Red Serpent: The Falsifier (10 page)

“Mom,” John said, sitting on the sofa in the living room, “just hear me out, will you?”

“Did you hear what Jarad said?” Helen asked. “He wants to impeach you!”

“What?” His back straightened.

“HoloTv on,” Helen commanded the computers of the house.

In front of John, the holographic screen popped up.

Jarad continued with his speech, “The Council and I have proposed a new Constitution. We can promise a better, safer way of dealing with elections, all the way from the Leader’s Chair to the Municipal hierarchies. We have decided to depart from John Howe’s old ways and follow a new plan of action. If John Howe wants to go and rescue his nephew, so be it! But the moment he leaves he will not be welcome back!” Some people clapped at this statement while others jeered.

John shook his head and sighed, “I expected this to happen. But I’ve got other plans.”

Helen muted the TV while Jarad elaborated on his plans of action. “So you have a way to save Alex?”

“All I can say is everything’s going to be fine.” He took the container out from his leather bag and opened it. Helen’s eye glittered at the sight of the beautiful specimen. John unrolled the scroll and read it out loud:

“My dear friend John,

Long gone are the days of old when we fought side-by-side against the tyranny of Anaxagoras. I have never forgotten you all throughout these long years. Right now, I want you to know what I am planning. It has taken me some time to plan and realize how to go about doing what we had originally envisioned. For that, we must be patient. On Earth, the Imperial Vampires want to kidnap Alex. We, as his family, know that Alex is the Falsifier, the Equivocator. Nevertheless, these vampires have no idea of who Alex really is. They think by kidnapping the Falsifier they can study his DNA and be able to create a super-vampire. But that is also being done on us Rebels. We have been tested on and they want us to be the pioneers of this new super-race.

They are foolish to do this because when we join the humans, we will be very dangerous enemies for them. This time we will be unbeatable. I am taking Alexandros with me and I promise you I will keep him safe. No harm will come to him, and no one will know who he really is until the right time comes. So I need you to trust me on this, my brother. You will have to embark on a rescue mission. I will get the Rebels ready once you enter the Earth’s atmosphere and we will start the fight before you come to collect us. When we get to know what the enemy’s real plan is, we will be more than ready; we will use their own weapons against them!

It is up to you now to start the mission. Until you get here, I will try to tell young Alexander everything he wants to know about his vampiric lineage. Good luck, old friend.

Nikolas yus-Faviane Gareng.”

It was clear by her eyes that John’s mother was deep in thought, calculating the next move. “Jarad’s made it hard for you to rescue Alex,” she said.

“I doubt it. I know that the entire Council, except for Richard, is against me. I knew it from the very beginning, ever since the people elected me Council Leader. Jarad’s just jealous and I know he won’t get too far with his plans.”

His mother glanced at the TV and suddenly cried out. “Oh my God!” There were replays of Jarad giving his fiery speech and then getting shot three times in his shoulders and chest.

“Turn on the volume!” John said.

The same reporter that Angel’s parents had been watching appeared after the replays. He yelled, “Could it be that John Howe has sent a message to Jarad Hameed for his candid and shocking statements about the Howe family? This is surely a devastating blow to what we knew as democracy.”

“What the hell is going on here?” John yelled, standing up. “There’s no way I planned that.”

Suddenly the window smashed open and a green can projected into the room, letting out tear gas. John grabbed his mother by the arm and led her out. He opened the door and they ran outside. A dozen people crowded the large iron gates of the Estate, shouting hateful remarks against the Howe family. Numerous reporters wrested to get past each other and get a good story. Security guards tried to hold the crowd back. John realized soon enough they must have been paid by Jarad to do this. They protested, holding up signs and slogans of hatred.

“Enough of this,” John said to his mother. “I’m going out there to face them.” John walked outside of the gates. “People of Regnum!” he said as loud as possible. He repeated his words four times more until the shouting ceased to total silence. “People of Earth! I understand what must be going through your minds right now. You may think of me as scandalous. You may think of my family as scandalous. You want to think that what Jarad says is true.” He was careful not to say outright that Jarad bought them. “Go ahead then. But let me say this. I believe in democracy. True democracy as he does, if not more. But I want to remind you of one thing. I have fought with pride and honor in the line of fire! Do not forget those who died on that fateful day of the last battle. I tried my best and I am proud to say that I fought side-by-side with my fellow Anisaei, my fellow Vampire Rebels and gave my best to win back our rightful place on the Earth.

“And for the last twenty one years there hasn’t been a day that has gone by in which I haven’t tried to fight the Imperial Regime of Anaxagoras. I want us to achieve what we fought for long ago. But we won’t achieve anything with all this bickering. We must join together as one army and fight for our rights! We must fight to regain what we have lost and what is rightfully ours!” At this point the people bowed their heads in silence. They realized that John was right. Even the reporters stopped bickering and just let the silence continue, as the floating cameras panned from John to the audience. The silence became almost unbearable for John. The fear that his speech might not have persuaded them surged like electricity under his skin. He waited.

The crowd suddenly started shouting and cheering for John.
Their leader
.

John’s face widened into a smile. “So what do you say? Are we going to get the Earth back or not?”

The people cried out, “Yes!”

Alex glanced around the area of the ship anxiously, careful not to make eye contact with any of the crew members. He felt them glaring at him suspiciously. To relieve his mind, he thought of his family and Angel. He smiled at the thought of becoming a father. Nikolas observed Alex and said, “You have your mother’s smile.”

“You knew my parents, didn’t you?” Alex asked in a hushed tone.

“Alex, you don’t have to be frightened of anything. Everyone here is a Rebel. And these punks,” he added, referring to the Imperial soldiers. “They don’t really talk much or listen to anything.” He glared at the one who had turned on his restraining choker and the other Imperials. They returned the aggressive look and ignored Nikolas and his comrades. Every now and then, they would watch Alex’s movements.

“So, what were they like?” Alex asked a little louder.

“All I can say is that they were wonderful human beings.”

Alex opened his mouth, surprised by Nick’s statement, but the Rebel covered his mouth before he could say anything. “Some things are better left for later.” He motioned with his eyes to signify that it was dangerous to talk on such a subject. “Let me introduce you to the Rebels,” he said.

The Rebels now consisted of only twelve members. The rest, Nikolas explained, died in the war. There had been about 125000 alive before the war. The last battle had claimed 120000 Rebel casualties. The rest had been used for tests for the Silver-moon project. After the first phase, 3000 had died. Once the first phase had been completed, only 850 were left. During the second phase, only twelve made it. One by one, Nick introduced them.

The first Rebel he introduced was Varenkoff. “I’ve read lots about you, General Varenkoff,” Alex said, smiling.

Varenkoff smiled back and shook Alex’s hand, “Please, call me Dante.” His black hair was tied in a ponytail and he donned a thin mustache. His eyes were the darkest Alex had ever seen, with a slight tinge of crimson. Alex could not help but look at his scar which ran down the length of his cheek from his left eye to his upper lip. Dante noticed this and laughed, pointing to it with his right finger, “This, my dear boy, was a gift from Adiraan.”

“Oh,” said Alex, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I keep it as a memento; a precious memory of our days in the Rebellion.” Varenkoff’s eyes looked beyond Alex, vacant and dreaming, in the same way that John’s did when he spoke of the war.

“I thought vampires could regenerate,” Alex said.

“If they choose to, yes,” Varenkoff replied.

Nikolas went on to introduce the others:

Efarius seemed to be the oldest of them all. He was lean and tall and his skin was tanned from hard work in the sun. He had worked in the farms as a serf for Anaxagoras. He smiled and shook hands with Alex. Efarius’s hand felt hard and leathery.

Joqetu, a youngish looking Rebel with red hair bowed to Alex and shook hands with him. “Finally,” he said, “after all these years.”

“And this is Davik,” said Nikolas, introducing a tall Rebel with pleasant features. Davik’s fair face smiled at the mention of his name and he shook Alex’s hand. His grip was gentle.

The next Rebel, Gavin, stood with his arms crossed and his back straight. His muscular frame was tight and stiff. He smiled solemnly at Alex.

Noel was introduced next. He had been watching Alex constantly and was filled with awe and respect. His eyes widened as he took Alex’s hand in his own.

Liam bowed slightly and shook Alex’s hand. He had wild ragged hair that fell loose about his face. When he smiled, Alex saw his bright white fangs. “It’s an honor,” said Liam.

Yagnik shook Alex’s hand next and brought him closer to embrace him. He watched Alex with interest. His light blonde hair was cut short and his eyes were the color of blue seas.

Orwen welcomed his leader’s son, bowing and shaking his hand. He looked slightly nervous and his pale face seemed even paler when he looked at Alex with his large golden brown eyes. Moving his chestnut brown hair away from his face, he said, “I never thought I’d see the day, Alex, but I’m glad I have.”

Hektor, a six and a half foot tall vampire, grabbed Alex by the arms, hugged him and laughed loudly. “I’m so happy at last to see you, young Alexandros.” His face was covered under a huge messy beard that flowed down to his chest. The hair on his head flowed all the way down his back.

Finally, Quentin smiled at him and bowed, “Good to see you,” he said. He was thinner than the others and moved quickly when introduced. Quentin was from a noble lineage and indeed had a regal air about him. The others came from humbler backgrounds and some were part of the military of Migra. Quentin was related to Nikolas, on his mother’s brother’s wife’s side, being her third cousin.

Alex noticed that all the Rebels were shirtless and just wore military pants. “Why aren’t you guys armored?”

Nikolas said, “Didn’t you see what we can do? We have no need for armor.”

Alex shook his head.

“Watch.” The Rebels transformed their bodies into silver, like Nikolas had during the battle in the Regnum. Their whole bodies looked like shiny sculptures. Their muscles gleamed as the silver reflected the light. They looked like mechanical, robotic vampires.

“Wow!” Alex said, “This is amazing!”

They levitated in the air, surrounding Alex in a circle like magnificent angels protecting him. They took their right arms and placed their hands a foot above Alex’s head. From each arm came white beams of light, which shot into Alex’s head. The converged light radiated a powerful aura, traveling down his spine and back, finally spinning clockwise around his vertebral column. The radiant light scattered throughout his nervous system and into his bloodstream, finally reaching his brain. It spread around and circled his brain like a bright halo. A thin white light emanated from the center of his spinal cord. It slowly rose from the base and through the cerebral cortex. His eyes shone like fire and he opened his loose mouth slightly. Suddenly he began to levitate alongside the others. The Imperial Vampires watched in awe, waiting for a command to do something, but no such command was given. Even Jacque, the Imperial commander of the mission, stared on in complete shock, watching the amazing spectacle of light and magic.

Alex spoke an ancient magical incantation in ancient Migritic. And at once, the pure white light flooded the entirety of the ship. A faint sound, like the one Alex had heard when he first drank the blood from the fountain, hummed incessantly. After four minutes, the light died out and the Rebels collapsed back down but Alex continued to hover in the air, cross-legged in a lotus position. The light still surrounded him.

The Imperial soldiers snapped out of their trance and the commander ordered the soldiers to bring Migra for those who had collapsed. Plastic packets of Migra, much like stored-up blood, were injected into them and little by little they recovered. Jacque asked Nick, “What was all that about?”

“Nothing. Just something between us. Don’t worry about him. He’s taken our energy. When it wears off, he’ll be fine.” Nikolas said.

“Taken your energy?” Jacque asked.

“In fact, he’s taken everyone’s here on the ship.” Nikolas said.

“I thought only powerful Ancients could do that. And even they needed to have permission first.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s strange,” Nick said.

“So how long will he be like that?” Jacque looked at the hovering figure.

“Depending how much he took from us, I’d say he’ll be fine by the time we land.”

“I hope so.”

Nick left to join the other Rebels. He said under his breath, “I hope so too.”

John was sweating. He didn’t understand anything that was going on, especially Jarad’s statements and the actions after that. What about the assassination? Who was responsible for that? He decided that, politically, the best thing to do would be to go to the Central Hospital. It was only a five minute walk from Regnum Central Headquarters. He needed to show the people that it was not he who had planned the attack. He was painfully aware that other people might see it that way.