- IV -

"So you are Corvinus's son? Why have you taken on such a long journey? To offer me peace with Hungary? On my deathbed? Ridiculous!" Even though Viktor's voice was barely audible anymore, the rage in it was clearly evident.

"There are tales about you, Prince Viktor..." Marcus Corvinus began.

"Truly?" the older man cut him off. "Tales about the most terrible tyrant in the history of eastern Europe? Tales about my people being grateful when I finally die? Because my death will be like a salvation?" he asked, his voice oozing sarcasm.

"By no means, Prince! I have heard that you are a strong sovereign who knows how to rule so your people can live in safety. An excellent commander of a brave army who averted countless threats from his lands and led numerous campaigns of conquest. A brilliant strategist who knows more of warfare than any other monarch on this earth." Corvinus said.

Viktor's mouth twisted into a derisive smile."Enough of that litany of praise! What do you want from me?"

"You are the only one who can help me. That is why I am here, Prince." Marcus said.

"Your country has to be in a miserable state, if you are seeking help from a mortally ill man." Viktor raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know the situation I am in. Whole areas of Hungary lie in ruins. At night no-one is safe anymore." He took a deep breath. "And I am responsible for this," he finally admitted.

"Oh..." Viktor feigned a sympathetic sound. "Is it really that difficult to put down revolting peasants?"

"No, Prince, it isn't the peasants, it is...", Marcus hesitated. "It is my brother."

"My, his dear little brother has become a robber baron! Would you like to know how much I am interested in your nonsense right now, Corvinus?" Viktor's voice grew louder and angrier with every word until he ended up in a coughing fit. "Throw him out!" he called hoarsely.

"No, please!" Marcus insisted before the servants could enter. "Please let me finish. Perhaps you won't have to die."

"How dare you mock me, Hungarian fool!" Viktor clutched his aching chest, unable to catch his breath this time.

"I swear you will not regret hearing me out!" Corvinus tried to calm him and hurriedly went on: "My brother, William, is no mortal man anymore. Since he has been bitten by a wild wolf, he changed, grew to be a beast. I no longer recognise him. One could describe him as a man-wolf. A few months ago he abandoned his reason and fled from Castle Corvinus. He has bitten other men, just as the wolf has bitten him, and turned them into beasts as well. Now they are prowling about in the night, especially by the light of the full moon, feeding on human flesh. They have devastated many villages by now, torn the farmers to pieces. And I doubt that William will ever become human again. I am responsible for him. I must stop him. I already should have acted before he left the castle, but I failed. And so I need your help, your army, and your leadership, Milord."

Viktor stared at the red-haired man, bewildered. Of course he had heard of the wolf-man devouring virgin flesh when the full moon was rising. However, as a rational thinking man he had never believed in fairy tales told at peasant firesides. Though at least he no longer believed that Corvinus wanted to make him a fool. Nobody who was quite right in their head would have taken on the strain of such a long journey just to play a jape on a dying man. Corvinus's desperation sounded genuine.

"A very touching story, boy, but I'm afraid you will not be able to make use of my leadership for very long anymore. As you probably have noticed: I am dying," Viktor said.

Marcus wasn't put off by the Prince's sarcasm. "That is exactly what I wanted to tell you next," he said. "In truth, I, too, am no mortal man anymore, for I have also been bitten. Not by a wolf but by a bat. I didn't waste a thought on such a small wound because I was tending to my brother's. Later, however, I became aware of how food tasted of ash in my mouth. I became ill with it, unable to keep bread or broth down. Only wine served to satisfy me, and that, only for a time. When I watched a cook butchering a calf, I couldn't help but taste the blood spilled on the ground. I feared becoming a beast like William but there was no change like the one he succumbed to. My strength doubled, every wound healed within moments, and I soon realized that sunlight burned my flesh. I had become what the peasants whisper about around their fires; a blood drinking creature, a strigoi... a vampire."

Viktor seemed interested now. The belief in such demons was common in eastern Europe, and the symptoms Corvinus had described completely matched the characteristics of the undead creatures. Could it be possible? Did vampires and werewolves really exist?

"Prove it!" the Prince demanded.

"As you wish," Marcus said.

He looked upwards and leapt, clinging to the ornate ceiling where he climbed along it in a fashion more akin to a spider or insect before letting himself drop to the floor in a crouch, twisting impossibly in midair before rejoining Viktor at his bedside.

"So you see now."

Viktor's mouth opened and closed again, but he didn't get a word out.

A thin, hopeful smile appeared on Marcus's features before he went on."I have not tested if I can turn a mortal man into a blood drinker, but if William could turn men into beasts by biting them..." he trailed off looking down on the dying man, his eyes glowing in a demonic blue.

"Here is my offer to you: I will bite you and make you immortal, give you powers beyond any mortal man. You will be able to defeat your enemies blindfolded, and you will never have to fear death again. In return you will turn your army into vampires as well, and we will go to war against William and his wolves together. After that you will be rid of me and can do whatever may best please you."

Viktor chuckled roughly. The devil had come to offer him a pact, after all."Agreed!" the prince said, and Marcus took his hand to seal their bargain.