THE QUESTERS, PART VI

"So why are we naked?" Alexander asked.

Demetrios - the Captain of the Temple Guard - hid a smile and waited for me to answer the question.

Alexander was the temple guardsman who'd sailed me back-and-forth from Cross' island. He was a young, tall, and strongly-built Blood. He struck me as a loyal and simple soul.

It was a cool, but not uncomfortable evening. The three of us were in a moonlit glade, about a quarter-mile inland from the Temple, cutting long triangular symbols into the surrounding trees. According to the book I had in my hand, triangles are supposed to symbolically represent vampires. That's not as strange as it sounds - the triangles are said to resemble the sharp teeth that are the last thing a vampire's victim will see.

I was about to try my hand at ritual magic. A summoning as a matter of fact.

"Everything I've read says that the Vampire Queen likes handsome, naked, men," I explained to Alexander. "So that's a popular part of her summoning rituals. And since she doesn't actually have to respond to a summons, we want to tilt the odds of catching her attention as much in our favor as possible."

A smile flickered across Demetrios's face. "Handsome? On behalf of the Temple Guards, allow me say that we're flattered."

Alexander had been in the background - just another guard - when Kathryn, Rahne, and Rose had their talk about Dracula. After that, Alexander went straight to his Captain to report. Demetrios then went to me since, as a representative of the Sword Priestess Militant, he assumed I would know all sorts of esoteric things. But like Demetrios, I'd never heard of a so-called 'King of the Vampires'.

We needed to know more. And it struck me as just a matter of time until Rahne, Rose, and Faye thought to summon the Vampire Queen. That would be spectacularly dangerous, and I hoped to get it done before they tried.

I'm not a mage, but I have a useful book that covers the basics of ritual magic. After my first mission for the Legion, I took it from the body of a dead tunnel-mage. Over the years, I've consulted it several times.

Yes, I'm aware of how dangerous it can be to perform amateur mage-craft, but sometimes you don't have a choice.

"So, sir, are we gonna screw?" Alexander asked bemusedly. He seemed unsure, but it seemed to me that he wasn't completely against the idea.

I looked at the blood-stained and water-warped book in my hand. There was just enough moonlight that I could make out the words and images. "It doesn't say anything about that in here."

"Just askin'," Alexander said with a shrug. "I mean... we're naked and all. But the Captain here doesn't like it when guards get frisky and there's rank between them. And you two really outrank me."

I nodded absently. I was still an officer in the Spider Legion, and I understood the problems that could arise in such situations.

Demetrios sighed. "That sort of thing isn't required, Alexander. And if it was... well, Sooraya wouldn't have to know."

"That's right," I agreed, although I wasn't exactly sure who Sooraya was.

Alexander chuckled. "Actually sir, I'm pretty sure Sooraya would love to hear the story. In fact, she'd want to be a part of it. She's a randy thing and wouldn't mind being the only girl twixt the three of us."

The sheer frankness of the Blood never ceases to amaze me.

"Junior Guardswoman Sooraya of Riggs Landing," Demetrios told me resignedly. "She's Alexander's woman. And until they settled in together, Sooraya had a reputation for being a bit on the wild side."

"She used to do everyone in our squad," Alexander told me with a cheerful grin. "Said it was her responsibility to keep morale up. Some of my squad-buddies are still kinda mad that she's taken up with me."

"How will you handle it if one of them becomes eligible for promotion?" I asked Demetrios. I was curious how the Temple guard handled that sort of situation.

"I'd definitely put them in different squads," Demetrios replied. "But I'd also give them the chance to refuse the promotion if they thought it wouldn't work."

That struck me as a good approach, but any further conversation was interrupted by a sudden, panicked, warning from the First Spider. It flared up as strong as any warning I've ever received, tingling out from between my shoulder-blades and radiating out through my limbs and up the back of my neck. Then it almost immediately died away.

Alexander had gone silent. He and Demetrios were staring at something behind me. Alexander flexed his arms and simultaneously extended his claws. Demetrios shifted the dagger in his hand in a way more suited to fighting than tree-carving. Meanwhile, I could see his eyes measuring the distance to where his sword and other gear were resting on a nearby boulder.

I carefully turned around. A vampire had appeared behind me. In fact, she was leaning against one of our carved trees.

She looked rather young. And she seemed irritated.

"Hello, Honored Lady," I said weakly. We weren't even half-way through setting up the summoning ritual. She shouldn't even have known that we were trying to summon her.

"This is the Queen of Vampires?" Alexander asked in disbelief. "She's just a kid!"

The 'kid' raised an eyebrow in Alexander's direction.

"Guardsman Alexander shut the hell up," Demetrios said through gritted teeth.

"Yessir," Alexander replied hastily.

"Let me guess," the Queen said sourly. "You three want to talk about Dracula."

"Yes, Honored Lady," I said, trying to recover my poise.

The Queen rubbed her eyes. "It's been a busy night," she said.

"Okay," the Queen added briskly. "Generally, when I'm with a bunch of naked guys, I like to know who they are. So let's hear some names."

I took a deep breath. "I am Jonah Anthony Parker, of Clan Parker. I am a Herald-Ensign in the Spider Legion and an agent of the Sword Priestess Militant for the Jerse coast."

Then I waved at Demetrios. "This is Guard Captain Demetrios Petra of the Sea Eagle Temple. He is sworn to the Lady of Fire."

Demetrios gave the Queen the crossed-arm gesture of peace. It was somewhat compromised by the fact he still had a knife in one hand and didn't seem inclined to put it down.

I glanced at Alexander. "And this is Guardsman Alexander, also of the Sea Eagle Temple."

Alexander hesitated, then withdrew his claws and copied Demetrios's gesture.

The Queen gave Alexander an amused look. "So, guardsman, you haven't had the time to get any fancy titles?"

Alexander grinned easily, although his eyes were still coldly focused. "Right now, I mostly just have my name. But my wife screams it every night. What more does a man really need?"

There was a pause as we all considered Alexander's words. I can't speak for the others, but it occured to me that he had a point.

The Queen was definitely amused. "I just had a summons from Kathryn, Rahne, and Rose. We had an interesting talk."

"Damn it!" I muttered. A disgusted look appeared on Demetrios' face.

Alexander grimaced and shook his head. "Well that plan went straight to weaponex," he growled in exasperation.

"What plan?" the Queen asked curiously.

I hesitated. So did Demetrios. How much do you tell a vampire?

Alexander, of course, unhesitatingly filled the gap. "We didn't want the ladies talking to you. We figured that would be kinda dangerous."

The Queen seemed darkly interested. "And you assumed you should take that risk for them?"

Demetrios gave the Queen a long and level look. "I am the captain of this Temple. Alexander is a guardsman sworn to its service. We don't 'assume' anything. We guard. Ensign Parker has his own reasons for being with us, and I choose to respect them."

The Queen shook her head. "Y'know, some things never change..." she muttered distractedly.

Then she gave us all a glare with eyes that had turned red. "I've got a wild idea - work with your lady-friends. And find Dracula."

I felt my face harden. "We've known about Dracula for about a day. He's been gone so long that only Rose had ever heard of him. We don't know where he is or what he's doing. Oh, and we don't have a clue how the Hand fits into this. Honored Queen, a little help would be useful."

A chill wind whispered through the glade. The Queen's red eyes focused on me. They seemed to look right into my soul.

"Your ladies were a lot more polite," she remarked. "Smarter, too."

"My Lady, perhaps we're just more desperate," Demetrios suggested.

The Queen was still looking at me. "Okay, I'm going to tell you a secret," she said to me. "Maybe that will help."

I opened my hands and bowed my head slightly. However, I didn't take my eyes off of the Queen.

"Vampires are a vanishing breed," the Queen began. "We were created to hunt humans - what you would call Folk. But every generation there are fewer Folk. After all, when Folk breeds with Blood and Wilder, the stronger line usually dominates. So tell me, boys. What will happen to vampires when the Folk are gone?"

"They could hunt the other peoples," Demetrios objected. "In fact, vampires have been known to do just that."

"So instead of hunting weak and juicy humans, you want us to hunt Blood and Wilder?" the Queen asked.

Alexander stirred. "I see what your Ladyship is sayin'," he said thoughtfully. "We're tougher game. Running down one of us might not be too healthy for a vamp."

The Queen nodded. "Vampires are decreasing in number with every decade. Packs of Blood don't hesitate to track us down. Wilder are full of surprises. Newly raised vampires are too weak to deal with the dangerous prey of this time and are usually quickly destroyed. Older vampires are increasingly forced to hunt in bands. Meanwhile, I've put restrictions that I've put in place on who and what they can kill. Those restrictions exist to keep us from stirring up too much attention, but vampires aren't always smart enough to understand that."

"Vampires are reminded every night that we're in trouble," she continued. "So here's a history question: what happens to a people when the world seems to turn against them?"

"They harken to better times," I replied after a moment of thought.

The Queen nodded again. "Yep. They look for a way out, and part of that is remembering the way things used to be. And what's one of the oldest legends of all?"

Suddenly, I understood the point the Queen was making. So, once again, I answered the Queen's question.

"When his people are endangered, a vanished King will return to save them."

"Very good, Jonah," the Queen said to me approvingly. "Among vampires, Dracula isn't forgotten. Hell, I'm not the only vampire around who actually met and talked with him back in the day. And there are vampires who are fool enough to think his return will somehow bring us back to the time when our prey simply died rather than fought back. If word gets out that Dracula is back, some might decide it's time to overthrow my rule and massacre our enemies."

"You have a rebellion brewing?" Demetrios asked.

The Queen laughed. "There's been a rebellion brewing since the day I put Dracula down and declared myself Queen. Killing vampires who want my throne is just another part of the job."

"You said something about a massacre," Alexander said. He sounded worried. "What kind of massacre?"

The Queen nodded. "Suppose you're sure there's going to be a war. If that's true, why not strike as soon as possible? In this case, that's stupid and I'm guessing Dracula thinks the same. But in the chaos of his return, he and I won't be making all of the decisions."

Demetrios and I exchanged a look. What the Queen was saying made too much sense.

Alexander slowly shook his head. "Honored Lady, I don't think there are anywhere near as many vampires as there are Blood and Wilder. Your kind won't win that war."

"Maybe," the Queen admitted, "but how many are gonna die before it all gets sorted out?"

Alexander suddenly looked uneasy.

"But is it a given that Dracula will return?" Demetrios objected. "After all, it's been something like a century since he - or someone claiming to be him - was seen hereabouts. Surely, if he had plans, they would have been put into motion by now?"

The Queen actually snickered. "Demetrios, if you live long enough, a century is just a blink of an eye. And Dracula doesn't have to 'return' to cause a disaster. Just knowing that he still exists could trigger what amounts to a vampire holy war."

Then she turned serious again. "Anyway, here's a suggestion: don't look for Dracula directly. Look for those who serve him. They won't be as good at covering their trails."

"And here's one more thing. We're right next to a fantastic hunting ground. People could vanish - day after day, year after year - in New York city and barely anybody would notice. And here's where it gets almost funny. I long ago ordered all of my vampires to stay away from that city. Nyack is such a shit-storm of people with powers - including a metric fuck-ton of mages - that I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. So without realizing it, I may have given New York to Dracula. I don't think he's in the city, but now I'm wondering if he finds victims there."

Then the Queen looked me in the eye - which was a blood-freezing experience. "Find him, Jonah," she said to me. "Find Dracula, get word to me, and you'll save more innocent lives than you can count."

Then, in a haze of dirty gray-white mist, the Queen of the Vampires vanished.

Kathryn was angry with us.

"Guardsman Alexander," she said steadily, "the only reason I'm not punishing you right now is because I want to take the time to enjoy the experience. I also need to think up something truly cruel and unusual."

Alexander - who had not shown much fear while talking to the Queen of Vampires - was obviously worried.

"Yes, ma'am," he said quietly.

"Now get out of my sight," Kathryn finished.

"Yes, ma'am," Alexander repeated. Then he bowed his way out of the room.

We were in the innermost chapel - the place of worship that only the Temple's inner circle will usually see. Kathryn, Rahne, Rose, Faye, and Aurora were scattered amongst a set of pews, passing around a bottle. Kathryn, Rahne, and Rose were barefoot and wearing long robes. I suspected they had nothing on underneath. Faye and Aurora were fully dressed.

Demetrios and I were also fully dressed, but we both had the appearance of men who had hastily thrown on their clothes.

"Priestess Kathryn..." Demetrios began. He obviously intended to defend Alexander.

Kathryn held up a hand. Demetrios immediately fell silent. Temple guardsmen are a disciplined bunch.

"We need a plan on how to find Dracula," Rahne interrupted calmly.

That was smart. Suddenly, Kathryn and Demetrios were focused on something other than a squabble over the privileges and boundaries of a High Priestess and her Guard Captain.

"We don't have much to work with," Faye said with a morose shake of her head. Then she drained the bottle and put it on the pew next to her.

"The Queen suggested that we should find Dracula's followers," I said, "and that Nyack would be important to them."

"'New York City...'," Rose said contemplatively. She seemed to find the ancient name fascinating.

"You know," I told her, "I've only ever read that version of the name in the oldest books. I don't think I've ever heard it spoken aloud."

"Another oddity is those vampires who've appeared in this region every few years," Kathryn suggested.

I spoke up. "The one that was killed a few months back? Where did that happen?"

"On an island up the coast," Demetrios answered. "The local Lord is named Berring."

"I'll go there and ask some questions," I said. Thanks to my recent past, going to Nyack wasn't something I could casually do.

Kathryn looked at me. "Take Alexander with you. You might need help."

"Yes, ma'am," I said. I wasn't sure what Kathryn meant by that, but I hoped it suggested that Alexander wasn't in as much trouble as I feared.

Rahne spoke next. "Faye, Rose, and I will go to Nyack."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "Nyack is a big place. Where do you plan to start?"

"I'll speak to the dead," Rahne told us casually.

Faye and Rose didn't even blink at that statement. The rest of us really had no response.

"I suggest everyone get a good night's sleep," Kathryn said as she got to her feet. Then, with Demetrios by her side, she left the chapel by the rear entrance to the deepest reaches of the temple. Aurora politely escorted the rest of us out via the chapel's less exalted main door.

At my request, Aurora walked me to the quarters that Alexander and his woman shared. It was a small room in the guards' wing of the Temple. The furnishings consisted of a small bed, a pair of trunks, and two neatly stacked racks of armor and weapons. Against the back wall, there was a clothesline festooned with damp shirts, jackets, and trews - and a completely incongruous pair of net-like stockings.

Alexander noticed what I was looking at. "I swear in the name of the Old One and all three of the Goddesses that those stockings aren't mine," he told me solemnly. "They belong to Sooraya."

I was glad to see that Alexander could still joke.

Sooraya was Blood and I suppose some might say she wasn't a beautiful woman, but some can also be idiots. She had the strong body of a warrior, and her dark blonde hair was kept in a masculine bowl-cut - much like Kathryn's as a matter of fact. But her most striking feature was a broad mouth that I could tell was given to spectacular smiles.

At the moment, Sooraya was wearing a simple yellow shift that left her arms and legs bare. I carefully kept my eyes focused elsewhere.

"I'll see you on the dock at first light," Alexander told me once I was done with explanations.

Sooraya put bowls in front of Alexander and I. Then she handed us spoons. Dinner was a fish stew that seemed to be standard fare in that part of the world.

As Alexander and I ate, Sooraya and Aurora retreated to the other side of the room and had an amused-sounding conversation about the stockings. Aurora's eyes were wide as she hesitantly felt the material.

"How much trouble are you in?" I asked.

Alexander shrugged. "It can't be too bad since the High Priestess is sending me with you. Still, when Priestess Kathryn gets mad, anyone with a lick of sense should keep their head down."

The stew was simple but pretty good. Alexander broke a small loaf of bread in half and handed one piece to me.

"With any luck, she and the Captain are in bed right now, sorting out any problems between them," Alexander added.

"I... didn't know they had that kind of relationship," I said carefully.

Alexander laughed. "What's old is new again. They were a couple for a long time, but separated after they became the big bosses. Then, just a day or so ago, they got right back into the saddle again. If you want my opinion, they wasted a lot of good riding time."

In the back of the room, the hem of Aurora's acolyte robe was hiked up, her shoes were off, and Sooraya was helping Aurora put on the stockings. It was a process that seemed to call for a lot of rather intimate contact. The blush on Aurora's face was like a red banner. And she was making a point of not looking at Alexander and me.

Perhaps Sooraya was dragging Aurora a bit farther than Aurora had intended to go. Or perhaps Aurora was exactly where she wanted to be.

Alexander gave me an amused glance. "My dear, sweet, Sooraya has designs on Aurora's purity. The plan is to be in just the right place at the right time after Aurora becomes a priestess and is released from her vow of frustration."

"I think it's usually called a 'vow of chastity'," I pointed out.

"I won't quibble about the words, but I think I'm right about the effect. And Sooraya already has a strategy to conquer Aurora all mapped out."

That made me smile.

"She'll use maneuver and guile to force Aurora to bare her flanks?" I suggested.

Alexander nodded in amusement. "And then, when Aurora is desperate and driven past her limits, Sooraya will drive deep into her center, ruthlessly exploiting any openings she might find."

I couldn't help but return Alexander's smile. "I'm sure Sooraya will be a gracious victor and offer Aurora fair and reasonable terms."

Shaking his head, Alexander sighed and said, "Sir, you don't know Sooraya. She only accepts absolute surrender."

"What are you going to get out of all that, Alexander?"

He chuckled. "A really happy wife. And a happy wife means a happy husband."

Aurora was taking off the stockings. The 'help' Sooraya was providing involved the displacement of Aurora's flimsy under-robe. There was a flash of bare thigh. And the way Sooraya was kneeling in front of Aurora was beyond suggestive.

I stood up as Aurora hastily reordered her clothes.

"Thanks for dinner," I told Alexander. "See you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," he said.

I thought it would be proper to escort Aurora out of the room, but there was an awkward delay while Sooraya kissed Aurora goodbye. That took some time. Alexander and I enjoyed the show.

Aurora was still blushing as I walked her back to the Acolyte's quarters. Faye had told me about the fight in the courtyard. At the moment Aurora just didn't look like a ferocious maiden of Lady Ororo, who'd stood in the midst of thunder, whipped by winds as she incinerating Hand ninja with bright bolts of blue-white lightning.

"Sooraya is a friend," she told me suddenly.

"I saw that."

"She..." Aurora began. Then she stopped.

"She likes you a lot," I finished for her. "And she's rather demonstrative about it. And as an older and more experienced woman, she really likes to tease you."

There was a stone bench in the corridor. Aurora sat down on it. Then she patted the space right next to her.

Wondering what the hell I was about to get myself into, I sat down.

"Tell me about Faye and Benjamin," she asked unexpectedly.

Her body language was interesting. She wasn't scared of me, but for some reason, she wouldn't meet my eyes.

I laughed. "There's not a lot to say. They're in love."

"Is that all? Tell me the whole story. Tell me how a Spider and Green woman defied convention and married."

A few moments passed as I considered what to say.

Then I began. "I was just a boy when Uncle Benjamin and Faye took up with each other. And then everyone in the family went crazy. Ben is a man of considerable status - high in the order of succession for house mastery. And he's... well, he's important in other ways. The scandal of him being with a Green woman, instead of a Spider Lady of proper status, was tremendous. The usual jackasses were unhappy."

"One thing led to another. Ben and Faye became even closer. There were cruel whispers, and then harsh words. Uncle Ben fought a duel - and then another. Two Spiders who thought they knew how to use a sword found out differently. Thank the First Spider that neither of them died! That would have triggered feuds that would still be going on!"

"Then, with Faye right beside him, Uncle Ben left the family. He said it would be for the best. Truth to tell, Uncle Ben hadn't been happy with the family for some time and his reasons were good. The business with Faye was simply one thing too many, and he wouldn't give her up to keep some idiots happy."

"What did you do?" Aurora asked me.

That was the question I really didn't want to answer. However, I'd been avoiding it for too long. It was time to admit my wrong.

"Ben's always been my favorite uncle," I told Aurora. "And Faye didn't deserve what people were saying about her. But Uncle Ben ordered me not to publically take his side. I suppose he didn't want what was happening to him to happen to me."

"I'm embarrassed to say that I did as he ordered. I shouldn't have, but I did. And so I lived my life as a dutiful soldier, while Ben went into an exile."

Aurora gave me a kind smile as she shook her head. "Perhaps your uncle Benjamin knew what he was doing."

For a frustrating moment, I couldn't think of anything to say. Aurora had a point, but a part of me will never think I did the right thing.

I sighed. "Eventually - thanks to the First Spider! - I got a chance to help Ben."

"Is that why you're also in exile?" Aurora asked softly.

I looked at her and nodded. "I don't have any regrets. It was a chance to undo something I did that was wrong."

Aurora's eyes met mine. Then she blinked.

"Okay, it didn't happen," she said as she got to her feet. She seemed amused about something.

"What?" I asked as I also got up.

There was a mysterious smile on Aurora's face. "Something Faye warned me about. She said I should be careful about looking into your eyes. Goodnight, Jonah."

I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but I bowed politely as Aurora turned away.

However, my mind was elsewhere.

It was night and I was kneeling in a dark and rain-washed street. Warm blood was pooling all around me, mixing into the cool rainwater. I had a broken arm, but I was clumsily cradling the almost bisected body of my great-grandfather. I was crying like a child, but I won't apologize for that.

Meanwhile, the cursed red sewage that was Carnage was trying to crawl away. And Uncle Ben, who'd been forced to become the thing he hated most in order to save our family, was approaching Carnage with a god's weapon in his slick, black, hands.

The dying man in my arms looked up at me. Then he somehow gasped out my name through the blood in his mouth. There was no hatred or fear in his eyes. Just what I can only describe as relief.

I closed my eyes. And for the thousandth time, I prayed for the soul of my great-grandfather.