Infinitas 1 - Warriors of Faith (4 page)

Warriors of Faith

Chapter 5

M
aroush was practicing
Shõmen-uchi
with his
Shinai.

The powerful blow to the forehead of an imaginary enemy was accompanied by a loud shout.

»Men!«
echoed through the large gym in the basement of the house.
It was followed by a
Jôgeburi
, a blow to the knees, and then another loud cry.
Then he bowed in the direction of an invisible enemy and removed his helmet.
He tucked his
Shinai
, a carbon sword for practice, under his arm and walked over to the little group waiting for him at the entrance.
He greeted Shia with a nod and curiously looked over at the visitor.

Although Shia was at least a head taller than Maroush, he looked extremely intimidating in his Kendo gear, and Channing examined him closely.

Maroush took his
Tenugui
, the dark blue cotton towel he’d been using, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

»This is Maroush.
He’s from Morocco and is our best Kendo fighter.
He has mastered the ten
Dan
, which are no longer practiced today.
He’s so old that he was able to reach this level.«

Shia patted him on the back.
»
As-salãmu ‘alaikum!
« said Maroush politely.
»
Wa ‘alaikumu s-salãm!
« responded Channing kindly.

»Channing is one of us.
Sara pretty much led him to us, but I’ll explain that to you both later.« Maroush studied him intensively with his dark brown eyes and then nodded in approval.

»Welcome, Channing.«

His voice was quiet and pleasantly deep, just the opposite of his outward appearance.

The warrior had his long, dark, curly hair tied together in a ponytail at the base of his neck.
Although the protective clothing hid most of his body, it was clear that he was a vampire as well.
He had a powerful build, a strong presence, perfect white teeth, which could turn into the fangs of a predatory animal within seconds, and not to be ignored, his deathly aura, all of which alluded to his true nature.

»I’m going to take a shower.
Let’s talk later in the meeting room.« Maroush held up his fist in greeting towards Shia, who in turn greeted back with his fist.

»Okay Maroush, see you later.« He turned towards Channing.

»Come with me.
I want to show you the firing range and our meeting room, where we’ll meet the others later.« »You mean there are more vampires in this house?« asked Channing in disbelief.

Shia smiled. »You make it sound like we’re lepers.« Channing breathed in and brushed off the comment. »So, what do you think I should make of all this? We’re talking about myths and legends, things that people make up, like in movies and books – nothing more.« »Whatever.« Shia sneered at him.
»Those teeth in your mouth feel real, don’t they? Seems like that myth in those books of yours could really be happening.« Channing grabbed Shia’s shoulder.
»Shia, all this is so unbelievable to me.
I need some answers to my questions fast and you seem to be the only one who can help.
What happened to me?« Shia paused a moment in thought and then nodded.

»Okay, come on.
Let’s go up to your room and I’ll try to answer your questions.«

Channing sat down on the windowsill, his eyes glued on Shia, who was leaning against the wall, as Shia began to explain.
»Sara gave me the job to pick you up at the airport.
Your flight came in early and you took a taxi instead.
That was the taxi you were in, when you had the accident.«

Channing nodded in agreement since he’d heard all this already. »The car caught fire and I pulled you out.
You were badly injured so I had no choice but to transform you.
I had to give you my blood to save your life.
It was the only option.
When the police got there, I fled, but I visited you a few times while you were in the hospital.
But you were in a coma the whole time so that your body could recuperate.
It seems to me like you found us.
I had to save you, otherwise my sister would have torn my head off.«

»Where do you come from?«

»We’re from different parts of the world. Sara and I were born here in Seattle.
I was transformed in 1889 and my sister ten years later...« »Sara’s a vampire, too?« Channing yelled out agitated. »Yes, she’s one of us.
Just like Maroush, Aragón, Jôrek and Ruben.
You’ll meet them all later.
And there are more, but you won’t want to run into them.« Channing shook his head in disbelief.

What had he gotten himself into?
Shia’s story didn’t leave any room for guessing.
He was craving answers, but now he almost wished that he’d never heard the truth.

Shia put his hand on Channing’s shoulder trying to comfort him.
»I understand, my friend.
I know all of this is really hard to digest, but there isn’t anything you can do about it.
This is what you are now and you’re going to have to get used to it.
The sooner the better because the alternative would’ve been death, which would have been an absolutely senseless undertaking.«

She left the club at about three-thirty in the morning.
You could hear the drone of the bass outside on the street, as she stumbled along the sidewalk looking for a taxi to take her home.
Her feet hurt from dancing and her tight shoes were almost unbearable.
She was feeling dizzy from all the vodka martinis, but it hadn’t seemed to matter since she hadn’t been the one paying.
She really should have been more careful, then maybe she would have noticed the dark figure who’d been following her from the bar.
There was no need for him to operate in the shadows. His movements could not be seen by the naked eye.
The smell of blood was making him crazy.
He could taste the metallic flavor and it was making him salivate.
His own lifeblood was beginning to boil slowly in his veins and he could hardly hold himself back from attacking her at that very moment.
It didn’t matter at all to him that she was beautiful, with her shiny black hair and large brown eyes.
Her high heels and mini skirt didn’t turn him on at all either. There were more important attributes, like the smell of her blood, the mix of hemoglobin and plasma, which made her irresistible to him.
But it was much too dangerous out in the open.
He could be seen.
He had to keep himself under control until she reached the little side street. His patience would have to hold out for only a few more yards.
Then, in one swift silent movement, he seized hold of the woman and dragged her into the dark end of the alley.
There would be no witnesses here.
Slowly he took in her beauty.
Before she could even make a sound, he drove his razor sharp fangs into her jugular vein and greedily sucked the succulent cherry-red juice into his mouth.
He took in deep swallows of her blood, letting it drip down his chin and neck.
The only thing he felt was the deep satisfaction growing within his own body, even better than an orgasm.
It was of no concern to him that each mouthful of blood brought the woman closer and closer to her death.
She had only felt the slightest amount of pain when he’d bitten into her neck. Afterwards, it was only the disgusting scent of human, which briefly hung in the air and the slurping sounds, before she lost consciousness forever.

After Shia had left his room, Channing shut the door and went to the window. Just a few hours ago he’d been standing in this exact same place and had decided that his life wasn’t worth anything.
Now he’d met Shia and that had changed everything.
But how different was it really?
There were still so many questions that hadn’t been answered and Shia had asked him to be patient.
Everything would clear itself up, he’d said.
But could he really trust him?
Shia wasn’t mortal anymore. He was a vampire and he wasn’t sure if he could trust such a bloodthirsty creature.
And now he was one of them himself.
Channing turned away from the window and pulled his sweater off over his head.
A hot shower would do him good and clear his head.
He heard a brief knock at the door as it opened up and Shia entered the room again.

»Sorry, man, for interrupting you again, but I just wanted to ... « he stopped speaking suddenly when we saw Channing’s bare chest.
Not that he was embarrassed by his nakedness, but he was much more surprised by the tattoo, which was having an enchanting effect on him.

»Primus inter pares ... Memento te hominem esse«
murmured Shia reverently.

»First among equals ... Considering that you’re a mortal ... how long have you had this tattoo?« But before Shia had even asked the question, it was clear to him what the answer was.

»I’m pretty sure, since my transformation,« answered Channing anxiously.
»I can’t really remember if I had a tattoo before or not.« Shia nodded knowingly.
»Okay, I don’t think so either, but I think we’ve found our leader.«

Eva Butler parked her small car on the side of the road in Blue Ridge right in front of her house.
She’d lived there almost six months now after she’d been transferred from L.A., and had hardly seen a single neighbor since.
It was most likely because she worked in the evenings and at night and slept during the day when most people were out and about.
Not that it mattered to her.
Strangers asked questions she wasn’t prepared to answer.
And the next house was about 200 yards away, which wasn’t far, but enough to keep a distance from curious looks.
She had lucked out, that she’d found this house so close to the beach.
In L.A. she’d also lived near the beach and a sea view was something she didn’t want to have to live without.

Eva turned and looked down the coastal road towards the bay.
Stars were illuminating the beach in silver.
She would have liked to have gone down there and strolled along the shore, but it was two in the morning and she was exhausted.
First she’d cook up something fast and then sleep, if possible.
One of the reasons she preferred working at night was so she could fall into bed dead tired and not waste nights constantly worrying.

She quickly got her groceries from the car and tried to close the trunk gently, as to not make too much noise.
In the process, the paper bag slipped out off her arm and all her groceries spilled out onto the street.
»Shit!« she hushed as someone approached her from behind.

»I think this must be yours.« Eva saw a man holding an orange coming towards her out of the darkness.
His large build and outstretched arm gave him a menacing look.
At the same time, his movements were fluid, almost predatory.
Eva automatically reached for her gun, which she wore hidden under her jacket.
When the moon hit his face, she recognized that he was a very young man and held out her hand hesitantly for the orange.

»Thank you. Today isn’t my day.« She quickly brushed a few strands of hair out of her face with her hand.
The young man’s dark clothes and black hair made him really difficult to see, even in the moonlight.
Only the straight white teeth hidden behind his smile made Eva feel like she could trust him.
She wouldn’t have to use her 9 mm Glock pistol after all.

»You’re new here in the neighborhood, aren’t you?
I’ve seen you a few times already.
I live in the house on the cliff. I guess that makes us neighbors.
I’m Shia Keane.
I hope I didn’t scare you.« He held out his hand, which Eva cautiously shook.
»Mr. Keane, what are you doing out so late?« »Well, I guess the same as you. I just finished work, too.
But, my name is Shia.
Mr. Keane was my father.« »Okay, Shia. I’m Eva.
What do you do, if I may ask, which keeps you up at this hour? You look young enough to be in college.« Shia laughed out loud.
»How old do you think I am then, Eva?« He conscientiously took the bag of groceries from her arms.

»Let me help you,« he said and walked towards the front door.
She didn’t have a choice but to lock the car and follow him to the house.
Regardless of his disarming manner, Eva liked the way he pronounced her name so deep and quietly, emphasizing the
a
, so much so that it left her body feeling tingly.
The depth of his voice, so rich and peaceful, didn’t fit at all to his youthful appearance.

She checked out his body and was left starring at his broad shoulders and back as he took the keys from her hand and opened up the door.
»You haven’t answered my question yet.« »And you haven’t either.« Eva followed him into the kitchen, which he found immediately and put the groceries into the fridge.
When he was finished, he leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms in front of him.
»I’m in the security business.«