Chapter 27: Vampiric Bond

Eliza

October 29, 1786, Realm Timeline, Pressburg/Bratislava, The Slovakian Protectorate

Eliza had barely finished the call with Sandra and was about to call Sam and others from the Council when the text bleeped in front of her eyes.

Your Minion has leveled up and become a Minion Champion.

You have gained one level from your Minion's XP.

"The heck? He's level twenty already?"

A bigger surprise hit when she checked Tristan's stats. His Constitution was at fifty. And when she checked the logs and found out he had killed, directly or indirectly, over a hundred Tatars, she was slack-jawed. However, Eliza knew better than to stare into nothingness. Awe was for suckers. She called back Sandra.

"Tell me the truth, was Tristan involved in that Tatar news?" she attacked immediately. "Don't lie to me."

"Yeah," Sandra said. "He took the team to do some scouting."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"He asked me not to. Maybe he wants to be a surprise?"

"Color me impressed," Eliza said. "Where was it exactly?"

"Twenty miles north of Budapest, near Visegrad."

"That's in the middle of nowhere."

"Must be somewhere, if he found Tatars and Elves."

"Do you have another chopper gig for today?"

"No, but I have a lot of truck deliveries. Why?"

"Send somebody else with the truck. I'd like you to bring him back. I'll pay, don't worry."

"What if he doesn't want to? He looked... enthused about his project."

"Tell him we need to analyze the stuff he found. Don't take no for an answer."

"Okay. I'll leave in an hour. Have to do at least my first delivery."

They closed the conversation without any goodbyes. Eliza was pissed. What was that woman thinking, taking her Minion on a trip without Eliza knowing? She phoned Sam and took the her sweet time complaining about Tristan's hotheadedness.

"It's still good intel," Sam said after she finished. "And worrying. You did well to ask Sandra to bring him back. Tell her to fly him to the base; we'll debrief him there."

"But you're in Vienna," she pointed out.

"I have my ways. See you later. Let me know when he lands."

"The idiot is stubborn. Sandra's right, he could refuse..." she said to herself, because the Sam had hung up. Eliza dialed Sandra's number again.

"What is now?" the woman sighed. "I have to work for a living, not like certain others."

"I'll come with you. Pick me up at the usual place in a couple of hours. And goodbye to you too," Eliza sneered, because Sanda had closed the call abruptly.

Since it was a warm evening, she decided to eat on the hotel's terrace before she went to the rendez-vous point. Getting a salad was still impossible on the Realm, so she settled for the next lightest food, which was considered vegan by local standards: chicken breast. A glass of white wine complemented it to perfection.

Now it's time to go, she thought after the coffee. It was late, but she was a Vampire; she couldn't care less about sleeping problems. At nine in the evening, she arrived at the heliport. Sandra was already there, and five minutes later, they were in the air. The blonde started pestering her with questions about Tristan and his background, which Eliza refused to answer because she had no idea about it or whether Tristan had ever had a fiancée.

"And why do you care? No!" Eliza gasped. "Don't tell me you two..."

"It's just casual, for now."

"He's a kid, c'mon! You're like what, ten years older?"

"Eh," Sandra shrugged. "More like six...ish."

"OK. Fine. Marry. Be happy," Eliza crossed her arms. "Can't wait to dance at the wedding. You'll go catholic? 'Cause he sure is a fan of the pope and shit."

"I didn't think so far..." Eliza sighed. "We've only been dating for a couple of weeks. Let's not put the horse before, sorry, the other way around... What the fuck is that?" Sandra leaned on, focusing her eyes on the ground.

"And sorry to break you the bad news, but I bet this is more about using your chopper than true love," Eliza said.

"Whatever. Err... How do Tatars look?" Sandra asked, veering the helicopter in a turn.

"Small, small horses, bows, fur caps. Like the Mongols. Sam would tell you what to look for in their bows, but he's a nerd."

"Yeah, it's them. Just below. Firing arrows at us, but we're too high."

"I don't see anything," Eliza said. Her night vision didn't adjust for her myopia, and her reluctance to wear glasses. "How many?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Lots," Sandra said, taking her radio. "Putting it out. This is Sandra. This is Sandra. Emergency Code Red. Emergency, Code Red. Tatar raid approaching Bratislava, I repeat, Tatar Raid approaching Bratislava. About ten miles east. I see hundreds of them. Does anyone copy?"

"Fort one, copy," a woman said.

"Fort two, copy," a man added.

"Castle, copy," another man said. "We're passing the message to the local cavalry garrison and the Bounty Hunters Guild. Thanks for the warning, Sandra. Castle out."

"You're welcome. Sandra out. That should take care of it. Here we go," the pilot said, returning to the previous flight direction.

"You think it's the Tatars Tristan noticed?" Eliza asked.

"They could be, if they rode fast. Or from the same army."

"Fuck! Army! That's it! They're the vanguard; there are more behind. I have to tell Sam!"

"Shit! Hope Tristan's all right," Sanda said.

"Sam! Sam!" Eliza yelled. "Answer the bloody phone already! Sam!"

"Hey, don't scream, I can hear you!" Sam's voice said.

"There's a Tatar raid aiming for Bratislava. I can't be but a softening blow; there will be a follow-up, with that gas and everything!"

"Yes, I know, the Castle just called me. That's exactly my conclusion. I'm about to see Joseph. I asked for an audience after your first call. I hope he'll see reason and send reinforcements. Sorry, I have to go."

The call was cut. "Fuck..." Eliza hissed. "Another war..."

"This was to be expected," Sandra said. "Since we're going in that direction, I can search for the rest of the army from the air."

"Good idea."

As it started to go south, the chopper began circling, from smaller to larger. Fifteen minutes later, they had still found nothing. Then, a voice spoke over the emergency frequency.

"Mayday, mayday!" a woman's voice blurted from the radio. "This is Penelope, the Bounty Hunters' Guild master. As the highest in rank, I took command of the Castle. Anyone copy?"

"This is Sandra, copy," the pilot answered. "Hi, Penny."

"Do you have any weapons on board? Machine guns, anything?"

"No."

A long silence followed.

"Ask her what happened?" Eliza said.

"What happened, Penny?" Sandra asked.

"They broke into the outer city. There are thousands of them. Forts one and two are gone."

"How?" Eliza asked. "They have machine guns."

"How?" Sandra repeated.

"It's their arrows. When they land, they release a gas. It kills everyone. They shot them from a few hundred yards. They're grouped in front of the main gate as we speak. We won't last long; we have only forty people with rifles, and one machine with one belt of ammunition. Can you come here and take a few grenades, to throw them from the air? They might make a difference."

"On my—"

"Cancel that," another voice said. "Little John here. I have two howitzers. We know the coordinates for the Castle. I'll aim one howitzer at the group near the main gate. Sandra, I want you to find their largest groups still outside the city and direct my fire."

"Don't listen to him—" Penny said. "We need—"

"Firing one shell a hundred yards from the main gate. Tell us how it goes. Keep the channel open."

"How far can a howitzer shoot?" Eliza asked in a whisper.

"Twenty miles," Sandra said.

"I think he has a point," Eliza said, balling her fist while waiting.

"Coordinate with Little John," Penny said a minute later.

"Smart choice," Little John said. "Penny. If you have speakers, ask people to stay indoors. Sandra."

"We already did it twenty minutes ago."

"You know how to give coordinates?" Little John asked.

"Yeah. I can link you to my tracker and camera if you want."

"Moment, my people are sending you the code. Find me a group, let me know. Hover just above it."

"Give me a moment; I have to backtrack."

"Go closer to Bratislava; what you noticed at first was the rear guard, not the vanguard."

"Roger."

"Whoa!" Eliza gasped when the chopper leaned abruptly, turning.

"Sorry."

"How much fuel do you have?"

"Enough."

The helicopter returned on its way. Bratislava was clearly visible. The front row of the houses was burning.

"No!" Eliza blurted, her eyes welling up.

"Mother fuckers!" Sandra cursed.

The closer they got to the city, the worse things looked. "There's some," Eliza pointed. Now that she knew what to look for, the Tatars stood up by their sheer numbers.

"Found a group. Maybe a thousand... I'm just over them," Sandra called.

"Wait there, tell me the result," Little John said. "Fire when ready."

Thirty seconds later, a huge explosion erupted in the middle of the raiders, throwing many of them into the air like broken puppets. The Tatars broke into smaller groups, distancing themselves, leaving behind many dead or wounded.

"About twenty percent are dead, I think," Sandra said. "The rest spread and ran in different directions."

"They were trained for this," Little John said. "Find me another group, and fast, or they'll send the message, and they'll adapt."

"There," Eliza pointed at another group, maybe half as large, that was gathering two thousand yards from a still intact outer neighborhood, probably to burn and loot it.

"Ready," Sandra called a second later.

This time, there was no explosion, only a cloud of smoke erupting a hundred feet above the ground. The lethality, though, was much higher. In less than ten seconds, the Tatars and their hoses collapsed, and even those who ran fell moments later, convulsing.

"What the fuck is that?" Sandra yelled. "They're all dead! Correction... A few survived; they're running away."

"The latest Novichok nerve agent," Little John said. "A taste of their own medicine."

"Tell me you didn't shoot that into the city."

"You think I'm nuts? I used anti-personnel rounds. Less speaking, more action. Find me another group."

"How far will that nerve gas spread? There's a neighborhood nearby," Sandra said.

"I know. Hopefully the contamination is limited to that field. They'll be safe."

"But what if—"

"We're sending warnings through bike messengers with bullhorns," Penelope said. "Your first shot scared them. The Tatars have retreated from the lower town. It would be a good time to get them when they leave the city. There will be a lot of them."

"Roger," Sandra said.

"It's important to hit them when they'll still be grouped together, but far enough so the gas doesn't hit the town," Little John said. "A mile would work great. Less, if the wind blows away."

"The wind looks good," Sandra said, making the chopper accelerate.

"There, there!" Eliza yelled, pointing at a large agglomeration of horse riders. They were still far but numbered in the thousands.

"There are farms nearby," Sandra said. "And the outer forts, there might be survivors."

"Take the shot," Penelope said. "Sending you coordinates. I have a scout keeping an eye on them.

"Don't shoot, I'll follow them and—"

"Sorry. Penny's the commanding officer," Little John said. "Firing both Howitzers."

"If they let them be, they can burn every other town or village; we can't stop them. We're saving more lives this way," Penny said.

Two gas clouds spread over the Tatars and the outer fortifications. Grouped together in the narrow space between the two forts, the raiders took the hits in full. Those who tried to run got in each other's way. Eliza couldn't take her eyes off the horses and riders, falling in rows, like grass under the scythe. It was terrifying.

"Less than a hundred runners," Sandra reported. "There will be collateral da—"

"I know," Little John snapped. "You think this is easy for me? It's your stupid Council's fault."

"You can retreat, Sandra," Penny said. "The dragoons of the garrison will sortie and take care of the rest. We also have news from Sam. The Emperor didn't commit his regular troops, but he allowed the Hungarian refugees' regiments to help. They're good horse riders, that'll help a lot."

"Tell Penny to keep me posted on how bad it is," Eliza said.

"I've heard you, Eliza. It's too soon to tell. Castle commander out."

"Fuck..." Sandra screamed, almost banging her fist on the board.

Eliza let the woman be, summoning her stats. The bar showing how close she was to leveling up was almost full. She would have given all her levels, though, to bring back all those who had lost their lives that night. Suddenly, the XP gauge jumped up, growing steadily. Eliza had gained another level, and the XP kept coming.

"The fuck?"

"What?"

"We're still going to take Tristan, right?"

"Yeah, since a good moment. Why?"

"Nothing. Just drive," Eliza said, leaning back on the chair and trying to nap. The line remained in her lateral view. It was still going up, and fast.