Chapter 379 - The War of the Vampires part 2

We started across the vast ice sheet, moving as quickly as we could. Because of the treacherous winds and deadly, hidden ice bridges, we could not take to the air as we might normally have done. We had to run, which slowed us tremendously. We were also held up by Chaumas.

Ancient when he took the Blood, and infirm by our vampire standards, the blind blood drinker could not keep up with us and fell further and further behind as we went, even with the assistance of his diminutive maker. Sunni tried to hurry him along, but the old blood drinker was quite thoroughly mad and balked at her rough handling of him. He did not understand why we needed to hurry and laughed nervously and swiped at her with his walking stick as she whipped him on.

Finally, exasperated, I held up my hand, and doubled back to see if there was anything I could do with the cantankerous old blood drinker.

"Chaumas!" I called sternly. "Stop that right now!"

"I'm sorry, Father, I'm doing the best I can!" Sunni said as I approached. She ducked another blow and glared at the blind man. She looked like she wanted to take that walking stick and shove it somewhere unmentionable.

"It's all right," I said. "Let me see if I can make him understand. Chaumas? It is I, Gon."

The old man responded by bonking me on the head with his stick.

"You took my friend away!" he cried petulantly.

He was speaking, of course, of the Eternal Yul. More specifically, Yul's head. He had made something of a pet of it while we were seeking out the remaining pieces of my body. I had disposed of the old man's luckless hostage before we started back to Asharoth. Chaumas was reluctant to give it up, but it was such a gruesome thing, and a strategic risk should it fall into the wrong hands. Finally, I just yanked it from his arms, and flung it out across the glacier as far as I could. What I did for the Eternal was probably a kindness. Chaumas, however, was still resentful.

"I am sorry you could not keep the Uroboran, Chaumas," I said, speaking as if to a child. "But he was our enemy, and if his people ever managed to reclaim his head, his knowledge could be used against us."

Plus, it was bloody revolting, but I did not say that aloud.

"I miss him," the old man said. "He was my friend."

"I understand, and I feel really bad about that, but we must move quickly. The God King's slavers have captured our friends. We must hurry back to Asharoth if we hope to go and rescue them."

Chaumas crossed his arms and turned his head away, bottom lip thrust out.

I looked to the others for help, but they weren't sure what to do with the old man either. And Sunni, his maker, had stomped away to sulk. I did not wish to leave him behind. Blind as he was he might never make it back to Asharoth, and I felt responsible for him. I was responsible for him. I was responsible for them all! They were like my children—and then it struck me! The old man had become child-like in his dotage, even before he was given the Blood. That childishness had carried through the transformation and into his immortal state, along with his blindness. Even if we could convince him to hurry, he would never be able to keep up with the rest of us. But perhaps…

"Maybe I can do something to make up for taking your friend away," I suggested.

"Oh?" the old man said, cocking his head toward me. "And what is that? A new friend for Chaumas to talk to? He would like that, hee hee!"

"We don't have any more heads for you to talk to," I said, "but how would you like to ride on my back?"

I could tell by the way his face lit up that he liked the idea. He liked it very much. My children had loved riding on my back when I was a mortal man. All children do.

"No more heads?" he said, thinking about it, and then he blew through his lips in a dismissive manner. "Who needs heads?" he said. "Chaumas will ride!" The grin that broke across his craggy face was toothless but for his fangs.

He immediately began to fumble at my shoulders, trying to climb onto me.

"Hold on!" I said. "Let me turn so you can ride on my back!"

The old man climbed on as the rest of the group watched with amusement. "Just a moment," I said, as he kneed me in the kidneys. "Let me—ow!" I tried to steady him, but he was wriggly and awkward, pawing at my face and yanking my hair. In the end, we used the material in which we had wrapped my limbs to construct a kind of cradle carrier. Or a saddle, if you'd like to call it that. It was not very dignified, and everyone seemed quite amused by the solution, but carrying him was the only thing I could think of.

"Are we ready?" I asked the others, when we had the old man strapped securely to my back.

"Ready!" Chaumas exclaimed, legs thrust out to my sides. He cinched a bony arm around my neck, squeezing on my windpipe. Luckily, we vampires do not need to breathe.

"We are ready, grandfather," Aioa said, smiling at me sympathetically.

"Then let's go!" I croaked.

I took off at a run, the old man bouncing on my back.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" Chaumas cried.