Apotheosis of the Immortal (28 page)

Chapter 56

“Don’t hold. How
many times have I told you not to hold?” Hulagu Khan shouted at Elijah as he was about to loose an arrow.

“How do you expect me to aim if I don’t hold?” Elijah shouted back.

“You don’t aim, Elijah. I have tried to teach you this for months now. Remember, your…”

Elijah cut him off. “I know, I know. Trust my body; my eyes and my body know where the arrow needs to go. It’s all nonsense. It just doesn’t work!” Elijah loosed an arrow and missed an ear hanging from the city gate. Behind the gate Elijah could see countless men, women, and children hanging headless, drained of their blood.

“You always have too much going on in here.” The Khan stepped closer and thumped Elijah on his forehead with his right index finger. “It is good you have rid yourself of your guilt and anger, at least for now; the true test will be when you see your father.”

Elijah nodded.

“Emotion is weakness, and it clouds your mind. Now you just think too much, you try too hard.” The Khan took a horse by the reins and pulled it over to Elijah. “You have a problem with control. You always try to control things, but you can’t, not always. Sometimes you have to let go. Now get on the horse.” The Khan handed the reins to Elijah, stepped to the rear of the horse, and smacked its back.

“What? Why?” Elijah asked as he pulled the reins to his right, forcing the horse to turn so he could see the Khan.

“Do you really want to kill your father?” the Khan asked as he took a step forward and stroked the horse’s neck.

“Of course I do, but what does this have to do with my father?” Elijah demanded. After a moment of silence he clapped his hands to get the Khan’s attention.

“William is not one of these cursed creatures roaming around my camp; he’s not even what Roman was. He is much stronger, and, unless you learn to control your mind, you haven’t a chance.”

“I have learned. I don’t care anymore.” Elijah responded sharply.

“You might have learned to kill mercilessly, without guilt or shame, or even anger. You may be able to chop the heads off of these women and children and string up their bodies without a second thought, but there is one thing you still care about: your father. Let go of it Elijah, or bury it deep; you will only be able to beat him when you no longer care to.

“It’s a paradox, I know; it’s not fair, but it’s true. You will never get what you want until you learn to let it go.” The Khan leaned forward and took the horse’s reins. “Do you understand?” he asked, watching Elijah intently.

Elijah nodded. The Khan did seem to speak in circles, but Elijah thought he was beginning to understand him. Elijah was beginning to learn that his anger—what he had long considered his greatest ally—could hold him back, and cloud his judgment.

“Have you ever heard of the great Hindu warrior Arjuna?” the Khan asked as he took the bow from Elijah’s hand. “He had a bow called Gandiva; it was the mightiest of bows, forged by the gods themselves.” Hulagu Khan examined the bow in his hands. Pulling back the string and flexing it, he admired it as if it were Gandiva.

“Why are you telling me this?” Elijah cocked his head slightly to the side and opened his eyes wide. He was getting more and more frustrated with the Khan’s incessant lectures.

“Because extinguishing your rage is just the first step.” The Khan leaned forward and slapped Elijah’s chest. “Right action separated from thought and detached from consequence,” he said, spacing the words out like he was chipping them in stone.

“What does that mean?” Elijah’s frustration was obvious.

“Arjuna went into battle and killed hundreds of men, even his own family members, but it wasn’t because of Gandiva. Arjuna learned how to separate his actions from his mind and heart.” The Khan tapped his head with his index finger, and then his chest. “It’s like walking, you don’t think about it, you just do it. But more than that, Arjuna separated himself from the consequences of his actions. He took the right steps and left the outcome in the hands of the gods, or whoever.” Hulagu stroked the horse’s nose as he spoke.

“If the man shot an arrow at someone, then he obviously wanted to kill or at least wound them,” Elijah argued, glaring at the Khan.

“You are incorrect” Hulagu’s voice grew louder. “Arjuna did his job. He nocked the arrow to the bow, pulled back the string, and let go. He even knew where the arrow would go, but after it left his bow it was no longer his concern. He didn’t care where the arrow landed; he removed himself from desire, from satisfaction, from disappointment, from all attachment.

“He fought for Krishna. You fight for me. Now do what needs to be done! Whether with your bow or your sword, move swiftly, set death on its course and get out of the way. Remove yourself from the consequences. Now get on the horse!” the Khan shouted as he slapped the horse on the back once more.

Elijah stepped to the side of the large black creature and pulled himself up.

“Here.” Hulagu threw Elijah the bow. “You have one arrow. Ride along the wall and loose the arrow just as you reach the gate. Remember; don’t worry about hitting the ear. Don’t aim, don’t hold, just loose the arrow because that is the plan which has already been set into motion. Once the arrow has left your bow, it’s no longer of concern, and neither is the ear. Now go.” The Khan slapped the horse hard and it took off, carrying Elijah toward the edge of the city wall.

Elijah rode to the edge of the wall and turned the horse around. He looked at the ear, then at the Khan, and again at the ear.

“Remember; your arrow is already through the ear. It’s been set into motion; you just have to play your part. Set your mind free!” the Khan bellowed.

Elijah closed his eyes for a moment as he took a long slow breath.
This is it
, he thought as he kicked the horse hard, urging it forward. The horse reared slightly and leapt forward, thundering in a straight path, paralleling the city wall. As the horse moved closer, the bloodied red ear shone against the black gate like a beam of light escaping the darkness.

Elijah dropped the reins and raised the bow which had been clutched tightly in his left hand. His eyes remained on the ear. The rhythmic pounding of hooves striking the ground as the beast barreled forward and the sound of his own shallow breaths echoed through his mind, freeing him from thought, just as a lantern clears out the darkness from every small corner of a room by filling it with light.

The two sounds grew louder, merging into one, and then there was silence. Time and space distorted and then disappeared altogether as Elijah pulled back the bowstring. Everything seemed as one; there was no longer any distance between his arrow and the ear. No longer was there any desire or concern about where the arrow would land. He knew what was going to happen, but was, truly, detached from the consequences; he didn’t care.

Elijah gazed upon the oneness of the universe as he let go of the string and loosed the arrow. As the arrow left his bow, everything snapped back into its own space; the world he had just seen as one was now a great jumble of distinction. Again he heard the pounding of hooves as his chest expanded with breath. He lowered the bow to his side and picked up the reins with his right hand while he watched the arrow slice through the center of the dangling ear, then brought his mount to a stop just in front of the Khan.

“See, it’s as easy as letting go.” The Khan smiled at Elijah and then turned and walked towards the gate, laughing at his own words.

Chapter 57

1258: Siege of Baghdad

“Now that we
have arrived, what is your plan?” Sitting at the end of a large mahogany table covered with lavish helpings of wine, fruits, and fresh meats, Elijah pulled loose a grape and tossed it into his mouth.

“I offered him terms, but that was just for show; my brother wants this city.” The Khan was sitting at the other end of the table with his commanders and advisors surrounding him. “We have the best engineers from all of Asia. I have positioned men on both sides of the Tigris, forming a pincer around the city. Once this siege starts, it won’t last long.” Hulagu Khan smiled and turned to Kitbuka, his confidant and greatest general, for his opinion.

“Now that we have surrounded the city, sir, I believe we should begin.” Kitbuka was a tall, well-spoken man.

“What of their forces?” the Khan asked.

“I have positioned engineers at certain points in the river; if they come out in force we will break the dikes and flood the area behind them; they will be trapped, sir,” Kitbuka assured the Khan.

“Excellent. Begin digging a ditch around the city, then. Move all siege engines and catapults into position,” the Khan commanded as he rose from the table. He dismissed the others and approached Elijah, who was still seated, eating grapes.

“Have you told them why we are really here?” Elijah asked as he looked up from the plate of fruit in front of him.

“I have told them everything they need to know. They are soldiers—my soldiers.” The Khan stepped forward and placed his left hand on Elijah’s shoulder.

“You don’t believe they have the right to know that their lives will be lost in pursuit of some book which may or may not be in that library?” Elijah’s eyes followed the Khan as he circled behind him.

“Rights, ha,” the Khan chuckled. “What would a murderous creature like you care about rights? That you would even ask me that, after all the young, innocent blood I have seen you spill, shows there is no hole deep enough to compare to the depths of your arrogance and hypocrisy.”

The Khan’s words pierced the walls in Elijah’s mind; as he closed his eyes he could see a beautiful girl child reach out her hand to wipe a single tear from his cheek. He rubbed the braided leather token he had woven into his cuirass as a constant reminder of the monster he had become.

“It’s okay.” The tiny voice echoed in his mind for a moment before being violently interrupted by the sharp sound of cracking bone. Elijah could feel the vibrations in his hands as the girl’s neck snapped. He saw his hands around her small jaw; her body went limp as he caught her in his arms and gently lowered her to the floor beside her sister. Elijah took a deep breath and his thoughts descended into a peaceful silence.

Suddenly, a horn blasted in the distance and Elijah opened his eyes.

“What is that?” Elijah asked as he turned to face the Khan.

“Get to the front; they are coming out,” the Khan barked. Elijah dashed to the edge of camp and stared towards the city just as the gates began to open. He moved into position at the rear of the vampire army as twenty thousand soldiers on horseback poured from the city gates. It was a sizable force, a formidable wall of rested and well-fed beasts and men.

“Archers!” Elijah heard Kitbuka shout from behind him as the horsemen fell into formation and began to charge. The drumming of hooves grew louder and louder as the enemy soldiers were drawn farther from the comfort of their strong walls.

“Fire!” The moment the commander shouted the order, an army of arrows rose into the sky and came crashing down on the incoming force like a blanket of iron.

Hundreds of horses and men alike fell to the ground; the moaning of dying men and the grunting and screams of dying horses filled the air.

“Ready, fire!” Another barrage of arrows rose and fell. Men continued to fall from their horses, the casualties mounting. It seemed they had vastly underestimated the size and effectiveness of the Mongol archer forces.

Still, the soldiers continued to charge. As they pulled farther and farther away from the city, water began to gush in behind them from the Tigris. The dikes had been broken and the rising waters trapped the horsemen outside of the city. With no other option, they continued forward.

“Break position!” Kitbuka yelled. The archers, already on horseback, disbanded, encircling the enemy and picking them off with stunning accuracy. It seemed Elijah’s men would see little action today.

Suddenly, a great horn sounded from within the city walls. All of the fallen horsemen rose to their feet and leapt to topple the archers, tearing them from their horses and cutting them down like they were sheep. The men still on their horses continued forward.

“They are vampires, attack!” Elijah shouted, shocked at this development. The uninjured horsemen, who had reached Elijah’s forward line by now, leapt from their horses with swords drawn and fell on Elijah’s men, who were caught off-guard. Slicing and biting, the soldiers from Baghdad were slowly and inexorably hacking their way through Elijah’s vampire troops.

Elijah and his vampires were outnumbered and the archers were all but decimated; they needed a new plan. He raced to the back of the camp to speak with the Khan. The Khan was on his horse staring down at the new developments when Elijah approached; his eyes were wide with shock.

“Did nobody think of this?” Elijah shouted as he appeared next to the Khan.

“No, of course not, and they shouldn’t have. How is it possible they have been able to feed twenty thousand vampires within the confines of a city?” The Khan removed his helmet and slammed it to the ground.

“What are we going to do now?” Elijah asked as he reached down to pick up the Khan’s helmet.

“What do you mean, what are we going to do?” the Khan raged as he dismounted his horse. “This is why you are here. You killed hundreds of my men on your own,” he shrieked as he grabbed Elijah’s cuirass and hauled him forward before pushing to the edge of the hillside. Elijah looked down the hill at the collision of evil upon evil.

“Not thousands,” Elijah stated as he threw the Khan’s helmet back on the ground.

“Win me this war, Elijah.” The Khan stepped forward and put his hands on Elijah’s shoulders. “You are not the man I met so long ago. With a clear mind you can cut them down, all of them. Even if we survive, Elijah, I will not be able to take you to your father, unless we win this battle. That is the truth.” As he finished speaking, the Khan tugged at Elijah’s right arm and Elijah turned to face him.

“Goddamn!” Elijah shouted and turned his back to the Khan as he drummed his palms against his temples. “You are right !” His eyes began to heat. “There is no way they could have kept twenty thousand vampires fed within the city walls. The Caliph must have sacrificed half of his army just before we attacked. These vampires are newborns!” Elijah turned back around, his eyes wide and glowing fiercely with conviction.

“What does that matter? They are destroying your vampires as we speak!” The Khan cocked his chin up and squinted his eyes.

“That’s because they outnumber us three or four to one. Listen, they get stronger as they get older. If you have good fighters, men like Hassan, they can kill these things.” Elijah was speaking quickly.

“I have the best soldiers in the world,” Hulagu boasted.

“Then prove it; send in everyone, right now! We can snuff them out in one concentrated attack” Elijah grabbed the Khan by the back of the neck. “Trust me, sound the attack.”

The Khan turned to Kitbuka and nodded. The general immediately blew three blasts on his horn; the Mongol infantry and cavalry charged as one.

Elijah rushed back to the front lines. He reached down and took a handful of dry dirt, scrubbing it between his hands before drawing his swords. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His heart rate began to slow as his mind cleared. The warmth in his eyes grew and flooded his body; his bones ached momentarily and then the pain subsided.

Just before he opened his eyes Elijah heard the whooshing sound of a sword swinging towards him. Bending forward, he ducked just beneath a vampire’s swing before leaning back and slicing through the vampire’s neck with both his swords. Elijah opened his eyes and watched the vampire’s head roll off of his shoulders before raising his foot and kicking the headless body to the ground.

As the body fell, another vampire leapt forward. Elijah quickly turned to his side to avoid a thrusting sword. Elijah held the vampire soldier’s wrist beneath his left arm as he forced his sword-clenched fist forward, breaking the soldier’s elbow. He then jerked his hand to the right, slicing off the soldier’s head.

As another head fell to the ground, Elijah moved the sword in his left hand over his shoulder and against his back, just in time to block a slicing blow from another newborn vampire soldier. Turning around, he swung his sword straight through the vampire’s neck.

Elijah quickly diverted thrusting blows from his left and right. He knocked the soldier on his left to the ground with his elbow as he turned and pushed the soldier on his right past him, sending his thrusting sword into the neck of a third vampire. Elijah swiftly chopped the head from the falling vampire he had pushed past him and then turned to his left as the other one jumped back onto his feet.

Joined by two more soldiers, the vampire swung at Elijah’s head. Elijah ducked beneath the blow as he blocked swinging swords from both sides. He lunged forward, plunging his sword through the head of the vampire in front of him. Dropping the sword in his left hand, Elijah spun to his right and ripped through the vampire’s chest with his hand.

At this point, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Elijah acted without thought, detached from consequence. He avoided every blow as he moved through the horde of obstacles. Completely untouchable, he easily deflected and destroyed every soldier who came near. He leapt over piles of bodies and brutally battling groups to cut through clusters of vampires who were about to overpower the Khan’s soldiers.

Behind Elijah, the entirety of the Khan’s force descended upon the newborn vampires and, though the Khan’s forces were significantly depleted, the battle was soon over. Elijah stood at the front of the Mongol horde, staring at the high walls around the city. He was eager to have this finished.