After the Fall (10 page)

“Rita, wake up!” She did not move. “What’s the matter?” He pulled her sheets back and found that she was as pale as marble. The man screamed. They checked her for bites and found one on her neck.

“Why didn’t she tell me she was bitten? We have to go before she rises.” He looked at me. “It’s all your fault, you and your stupid box of donuts!”

Which she asked me to get,
I could have added, but I bowed my head and looked contrite, all the way until he struck me. I felt the impact of his boot on my jaw and seethed. While I grabbed my jaw and massaged it, he decided to send another punt to my skull. It was over. He had finally done it.

I got up and began to grapple with him. Being a Vampire, I am strong, but this big boy gave me a run for my money. We tussled around for a few seconds before falling out of the window and to the street below. It was so bright outside that I became blinded. I could already hear their strained groans and knew I didn’t have much time. My fangs came out like twin switchblades and found their mark in his neck. This one I didn’t have the chance to drink dry before they were upon us. I pulled away and plowed through the growing crowd of hungry predators. It didn’t take long for the fallen ones to get their feet back under them and join the feast. He wouldn’t last long.

In all my excitement, I forgot it was daytime and scrambled to find shelter. I was sure that I was burning to death with every second. Somehow I made it back inside without being attacked once. I guessed they were too busy with my old companion. When I returned to the room, I found the darkest place in the building—a supply closet and checked myself for wounds. There was nothing except for the burning feeling on my skin.

“What has happened to me? How am I still alive?” I asked myself.

“The Grace of God chose to spare you,” said Alaric.

“Something did, that’s for sure.”

“Well, here we are,” I said as we walked arrived at the door. “Time to call it a day.”

“Yes, I imagine I will be sleeping late today. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”

“Why must you torture me like this?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have special arrangements for you. It will be just the family and a few close friends, nothing too extravagant. I hope that’s to your liking.”

“Yes, I would like that.”

“See you tonight.” He patted me on the back and headed to his room upstairs. I went down to my own room and locked the door. All in all, it had been a great night. I had worked hard and gotten a meal, two things that seldom went together anymore. Sleep rarely felt this good.

Dinner and a Nightmare

I didn’t awaken until dusk. It was the kind of deep sleep that I took for granted before the Fall. This place was making me soft. At any rate, I needed the rest. My recent exertions had taxed my strength, but the combination of rest and fresh blood enhanced my recovery. I arose feeling much stronger—and
thirsty.

The sun was already setting when I walked upstairs. Alaric had already been up for hours. The man seemed to have endless energy. He was upstairs in the bedroom conversing with his wife about mundane happenings. She sounded exhausted, like she had not slept at all.

“Are you feeling sick, my love?” he asked.

“I’m just tired. Couldn’t sleep after you left.”

“And you didn’t try to stay late in bed and get some sleep this morning?”

“I would, but the house needed tending and there’s always something that needs doing.”

“Magda said you were sick a few times earlier.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I want you to get some rest.”

“What about dinner? There’s still so much left to do.”

“Let the girls take care of it. You just rest.”

“Okay. If you think so, I’ll just come down to dinner when it’s ready.”

“Only if you feel up to it, my dear.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Have you seen Matthias at all today?”

“I haven’t seen him all day, not since last night.”

Alaric grunted in annoyance. “I better not hear he’s out hunting again. There’s a horde of them still outside. I posted guards to keep them at the main gate while we sneak off in small groups to bring supplies and fresh food.”

“How do they keep them distracted?”

“We’ve had to give away a portion of our meat to them. You can call it a tribute or a tax. Also, you might notice less pigeons flying about when you go out.”

“That’s horrible.”

“No, horrible is what will happen to our men if we don’t keep these things occupied. Bear in mind what happened to Jethro’s group.”

“Oh. Then I guess that’s fair.”

“Just rest for now. I’ll see if Mordecai’s up yet.”

Before he had finished his conversation, I had already decided what I would do tonight. The horde of them gathered outside would have to be eliminated. I timed my walk upstairs to coincide with Alaric’s descent.

“Mordecai! I was about to see if you had risen yet.”

Risen.
I shudder at the word. It makes me feel like one of
them.

“It’s never as simple as waking up. The sun and I are not on the best of terms, a side effect of my gifts.”

“Yes, indeed. I was meaning to ask—”

“Say no more,” I replied, hefting the weighty axe up to my shoulder. “That horde is as good as gone. Just have some men ready with fuel and kindling so that we can take care of them.”

“Yes, we can do that. I’ll give the order.”

“Good. I’ll head to the main gate.”

I ran there, keeping my pace fast enough to dissuade anyone from trying to engage me.There were many eyes gleaming with admiration, ready to stop me if I showed the slightest sign of slowing. It’s a good thing no one questions a man running with a heavy axe.

A young man paced around the bridge, anxious for his shift to end. He had a pile of meat beside him, surrounded by a swarm of flies that added to his irritation. His job was to throw a piece of meat at the horde whenever it seemed like they were going to disperse. The cacophony of choking, wheezing, and moaning sounds from below were chipping away at his sanity one sound at a time. Add to that the stench that wafted up from below and he was almost ready to leap over the wall and join them. He was reaching down for another piece of meat when he felt a gust of wind and feet landing beside him.

“Good evening. How are you holding up?” I said to him. He gasped and almost fell over the wall had I not pulled him back. The creatures below became excited like a school of piranhas. Their moans of disappointment were even louder when I pulled him away from the edge.

“Thank…thank you,” he said.

“You better watch it. The best thing that could happen to you down there is that you break your neck when you hit the ground.”

“Um…yes.”

“Not in a mood to talk, huh? That’s fine. Hold down the fort. I’ll be back.” I dove off the wall and into the middle of the undead mob. They didn’t make any excited noises or even seem to notice me at all. I seemed to have lost all appeal to them. I felt almost jealous of all the living folks right then. Almost.

Now it was time to do what I had come to do. I choked down on the handle with both hands and spun around, taking off any heads in my path. I was a murderous whirling dervish, cutting down anything in my path. Any sensible creature would have scattered, but they kept ambling around until the cutting disk shortened them by a head or so.

I called it a damned fine piece of work. In only a few minutes’ time, I had cut the crowd down to nothing. Not one of them stood on their feet. The ground outside was a mannequin shop of decayed body parts strewn all around me. I walked around some more, bringing down the axe on any corpses still moving. There was a satisfying sound of crunching bone and spilling innards. Unfortunately, the sentinel above didn’t find it so amusing and spilled his dinner over the wall.

“Do you really have to do that? You’re grossing me out,” I joked.

“It’s my fault. I looked down, knowing I have a weak stomach.”

I leaped back up to the wall. I told him, “Then you might want to go find some real guts if you want to survive in this world.”

“Guts? Are you not done talking about this?”

“Never mind.” I hopped down and headed back to the house. If people left me alone before, they gave me a nice, wide berth now. No one wants to talk to a man holding a large axe—especially a bloody one—while he walks around, whistling without a care in the whole world. Needless to say, I made it to the house without being stopped.

“Back already?” asked Alaric, who was getting ready to step out. 

“Yes. Your problem is fixed for now. You’ll need to follow through and take care of the remains before they start to get up and move.”

“I’m going to let the men know. I will be back for dinner. Just be patient. Oh, and Mordecai?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t drag that stinking bloody axe through the house. You’ll kill everyone’s appetite. Rhiannon is already having problems holding food down. She doesn’t need the extra help.”

Of course she doesn’t.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll wash this before I return it inside.” I buried the blade in the dirt a few times, rubbing the gore off it until it came back clean. It would do well enough. I took the axe downstairs and came back up before anyone could see me.

“Good evening, young man,” exclaimed a voice behind me. It was the matron. I found her greeting quite hilarious, and let her know by laughing out loud. Her expression returned to her usual dourness. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

“I think I will. My presence has been requested.”

“Yes, the mister and ma’am would like you at the table.”

“Then I suppose I will honor their request.”

Dinner was ready a few minutes later. Evelyn came to fetch me and led me to the dining room downstairs. I got another chance to see that splendid dining table. It really was a masterpiece.

The room looked deserted compared to the last time, with only Alaric and Rhiannon in attendance. Evelyn and Magda were there, of course, but only in a serving capacity.

“Is this everyone?” I asked. Such a large dining room seemed to merit more diners than just the three of us.

“I still have not heard from Matthias. There were other guests on our list, but it seems we may be dining by ourselves.” He looked down at his empty plate. “Since they were to provide your food tonight, I will not be able to feed you. We will have to make different arrangements.”

I wondered what he said to them. How do you invite someone to that kind of dinner? 

“Hey, do you want to come over to eat dinner and give some of your blood to our Vampire guest?”
Sounds good to me. I couldn’t imagine why any sane person would turn that down.

The women came with their meals, which consisted of a succulent-looking rabbit roasted to a golden brown and mashed potatoes. Even as someone who could not appreciate food, I would say it looked appetizing. We joined in a quick prayer of thanks. After the amen, they picked up their forks and knives and got ready to cut into the rabbit when Magda came back down.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said.

“What is it, Magda?” asked Rhiannon with a bit of an edge to her voice.

“Your guests, Miss Sharon and Miss Jessamine, are here. Shall I bring them down?”

“Of course! We’re about to eat. Don’t keep them waiting. And please bring them something to eat straight away.”

“Missus Evelyn is already working on it.”

“Good, send them straight in. Don’t delay.”

“I’m sorry we are late,” said the first woman. She had hair as blond as a husk of corn, sky blue eyes, and bronze sun-kissed skin, with accents of red on her cheeks. The second woman had neck-length hair the color of chestnut and a pale complexion that rivaled mine. Her eyes were pine green with a small ring of brown on the inner irises.

They came around to my side and sat on either side of me. Evelyn came holding a tray with a bottle of wine while Magda brought out the dishes for the guests. The wine in the bottle seemed a bit thick, so I picked up the bottle and swirled it a little. It was warm to the touch, and it smelled coppery. Now I knew this was not wine. This bottle contained what was to be my dinner.

“Now that everyone’s dinner is here, we can eat,” said Alaric. Magda proceeded to pour me a tall goblet of the crimson liquid, holding it at a distance like it was some kind of poison. My sense of smell told me there was nothing else in it, not even alcohol. I thanked her and took a sip of the liquid. It was flavorful and heady, as the blood of young people tends to be.

“Is it…how does it taste?” asked Miss Sharon, the blonde.

“It’s very good,” I replied with a sincere smile. After downing the first cup, I poured myself another and allowed myself to enjoy it just a bit more slowly.

“You can always take more if you like,” she said, baring her neck for my inspection. The blue vein stood out like a beacon. I could almost feel the heartbeat and blood flow from where I sat. It took a considerable amount of restraint to keep from biting down right then. Jessamine looked down at her plate and stole sideway glances at me.