Red Serpent: The Falsifier (22 page)

Richard locked the door of the room. He sat in the chair next to John. He closed his eyes and relaxed. It was time for some contemplation.

Alex remained doubtful of what Nikolas had said. But he also knew that it all fit. “Now, what do I do with this knowledge? How am I supposed to use it?” Alex asked.

Nikolas understood how he felt as did the others who watched the boy with humility. Joqetu spoke, “Alex, this is something with which we will help you. You are our responsibility now. It’s obvious Aidan wanted us to teach you.”

Varenkoff added, “And now that you know it, what’s stopping you? If anything, this knowledge will give you a head start with your training.”

Alex nodded. “I know that I have to do these things but I need to take it slowly. How should we begin?” He turned to Nikolas.

“Like all trainings,” Nikolas said, “this one begins with theory.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think in your case you need to study so much. You already know a lot of it, inherently. It just needs to come out through practical experiment.”

“Okay?”

“You know you were able to telepathically communicate with me, but you didn’t know how. Somehow, you were able to create energy, but it happened as a reaction. When we were initiating you, you took our energy, which is something only a very powerful vampire can do. Now you did these things without any prior conscious knowledge.”

“Uh-huh,” Alex was weary of how slowly Nikolas explained things.

“That obviously means that you have power and it’s coming closer, but I suspect something else. I think that your use of powers could be, perhaps, a direct relation to Anaxagoras’s coming closer to the Earth, or rather to you. You have a link with him; otherwise how do you explain the incident, the dream, and so on?”

“I don’t know about that. I have a feeling I can keep this power in control. I just need to concentrate.”

“Yes. You definitely need to control it. The last time you lost control you were killed.”

“So let’s do it then.” Alex was fired up.

“Alright. Dante,” Nikolas said, approaching the vampire, “give me your sword.”

“Wait, you’re teaching me how to fight with a sword? What about magic and telepathy?”

“Patience is a virtue,” Nikolas said.

“Yeah, and time is precious,” Alex added.

Nikolas smiled and with a flick of his wrist he threw the sword at Alex, who instinctively grabbed it by the hilt.

“What the...” he looked at the Rebels in bewilderment. They too were surprised. “How did I do that?”

“You see, it’s innate. It just has to come out. Now...” Nikolas took a swing at him, but again Alex used his instincts and blocked the attack within seconds of getting sliced. Alex smiled. Nikolas escaped the lock of their swords and leaped from one wall to another. He attacked Alex in midair. Alex, who was now surer of himself, jumped in the air and kicked him in the chest.

“Wow,” he said and the others mouthed the same word. “Sorry about that,” Alex said, grabbing Nikolas’s arm and pulling him to his feet.

“That was good. But you need to be more alert,” Nikolas said. He suddenly kicked Alex in the ankles, making him lose his balance. He smiled, “Remember this. Don’t stress yourself when fighting. Be one step ahead of your opponent. Be alert. Don’t get overconfident; and above all, feel the movements, don’t force them. Use what’s around you to your advantage, but don’t inflict anger or force, as that’s what you’ll get back.”

“That’s something I hear almost in all martial arts.”

“That’s because we started these philosophies. We are the teachers of the humans,” he said, smiling proudly.

“Then I’ll have to do my heritage proud,” Alex said.

“I think that’s enough for now. There’s something else that’s of key importance. Do you know the best way to reserve your energy? Besides food, rest and water?”

Alex thought for a moment and said, “No.”

“Meditation,” Nikolas said.

“Oh yeah!”

“Don’t meditate on anything in particular. Just do it for its own sake and you’ll get results faster. You have to let things flow and they will come to you.” Again Alex heard him echoing God’s words.

“Right,” he said.

“We’ll leave now,” Nikolas said, as the other Rebels started to vacate the room. “Meditate for the next three hours and tell me what you see and feel during that time.”

They left him in peace.

Flicking a pen with his two fingers and gazing at the closed file inside a blue plastic folder, Daniel thought about the danger this knowledge would bring, not only to him, but to everything else in the prophecies. He had read them, as a relative to royal blood, but he didn’t really understand much of them. As a child he thought it was all mumbo-jumbo. Was this boy, his distant cousin, really the Falsifier or was he something else? He had the Annals of the Kings of the Nyrax Dynasty with him and was tempted to read it. The pen fell and hit the blue plastic. Daniel smoothed his hands over the surface of the folder and slowly he opened it.

The door burst open and Daniel glanced up, quickly stuffing the folder into his desk drawer. Erik bellowed at the top of his voice. “What’s the meaning of this? Why did you order that wipeout and where the hell are those scientists!” His face was a furious shade of red and his veins looked like they were about to pop any moment.

Daniel couldn’t help smiling and acting calm. “What are you talking about? By the way, you broke my door. Don’t you know how to knock?”

Erik grabbed him by the collar and said, “What are you hiding?” He scanned his mind but found it heavily shielded. He laughed, put Daniel down and turned around, “You’ll have your guard down some time or another!”

“I’m glad you came here.”

Erik turned back to face Daniel as he telekinetically moved the door and fixed the hinges.

“I’ve sent the ultimatum and they have a time limit of twelve hours.”

“And?” Erik sat down and so did Daniel.

“John Howe’s coming here. To negotiate.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes, and he says there may be some way we can deal with the situation.”

Erik smiled, “Is that so?”

“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What? You actually want to negotiate with him?”

“No, not that. I want to hand Alex over.”

John held his mother’s hand. It was calloused, dry and wrinkled but the feeling warmed his heart. He felt relieved that it wasn’t worse and he looked at her face. He made no eye contact with Richard. He was ashamed to have cried in front of him. His stomach acted up again but he ignored the pain, too overwhelmed by grief. He turned to see Richard deep in his own thoughts and he didn’t want to disturb him. There was a sense of calm and acceptance now. He had cried and vented out his suffering for fifteen minutes. The more he looked at his mother, the more he concentrated on her face, the more he understood the sense of stillness, the feeling of equanimity. He lay back in his chair, sighed and closed his eyes. A moment later, he said, “Let’s go.”

Richard looked at him and smiled.

“Call Herbert and tell him to get ready,” John added.

“Alright.”

John got up and kissed his mother’s cheeks and they left.

They reached the main entrance of the hospital and as he exited he waved to the crowd waiting for him, smiling as best as he could. The crowd cheered their support. Richard touched John’s shoulder and said, “See, there’s nothing to worry about. The people are with you!”

John and Richard got up onto the podium. John bowed in thanks to the people for their support and patience. As expected, the crowd went wild. Justice Nyazika held up his palm for silence. He opened his mouth to speak. “Let us begin with the ceremony of the Vice-Chancellor.” Richard went to the podium and listened. “Put your hands on this,” said Nyazika, “and repeat after me.” As Richard was a practicing Hindu, he was given the Bhagavad-Gita to swear upon. “Now, repeat these words:

“I, Richard Quentin Gregory Bacon II, do solemnly swear...”

He repeated it.

“...to uphold the principles of the Constitution of the Year 3333... to protect the inhabitants of the Regnum at all times, in word, action, and thought...to defend the rights, liberties, and safety of the people... and to lead the Human Race to absolute self-determination...on its own God-given home-world, the planet Earth. So help me God.”

The people applauded and cheered on as Bacon and Nyazika embraced each other.

There were too many distractions. To listen to the sound of the universe and to feel that ever-existing flow was something that Alex seemed to have lost now. He had been trying to meditate for the last hour but every fifteen minutes or so, he had the urge to open his eyes. He attempted to calm himself by taking deep breaths, but each time he failed to reach a higher level. He sighed and said, “I’m never going to get this right.” He had another two hours or so before his uncle would get back. He hoped to achieve something by then.

But that was just it; he was expecting too much too soon. He was looking for results instead of going with the flow, as he should have. Now he realized he was always doing the exact opposite. Was this why many saw him as an arrogant, imperial brat? Was it because of the way he spoke, acted, and thought? Was that why Angel behaved the way she did at the Café? Would she forgive him for it? But then again, was he really arrogant? Maybe he was afraid to admit it. He didn’t know for sure, and as he tried to delve deeper, he felt increasingly out of touch with the people. He had thought something completely different about himself.

None of this was making any sense. He knew he had to be humble now; he knew he had to keep what he knew about himself a secret. If it got out, the results would bring disaster. “Concentrate, you idiot!” he said to himself. He tried once again.

The ceremony continued and after taking the same oath as Richard, John cleared his throat to give his speech:

“What has occurred today, my dear people of the Earth, will not be forgotten for many years to come. I promise you that. History, the great critic, may look upon me as another Hitler, a man driven mad by his ambitions; it will say that I used the government for my own selfish purposes. Let it say so, for I don’t care.

“Naturally, I have some of my own interests at heart, but above all I am here for the good of everyone. I will not stand down until my last breath. I will not give up until we are free!” He paused for the crowds who started hailing him as their new Supreme Leader. He continued:

“Democracy has stood for many years during the course of our history. But there were times when it failed, and a plan of decisive action had to be taken, for the good of all. A leader, a single man, who could be trusted by the people, to give them what they wanted, and above all, what they needed. I assure you, the trust that you have given me will not be betrayed. I will not bow down to anyone. Every decision of mine will be thought out with the good of the people always at the forefront of my mind. As I have promised, I will make sure our race returns to the Earth and achieve complete autonomy. We will take it by force. We must take it by force, for these vampiric vermin are nothing but invaders, conquerors, literally thirsty for blood. They have nothing better to do but keep the underdog below them, begging and depending on them. I say that’s enough! I say we should have done it a long time ago, and I’m sorry we didn’t! We will crush them and force them back to their former stronghold in the valleys and mountains of Antarctica. We will send them a message. And that message is that we are free!”

The crowds applauded John’s determination. The plight of his mother still weighed heavily on his mind, but the sound of the crowd was like sweet music that pumped him full of excitement and helped him postpone his worries.

He raised a hand for some silence and the noise died down. “My mother had a stroke and now she is in a coma,” he said. He paused and saw the somber faces of the crowd. “But let me swear to you that this incident has not left me defeated; it has only made my resolve stronger. My hatred for the vampires is immense and so is my desire for vengeance. Only with our united anger and hate can we dissolve that race. We must do it together, or not at all.

“In the next nine hours,” he said checking his watch; it was five to eleven, “our troops will be down there for two reasons. The first is to get Alexander back and along with him our strongest allies, the Rebels. The second reason is to locate the Vatican Library and burn the place, so that their knowledge will be lost. But before doing so, we will record their information for our own use.

“Now, I know you want to know the whole truth. There,” he breathed in and exhaled slowly, “was a prophecy made by the vampires that a man from their race known as the Falsifier will come. He will be like them, but he will be against them. He will be a hybrid, a damphir. His real name is Alexandros Nyrax III and he is the son of my sister Miriam and Aidan Nyrax, the prophet who led the Rebellion. He is my nephew. I know it might be hard to swallow right now, but the truth is that he is our only hope. He is one of them, but to have him on our side will be very beneficial. He is more powerful than them, and with the help of the Rebels and their leader Nikolas, we will be invincible. We will avenge the deaths of our soldiers, who died for us so many years ago.” He paused to complete silence and wondered how he would continue. “Believe... trust me that I have no other intentions than to see us all on the Earth. I have already sworn that if any harm comes to anyone of us, the vampires, along with my nephew will be exiled to Antarctica.

“In the coming months, I will set up a War Council. I would also like to add that I am ready to pardon the Council for whatever happened yesterday. I have decided to have all of them as a part of this new council. This includes Jarad Hameed, a superb general and much respected for his strategic prowess. I also have a new project for this coming war, which will begin once this mission is through. It is top secret as of now. But believe me: once it is out in the public, it will amaze you and give you hope. I have no idea how long this war will last, but I know for certain that we will win this time and that we will never have to fight it again.