you to speak your mind in front of such vile animals,” Mika went on, “but I needed to bait them, to give them one last chance to deny such foul accusations. If they weren’t monsters, they would have argued when you criticised them. But since they are, they could only threaten violence. I couldn’t be the one to enrage them, so I used you. Again, my apologies.”
Larten smiled. “You have nothing to apologise for, Sire. It was a pleasure to tell them what I thought. If I had known of your intentions, I would have treated them to even more of my mind.”
“No, that was enough,” Mika said. Then he sighed. “Franz was truthful about one thing — a storm is coming. But it’s a storm of their making. Humanity is in for a rough ride, I fear. They are heading towards another Great War, and this one could be even worse than the last.
“We must play no part in the atrocities. We cannot even afford to observe, in case the Nazis capture and manipulate us into doing their bidding.”
“No human can catch a vampire,” Arra snorted.
“These might,” Mika disagreed. “They’re cunning. It will be best if we don’t give them the chance. I’m leaving tonight to spread the word — I want every vampire out of Europe. If some are determined to stay, I’ll urge them to keep deeper to the shadows than ever. We probably have a few years before war erupts, but the sooner we slip free of this spreading net of fascism, the better.
“I need you and Gavner to distract them,” he said to Larten. “When you meet with Franz tomorrow, tell him I’ve left to discuss the matter with the other Princes. Make it seem as if you think I’m angry with you, that I plan to pledge our forces to the Nazi cause. String him along. When he realises he’s been played for a fool, flee. Take to the hills, but don’t flit. Let them track you. I think the Nazis will trail you in the hope that you’ll lead them to Vampire Mountain. Keep that hope alive for as long as you can. Stretch it out for months… years if possible. The longer they focus their attention on you and Gavner, the more time the rest of us will have to evacuate.”
“We will lead them on the mother of all wild goose chases,” Larten promised, eyes alight. He would drag them through the harshest, most uncomfortable corners of the world. He doubted that Franz would smile so much then!
Mika clasped Larten’s shoulder and squeezed. “Stay alert,” he warned. “These men are dangerous. They might try to trap you if they suspect that they’re being led astray. If that happens and they block all avenues of escape, you’ll better serve the clan dead than alive. Understand?”
“We will do whatever we have to,” Larten said steadily.
“I trust you completely,” Mika said, “but Gavner is young. Maybe I should send Arra with you instead.”
“No!” Larten yelped. When Mika looked at him strangely, Larten forced a weak chuckle. “I have faith in Gavner Purl. This will be a good test for him. If I think that he is struggling, I will send him back to Vampire Mountain. But I believe he will prove himself.”
“Very well,” Mika said and covered his face with his right hand, placing the tip of his middle finger to his forehead and spreading the adjoining fingers. “Even in death may you be triumphant.”
Mika departed. Arra followed, but paused at the door and glanced back with a veiled smile. “This isn’t over,” she purred. “We’ll discuss our relationship in more depth later.”
Before Larten could protest, she slipped out, leaving him alone in the large, ornate suite, to marvel at the fact that he was more worried by Arra than he was by the army of Nazis which would soon be hot on his and Gavner’s trail.
Larten was ready to strangle Gavner. He had endured more than three months of his assistant’s snoring and it was driving him mad. He’d tried herbal medicines, pegs on Gavner’s nose, even a gag, but nothing worked. He rarely got more than a couple of hours’ sleep most days. He was tired and irritated, and he blamed it all on Gavner Purl.
“What’s wrong with you?” Gavner yawned, sitting up and stretching. They had spent another day in a coffin in a crypt. Gavner had enjoyed a perfect day’s sleep, but Larten had been up for the past hour and looked as sour as a pinched baby.
“Three guesses,” Larten snapped, shooting Gavner a dark look.
Gavner laughed. “Don’t tell me I was snoring again.”
“I think you do it just to annoy me,” Larten growled.
“You should move to another coffin if it’s that bad.”
Larten’s expression darkened and he muttered foul curses beneath his breath. It had been his idea to share a coffin. They holed up in graveyards most days, although sometimes they slept in barns or old ruins. They could easily have slept apart, but Larten thought it would be safer if they stayed together. He worried that the Nazis might divide and capture one of them otherwise.
The Germans had been pursuing them for the past three months, ever since Franz realised Mika wasn’t returning. Negotiations had broken down and the officer was replaced by one who never smiled and who demanded Larten agree to his terms immediately — or else. Sensing that he had pushed them as far as he could, Larten stole away that night and he and Gavner had been on the run since.
Larten was enjoying the game of cat and mouse. He and Gavner kept one step ahead of the Nazis, moving swiftly every night, but never so fast that they couldn’t be tracked. The Nazis had almost trapped them a few times, surrounded graveyards where they were sleeping and moved in for the kill. If Larten had been human, he and Gavner would have been caught, but his sharp sense of hearing had alerted him to the threat each time and they’d managed to break free.
On one occasion the Nazis outsmarted them and sent their forces ahead of the vampires to stake out a number of graveyards in advance. That had almost been the end — they’d faced a desperate dash at dawn to find somewhere safe to rest, ending up beneath the roots of an ancient tree. Ants and other insects had made it a long, uncomfortable day. Since then Larten had varied their route, following no set pattern, deciding each day at dusk which direction to take.
Larten wasn’t sure how long the Nazis would dog their trail. Mika thought they would hound him for years. Larten doubted they were patient enough to follow him for that long, but so far they’d shown no sign of quitting. They had doubled their numbers, then doubled them again, even following the pair when they crossed the border into lands where Germans were far from welcome. Larten could have revealed the Nazis’ presence to the local authorities, but his task was to lead them on, not have them locked up.
The only real downside was Gavner’s snoring. It truly was as bad as Larten claimed. Some days he made more noise than one of the polar bears which Larten had wrestled with years earlier during their trek across the plains of Greenland.
“Perhaps if I cut off your nose…” Larten muttered, only half-joking.
“You go anywhere near my nose and I’ll slice off your ears,” Gavner retorted.
“You were not this bad when you were a child.”
“How do you know? You never checked on me when I was asleep.”
“Yes I did,” Larten protested.
“Don’t lie,” Gavner tutted. “Alicia always tucked me in and looked after me if I stirred in the night. She told me I was a terrible snorer from the start.”
“Then you admit it!” Larten pounced.
“Maybe I snore a little,” Gavner grinned.
The younger vampire moved to the mouth of the crypt and stared at the rows of headstones and crosses. It was almost dusk, but the light still hurt his eyes and he had to shield them with a hand.
“How come you don’t mind the sun so much?” he asked Larten.
“Your eyes adjust