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

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX STALKING ARCHBISHOP MARIUS

In the meantime, Maxim was formulating his own plan of attack. His days spent on the roof, and following The Archbishop were beginning to pay off. Mentally he had categorized Archbishop Marius's patterns, and habits. Maxim formed the belief that Archbishop Marius was lazy, and rarely left the security of his great Cathedral. This was to Maxim's advantage. It made The Archbishop's routine predictable. Archbishop Marius let his priests conduct mass, and confessions in his Cathedral, while he read or watched TV. Additionally, Maxim wasn't positive, but he suspected Archbishop Marius was having an affair with his cleaning lady.

The outlier in The Archbishop's routine occurred on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To maintain the support of his district congregations, and to keep his flock paying their weekly tithes, Archbishop Marius travelled twice a week to outlying churches to conduct mass. Maxim was able to draw this conclusion, because, on two occasions, he had risked following Archbishop Marius's limousine during the day. Instead of driving, he used his speed, and stamina to tail The Archbishop's limo by foot to the churches.

At the churches, Maxim hid outside, and listened in on Archbishop Marius's sermons, and conversations. During his excursions, a bonus was that he learned the habits of the security agents, who accompanied The Archbishop everywhere he went. Maxim watched the agents occasionally check a spreadsheet they kept in their SUV. He figured it must be the schedule, detailing The Archbishop's weekly routine. On Thursday when The Archbishop was conducting mass, Maxim snuck into the security team's SUV while the agents were smoking and took a picture of the schedule with his phone.

That afternoon in Bodashka's lair, Maxim studied the schedule with interest. Next Thursday, Archbishop Marius was scheduled to visit The Neumuenster Abbey across the Alzette River from the Cathedral Notre Dame. He was going to bestow a monk with the title of Lay Ecclessial. There was a tunnel exit about fifty-meters away from the Abbey. The location was perfect for an ambush. In fact, it was so perfect, it gave Maxim a feeling of unease in his stomach. He wished he had more time to plan and tail Archbishop Marius, but with Ciril still on his trail, time was of the essence. He turned to ask Bodashka her opinion, but she was fast asleep on the couch. Maxim chose not to disturb her rest. She was spending long nights hunting to keep him fed.

That evening Maxim skipped spying on Archbishop Marius's quarters, so he could conduct a thorough reconnaissance of The Neumuenster Abbey. Strolling along the main path of the river, he did his best to look like a normal young man out for a Friday night walk. He timed the distance from the Cathedral to the Abbey and discovered that it was only a fifteen-minute walk. Scanning the area, he identified a perfect vantage point on the ancient Alessandro Vitale Watch Tower to scout the Abbey. He casually climbed the tower's stairwell. At the top, a few young lovers were taking in the lights of the Luxembourg. He dismissively mouthed a greeting to the couples and walked over to where the tower directly overlooked the abbey's grounds. Yes! He enthusiastically thought as he surveyed the grounds. He casually leaned on the stone wall and lit a cigarette. After he mentally ran through his plan, he took out his phone, and snapped some pictures of the Abbey. Then, to avoid any suspicion, he pretended to post the pictures to social media.

Instinctively he liked the location of the Abbey. The black slate roof and tower offset by the light pink buildings strangely inspired him. He finalized his decision to choose the Abbey as his killing location. The next test would be vital. Maxim put his phone away and made his way towards the Abbey.

As he neared the rear sanctuary's steps, where Archbishop Marius would most likely enter the Abbey, he deployed his thick scales. His skin burned. At this distance, he estimated he could withstand the holy power long enough, to accomplish his evil deed. Backing away from the Abbey, he moved until he stood beneath a large willow tree. To his relief, the pain from the holy power had dulled to an acceptable level. At this distance, it only felt like a bad sunburn. He looked up to inspect the tree. Yes! His luck had held, despite the cold weather, the willow tree had kept its leaves. It was a perfect place to hide. With his eyes, he mentally traced his path to the tunnel's entrance. His eyes momentarily halted, as he identified the highest danger area. There was a large open field between the sanctuary's steps, and the tunnel's entrance. After his kill, there would be a twenty-second window of danger, as he sprinted across the field. Once inside of the tunnel, he knew a superhuman burst of speed would lose any pursuers. Satisfied with his work, Maxim took a completely different route back to Bodashka's lair.