Maxim Darko: The Greatest Gift of Evil. A Vampire Chronicle

CHAPTER NINETEEN MAXIM'S QUEST

At a small port town in Southern Greece, Maxim silently smuggled himself aboard a ship bound for Constantinople. Once onboard, he found his way below deck, and hid between some jars of wine. Several days later, Maxim slipped unnoticed over the railing of the ship onto a jetty on the western shore of the Bosporus. Once his feet were on dry land, Maxim looked up at the sky. Clouds completely obscured the moon and the stars, creating an inky black night. Perfect, he thought. From hours of map study in Corfu, he had memorized the streets, and the layout of Constantinople. Darting through memorized back alleys, he easily found his way to the Cathedral Hagia Sophia. The grand building's massive dome dominated the night skyline of the city. Avoiding the main entrance, he stayed in the dark, and stinking alleyways. He made sure to stay at least three streets away from the Cathedral. His teachers in Corfu had told him the guards didn't patrol this area. A sudden sound alerted him, in a flash he did a back-flip, and landed behind some barrels. Scanning the alley with his enhanced night vision, he soon found the source of the noise. A pack of rats were greedily gobbling down the contents of a dead dog's stomach. Maxim ignored the sight, he was beyond being disturbed by death...no matter how grossly disgusting its manner. He left his hiding place at a fast jog, he didn't want to miss his planned rendezvous. Once he was behind The Hagia Sophia, he slowed his pace until a stable yard came into view. His sharp eyes surveyed the area for danger. Gentle noises from animals filtered out of the stables. Equipment, and stacks of hay were spread out among the grounds. Not a person was to be seen. A perfect place for a clandestine meeting, he decided.

Maxim found a hiding place in a haystack that provided a quick escape route down an alley, in case he had to get make a quick getaway. The haystack also gave him a commanding view of the grounds. Satisfied with his choice, he burrowed deeply into the fragrant hay to wait. A short while later, an overweight guard armed with a spear appeared from a narrow passageway. Maxim instantly became hyper alert. He took a deep breath and held it. One, two, three, he began counting in his head. He willed his heart to slow to a near-death pulse.

The guard walked a complacent lap around the stable grounds, before finally stopping behind Maxim's haystack. He leaned his spear against the hay. The sound of crushing hay filled Maxim's ears. Thirty, thirty-one, he counted. The guard lazily undid the rope around his robe. Maxim's brain couldn't identify the sound of the rope on cloth, and he became slightly nervous. A moment later, his finely-tuned ears picked up the whizzing sound of the guard relieving his bladder. Fifty, fifty-one, Maxim continued to count, as the sour smell of urine permeated the hay. At the count of seventy, the guard loudly farted. After a final shake of his penis, the guard re-tied his robe, and casually strolled back to the passageway. With a burst of evil energy, Maxim sent a telepathic image of rats feeding on a dead dog, into the guard's sub-conscience mind. Feeling the hackles stand up on the back of his neck, the guard stopped to survey the stable grounds for a last time. A feeling of dread filled his soul, causing him to defensively hold his spear in front of him. Ninety-seven, counted Maxim. Unable to shake off the fearful feeling, the guard backed into the passageway, where he turned around, and hurried away from the stable yard. Maxim smiled as he silently let out his breath and started to breathe again. He was certain the guard would not return this evening.

When the night was at its darkest, a thin dark-haired man, and a comely curly blonde-haired woman silently crept out from behind a stable. Unbeknownst to the couple, Maxim had been watching them, for the last ten-minutes. Once he had determined they were not a threat, he spread the hay open in front of him, and hissed a warning. Salih and Tahira stopped dead in their tracks. Maxim motioned for them to return behind the stable. The couple quickly re-traced their steps back to their original hiding place. Maxim left the safety of the haystack to join the couple.

Maxim knew very little about the history of Tahira and Salih, or why they had been selected to aid him. His instructions in Corfu had only been to rendezvous with a man who could not speak.