The Cat Burglar - 5. One Down

I was a shadow melder—or a shadow dancer which I thought sounded even cooler without really understanding the difference at the time. What I knew was it was a very rare gift, I could hide in the dark and even vampires had trouble finding me. When Konstantin suggested to explore the city and the surrounding areas and test out my gift and hunt, I balked at first. As the clan had a donor pool, I had shied away from feeding elsewhere before, but he was adamant about me learning to be independent of clan resources. “What if you get into a situation where you’re alone, you could have been trapped by daylight and need to feed urgently or—".

“Yes, yes I understand, I need more hunting experience, just in case.” The man was like a mother hen sometimes if there were any vampire chickens that is.

In the books, the good vampires sometimes kill bad humans, murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and drug dealers. I didn’t kill anyone while I tested out my gift and I stayed away from the bad people who slinked around the dark parts of the city. Unwashed bad people in the smelly corners of the city. I wouldn’t have eaten under these conditions as a human and now with my heightened senses. Ew. When I told Doc this, he laughed so hard tears ran down his face. I didn’t go to clubs either. The music was too loud and the odors were barely tolerable. Ever had a double dose of Oud or Bleu de Chanel mixed with sweat and cum, peppered with Rose Prick or Byredo? Yeah, not again. Doc told me it would get better, I would become desensitized eventually. I really hoped he was right. I loved dancing.

One or two of Simone’s soldiers always follow me. Probably because she hoped to catch me breaking the rules. I had great fun slipping away from their watchful eyes every now and then and seeing them panicking when they thought they’d lost me. I would have done it more often but of course the ever-reasonable Konstantin had to be a killjoy and said it could tip them off that I got my gift and its nature. Sometimes he, India, or even Doc accompanied me on my forage, but lately, they were always too busy. I had a bad feeling about that but I was distracted by my gift and its possibilities, I should have insisted on getting more information.

Instead of clubbing, I watched a woman until I knew her habits. She always worked on her computer after dinner. When she was tired, she showered, brushed her teeth while she stood under the spray then went to bed. I hid in the shadow until she was sleeping. It was almost too easy. I probed her mind and learned she loved vampire stories. That night she dreamt she was bitten by the vampire of her dream. I brushed her hair aside, bit her, healed the wound, and disappeared. Easy as pie. Konstantin was proud of me. India said I was being a creep. She was right. There was a reason why I preferred the donor pool. She recommended visiting The Tavern and talk to Oriole. Of course, Kon said it wouldn’t be hunting if I used Oriole’s service. It’s not easy to be a vampire.

One evening, I climbed once again the roof of the house across my brothers’ to be close to them in the only way I could while Warren was looking for me down in the street.

“Where the fuck is the little shit hiding? I was so sure we’d catch him with his brothers. I’ll kill them right in front of his eyes the moment I see them together.”

“We can’t do that without Simone’s explicit order.” The second guard pulled him away.

Warren only reluctantly followed him. “She would give it any time, even reactively.

I touched the slim sword mounted on my back. Simone had finally turned her pet blood slave into a full vampire. If the weasel ever dared to touch my brothers, he would learn the meaning of hard-earned, easily lost when I’d end his second life without feeling any regrets or pains.

A tiny pebble rolled down the roof tiles and landed with a ‘plop’ in the gutters. I could briefly feel my sire’s presence but it wasn’t he who settled down beside me. “Watching Nathan and Rylan again?” Doc leaned toward me.

I didn’t bother with denying the obvious. “Did Konstantin teleport you here?”

“Yes, Simone ordered him to attend an urgent meeting, but he didn’t want you to be alone, it’s too dangerous right now. Her men are guarding the house.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know that. I already had to listen to Warren gleefully planning my brothers and my demise.”

“So, why are you here then? Again, I might say. You’re risking their lives.”

I watched Nathan doing the dishes in his meticulous way. “I miss them. I’m not planning to contact them.” Yet.

“That’s good to hear.” Doc made himself more comfortable and leaned against one of the chimneys.

“They believe I’m dead.” I blurted out.

“You are dead.”

I ignored his quip. “Do you see the pictures on the dresser under the mirror?”

“There’s one of you.”

“It’s new. The one on the left is of Mom holding her favorite camera. The one on the right is of Father. Rylan put it there after we hadn’t heard from him for several months, saying he could be just as well dead. I think he misses him a lot without ever admitting it. And now mine’s there too.”

Doc bent forward to have a better look. “The whole arrangement reminds me of a shrine.”

“It’s horrible. I hate it.”

“So, who’s who?”

I turned to Doc. “Huh?”

“Who is which brother?

“Oh. Nathan is the tall one with the longish dark hair and the glasses. You two would actually have a lot in common if you’d ever meet. He’s a biochemist.”

“Oh?” After watching them for a while, preparing breakfast for the next morning together, Doc touched my arm. “Come on, we have to go home before Warren alerts the others that you’re missing.”

“Sebastian?”

Doc stopped mid-move and lifted his eyebrows. “You haven’t called me by my name for a long time.”

I shrugged. “I guess I wanted your full attention.” I had to ask him this with finally no one around. “Why did Konstantin let Mother punish him? The same with Simone. I know he is much more powerful than them. Didn’t you say the more powerful the higher is a vampire in the hierarchy?”

After a long moment, he said, “You caught on that, huh?” He sighed. “It’s a long and complicated story of honor, loyalty, and respect involving a blood oath, and not mine to tell.”

The next night Konstantin came with me under the pretense to show the prissy prince a clean place to hunt and feed without having him to stalk the prey. He emphasized clean. I would never live this down in my entire life.

When we passed through a park, he climbed a huge fig tree with broad sweeping branches and gestured for me to follow after him. We settled down high enough to be able to overlook the whole part of the town. When he said nothing but stared in the distance, I whispered, “Why are we here?”

After a short moment, his gaze was on me. “Doc told me you asked him a question yesterday and he persuaded me to answer it.”

I pulled a leaf off a twig and began to pick it apart. “It just bugs me to no end that you always let Mother having the upper hand.”

Konstantin smiled. “Let her?”

“Yes. I’m, sure you could squash her like a bug between your fingers. If you wanted, that is.”

“Squash? That sounds quite sanguinary.” His gaze became unfocused again. It felt as if he went to another place and time and he chose every one of his next words deliberately. “My sire found me gravely wounded on a battlefield beside the cooling body of my beloved horse. I knew I was dying too and I had come to terms with it. Then there was this strange woman bending down to me wiping horse shit from my forehead with a perfumed white cloth. The hems of her skirts were caked with blood-soaked mud as if she’d wandered around for hours. Then she asked me, “Do you want to live?” She fixed her black eyes on me. “For a price of course.”

I thought she was the devil. “What price?”

She nodded at the horizon, dawn was about to chase the remnants of night away. “The price is the sun’s rays warming your skin.”

Later she claimed she had been looking for me, her one childe, for decades. I still don’t know what compelled her to choose me. She always said my soul called out to her.” He shrugged. “Obviously, I accepted her offer.”

“She was a vampire?”

“Yes, she was a vampire, but a strange one.”

“How so?”

“Agathe’s clan was small, three to five people at most. Because of her nature, we could never stay in one place for long.”

“Her nature?”

Konstantin smiled wistfully. “She had her own ideas of what it meant to be a vampire. For one, she was gentle. Don’t get me wrong, she could be ferocious and ruthless if she had to, but she believed the predator living within us had to be tamed and only let out when needed. We were never killers. Other clans distrusted us or even saw us as a threat to their very idea of life.”

I nodded. “Understandable.”

“She found out that for some of us a special childe was waiting, the One Childe. They were meant to turn this human, to teach them everything they know and have a special lifelong bond with them, like a family. She invented the initiation ritual to strengthen the bond between sire and childe and the rest of the clan.” Konstantin looked at me. “You are my One Childe. She taught me how to recognize you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “But you said turning me was a coincidence.”

“It was. But then I recognized who you are, who I found. Agathe once said there is no such thing as a coincidence. Most of the time you think so, you haven’t yet unraveled the interconnections leading to the event.”

“What happens to vampires who are turned, but not the One Childe of their sires? Is it common or accepted for vampires to turn people without them being their childe?”

“It’s common. To meet the human who will be your One Childe is a gift. Most care for every human they go through the trouble of turning, but after a while we let them live their own life, find their own clan. We don’t have a bond to them.”

“Where is Agathe now?”

He looked down. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, what happened?

”Agathe met her bloodsong.”

“That word again. What —who is a bloodsong?”

He briefly touched the ring hanging from a leather band he wore around his neck “A Bloodsong is the person who every vampire secretly wants to meet but rarely does. Despite our very long lives, only a few are this lucky.”

“A bloodsong is a vampire mate?”

As soon as I said ‘mate’ he pressed his lips together and scowled. “We don’t have mates. That’s the nonsense you got from reading those stupid human books.”

I rolled my eyes, mere semantics if you asked me. Bloodsong sounded to me like another word for the same shit they were always going on and on in the books, but what did I know? “Katherine Delacour is your bloodsong.”

“She is.”

“What makes her so special?”

And his eyes got this glazed-over look again they always got when her name fell. “How to begin? Her blood sings for me a unique song that resonates within me. She makes me feel belong. Before I belonged to a species, a clan, a sire but only after I met her I understand the true meaning of belonging.”

Before he waxed even more poetic words about her I quickly asked, “Who was he?” When Konstantin looked at me uncomprehendingly I asked, “Agathe’s bloodsong?”

“Joseph. He was a missionary in the Near East. He had what it takes for this kind of profession a simple mind and a bleeding heart. All he ever wanted to do was saving people from everything bad and evil, illnesses, poverty, hunger and of course the devil. In my opinion, he was a madman.”

“You didn’t like him.”

“No. I knew he would be her downfall, and by proxy, the clan’s too.

“Which means if a vampire meets their bloodsong common sense takes a backseat?” I grinned. “Like in the books?”

That got me another scowl. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

I lifted my hands placating him. “I’m sorry.”

“Joseph never told us the entire story, of how he was turned. What I gleaned from Agathe was, that he went to a district of Cairo where people explicitly told him not to go to because it was infested with demons. He didn’t listen, what’s new? In the end, the demons turned out to be vampires. For whatever reason, they didn’t just drain him but turned him. Maybe they thought it funny to turn a missionary into a vampire. They even made sure he survived the turning.”

“Holy shit! A vampire missionary?” I had problems repressing my giggle but when I saw Konstantin’s serious expression it suddenly became easy.

“When Joseph detected he could heal humans by turning them, he thought he was saving them.”

“Can it be this guy had a teeny bit god-complex?”

“A conscientious sire educates their childe and shows them what it entails to be a vampire before they release them into the world, especially the responsibility they take up when they turn a human. Joseph didn’t learn anything from the clan that turned him, probably because he was meant to be a joke, soon to be killed by hunters or other species.”

“Callous.”

“What do you expect from a species that considers itself on top of the food chain? Today, it’s still beyond me how he survived, but somehow, he muddled through. Before he met Agathe he had been turning fatally ill children.”

“And that’s bad?”

“Turning a child is about the worst thing you can do as a vampire beside mass murder perhaps. A child’s mind can’t proceed the change properly, the lucky ones die instantly the others become mad. They can’t outbalance the cruelty of the hunter with their immature humanity. In those rare cases they survive the turning they become bloodthirsty little killers that swarm their prey like piranhas. They usually are killed by local clans or vampire hunters. After Joseph had finally understood this, he still didn’t stop saving humans, he began to turn sick adults, including those who were suffering from old age.”

And then I finally understood. “Mother.”

“Mother. Joseph’s One Childe was Elvira Night. He turned her when she was way in her seventies and suffered from coronary heart disease, arthritis, and other age-related illnesses. She was never as strong as an average childe. She needed more blood than them. Blood from young vampires worked best for her.”

I shuddered. “That’s creepy.”

“When Joseph understood I would always be stronger than Elvira, he asked Agathe to make me her protector. To secure my promise he demanded a blood oath and Agathe granted it.”

“A blood oath?”

“It’s an oath involving magic, sacred words have to be spoken and the blood of those who are connected by the them is used to paint the bond.”

“To paint the bond?”

He pushed up his left sleeve and showed me a ‘tattoo’ that resembled a small black ribbon lined with crimson running around his wrist along his arm to his heart.

“Why the hell did you do this? And why did your sire allow this?”

“I did it for Agathe. Joseph was her bloodsong.”

“But you were her One Childe! She should have refused your offer.”

“She knew we were stronger than Joseph and Elvira. I believe she thought we could protect both.”

“What a mess! What did you swear? What were your exact words?”

“I don’t remember my words.”

I so didn’t believe him. “The gist of the oath then?”

“I swore I would never use my strength to best Elvira and always support her.”

I exhaled. “At least you didn’t say protect, but support.”

He frowned. “When I think about this now, support was Agathe’s expression.”

“What happens when you break the oath?”

“That’s simple. I’ll die.”

I snorted and shook my head. “How can the oath be resolved?”

“When Mother dies. But I can’t be the reason for her death.”

I raised my eyebrows. “So, I can’t kill her?”

He chuckled. “No, you would do it for me, which means I am the reason for her death.”

“Pity. What happened next?”

“A stronger clan ambushed us and killed Joseph.”

I gasped. “And your sire?”

“When a vampire’s bloodsong dies they’re ripped apart inwardly, most wither away or become mad.”

“And Agathe?”

“All I know is that she is alive. I can still feel our bond albeit weakly. I don’t know where or how she is. After Joseph’s ashes were dispersed by the wind she disappeared. All I have left from her is her saber.”

Some of my many questions had finally been answered.

But as soon as I wasn’t so distracted anymore by exploring my gift, new ones almost instantly popped up. Why did Konstantin, have less and less time for me? The same for Doc, India, and even Emil. I could wander around the city entirely unsupervised. At first, I enjoyed my unsuspected freedom, but then I began to worry. India, who had always been pushing me to fit in some extra training hours lately, became suddenly invisible. When I asked, everyone was always attending some urgent meetings.

And then there was decidedly more activity than normal at the house. Soldiers were coming and going, always armed. That had never happened in the almost two years I was living here.

Even the kitchen was empty. I saw Maria and Martin hurrying through the back door, Emil carrying a cat box. Over her shoulder, Maria mouthed ‘Going into hiding,’ when she saw me.

I sat on the bed contemplating what to do with that information. Why would they hide? And why somewhere else than on the compound? Had Mother’s mind finally snapped? I had enough from pussy-footing around the elephant in the room. I would go to Konstantin and demand answers. He had to tell me what was going on. I was about to follow our bond and question him when I heard a soft knock on my door. After I opened it, India was there in full combat gear her arms full of swords and knives in scabbards, a box filled with even more weapons by her feet. “Quick get these,” and she passed me the weapons, kicking the box into my room.

“What the actual fuck?” I dropped everything on my bed.

She grabbed my arm. “Listen to me closely. Mother found some bullshit made-up reason to attack the Delacours that will never pass Caspian’s decree if you ask me.”

“What reason?”

“One of their clan let their childe drink from a whore usually working on our side. Now Mother claims they broke the treaty.”

“Did they grab them and force them to er..work on their side?”

“Of course not, Henri Delacour isn’t a fool. He walked over to theirs freely. Humans don’t know of any vampire territories and borders.”

“Henri walked over here—?"

She threw up her hands at my dumb question. “No! The whore!”

I looked at the knives and swords scattered over bed. “And why are you bringing all these weapons to me? Am I to fight?”

“What? Of course not. Konstantin would never allow that. I’m here because a little birdy told me that you can hide things where no one can find them.”

“Oh?” I needed some time until I got it. As I could slip briefly into another plane I might be able to hide stuff there. “I’ve never tried to hide something there.” I went through the exotic blades on my duvet. “Are you afraid someone will raid your room while you’re not watching?”

She looked at me, a grim twist distorted her full lips. “Most of these blades are one of a kind as the knowledge to make them has been lost over time and/or the used alloys aren’t available anymore. They are my people’s heirloom. If I don’t come back after tonight, Mother or Henri—”

“After tonight? What happens tonight? Mother or Henri?—Delacour?” I thought I was becoming crazy. “Will you finally tell me what’s going on here? Are we going to war with the Delacours?”

She stepped closer to me and whispered, “Tonight the Night Clan is going to attack the Delacour compound.”

“Because they borrowed a sex worker from us?” I couldn’t believe this, I must have misunderstood something. Mother and Simone were crazy. “What’s the plan?”

“At first, you’re going to hide my stuff, because when I’m not coming back —whoever wins this shit show will try to get their hands on this to sell it or use it to bribe influential people. I want you and Konstantin to have my legacy because I trust my former legate and his One Childe to honor it. If you decide to pass one of the knives to someone else, they will be deserving.” Her gaze became even more serious. “I am the last of my people Kavan as far as I know. Since I met you I felt a kindredship I didn’t feel for a long time.” She rummaged through the weapons on my bed and pulled a plain dagger out of the pile. “At first, I thought this was meant for you, but now I know it is for someone else, but you will give it to them when the time comes.”

I felt a slight buzz when I closed my fingers around the dagger’s handle. Before I could say anything else, she fished a key from the pocket of her pants. “Konstantin asked me to give you this, you’ll find the address here, she gave me a crumpled piece of paper. It’s one of his safe places. He wants you to be away from the house, better even from this part of town. No one will follow you tonight make sure of it anyway. If morning comes and you didn’t hear from us go to sleep. In the evening stay at the apartment until someone gets you. There’s enough blood in the fridge to tide you over even for a few days. Promise me to stay there.”

“Why? Why did you train me to become a fighter if I still have to stay away from the fight? I-I could help.”

She came to me and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her forehead against mine. “You are a damned good fighter, for your age you’re powerful. But we’re going against a strong clan with seasoned soldiers and at least two Elders. They will know your age and immediately try to kill you, one less.” She stroked my hair. “I know you want to help, stand by your sire’s side your bond is strong. But when they find out you’re Konstantin’s One Childe they will use you against him. We would lose our strongest fighter. Our chance to survive is slim, but without Konstantin, it’s zero.”

“Why is she doing this? She’s killing her entire clan.”

“Because she’s a power-hungry greedy bitch.” India stepped away after she pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Kavan, swear to me you’ll go to the apartment and stay there.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Why didn’t he come to tell me this himself?”

“I don’t know. I guess he’s afraid if you look at him with your big, brown sad eyes and ask him to let you come with us and he agrees against his better knowledge.”

I was torn. I wanted to listen to her and stay away from the fight and at the same time, I wanted to be by Konstantin’s side. Did he think this poorly about my ability to fight? What about in case he needed my blood? I knew I needed to stop this line of thinking. I needed to follow my head and not my heart. Konstantin was a centuries-old vampire. He knew how to fight. He had fought without me many times. His closest friends and best fighters, India and Emil were by his side. If he said he wouldn’t need me, he didn’t need me. I probably would be in the way anyway or a distraction. He might try to protect me when he should concentrate on fighting. I still was disappointed. Before India was out of the door I asked, “What about Doc?”

“He’ll stay and defend the house.” When I opened my mouth she shook her head. “No, you can’t stay here and help him. Almost the same reasons apply as before. Good-by الأخ الأصغ (little brother).”

I thought I was becoming crazy. I could feel Konstantin, was upset through our bond. Something bad had happened, the knowledge didn’t prevent me from falling asleep as always in the early morning. At least I knew he was still alive before I lost consciousness. As soon as I was awake I was pacing around the small apartment. Only my promise to stay put held me there.

Suddenly he stepped out of thin air directly in front of me, staggering forward.

“Konstantin!” His clothes were partially ripped and splattered with blood, the sword on his back was smudged with brownish specks. When he looked at me all I saw was agony, so much agony in his eyes.

“Kavan.—"

I grabbed his arms and led him to the couch. “What happened? Do you need blood?”

“No.” He shook his head as if he wanted to get rid of the pictures in his head. “It was horrible. As expected, the Delacours were much stronger than us.” His eyes darkened. “It was pure madness to attack them. So many of my-our soldiers died, too many. We-we never had the slightest chance to win. It was a slaughterhouse.” He slumped down.

“Wh-who—?” I wasn’t able to ask him.

His gaze became haunted. “India.”

I whispered, “She knew—right? Somehow she knew.”

“She was ferocious. When it became clear we couldn’t win this, she tackled Henri, holding one of her fabled knives at his throat although she was bleeding from dozens of large wounds. I had killed his first Elder before. Emil was already heavily wounded he could barely hold his own against Katherine.”

“Katherine was there?”

“Of course, she is their second Elder.

But it was obvious we were going to lose. Then India’s attack brought us the deciding advantage. They agreed to let us go if we didn’t kill Henri. I guess they too suffered great losses, greater than they’d anticipated. After some negotiations Katherine let us gather our injured soldiers.”

“How is Emil? Will he survive?”

“E-Emil is majorly injured, but Doc thinks he’ll be okay after drinking lots of blood and sleeping for several days.”

“How many did you lose?”

“Twenty-one.”

I didn’t want to ask the question. “Did someone else die I know?”

“Simone.”

“Good.”

We simply sat on the couch for a long while. Then Konstantine got up and took a shower before he changed into clean clothes. He drank some of the blood from the fridge. I offered him mine, but he didn’t want it, saying Emil might need it more.

I couldn’t fathom that larger-than-life India was dead. I saw her last smile before she closed the door of my room. I thought I could still feel her arms around me, hear her teasing words or her drawn-out sigh when I fucked up again. There was a hole inside of me. India was dead.