Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (43 page)

The brave man, farthest to the right answered first. “A death at the hands of an enemy is never with shame. All that matters is he died protecting our lands, our people.”

The equally brave soldier on the left answered next. “His death is nothing to the pain we will exact on your corpse, you monster!”

The two men ran together towards the tall figure with courage. The body fell to the ground as the two of them came within two feet of the stranger. He moved, but his feet held still. Not once did he lift a step to avoid the swinging blades. In an instant the man on the right fell where he stood, his throat torn out. The stranger's speed was inhuman. The soldier on the left was not so fortunate. His breath was silenced as the tall man's hand was deeply cratered into the center of the brave man's chest. The monster had a hold of his actual heart, still alive and beating. The soldier struggled, thrashing, clawing at the arm now grasping his life. The blood splashed the dry soil, painting it with fresher, more living color. The soldier's efforts to resist were nothing to this creature that resembled a man. All his movements to obtain freedom simply hastened his death. The blood flowed, his breath quickened. He was dying. This monster was unreal. He was a wall, too strong to break down with mere fists and blades. He was a walking nightmare.

The younger soldier stood watching the ghastly sight unfold, not moving and at times forgetting to breathe. He said nothing while he bore witness.

“You there.” The purple eyed man called out to the young soldier.

The young soldier did not move or answer.

The purple eyed man crushed the heart of the man with his left hand. The blood poured down to his feet, it pooled, gathering until a small river began to flow towards the young soldier. It ran over the toe of his right shoe, connecting them.

“I'm speaking to you.” There was no deviation in the monster's tone. He could have been relaxing in a meadow or tilling the fields, instead of slaughtering three men with ease. From his voice, one would never know. “Do you know why your tempered friends had to die?”

The young man remained frozen. His throat closed, he did not know what he might say to appease this monster into letting him live. The young man prepared to die. Inside his head, he prayed. He felt remorse for not being able to prevent the deaths of his countrymen. He felt like a coward not able to defend his fellow soldiers from this powerful creature. He knew that he should have died with them, not hide in his own shoes and wait for the monster to come to him.

The tall man dropped the newly mutilated corpse. Without sound, in front of the young soldier's eyes, he appeared before the body had time to hit the ground. He spoke again to the young soldier. His voice echoed in the distance, among the trees. “Do you know the answer to my question, young man?”

Trembling, the young soldier spoke out of impulse, without thinking at all. “I'm still standing because I have remained standing, as I am still.”

The tall man laughed a hearty roar. He smiled with blood oozing out from his both sides of his mouth. “You are a unique one aren't you. Without the brawn of your compatriots you were the only one to keep your life this grim night. You should be proud.” The monster wiped his chin with his forearm, smearing blood over the back of his own hand. “What's your name soldier?”

Still shaking in place, the young man answered truthfully and immediately. “Orhn Damascus.”

“Well Orhn, is this your first encounter with a vampire?” The tall monster's purple eyes widened, staring at Orhn.

“Yes.” It leaped out of Orhn's mouth before his brain had a chance think about his reply. He was afraid for his life, Orhn didn't want to die.

“Did you enjoy the sight? The display of power I hold over the human body?” The monster came close to Orhn's face. “Or are you afraid of it? Of me?”

Now truly scared, Orhn had stopped shaking. There was nothing more to fear, he knew that he was going to die. All he had to do was prove he was worthy of joining his friends in the afterlife. “I will keep my vigil until you leave if that is what you are asking. Someone will need to bury these men. Though in life they were not my closest friends, I can at least give them the honor of a proper grave.” Orhn had never even drawn his sword against this man calling himself a vampire, and he did not intend to either. Whatever this creature really was, he was far stronger than Orhn, and skilled in how to take life easily. Orhn was not going to provoke him.

“You are either a coward or a very smart man.” The tall man eased up, away from Orhn's face. “Fewer men have gotten where you stand this night for less than that. But your words do interest me. For that, I will permit you to see me again.”

“Why?” Orhn hiccupped, unsettled by his own question.

“Perhaps you
are
as bold as the others, and want to die?” The monster's voice returned to its booming presence. “Or maybe you simply wish to know?” He smiled, his eyes wide, his face stained with now dry blood.

The weather was cold in the forest where they were, the wind began to blow strong.

The monster stared at Orhn. “You will not see me for two years. I will not harm anyone in this region for all that time. Once it is come to pass, I will call on you. You will answer, and follow me to where ever I choose.”

“Is that a choice, or an ultimatum?” Orhn was shivering now, his adrenaline had been used up. He was getting cold from the sweat soaked pelts he wore. The night air was chilling him as his resolve weakened.

“You do surprise, don't you?” The monster breathed deep, then sighed. “It is a deal to be sealed and treasured until I come for its collection. You can accept and keep your life. Or refuse and lay among your peers tonight. It is a choice, but it is not a fair one. What I offer is to your benefit as well as mine. As to exactly what that is, two years will confirm my intentions.”

The creature resembling a man turned away from Orhn. He walked out into the forest alone. Slowly taking his time, letting Orhn watch. More than an hour passed until Orhn was ready to break stance and dare to pick up the pieces of his fellow soldiers. He gathered rocks from the nearby stream and placed the bodies side by side next to the guard post that was now in shambles. By morning Orhn had gathered the rocks. He made above ground graves for each of the dead men. Orhn was crafty, but he had forgotten to check the fire blazing inside the hut. By daybreak it had been reduced to ash in the dirt and snow. Orhn covered the signs of blood, thinking it was best not to mention the vampire for fear of being laughed out of his unit for spreading superstitions. At least for now, he would keep that part to himself. Orhn planned to inform his superior that wolves had attacked all the men involved. That he was timidly hanging back while the rest of the men fought ferociously, and eventually fell. That he ran once they were overrun. That in time Orhn finally returned to lay them to rest after what had happened.

One day after, Orhn trekked back and reached the bulk of his unit at one of their regional head quarters. Orhn's report carried a small measure of praise. He survived a vicious wolf raid on a guard post that had been already overtaken that day. His superior chuckled and nick named him the 'lucky runner.' The name didn't reflect well on Orhn.

Five months later Orhn had been restricted to small jobs, nothing on the front of battle. He was removed from any sort of mission greater than tracking down a lost child's cat. His commanders thought he was unworthy of defending their lands because they believed him a coward. He never could tell them the truth of why he was the only survivor. Of why a vampire that ripped men more stronger than him apart would spare his life.

Orhn had been raised with the Ottoman soldiers since he was a little boy. From shoveling horse stables to becoming the youngest apprentice to the local blacksmith the town had ever seen. Orhn was known as a smart young man, but a young man none the less. His first job on the battlefield was to stab the fallen enemies that peppered the bloodied hill sides the soldiers fought for. A task that was meant to lame his mind to the horrors of fighting for the Ottoman Empire. A repetitive chore that certainly did the job. Orhn had become numb to violence. A fact that he was sure of until that night with the vampire.

At the Ottoman camp, alone, in a tiny clay hobble with a worn tan rug for a curtain door, and nothing but a flat clay bed, sat Orhn. Disturbed over his current dilemma, he remained quickly in his room, for lack of a better term, while in the military unit and under restriction for letting his fellow men die.

The sound of a pan flute was gently playing and soothed Orhn's mind. It was down the camp street. It was making its way slowing, melodically towards him. Orhn walked outside to see who was crafting such a lovely whimsical tune. He came to the sight of a young woman. Her hair was long, down to her mid back, dark brown, mostly straight with a slight wave. She had soft hazel eyes that rested Orhn's soul as the music emanated from the pan flute. Her figure helped as well, standing five foot seven and very thin, she was appealing. Her face was slender and oval with a dainty chin that Orhn found to be quite cute. She was wearing an ankle length, off white dress in a wrap style with a thin tan rope belt to fasten it. Orhn however, hadn't been in a full uniform for over a month. He was in a much darker, mixed fiber woolen shirt and animal hide leather pants. Without thinking, he stumbled into the street, directly in front of the gorgeous girl of her late teens.

Somewhat startled, the girl stopped playing.

“Oh, ah, hi.” Orhn put his shoe in his mouth and was chewing on it. He attempted to recover, “I, ah, your name?” With no success.

The girl was kind, and understanding of Orhn's babbling. She put her flute away, into a tan satchel behind her right hip. “You want to know my name? Why?”

Orhn didn't think the girl would actually talk to him. He generally didn't think that far ahead in his own life. Orhn had to think of something on the spot. “Um, I, because I think you're a vision.” Orhn's words came just before his mind.

“You think I'm that pretty, do you?” The girl tilted her head to the right side. She raised an eye brow to the thought of taking this opportunity for the nice gesture it was. “My name is Cilia, and you would be?”

Orhn knew that his reputation was grim throughout the entire town. He had to say something, but not who he actually was for fear of losing the attention of this beautiful girl. “I'm a secret.”

“You're a secret? Really? How can one be a secret if I might ask?” Cilia folded her arms and placed the tip of her left finger onto her chin.

“One can be a secret if the need ever arises. And trust me, the need is there. So my name's a secret, for now.” Orhn was thinking on his toes, something very new to him. “Do you like to play often?”

“Yes.” Cilia uncrossed her arms and tapped her satchel that held the pan flute. “It's my little escape from my world.” Cilia's hazel eyes were soft and attractive.

Orhn stared at Cilia. “And what do you have to escape from? You're a walking dream.” Orhn was becoming bold, he was feeling more and more confidence talking to this young woman.

“Well, you see, I'm betrothed to a coward.” Cilia did not sound happy as she spoke.

Orhn froze in place. He dare not say a word.

“My dad has told me that one of the commanders traded a year of provisions for my hand in marriage. All so he can marry me off to a coward. He was a soldier that couldn't protect his men and ran back to camp with not even a scratch on him.” Cilia hung her head low.

“What's his name.” Orhn gulped down his pride along with the question.

“Orhn Damascus, or some wimpy name like that.” Cilia did not seem to approve of Orhn's reputation at all.

“Well, Cilia, it was nice meeting you. I hope everything works out well for you.” Orhn, mortified, stepped back inside his cramped little hobble of a home. He had heard nothing about an arranged marriage. Not to mention that the commander hadn't spoken favorably of Orhn in a while. Orhn sat down, contemplating what was going on.

Cilia followed Orhn into his home. “You know, if you wanted me to come inside, all you had to do was ask.” Cilia slid closed the curtain rug draped in front of Orhn's small room. “I'm not married yet, and you're not too bad yourself.” Cilia unknotted the thin rope around her waist. She loosened her dress while slowly approaching Orhn.

Orhn didn't know what to do, he knew what he wanted to do, but not what he should. Cilia was coming on strong, walking right up to his face. She was about to slip off her dress as he managed to speak.

“Hey, you don't know what you're doing.” Orhn let out, half-heartedly.

Cilia slid the shoulder straps off of her dress. It fell to her chest as she caught it in her arms. Cilia was nearly exposing her breasts except for the bunched fabric gathered above her arms while supporting the rest of the dress from falling any further. Cilia wanted to seduce the latest boy that caught her eye. She wanted Orhn before she couldn't have him anymore. Orhn was being used to suit her whim. She didn't care that he didn't understand why she was doing it. Unknown to Orhn, Cilia knew exactly who he was. She had known for a week that she was actually engaged to him on the commander's behalf. Cilia simply didn't want Orhn to think he had a chance with her if the circumstances were any different. At the same time, Cilia wanted to give Orhn a treat, to start their relationship off on a good note. She wanted to toy with him a little before they were married and had to get along. It was her way of spicing things up after her eighteenth birthday a week ago.