Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (57 page)

Li said “we will have an accurate count
after we arrive, but it is likely to be eighteen to twenty four.
They are untrained rogue vampires.”

Henri looked around then and said “Li will
assign teams to the windows on this drawing and then we go.” In
just minutes fifteen shadows silently flitted from the back
entrance of a warehouse on a dark side street in Marseille and
rocketed off to the north.

The fire hissed and crackled occasionally as
the women and children held green poplar sticks with skewered fish
fillets over it. Ian had led the group northward all the way to the
log bridge he built across the ravine and they had camped just
north of there for the night. It had been an uneventful day and
they had been a good group. None complained and all were grateful
to be going back to their village and to their people. As the day
progressed, they had gotten used to the strange man who led them.
Nearly all day long he would be seen carrying any two of the four
girls. Usually one would be sitting on his shoulders while the
other was in his arms.

He had stopped every two hours for a brief
rest period and kept them moving without stopping for a midday
meal. It was uncertain whether the others would pursue them or not,
so he always walked in the rear of their column to hear if any
pursuers were coming. By midday he had relaxed somewhat in the
belief that the remainder had decided to go on, not sure how many
demons they would have to fight if they did catch them.

After going upstream he had found a fairly
calm pool and had spent nearly an hour hand-fishing. During that
time he had made the entire group stay with him on one bank of the
stream as a precaution. He would stab his arm into the water
lightning fast and would pull out a fish, knock it on the head with
the handle of his knife and toss it to the women on the shore.
Every time he did that the four little girls would giggle. After
catching fourteen fish this way, he waded ashore and cleaned them
at vampire speed as the women and children watched in wonder.

Starting a fire beneath a dense grove of
hardwood trees and using only dead wood he trotted off into the
woods and returned only minutes later with twenty-eight green
poplar sticks already sharpened. As the sun went down, they were
roasting their fillets on the fire as he ranged off into the woods,
doing a wide circle to the south and listening intently for sounds
of pursuit.

Satisfied after a while he hunted and soon
had caught and killed six rabbits. Draining his flasks he refilled
them and then rapidly tied up and dressed the game at vampire
speed. Finishing that chore he bounded away toward the camp.
Emerging from the gloom of the forest into the little clearing he
walked to the fire and said “More meat for whoever wants it” as he
set the dressed carcasses down, each wrapped in its hide, and
tossed his knife down next to them.

“Will you sit with us now” asked the oldest,
a woman of twenty four years.

“Not yet. I want to be sure we weren’t
followed.” He trotted off to the west, following the river and then
veered off to the north to do a circle back to the river.
Periodically he would stop and listen intently, and then move on
silently. About a quarter hour later he had circled back to the
river and then he leaped it to do one last circle to the south,
taking more time. Twenty minutes later he trotted out of the gloom
and came to the fire to sit. The two little girls who had slept
between his knees the night before approached shyly and stood in
front of him, smiling. He opened his legs up and patted the ground
in front and the two giggled and settled down there, each clinging
to a knee as they settled back onto his chest as he leaned back on
a tree trunk.

The oldest one said “How long have you lived
with the people of Tall Elk?”

“I don’t live there all of the time, but I
come after the snow is gone and I go to where the white men live
when the leaves fall.”

“You are married to one called Moon
Owl?”

“Yes.”

“We heard about the lacrosse match that Tall
Elk’s people won.”

“I was there.”

“It is said that no one can get a ball past
you if you guard the goal.”

“Is that not what I am supposed to do?”

Several of the older girls laughed at that,
and then one of them said “How is it you move so fast and jump so
far?”

He sighed and said “I am of a different race
of people. Even though I look like any other man, I am
different.”

Another one asked “Are there more of
you?”

“Yes. My friend James is like me. I don’t
think there are many others in this land.”

Still another one asked “Have you a
family?”

“Yes.”

“Where do they live?”

“Across the great eastern sea in another
land.”

By now the two little girls on his stomach
were fast asleep and the oldest woman got up, bringing a blanket to
him which he softly spread over the two. Settling back he absently
stroked the hair of one of the two tenderly, listening to the
sounds of the night.

“Why did you come to this land?”

As he was about to answer, he thought he
heard the sound of feet stealthily approaching from the north.
Putting his index finger to his lips he made a ‘shhhh’ sound as he
slowly disentangled himself from the children and stood, listening.
Suddenly his eyes glowed brightly as he ripped his sword from its
scabbard at vampire speed and leapt across the fire and over the
heads of those gathered there, his sword raised to
strike
.

Chapter 82

A whippoorwill called, punctuating the
endless song of cicadas and crickets as a full moon arose over
northern Marseille. Fifteen shadows flitted along like windblown
smoke, stopping in an area of blackness in a small grove of trees.
Two of those shadows detached themselves from the group and flitted
silently toward a house which sat apart by its self, stopping some
four hundred feet from it. An owl sounded and four shadows nearer
the house detached themselves from dark places and flitted silently
toward the first two, joining them.

Louis whispered “Well?”

Andre whispered “Three went out earlier and
have not returned yet.”

Celeste chuckled and whispered “If they are
going to the chateau, they are wasting their time.”

Louis turned to her and whispered “How many,
Celeste?”

“Twenty two. Six are females.”

Louis whispered then “We wait for the other
three for a while then. You four go back to your posts and call us
if you see them come back or if more leave.”

“Let me stay here, Louis.”

“No, Celeste.”

“I might pick up something… maybe their
intentions.”

He thought for a bit, then whispered, “Stay
here, I will return.”

The five flitted away silently, melting into
the darkness all about the place, maintaining a distance of some
two hundred feet from it as Celeste hunkered down where she was,
trying to read the minds of those inside. She thought
Celine,
can you help Mama?

The reply came in her mind clearly
yes
Mama. I will help.

Rejoining the group, Louis gave the report
and went back to rejoin Celeste.

Henri said “Let’s wait a while and see if
they return. If not, we go in no later than two hours after
midnight. Everyone get comfortable.”

An owl sounded three times and the four
watchers came to where Louis and Celeste were waiting. Jennifer
said “We saw three returning with two bundles.” Louis rocketed away
to the main group and shortly they were all together with Celeste
in the middle.

“They are going to attack the chateau
tomorrow night and they now have twenty one males and six females
and two male humans to drain.”

Henri whispered “This is it then. Hoods on,
everyone. Li; take over.”

Li stepped into the center of the group
whispering “You all have your assigned entry place. They will try
to get away before fighting. The first minute or so is our best
time for getting kills. Take your time and shoot them in the brain
only and then finish them off. When you shoot, drop the pistol and
draw another. Don’t even try to put one back into its holster. That
distraction might get you killed. Don’t cock your weapons until
after we go in. Timekeepers check your pocket watches now.”

During the silence, Celeste thought
thank
you Celine. Be a good girl now and do what Aimee says until I come
for you.

You are welcome Mama. I will be a good girl.
Give Papa a kiss for me.

Around a half a minute elapsed in silence as
the eight time keepers checked their time pieces. Marie whispered
“We are all good.”

Li whispered “Monsieur Hoffmeister, Monsieur
Von Steuben, and Hans. You three are starting this. The center
dormer is open already. You have six minutes from now.” He stepped
to each and shook each one’s hands. They nodded curtly and flitted
away to the house as Li said “We can do this, everyone. We only
have to stay disciplined and focused. They will think an army is
invading and won’t know that they outnumber us. Be of good courage
and we will win this thing.”

The timekeepers all watched their watches as
the entry team worked their way through the 3
^rd
floor
and then down to the 2
^nd
floor.

Inside, Heinrich and Wilhelm were now at the
2
^nd
floor landing of the front staircase, listening to
the large number of vampires on the main floor argue about where to
take the victims to drain them. Hans was poised at bottom of the
rear staircase in the kitchen, watching his timepiece.

From the parlor came a voice saying “Moreau
says we go tomorrow night and that only the two of them are there.
We can have anything we find afterwards. I am looking forward to
this.”

A female voice said “Me too. That place is
enormous. Can you imagine what is in there?”

“Are we sure there are only two of them in
that big place?”

“There are two or three domestics too, but
we will just kill them and drain them. I am looking forward to it,
and you can bet that banker’s wife has a jewelry collection like a
princess!”

“You three quit dividing loot we have not
seen yet and find some rope. We’re draining these two
upstairs.”

Just then chaos erupted as the front door
burst open and the six women entered, all hooded and clad in their
black fighting suits. Simultaneously eight side windows and two
front windows burst inward as hooded black-clad figures flew in and
rolled to their feet. A roar of gunfire erupted then as the
vampires roared and screamed in panic, bolting for the main
staircase and the kitchen. Hans emerged from the kitchen with a
blunderbuss and cut the first vampire nearly in two as the force of
the blast threw him back into his fellows’ faces. Dropping that
blunderbuss, he grabbed the second one slung on his shoulder and
cut loose, taking the head off of one who had followed the first.
The third turned and ran back into the melee. Five had tried the
main staircase and the first two had their heads blown off by
Heinrich and Wilhelm as they cut loose with their blunderbusses,
dropping them immediately and pulling dragon pistols. As the second
row came at them they both cut loose with their dragon pistols,
hitting both males in their faces at point blank range,
obliterating chunks of their heads and splattering the mess all
over the ones behind them. Dropping those pistols, the two drew
their last two dragon pistols and shot yet two more in their heads
as they were trying to back away.

Li had shot one in the head and quickly
decapitated him, moving forward in a battle crouch. He had dropped
his pistol and had two more ready as he advanced, seeking and
finding two targets with head shots.

At the front door there began to be a press
to get out that way as the panicked vampires were thinking that
invaders were still pouring in the windows. A knot of eight of them
stormed the door trying to break through the six women defending
it. Six pistol shots sounded nearly at one time as the six of them
hit four vampires in the head. As those four lay flailing about the
others jumped over them and crashed into the women. Marie was
knocked flat as she got off a shot to the head of one large male
who fell atop her, flailing about as Celeste was borne down by a
screeching female with a knife that viciously stabbed her three
times even as she got off a shot to her opponents gut.

Before any of the other women could help
Celeste they had two males crash into their midst in a raging
panic, trying to escape the death and destruction behind them.
Jennifer and Simone both drew pistols and shot both males in their
heads, dropping their pistols to draw two more.

Gun smoke was by now so thick that
visibility was reduced to maybe ten feet and the noise had reached
a crescendo of gunshots, curses, screams, and shouts as the fight
became a gigantic brawl taking the entire space of the main floor
of the house. Marie had finally gotten from beneath the huge male
on top of her and covered with his blood, she ripped her sword free
and shouted “Cover me” as she began to behead all of those who were
down near the group. In around ten seconds she had chopped off the
heads of four of them and kicked them away as she sheathed her
sword and rejoined the group. “I’m pulling Celeste out” she cried
as she pulled Celeste to the front doorway. Quickly she put a flask
to Celeste’s mouth as she cradled her in her arms while keeping a
wary eye on her four companions fighting in front of her. As
Celeste began to revive she took the second flask from Marie and
said “I can drink now. Go and fight.” Marie propped her against the
door casing and returned to the fight just in time to jam her
dragon pistol into the mouth of a female who was stabbing Liri. She
pulled the trigger and the vampire’s head exploded splattering gore
and bone fragments all over Liri and the others. Pulling Liri
upright, Marie gave her a flask and stood shoulder to shoulder with
her and the other women as they got a short respite.