Читать онлайн Анна Морион - Two for tragedy. Volume 1

– The sun is sitting too slowly.

My words were met with silence.

I didn't expect any other response. After all, those standing next to me were of the same opinion. They were just like me. Of the same kind. My family, standing on the balcony of an ancient castle secluded in the low mountains, not far from Prague, old and beautiful. But true Praguers we were not – we had moved here from London to live quietly in the Czech Republic, a beautiful country seemingly made for us.

– You sound like a girl in a romance novel," my older brother Markus said suddenly, and smirked, pleased that he'd managed to hurt my feelings.

My lips twitched in a grin. I raised an eyebrow.

– How long have you been into women's novels? – I parried.

– Irony is unnecessary here. There are exceptions to the rules.

– Like what?

– The classics. Jane Austen.

– You're right. That woman created masterpieces.

– I watched her life. She was an extremely pleasant person. But you had other things on your mind back then.

– Markus, stop bragging about your seniority. You're only ten years older than me. – I grinned derisively.

– That's right, brother. Ten years is a pretty impressive amount of time.

– Not for us.

– Markus, Cedric, put aside your argument and enjoy the sunset. – Mother's gentle rebuke made my brother and I smile sarcastically and fall silent. My wistful gaze wandered briefly through the small forest and froze on one of the red roofs of magnificent Prague.

I hated my name. Cedric. It reminded me of some bad romance novel. It must be the name of the protagonist. And it's a name I'll have to carry for the rest of my life. But even now, at the age of two hundred and eighty-six, I didn't understand why my parents had given me that pompous name.

I forgot to tell you, I'm a vampire. Like my brother, father, and mother, I carried the burden of eternity and immortality-two great gifts. However, these gifts were not always convenient: our place of residence changed so often that there seemed to be no city in Europe in which we did not leave our mark. We moved to Prague from London ten years ago. But the years became dust so soon and imperceptibly that it seemed to me as if the farewell to gloomy London had been accomplished yesterday. I cannot say that the blood of the Prague people is different from that of the Londoners. Just a little bit, I think. People's blood is always the same. All people are the same.

Our family, the Morgans, are one of the largest and most respected in both the vampire and human worlds. My father held the proud title of "Sir": he was once a knight of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the First of England. My mother is from the Bohemian Bogali family. And I'm half-English, half-Czech with the stupid name of Cedric. I've already mentioned my older brother Markus.

Our life is full of fun: we have the night all to ourselves. Speed, strength, freedom – it's all glorious and wonderful. Until sunrise. As soon as the daylight begins its rising, we hurry to hide in our dwellings. Contrary to human fictions, the sun does not kill us or burn our skin. The reason for our dislike of the sun is different: if it touched us with its rays, people would see the decrepit, dilapidated remains we hide under the beautiful disguise created by the ideal of human beauty. We pretended to be human. That is why the sun was our enemy: as soon as we were seen in our true faces, real people would run away, and we would not need panic in the human world. Our secrecy and denial of our own existence is the main aspect of our life: we are predators, humans are our prey.

– I have something to tell you," my brother whispered to me. – It's personal.

– I'm intrigued," I replied briefly.

Markus didn't often come to me with "personal" business. And curiosity got the better of me. Knowing my brother, I had a feeling this was going to be an important and very interesting conversation.

As soon as the bright orange disc of the sun set in a thick, long sea of clouds, Markus and I left the castle and made our way to a remote low boulder.

My brother's mysterious and distracted look intrigued me. I knew from Markus's eyes, always laughing but now calm and even nervous, that our conversation would be serious. I wondered what my eyes were like at that moment. In my heart I was speculating what the conversation would be about, if it required such secrecy.

We stopped at the edge of the cliff, and I looked expectantly at my brother, thinking Markus would start his story immediately, but he seemed oblivious to the fact that he'd summoned me to a secret conversation and was silently watching the horizon.

– So, what are we talking about? – I asked in a bored tone, sensing that if I didn't speak first, Markus wouldn't say a word.

– I think I already know what you're going to say," my brother said, glancing at me. He had a satisfied smile on his lips.

– Markus, don't drag this out. I have plans for tonight. – Markus's phrase didn't make sense to me.

– I never thought I'd live to see this day. I'm in love," Markus said in a calm tone. And then he added. – Just recently.

I chuckled derisively. I'd thought it was going to be something serious.

– You took me away from my business for something like that? – I said grudgingly.

– Nonsense? – He frowned.

– Exactly.

– You're crazy! – Markus sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

– If you think I share your views on such a subject, I'm afraid you're fatally mistaken," I said.

I had reason to be annoyed: the talk of love and my mother's hints that I should be related to one of the vampire families were driving me from my indifferent existence. All this talk was a joke to me, a ridiculous play directed by an inept director.

– You're ridiculous," Markus said sharply. – Have you ever loved anyone but yourself?

– The very word didn't fit my life. Love. Being a slave to a woman was not my thing. – And why did I feel like the hero of a bad melodrama at that moment?

– When I saw her, something in my heart exploded. – Markus turned away from me, apparently offended by my words.

– In that case, I pity your heart.

– I saw that beautiful vampire and realised that from now on my heart was beating only for her. Everything happened swiftly and imperceptibly. – It was as if Markus was drowning in his own thoughts and didn't hear me.

I was getting more and more annoyed: Markus was well aware of how much I hated this kind of talk. You're in love and to hell with you! What was the point of notifying me?

– Love is just a metaphor people invented to explain attraction to each other. Don't tell me I'm going to fall into that trap someday," I said ironically, anticipating a moral judgement.

– How childish you are! – grinned my brother.

I was tempted to throw him something caustic, but when I looked into his dreamy, yet serious eyes, I realised that Markus had opened his soul to me, and that I was mocking him. And I was deeply ashamed.

– I'm sorry. I went too far," I said conciliatingly. I was ashamed of my behaviour. Only now did I realise how deep my brother's feelings for his lover were.

– Don't apologise for your stupidity," he mumbled. – My trifling life changes seem enormous to me alone. You have never loved and cannot understand me!

– I don't think I ever will. – I spoke the truth, for I really thought love and all that goes with it was downright stupidity. – I don't want love.

– Do you think she'll ask your permission?

– I'm already in love," I grinned, trying hard to keep myself from sounding annoyed.

– What news! And with whom? – Markus asked mockingly

– The moon and the sunset.

My brother looked at me like I was crazy. Then suddenly he laughed out loud. I watched his tantrum with an impenetrable face and waited patiently for it to subside. Finally, Markus pulled himself together and gave me a mocking look.

– You're comparing loving a girl to loving a sunset? With your notions of love, you can only entertain children and write books for losers to justify their failure with the opposite sex!

Markus was always a joker, and his irony never missed the punch line.

I chuckled unwillingly.

– Who knows, maybe in the future this book will be a success among mortals! – I said with a laugh. – But now make it clear: who is the lucky girl?

– Do you remember Mroczek family? – my brother asked me instead of answering. – The Polish clan?

At the mention of the object of his affection, Markus's eyes warmed.

With a slight smile on my lips, I nodded.

"One of the Mroczek girls, then?" – I thought.

– Mariszka. – Markus exhaled the name with such favour that I could barely keep from laughing derisively. It was entertaining to watch him – had love really changed him that much?

"Mariszka. Ah, yes. The thin beauty with hair the colour of ripe wheat," I remembered and smiled.

– Well, congratulations to you: she's really good," I congratulated my brother, deciding that Mariska Mroczek was indeed perfect for a serious vampire like him.

– She's gorgeous," he corrected me.

– You know better," I smiled.

Despite my fair prejudice against love, I was happy for my brother. He'd believed in love, and he'd looked for it, and waited for it, just like people do. And at last he had found what he longed for.

I neither sought nor believed. The words "love", "seek", and "wait" seemed disgusting to me. Only humans can be so naive.

– I hope… No, I'm sure you'll find your life partner soon," Markus said with a smirk.

– Don't start a comedy," I grinned wryly.

– You know what, I'm willing to bet," my brother said insistently, holding out his hand to me. – I'll put the blood cup on the line.

I grinned, but shook his hand firmly.

– You'll lose," I warned him

– We'll see. – Markus glanced at his watch and smiled. – I've got to go!

– To her? – I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

– I had invited Mariszka to the cinema.

"To the cinema? Like children!" – I thought, but kept my thoughts to myself.

– Good luck. Fly," I said instead.

– Good luck to you, too. And whatever you say, your approval means a lot to me. – He gave me a friendly clap on the shoulder and flew away. And I was left standing by the cliff, watching the beautiful evening sky and reflecting on the drudgery of my life.

Everything I was once passionate about had long ago ceased to interest me: hunting, entertainment, music, books, philosophy, studies, history, science… Now I was living simply because my life was stretching. To put it more precisely, I was living my life without any meaning, and at times I thought that eventually I would dawdle from boredom and tedium with the current. The university and the system of institutions of higher learning that I had once idolised had become intolerable to me. These institutions had become to me a concentration of stupidity, and it was funny to watch professors trying to pass on knowledge to a younger generation whose goal in life would be to pass that knowledge on to the next generation of fools. An endless chain. And, although I, without boasting, had a profound knowledge of all the known sciences of the modern world (for the sake of interest I had finished all the known universities of the globe, and now, sitting in lectures, was exhausted from boredom), to discover something new became for me a duty, ceased to be a pleasure for the soul and mind.