Red Serpent: The Falsifier (4 page)

“Are you mad!” Hameed whispered to John while a break proceeded between the treaty sessions, “How can we allow that? And even if we did, do you think the others would feel comfortable with it?”

“We can’t just make them waste their efforts.” John said, “If it wasn’t for them, we would have never made it this far.”

“But they’re vampires!” Jarad protested. “They’re part of the species that tried to annihilate us! For all we know, they still want to!”

“I can’t believe what you’re saying, Jarad.” John shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Remember Nikolas!” He pressed the intercom and connected to Nikolas’s table where the Rebels sat. “Nick, will you come over here for a minute?”

Nikolas got up from his conversation with the Rebels and left their section and spoke to his old friend. “Yes, John. What is it?”

John looked pleadingly at him, “Nick, don’t you want to join us on the Regnum?”

“Of course I
would
...” Nikolas said. “But, the other Rebels think it best that we don’t.”

“But you know what they’ll do to you,” John said. “You’ll be tortured and killed.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” he sighed, “Look, old friend, I can manage all this; somehow I have a feeling they won’t kill us.”

“Then what do you think they’ll do?” Jarad asked.

“I don’t know. But I get the feeling we are much more useful to them alive. They’ll do anything but kill us. Maybe the king has something in store for us.”

Anaxagoras had left the Earth after the end of the war and headed for Migra, the vampires’ home planet, with a vast portion of his army led by Adiraan and a select few commanding officers. This was in order to fulfill a verse of the prophecy; though the king gave no explanation, the general understanding amongst the vampires was that he wanted to gather more forces from Migra and its allies for the day of the Falsifier and the return of the Red Serpent.

After three days of intense negotiations and failed debates, John agreed to have the Rebels remain on the Earth and all was set. John and the others buried Aidan and, with him, their past.

Alex walked to the spacious window and stared outside to see people entering the university. All the students had one or more family members with them; mostly parents.

He slammed his fist on the table. A glass of water spilled over and fell onto the white marble floor where it broke.

A knock came from outside of the changing room. “Alex?” Uncle John’s voice called in. “Everything alright in there?” He opened the door. Alex’s face was buried in his hands.

The boy’s pent up agony and turmoil emitted from him like an unhealthy glow. Ever since his mother had died, the sad loneliness had never left him and it increased year by year, remaining dormant most of the time. Due to his tough heart, Alex didn’t often show his emotions. Today, however, was proving to be a little difficult and for good reason. “Alex,” John’s fingers combed through his nephew’s hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t look at me, Uncle John. I don’t want anyone to see me this way. I have to be strong!”

“Who told you that holding things in was being strong?” said John. “The dictators of history, the emperors long gone? They did what you’re doing and look what happened to them. They all died before their time. Look,” he sighed and took a chair to sit down in front of his nephew, “I’m not saying you should show your emotions in front of the public. But, if you hold on to these feelings of hatred, anger, jealousy, lust, or as in your case, grief, it’ll deteriorate you from the inside out. Let go of your emotions and the past. Learn to be stronger than that. Cry and mourn for those you loved, but then you must make the departed happy as well. What would your mother say?”

“I don’t know what she would say.” Alex said with iciness in his voice. “I never knew her.” He got up and walked to the sink where he splashed his face with water. He remained silent and watched John through the mirror. John returned a look of equanimity. Alex turned around and wiped his face and hands. “And what about my father? Where was he?” Alex could see John’s eyes twinkle at the mention of his father.

John sighed, “Your father was a great man.”

“You say that always. I want to know who he really was. What was his name? What did he do? How did he die? I’ve asked all these questions and more and every time you give me this generic answer. All you’ve told me was that he gathered the remnant forces of the Human Army. Then, why wasn’t his name mentioned anywhere? Even if it is classified, I got a right to know, don’t I?” Alex fished out his gown from the closet and put it on. “I’ve had enough. I want to know everything.”

“Maybe later,” John said. He stood up and brushed the creases from his nephew’s gown and placed the mortarboard on his head. “I promise we’ll talk about it later.”

“But—”

“I can hear the crowd outside. They’re growing impatient. I gave the commencement speech.” John held Alex at arm’s length. His eyes looked fiercely into his nephew’s. “Now it’s your turn to give the valediction. Hurry up. I said I promise, and I mean it.” He put his arm over Alex’s shoulder and led him out. “Let’s go.”

The University Auditorium was vast not only in space but also in history. It was here that the Revolution of 3333 occurred, when University students disagreed with the Council and tried to usurp the government. At the time, Alex was five.

The Constitution of the First Year of the Regnum was signed at the auditorium. After five years it was reinstated into a new constitution and ten years later it was redrafted and made final. This was one reason why the Revolution of 3333 happened. The Second Constitution stated a life-term of the Council Leadership and of all other posts but this was redrafted after ten years when revolutionaries demanded elections of shorter terms instead of appointments with life-terms. This was satisfied excepting the clause that the Council Leadership was still made a lifelong position, including the position of the Leader’s Chair. Because of this there was an unspoken feeling of wariness amongst Council members who feared assassination attempts or perhaps even a coup. There were rumors that the top people who potentially could have led an insurrection were Jarad Hameed and four other influential members of the Council.

Introduced by Dean Michaels, Alex entered the stage and stepped up to the podium. He felt his pulse rising. He’d often experienced stage fright but had also learned how to overcome it. He scanned the audience and saw Uncle John and Grandma Howe sitting in the front row. He saw all his friends beaming at him, with a tinge of jealousy. Then he saw her.

Angel, as Alex called her, gazed up at him, easing out everything else for him.

“My fellow collegians,” he started, “dear family and friends, respected members of the board of trustees, Dean Michaels, and whoever else I’ve missed out.” Those last words might have been an outrage but everyone knew Alex’s sense of humor. He continued, “I stand before you, here on this podium, as a graduate, a very nervous one, if I may add....” The lighthearted crowd laughed. “...but nevertheless a graduate. I am proud today to be among friends and to have the honor of being Valedictorian of the Regnum University.

“I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my years at college. It’s Political Science. How many people actually know what it is, let alone want to know what it is?” The crowd laughed again and Alex cleared his throat and continued. “So I’ll just highlight a few events at the University that have shaped my life so far. Interestingly enough, my first incident was on the first day but it doesn’t concern Political Science or any other subject for that matter. It concerns Angel, the first friend I made at college and one who has been my best friend ever since.” Angel smiled at him from the front row and the color rose to her cheeks. “Sparks flew the first time we met and we continued to see each other every day that followed. And now...well, I had promised to wait till the evening, but I have to say it. We want to get married.” There were many gasps and shouts of surprise amongst the crowd. Angel hid her face in her hands. Alex looked at her parents. They smiled at him and nodded their agreement. Alex’s grandmother beamed with happiness.

With the palms of his hands Alex motioned the crowd to silence. After a few moments he went on with his speech. He told the crowd about how he met his other friends, and all the funny incidents that had happened. He spoke of how important he felt his education was, and how great Regnum University was. The speech lasted for twenty minutes.

“In all this time,” he concluded, “I have learned many things from this highly respected institution. Let me end here by wishing all my colleagues a happy farewell and a very bright future. I hope one day we will walk in my father’s and uncle’s footsteps. My dream is that we will achieve the one goal we’ve all been striving for: existence on Earth. Let us pray that day will come soon. Thank you.” The crowd burst into thunderous applause as he bowed, left the stage and shook hands with the faculty.

After the graduation ceremony, a grand party was held in the University Gardens in the evening.

John and Jarad shared a drink together at the bar, just like old times. They refilled their glasses and clanked them together.

“So tell me,” Jarad said. His swarthy skin glistened with a light layer of sweat. He wore a stylish white goatee and a long scar ran down from the upper tip of his nose to under his right eye.

John knew where Jarad was heading, and just said, “I don’t know. You tell me.”

Jarad shrugged innocently, “What would I know? I just read what’s in the news.” His voice softened, “I hear there may be another fiasco like ‘33.”

“Oh come on. Where’d you get the info?”

“Just rumors, here and there.”

John was surprised. Since when did Jarad Hameed pay heed to rumors? “I hear rumors too, you know. Like the others in the Council—”

“Richard,” Jarad blurted. “He’s not here, is he? What’d he say? Had some work, didn’t he?”

John raised an eyebrow, “Richard? He wouldn’t—” “He’s in on it.”

“People talk. Forget it.”

Jarad protested, “You’re holding Leader’s Chair. You have to put a stop to it.”

“If something did come up, I’d know. Believe me.” John emptied his drink and savored the strong taste of the whiskey. “Now, let’s forget all this. It’s my nephew’s graduation; let’s get drunk.” He let out a hearty laugh.

Jarad smiled.

John approached an idle bartender, “You there. Two more. Straight.”

The bartender nodded.

John turned to Jarad, “By the way, how’s Hassan?”

Jarad said, “Good. He sends his regards.”

John nodded, took the glasses from the bartender and handed one to Jarad. “Listen, I’ll see you in some time. Let me make sure Mom’s alright.”

Jarad said, “Yeah, sure.”

John left him and Jarad’s eyes followed him with suspicion.

Alex looked around the garden at everybody enjoying themselves and spotted Angel in one corner and approached her. “Hey,” he said and kissed her on her cheek. She smiled but Alex could see through her expression. Inside she hid a deep sadness. He looked at her for a moment, sipped his wine and waited for her to speak. He could tell from her eyes that something was urgent. “You okay?” he asked.

“Alex,” she said slowly, “we need to talk. Something has happened.”

“What?” he said, leaning forward to make sure that he could hear her properly.

She sighed and averted her gaze. “It’s difficult to say it,” she said. “Maybe now’s not the right time after all.” She cringed and bit her lip.

“You just said—” “Look, I know I have to say this but I’m sure you’ll go crazy if I do.”

He touched her hair, “Just tell me already.”

Alex saw from the corner of his eye Uncle John and his Grandma talking. From his uncle’s face, Alex could tell that he was nervous. His grandmother had her hands clasped together and was rocking them back and forth in a pleading motion. His uncle John was shaking his head. “Wait a minute, Angel. I’ll get back to you. Maybe we should talk later. Say the Flamingo, tomorrow? Lunch?” He started to walk away to see what they were talking about.

“But Alex—”

He had already left. Angel exhaled and rolled her eyes. She held back her tears and used a napkin to wipe her eyes. With her head down and her arms folded, she wandered away to be alone. She found an empty bench and sat down.

Alex went to meet his guardians. They did not notice him coming and so he overheard part of their conversation. “But John, you have to tell him,” his grandmother said.

“Mom! He wouldn’t be able to handle it if he knew everything,” John protested.

Alex walked a little slower and eyed the two with interest. Uncle John suddenly turned his head and noticed him. “Alex! Come here!” he said, affecting a cheerful tone. He went to shake his nephew’s hand and hugged him. “Congratulations! You’ve made us all proud!”

His grandmother kissed him and said, “I’m so happy that you’ve accomplished this. We all are, and I know your parents would have been as well.”

Uncle John took a long meditative sip of his drink and nodded.

“Yes,” said Alex, turning once more to John, “I believe we have much to talk about tonight.”