Mortal Agent of a Vampire - Chapter 15

We took Vince’s jet straight to Switzerland.
“Only Muhammad can save us.” Nelly said.
Who is Muhammad? If I had been in a normal situation, I would have asked the question. But I didn’t that day.
“There’s blood in the freezer.” I told Nelly and Liz.
Nellie shook her head, “Thanks, but we have to fast, if Mohammed doesn’t feel our sincerity, he won’t take us in.”
“Okay.” Although I was a little worried that they wouldn’t be able to resist eating me, the Thai youtuber air hostess or the Terminator captain, that worry paled in comparison to the cloud that hung over me. I told them to stay in the aft bedroom to give them some privacy. Then I sat on the couch all night and watched a couple of little yellow ducks in the dry jacuzzi.
Liz had a couple of seizures along the way, but they were subdued. Newborns are always especially horny, Nellie explained. We landed in Switzerland.
The Alps are picturesque. Muhammad’s tribe is secluded in the valley below the Jungfrau.
Nellie and Liz were not strong enough to withstand the sun like Vince, and we arrived while it was still night. A gauzy mist covered the forest, showing a ghostly blue hue in the drifting moonlight. Streams roamed over the rocky streams. Everything seemed to be tuned to mute, or there was sound, but it was sucked out by the thick leaves and bushes on the ground. Only once in a while did an owl bravely hoot, immediately choked again by the darkness.
It did seem like a vampire-infested forest.
When I walked into Muhammad’s tribe, it felt like a white rabbit that had wandered into a pack of wolves by mistake. It was a clearing in the forest, and around it, I don’t know whether it was man-made or natural, there was a circle of high and low stones arranged, all of them were cloaked, as if they were ancient statues of monks, standing or sitting on their respective stones, and not a single one of them moved. Only their golden eyes moved with my steps. I don’t remember exactly how many pairs of eyes there were; it must have been too many to count, if you ask me. Because sometimes I look up and realize that there are people in the trees staring at me, too.
I winced from the bottom of my heart all the way down to my toes. “They’re vegetarians.” I kept reminding myself. But the effect achieved was the opposite. Because it occurred to me that on the other hand it meant that they hadn’t had fresh, warm, human blood in a long time.
And I, for one, was a fresh, warm human being.
Mohammed received me personally. Do vampires have a bloodline? If there is, he belongs to the North African bloodline. Like the others, he wore robes, with only one pair of eyes showing.
He raised his arm and pointed to the two figures sitting on the stone to his right, then to Nelly and Liz. Without a word, the two figures took Nellie and Liz away.
Then he waved at me again. I guess that meant to tell me to follow him. Together we walked through a wooded path and reached a wooden house built against a waterwheel.
“No, it’s Algiers.”
Muhammad said suddenly as we all entered the house. I was taken aback. After reacting, I realized that he was answering my question.
All the way there I had been thinking that maybe he was from Alexandria or Tunisia. I’m too lazy to express how tired I am of selling mind reading. At the same time, I understand that if I could read minds, I’d be selling them all day long. The cabin was primitive on the outside, but on the inside it was up to date, with computers and a router with a flashing light.
“Have a seat.” Muhammad gestures, then removes his cloak and takes a seat across the table. Now I could see that he wore his hair short and dark, with blue eyes and dark brown skin; I was beginning to think that all vampires were as white as printer paper. He was tall and porous, the bulging muscles of his arms visible even under the straight tunic he was shrouded in.
“I got a message from Vince.” He said.
“Is he okay?” I felt like a cell phone hooked up to a charger.
“I think so,” Muhammad put his hands in a tower, “He’s in Montpellier now.”
After two days and three nights, my heart finally hit bottom, “Great!” Then I whined, “Why didn’t he come here?” I wanted to see him in one piece.
Muhammad was silent. I managed too much, I remembered Vince s words, and just as I was about to give up, he said, “He …… I banished him, he can t come.”
“He was originally from your tribe?” My surprise is hard to express. Vince, a vegetarian? Kill me, he’s even a picky eater!
Muhammad was amused by the thought as well, he gave a small smile and leaned back into his chair, “No, but he’s the closest thing to a vegan I’ve ever seen …… non-vegan ……”
“You mean, he doesn’t kill his prey.” When did I start talking vampire jargon? Prey?Evil ……
“Vince doesn’t tell you much about him, does he?”
“The part about vampires?” I shook my head, “Never talks about it.”
Muhammad nodded, “He’s always been a fringe element, in every sense of the word.”
“No? He’s disgustingly typical!” It’s only now that I can speak ill of him with such impunity.
Muhammad laughed this time, “Believe me, he’s the alternative of the alternatives.”
I felt a deep sense of being duped, “I know you don’t eat human blood, but wouldn’t you ……”
He interrupted, “We don’t blend in with the crowd, we don’t collect luxury cars and antiques …… In fact, that’s why I eventually parted ways with Vince, there was nothing I could do to change his philosophy, he was too much of a fan of dealing with humans and I couldn’t agree with that. Not all vampires get it just right like he does, sometimes we get in too deep ……” His gaze drifted a bit, as if a memory was slowly drifting past him.
“This is only your tribe ……” I muttered.
“Some other clans,” Muhammad said softly, “humans are just prey to them, the weak are the strong, and they don’t leave their prey alive.”
“No gray areas?”
“None that I know of, except for Vince.”
“Why? You were human once, weren’t you?”
“As you said, once.” Muhammad pointed out, paused, and then said, “Besides, for a very important reason, it’s hard.”
“What’s hard?” I hadn’t the slightest notion that, for Vince, drawing a little blood and then letting it go seemed about as logical as me taking a pitcher of milk out of the fridge, pouring a glass, and putting it in.
Muhammad shook his head, “That’s why I say, Vince is alien. You can’t imagine how seductive human blood is to us, especially the preferred prey, and once it’s on, there’s no stopping until the other person is dead.”
I froze, “Vince ……”
“He has the best self-control of anyone I know. A long time ago, I tried to convince him to join my tribe while he learned from me about controlling his hunger and thirst.” Muhammad continued, “You saw the way they were staring at you when you came in just now?”
I thought back, it was not a pleasant experience, “They …… wanted to eat me?” I swallowed.
“Every cell was thinking it.”
“Luckily my blood doesn’t taste good.” Compressed cookies, Vince had said, I’m so glad.
Muhammad gave a sort of you’re so naive smile, “That’s just Vince’s opinion, we don’t all have the same tastes, let’s say you’re right up my alley.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, and while flattered, I felt on pins and needles, “Should I say thank you?” I changed the subject, “You guys are vegetarians, you can’t eat me.”
“Beliefs like that are very weak and there are times when we lose control.” Mohammed licked his lips, “Especially those newborns …… that’s why we stay away from humans.”
I thought back to Liz’s loss of control on the plane, she almost crashed us. God, I was right next to her mouth!
“That ……”
“You really don’t know what protected you?” Muhammad looked at me strangely, and after two seconds he said, “Well, you really don’t know.”
“What for?”
He raised his arm and pointed at me, “Vince marked you.”
I couldn’t help but touch the back of my neck, in the morgue ……
Muhammad’s next words seemed to come from far away, “He marked you with his own blood, you reek of him, and there’s no one in this place who would dare to mess with you but me, and I . . he knows I won’t.”
It was already morning light when Mohammed escorted me out, the forest was much nicer in the morning than at night, none of those eerie shadows, everything was green and peaceful and quiet.
We went back to the clearing we were in yesterday, the statues on the rocks were all gone, like a dream, the sun stirred the air, and it was just the two of us around.
“You’re going to find Vince.”
“Of course.” I said.
“What if I said Vince wanted you to stay with me?”
“You’re kidding.” I didn’t believe any of it.
“Well, he didn’t say that I was the one who wanted you to stay, but he made you come.” Muhammad admitted, “He should have known that I would ask you to stay out of safety.”
“I was sending Nellie and Liz, and now my job is done.” I didn’t understand what he meant by safety.
Muhammad shook his head, he had this infuriating look on his face, as if I didn’t know anything and was a dabbling schoolgirl, “Vince went too far this time, Lutz isn’t to be messed with that much, he’s the leader of a clan, and Vince can’t stand up to him single-handedly.”
“Can’t you protect Vince too?”To expel Vince just because of a difference in philosophy, it’s not enough ……
“It’s not as simple as you think.” Muhammad frowned, “His background is extremely complicated. There are some things that I can’t solve.”
I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t reveal more, choosing only to excuse himself, “I have my children to take care of as well. You should understand what vampires thrive on. Because of the abstinence from human blood, we are not as powerful as some clans. Luckily I have some influence and Switzerland has always been a neutral zone, no one comes after us. I can hide you, but I can’t help Vince.”
I thought about it, maybe in theory it was safer to stay here, but Vince made me feel safe, it wasn’t much of a consideration at all, I only had one option, “I’m going to find him.”
Muhammad sighed and then smiled, “I’ll welcome you back anytime.” He said, and before I could say goodbye, he was hidden away.
One evening, I arrived in Montpellier. Gorgeous flaming clouds decorated the sky, and the light of the setting sun reflected on the pale yellow facade, making Vince’s estate look like a golden palace. I climbed all the way up the hill.
Beneath the tall oak double doors, Vince leaned over the stone railing of the terrace, his slender fingers playing with a goblet with deadly grace. When he saw me, he straightened up, a bright smile flashing in his green eyes.
“Muhammad didn’t invite you?”

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