The Geomancer (23 page)

Adele gave a final glance at the center of the small plateau where the
Edinburgh
sat moored. She took a picture of Major Shirazi noticeably annoyed at the railing. Once they were out of sight, Captain Hariri would take the airship down to a more hospitable berth, where he would await Adele's recall signal. The frustrating distance from useful rifts meant that her original plan of sneaking into the monastery had gone by the boards. She could not hide from vampires here. They had no hope now but to get inside through the good graces of their enigmatic host.

They climbed with Yidak in the lead. Adele saw iron rings driven into the stone wall, but the rope guide that may have been there once was long gone. Countless prayer flags fluttered overhead. She couldn't help but wonder at who had planted these flags. It couldn't have been the vampires, and humans wouldn't come all the way up here for fear of the
demons
.

Step after weary step passed. Leg muscles burned. Lungs seared for breath. The wind pounded as if someone was trying to shove them off the edge. Adele watched Yidak's back straight ahead of her. He seemed unaffected by the effort. Gareth removed his scarf and smoked glasses. The pretense of Greyfriar was no longer needed. Just behind her, Anhalt rasped painfully through the breather. She tried to keep the pace moderate, but she knew this was torture for him. He grasped his leg frequently, grunting with effort. There was hardly space on the steps to look back, so it would have been perilous to turn around and try to help him.

Hours passed without notice. The only measure of time was the sound of feet scraping on stone. There was no space to sit and rest, but every so often, Adele called a halt and they would crouch and drink water from canteens. Clouds drifted by beneath them and, through the gaps in the white, she saw dark patches that must have been the ground somewhere miles below. To step off into space would have been meaningless. There couldn't be any sense of falling, only misty nothingness. And then the exhausted metronome of footsteps would continue.

Adele was shocked when they came around a bend in the cliff and suddenly the monastery rose in front of them. She was so light headed, she almost forgot why she was walking. Glistening ice-covered walls sparkled in the sun. Even this close, it seemed to be levitating in the white sky. The sprawling complex reached up the side of the mountain, level after level of long straight windows and columned arcades. A few domes and spires created some visual relief from the unrelenting cold white slabs.

The rock steps led Adele and the others to a towering red wooden door. She paused to take one picture, but she was running low on film because she hadn't wanted to burden herself with unnecessary weight.

Yidak lifted his face toward the wall and within moments the door creaked open. Shadowy figures stood atop the ramparts staring down. They wore robes of dark crimson. Adele flexed her fingers, searching for a dragon spine in the Earth beneath her. A faint trace beckoned from the east. She doubted the rift would be strong enough to unleash fire if this turned into a trap.

They passed into a windy courtyard. From out of a tall sparkling building above, a figure drifted down along the glinting snow. Adele gasped. “He looks like a samurai.”

This vampire wore a long pleated skirt, a hakama, tied at the waist. He had a wide-sleeved jacket, a haori, over it. The color was a simple grey and black. Even more amazingly, he had a long katana sword shoved into his belt.
Another vampire with a sword
. His suspicious gaze swept over the party behind Yidak. He minced no words and demanded in vampiric, “What happened? You have been gone for too long.”

Yidak smiled soothingly. “A slight misunderstanding with the villagers on the plateau.” He gestured to Gareth and company. “These travelers were kind enough to smooth things over. As recompense, I invited them to stay with us. And speak English, as they prefer it.”

The samurai's glare did not ease as he scanned Yidak in his torn coat, and then studied the strangers. Gareth tensed and Anhalt's hand went to his weapon.

Yidak said quickly, “May I introduce Gareth. And his companions, Adele and General Anhalt. This is my right arm. Takeda.”

“These strangers,” hissed the samurai vampire in serviceable English, “helped you?”

“Yes, they did.” Yidak chuckled, then glanced at General Anhalt. “Mostly. It goes to show that even as old as I am, I can still be wonderfully surprised by the world.”

Takeda's deep blue eyes, penetrating and full of mistrust, fell upon Gareth and his weapons. The tension between them rose and, for a moment, Adele feared they were preparing to fight. But the moment passed and Takeda nodded. “You have my sincere gratitude for returning him to us.”

Yidak laid a wrinkled hand on Takeda's arm, and gestured toward Gareth. “He uses tools. He fights with weapons.” The old vampire then nodded at Adele with a wink. “That woman
allows
him to feed from her, and she tends his wounds. They consider themselves
friends
perhaps.”

Takeda's eyes widened.

Gareth said, “Both of these humans have saved my life many times over, even knowing what I am.”

Takeda snorted with derision. “They're buying his power.”

Yidak shook his head. “No, I think not, but come, I am tired. Let us go inside.”

Takeda waved his arm and two other vampires scurried from the shadows. In their arms they carried bundles of red and yellow. Yidak carefully unbuttoned the coat and slipped it off. The wounds from the Fahrenheit gun had healed. He handed the coat back to Anhalt with a word of thanks. He then turned and raised his arms. The two new vampires, one male and one female, draped the Demon King in silk brocade and stepped back, bowing to him with their hands clasped in reverence. The elder vampire adjusted his colorful new robes. Suddenly he went from eccentric, old stranger to a figure of dignity and respect. Yidak smiled at Gareth and Adele, and motioned for them to follow him into the monastery.

Takeda bowed deeply to Yidak. “Welcome back, Your Holiness.”

C
HAPTER 22

Adele jerked away from the grip of her nightmare. Her chest rose and fell painfully and her heart pounded. The fires of the dream rifts that had just been scorching the world and burning Gareth to bones faded into the thin, crisp cold of the mountains. The disturbing music of the Earth lingered.

Sunlight streamed around the edges of heavy yak-skin rugs that draped the windows. Her breath misted into the air above the makeshift bed. Gareth was not beside her. Turning her head, she saw him standing with General Anhalt next to the low fire pit in the center of the plain room. The smell of smoldering yak dung rose from the brick ring, but so did heat. Adele hurriedly slipped from under the dense pile of hides; luckily she was sufficiently dressed. She jammed into her boots and, dragging a thick blanket, scurried next to the glowing pile.

Gareth moved behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. He spoke in Arabic. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, not bothering to mention her dreams again.

Anhalt bowed his head toward a clay pot of simmering water on the glowing coals. “There will be tea soon, Majesty.”

“Thank you, General.” She glanced back at Gareth. “Do you think they have herds here?”

“If you mean humans, I don't smell any.”

“Why would they have animals for dung otherwise?”

“I don't know. I don't smell animals either.”

“I dreamed I heard musical instruments, but I think I still hear them. Maybe the altitude is affecting my ears.”

“You aren't dreaming, but it isn't music. It's vampiric language.”

Adele furrowed her brows. “It is? It was so melodic. Are they singing?”

“I don't know.” Gareth sounded irritable at not having answers.

Anhalt poured tea. “Have you been able to locate this Tear of Death?”

“No.” Adele moved to the edge of the low fire pit, enjoying the radiating heat from the bricks. The thick dung smoke wasn't rank enough to drive her from the warmth. “I have a limited connection to the rifts here, but I didn't sense anything unique.”

“Is it possible,” the general asked cautiously, “that this entire mission is for nothing?”

“Yes. However, the risk of
not
coming was too great.”

“Of course, ma'am.” Anhalt strapped on his sword belt. “If what Selkirk said about this object is true, I rather hope it is for nothing.”

“I do too,” Adele admitted. “But it isn't a fruitless trip in any case because we've found this clutch of unusual vampires.
Another
clutch of unusual vampires.”

Gareth went to peer out of the window. “I've told you, my kind is going mad. But at least these lunatics haven't talked about me as their guide for the future.”

Adele paused, listening. “Now I hear bells. Do you?”

“Yes.” Gareth moved to the door. “Let's have a look around. I'm tired of waiting.”

Sunlight blasted through a blue sky, but the air was dangerously frigid. The sound of small bells bubbled without a source, as if an invisible herd of sheep wandered the courtyard. Several vampires lifted off the rooftops and slipped into an open window in the largest temple above. Within minutes, Yidak and Takeda dropped down to the dirt square and approached.

The Demon King bowed to Adele. “Did you rest well?”

“I did, thank you. It was surprisingly warm, for which I am grateful.” She waved her hand in the air. “Do you have herds? Animals, I mean. Your fuel?”

“No, no. However the bells you hear are those of goats ascending the Thousand Steps.”

“Goats?”

“And men. A group of travelers are coming. They're coming to appease us.” Yidak laughed. “To placate the mountain demons.”

Takeda appeared less amused. “Humans make pilgrimages here and do certain duties for us.”

Gareth asked, “Do you feed from them?”

“Oh yes,” Yidak replied. “They come every few months.”

“You only feed every few months? Do you prey on local villages in between those times?”

“If there are injuries that require nourishment, we may visit some of the villages. Normally the pilgrims serve. We have trained ourselves to go for great lengths of time without feeding.” The Demon King tilted his head, listening to the bells. “I admit I'm glad they're coming because I'm a bit weak from my recent misadventures below. And Takeda has told me there are wounded from a recent attack.”

The samurai cast a grim frown at the old vampire. “Is it wise to speak of it, Holiness? These visitors may be in league.”

Yidak waved his aide-de-camp's suspicions away. “No, no. I don't think so.”

“You were attacked here?” Adele asked quickly, causing Takeda to glare at her impertinence. “What happened?”

“We're not completely sure.” Yidak wrapped his long fingers around his belt. “We've been attacked in the past by some of the Chinese clans. Chengdu particularly fears us.”

Takeda continued to stare at Adele. “This attack was not from Chengdu. Nor any Chinese clan. They had an airship, as you do.”

“An airship!” Adele looked at Gareth and Anhalt with alarm.

Yidak said, “We can assume there were humans with this pack of foreigners. Takeda has no idea who they were or what they wanted. They came out of nowhere. Takeda led our monks in battle. Several of the enemy were killed, but none talked. They were driven off and have not come back, wisely.”

“How many of you are there here?” Adele wondered.

Yidak regarded her with a sly smile as Takeda stood ready to interrupt his overly communicative senior. But the Demon King was discreet. “Enough. And skilled, you may be assured.” He gathered his robes. “We have some simple food for you and your general. And we should be able to acquire a goat or two for you when the pilgrims arrive later today.”

After Yidak and Takeda departed, Adele stood in the courtyard listening to the bells wafting up along the mountainside. She turned to Gareth. “Vampire packs attacking and an airship. That has to be Goronwy looking for the Tear of Death.”

“But he failed. That's good news.”

“Yes.” Adele rubbed her hands together and whispered, “Finally, we're ahead of him. Now we just have to find this . . . thing, whatever it is, and take it out of here from under the noses of hundreds of warrior vampires and back to Alexandria where we can protect it.”

Gareth said, “And hopefully not trigger some apocalyptic event just by moving it.”

Adele stared crossly at him. “That too. Thank you.”

Anhalt put his shotgun over one shoulder and muttered, “Yes, that
is
good news.”

It was late afternoon when the pilgrims finally arrived. There were twenty-five men in heavy traveling robes and thick fur hats. Their weathered faces turned down in reverence as they topped the Thousand Steps. The men were undaunted by the vampires who crouched on the monastery wall watching them. However, they entered the gate slowly, stopping very few seconds to kneel and toss dirt on their heads. The goats bounded ahead of the men who led several yaks loaded with supplies.