alaric’s side would have stood for his assassination? That is what it was, is it not? An attempt at removing your most influential opponent. You wanted the whole Council to turn against him, to eliminate him for you. My proposal was only accepted as an alternative to setting over a dozen Council members on one because you knew I had grown stronger than Alaric. That I was likely to win.’ The white haired man looked about, meeting each Council member’s gaze to emphasise the seriousness of his claims.



‘You never mess in other people’s business. You did not challenge Alaric when the members of his clan complained about him, neither did you move a finger when his successor grew an even worse leader. The Council does not interfere, you always claim. It really makes me wonder what it is there for at all, but that is a different question. The matter at hand is why you would thrive to execute one person of thousands who openly stood against ceasing man-hunting. Why this one man of the half a dozen in the Council who did not bow to the new morals? And why not finish him yourself?’



Andreji shrugged, his eyes fixed on Sunan with a predator’s stare, ready to strike. His voice was lower, when he went on more forceful. ‘Because you feared him. Because he was your equal, perhaps even superior. A direct rival. The man who had been offered the Council headship several times. You were only its chairman because he had not wanted the job. Because Alaric throve for freedom and did not want another responsibility burdening his shoulders and eating up more of his precious time. You feared his unpredictability. He was a thorn in your eye. And I was your tool to remove it, was I not?’



Sunan’s face had hardened. The other Council members now stared at him. Some with the same disbelief in their eyes that they had stared at Andreji with before, their view of the man shifting or threatening to cave in. Sunan, who had always appeared so wise, so selfless, a schemer? Others had an eager gleam in their eyes, ready to witness the downfall of an opponent. In all actuality, Andreji did not feel comfortable with what he was doing. He was caught between his own reluctance to kill and thus his understanding for the other vampires’ aims and his dislike of forcing opinions on people and his loyalty for the few people who valued him. He sensed that he was going to cause exactly the uproar that he had tried to avoid in the past two centuries. Within five minutes, he had overthrown Sunan’s reputation and had drawn a picture of Sunan the villain, and Andreji doubted that picture was accurate.



‘And I had deemed you a friend,’ Sunan murmured, cognisant of the corner that Andreji had driven him into.



‘I would say we are quit. You forced me into a two hundred years lasting tight spot in order to protect my mentor, in which I constantly had to deceive almost everyone I knew and always had to fear the dagger behind my back, and now it is upon you to justify yourself. Should you have truly believed that friendship was possible under these circumstances, then you were a fool,’ Andreji commented darkly. ‘However,’ he softened his tone, ‘nothing is settled yet. Little has happened. Everyone is alive and well and you have led this Council through a time of peace. I think there are few amongst us who do not know the lure of power. Relenting your post will be enough payment for your misdeeds, I should think. After all, the Council agreed with your course of action at the time.’



Fabien looked in apparent disapproval at Andreji, for he hungered for proper revenge, not peace-making, yet so did Sunan. ‘You betray the Council and suggest that I be punished?!’



That changed Fabien’s demeanour immediately. He chuckled amusedly, his eyes sparkling and his big grin presenting his perfectly white (and dangerous) teeth. ‘That’s how fast the tables turn.’ The Russian member joined in with a chuckle of his own, giving Andreji the feeling of sitting amongst a group of leering hyenas. Ah, would that there were such a thing as black and white, good and bad! In reality, choices were much harder to make.



‘I understand you refuse to take my advice?’ Andreji asked Sunan neutrally, ignoring Fabien’s comment.



To Sunan, however, the statement was a provocation. He lifted his chin and did not even deem it worth of any further answer.



‘Why do we not put this to a vote?’ Andreji proposed. ‘Let the Council decide who is in the wrong.’ It was a risk, but a calculated one. He had gone a long way to shedding bad light on the other man, and as he had already noticed in advance, his odds were better tonight than they had been in a long time.



Sunan gazed stonily at him, not giving anything away. Then, suddenly, he seemed to have made up his mind. ‘No. No vote can settle this. There will always remain doubt as long as this is not handled properly. A duel. You and me.’



Andreji lifted a brow and sighed. ‘Fine.’ He had expected this. ‘Under one condition: we fight until one of is subdued. Killing is not an option. The Council will punish accordingly whoever oversteps this rule. After all, this is the core of all these disputes, is it not? The moral question whether a vampire ought to kill or not. You know I have never killed for fun. I would not gain any satisfaction from it today.’



Sunan remained stony for a moment; then he inclined his head in a respectful nod. ‘Do you require time for preparation?’ he enquired.



Andreji folded his hands. ‘I am ready. Yet I will wait should you need it.’



Fabien made an impatient sound, obviously unnerved by the polite chatter that someone like him, who preferred the direct approach, had no appreciation for. ‘Mon Dieu, vous êtes ennemis!’ he muttered.



Sunan shook his head and rose from his seat. They moved outside, Andreji accepting the open field that the other man suggested as venue for their fight.







Jawid paced restlessly over the polished floorboards of Andreji’s living room. It was near dawn. He had almost made up his mind to retire for the day, when he finally heard an engine in the driveway. With hurried steps, he strode through the house and wrenched the front door open.



Fabien stepped out of the driver’s door and met his anxious, questioning gaze. ‘Help me,’ the Frenchman called to him and opened a door to the backseat. ‘We have prevailed. Andreji was brilliant!’ he called out to the older vampire. ‘But he is weakened.’



The dark-haired Arab arrived at the car and looked down on the motionless figure of his descendant. No, not entirely motionless. There was the barest hint of the rising and sinking of his chest indicating respiration. ‘What has transpired?’ he demanded.



Fabien looked eastwards. For a vampire’s eye, the sky was burning with light already, even though to a human, there was but the smallest trace of grey on the dark blue firmament. ‘Let us get him inside; then I will fill you in.’



They carried the young man into the light-proof basement and, for good measure, carried two armchairs down as well, since the room had no furniture expect for a single bed that was occupied by the unconscious master of the house. Fabien lit a fire in a small iron stove and Jawid checked up on Andreji. He was pale, and his skin was clammy. He was way too cold.



Resenting the fact that he had to do it in the presence of a third vampire, he made a small cut in his own wrist and pulled Andreji’s heavy upper body into an almost sitting position, so that his blood could slowly trickle down the other man’s throat. He massaged the taller man’s neck to make sure his swallowing reflexes worked. ‘Now,’ he ordered with a voice that allowed no objections, ‘tell me what has happened.’



Fabien sunk into one of the armchairs. ‘It was amazing!’



‘Yes, you’ve mentioned that already. Get to the point,’ Jawid reprimanded him.



The Frenchman huffed. ‘Someone had seen you and me in the museum. Not only there. One might almost think you’ve provoked this intentionally, considering how often you’ve been sighted of late.’



They exchanged dark looks.



‘In any case, in contrast to his usual way of handling things, Andreji for once chose the direct approach and went about it very cleverly, if I may say so. With a few sly words he twisted everything around and suddenly Sunan was the aggressor, the one that has aimed to get you out of his way.’ Fabien chuckled. ‘It was hilarious! His own people eyed Sunan like an alien!’



Jawid gently placed Andreji’s head back on the pillow and took care of his cut. ‘And why his state, then?’ he questioned.



Fabien shook his head. ‘I didn’t really understand why he did it,’ he said nebulously. ‘First his slyness, then he accepts Sunan’s wish for a duel, even though Sunan was as good as finished anyway. He suddenly played the fair guy, claimed he in truth agreed with Sunan’s moral views, just not with his methods of forcing his views on others. To honour these, he insisted on a non-fatal fight.’



Jawid smirked. ‘It’s obvious why he insisted on that: it will appease the other side. I assume not everyone was present?’



Fabien nodded. ‘Luck was on our side.’



‘As I thought. Andreji is an intelligent man – he thinks ahead. Beating and killing the council chairman while some of the members were absent would have been a huge provocation. This way, he gave us the position of the morally superior. All Andreji did was not kill me and then lie about it-’



‘Not even that. He never claimed you were dead. He always said “gone”,’ Fabien pointed out with a grin.



The Arab waved the comment aside like a bothersome fly. ‘Those are technicalities that matter little. Again: all he did was disobey an order of the council, the order to fight to death. An order that contradicted their own philosophy of non-violence. Had he killed Sunan, the situation would have been a different one. It might have meant war. Had he just insisted on Sunan giving up his chairmanship, the man would have been back as soon as the other members had been informed. Yet a duel, a fair fight agreed upon by both parties, cannot be undone. The result of it is set in stone. Which leads me back to my initial question: why is he unconscious?!’



‘Demon.’



‘Pardon?’ Jawid asked for elaboration.



‘He invited a demon,’ Fabien stated again.



‘He did what?’ Jawid flared up. Demons were highly dangerous spirits. Those that sought control over the flesh. Meddling with them meant playing with one’s life.



‘They fought for hours. Andreji was by far the stronger, the slyer, absolutely superior. But the spirit fight is designed for the absolute. They do not subdue. They play with their victims and they kill them. Andreji had Sunan cornered several times, but that was it. Eventually, he would break free once more and the fight would recommence. So, in the end, Andreji elected what seemed the only option since Sunan did not surrender. To be frank, I do not believe it was the first time that Andreji used these forces. He knew what he was doing. He and the demon were certainly not strangers to each other.’







It was approaching dawn. Everyone was throwing worried glances eastwards, where the faintest shimmer of blue heralded the hated fire god. Some of the Council’s elders already made for the nearby building or sought a more hidden shelter.



One of Andreji’s lower spirits, incidentally also a being of the fire, was closing in on his opponent once more. Again, Sunan managed to defeat the flames by letting the earth literally swallow them. The Asian was blackened and singed; his clothes were torn by the wind, and his body bore a multitude of bruises from ungentle meetings with the ground.



His opponent, in contrast, was unscathed. His long hair bound back and flowing in a white tail, he hovered two or three dozen feet above the ground, watching the other vampire struggle. Yet, as Sunan fought to quench the flames that still licked at his clothes, he sunk back down to the earth, a low murmur steadily falling from his lips. Andreji dropped his coat and kicked off his shoes, and suddenly – fast like an arrow – he attacked Sunan with his bare hands. Despite the other man’s dejected state, he managed to evade the attack and take up a fighting stance himself. The barest hint of a smile touched the corners of his mouth: he had hoped his younger opponent would finally lose his patience and make a mistake. That he would be so foolish to completely discard the fighting style that presented him with such an advantage was, however, beyond Sunan’s wildest hopes. In a physical fight, Sunan stood a very good chance of prevailing!



Or so he thought until he met his opponent head on. And gazed, for the glimpse of a second before he barely evaded a blow, into the other man’s eyes. Or what once had been his eyes. Now, they were blank, unseeing. There was no pupil, no iris left in them. They were milky white.



Appalled, Sunan shrunk back. He was no longer fighting a four hundred years old fellow vampire; he was fighting a being way beyond his knowledge or power. Why? No one called upon one of them for aid! It was nearly impossible to control them!



Andreji circled him like the predator that he was. Sunan could do nothing but keep an eye on him. It was the first break Andreji gave him in hours, the first time that he could have started a counter attack, but Sunan knew it would be folly. He stood no chance. You had promised me! he thought with a feeling of betrayal. You had promised me that there would be no killing tonight. And now you abandon me to die like this! he accused Andreji. It made no sense! Andreji was risking his own life on top of Sunan’s! And possibly even the lives of the bystanders. What was he playing at?



Sweat broke out on Sunan’s forehead. He sought desperately for some way out of this, for some way to subdue the demon that now resided in his opponent’s body. And then the blood froze in his veins.



‘I think we have settled by now who is the winner of our little duel. I, for my part, have no intention of taking a sunbath. Surrender, Sunan,’ Andreji’s voice resounded over the empty field. It was low and hoarse, as if it put the man under enormous strain to speak. Yet the miracle was that he did speak! Sunan had never witnessed anything like it. Back in the old days, when he had just recently stepped into the services of his master and his people knew nothing of the countries in the west, many of them had aimed for the highest goal. The one skill that would put them above all else. It was a tradition that at a certain age, and if they had reached a certain level of knowledge and skill, a vampire could attempt to control ‘the highest spirit’, as they used to call it. The one who succeeded would have become their leader, godlike. Yet no one ever did. The ritual commanded that a number of at least one hundred strong vampires were to attend, heavily armed, and do away with the possessed should he not be able to gain control over the spirit, the demon, until sunrise. The ritual rarely ended without losses. Never had any of the aspirants been able to communicate with them.



And yet here he stood, witness to the impossible. And Andreji approached him. Fear coursing through his body, Sunan dropped to his knees. ‘You have proven yourself. Beyond any doubt,’ he uttered in awe.



‘You officially declare surrender and that you will not seek revenge?’



Sunan bowed lowly.



Andreji bowed stiffly back. Then, he turned, and walked toward the car. ‘Fabien,’ he called out with restrain in his voice.



The Frenchman took a few weary steps in his direction.



Andreji reached the car, a few hundred metres away from the fighting spot. Despite the ever growing blue on the horizon, the others had still not moved.



From afar, Fabien saw Andreji slump against the car and a storm break loose around him. The white haired man stopped moving. His companion sped up.



When Fabien reached Andreji, the storm had subsided to a strong wind, and the other man managed to look up at him with grey, bloodshot eyes. ‘I have exhausted myself,’ he murmured so that a human ear would not have been able to perceive it. ‘Take me to safety.’







River stopped his car in front of the house and jumped up the stairs to the front door. He knocked impatiently at the door and listened for any signs of movement. It took several minutes (he of course had knocked several more times by then) until steps approached and the door was opened.



‘Andreji awaits you in the living room,’ he announced and thus answered River’s most urgent question – Andreji was alive and well enough to be up and about. Or was he? Why opened Jawid the door, not him?



River hurried past the Arab and entered the living room, where a blazing fire caused an almost uncomfortable heat. Andreji sat – nay, lay – on the sofa, a blanket draped over him. He was pale and – could that be after just a week? – thinner. He looked at River and smiled, yet he did not sit up or move in any other way in greeting.



The blond went to him and sat down on the edge of the sofa, scanning his lover’s chalk-white features. ‘What’s happened?’



Andreji closed his eyes, smiling, and shook his head minutely. ‘I told you I was playing dangerous games. I won, but at a cost.’ The man’s voice was quiet.



Before River could dig deeper, there was another knock at the door. The two older vampires’ gazes met.



‘Would you be so kind and take a careful glimpse out of the window?’ Andreji whispered.



His raised eyebrow asking what was going on, River moved over to the curtains and pushed them apart to peer outside. ‘There are two men. A quite short but athletic one with very short hair in a neat suit and a second, taller one in fur.’



Jawid stepped up to him and peered over his head. ‘Fabien and Serik.’



‘Serik of all people?’ Andreji commented dryly.



Jawid looked smug. ‘I feel like opening the door.’



Andreji chuckled but broke off and inhaled sharply.



While Jawid went to greet their visitors, River sidled back to the sofa. ‘What’s wrong?’



Andreji shook his head again. ‘I merely exhausted myself.’



‘One could say that,’ the shorter of the two visitors exclaimed at his entrance. ‘Or you could say that he made the whole Council shudder in reverence. You must be the newest addition to the family,’ he greeted River and offered his hand.



The other man stopped in the door to the living room, eyeing the whole scene with special attention for the oldest man in the room.



‘Serik has come to make an offer in the name of the Council,’ Fabien motioned for the man to speak.



The addressed man bowed. ‘Alaric, Andreji,’ he addressed the assembled men.



‘I have taken up the name I was given at birth. I am Jawid,’ he was corrected roughly.



Serik bowed in deference and continued with the message he had been sent to deliver. ‘It was decided that since Sunan has left the Council and in the face of the power you displayed, the chairmanship should be offered to you.’



River ogled first at him, then at Andreji. His lover, however, showed no signs of being impressed. ‘I will consider it.’







Later that night, when the visitors had left, Andreji slumbered on the sofa. River gently caressed his face.



‘You are a lucky young man. You could not have found a more powerful – and cunning – master,’ Jawid, sitting in an armchair, commented.



River looked up at him. ‘I don’t care for his power. I care for the person that he is.’



FIN


A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing!