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

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE DUELING ENEMIES

The sound of chirping birds startled Maxim awake. Oh my God. I fell asleep outside. The thought sent a shot of adrenalin rushing through his body, and sent his head spinning into a momentary state of panic. Feeling something soft on his chest stopped him from bolting into a sitting position. He calmed down when he saw Bodashka's head peacefully resting on his chest. His muscles relaxed, and the tightness left his chest. A minute later, his breathing returned to normal, and the coppery taste left his mouth. I must have fallen asleep while telling her about my journey to Corfu. Slowly he looked around her lair to orient his brain. The tastefully decorated apartment filled his soul with a long-absent sense of security, and peacefulness.

Gently, he reached down, and stroked Bodashka's hair. His soft touch woke her. With evident affection in her eyes, she groggily looked up at him. When she realized her alarm had woken him, she gently laughed, "Do not worry my love. The birds are my alarm. It's just a recording to tell me when the sun has risen for the day."

Maxim smiled. "Very clever."

Bodashka raised up on an elbow, and kissed Maxim. "I should have warned you about the alarm." She kissed him again. "Since my transformation, I miss the sound of birds. When I was a young girl in Crimea, birds were one of my favorite pleasures." Her eyes became dreamy. "I would sit alone in the forest for hours, just to listen to the birds sing."

"In Bordeaux I will find a safe place above ground for us to live. Someplace near the ocean. Every morning, you will fall asleep with the singing of the sea birds in your ears."

Bodashka snuggled her head into his shoulder. "I would like that."

Dreamily, Maxim replied, "Me too." He closed his eyes, and with his direct way of speaking stated, "I'm going to get some more sleep. Because tonight I must be well-rested, to accomplish the task that lies before me."

"Sleep as long as you like my love."

Maxim stroked her hair. "After I rid our world of one more miserable Archbishop, we will travel together to Bordeaux."

"That would be nice," Bodashka whispered. She felt Maxim drifting off to sleep and said no more.

When Bodashka felt Maxim's breathing become steady, she gingerly rolled off the couch. Hoping not to wake him, she tip-toed to her closet, where she dressed in pure black. Before leaving her lair, she slung a pack over her shoulder, containing a few empty bottles, and an IV needle with a plastic tube. When Maxim woke this evening, there would be one less junkie living in the tunnels beneath Luxembourg, and he would have fresh blood to drink.

Bordeaux was cementing itself as a reality in Bodashka's mind, she wanted her man to be strong for his task this evening. She wanted him to survive the coming reckoning. She wanted to travel with him. It had been far too long since she had taken any risks concerning her personal life. Most importantly, she didn't want to be lonely any longer.

Shortly after sunset, Maxim exited the maze of the Casmates du Bock tunnels near the Pont Adolphe Bridge. The few couples strolling among the trees, didn't notice the shadowy figure dart out of the darkness of the tunnel, and enter the forest. Maxim was nearly invisible to the naked eye. Like a Ninja, he was dressed all in black, with only his eyes and fingers visible. Traversing between the thick undergrowth, Maxim eventually made it to the bottom of the steep cliff that defined the deep river gorge. A short distance down the gorge, atop the cliff, he could see the spires of the well-lit Cathedral Notre Dame. The Cathedral towered over the surrounding buildings. The home of my enemy, Archbishop Marius. Maxim took a moment to admire the building. The Cathedral was a gothic masterpiece, with a just touch of renaissance architecture. Two black elongated black spires along with a gold spire centered on the dome, sprouted from the Cathedral's roof. Maxim smiled with appreciation at the black spires. Their intense black seemed to absorb the surrounding light. In an ironic way, the spires reminded him of the Dark God Tiarnoglofi.