Chapter IV
I laughed heartily at my discovery for long minutes. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time.
"Angelus?" Rei asked, now thoroughly confused, "I thought his name was Angel."
"Oh, it is; now," I agreed, "He has a soul now. However, back when I was young, he was known as Angelus. He was the 'demon with the face of an angel'. I'll tell you what, he had a creative flair for death and mayhem; both he and his sire, Darla. He didn't have a soul then. Some years, and many slaughters later, a group of gypsies cursed him with a soul as a means of penance for all of his so-called atrocities."
"You know an awful lot about him," Rei observed.
"The story of Angelus is a vampire legend," I replied, "Every vampire or dhampir child knows the story of the terrible Angelus. He was known to even kill other vampires. Mother always threatened me and other young vampires with stories of Angelus' terrible wrath and vengefulness whenever we would get rambunctious."
"How could Angel and this Angelus be the same person?" Rei wondered, "Angel is such a wonderful, heroic person. He helped us save Shinji after he got captured by the Council a week or so ago. Spike, too; he's an arrogant ass, but he's a genuine kind of guy, if a little bit dumb."
"Well, he hasn't changed much then," I remarked with a smirk, "Spike used to be known as William the Bloody. He was Angelus' grand-spawn. The two of them were a horrendous force when they worked together. Their combined appetite for death and destruction was almost as much a legend as was Angelus, himself. But you say that William is being a helpful vampire now, like Angelus?"
"Yeah," said Rei, "Spike has a soul, too, I guess. At least, that's what their friend, Illyria told us. He went through some kind of trial to win his soul. I think he might have done it for a girl."
"How cute," I scoffed, "William the Bloody, caught up in puppy love."
"You've never been in love?" Rei asked.
"Not that I can remember," I lied, "And I can remember quite a lot about my life."
It wasn't quite a lie, I realized; but it wasn't quite the truth, either. I had never been in love in my whole life up until I had met Rei and been in touch with her. Now, suddenly, I felt like a young stag at the first green of springtime. My blood raced with fire and my mind glowed with desire for her. I carefully guarded my true feelings, however, lest they leak across the mind-link and spoil my surprise or chances.
"You're two hundred years old, and you've never been in love?" Rei asked again, "Somehow I find that incredibly hard to believe. Everybody's been in love at some point in their life."
"Not me," I said again, "Mother saw to it that I learned to hate and distrust humans. Because of that, I developed a distrust of vampires, as well; my own kind, for god's sake! Well, you can imagine what a distrust of that magnitude will do to someone over a couple of centuries. I quickly became a loner and learned to be perfectly happy alone. All I needed was me and whatever I found to pass the time. I guess that explains why I became fluent in eight languages. I was bored and needed things to keep my brain busy."
"You're not still…you know…?"
Rei couldn't go any further, but I knew what she was asking.
"No, I'm not a virgin," I chuckled, "But the women I've possessed…I never really loved them. I never knew how… Why am I getting all misty-eyed about this with you? Never mind. Scratch that; rhetorical question. Back to the real subject at hand. How are you going to get close enough to the target to take him out and still be able to get out alive?"
"I don't know," Rei replied, "Andrew…I'm scared about this. I don't want anyone to die trying to do this."
"Well, I think your werewolf friend is going to be able to take care of himself," I replied consolingly, "I don't know about the other woman, though. Is she capable of fighting like this?"
"Misato's a strong woman," said Rei, "but I don't think she's ever been in a war-zone like this is probably going to turn into. I think Shinji will leave her here, out of harm's way, and then come back to her for care and moral support. She only insisted on coming along because he was leaving again."
"Again?"
Rei went on to tell me a story about how Shinji had gotten in an argument with this Misato woman and had left in an angry huff. He ended up being gone for seven months. While he was gone, he had travelled across most of Europe and parts of Western Asia, looking for clues to his heritage and lineage, and avoiding Council assassins. Apparently, he bore a large scar on his back from an ambush that he had been less successful at avoiding. All in all, he was very naïve until his trip, and came back a much harder, darker young man.
Well, all young men eventually have those life-darkening experiences, I thought after hearing Rei's story, I, myself, was born into a life-darkening experience. However, his emotional instability might prove to be a hamper to his abilities to properly plan and execute in this venture. There are, if I remember the computer file correctly, seven members of the High Council left alive. There were ten to begin with, but three have red "X"s over them in the file photos, so I'm assuming they are deceased.
"Rei…" I started to say. Then, I stopped. I wanted to say, "Don't worry, things are going to be just fine", but I just couldn't bring myself to get her hopes falsely high.
"Yes?" she replied, staring eagerly up at me. I scrambled to think of something to talk about. Once again, the fact that I was finally feeling something was a huge shock and inconvenience for me. I was used to always knowing just what to say with cold, business-like precision of decision.
"Um…maybe…we should start working on your hypnotism and other powers a little bit?" I suggested, suddenly feeling very dumb and insecure.
"Oh…umm…ok…" she replied, sounding almost disappointed. If I read her correctly, she was hoping for something else from me.
"Unless…you'd like to just stand here and…watch the stars or something…?"
"Let's go for a walk, instead," Rei suggested, "But we're going to have to sneak back down out of the hotel…"
"No we're not," I said, "Come over here and trust me."
Rei hesitated slightly at my proffered hand. But, when I pulled her close and picked her up, she wrapped her arms around my neck and seemed to relax; that is, until I stepped to the edge of the roof. Then, she tensed right up and looked at me in alarm.
"Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?!" she demanded.
"What?" I teased, "I jumped out of an airplane at about 20,000 feet the other night when I snuck into this stinking country. Five stories down to the street isn't going to bother me one bit."
With that, I stepped off the roof and plummeted to the sidewalk below. I contacted the pavement evenly and softly, barely making a sound. I smiled at Rei, who was clinging to me, eyes squeezed tightly shut in terror. Once we were safely on the street, she looked up at me, loosened her grip, and actually smiled a little bit. I wasn't sure quite why she was smiling. Was it because she was thrilled at the jump from a five story building, or was it a smile to keep from screaming because I had terrified her? I couldn't discern.
"See?" I said, letting her feet down, "Easy."
Rei continued to cling to me for a moment, and then stepped out of my embrace. I had only been holding her loosely around the waist after setting her down on her feet, but she had still lingered in that loose hold for longer than was usual. And when she finally did walk out of my embrace, she did so by crossing in front of me and brushing against me. The scent from her hair was soft, sweet, and oh so arousing. I resisted every urge that I felt to use my hypnosis to make her feel the way I was feeling. That would have been kind of compromising as we were currently walking down the sidewalk. We walked past a seedy-looking bar, where a local tough standing on the porch started making cat-calls at Rei in his native Russian. I resisted the urge to jump on him and crush his bones. An unprovoked attack would attract too much unwanted attention, so instead, I said to him:
"леди со мной, Вы Дик. отступить." (The lady's with me, you dick. Back off.)
The obviously drunk young man called me a few not-very-nice names in Russian, and then proceeded to pitch an empty beer bottle in our direction. It would have hit Rei, but my hand shot out as she ducked and caught it mid-flight. Holding it in the direction of the drunk, I crushed the bottle in my hand, splintering glass on the ground. I felt a few shards pierce my hand, but those were small wounds that would easily heal on their own. I held up my bleeding palm, showing the drunk that I felt no pain from my actions. Unnerved, he raced back into the bar.
"You're bleeding," said Rei, looking at my hand.
"Yeah," I replied, "It's no big deal."
I picked the glass out of my skin. The wounds closed as soon as they were clean, leaving no trace, except for a few small, bloody shards of glass on the ground. Rei stared at my now flawless hand.
"Being a dhampir has its perks every once in a while," I said as she goggled at me, "I wish I could show you how much I can lift."
"How much can you lift?" Rei asked curiously.
"I don't know what my full threshold is," I replied, "But the most I've ever picked up in a dead lift was about 1,000 pounds, and that was pretty heavy for me."
"A thousand?" Rei breathed, "You can pick up a small car!"
"Yes, I can," I agreed, "Let's find somewhere a little more private."
"But I barely know you!" Rei protested, looking utterly shocked.
"I didn't mean it like that," I chuckled, finding her aghast look humorous, "I meant that we need a more private place to plan our next move. I have an idea, but it's not for street conversation. We need a back alley or a similar hideaway."
"Take your pick," said Rei, indicating all of the alleys around us.
"These are too close to populated buildings," I dismissed, "Too much risk of being heard. How well do you run?"
"Well enough to keep up with you," Rei countered.
Without another word, I took off at a high jog. Rei was hot on my heels, matching me stride for stride. I followed the streets, checking each building for signs of disuse and abandonment. As we headed towards the south side of the city, I started finding what I was looking for. I ducked into one particularly dark-looking alley and Rei followed.
"Now we can talk," I said.
"In…a second," Rei panted, "We had to have…jogged a mile…just now. You may not…need to breath…but I still do. Let me…catch…my breath."
Rei breathed deeply and slowly, replenishing her stamina with conviction. A minute later, she nodded. I spoke my mind.
"Okay, first off, you need to know that I am against this whole idea," I said.
"I'm not really thrilled with it, either," Rei replied, "But this wasn't my idea. Shinji is the one who wants revenge and retribution against the Council. I'm so worried that he'll get carried away and self-destruct on this 'mission'."
"Well, that being said, I have a few ideas about how you all can survive this little attack," I said, "But after this one, Rei, you're going to have to let me train you. We can't use the same tricks on two different targets. They'll catch on. Do you understand? After this, you're mine to train."
"Okay," Rei agreed.
"Now," I said, "I know how rambunctious your friend is, but this plan will take a few days to fully implement. I need to insinuate myself into the Councilman's guard staff. Doing that will require me to probably present the head of a werewolf, but I'm sure there are a few man-eaters in the area. No one will complain much if one of them disappears. Once I'm in, give me a day or two to learn the layout of the facility. I will do what I can about securing blue-prints and schematics for you and smuggling them out to you. That's where you'll come in Rei. I'll need your ninja stealth training to sneak in and meet me at rendezvous points to drop off the plans. That will be the most difficult and dangerous part of the whole plan; the smuggling of plans. However, it is an essential part. After we've gotten a layout of the facility and formulated an attack, I will disappear and watch over you as you move to take out your target. All I ask is that you trust me. I will protect you."
"This sounds so impossible," Rei protested.
"It would be more impossible if we tried it Shinji's way and just attempted a smash-and-grab," I rebuffed, "Planning and finesse go a lot further than sheer brute strength in most instances. Experience is the other thing that counts for the most, and I've got more life experience than all of you combined."
"I'll grant you that much," said Rei, "But…what if we find out that we're going to need more help while we're in the middle of this plan?"
"We shouldn't," I said confidently, "But, if we should; and I strongly stress 'if', contact Angelus. I'm sure he will be more than happy to answer another of your calls for help. As a matter of fact, why don't you call them in for the assault, anyway? More bodies in the diversion will make the attack more distracting and give you and me more time and chance to act. Call them in tomorrow. I will meet you up on the hotel roof again tomorrow evening again; one hour after sunset."
"Okay," Rei nodded, "But what if Shinji doesn't want to wait for a week to attack? I know him. He can be very impatient."
"Well, he'll have to temper that patience if he actually wants to succeed," I said firmly, "Rei, you have to get him to listen to you."
"I'll try," she promised, "And I'll try and get a call in to Angel and Spike. It may take them some time to get here, though."
"We only need them for the final assault on the stronghold. They've got plenty of time to get here."
"Okay…" Rei said hesitantly, "Andrew, I have something I want to ask you."
"Really?" I replied, "And what would that something be, pray tell?"
"Umm…I just…maybe it's some effects left over from your hypnosis…but…umm…"
"Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you tomorrow night," I said with a gentle smile.
"Okay!" Rei said, sounding both relieved and extremely nervous, "Umm…"
"I'll wait for you in the lobby at 7 pm tomorrow evening."
"Okay! Sounds good," Rei squeaked quickly. Then, she hurried out of the alley and headed back to the hotel.
I stared after her for a long time; long after she had disappeared from my view. Why did I feel such a connection to this girl? I continued to ponder this question in my mind; constantly, it seemed. There just seemed to be something about her, something that, in all my many years on this world, I had yet to ever encounter. It was something alien, something strange; something wonderful.
Back out on the night streets, I headed for a bar. I was in such a good mood that I needed a good brawl. I wasn't looking for trouble, just a little fight to let out some extra energy. I wasn't used to feeling this good. I usually got in fights because I was angry, not because I was happy. And I was happy; the happiest I had ever been.
I found the seediest, most disgusting bar that I could have ever hoped for and stepped boldly through the door. Most eyes in the room immediately sized me up. I'm not a large guy, but I'm no shrimp, either. Calm as the eye of a hurricane, I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. I turned to the guy to my right, a large, burly biker-looking guy and said:
"Эй, любой когда-либо говорил Вам, что Вы пахнете как тыловой конец осла?" (Hey, has anybody ever told you that you smell like a donkey's ass?)
The brute didn't say anything. He just punched me in the nose. I laughed, stood up, and grabbed him by the collar and threw him over a nearby table. Jumping up on the bar, I shouted:
"Ваши матери - все шлюхи!" (Your mothers are all whores!)
More than two dozen large men swarmed at me. Still laughing, I let them throw me out into the street and come cascading after me. Of course, outside of the bar, I had much more room to maneuver, so none of them would really have a chance to get a hand on me unless I let them. The first two that reached me each got a kick to the head, sending them instantly into unconsciousness. The next six all tried to grab hold of me to crush my bones. I jumped straight up, coming down on top of the head of the man in the middle of the crowd. Laughing the whole time, I whirled through the air and struck down each of the men who were trying to beat me up. One man pulled a hand gun on me. He suddenly went stiff, and I heard the crackle of electricity.
"You certainly attract a lot of attention, stranger," said a man in a hooded coat. He was holding a taser-gun and spoke with a Russian accent.
"I can't help it if I might have accidently picked a fight," I lied, "You here to arrest me?"
"No," the man replied, "I am actually here to make you a very important offer. You see, your fighting style attracted my attention back in the bar. You seem to have a lot experience in fighting groups of those who are much larger than yourself, no?"
"I was a scrappy kid," I said, "got into a lot of fights on the playground, ended up against all the school bullies…"
"My employer might find a man of your talents quite useful," said the hooded stranger, "Come with me."
I followed this strange man around the corner to where a limo was parked. I had my suspicions about who was inside, since there were bound to be only a few people in the area who had the kind of money it would take to buy a stretched limousine. Arkhangelsk wasn't a poor city by any stretch, but it definitely didn't have the glitz and glamour of a larger city like St. Petersburg or Moscow. My contact motioned towards the limo and said:
"Get in."
I wasn't worried about a thing. No one in this town knew anything about me, least of all that I was a dhampir. I climbed into the open back door and out of the chilly midnight air. An older man sat there, sipping on a snifter of cognac; a very well-aged one, too, if my nose wasn't lying. He definitely had money. Cognac that fine isn't cheap.
"You are a very rude young man," the man said, taking a sip of his cognac. His voice had a thick Baltic accent. "You come to my city early today and already you are causing lots of raucous."
"You'll forgive me for not understanding your meaning," I replied cautiously, "And on the subject of being rude, I believe some introductions might be in order, don't you?"
"Your name first."
"Hildreth," I answered, "Andrew Hildreth."
"Grigori Bahtyachev," he said, "There. Introductions made. Now, perhaps you would like to be explaining why you are causing so much trouble in my city?"
"I wasn't aware that you owned this city," I remarked, "And in answer to your question, I'm trying to get someone's attention."
"Whose?"
"The Council of Moonwatchers," I answered, "I had heard that they had operatives in this city."
"The Council is worldwide," said Bahtyachev, "And as it so happens, I may be able to arrange a meeting with one of their operatives here. It will be dangerous for you, of course. You see, to even meet with the Council or one of their operatives, you must present a token of good faith."
"And that token is?"
"The head of a werewolf, freshly killed," Bahtyachev answered, "I know of one that has terrorized the populace of a nearby village for some time now. He is ruthless and bloodthirsty and has sired many pups in his many years of terror. Most of the pups have been eliminated by agents of the Council, but he has eluded them."
"And you want me to bring you his head?"
"If you do not think you can do it, I will understand," said Bahtyachev condescendingly, taking another long sip of cognac.
"I'm just curious what you think an amateur hunter can do against a creature that professionals have thus far been unable to bring down," I argued. It was only a half-truth. I was no amateur.
"Perhaps…a fresh mind might think of something that those who have been working at it for so long have missed…"
"If I kill this werewolf," I said briskly, "Where do I meet them?"
I'll probably be meeting you, I thought, but you don't know what I know…
"After you have slain the creature, come to the Cathedral of Our Lady in the center of town," said Bahtyachev, "The building is watched by the Council's agents and sometimes used as a base for local operations."
"Done," I said in a business-like tone, "See you in a few days."
The door was opened and I was let back out onto the street. A quick walk brought me back to the hotel. I needed to relay this new development to Rei somehow, but I didn't want to alert her other companions as of yet. I scribbled a note on a napkin from the hotel's bar:
"Rei,
Meet me on the roof in five minutes. There's been a development.
Andrew"
I stared hard at this note, trying my best to broadcast it to her over our mind-link. Then, I tore up the note and walked back outside. Checking to make sure I wasn't being watched, I sprang straight up, catching the edge of a third story window. From there, I hurdled the remaining two stories back to the roof with relative ease. A few minutes later, Rei appeared from the stairway door, looking winded and confused.
"I got here as fast as I could," she said, "What's going on?"
"Bahtyachev contacted me tonight," I said quickly, "He wants me to kill a werewolf in a nearby village and meet them in the Cathedral of Our Lady at the center of town."
"I know where that is," said Rei, "We passed that cathedral on our way over from the airport. Do you want me to tag along when you go to meet them?"
"No," I said instantly, "No, if they even suspect that I'm not there alone, the whole plan will fall apart. Follow me only as far as two blocks from the cathedral, and then we must part ways, as though I lost you as you were trying to pursue me."
"Andrew, you shouldn't go in there alone," Rei said, her tone worried, "I mean, what if they suspect what you are? They'll kill you!"
I chuckled lightly. I looked her dead in the eye and said, very seriously:
"It would take a lot more than they've got to kill me. I've got too much to live for."
"Like what?" she asked.
"My own reasons," I dodged calmly, "Maybe after I've gotten to know you a little better, I'll let you know a few of them."
"So…you're going to go through with it, then?"
"I don't see any alternative, do you?" I asked, "I mean, this will put me right into Bahtyachev's good graces. I can do this; this is the easy part. Once I'm in, that will be the challenging part; that's when the real deception begins. This is still fairly legitimate."
"Andrew, I'm worried," Rei said, her voice quivering, "What happens if you get in too deep and can't get out?"
"There's always a way out," I assured her, "I'll be fine. I'm leaving tomorrow for the village. I'll be out of communication for a day or two until I finish the hunt for the werewolf. After I've killed it, I will contact you the same way I just did tonight. When I give you a time and place to meet, be there, no matter who you have to ditch to get there. Time will be of the essence from now on."
"I understand," Rei replied. Then, she surprised me by giving me a hug.
"Be safe?" she said, looking up at me. I saw tears forming behind her crimson orbs.
"Trust me…" I replied with a gentle smile, "Now go on, before the others miss you."
"Take care…" Rei whispered before ducking back into the stairwell.
I walked over to the edge of the roof and stood, staring out at the rooftops of the city. My gaze shifted skyward, to the moon, stars, and planets. Tomorrow would be an interesting day…
