Vampire Beneficence

Part 3

“I stood on Nicole’s roof at 10.30 am on the Sunday and took in the half-light that we see during day-time. But something felt wrong. When I entered Nicole’s bedroom window, she was not there. At least most of her wasn’t. A bloody hand, her hand, lay on the bed and pinned to it by a silver nail was a bloody note. I could not shed tears any more but a pain burned in my chest. I touched the hand for a moment and then tore the note loose. It read:

         Sunday at noon.

“It was signed in blood: Concilium Putus Visum

‘Oh no!’ I thought.

“My already cold blood ran hot at their mention. I had dealt with them before. An obscure, yet lethal Catholic sect of… well, assassins, originally set up to eliminate the Cathars, they must have heard of our Vicar and taken revenge. What was worse, the clock, a modern evil, was ticking! I had no doubt, if she was still alive, they would kill Nicole, and Serenata too. I noted the small blood stain still on the table from where I had licked Nicole. This meant they had taken her straight after I left.

“I was tired and had to drink. I hate defrosted blood: the only reason Nicole and I had a store was for emergencies. It was a trick I had passed on to her. I took what I needed, stuffed it in my coat pockets and left. Where to go? The CPV would not be stupid enough to take either of them to St James Church until the very last moment. On the other hand, they are clever enough to hide something where you least expect. And of course they wanted to trap me. Nicole and Serenata were bait.

“As I left through the window, a calculating voice inside my head laughed inanely at an irony: both the sect left the same signature: the mark of human blood. Even before I had reached the roof, I heard the wail of police sirens. And two cars screeched to a halt outside the door.

‘So the CPV have called the police… Probably found the blood bags in the freezer. Now both Nicole and I would be fugitives, perhaps even little Serenata,’ I thought.

“There was only one place that fitted the criteria I thought the CPV would want. I reached LSF within thirty minutes, traveling in the animal state. It always makes one feel sick, doing that, for a while at least. Until the mind has caught up with the body. But traveling by tube or taxi is more dangerous…”

“Wait a minute!” interjected David. He had a question for the man. “So far, most of the time in your story, you seem very human. And you said vampires are human, at least part of the species. So how do you move so fast? Can you explain it to me?”

“Simple physics, sir! My kind, the brethren, have little time for science. Physics is simply the engineering of freedom. Once you have the freedom, our state gives us, you have little interest in the sciences. However, I have studied some basic physics over the centuries. When something is lighter, it can move faster. We can vary the degree to which we are in the physical or spiritual world. With less mass in the real world, I can move much faster. I can even increase this more by traveling as a fast animal. It’s customary for werewolves to travel as wolves, vampires as bats, but it’s not impossible for me to travel as a wolf. I often do. The nausea, I believe, is caused by the mind, in the spiritual world, being left behind. One’s body reaches the destination ahead of the mind, so to speak. It takes a while to catch up! It’s most like those funny round-about things children play on in parks. The feet are moving much faster than the head, d’you see?”

“Sort of. And the blood? You mentioned blood on the table? And licking?”

“And I was once a vegetarian! Ha! Yes. I am coming to that. I have rehearsed this story a thousand times. Anyway, I reached LSE in about thirty minutes… There was so little time! And I had to find both of them! My mind was a tumult. I just tried to keep going. I would try to get help from some of Nicole’s recruits, I didn’t like doing it, but I had no choice. But as soon as I arrived at the main entrance, I saw many CPV agents among the students who are there, even on a Sunday. The library is never closed and I wanted to reach it. I tried not to look at any clocks, as I streaked past all manner of agents and students; what would be, to you, impossibly, fast. Streaking up the library stairs, I began to sing to the young brethren hanging from the roof.

“They heard me and whispered to my spirit, ‘Shall we help?’

“I drew them down and like ghosts in the shadows, we moved back down to the ground floor. All the time I questioned them.

‘There are enemy… Catholic assassins in the building. They have taken Nicole. We have to free her. Have you seen them? Have you seen her? Have you seen anything strange?’

“They wept in panic but could not answer. Then an answer of sorts came. One of the CPV, who did not draw away but who saw us, stood in our way. I let myself become man again and drew nigh to him. He shook with fear. He was only a novice.

‘A victim!’ I thought.

‘They are not both here. Only Nicole!’ he shouted at me. Then he fell to his knees, praying, waiting for death. It is no simple matter for us to kill. No easier for us, than for you. It takes a knife, or hands around the neck. I had no time

‘Where is she?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know! I don’t know! Please!’ He kept his eyes closed.

 

‘Open your eyes, or I will kill,’ I threatened. He opened them. I asked him again. ‘Where is she?’ He shook his head. I could see from his eyes, he told the truth. ‘Come with me,’ I said to the seven young brethren that had gathered by me. ‘Search every room! Every floor!’ I could smell the thickness of CPV odour. They were close, all around. ‘She is not far!’