William strode out into the crowded hall and sat down in the throne-like chair. There was a tall antique mirror on the wall and I caught a glimpse of him as he passed it. I had to admit to myself that I was impressed, he certainly looked the part of a vampire God. The clear white and brilliant blue of his eyes stood out sharply against the deep red of his skin and his expression was stern and cold. Berenice had called her congregation together and proceeded to explain "my" instructions. They were not happy. William sat silent and immobile, his eyes flicking over the congregation, taking in the atmosphere.
"What, we're not going to get involved?"
"Let Berenice handle it for now."
After ten minutes or so of argument and muttering from the congregation Berenice finally lost her temper and stood up angrily.
"I am the Prophet of the Goddess!" she cried. "You will obey her or leave!"
Darius gave a smug little smile. "Do you wish us to obey her or you?" he asked. "Because there appears to be some discrepancy here between what we believed and what you are now proposing."
William raised his head and spoke for the first time "There is no discrepancy here. I know that most of you are true believers, that you wish only to serve the Goddess. But there are those of you who would use her as a cloak for your own bloodlust. Who read her sacred words and see them as an excuse to kill, to rape and to destroy. This is not the way forward for us. It would bring only destruction."
"Humans are merely food for us!" cried Darius angrily. "The Testament says so!"
"That is no excuse for wholesale murder!" said Bill. "It is perfectly possible to feed on humans without killing them. There is no reason to keep them and breed them like livestock as you have proposed. We can live alongside them in peace or they can wipe us out, it is our choice."
"That is not what the word of Lilith states!" snarled Darius.
"If that is what you believe then you have misunderstood me." William's voice was cold and harsh. "Blessed be the children of man for they are banished from the night without end. They flame as sparks from a fire and last as long."
To my surprise Darius appeared to recognise this and backed off a little.
"Where did that come from?"
"Those were your words, from your Testament!"
"I don't remember saying that! It doesn't sound like me at all!"
"Actually you're right, it doesn't, but it seemed appropriate….."
I thought about this for a moment.
"So who wrote it down?"
"The prophet Sennefer .You spoke to him in the desert apparently."
"I did? Sennefer...Sennefer…..was he a tall, bony guy? Bald?"
"You're asking me? How would I know?"
"I'm sure I never said that! I suspect he made it up!"
"Perhaps you were in a good mood that night? No? No that doesn't seem very likely either." William sighed. "We'll have to take a look through the testament, okay…..but another time please, we're a little busy here!"
Darius had stormed out without another word.
Just then there was a commotion by the entrance to the hall and it appeared that the Authority had arrived. A short blond vampire reported to Berenice that several cars and a couple of Army trucks had pulled up in the lane and armed soldiers were surrounding the house.
"Very well" said William. "You will authorise him to let them in. We have nothing to hide."
I saw the young man's eyes widen at this and he looked back at Berenice, waiting for instructions.
She raised an eyebrow. "Do as your God instructs you Hayden. Invite them in!"
The great double doors were opened and a crowd of people came in, looking around warily. There were a group of vampires, accompanied by a number of humans, all in uniform and carrying what I assumed to be weapons. William nodded politely to the tall blond vampire in the lead. "Good evening Ulrich" he said. Ah! So that was Ulrich! He turned to Berenice. "Berenice, this is Ulrich Von Schröder, Ulrich, this is Berenice. Please, join us." He gestured at the steps leading up to the platform where the two chairs stood.
Before Ulrich could move one of the side doors to the hall was flung open and Darius marched back in dragging a girl by the hair. I recognised her as the little redhead that William had fed from days earlier. The one he had subsequently asked forgiveness from in the cellars.
"Well just look what I've found heading out of the kitchens!" he said, pulling her into the centre of the hall. He threw the little red-haired girl into the centre of the room.
William's face had gone completely blank and still. He stood up slowly. "Let go of her at once Darius" he ordered.
The group of vampires around Darius and the girl backed away hurriedly, sensing the threat in his voice, but Darius ignored him.
"These creatures were placed on the earth as food for us!" he cried. "No-one tells me what to do with my prey!" He gave the girl a little push and she staggered forward a few steps and then stopped.
"You lay a finger on her again you little creep and I will make you regret it!" hissed William.
I felt myself tense at his words, he was becoming angry, infuriated at the thought of Darius's treatment of the girl, I could feel a savage fury building up within him, the power of it making my skin prickle with excitement, he was losing control. This was my chance.
"You'll do what?" asked Darius furiously. "You want us to believe that the Goddess lives in you? Don't make me laugh!" He glanced up at Berenice who was standing on the podium looking shocked. "You might be able to talk her around, she's infatuated with you, the poor fool. But don't think I'll ever accept this!"
He took a step towards the girl who was standing, frozen with fright, where he had thrown her.
"He defies us William, insults us, you cannot allow this!" I whispered.
"You have the strength William, I will give you the power to punish him, as he deserves. You must punish him, he must not be permitted to defy us!"
William's face twisted with anger and he flung up his hand, the palm facing towards Darius. I poured power into him and William threw it directly at Darius. I noted dispassionately that his control of the power was already sufficient to enable him to throw a wave of force past the girl without touching her...impressive. Then the force hit Darius full in the chest. He was picked up and flung against the far wall where he hung suspended, pinned against the wood panelling.
William gave a snarl and began to prowl down the steps and across the hall towards him. The calm reasonable creature that was William was gone now. I was lurking within the mind of a monster whose only thought was to cause agonising pain to the vampire who had threatened the girl. The girl he had sworn to protect only a few short hours ago.
"You have him now William, finish him!"
Holding up his hand he began to clench his fist. Darius let out a shriek of agony as though William had taken hold of his heart and was crushing it in his hand. Flickers of red light began to appear around him like static electricity and he thrashed against the wall screaming and gasping with the pain.
This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. William's mind was completely clouded by a red fog of anger. I was just about to reach for control when he paused.
"Bill" came a whispered voice from behind us "That's enough!"
Suddenly the strain on William's mind was gone, he turned back to see Alex holding out her hand to him. I felt a surge of fury almost as powerful as the one which had nearly swept William away. Damn that girl! She had done it again! Just when I had almost had him...