Chapter 23 (Adam Novus Chronicles - Book 1)

Flying in a private plane that costs more money than I will probably ever see in my life—the only way to travel. Seriously, this thing was able to make the trip from New York City to Japan in one go; without any need to refuel, and had enough left in the tanks to travel a few thousand miles more.

“So, what can you tell me about your friend?” I asked Marcus after we had a quick lunch, which Esmeralda had a gourmet restaurant deliver before the plane took off. With it came a refrigerated blood bag container that held the liquid Marcus was currently drinking out of the cut crystal wine glass.

“I’ve known Musashi for a long time, several centuries actually. He is an honest-to-God samurai, the kind that considers his honor and debts sacred.”

“Musashi? Wait, you don't mean—”

Marcus interrupted me with a raised hand before I could finish my question.

“It is a custom among our kind not to ask about the lives we led while we were still mortal. That is something deeply personal and is usually only shared between close friends. So please don't ask him any questions about who he used to be.”

He lifted his eyebrows meaningfully to let me know that this was no joking matter.

“OK… but what is the favor he owes you?”

He looked through the window with a small reminiscent smile. “It was in 1750, the Republic of Venice. I helped him when he got himself tangled up in one of Borgia’s clan convoluted schemes. They captured him and were all set on separating his head from his shoulders, but I managed to save his life.”

He slightly shook his head, as if to push aside centuries-old memories.

“Anyway, that is a long story that can wait for another time. Let’s focus on more pertinent ones.”

I did not want to press him right now for what sounded like an interesting tale, but I have to remember to ask him again when we are not in such a rush.

“He leads what is known to the rest of the supernatural world as the Death Clan, a large group of vampires that is somewhat similar to our own. Except that they keep to themselves and were never interested in establishing official diplomatic relations with the rest of our kind. Oh, and the clan has some very obscure religious connotations. But they are so secretive, most of the outside world thinks they are a religious sect, and only they know what it’s about.”

He took another sip of his red beverage, before shrugging his shoulders.

“Japan is different from the rest of the world; the only vampires there are those belonging to Musashi’s clan, and only the members can turn new ones. There had been a few attempts in the past by a few Asiatic clans to establish themselves in Japan; I think even the Russian ones had tried to put a foothold on one of the islands. Let’s just say that they were all politely asked to leave, and those that were stupid enough to refuse… well, nobody has ever heard from them again.”

From what Marcus was saying to me, I understood that we were not going to meet some nice quasi-vegetarian vampires that sparkled in the sun, but people who weren't afraid to spill copious amounts of blood if someone stepped on their toes. And what the hell—Samurai? The few things I knew about them were from history books and historical war movies I watched. Now, I was going to meet a real one in person… my life keeps getting weirder.

Just like when we arrived in the States, the customs agent came to the plane and not the other way around. It took him a few minutes to get our passports stamped and to issue us temporary visitor visas. If there is any truth in that reincarnation myth, I want to be reincarnated into a rich person. I don’t care about race or religion, as long as I am wealthy—I will take the deal. Although, changing my sex is where I draw a line (I am not even a bit curious).

There was a long black limo waiting for us as we exited the plane. A young-looking man was waiting in front of it, and the moment I saw him I could sense that he too was a vampire.

“Musashi-sama has sent me to drive you to the Black Lotus Teahouse. It is a half-hour drive,” he briskly informed us in barely accented English, while giving a respectful nod.

I concentrated on his emotions and was amazed by how strange they were. It was as if he was meditating, calm and collected, all the time.

During the drive, I decided that I would never again complain about New York City traffic. That was a child's play to navigate compared to what was considered normal here, where cars were battling for every single inch of space. When we had to stop at the crosswalks, the river of humanity that was crossing the street made me stare like a wide-eyed teenage tourist in Amsterdam visiting the red-light district.

Little more than half an hour later, we arrived at our destination. A tall skyscraper in the business section of the city, and the teahouse, that was situated some three hundred feet in the air, taking up one entire floor of the building. Our driver stayed with us the entire time, guiding us toward our destination. He led us towards the private room that was occupied by two older Japanese gentlemen dressed in expensive business suits. Both of them were vampires, with the same strange calmness of emotions. They both stood up from a low table, as we approached.

“Marcus, it has been a long time, my friend,” one of them said and hugged Marcus. This caused our driver's emotions to go into overdrive, calmness gone in an instant. I knew that public displays of affection are not part of traditional Japanese culture, but I think it was more the fact that this particular vampire was showing them. The second vampire must have seen something in his expression; a flash of anger erupted from him, and he dismissed the driver with a discrete but sharp hand movement. After giving a deep bow, the young one hastily retreated, closing the thin rice paper sliding door behind him.

“And this is Tadakatsu, my second in command,” the sociable vampire pointed at the other one. Thank God they were speaking perfect English, at best I could order us all a round of beer in Japanese.

The other vampire executed a customary bow, deep, but not as the one driver gave. “Marcus-san, I have heard many good stories about you from Musashi.”

“I hope at least some of them are true,” Marcus smiled and pointed at me. “May I present my friend, Adam Novus.”

Both men bowed lightly and said all appropriate things when meeting a stranger. We sat on one side of the table, with Musashi and Tadakatsu taking the opposite side. I was thankful that there was a convenient hole beneath the table to put my legs into; sitting on my folded legs, like our hosts, would need some getting used to.

“We can talk freely in front of Adam, he knows all about our kind,” Marcus said after introductions were made. As far as I knew, vampires generally perceived me as human, up to the point when my knife appeared. Then it was an entirely different ballgame.

Did we talk about Sesshō-seki? Oh, no, first we needed to jabber about irrelevant things because that was proper etiquette here. I know, when in Rome… and all that, but I was already antsy, thinking of Nina in that tiny cell, and what would happen if I failed. So I held my tongue, hoping Marcus would know when to steer the conversation in the right direction. Just as I thought that the time had come to ask some questions, we had to go through a tea ceremony... Lord, give me strength.

One thing about the tea ceremony—it takes too damn long. I may come across as an unrefined Philistine to those with a refined taste for Japanese culture, but it is a freaking tea. How hard can it be to mix some dry leaves with hot water? Also, it is considered rude to talk during it, so I had to sit on my ass while Musashi was making tea with all the concentration and focus of an engineer assembling a nuclear bomb.

The tea ceremony's purpose is to induce an atmosphere of tranquility, and a way for participants to gain critical insight into life and reality. It promotes social interaction and interpersonal bonding... At least that is what I read from a provided pamphlet. Hey, at least I am still educating myself.

I wonder if they have coffee in this joint? It can still technically be considered a kind of tea. Hot water and ground-up dried plant matter; or as my grandfather was fond of saying, potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto.

Better not, it would probably make them think that I was some kind of uncultured western barbarian.

Finally, the tea was made; we drank it making all appropriate sounds and appreciative nods. Frankly, I could have used a bit of sugar.

“If I may be so rude, may I ask what you are?” Musashi said, looking in my direction.

Finally, the proper time for small talk and tea has passed.

“I can faintly sense you as a human, but there is something else there, barely on the edge of my perception,” he continued, giving me an inquisitive look.

How in hell was I going to explain that one; Doc Rogiel didn’t even know, and he knew more about supernaturals than any being on Earth.

“I'm not sure about that one myself,” I answered honestly. “I am no longer a normal human being, but it is a mystery even to me what I am anymore.”

What should I have said? That my body was changed at a genetic level, and there is this spooky black knife that magically materializes when I kill people and drain their very souls, life-energy, or whatnot? No way in hell.

“Hmm,” Musashi murmured. “A wise man once said that one should accept everything just the way it is.” He stated, nodding sagely.

After hearing that, Tadakatsu closed his eyes and shook his head.

“When you are quoting yourself, you really shouldn't emphasize that it was said by a wise man.” He then turned toward Marcus and me. “I'm sorry, but he wrote a book a long time ago and is using every opportunity he can to quote from it. He’s been doing it for centuries; it drives me insane.”

Musashi lifted his head high, “It is not my fault that you are still unenlightened, despite all my efforts to enrich your soul.”

Marcus and I then had to listen to a few minutes of banter between these two, who were obviously old and close friends and secretly enjoyed arguing with one another.

“I'm sure Marcus and Adam didn't come here to listen to the two of us quibble,” Musashi said after they lost some steam, “So, let’s talk about the reason why you flew halfway around the world.”

It took a little time to explain in detail why we needed the Killing stone. The story of Nina’s kidnapping and all the outrageous demands her captors requested for her release.

Musashi nodded sympathetically after we were finished.

“You need to know that Sesshō-seki is the most sacred relic of Shinigami no Ichizoku, or the Death Clan as we are known in English. Most people think that it is some rock in the city of Nasu, but it is in fact kept on the clan’s private island. It is part of this country’s mythology, but unlike others, there is factual truth behind this particular myth. It does kill anyone who comes into contact with it.”

OK, so it wasn't some plain old rock one could use to kill by bludgeoning his opponent with it; this thing was important to these people. Nevertheless, I still could not leave Japan without it.

“Can we... borrow it for a while? I promise we will get it back to you.” I asked, hoping for some loophole that would allow me to take one freaking stone from Japan.

Musashi shook his head. “The Sesshō-seki hasn't left the island in hundreds of years. The only way that can ever happen is… for you to take it.”

I may not be a rocket scientist, but I could smell a rat from a mile away. The way he said it and the emotions behind it told me that he had mixed feelings with what he was telling me.

“And for me to take it, I need to…” I left it hanging there, letting him fill in the blanks.

“Taking possession of the Sesshō-seki is the simplest thing in the world; you just need to lay your hand on it and survive. By our most sacred creeds, if you manage to do that, it would belong to you. However, all who tried before had died in an instant, be it a vampire, human, Were, or a witch. Hell, even animals are instantly killed by a mere touch. It is not because of some exotic radiation or anything else we could explain. In recent times we also checked everything modern science could offer. Taking all that into account, young Adam, I would strongly advise you against going through that route.”

So that was the rub; to get one of the things that I needed to exchange for Nina’s life, I had to touch some freaky stone that killed every single living thing that had ever touched it… just great.

The logical thing would be for me to give up on this fool’s quest and try to find some alternative way to get her back. Except, that would be taking a big gamble with high odds that she would end up dead. Katarina Bast, Marcus, Esmeralda, those were very capable beings that would do anything possible to retrieve her alive if I failed, so not all would be lost. To hell with playing it safe when doing what I came here to do gave us the best chance.

“I understand what you are saying, but I can’t go back without that stone. I will try it.”

I hope I did not just sign my death warrant, despite that the two old vampires in front of us thought I did. There was no mistaking their emotions. In their minds, I was a dead man walking, without any doubts about the outcome.

Musashi nodded. “I feared that would be the case when Marcus called me. There is a ceremony before you can go through the trial, preparations are already made. Let’s go,” he said with an air of finality that sent shivers down my spine.

I had a bad feeling about this.