Lord of the Vampires Read Free Page B

for Gregor to do the same. I saw his swift secretive glance at my weapon, then at the soldier, then back at me; in his eyes shone the reluctance of the coward. Slay me he could, but at the cost of his own life.
    Gregor, my friend. I motioned for the now-tired man to sit across from me at the ancient dining table. I was cordial, conciliatory. It is only right that you know the reason for our swift journey. I have need of funds, and so I came here to avail myself of some of my treasure. There are few I can trust with such a task, even at the castle and so I did not speak of it to you. We shall be returning shortly to Bucharest, but in the meantime, rest, and eat.
    I saw the mercenary light in his eye which I had hoped to evoke. He could wait until the treasure was in our hands, and once he and I were alone in the Vlasia Forest
    After a time the fire grew, and the room began to warm. I bade the soldier stay with us and stand guard. A white-bearded monk with fewer teeth than I have fingers entered with a tray of fooda cold roasted chicken, a flask of wine, bread, cheese. He served us most capably, reaching out to refill our goblets with a hand so gnarled by age blue veins standing out in bas relief beneath a parchment-thin layer of pale yellow skinthat I was astonished it did not tremble. Even more laudably, he showed no fear, no cringing, before the great prince, only silent dignity. This I found agreeable, for I am usually tended by fawning fools, but his singular self-possession may well have been sparked by disdain for my heresy. (I had spent years under house arrest in Hungary; the only way to gain King Matthias trustand regain my thronewas to convert to Catholicism. It was a political move, nothing morein Turkey I was forced to kneel upon prayer rugs facing Mecca and pray to Allahbut an unfortunate one, for it has earned me the contempt of my own people.)
    Should I have chosen death instead?
    No. There is nothing noble about death, even that of a martyr.
    Yet the old monk feels I have betrayed God, and therefore deserve His punishment, just as Gregor deserves mine.
    Perhaps the monk would be surprised to know that I indeed fear God. Fear Him because I know His heart is like mineblackened by power, thrilling at the ability to dictate the hour and fashion of mens deaths; reveling in their suffering.
    NayHis heart is more evil than mine, and more pitiless. He strikes down young, old, man, woman, child, without regard for their loyalty, their wit, their circumstance. I spare the innocent and kill only those who betray me; I kill to instruct the survivors through spectacle.
    God has no such qualms. He slays believer and infidel alike, and the degree of suffering He inflicts bears no relation to the victims piety. Nor does He concern Himself with justiceHe has permitted usurper after usurper to steal my rightful kingdom, and now that I have reclaimed it after years of arduous struggle, He will not help me maintain it. Thus I could never ally myself with Him, especially since He is too jealous to impart the immortality I seek.
    Enough of God; I speak now of Gregor. He and I shared our Last Supper in silence, and when he had eaten to his satisfaction and pushed away from the table with a sigh, I told him:
    My friend. My heart is heavy of late, for I know that support for my reign is uncertain. The boiers have turned against meand when he began a supposedly innocent protest, I raised my hand. Do not think I do not know it! And now that Stefan has withdrawn his forces, the situation is more precarious. This he could not disavow. After all, to spare them danger, I had not permitted my wife and sons to join me at my Bucharest court. I paused and, in a tone of utmost earnestness, asked, Gregor. Will you pray for me? For your princes safety and success? I know you are a man of faith, and I am deemed by some a heretic And here I paused to steal a sidewise glance at the grizzled monk, who stood in readiness to serve (albeit closer to the