Seeker (42 page)

“So are you,” Frederick pointed out, his eyes narrowing.

“Am I? For four thousand years I lived in this world, a vampire, the progenitor of a new race, following a mission given to me by my goddess. And then my time was done, I died. For the last thirty-five years I've known who I am, but now?” Sam turned away, clenching his fists, trying to contain his anger. It was not time for anger. Not yet. “Now I don't know who I am, or what I am. All thanks to you.”

“You set this up!” Frederick shouted, and grabbed Sam by the shoulders, turning him to face him. “What choice did I have?”

“Like you gave Willem a choice,” Sam said, his voice low.

“You are Willem.”

“And I am also Onuris. Or was once.” Sam shook his head. “Just who am I really? How do I know? Willem died in that alley a week ago, I know this. Dai told me he incinerated Willem's body.”

Frederick lowered his head. “I'm sorry, all this is…”

“It doesn't matter,” Sam said, hiding one arm behind his back while Frederick looked away. He smiled as soon as Frederick looked at him. “I just wanted you to know all this, to understand that you found the Seeker before I do this…”

With lightning speed Sam lashed out, his talons slicing Frederick's throat clean open. Instinctively Frederick's hand went to his throat, but he was too late to stop the flow of blood which seeped between his fingers. Sam kicked Frederick in the chest, causing him to fly backwards, landing with a splash in the reeds. He writhed in the water as Sam slowly approached him, one hand grasping at the reeds, the other trying to staunch the blood flow. All the while the fear and disbelief shot out of his eyes like hot needles.

Sam knelt over Frederick, and grabbed the hand holding his neck, pulling it away so the blood could gush out freely.

“I should have had a nice weekend with Charlie. Who knows what might have happened there?” he said calmly. “I deserved a chance to find out, but you took that choice from me.” He gripped Frederick's top and bought his face to his. “It's important that you also know this. I have found Sekhmet, as she told me I would. You've seen her. But I'm not going to fulfil your precious prophecy.” He lowered his head towards Frederick's neck. “I make my own destiny. Take that to your grave, you bastard.”

Frederick struggled, but he was too weak to stop Sam as he opened his mouth over the gaping wound and sucked Frederick dry. Thanks to his restored memories he knew how to kill an upyr, and bleeding them dry was one sure way.

As the blood flowed down his throat, Sam soaked up everything that was Frederick. His entire life flashed before Sam's mind, from his birth in Posen in 1722, through his initial meeting with Celeste just after his twenty-first birthday, and all that had happened in the 289 years since. Including Frederick's horror and confusion as he felt his life ebb away. The darkness came and Sam pulled away before he was dragged down with it.

He looked up, letting the lifeless body drop into the water one final time. Now he knew everything that had happened to his people since his first death…

* * *

Lily stood some distance away, on a slight incline, and watched as Sam finished draining Frederick. She waited as he stood and looked around, his face flush with his first feast. She smiled to herself. There was no going back now. Soon her husband would return to her.

Until then he needed to find something important, and to that end she put herself in his mind, and opened one of those doors slightly. Just enough for him to get a glimpse of what was to come.

20.

Celeste barely made it through the front door of the factory before she was accosted by Nathan. He practically grabbed the sleeve of her dress. She snatched her arm back, shocked at his lack of decorum.

“Nathan, I think you are forgetting your place,” she said, scowling at him.

“I'm sorry, my Lady,” he said, his eyes wild. “But we have a problem.”

Celeste sighed, wishing the day would end. But she knew it had barely begun really. It was only just gone midday and already she felt like she'd already been awake a full day. Twelve hours she might have been unconscious for, but rested she was not. “Another problem? What could possibly be wrong now?”

“It's Willem. He's gone mad, attacked Dai, as well as…”

Celeste let out a sudden gasp of air, and grabbed at Nathan. She stumbled forward, pulling him with her. He attempted to hold her weight, but she fell to her knees, the pain flowing through her.

“Frederick!” she yelled.

“My Lady, what is it?”

She looked up, but all she saw was Willem's face, bearing down on her. Although his face was calm, his red eyes burned with hatred and revelation, while the wind blew his hair into his face. “I make my own destiny. Take that to your grave, you bastard,” he said.

She felt it keenly, Frederick's life pulling away, a sensation she had not felt since her own mortal life had ended at the hands of Pierre.

Celeste opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came. There were no words to say, just the feeling of darkness encroaching all around her. No, not her. Frederick.

She released her hold of Nathan's blazer and let her hands fall to the floor. For a while she remained as she was, breathing deeply, the sense of loss overpowering.

For almost three hundred years he had been by her side, sharing so much of her life, and now…

“My Lady?”

Nathan's voice was like a distant echo in her mind as she closed her eyes.

Gone. Frederick was gone from her.

* * *

Sam boarded the bus at Benfleet, looking forward to the slower journey back to Chalkwell. If he had got the train he knew he would be there too soon, but the bus took a lot longer. He had much to think about before he saw Lilly again, and he needed time to do it. But he also needed to be on the move.

He knew all about the link between maker and fledgling, and thanks to soaking up Frederick's lifetime of experiences he knew that Celeste was aware of her consort's death. That Frederick considered himself the consort of Celeste was news to Sam, and made him wonder why, therefore, had Frederick made such a big deal about falling for Willem? It almost seemed a contradiction to Sam that Frederick could feel so deeply for Celeste and still lust so much after Willem.

Sam shook his head. He had enough memories to sort out as it was, working out Frederick's life would have to wait.

Right now he knew it was only a matter of time before Celeste sent people after him, although a part of him welcomed that outcome. It would certainly make a statement. Namely, that he was neither an instrument of prophecy, nor a tool to be used by the Three. But he didn't wish to risk Lilly in this.

He wasn't sure if the Sekhmet side of Lilly had awoken yet. In spite of what the Book said, he had slept with her and he had not felt an awakening, so he assumed she was still living in bliss of who she really was.

That was how he wanted her to remain. It was bad enough that his life had been turned upside by events that Sekhmet and Onuris had set in motion over four thousand years ago, and he did not see why it should be the same for her. She had taken him in, shown him much kindness…True, now he understood why it was so, but neither of them knew that then and had acted of their own free will.

He wanted to say goodbye to her, thank her for everything. And then get the hell out of her life before the Three learned of their connection. For now they believed him to be an oracle, but it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.

Then it was time to leave. To keep moving. There was something out there calling to him, although he had no idea what it was. But something in his mind, just beyond reach, told him he needed to look. To find…whatever it was.

* * *

Celeste knew the answer before Derek came over to her. She was looking out towards the North Sea, the shoreline of Essex running down to Shoeburyness, wrapped up in her coat, the rain crashing down on her head. Neither the wind nor the rain bothered her, but still she was cold. And empty. Oh so empty. She sniffed back a tear and turned to look at Derek.

His face told her all she needed to know. Derek had one of those faces that were so easy to read, deeply lined and very flexible. A canvas of emotion. Beyond him she could see other upyr still searching, but they looked as defeated as Derek.

“He's gone.”

Celeste nodded. She had organised a search party as soon as she had recovered from the initial shock of her loss. Whether she would fully recover she did not know, but nonetheless Frederick needed to be returned to the factory. She could not have the body of an upyr lying about in the marshland of Canvey.

“Willem,” she mumbled, certain that he had taken Frederick's body.

Head lowered Celeste turned from Derek and began the long trek back to the factory. All was lost now. No one had heard from Theodor since he had left to find Erwyn, but she no longer cared.

As she walked, she sent out a mental command to Theodor.

Meet me at the factory. Now!

She paused, and glanced back. “Frederick,” she whispered, “
mon toujours…pas plus.”

* * *

“I still don't get it,” Jake said, looking over at Charlie who sat in the opposite seat. They were on the number one, going up London Road towards Leigh. The news from Francis had taken the wind out of their sails, although they continued on canvassing for a little while longer, before both had decided to call it.

“What's not to get?” Charlie wanted to know. “It explains why Will was with that, what was his name, Robin Turner?” Jake nodded. “Right, with Robin Turner in Starbuck's. Probably met him on the train. Must have been some spiel.”

“But that's the thing.” Jake leaned forward, resting his elbow on the ledge before the front windows. “You've known Will for a month? I've known him my whole life, and supernatural shit ain't his thing. Hell, that guy doesn't even like horror films. And you should have seen his reaction when his dad turned to religion.”

“Religion is one thing, Jake; we're talking about a cult. They know what they're doing. Can brainwash the best of us.”

“Sure, I get that. But Will was convinced his dad had joined a cult at first, went nuclear about it.” Jake shook his head. “No, sorry, I just can't believe he'd get caught up in a cult. Especially not a
vampire
cult,” he added, his face screwed in disgust.

Charlie agreed there. He looked out of the window and jumped to with a start. “Next stop,” he said, getting up and ringing the bell.

Jake followed him down the steps and together they waited in silence near the driver's cabin as the bus pulled up outside the Chinese take-away. Saying thanks to the driver, they stepped out into the rain.

“Gotta love sunny Southend, right?” Charlie said, as they set off down London Road.

“Right,” Jake agreed with a grim smile, feeling the rain run down his stubbly head. An umbrella would have been good, but when he'd come to Southend yesterday he had not expected rain. Then again, he hadn't expected to learn that Will had joined a cult who believed they were vampires, either. He laughed suddenly. “Vampires! Ha.”

“Yeah, tell me about,” Charlie said, laughing, too, as a single decker bus came to a halt at the bus stop across the road.

* * *

Sam looked at the mobile in his hands.

The phone represented a direct link to his old life…Well, he reconsidered, not his
old
life, but rather the one he had been ripped from a week ago. The phone had sat in his pocket the entire time he was at Canvey, and he still had yet to turn it back on. Did he even dare to contact his family? How could he possibly tell them what had happened to him? The only one who might possibly understand was Jake. He liked his horror films, and knew his vampire lore, but even so…

Knowing the vampire lore of fiction and being confronted with the truth of it. That was something else entirely.

He returned the phone to his pocket, deciding to dump it once he was off the bus. Willem's world was safer without him in it.

The bus shuddered as the driver made a false start. He called out sorry to his passengers, and started up again. Sam looked out of the window. He didn't know London Road that well, but he knew from Frederick's memories that he wasn't so far from Chalkwell now.

His head turned, eyes locking on the two men walking through the rain on the other side of the road. As the bus continued on its way he got a good look at their laughing faces.

Charlie and Jake.

Before he knew what he was doing Sam got to his feet and hit the button for the next stop.

* * *

They sat in the meeting chamber of the Three. Celeste and Theodor, the only two left. Celeste could see in Theodor's eyes that he knew she was right, but he didn't want to accept it. She understood his reticence. For 221 years things had been leading to this point, they had set so much by it, built the upyr world around it. But now, with Frederick and Willem gone it was over. Already Celeste had sent word out; Willem may have been an oracle into the past, and thus a potentially powerful ally for the Three, but he had killed her consort. An act that she would never forgive.

Willem would understand the power she wielded. He would be hunted down. His stay in the upyr world would be short indeed.

Then there was Erwyn. Theodor felt his betrayal the most. That Erwyn had blocked his mind off to Theodor made it worse. She suspected that the Book would soon be in the hands of the Brotherhood, and all hope of finding the Seeker went with it.

“Come,” she said, rising and walking over to Theodor. “It is time to leave this blighted land.” Theodor took her hand and stood. For a moment they looked into each other's eyes, and their thoughts became one.

It was agreed. They would return to France and try to regroup. Prepare for Julius's next move. It had taken much to bring unity to the upyr after the revolution, and back then they had the Book of Sekhmet to guide them. To bind them together in the hope of salvation. That, too, was lost to them.

Celeste wasn't sure how they would combat the Brotherhood now, but she sure as hell wasn't willing to let her people fall to the false doctrine taught by Julius, supported as he was by a traitor. No, she would be ready.

Together, arm in arm, Celeste and Theodor left the chamber, leaving the idea of the Three behind. Now they were just the Two. They stopped at the door, and Theodor looked back. Sitting on the side was a small bottle of hair dye. Electric blue.

Theodor lowered his eyes. “Erwyn,” he said, the sadness so strong it brought a tear to Celeste's eye. She took him in her arms, giving him the strength he had always given her.

* * *

He looked up from the sink to the clock above the door. It was just gone two o'clock, only twenty minutes until it was time to board the plane to Rome's Fiumicino Airport. All he needed to do was get his ticket.

He splashed some water on his face and turned the tap off. Still he could feel his left hand, and had to remind himself to turn off the tap with his right. He wasn't sure how long he could go on like this. He was an upyr, and such a handicap was not acceptable.

Erwyn shook his head; he had liked this body, too, and a month in it seemed such a waste.

The door opened and a man walked in. Erwyn watched him in the mirror, as he had watched him since the man had walked into the terminal at Gatwick. The man was taller than Erwyn, thick set, a strong body under his sharp suit. And at the ticket desk, Erwyn had watched him as he purchased a return ticket to Fiumicino, which suited Erwyn fine.

The man opened a cubicle door and stepped inside. The door began to shut, but before the man had a chance to lock it, Erwyn busted in and pushed the man against the wall. He fell over the toilet, folding into the gap between basin and wall. Erwyn closed the door with his boot, and turned slightly to lock it with his hand.

He looked down at the man, who was struggling to get up.

“Oh no,” Erwyn said, his talons slowly tearing out of his fingers, “you're my ticket out of here.”

* * *

Finding Jake and Charlie took him a bit longer than he would have hoped, since the next stop was further up the road than expected. Sam had got off the bus and ran across the road, before doubling back. He turned the bend in the road lined with thickset trees, and came to the row of shops he'd remembered seeing them outside. He stopped at the top of Hadleigh Road and glanced down it, but there was no sign of Jake or Charlie, so he crossed over and approached the bathroom shop. Before he reached it, however, he staggered.

It was becoming a regular occurrence and Sam knew what it meant. He bent double, resting his hands on his knees as the new memory overflowed.

He looked up and for a second he didn't see the shops, just a new vision, a memory of something long forgotten. He shook it away, having no time for it now. The image, however, persisted, fading slightly into the background. Once again a view over a view.

After the amount of overlapping views he had seen in the past week he was getting used to dismissing one and focussing on the other. He looked to the road that reached the pavement he was walking along.

Herschell Road. Some way down the road, walking close together, still laughing about something, were Charlie and Jake.

Sam set off after them, still wondering just why he was doing this.

* * *

Charlie popped his head around the living room door. “Nutri Grain bar?” he asked.