Book One, Chapters 101 to 107

The Vampire's Daughter
Book One
Chapters 101 to 107

Copyright, 2003, 2004, 2005, Reuben Gregg Brewer, all rights reserved.



0101
"It appears that you and your friends do not wish compassion. So be it," Tobias said to John. Wayne was unconscious on the floor where he fell. To the young man who had been sitting next to him, he said, "Baal, would you please bring me some rope."

"Certainly, Coven Master." He walked slowly off stage.

Tobias looked at Janet and asked, "Do you wish compassion?"

"Yes, please don't kill Susan," she answered.

"The little girl? How quaint that you should worry about her. I meant compassion for yourself.

"Come to me."

Janet started to get up when Baal came back with rope. "A reprieve, my dear, sit for now." She did as she was told.

"Baal, make two nooses and fit them over the necks of these men." Taking his time, Baal fashioned the nooses and placed them around John and Wayne’s necks.

"Now, throw the ends over the rafters and pull them up."

Janet screamed and John fought more forcefully, but Baal and Tobias were unmoved. "Slowly Baal, you don't want to break their necks. You want to suffocate them."

"Yes sir."

As the two men were raised up, awful guttural choking sounds came from them. Their bodies jerked and writhed.

Claudia knelt on the floor and started to pray, and Janet started sobbing into her hands.

Susan stood up in front of the young woman on whom she had been sitting. They looked each other in the eye. After a moment, Susan walked over to the suffocating men. At first Baal moved to stop her, but Tobias waved him off.

She walked to Wayne, touched his feet, and said, "You've done what you could. I love you father." With that, his body relaxed and urine stained the front of his pants.

Baal released the rope that held Wayne and he fell in a heap on the floor in front of Susan. He laughed and looked at Susan with a broad smile. She touched Wayne's head and said, "You are free."

Then Susan turned to Baal, who was still smiling with glee. She looked him sternly in the eyes until his smile faded and he nervously looked away to break contact.

John had stopped struggling by this point and was watching Susan as his life faded away.

She looked up at him and said, "You did what you thought was right. There is no shame in that. Thank you.

"But it's time for you to go," she said, touching his feet. His eyes fluttered and then closed, and his body relaxed. Urine stained his pants and blood trickled from his mouth. Baal let his rope go, causing him to fall in front of Susan, but anger clouded his face this time, as he glared angrily at the little girl.

She didn’t pay any attention to Baal, instead bending down to touch John’s head. She said quietly to him, "You, too, have been freed."

A tear ran down her cheek as she slowly stood up. She looked over the bodies of the two dead men at her feet. They had worked so hard to protect her, had given their lives in an attempt to save her. They had made the ultimate sacrifice. She turned to face Tobias, and announced, "What you did was wrong. You will be justly rewarded."



0102
Tobias let out a loud and deep laugh, "I will be justly rewarded, will I?"

"What you've done is wrong, they didn't want to die."

"Yes, my dear, what I have done is wrong. I have killed indiscriminately and I revel in it. I revel in murder. I live by death. I am a devil. I am a walking, breathing demon.

"They didn't want to die," Tobias said mocking the little girl, as he walked toward her. "But what about you? Do you want to die?" he asked.

Susan stood motionless without saying anything as Tobias stood before her. Her silent strength infuriated him. "Well? Do you wish to die?" he asked in a deafeningly loud scream.

The volume of his question caused Susan to cover her ears and cower. Tobias's yell, however, brought Janet out of her fear. She looked up just in time to see Tobias raise his arm to strike Susan.

"No!" Janet screamed, as she ran to defend the little girl she had taken as her own. She lunged in front of Tobias as he brought his hand down. His blow fell with such force that it crushed her body to the floor. He had struck her head, which was now just a bloody pile of broken bones and hair.

Susan's face was sprayed with blood. First she looked down at Janet’s body and then up at Tobias. Susan glared at Tobias with such anger that he broke eye contact by looking away. The determination and strength of the little girl standing before him bewildered him.

Susan knelt over Janet's bloody remains and said, "You gave me what you never had, I love you and I know you love me. Go free."

Tobias's anger peaked, as he absorbed the fact that a little girl had stared him down. In a deep, but quiet tone, he said, "It is your turn to die."

He again raised his arm to hit the little girl, but, before he could strike, the female vampire that had been at his side held his arm.

"Sire, killing humans is easy. But finding and killing one of our own, particularly one as powerful as Sabastian, is far more difficult. I suggest we keep the old woman and the little girl alive to use as bait. Once Sabastian has been killed, these two are disposable.

"If we kill them now, we may miss a chance to truly close the door on this situation. And, if we do not deal with all of the participants as our laws demand, then we can claim no more legitimacy than the Tribunal."

Much calmer, Tobias answered, "My dear Mary, you are correct. I have been hasty and rash. It is clear that the little girl should live until Sabastian is dead. The prostrated old lady will care for her until that time."

Tobias turned to the silent crowd and said, "I declare a blood hunt for Sabastian!"





0103
From the back of the auditorium, a loud and angry voice erupted. "You do not have far to look, Tobias. I stand before you, if you dare to fight me."

Sabastian stood defiantly in the center doorway, framed by the light behind him.

"Sabastian!" Susan screamed with glee. She ran to Claudia and whispered in the old lady's ear, "We’ll be O.K. now. We're safe."

The audience was silent, no one moved even though they knew that a blood hunt meant they had to kill Sabastian. Even Tobias stood without a word.

"Are you all cowards?" Baal asked, breaking the quiet that had come over the room. "I am not afraid of you Sabastian," he said, launching himself into the audience.

He ran up to Sabastian with a raised fist, but before he could do anything Sabastian grabbed his hand. He wiped Baal around like a rag doll, pulled his head to one side, and drained his life in front of the entire audience.

After Baal's body fell lifeless to the ground, the hall erupted. There were screams, bodies running in all directions, and general chaos. The rumors of Sabastian’s taste for the blood of his own kind put fear in the hearts of many. Many thought that Sabastian was a myth, and refused to believe that a vampire would take one of his own. Seeing him take an Enforcer with such ease, however, made the myth all too real. It turned fear and disbelief into a visceral reaction. Everyone was overcome. None had seen such an act openly perpetrated. The only thing running through the minds of almost all in the auditorium was, "Get out as fast as I can."

Since Sabastian was in the front of the room, the mob on the first floor rushed the stage and the rear exits through which Susan and the others had arrived. Those on the balcony rushed out the back, though some jumped to the orchestra in an attempt to hasten their escape.

Tobias attempted to control the situation, yelling loudly that Sabastian was but one vampire, that they outnumbered him and could easily kill him, that he was a traitor to his race, a cannibal, but none in the audience listened. A mob mentality had taken over, and getting out was all that mattered.

Realizing that he had lost control, Tobias grabbed Susan. He stood with the little girl in his arms staring at Sabastian. Only Mary remained by his side.

The three stood motionless as the auditorium emptied. They could hear the mob screaming even after the last vampire had escaped the room. The screams were deafening and horrible. As if death had come to take his own.

"Is this little girl what has brought you back from the dead?" Tobias asked mockingly.

Sabastian made no reply, he simply started to walk slowly toward the stage.

"I will kill her, you know. There is no way for you to save her."

Sabastian continued to advance.

"Mary, kill the old woman," Tobias commanded his lone supporter.

Mary looked at Claudia, who had resumed praying, but she did not move.

"Mary! Kill her."

She looked at Tobias, cowering behind a little girl, and said, "No, I will not kill for a sire afraid to fight his own battle. That hides behind little girls when confronted by failure. These deaths are on your hands, not mine."


0104
Tobias turned to look at Mary, but said nothing. His eyes, however, showed that he felt betrayed. Not just by Mary, but by his entire coven.

"Don't look at me that way. Am I to respect the great Tobias Smithson, founder of the Smithson clan for this?" Mary asked scornfully, as she waved her hand at him cowering behind a child.

At this point Sabastian jumped from the orchestra section onto the stage, landing in front of Mary.

"Sabastian," she said, nodding her head, but standing her ground. "Before all of this I assumed you were little more than a myth."

He looked past her at the bodies and then over to Tobias. "No harm would have come from them Tobias," he said.

"You broke the rules, their deaths are on your hands," Tobias replied, with a wavering voice.

"The rules are yours, not mine," Sabastian said, walking past Mary toward Tobias.

"Don't come any closer, I'll kill her."

"Then you will die."

Tobias stepped backward as Sabastian advanced until he fell over the chair and podium on which had been sitting so regally just a short while ago. On the ground, still holding Susan, he pleaded for Mary to help him, "I am your sire, help me!"

"I will not help a coward kill an innocent girl," she replied.

"Then I give her up!" He let Susan go and she ran to Sabastian and hugged his leg.

"I have given her up. See? She is unharmed. I have set her free," Tobias begged to both Mary and Sabastian in the hope that one would have pity on him.

Sabastian put his hand on Susan’s head and said, "Please go to the old woman, child."

Looking up at Sabastian with a smile, she said, "Her name’s Claudia."

Sabastian smiled back at Susan and corrected himself, "Please go to Claudia."

"O.K.," she replied. As she walked past Mary, she turned and smiled at the woman on whose lap she had sat. Susan stopped and put out her hand.

Mary looked at Sabastian, who simply nodded his head in approval. She took the girl's hand and together they walked to Claudia.

"I will leave the New World, I will go back to Europe," Tobias said when Sabastian turned his attention back to him.

"You will die."

"I don't want to die," Tobias replied. "I will do whatever you wish. Command me and I will do your bidding. I do not want to die."

"I do not doubt that," Sabastian said standing in front of the fallen man. He lifted Tobias up by his hair and drained the blood from his body.

As Sabastian let Tobias's body fall to the floor, a single person in the audience began to clap.


0105
"Encore, encore," the single audience member yelled while continuing to clap. "I am giving you a standing ovation, do you not at least bow?"

Sabastian ignored the man and walked to Susan. Kneeling, he picked her up with one arm. With his free hand he helped Claudia to her feet. He could sense that she was nervous, but it was Susan who said, "Don't worry Claudia, this is Sabastian, he's not gonna hurt you."

Sabastian looked into Susan's eyes and they smiled at each other. He then looked at Claudia and, nodding his head, said "Hello Claudia, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Claudia replied nervously.

"The drama, the emotion, Sabastian you are a master thespian," the man said continuing to clap. Sabastian ignored him and walked to Mary.

"Thank you," he said to her.

"She is a special child," Mary responded.

"You have betrayed your coven, what will you do now?" he asked.

"I don’t know."

"She'll go with us," Susan announced, putting her hand out to Mary again.

Mary took the little girl's hand for the second time and a smile spread across her face. "If it is acceptable to Sabastian, I think I would like that. At least for a little while."

"It is acceptable," Sabastian replied.

"Yet another happy ending, I am on the verge of tears. Where did you learn your art?" the man in the audience mockingly asked. He was still clapping loudly.

Turning to the house, Sabastian stood resolute and announced, "We are leaving now."

"Oh, but you can't go until I share your skills with my friends, I cannot keep such excellence to myself," the man said. "Come my friends, meet my most reliable ally, Sabastian the reclusive thespian!"

As he said this, the house lights came up, all three entrance ways swung open, and every enforcer loyal to the Tribunal walked in clapping and yelling. The din was deafening, causing Susan and Claudia to cover their ears.

"Learn, my children, from his loyalty. From his skill. He has killed for me like no other," the man announced over the crowd.

Sabastian stood, head held high, and yelled, "Enough!"

The audience went silent.


0106
"Thomas, what are your intentions?" Sabastian asked.

"My intentions? You have helped me to surpass even my wildest dreams. I couldn't have created this drama if I wanted to.

"The little girl, oh it added such emotion. I wish I had thought of it. It was a stroke of thespian brilliance.

"And the outcome! It is beyond what I desired. With your help I have completely eradicated my strongest opponents. And, before long, I will have destroyed all those who aren't loyal to me.

"You see, I planned the demise of the Tribunal for decades. Slowly moving contentious factions into power so that the resulting friction would topple the institution. At the same time I strengthened the Enforcers so that the vast majority of them were loyal to me and me alone.

"I thought that bringing Elizabeth, an outsider with no understanding of the New World, to head the Tribunal would be the last straw. I assumed the others would revolt. But Elizabeth proved more capable then I thought. She was actually able to maintain order and peace with cooperation. Tensions did, indeed, run high, but she managed to hold the Tribunal together.

"Elizabeth’s abilities impressed me, and I am not easily impressed. I had considered her a failure in everything else she had done, but based on her performance at the head of the Tribunal, I have had to reevaluate my assessment of her.

"Your inadvertent tryst, however, toppled the house of cards. It was simply too much for the others to allow and it gave me the opportunity I needed. A few choice words of advice, however bad they happened to be, were more than enough to send Tobias and his clan on the attack. Going soft on you was the chink in the armor Tobias needed to convince his clan, and others, that control had to be wrested from Elizabeth. That she was too congenial and soft to maintain control of the city.

"You see, if I had attempted to destroy the Tribunal and take control there would have been too much resistance. But you created the rift that caused others to break the Tribunal. I have merely stepped in to restore order. I am now the savior. Imagine that Sabastian, you have made me the savior of the city!

"I will restore order by brute force and my actions will be welcomed. I will disband the Tribunal and be thanked for it. I will install myself as the head of the new order and not only will it be accepted, it will be desired.

"I can now take my rightful place as king of New York."

"And after New York?" Sabastian asked.

"You and I are very much alike Sabastian," Thomas said.

Before Thomas could continue his thought, Susan shot out with great anger, "Sabastian is nothing like you!"

"Yes child, you are correct, there are great similarities and great differences. And it is our differences that separate us now.

"Sabastian, you are welcome to stay in my city and help me to expand my control throughout the New World, but the humans, and Mary, must die."

"That is not an option," Sabastin replied.

"No, I didn't think it would be. Then you may leave with your new friends, but eventually there will be no place for you to live where you can escape my rule."

Looking at Susan, Sabastian replied, "All I need is fifteen or twenty years." He smiled, and walked down from the stage with Susan, Claudia and Mary. He moved slowly through the audience toward the rear exit.

"Sabastian, I am allowing you your freedom because of your years of faithful service," Thomas announced. "You have been the anvil on which I have crushed all of my enemies.

"When you have played out your little drama, come back. We work so well together.

"Everyone, applaud for our conquering hero," Thomas commanded and the audience erupted. Feet were stamping, hands were clapping, and voices rose up in screams.


0107
The roar of the crowd could still be heard as the small group left the auditorium. At the entrance to the house stood Elizabeth. She looked ragged and used, and had tears in her eyes.

"He followed Sol up here," she started. "He planned to send the Enforcers in to kill everyone while you fought Tobias. But even that was not needed. They ran from you like frightened animals. They ran into his waiting army. It wasn't even a fight, it was a slaughter.

"Almost all of his enemies were in that room. They wouldn't have dared to congregate like that while he was still at the head of the Tribunal.

"He used us," she said, shaking her head slightly from side to side. Finally looking Sabastian in the face, she said, "I didn't know."

"I believe you," he said, as he walked past her. Looking back over Sabastian's shoulder, Susan smiled at Elizabeth.

This simple act made Elizabeth feel as though she had been forgiven. Awkwardly, she smiled back and waved. Susan waved in return and then turned to look forward.

What she saw all around, though, brought tears to her eyes. The ground was covered with bodies. In some spots they were stacked high, one upon another. In other areas they were strewn about haphazardly.

"Do not be sad, child," Claudia said to her, "death has taken back his children. It is just."

Sabastian continued on to the car in which he arrived. Sol sat, leaning against the hood. He didn't even look up as the group approached. Sabastian could feel the shame Sol felt. He stopped at the car and stood silent for a moment. He knew that Sol was as much a pawn in all of this as Elizabeth and himself, but he didn't know what to say to him.

Susan wriggled down from Sabastian's arms and walked over to Sol. She put her small hand under his chin and lifted his head. "Come with us," she said.

He said nothing, but looked deeply at Susan.

"It's O.K., honest," she said to him.

He looked up at Sabastian. A simple nod told him all he needed to know. He stood up and followed as Sabastian resumed walking.

Susan jumped back into Sabastian's arms and asked, "So where are we going to live?"