Dark Matters

Chapter 9: King of the City

Lace's Tower seemed to be made of silver glass and black marble. The closer he had gotten to the building the stronger became the scent of power and darkness. He wondered if Lace had the same ability and would therefore know that his power was not nearly as strong as his at the moment.

Standing close before the entrance, the Count could see through the glass doors into the ground floor. Most of it was filled with green plants he had never seen before. In the middle of this green oasis was a counter with four impressive looking men in a dark blue uniform.

Reluctantly Dracula decided to open the door and step through instead of warping through it. It was best not to demonstrate the powers he had already got back. Entering the lobby he recognised more security guards. They were hidden by the plants and sat on tables. The vampire counted about a dozen extra men. He just hoped that in case Lace tried anything those glass windows up were they would meet were easier to pass through.

"Good day, Sir, may I assume that you are the stranger whom Lace invited?" one of the guards asked him as he had approached their counter.

"That is correct."

"Then please head toward the elevators on the right," the man pointed to a corridor made by ivy-plants. "Someone will guide you from there."

Kind of annoyed by all this procedure while he felt so vulnerable Vladislaus strode towards the elevator like some businessman with a full schedule. Only a few seconds after he had reached the group of steel doors that were almost completely hidden from the rest of the lobby one of them opened.

A girl with short-blue hair was standing inside the elevator. She was about a head smaller than the Count, but appeared to be almost as pale. That might have been a result of the colour of her hair, but also of the plain black dress she was wearing. The young woman appeared to be slightly under weight.

"If you would be so kind as to follow me, I am supposed to show you the way," she told him.

Entering the small room, Dracula noticed that he had not been wrong about her watching him with the greatest care. Almost as if she knew who or at least what he was. He took his position in the middle of the cabin. It left the girl standing in front of him because she was operating the controls to his left. With a swift notion, the elevator moved rapidly towards the upper levels.

The vampire saw that goose bumps were forming on the skin of her back. His finger's slightly touched the spot between her shoulder blades and within seconds they appeared there as well and covered the whole of her uncovered back. Vladislaus noticed it with great satisfaction, also she almost immediately turned around and stared angrily at him, but did not dare to say anything. Much to his surprise her thoughts and feelings were blocked to him as he tried to enter her mind.

"It is that cold?" he teased her.

"You would not know, would you?" she replied.

Still upset, her voice had a clear inquiring tone under all that anger. But she was good at controlling it. So, she quickly continued: "Maybe a soft breeze as the doors closed."

"What is your name?" Dracula asked.

Three heartbeats long the girl remained silent. From the way her body became tense he would not have been surprised to hear a mental "none of your business" in case he had been able to read her mind. But Lace had drilled his personnel to be quite polite.

"It's Verbatina," she said finally.

"A rather unusual name," the vampire told her honestly.

"You learn to life with it."

The doors opened and the sign above the door displayed the number forty-eight. "This way, please."

Verbatina guided him along a corridor with dimmed light. The whole floor had something unsettling about it. It was not really that dark, the carpet and the walls, even the doors, were in light grey tones. Plants and paintings were the only decorations. Maybe it was all about those paintings, but the Count was not sure. They were alien, disturbing even to him - like coming from another world with a different hell. It still might be the whole appearance or the fact that he just felt dreadful about this meeting in general.

The girl walked steadily a few feet before him and made sure that he was still there. After passing at a t-section to the left she knocked at a unsuspicious looking door before opening it. There was no doubt that Lace was waiting in the room behind for him. Doing his best to look confident, he strode in.

Lace was sitting in an armchair in front of a fireplace, his feet on a foot-stool of the same design. Dracula could not see his eyes, because they were hidden by glasses, despite the dim light coming from the fire. He seemed utterly relaxed. The Count had all this time expected to find a much older man in an utterly different set of clothing. This man appeared physically younger than himself and surprisingly athletic. His whole presence made the vampire hungry.

"Nice coat," Lace broke the ice.

"Thanks," Dracula replied still a bit coolly. The first impression was immediately followed by the not unexpected ability of his host to completely shield his mind. He doubted that he could influence this person at any point.

"Verbatina, why don't you take the gentleman's coat?" the mage suggested and the girl nodded once before she went over to Vladislaus. He let her have it and heard his host saying: "Why don't you take a seat, Count?"

That was not a good sign. Unable to stop himself he replied: "How do you know I am a Count?"

Lace pointed towards the sofa standing opposite of his chair. "I have a lot of informants in this city."

Slowly the Count sat down. "So you know who I am?"

"You seem to know my name and status." Lace said with a smirk. "But I'll tell you what I know for certain. You are Count Vladislaus Dragulia, born 1422, killed 1462 by the Left Hand of God, you sold your soul in exchange for a new life, immortality and power. You ruled Transylvania and the surrounding countries known as Dracula for some centuries until you were stopped once more by the Left Hand of God - and nobody ever heard again of you - until now."

Dracula felt not exactly comforted by the fact that Lace knew so much about him. "I guess I should feel flattered that I am still recognised and remembered after nearly 200 years of - hmm absence." He hesitated a moment, but decided to add: "And as to knowing you. I am heard your name mentioned a lot, but that is about the sum of it."

"I certainly have left my mark on this city," Lace said thoughtfully. "But then again - without me there wouldn't be a city."

"And that's going to convince me to bend to your rules."

"Rules are what keep this city going. Even I submit to them," Lace took his feet of the foot stool. "There is a mechanism behind them. I'm sure you find that you'll gain more by following them instead of breaking them."

Vladislaus gave it a thought. "Why are you so convinced that your rules are so important? I never had any and ruled for centuries."

"Without wanting to insult you, but between putting a reign of terror upon a land and really govern a whole city in such a difficult time lies quite a difference. I admit terror is one of my instruments, but it goes beyond that." Lace interrupted himself and smiled: "Were are my manners, might I offer you a drink?"

"I would not say no to another one," Dracula said thinking about the one at the casino.

Before continuing, the mage pressed a button on his armchair. "The majority of the people here live in the Golden City. I protect their interest and guarantee them that as long as they stay in that part of the city and don't break the laws their lives remain untouched. In order to achieve this I have Merry Ville. Crime is legal there, people from the Golden City can live out their dark side at their own risk and people there can feed upon the people in the slums. And this keeps almost everyone happy - those who are not are too weak and few in numbers to do anything against it."

Verbatina returned and watched the mage's explanations with a sour face. Lace saw it of course, but he seemed to be in an excellent mood and did not say anything about it. Maybe it was because he was more interested in his guest's reaction. The Count had to admit that this arrangement was both clever and cruel. However, he tried to maintain a more reserved expression. He was not happy about the restrictions, but he had to admire the set-up. "So you keep the people trapped, but they are too comfortable to bother about it."

"Exactly. Of course, we do have some people here who think they are incredibly clever, but that is why I introduced such a strict law enforcement and there is only one sentence: death." He turned to Verbatina and said with a smile. "Why don't you bring our guest some blood, and some wine for me would be nice. While you're at it, ask the Lady Rain to join us."

Lace turned back to Dracula. "I take it you heard the name as well."

"Yes, indeed," the vampire replied. It was sort of mystery to him why someone like Lace had a woman by his side that would handle business matters. Although he had used to send out his brides to perform certain tasks, only few had known their names.

"She lacks a lot of virtues, but Sanguina also has her useful sides. Besides, she is the only one in this city not afraid of me. Maybe because she need not fear for her soul, since she already sold it long ago. Just like we did."

"I actually never met anyone else who had actually made a pact like this," Vladislaus admitted a bit surprised about the revelation.

"Indeed it happens more often than one might think. Usually the pacts are more subtle and the people don't get nearly as much as they could have asked for. Which is kind of the beauty behind it."

Dracula thought about the mage's words. He had never bothered to think that much about the matter. To his host, unnatural occurrences seemed to be even more natural than to him. He had to remind himself that he was talking to a man who employed ghouls clean up the city from dead bodies. Actually the vampire had never seen a crowded place which was as clean as the Golden City. The mage must spend a fortune on keeping it that way.

"Do you mean that people make a pact without realising it?" Vladislaus came back to the topic.

Lace smiled slightly. "Oh yes, definitely. It is not like you sign a contract. We acted consciously, but in other cases the bargain is simply fulfilled by both sides fulfilling the agreement. Or in case it is a long term agreement, the moment the person uses his or her unholy gifts."

"How do you know this?"

"I'm quite familiar with the laws of magic or anything supernatural for that matter. Despite the effort of certain religious groupings to spread misinformation, I have been able to determine quite a few facts. Not to mention that I can see if somebody has a soul, I can even see where it is bound to at the moment." Lace said cheerfully. "The blue haired girl - Verbatina - was originally a witch gifted with powers to do good, but she came no further than learning to use them for her own purposes, and considering the ease with which she sheds blood, she is bound for a ticket downstairs."

"It is easy to fall from His grace, but honestly I could not care less. I started out as a knight of the Holy Order, but I learnt my lesson," Vladislaus said, remembering how faithfully he had served as a knight back then. He had not even committed an atrocity which had actually been part of his holy work, he had spared a life and refused to end it as he had been ordered. Quickly he shoved that memory aside. His life as a mortal was over and the only thing he remembered clearly was the feeling of betrayal.

Unconsciously he had inhaled deeply a few times. Hate boiled in him, but as he suppressed the memory, it quickly faded away. The mage observed him carefully. So the vampire felt the need to say something, before his sour expression was misjudged for weakness.

"I made it my business to drive the Order away from my country," the vampire smiled. "It worked out quite fine for a certain time."

"The Left Hand of God - what ever happened back then, the effects seem to have still a hold on you."

Dracula's jaw dropped. 'Damn it, he knows.' Letting out an almost inaudible growl of frustration, he looked Lace straight in the eyes. Or to be more precise right into his glasses, which hid the eyes from his sight. "A minor drawback, but at least it proved that I can't be destroyed."

Lace replied by taking off his glasses. Fascinated, the Count stared at the black vastness that replaced the eyes of the mage. "You don't need to pretend. Your powers are almost non-existent. I can see that something is eating you up from within. There is nothing that can't be destroyed, nobody who hasn't got a weakness."

The mage sat back in his chair, putting the glasses back where they belonged. Vladislaus realised suddenly that he was afraid. It was real fear that let his hand shake slightly. If only he had all his powers back, then it would not matter what plans his host had for him, he'd be able to deal with him. But without them he was not sure anymore if he was able to get out of here. Before he had the time to think about a smart remark, Lace spoke again.

"I could help you get rid of whatever it is. You might not be aware of it, but not only your powers are recovering. It is feeding on the blood you drink as well."

"Nonsense, I am getting back and you can't honestly think that I believe that you are going to help me."

With that last sentence the door opened and Verbatina entered with a silver tray in her hands. Gently she closed the door with her backside and approached the two men. She tried not to look at any of them as she set down the tray on the small round desk that stood between the sofa and the armchair. She had three glasses and an equal number of decanters on it. One set was made of black glass and the other two were of the finest crystal.

The dark ones she placed on the small table at Dracula's side, Lace got one of the crystal sets and Verbatina informed him that the Lady Rain would be with them shortly. Then she placed the last set at the other side of the table. With the tray in her hands, she bowed and was apparently glad that Lace dismissed her.

"I have no reason not to, besides I am sick of the fact that everyone is afraid of me," the mage took up the conversation where they had left it.

"I thought the Lady Rain wasn't afraid of you?" Dracula said still full of mistrust.

Lace shook his head. "Wait till you meet her, then you will understand, why I am glad that you chose to come to my city. I'd like to have you as my guest. Have a chance to talk to someone who speaks his mind, rather than thinking about what answer might please me. I'd gladly help you regaining your powers if that makes you more comfortable."

Vladislaus was surprised. He never would have thought about that. The vampire had been in the same situation himself. Even his brides had feared him when he had had one of his tempers. It would not have mattered anyway, they had never been suitable for a real conversation. What astonished the Count most was the fact that he realised that he never would have considered the option to have someone with equal strength or at least great power around him who would dare to speak his mind. And Dracula began to wonder why.