Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust (17 page)

         "Well, that's easy
to find out," Azrael replied calmly.

         "How?" Chalice
asked with great interest.

         The vampire just grinned
and announced confidently, "Some of my followers are in town. I 'm sure
they are more than willing to assist me in my little game. We are going to turn
the hunters into hunted."

*****

Surprised, Jean looked up from his
dinner as a dripping wet person entered the kitchen.

         "Young master!"
Monique exclaimed in shock and hurried over to the young man. "What
happened to you?"

         Before Kyrian could
answer, the cook grabbed one of the roughly woven towels and began to dry his
long hair. "You have to get out of these wet clothes right away, before
you catch your death," she said firmly. "Besides, you are dripping
all over my freshly cleaned floor and I can't allow that."

         Jean chuckled, merriment
dancing in his eyes, as Kyrian's imploring gaze met his. "Do not try to
resist her, my boy!" He shook his head. "Monique's maternal instincts
are strongly developed. I wonder what it will be like when we have children of
our own."

         That remark earned him a
harsh glare from the cook and he quickly turned back to his meal, while Monique
sent Kyrian off to change clothes.

*****

         Azrael clearly relished
the massage, which had turned into a tender caress.

         Chalice's fingers slid
over his bare, muscled back down to the waistband of his pants. With the tips
of her fingers, she traced the contours of his clan tattoo, which had been
etched into his lower back. The picture of a black cobra in attack position
stood out from the pale skin. Fascinated, the young woman regarded the tattoo
in the flickering light of candles, which had been placed all around the room.
The play of shadows and light made the symbol appear alive, and Chalice thought
she could hear quiet hissing noises. Utterly enraptured, she paused. Not
loosing eye contact with the snake's tattoo, she asked quietly, "Will this
be mine, too?"

         Azrael's eyes opened
slowly and he rolled over, so that Chalice was sitting on his lap. "What
are you talking about," he enquired, lurking.

         Her soft, warm hands
began to caress his muscled chest. "After you've made me your bloodmate,
will I also bear your symbol on my body?"

         Azrael groaned. For a
while now, Chalice had been getting on his nerves with wanting to become his
bloodmate. "Yes, sure," he responded dismissively. "When the
time has come."

         "When will that be,
my Master?" she asked with emphasis in her voice and began to cover his
chest with kisses.

         He sat up and pushed her
roughly off his lap. "The exact time has to be chosen wisely," Azrael
said, annoyed by the discussion.

         "To me it seems that
the time has come. Yes, the moment is simply perfect!" Chalice whined,
batting her innocent eyes at him. "Why wait any longer, my Master?"

         Chalice rose and pressed
herself against his back, embracing his body fiercely from behind. "I so
desire to finally become one with you. Please, my Master, please! Release me
from my dreary human existence and let me become a part of your world! Please,
do it, my Master! Bite me, I beg of you! Bite me!" she whispered hoarsely
into his ear, not willing to be put off any longer.

         The vampire's body
shuddered. The temptation was great, because he hadn't had anything to drink
this night. He could feel her heartbeat thudding against his back, could hear
the blood coursing through her veins. Yet, he withstood the longing, pulled out
of her embrace and brought some distance between their bodies. "We don't
have any time to spare. There are more important things that need our
attention," Azrael answered, delaying her.

         "But, my
Master..."

         "ENOUGH!" he
thundered furiously. "I'm warning you, Chalice. Don't try my patience! You
don't know what else I am capable of!" Blood thirst was flashing wildly in
his eyes and the scared young woman retreated. Shaking with fear, she stumbled
backward and fell onto the bed as the vampire drew closer.

         Their gazes locked,
Azrael straddled her trembling body, grabbed her wrists and held them in a
viselike grip. His powerful charisma bound the young woman as much as his
strength did. Chalice was joyfully overwhelmed and frightened at the same time.
She was unable to free herself, her pulse racing.

         The vampire bent down to
whisper into her ear, "Do you want to know how I became head of the
Serpentes? Do you really want to know?"

         The fine scent of
sandalwood filled her nostrils and Chalice couldn't think of anything else but
her Master, and how much she longed to be his one and only. Her lips slowly
parted, and quietly, she breathed, "Yes, I want."

         A contemptuous smile
graced Azrael's features as he left the bed, turned his back on Chalice and
began to dress. "I admit I was young and inexperienced back then. I
relished living among the Spanish nobles. While I indulged my every whim,
Apophis, my soon-to-be-master, was already observing me, without my notice. My
dissolute youth ran by and I grew tired of this life. Day in, day out, it was
always the same. I became bored. Nothing made me happy anymore. Nor did money,
or women, or the conveniences at the side of my friends. Then, at the height of
my great boredom, he appeared. My honored Master Apophis, head of the Serpentes
clan."

         Azrael paused, quietly
thinking about that first encounter.

         Chalice's eyes were fixed
to his lips, begging him to continue the story.

         As the vampire finally
went on, he couldn't suppress a trace of awe in his voice. "During
visiting the theater, he entered my loge. Silent, he sat there, watching the
play with me. I was no longer able to concentrate on the play. I felt him
watching me, although, from the corner of my eyes, I saw that he didn't spare
me a glance. Furtively, I sized him up. He seemed to be very wise and
experienced in the matters of life. I wondered how old that man could be. His
skin showed no signs of age. His smooth, gray hair had been tied to a braid and
the fine fabric of his clothes was of exotic elegance."

         Again Azrael halted, this
time to pour himself a glass of red wine. "Before the play was over, he
left the loge. Unasked, I followed him into the night. His mere presence
banished the gray boredom from my heart. With every second, I felt the feeling
grow inside me to be unable to live without him."

         Lost in thought, he
stared into his glass. "Today I know that it was a vampire, who seduced my
heart."

         Excited, Chalice
interrupted him, "And then? Did he turn you into one of his own
kind?"

         "Yes, that night was
the last I looked at the world with mortal eyes. Apophis chose that moment for
me. He liked me so much that he gave me a choice of my own. Of course, I chose
to be changed. I didn't want to be a slave. I wanted to be a vampire, because I
didn't want to die. Not after having met him." Azrael's voice had softened
during the recount.

         Chalice's eyes sparkled
with joy."Oh, I'm sure it was the happiest moment for you."

         Azrael snorted in
annoyance. "I was a vampire, and at the same time, I was not."

         "What?" she
grumbled, before admitting, "I don't understand that."

         "I didn't expect you
to." Arrogantly, the vampire looked down at Chalice. "It means I
didn't have the advantages as those of the
Old Blood
, the
Born
."
Pure disdain was audible as he continued. "I was not like them, not an
equal. It was too late for me, the decision had been made. They didn't reveal
the deepest secrets of the folk of night. I also wasn't allowed to ask anything
about the
Chronicles of Darkness
, which supposedly contain all ancient
knowledge of the world. Jealous, they fiercely guarded it and kept their knowledge
hidden from me. I only caught bits and pieces when I eavesdropped on their
conversations. Nothing had changed. Year upon year went by, always the same.
The vampires of the
Old Blood
strode around with dignity, while our kind
was barely tolerated at court. Mostly, they kept us, the
Unborn,
hidden
in the shadows, as to not be constantly reminded of their guilt.

         He gulped down the wine.
"My disgust with the clan grew immensely." His eyes gleamed. "I
learned a lot through observing them. For a long time I thought I was only one
of many, but then I discovered my great talent... manipulation of the will.
After a while that wasn't enough anymore, and I realized that I could gain more
power and influence, if I were to drink the blood of immortal souls. I knew it
was the greatest sin in the world of vampires, but still, I followed through. I
did it with great fervor!"

         To cut off another of
Chalice's questions, he added, "Only those of the
Old Blood
have
their skills since birth and can develop them throughout their existence."

         With bated breath,
Chalice had listened to her master. She wrinkled her forehead in disbelief.
"Is that the truth?"

         Anger flared up in the
vampire. "Are you accusing me of lying?"

         "No! No, of course
not!" Chalice whimpered. "It's just that... I thought..."

         "You
thought
?"
Azrael burst into laughter, roughly grabbing her chin. "Don't wreck your
pretty head."

         Her pride wounded,
Chalice pulled her chin free and slid off the bed. She retreated to a dark
corner, now silent.

         Smiling, Azrael watched
her for a while and then continued his tale. "Every wretched day, I hated
them more for allowing this terrible injustice. So I used the only opportunity
I had left. I took control of naive minions and put my plan of manipulation
into action."

         He emptied another glass
in one swallow. His mood now softened, he walked over to Chalice. Azrael bent
down to the crouching figure, cupped her neck and pulled her beautiful face
towards him. "Oh, it was so easy. So ridiculously easy. I killed them all
with great pleasure and left no one alive. If the other clans had been warned,
my followers and I would have never made it out of there. But what is life
worth without the risk of losing it? Nothing." He leered at her.
"Now, nobody can hold me back from reaching the top."

         Completely devoted,
Chalice writhed in his arms, spellbound by the dark power he strongly radiated.

         "These so-called
rulers, who think only they have the skills and knowledge to lead the
vampires," he spat disgusted.

         Suddenly a thought crossed
Chalice's mind. "After you killed them all, did you then get the
Chronicles
of Darkness
?"

         "I searched the
castle from the roof to the cellar, looked in every corner, left nothing
unturned, but the
Chronicles of Darkness
were not in the Serpentes'
possession." Grimly, he clenched his hands to fists. "Sooner or
later, of course I'd prefer sooner, they will be mine. All their knowledge will
belong to me."

         Excited by Azrael's
words, the young woman dared to ask another question, "How did it feel to
drink
the
blood? The blood of an immortal, that of your master?"

         With pleasure the vampire
remembered the moment. "Arousing. My teeth pierced the skin of his throat
and I tasted his ancient blood. The flood of his powers impaled me with brutal
force to live on in my veins. As the last drop of blood trickled down my
throat, Apophis was no more than a drained and empty shell."

         "That truly sounds
intoxicating," Chalice whispered.

         "Oh, it definitely
is. Still, to become anything like one of the
Old Blood,
I have to drink
a lot of immortal blood. Unfortunately, the blood of humans and
Unborn
vampires is too weak to reach my sought-for prize."

         "Well, then let us
go, my Master, to find the other clans. Together, we will deliver them to their
unavoidable fate."

         Azrael glared harshly at
his high-spirited companion. "
We
will do nothing!"

         "Uh... uh...
no?" Chalice stuttered, surprised.

         "No! Of course
not!" Azrael thundered. "Do you really think it would be easy?"

         "I... I do not
know..." came the unsure reply.

         Finally, Azrael lost his
self-control and growled, "Of course, you don't! Because
you
were
not there! After having lived with them for so long, I opened their eyes, so
they may recognize their clan's continuing decay. Even before my time, they had
lost many of the
Old Blood.
The rest of the clan is living secluded and
unknown in the Spanish wilderness."