Antithesis: The Vampire Alliance Book Three - FIRST DRAFT COMPLETED

Antithesis Chapter 30: Robert Blakethorn August 2013

Robert Blakethorn, August 2013

Saying goodbye to Eve had been horrific. I’ve only just gotten her back and now I’m leaving her again. If anything happens to her... I can’t feel that again, I can’t feel her life wink out in a second of pain. Just thinking about it makes me want to turn the car around, go back, refuse to leave her side.

“She’ll be alright,” Keep says from the passenger seat. His reassurance may have done more for me if I couldn’t feel his own desire to turn around. “She’ll be fine.”
“Are you trying to persuade me or yourself?” I request despondently.

“Both,” he answers honestly, “before I demand you turn the car around even though I know she’s right and this is an opportunity as well as a necessity. She’s strong, she’s smart, she has Pat and the others; she’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t do anything reckless.”

Eve and reckless do tend to walk hand in hand unfortunately, and we both know it. Hell, we’ve left her in a place she herself said is going to be attacked by the army. She’s never been to war, she has no notion what she’s getting herself into. If the Senate places tanks and machine guns in front of her she’ll charge them, because the direct approach is very much her way. She’s so damn determined to do what she feels is right no matter what the risk to her person.

What was it she’d said just before we left? “I’ll keep your house safe, promise.” Like the house matters that much, Eve and Keep are all I care about when it boils down to it.

“I should have bowed out of this years ago, taken her away from it.” I murmur, more to myself than to Keep, restating the thought I’d had so many times.

“This mess would have followed, you know,” he answers. “She is who and what she is, sooner or later that would’ve become public knowledge. Anyway, how would we have been resolved if you’d run with her? I wouldn’t have let you vanish and sooner or later I would’ve realised I loved her. This road we’ve taken has at least forced a solution which we may never have even considered under more peaceful circumstances.”

“So the bright side is that you get to screw my wife?” My tone is harsh, but I can’t help a brief grin.

Keep feels momentarily abashed but then chuckles too, “More that we both get to be happy with our wife, in between the chaos.”

We fall silent for a time as the vehicle devours the road between Yorkshire and Kent. Eventually I sigh, admitting, “It’s not true though, you know? That it took this mess to find this resolution. She would have led us here either way, because she’s worth chasing and we both know it. Maybe Eve was always going to be the thing that broke down the last wall between us. She was finally the right girl for us both to fall for.”

Keep smiles slightly. “The last wall. It’s the one decision that probably would shock our parents you know, us. Though I should’ve known you loved me,” he taunts. “I mean what sort of bachelor lives like a hermit for the better part of a century unless he’s hiding something?”

Laughing I shake my head, “So says the man who turned down two perfectly willing, naked girls at a music festival to share a tent with said hermit.”

He grins, but then his expression saddens slightly, “You know Eve’s jealous of our history. She might always be. I wish she could have turned up sooner, existed sooner.”

“She’s jealous of our shared history. I’m jealous of the small amount of time you two spent together without me. I’m fairly sure you’re jealous of the years I had with Eve.” Frowning I add without accusation, “You always were to be honest. That envy doesn’t help any of us. We need to create a future so that we don’t need to be jealous of the past.” That I’m certain of, although I too wish Eve had been around from the start.

“And that’s why we can’t turn around,” Tul states resolutely. “We need to carve a future for ourselves and to do that we need to do as Eve suggests. We need to put an end to the Senate’s wrong-doing.” After a pause he adds quietly, “She’ll be fine.”
“She’ll be fine,” I agree, despite the nagging worry. “We’ll all be fine.”

It’s a long journey to Kent, especially travelling at the speed limit to avoid any unwanted delays caused by police or those given the right to stop, arrest and take us to be executed. Not that we would be easy to ‘take’ but the delay caused by needing to escape would be inconvenient, as would the consequences of fighting the mortals.

When we arrive in Kent I’m no more happy leaving Keep in Maidstone than I was leaving Eve in Yorkshire. However, this will go more quickly if we each play our own part rather than both of us going through each task together, one at a time. As he opens the car door to get out my knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel in nervous frustration.

Feeling my anxiety, Keep turns back towards me and watches me silently. I don’t want to let him go without saying goodbye, without voicing what I feel, without pledging everything I had pledged to Eve to him as well. My voice is difficult to find though. This moment of shy uncertainty is ridiculous considering all we’ve been through but perhaps a century of denying this possibility, of not even accepting it ourselves, is harder to overcome than it had appeared with Eve to encourage us. Looking away, I stare out at the road and the night.

“Rob?” Keep’s tone is gentle, probing but also as uncertain as my thoughts. Then he sighs, this man I have known all my life and as he breathes out he exhales his doubts and proves once more that he will almost always find change easier than I will. Everywhere except at Norham House. He leans towards me, his lips touching mine in a brief kiss that relates to me all of the things I find it so difficult to say.
“Do not die,” I whisper then pull him briefly closer.

Keep laughs as he pulls away. “I’ll be fine, Eve will be fine, you will be fine and tomorrow we’ll mould a new world.”

Nodding, I concede to releasing him, “Alright, let’s give this new existence a chance to come about then.”

Despite my concession I can’t help fearing as I pull away, leaving him standing on the kerb. If any of us is going to die again today is a likely day. Splitting up goes against every natural instinct I have bar one, my instinct to trust Eve.

It’s only a short drive to the place Eve had indicated on the dated and worn ordinance survey map we had managed to borrow from Pat. Cameron’s shelter lies behind high, barbed-wire-topped walls and fences. Not that such barrier can stop me; it barely even slows me down thanks to Eve’s blood. Patrolling guards try to remain silent as they navigate the dark grounds surrounding the entrance to the underground bunker but I can hear them as their feet rustle the grass and crunch over gravel. I can hear the sniffing and panting of the dogs and the clanking of their chains as well, and both man and beast are easy to avoid.

The scuttling of rats is also as clear as ringing bells and the scent of vermin taints the air. How desperate must the human Prime Minister be too come to a place such as this? Does he really think us so terrible, so much a threat, that he would hide away here?

Cameron should be safe in his bunker. No one but his own people should know where he is. We wouldn’t have known if not for Eve. If anyone else does discover his location the high walls will keep out most vampires and those who get through will fear the silver and garlic bullets loaded into the guns the guards carry. And it’s really obvious the guards are carrying weapons designed to take out vampires. Even from my place in the shadows I can smell the metallic tang of silver and the pungent aroma of garlic. These mortals are prepared alright, but not for me, not for my kind, for Eve’s kind.

The two guards positioned at the steel doors leading into the brick built entrance of the bunker pose no threat to me. I don’t want to kill them though as bodies will raise suspicions before I get the job done. Either way, I do need to get past them. I select a broken brick from the rubble strewn ground and toss it into the darkness. As it tumbles onto the gravel walkway loose stones scatter and the sound catches the attention of the guards. One tips his head, indicating towards the sound. The other nods and moves forward, cautiously edging towards the place the brick had landed, giving me my opportunity.

With the silence and speed only possible of a Strix I launch myself towards the guard who remains at his post. My fangs break his skin but I only take a mouthful, just enough to ensure a little of my venom enters his blood stream before I heal his wound. I can’t afford to waste my venom, not when I need it to influence Cameron, but this is essential.

“You do not remember me,” I whisper to the man as I pull away, forcing my will into his consciousness, “you saw nothing out of the ordinary.” As I speak I unclip his keys from his belt. Then, as the solitary guard stands in a dazed stupor I unlock the steel doors, slipping into the bunker before he regains awareness and his colleague returns to his side.

The steel stairs leading down from the surface of the world to the underground lair is rusted and the vertical shaft it navigates reeks of rat urine and pigeon faeces. Halting my breath I refuse to breathe, making the most of my vampire ability to go for periods without oxygen. Unfortunately when I reach the maze of tunnels below I have to inhale, I need to be able to follow the scent of mortals rather than wandering aimlessly among the uninhabited passageways.

When the phone in my pocket vibrates I flinch; its ringtone had been silenced but the vibration still creates a buzz which has me glancing nervously into the darkness. Still, when I look at the screen and see Eve’s name flashing there I click the answer button.

“Don’t speak,” Eve whispers into my ear, “they’ll hear you. Close your nose and I will guide you.”

I long to ask her how she’ll lead me when she has no map. Has she really developed her control over her seer’s powers to such an extent she can see this maze clearly enough to navigate it? I can’t make a sound though so I daren’t ask, no matter how much I want to.

“You’re my link to that place,” Eve replies to my unspoken question, perhaps reading my curiosity, “you’re enough of a tie to make it possible to guide my sight. Take the next right turn, but beware of the guard. Knock him out; if you put him in the room to the left no one will discover him for another hour. You need to be out of there by then.”

Following her command without question I leave the unconscious man in a room behind another steel door and bolt it shut. Idly I wonder how Keep is doing as I find my way along one dark passage after another, as instructed by my extraordinary wife.

“He was fine when I hung up on him,” Eve tells me. She’s so finely attuned to my emotions she could almost be reading my mind. “Take the second door on the left. The corridors will be lit afterwards but there aren’t any more guards until you get to Cameron’s command room. Rob, those guards are a threat, you need to kill them and put their bodies in the side room. If you knock them out they’ll create a ruckus when they wake up and Cameron will lose focus on the message you’re trying to implant. You need to silence them if this is going to work.”

Her regret at giving such a command is obvious, as obvious as her unspoken but ever present regret at having tortured the Senate Enforcers in the cells of the Northern Alliance Headquarters. Still, I want to refuse. I’m not Senate; I don’t kill for pleasure and I do not want any more deaths on my hands. I signed too many death warrants as Northern Chief and to now condemn mortals to death, especially when we are trying to bring peace to both our kinds, seems so counterintuitive.

“Rob, love,” Eve urges again, her voice crackling with the interference caused by the brick and concrete walls surrounding me, “those men will try to kill you if you don’t kill them. They’ll fail, but they’ll try and they won’t hesitate to unload every silver bullet and garlic round they have into you. That won’t kill you, but it will weaken you and you’re going to need your strength to change Cameron’s mind. I know it’s horrible. I know they’re mortal, but right now they are also the enemy. Break their necks; make sure it doesn’t look like a vampire attack.” She doesn’t say it but I can feel her heart whispering a silent prayer. ‘Forgive me,’ it says desperately. ‘forgive me for all I have done.’

My disgust is almost tangible, I can taste it as I follow Eve’s commands, killing the two men with such speed neither has time to cry out or sound a warning. I resent having to carry out such an atrocity but I don’t blame Eve. This act, just like every other ounce of suffering, is because of the Senate. This crime is taking place because the Senate have pushed us into such a dark corner that we’ve exhausted all other options.

Once I’m done carrying the bodies to the side room I put the phone back to my ear, pausing as I wait for Eve’s next order. “The door on your right, Cameron’s in there alone” she tells me almost immediately and even though I love and trust her I shudder at the thought of her watching me from as far away as Yorkshire. Her power is terrifying, more so than I’d ever really understood before.

Perhaps she feels that spark of fearful awe as she whispers softly, “Don’t do that Rob, don’t be afraid of what I am. I couldn’t bear it.”

She couldn’t bear it, no more than I can bear the thought that as 1352 I’d made her fear me, I’d given her reason to fear me. “I’m not afraid,” I say in a hushed tone, breaking the silence, “it’s just strange, but I don’t fear you. I love you.”

“Good,” she answers, but from the choked tone and the heartache which I can feel radiating from her through our connection I know that I’ve hurt her. “I have to go now.” Eve tells me, trying to hide that swell of misery, “but you only have half an hour before others will join Cameron, you have to be back at the staircase by then. Before you leave you need to go into the office to the right of the staircase. The CCTV cameras record everything to an external hard drive which is in that room; you need to steal the hard drive and erase any documentation of your presence.” She pauses for a brief moment before murmuring, “I love you Rob, all I want to do is protect you and Tul.” With that she hangs up, not giving me the opportunity to respond.
Sighing, I pocket my phone. I pray I get the chance to make this up to her, to explain my emotions. I hadn’t meant to hurt her and I can only hope she knows that. Suppressing my regret until I have the opportunity to make amends I force myself to re-focus on the task at hand.

The Prime Minister doesn’t even glance up as I push open the door to his command room; he must assume I’m one of his cronies. Who else would be in this impenetrable hide? By the time Cameron does look in my direction it’s too late and I’m already too close for him to even consider fleeing. He doesn’t rise from his seat although his mouth hangs open momentarily, a stunned and fearful expression on his face.

Covering his lips with my hand I muffle any scream or shout he may have tried to form. Then I do what I’d set out to do. Without giving him time to rebel or myself time to doubt, my mouth lowers to Mr Cameron’s throat and I bite. My fangs slip easily through his flesh and my venom seeps deep into his veins, beginning to give me access to his mind. I take more blood from the human Prime Minister than I had from the guard, ensuring that he has a good dose of my neurotoxin while also satisfying my hunger and strengthening myself. I’m careful though, the last thing I need is to start the change.

When I withdraw I take a deep breath, steadying myself. What I’m about to do is highly illegal. It is against my moral code to force my will on another, especially in such an underhand way. Yet between them both Charleston and Cameron have left me no choice but to do as Eve had suggested. Cameron had made his decision and he had decided to kill my kind. Really he’s lucky all I’m doing is giving his mind a nudge.

Hunkering down I gaze sternly into David Cameron’s dazed eyes, trying to push my concerns aside. If I’m caught I’ll be executed. If I’m caught Eve and Keep will probably die trying to save me, it’s the type of thing they’d do. Really it’s a relief that this Prime Minister has made so many policy u-turns during his time that one more is unlikely to raise a suspicion. I can’t allow myself to become a suspect, to be caught, as the cost will be too high. This mission is a secret Keep, Eve and I must take to our graves, no matter how long or short our immortal lives turn out to be.

I have to get this done properly. I have to influence Cameron so seamlessly my influence doesn’t fray over time. Taking a deep breath for fortification I pray to God, if he exists, that Cameron is weak willed enough to bend easily.

“Not all vampires are your enemy,” I tell the mortal Prime Minister, forcing the thought into his mind. “You will stop exterminating vampires without just cause. Only the Senate and the Redeemers are your enemy. You will form a treaty with the Alliance and join forces with them to bring about the Senate’s downfall, after which you will form a treaty with the new vampire government so that both humans and vampires can co-exist in peace, in freedom. In return the Alliance will help to free humans wrongly held prisoner by the Senate and the Redeemers.” I pause, considering before I make a more personal but equally essential demand, “You will not hunt or condemn Eve Blakethorn-Sullivan, nor will you hunt Tulloch Sullivan.
You will not remember this,” I command assuredly, “you will not remember my voice, you will not remember my presence at all. You will obey my commands and you will think they are your own thoughts. Not all vampires are your enemy. You will become allies with the Alliance. You will not hunt Eve or Tulloch. You will obey.”

With that done I slice my thumb on a fang and use my blood to heal the bite wound at Cameron’s throat. The blood will also counteract the neurotoxin and I need to leave before the Prime Minister comes out of his venom induced stupor and recognises me. I stand, turning on my heal and retreating through the now abandoned tunnels until I find myself once more at the bottom of the rusted stairs. Making the quickest of detours I retrieve the silver cased hard drive from the office, just as Eve had instructed, before climbing the stairs.

At the top I knock on the door and step back into the shadows. Upon hearing my quick, determined rap the guards outside open the door, stepping into the gloom to see who would be trying to draw their attention. The first man I tip over the banister and his neck cracks as he hits the floor. His heart beat ceases just moments later.  The second I grab, sinking my fangs into his throat and using the last dregs of my venom to get into his mind.

“You pushed and killed your partner, you knocked out the guard who is in the side room and broke the necks of the two guards outside Mr Cameron’s office. You did it because Hardy Charleston of the Senate told you to. You were going to blame vampires, to influence Mr Cameron into killing more of them, to give the Senate reason to retaliate. Charleston threatened to kill you if you didn’t comply. You did it because you’re scared of the Senate. You’re going to find your commanding officer and confess as much.”

After implanting that final suggestion I pull away, hating myself for its necessity. Unfortunately Eve had been correct, these men would’ve killed me given the opportunity and I shouldn’t pity them even though I do. Plus I need someone to take the blame for all the bodies I’m leaving in my wake. I need to give the mortals a suspect. This is the only way to protect myself and therefore Eve and Keep.

Having done all I can I flee, once again leaping the walls which surround the compound before finding my way back to the car. I can only pray that my influence has worked, that Eve had been correct about Strix being stronger than any ordinary vampire. If I’ve failed we’re all in serious trouble, more so than we had been previously. Ignoring my fears I turn the key in the ignition and lower my foot on the accelerator pedal. I pull away, escaping before the dead men can be found and any alarm raised. Please, I pray earnestly, let this be the correct course of action.