All the Reasons

It will be somehow. Because it is always somehow.

All the Reasons

"If you put some chairs together, you can sleep on them," Hajnal put some blankets in my hands.

"Thank you," I replied, "I'm very grateful that we can stay."

My boss snorted loudly. "You don't thank me, because I can't live on gratitude! I swear, you do more harm than good! I had to close early today because of you, and if we go bankrupt, you'll just look at me with big eyes!"

I listened in silence as Hajnal pattered away, grumbling and handing out blankets to Rolo, Alex and Des.

"Tell me, Hajnal, what do you see?", I asked as she was about to leave.

There are many kinds of seers in this world. Some see the future of people, others the past.

She clenched her gloved hand into a fist and looked at it as if it were a pest that she must get rid of.

"You see...", I began, but I was unable to finish the sentence.

It proved much more difficult to say it than to understand it in my mind -- in the end, I didn't need to continue, she did it for me.

"I see the death of those I touch."

Soon after, everyone prepared their temporary beds and then went to bed to sleep for the few hours that remained until morning. Soon Alex was snoring heavily, but I couldn't fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Jo.

Sometimes she was surrounded by vampires, hungrily pouncing on her and being carved up alive, and other times I saw the ruler ordering the torture of Coffee, only to have the vampire girl, losing her sanity, take Jo's life herself. I saw her blood everywhere, her screams and cries for help echoing in my ears.

Finally, I could take it no longer and sat up with a sore back, sneaking up to the counter and pulling out my cigarettes. I took a beer from the fridge for myself, turned the key in the lock, and stepped outside into the fresh air.

I barely took a sip of my beer before I was slammed hard against the wall. The can fell out of my hand, clunked softly on the concrete, then spewed its contents with a gurgle. Then neither of us moved, he just held me pressed against the wall, fingers tight around my neck. We waited. I waited for something to happen. For what, I couldn't decide, but perhaps the right moment to kill. I looked up into the red-hot irises. A vampire. Only this vampire had an eerily familiar scent.

"If I'm not mistaken...", I said, but my voice was hoarse from the lack of air, "you are Coffee's father."

The vampire continued to grip my throat fiercely, trying to melt me into the wall. His eyes were furious, though his fangs were still in hiding, which led me to conclude that he didn't want to kill me. Not yet.

"Where's my daughter, mongrel?" he asked with thundering anger in his low voice.

Since he had also discovered that I find it really difficult to communicate when I'm being held by the throat, he let me go -- and then wiped his hands in his coat in disgust. Coffee's father was a tall, heavyset man, with a forehead always wrinkled with the weight of his troubles. Stern, cut eyes, lips pressed into a line. He exuded danger and bloodlust, a fearsome aura that only the ancients could have possessed.

"Answer me!" he growled.

Before I spoke, I felt my neck to make sure everything was in place.

"Well, Johanna was kidnapped and your daughter went after her," I briefly outlined the situation, "She's probably alive, being held hostage by the Fifth."

A dark shadow came over the man's face: his daughter had willingly leaped into the arms of the one he wanted to protect her from most -- it must have been difficult. For a moment a silence of desperate thinking fell around us.

I took out a cigarette and then offered one to the vampire, who gave me only a cutting look. I shrugged, then took the lighter from the box and lit the cigarette. I inhaled deeply and held the smoke in my lungs as long as I could. I glanced up at Coffee's father, who continued to stare at me as if I were a disgusting worm that had accidentally gotten in his way -- and he was certainly expecting me to say something.

"I'm planning a war," I said lightly.

"A war?" he repeated, his voice both incredulous and mocking.

"I'm not stupid enough to go up against an army of vampires on my own," I shrugged, "I'd truly appreciate it if you put some soldiers at my service. After all, I am trying to save your daughter's life..."

He snatched the cigarette from my hand and stomped on it in anger.

 "You could have told me if the smoke bothered you," I growled softly, but he ignored me, now he was holding onto my clothes and lifting me just enough for me to feel the ground with the tips of my toes.

"You still have the nerve to ask for my help after letting my daughter be kidnapped?" he growled.

I grabbed his hand.

"All right, Mr. Blutkaiser, let's get two things straight," I said. "First: we are on the same side, we both want your daughter to be free. Secondly, I understand your concern, but if you don't want any more problems for yourself - and I don't think you do - then don't take your frustration out on me!"

The vampire let me go, though I could tell by the look in his eyes that he would have preferred to wring my neck instead.

"I don't care about your little plan, mixed blood," he growled, "We don't have time. I'll solve the problem, that usurper will be discouraged when he's up against Crimson himself!"

A moment later he disappeared into the darkness of the night. I took out another cigarette and lit it too. After filling my lungs, I let the smoke out slowly. I leaned against the wall and stared at the sky.

The waxing moon glanced back at me mockingly and gloated. In three days there would be a full moon, and I had chosen that time to fight for a reason: it would make the monsters lose their heads. And when you lose your head, it's easier to make mistakes.

I decided it was time to pay Ruben a visit.

It took me around two hours to walk to the gate. I simply stepped over it and stopped in front of the thick steel door, which certainly could not have been moved by even the strength of a full-grown vampire.

The camera turned towards me and I didn't even have to speak, the lock clicked, indicating that the door was open. I stepped inside, climbed upstairs, and entered Ruben's office. The only source of light was the three huge flashing monitors, casting the room in dimness.

Ruben was sitting in his usual cushioned chair, typing furiously on one of the data sheets on one of the screens. When I got close to him, he glanced up at me with his black eyes. He knew well that I was coming, and presumably for what purpose.

"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

There was no concern in his voice, he simply asked the question. I nodded. He nodded too. We were silent for a few moments.

"You know I don't like you..." he began, and to justify his words, he grimaced. "I wouldn't care if you got yourself killed. However, since my fate indirectly depends on the success of your plan, I have no choice but to increase the currently slim chance that you will succeed in defeating the Fifth."

"Well, I don't like being in league with you all the time either," I remarked, trying to hide the disgust in my voice.

I hate rats. Ruben is no exception. In any case, one must build on what one has. And sometimes you just have to make do with a Ruben.

"In war, we have to do a lot of things we don't like," the rat added, and then pressed a key on the keyboard, causing the screen to turn blue. The white letters scrolled across the background, so fast that my eyes could barely follow them, let alone piece together the meaning of the succession of letters and words.

"My information net is not so extensive outside the city," he noted, his eyes darting back and forth between the flashing lines until they were all gone, leaving only the blue background.

"Well, all I know is that they are based at Redchild Villa."

He glanced up at me. "You've met a very dangerous enemy."

"Is the Fifth King's army really that strong?" I asked.

"Certainly," said Ruben, "but it's the dark mages I'm worried about."

"Mages?" I asked, surprised, and Ruben nodded.

"Liou and Pitou."

Why am I hearing the name of these two mages more and more often?

"Are they in league with him?" I asked through gritted teeth.

We're already in a tough situation, not to mention having to fight two dark mages who can create armies of homunculi with a flick of their wrist.

Ruben shrugged. "They certainly have a business relationship. The Fifth is using their spells to cover their tracks. In any case, knowing them, the Fifth is just a tool they throw away when they get bored. For now, they'll help from the shadows until the Fifth claims his place among the kings, and when he does... they'll get rid of him and take his place."

For a moment, we both fell silent. Then Ruben looked deep into my eyes.

"You can't avoid attention this time," he declared, "If you defeat the Fifth, you'll be the one they'll try to devour."

I pursed my lips. I'll deal with the dark mages when the Fifth is out of the picture.

"Does the Fifth have any weaknesses?" I interjected.

Ruben wondered. "Who knows? Maybe the iron? They say he inherited more from his fae side."

"And the army?", I asked.

"At the moment they number about four hundred and seventy, but that number is growing," he said, "Second-generation vampires. Fierce, strong and ferocious."

I nodded thoughtfully. But their thirst for blood makes them more prone to making mistakes.

"Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?" he inquired.

"That depends on what you're thinking," I shrugged.

"You want to join forces with the hunters?" Ruben's voice sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Are you sure you don't have any seer relatives?" I said with an anaemic grin.

"Not that I care about your fate, but I wouldn't deal with them if I were you," he grimaced.

I didn't think there was any other life form in the world that Ruben hated more than me. I was wrong.

"I was always wondering why you didn't give them information," I said, "They would have paid the price..."

"We're all the same to the hunters, Shaytan. Targets to be taken out," he replied quietly, "They couldn't pay me enough to betray even one monster. They can buy many things from me, but not my honour."

He paused as he looked into my eyes. "Even if they decide to ally with you this time, you will surely face them one day, and then they will use the information they have gathered about you during the battle. But I don't have to explain that to you... you are an informant, and no one understands the gravity of combat better than an informant."

I grinned. "I used to be a hunter myself, Ruben. There's no one who knows them better than me."

"Indeed," he agreed, then changed the subject. "Is that all you wanted? I have told you all I know."

I turned my back on the rat and started for the door, but stopped just before I stepped out.

"Hey, Ruben."

"What?" he asked.

"I'll pay you next time."

The rat snorted in disbelief, then waved his hand dismissively. A slight smile crept to the corner of my lips for a moment, only to vanish the next.

Soon I stepped out into the darkness of the night and headed for the pub. On the way, I smoked a few cigarettes — about half a pack. Before I entered the pub, I lit up another cig.

"Have you thought this through?" I heard the familiar voice.

It was the second time I had been asked the same question that day. Seriously, do people around me think I'm mentally handicapped? I looked down, straight into the emerald eyes. Rolo's face seemed, as usual, inscrutable.

"Aren't you asleep?" I asked and then took another drag on the cigarette.

He pretended not to have heard the question.

"I don't know what you're planning, but we can't go up against the Fifth," he said, "I barely survived and escaped his wrath. If we charge straight at him we will die, and I don't want to die and I don't want you to die. Maybe it really would be a better idea if you let that vampire save his daughter..."

I ruffled his hair. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm not weak enough to die."

"You don't understand," he snapped. Rolo raised his voice to me for the first time. "They'll kill us! Those vampires have no mercy!"

A moment of silence fell on the tense air.

"What is your full name?" I inquired softly, "I've never asked before."

His eyes widened at the sudden question, he hadn't expected it.

"Why are you suddenly interested?" he asked, his voice still ringing with nervousness.

"If everything works out right, I'm going to take you somewhere few monsters have ever been, "I explained, "I'm going to introduce you to the family, so I need to know your full name, don't I?"

"Hollósi," he replied. "Roland Hollósi."

I quickly finished the cigarette, but I didn't care, I took another one and lit it — I might end up chain-smoking from too much depression.

"Will you introduce me to your family?" he asked after a pause.

"The family," I corrected him, "Tomorrow you'll understand. Or rather today."

"Do you really think you can win this war?" his eyes bored hard into mine.

For the first time, I could clearly read the concern in his emeralds. I raised my hand and flicked his forehead. Immediately, he slapped my hand away and jumped back, blushing visibly red with anger.

"I am trying to talk about vitally important things here!" he snarled angrily. "Can't you take me seriously just this once?!"

"I could say the same," I shrugged. "If you don't trust me to win, you don't have to follow me, but let me tell you something, in case you haven't noticed: if I want to achieve something, I will achieve it, even if the whole world is against me. That's how I am."

I took another drag of the cigarette — it felt awfully good.

Rolo smiled wryly. "Aren't you a bit cocky? There is no one who can beat the whole world."

"Not alone," I took a drag on the cigarette. "With an army you have a chance."

"War is a very bloody game," I declared. "If you don't fight, if you stop even for even a moment, you will lose. If you do not believe in your victory until the last moment, you will lose. But I will win."

Rolo chuckled softly. "Was this the moment again when you had to say something really epic?"

I smiled. "You've ruined my moment!"

"You know...", I said a little later, more seriously, "the parent is always the responsibility of the child, just as the child is the responsibility of the parent. But..., I couldn't care less for that. That's not why I feel obliged to fight. I'm a famously proud monster... and that bastard challenged me when he attacked my friends."

"All right," Rolo decided.

"What's all right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm with you, even if what we're about to do is crazy," he declared.

I grinned.

Alex sighed, and with a slight smile on his lips, he closed the curtains in front of the window so he could slip back into the covers before the door opened. Indeed, there was no need for him to say anything: it had already been done for him.