Antithesis: The Vampire Alliance Book Three - FIRST DRAFT COMPLETED

Antithesis Chapter 32: Eve Blakethorn-Sullivan August 2013

Eve Blakethorn-Sullivan, August 2013

I’m still on the phone to Rob when Pat enters our room, her expression grim. I already know what she’s here to tell me but I still only murmur the briefest of farewells to Rob, rather than saying the heartfelt goodbye which would seem too much like a foreshadowing. It hurts that he fears what I am, not that Tul’s discomfort is much better. Hanging up I glance at Pat, waiting for her to confirm what I already know.

“They’re on their way; a convoy of armoured vehicles has been sighted heading this way. They’ll be here in hour or so.”

Rubbing my eyes I feel so very tired, “I know. I have one more phone call to make and then I’ll be down.”

“Do we stand a chance?” Pat asks, hoping I can give her a definite answer, hoping I can say that everything will be alright, that everyone will survive, that we’ll win.
“The future isn’t set yet,” I admit resentfully, bitter that I can’t be more certain. “I know which future I want and I am trying to direct the flow of events towards that possibility. It’s not easy though, and if I get even the slightest thing wrong I’ll fail you.”

“You’re doing your best,” Pat’s reassuring answer does little to comfort my fraught nerves, “that’s all we can expect.”

“My best is preparing to kill humans of my own volition?” I ponder out loud, “Is that how far I’ve fallen? You know, the Senate have forced me to do things, terrible things, that I’ll never forgive myself for. Deep down though I know that Rob and Tul are correct, there was no right answer to the situation I was put in. I don’t deserve forgiveness, I don’t deserve to be absolved of the crimes Charleston had me commit, but at least it was not a transgression I chose. This is. Any blood I spill today will be entirely on my hands.

If I kill today it will be because I choose to kill an enemy so much weaker than me. If I take human lives today what excuse do I have?”

“They’re coming to kill us,” Pat points out, “defending yourself is a perfectly reasonable response.” There’s truth in that but the mortals only barely constitute a threat to my life. If I kill them it won’t be to save myself.

“I’ve tortured people in order to get the Alliance the information we needed to defend ourselves. For months now I’ve killed and killed and fought. What if I took a wrong turn somewhere, what if I can’t save us because I’ve already condemned us? What if this is happening too late and is just one more sin to add to my very long list of misdeeds?” Knowing that she can’t answer my questions doesn’t stop them tumbling from me. “What if I’m wrong?”

Pat shrugs, a gentle motion as she studies me, “Then you’ll be wrong. You won’t be the first or last to try and fail to change the world. What matters is that you did try and you did it for the right reasons, no matter what terrible things you’ve had to do. War is always terrible, Eve. If we survive this you should talk to your husbands. They’ve both been at war since before they became vampires; they can help you.
Make your phone call and I’ll see you in a minute.”

Watching her leave I sigh, she’s right of course; my soldiers may well be able to help. Do I want them to though? I can’t help but feel that I deserve the guilt and regret. I deserve to do penance for the children. I have to be haunted for torturing the Enforcers or I’ll be no better than Hardy Charleston himself. If I kill today then I need to suffer for that too.

As I dial Johan’s number I chew my lip nervously. I hope I can persuade him to listen to me without demanding to know why Rob and Tul are in Kent rather than with me. It would be better for Johan if he didn’t know the truth of our illegal activity at all; if he doesn’t know about it he has less chance of being accused of being complicit in organising it.

He answers on the second ring. “Eve?” He requests, no doubt surprised to hear from me rather than Rob or Tul considering the circumstances under which I had left the Northern base.

“Rob and Tul need your help,” I tell him, hoping his admiration and affection for them will override any hesitation brought on by the fact we’ve gone over his head and acted thoroughly independently of him. Rob and Tul may have been acting as independent agents while I was dead but this goes so far beyond revenge for a murdered spouse. Our actions today could affect every vampire and every human in the United Kingdom if not the world. Johan may not appreciate that when it could yet go horribly wrong.

“What’s happened?” My great-grandsire’s tone becomes instantly concerned. “Pat hasn’t mentioned any attack.”

“It’s not that. I mean that’s coming, a heavily armoured convoy is heading our way, but that’s not why Rob and Tul need you. They aren’t in Yorkshire with me. An hour from now they’re going to be in a car accident and I need you to send someone from one of the Southern facilities to meet them before the Senate get to them. Tul’s going to be in a bad way but he’ll heal quickly enough as long as the Senate don’t get their hands on him. I need you help to make sure they aren’t captured.”

There’s a tense pause as Johan considers my request and his voice has a chilly edge as he demands, “Why aren’t they with you Eve? What have the three of you done?”

“Please Johan, I need you to trust me,” I plead even though I know that particular request may be difficult to comply with considering my recent bout of instability. “You need to have someone just south of junction ten of the M11 in an hour. They’re going to be in a car crash Johan, if no one’s there to help them they will by killed by Enforcers, properly, irreversibly killed.”

“Eve,” Johan demands seriously, pronouncing each word with a slow fury, “why are they going to be near Cambridge?”

“Great-grandsire, I don’t have time for this. Please, can you do this for them? An hour from now I am going to get shot, Rob is going to feel it and lose control of the car. The vehicle will hit a road sign and the passenger side of the car is going to take most of the impact. Tul is going to break a lot of bones and lose a lot of blood.

I know this is out of the ordinary. I know everyone thinks I’m unstable and I know Rob and Tul have been working more or less outside of the Alliance recently but please, Johan, please do this. I can’t tell you what’s going on, I really can’t, but if this goes to plan we might be able to change the world and I need you to trust us. If you can’t trust me then please trust them. You trusted Tul enough to let him live after you changed Rob, please, put your faith in him again now.”

Defeated, Johan sighs before he confirms, “Junction ten of the M11 in an hour. I hope you know what you’re doing Eve, whatever it is you’ve coordinated.”

“So do I. Thank you, Johan.” I’m not surprised that Johan knows that I’m behind our plot, truthfully most of Tul’s past insubordination has come from his relationship with me. I wonder if my great-grandsire still resents that.

“Eve?” My leader enquires with concern, “You are going to survive this, aren’t you?”

“So long as everything goes to plan.” Trying to force my voice to sound confident I assure him, “Dying isn’t part of the plan this time.”

“Good. They’d never forgive themselves if you die while they’re not with you, you do know that don’t you?” He requests, as if I was so clueless.

“Let’s be honest Johan, if any of us die it won’t matter whether we’re together or apart; whoever remains will never forgive themselves. We’ve all learned that the hard way. We’ll see you soon. Keep everyone at home safe,” I tell him apprehensively.

“I’ll do my best. Keep everyone at Norham House safe, Eve,” he commands and I feel the weight of my actions all the more keenly. Because I sent Rob and Tul away Pat’s people now only have one Strix to help them. It’s just me. I’m responsible for each life in this place.

“I’ll do my best,” I echo his words as I hang up. 

When I finally make my way down to the lobby I find most of the occupants of Norham House waiting for me, already armed to the teeth with any weaponry they could find from kitchen knives to katanas and guns to grenades. I’m not sure how effective their weapons will be against an enemy coming armed with tanks and machine guns. However, the arms carried by these vampires are not what will save them anyway; they aren’t the most powerful weapon at Pat’s disposal.

I’m the weapon. I may have resented the way the Senate wished to use me. I may have loathed the hunger in Johan’s expression when he first discovered what I am. Yet in the end it has still come to this; I am the weapon, I am the shield, I am what so many had wanted me to be. I am the tool.

“Are you alright?” Pat asks as she joins me at the bottom of the stairs.

“Fine.” Even as I force a watery grin I’m sure she can see straight through me. “I’m fine. We need to organise. The mortals want to be in and out quickly so they’ll position most of their forces at the front where they only need to get through the wall. There’ll be infantry to the rear whose purpose is to pick us off if we try to escape that way. However, because there’s so much woodland back there to slow down vehicle access the main assault will come from the front where the fields are clear.

We could do with positioning some of our people around the perimeter of the estate to combat any forces who do try to break through elsewhere but we need to place most of our strength at the gates. I need to be in front of the gates.”

“In front of?” Asks Pat, “You want to face them before they get inside the grounds?”
“I’d rather defeat them before they get inside if possible.” My admission is not based simply on protecting our perimeter, not that she needs to know that. If the humans breach the gate they will destroy the gatehouse cottage and I don’t want that. That would be just as devastating as losing the main house. There’s a history here I want to protect almost as much as I wish to protect the people.

“You and the majority of your people should stay inside the grounds, but I need to be outside them.” Seeing her scowl I try to smile again, though I’m sure the expression is as superficial as my last endeavour. “I’m worth ten tanks, Pat. I’m faster than they will be able to follow and only decapitation will kill me. The chances of them stopping me are really very slim. A few bullet holes aren’t going to slow me down much, and goodness knows I’ve suffered worse injuries than anything these humans are going to do to me.

Anyway, if my plan works I’ll only need to hold them off for a little while.”
“Your plan?” Pat recites and I can see her joining the dots in her mind, “Where did Robert and Tulloch go, exactly?”

Shaking my head I refuse to answer that question, if I can’t tell Johan then nothing on Earth would make me tell Pat. “Can you do as I request?”

She hesitates for a moment, watching me with a concerned expression. “I resign myself to having you at the front gates but Eve, we might not be Strix but we are vampires. We can fight. At least let me send out a few teams to circle round behind the enemy. We can help you. You don’t have to fight alone.”

Watching her I know she won’t be dissuaded, I had always known although I’d hoped she’d listen to me. “Fine, as you wish.”

“You accepted that far more easily than I had anticipated.” She comments suspiciously, “Whatever you’re planning you won’t stop me or my people from fighting for our home you know.”

Wearily I shrug, defeated even without trying to argue. “I’m not going to try. There isn’t the time to persuade you to listen to me. Plus I have come to the realisation that there are times when people simply won’t listen to me despite what I am. With that in mind, rather than waste time and energy trying to force you to follow my orders I have simply decided to work around your own stubborn nature.

A price will have to be paid in blood, in life, but you have the right to chose to pay it if you deem it necessary. The toll will be far heavier if we stand here arguing rather than acting though. I’ve got contingencies in place to keep the cost of this mess to a minimum. I only there’d be no cost at all but I can’t give you that. Not as you insist on deciding as you will.”

Her brows raise in astonishment, perhaps taken aback by my tired and yet embittered tone. “We can’t just stand by,” she repeats, “this is our home.”

“I know,” my acknowledgement doesn’t alleviate her frown, “so you will fight. I am Rob and Tul’s wife and so they will try to return no matter what order I would have liked to give them to prevent their journey. I know how stubborn people are and I’ve planned for it the best I can. I know this already. It’s fine. Just sort your people into teams Pat and get them into position. I’ll cover the rest.”

My sword is at my hip even though I don’t want to use it. Ideally I would achieve my goal without killing a human. That achievement is unlikely however and as I make my way to the gates of the Norham family estate I also ensure than my gun is fully loaded.

Reg would open the gates for me if I asked but I choose to vault the wall instead. Why bother pretending to be less than I am? I was never meant to be simply vampire, no more than I was meant to be mortal. Hell, I’m not even simply Strix. Is that what concerns Rob and Tul so much? Am I too ‘other’ now, even for them?
One day I hope I can block the visions, cut off my extra senses and be as normal as I can be. I don’t like playing God. I’m just as uncomfortable with this as my husbands are. If only they could see it.

Positioning myself beside the gate I lean back against the stone gatepost to wait. Let Pat organise her people, it’s not like I need to hear her orders to know what they are. I know her vampires will exit the grounds by side gates and by scaling the walls. I know they’ll circle the enemy as Pat had suggested. I know they’ll disable a few of the armoured vehicles, vehicles I could disable on my own with far less risk to lives if they’d only trust me.

If there were any passersby they would probably deem me statuesque as I stand and wait, perfectly still. Unmoving, I watch the stars fade as the horizon turns crimson with the first light of dawn and eventually I see the first bulking shapes moving across the fields.

A chuckle bubbles up in my throat and I wish I could put it down to an uncontrollable reaction brought on by nerves. It’s nothing as understandable though. I actually find the situation amusing in a confusing, horrifying way. How did I get to this point, this moment in time where I deem it necessary to stand off against a human army? Pulling myself straight I consider drawing my sword or my gun, but glancing at my own hands I know they’ll do just as well. With that thought in mind I move, jogging towards the advancing line of humans who are out for my head.

For the first time in my life I have some measure of understanding for what Rob and Tul went through in France when commanded to advance towards their enemy. I may be immortal, I may be all the things I had told Pat in my moment of bravado, however, if a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle fires at me, if one of those cannons hits me, it is still entirely possible that I’ll be killed. Decapitation can be very much a part of being blown up. I can still lose limbs too. The future is not completely set and here, now, this comes down to me and I can’t be certain that I’ll still be in one piece in an hour’s time. It’s so difficult to sift through events that are certainties and events that are possibilities and decide which is which. My continued existence never seems to be a certainty.

Even as I consider the idea one of the tank-like armoured personnel carriers takes aim, the barrel of its cannon swivelling towards me.  I snort, knowing that I will outpace any ammunition the machine fires in my direction. My problem is that as the crew of the first vehicle spot me they will undoubtedly be radioing my position to others. If enough vehicles fire in my direction... well, I can’t avoid everything. Sure enough other weapons begin to turn in my direct and having no other option I pick up speed.

It would be nice to hide the extent of my abilities from humanity. After all, I make the average vampire look little more than human and I don’t want people to see the extent of my inhumanity. However, being destroyed by cannon fire is even lower on my agenda that keeping my abnormality secret and so I do as necessary. The first round hits the ground seconds later but I’m already meters away from the point the gunner had targeted.

A moment more and I barrel into the first Challenger tank. My fingers wrap around a ridge of metal bodywork as I avoid getting caught under the huge caterpillar tracks. Truthfully the great, hulking mass of metal is far heavier than I’d really considered. Even with my strength I have to pause as I brace myself, grunting as I force the side of the vehicle up over and tip it onto its roof.

Unfortunately upending the monstrous vehicle has slowed me down and I wince as a line of machine gun fire hits the ground behind me, inches from my heels. I leap away, not wanting to give the soldiers in the approaching Panther another chance to aim at me. No matter what type of bullets they’re using being shot will hurt. I’d like to avoid that for as long as possible.

I disable three further battle tanks and armoured personnel carriers before Pat’s people join the fray. I’m somewhat relieved that despite the weapons they carry they are as reluctant to kill humans as I am. Instead they choose to attack the smaller vehicles, using their vampire speed to take them out in a similar fashion as I do the tanks. We disable as many of the vehicles as possible without causing fatalities.
Our desire to disable rather than destroy is not a craving shared by our mortal opponents however, and as machine gun fire rains down on us I see more than one vampire fall, screaming in agony. Silver nitrate? I’d hoped for silver, for garlic. I hadn’t wanted to accept the notion of machine guns firing silver nitrate rounds but the truth is undeniable.

Pat’s silvered eyes meet mine as the man at her side falls, wailing his pain as he clutches his torn up leg. I see the guilt in her expression; she had ordered those under her to come out here and not all of them would live. I wish she had let me do this alone but nothing I could’ve said would have changed her mind. Not that her remorse or her guilt matter at this moment in time.  We can both deal with our remorse later.

Seeing the machine gun on the Panther patrol vehicle closest to Pat swivel in her direction I pounce, throwing myself in front of her as a shield as a succession of rapidly fired bullets tear into my flesh. Silver shreds my side as burning silver nitrate pours into my veins. So many shells plough into me I could scream. I should fall. I can’t allow myself the luxury however, even when further pain explodes in every limb. I howl in agony as Tul’s bones break, his body shattering as he hits the road sign just as I had foreseen, but I can’t pause.

Furious at his pain and growling at the sight of my colleagues falling I’m sure to look monstrous as I charge the vehicle which had almost brought about Pat’s demise. Leaping, I land on the front of the metal mass and then, still bellowing my rage and pain, I tear the roof from the Panther.

The men inside scream in terror as I rip them from their seats and toss them to the ground before I jump clear of the vehicle again. I care little for the broken limbs the men receive as they hit the ground at speed. I’m sure I’ll eventually regret the death of the soldier who falls awkwardly and lies still, unmoving and silent, even though he would kill me willingly. Right now though, I refuse to dwell on it and I repeat my actions on the next vehicle to pass me by. I’m more concerned with protecting my people than I am with protecting my already tarred conscience.

Still, despite my determination to do what is necessary I can’t help sagging in relief when the first of the enemy vehicles breaks. As the Warthog stills it’s advance towards Norham House others follow suit and the surviving vampires glance around in confusion. Our people remain defensive, their guns and swords raised but the machine guns fall silent and the cannons stop pivoting as the soldiers cease firing at us.

The door of another Panther opens and a stern faced man climbs down from the armoured vehicle. He takes a step away from his only protection and confusion flashes briefly in his hazel eyes before he announces, “I would like to speak to your commander regarding a truce. The Prime Minister, Mr Cameron, wishes to extend his sincerest apologies for this assault and would like to discuss a treaty with your organisation.”

This time I don’t fight the urge to collapse as my muscles turn to jelly. I hit the ground with a thud as I fall to my knees in the field. Then I start to laugh. It had worked, Rob had done it. Illegal though our actions may have been we’d just created an opportunity no one had previously dreamed to be possible.

“I take it this is the work of you and your husbands?” Pat requests suspiciously as she eyes me in open curiosity.

“It’s nothing to do with us,” the lie comes easily; it’ll have to come easily for the rest of my life. Still I can’t help continuing to chuckle with relief.

“Do you want to speak to Mr Cameron’s designated mouthpiece?” she enquires, eying the soldier still waiting for our response.

Shaking my head I defer that responsibility back to her. “You are the voice of the Alliance here, not me. I’m just a foot soldier.”

“Foot soldier my arse,” she mutters, her profanity at odds with her perfect received pronunciation. “I can’t quite decide what you are, but a foot soldier is not it.”

Grinning and keeping my secrets I shrug, “Either way, I’m below you in Alliance hierarchy and perfectly willing to remain so.”

Reluctantly Pat handles the truce although the full treaty will need to be negotiated between Johan and Mr Cameron on another day, when we don’t have dead to bury. This isn’t an ideal way to form an allegiance, with bodies piled up between us, but then how many treaties have been signed only after fields have run red with blood?
It’s hours later when I sense Rob’s shock and terror at the sight of the fields surrounding Norham house. Their surfaces are now cratered by shell fire and littered with debris and the sight is no doubt setting his imagination running wild with thoughts of what horrors could have taken place. If I could’ve prevented the destruction, or prevented him seeing it, I would have. However, I can’t fix shell damage. At least the house remains untouched, I’d kept my promise to him on that front.

Racing to the door, I get there before their new vehicle pulls to a stop in front of the house. Grinning somewhat manically I all but fall down the stone steps and onto the drive as Rob and Tul climb from the car. Rob scoops me up into his arms, spinning me round before planting a solid kiss on my mouth. “Love,” he breathes as he places me back on my feet, “it looks like you’ve had an eventful day.”

“Too eventful,” I acknowledge as Tul tugs me towards him, his arms locking protectively around my body as he kisses my hair, my cheeks, my lips, as if he’s surprised to see me in one piece. Dark bruises shadow his eyes and he looks exhausted. “You haven’t fed enough,” I reprimand him. Healing had taken a lot out of him despite the blood he’d taken from the Enforcer at Clarence’s home.

Smiling sardonically Tul briefly touches the dark circles under my own eyes before moving his hand to the side which had been shredded. “You neither.”

Conceding, I grin and shrug, “Machine gun fire is a bitch. Who knew.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “You, Mrs Blakethorn-Sullivan, are the most amazing woman I have ever met.”

“I’m pleased you think so,” I respond as I take his hand and one of Rob’s. “I missed you both.”