Scott Mariani - Uprising

‘Then where’s my cross?’

Lonsdale frowned. ‘I can only assume it hasn’t been found yet. I’d have heard something—’

‘Lamentably underinformed, Jeremy. As usual, several steps behind the rest of us. Must I do everything myself?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘You have your little contacts, I have mine. And imagine my surprise to hear about a recent minor incident in Venice. It involves four highly incompetent and thoroughly dead thugs, a great deal of spilled blood, and one missing cross that is now in the hands of a human whom I hadn’t ideally wished to possess it.’ Stone sighed, shook his head in disgust. ‘Your continuing failure makes me angry, Jeremy.’

Lonsdale flushed. ‘Hold on. I saw to it that the special ammunition — Norbenol or whatever you call it — was passed on to the men. What more was I supposed to do, load the guns for them myself?’

‘Nosferol,’ Stone replied in a silky voice. ‘And I strongly advise you not to lose your temper with us.’

But Lonsdale was on a roll. ‘How could I have known they wouldn’t use the stuff?

I couldn’t exactly tell them what it was for, could I? “Oh, by the way, you’re going to Venice to shoot a bloody vampire.” These men are common thugs, not Abraham Van fucking Helsing.’

‘Were common thugs, Jeremy. And you, my friend,’ Stone added, pointing, ‘are an imbecile.’

Lonsdale shut up. There was silence in the room as Stone paced up and down the floor.

‘I’ve been lenient with you so far, Jeremy. This time, I’m afraid I must punish you.’

Lonsdale’s jaw dropped. ‘No. Not Toby. Please. I’ll do anything.’

Lillith chuckled. Zachary and Anton exchanged grins. Anastasia was staring at the politician with undisguised contempt. ‘Let me have him, Gabriel. I’ll make him sorry, believe me.’

‘No. I have other plans for him,’ Stone told her. Turning back to Lonsdale, he said, ‘With Solomon in possession of the cross thanks to your cretinous mistake, we are forced to abandon the country temporarily until our agents are able to catch him. And, just as you helped us get in, you’re now going to get us out. I want to be in the air within the hour.’

‘But—’

‘A freight vehicle will be arriving at the airfield containing all our personal effects.

You will ensure these are stowed safely on board.’

‘That isn’t possible,’ Lonsdale protested. ‘I can’t get the crew together that fast.

You can’t just take off in a jet whenever you feel like it.’

‘You will make it possible, Jeremy. Or must I involve young Toby in this?’

Lonsdale cracked. He slipped off the chair, collapsed to his knees and started crying and wringing his hands forlornly.

Lillith looked at her brother. ‘So this is his punishment, Gabriel? Making him lend us his flying machine? Have you gone soft?’

‘They call them aeroplanes,’ Zachary reminded her, and she growled at him.

‘I haven’t finished,’ Stone said, not taking his eyes off the cowering, weeping politician. ‘Lillith, your sword, please.’

Lillith drew out the long, glittering blade and handed the weapon over to him.

Stone held out his left palm. With a deft motion he slashed the sharp edge across his hand, cutting deep into the flesh without a flicker of expression. A trickle of dark blood oozed out of the gash, flowed down his wrist. He tossed the sword back to Lillith, then nodded to Zachary. The big vampire stepped forward, grabbed Lonsdale off the floor and stopped him from struggling as Stone raised his bleeding hand to the politician’s mouth and forced him to drink. Blood dripped down his chin and spattered across his shirt. He swallowed, gasped for air, swallowed some more.

‘Good. Zachary, release him.’

Lonsdale fell back down to his knees, choking and spluttering gobs of blood onto the carpet. ‘Oh, God. What have you done to me?’ he wheezed, clutching his throat.

Stone dabbed at his wound with a silk handkerchief. ‘Congratulations, Jeremy.

You’ve just taken your first step into a whole new world. I hereby nominate you as my replacement servant, bonded to me henceforth. From now on, until the day of your death or such time as I release you from my service, whichever comes first, you will act as our personal assistant. Living with us, travelling with us, organising our external affairs and acting as our human liaison officer.’

‘That’s a fancy name for a ghoul,’ Anastasia explained helpfully.

Lonsdale choked out an unintelligible reply.

‘Needless to say,’ Stone added, ‘we’ll have open access to all your bank accounts, all your resources and your homes here in Surrey, in London and in Tuscany.

I think that’s reasonable.’

‘But…the twenty million you t — I gave you,’ Lonsdale gibbered.

‘It’s a grand vision we are working to realise,’ Stone replied. ‘An expensive business. I’m afraid we need all the support we can get. You’re not objecting, are you, Jeremy?’

‘No way this one could ever take Seymour Finch’s place,’ Anton spat. ‘I mean, just look at him. How can this pathetic piece of shit ever make the grade? He’s let us down already.’

‘True,’ Stone said, smiling down at Lonsdale. ‘But he’s a politician, and that fascinates me. Never before have I come across a human so delightfully corrupt, so utterly devoid of moral fibre. He has but one scruple, his love of his bastard offspring –

but that will pass soon enough. I believe that, in time, he will make a very fine ghoul indeed.’

Lonsdale was wild with shock, his hair sticking out at all angles and his face shiny with tears and blood.

‘M-my career,’ he stammered in a high-pitched squeal. ‘I could have made Prime Minister. I could have been European President one day.’ He clasped his hands together. ‘Just think how useful I could be to you, with so much power.’

They all laughed.

‘You just retired, motherfucker,’ Zachary said.

‘You’ll adore living with us, dear Jeremy,’ Anastasia purred.

‘He seemed to enjoy his stay at the castle last time,’ Anton muttered, shooting a sly look at Lillith. Zachary stifled a giggle.

‘You get to eat our leftovers,’ Lillith said. ‘After a while, you’ll come to love them as much as Seymour did.’

‘And maybe he can get Toby to come and stay with us, too,’ Anastasia added, warming to the idea. ‘I so much like the younglings.’ She licked her lips. ‘Tender and sweet. Hmmmm.’

Stone grabbed Lonsdale by the hair and hauled him to his feet. ‘Enough of your self-pitying bawling, ghoul. Call your air crew.’

Lillith wrapped her arms around her brother and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. ‘And so, we move on to Stage Two,’ she whispered.

He nodded, smiling. ‘We’ll drop you and Zachary off en route as planned.’

‘This is the part I’ve been looking forward to the most,’ she said.

Joel skidded the Ford to a halt outside the Maddon house, went running up the drive and hammered on the front door. The street was in near silence, just the light patter of the rain on the slick pavements. After a few moments he saw an upstairs light come on behind blue curtains. Seconds later, the downstairs hall lit up and a shape appeared behind the frosted glass of the door.

‘Who is it?’ said a rasping voice.

‘Police,’ Joel replied. ‘Open the door, please.’

The door opened slowly. Behind it stood a man who looked like a heavier, hairier and balder version of Dec. He was wrapped in a tartan dressing gown and didn’t look too happy to be disturbed.

‘Mr Maddon?’

Dec’s father ran his eye up and down Joel. ‘You don’t look much like a policeman to me, so you don’t,’ he said gruffly. ‘Let’s see some ID then.’