Work Text:
“I would like to see you grow up.”
Я хотел бы увидеть, как ты взрослеешь
VetkaVishny
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Chapter 1: Until the End
What is growing up and an adult view of the world? When does our maturation begin, is there a strictly fixed period? What must a person experience in order to grow up? Do we ourselves choose the moment when we grow up? I asked myself these questions when I turned sixteen. And believe me, at that age there were plenty of reasons for that.
Time flew and slowed down, as if struck by schizophrenia. I went along with the changes, trying to understand them, and sometimes even stop them (as if that were possible). In contrast to Rudolf, my rapidly running years seemed like a hysteria of nature. His days were his sleep. Then I thought that I knew the answers to all my questions. Then I was sure that I understood more. Then for the first time I became so scared of not understanding anything.
***
“Tony, don't fall asleep, we didn't fly here half the night for that!” The vampire lifted his nose in his aristocratic manner, not forgetting to poke Thompson in the side.
“Forgive me, forgive me. This is too much of a test for me.” The boy honestly tried to hold back a yawn, hiding it in his fist, but received only a contemptuous look in response. “Really, Rud. Too much.”
“Excuses! You are becoming so sad that even a dead mouse would show more interest in comparison with you.” Rudolf curled his lips in displeasure. Barbs and more barbs. Nothing can stir up a little man with greater effect.
“What turns of phrase. But it seems to me that this is not why we got here half the night before.” Tony, demonstrating with his whole appearance that the little vampire's remark did not hurt him at all, went down the ravine to a small cave. “Show me what you found there.”
The vampire, in turn, did not even try to hide that he was pleased with the successful incitement. Without bothering himself with unnecessary explanations, he deftly slipped between the roots and stones, leaving Tony no choice but to follow him. It was creepy and disgusting to go down. In the darkness of the cave, Tony could not see almost anything.
His hands and feet slid on the clay, and Tony was not even sure whether he was grabbing roots or snakes in a panic. He thought to himself, Or maybe underground killer plants? The devil knows, with this vampire. One cannot help but admit that his tastes are very perverted by the understanding of an ordinary person.
And so, the last stone turned out to be a traitor. When it slipped out from under his hands, Tony was already preparing to enjoy the dying film of his life. But fortunately, he immediately landed on fluffy moss. Ahead, he made out the outlines of a small tunnel, from the other end of which a dim light oozed. He had to crawl. Having overcome his last obstacle, completely covered in damp earth and moss and barely dragging his sleeping bags through the awkward passage, Tony finally made it to a spacious hall.
In its very center, a shimmering lake lit up through a wide opening in the rockface. Thompson took a deep breath and fell hopelessly onto his things.
“Explain to me why we couldn't fly in from there?” He directed a suffering look at his friend and nodded slightly, demonstratively tired, pointing upward.
“From there? That would be too easy, Tony! Where is your passion for adventure?” Rudolf's ringing and slightly creaky laughter spread across the walls. Tony even thought that the surface of the lake moved slightly. He threw his head back, closing his eyes.
“In the same damn place where my clean clothes are.”
“Devils don't need clothes. And this is definitely the coolest place around here!”
Tony was amused by the way Rudolph savored the word "cool", as if the word had remained foreign to him after three years.
Rudolph continued, “Come here, to the water!”
“Look Around... You have a broad outlook, Rudy.” Thompson stood up, brushing the bangs that had stuck to his forehead. He winced, stepping over the cobblestones. In the bright light of the moon, a clear shadow fell from them, creating its own special natural geometry.
It seemed as if each of the stones was lying here for a reason, and the sharp angles and smoothed edges created a certain rhythm. The water surface, in contrast, was calm, like glass, tearing the nearby walls out of the darkness with soft highlights. Tony froze at the very edge of the lake, trying to breathe slowly in time with the quiet cave wind.
“Well, say it, say it!” An obsessive whisper sounded in his ear.
“This is an incredibly cool place…” Thompson gave in to the persuasion.
“Oh yeah! I told you so!” Again the vampire laughed, echoing loudly off the walls. “This cave will be our new headquarters.”
Tony glanced sideways at his friend in surprise. “What didn't you like about the old one?”
“Well, first of all, this place is much more flyable…”
“More flyable?”
“And secondly, the girls found out about the old one. As for me, that's a pretty weighty argument.” Rudolf supported his words with an importantly raised chin.
“I don't see anything wrong with that.”
“You surprise me, friend. These are girls. They have completely different games. And interests. And, in the end, they show up just to practice their "girl magic". You know, it's not fun.”
Tony rolled his eyes, then smirked at Sackville-Bagg. “You're three hundred years old, Rudy. You could be more lenient with them. And don't be jealous.”
“I'm already three hundred and thirteen years old.” Rudolph retorted, as usual ignoring topics that he didn't care to continue.
“Oh, that changes things considerably. I sympathize!”
“It's you I sympathize with, human! You're getting old and boring. How can you not immediately see the full potential of this scaly…”
“Scaly. Stop repeating words you don't understand.”
“No! And I insist that our new camp be here.”
Tony sighed patiently, staring at the bright reflections of the water. The lake was innocently clear and transparent, lifted by a light mist, like a thin nightgown. It seemed as if the scattering of multi-colored pebbles under the phlegmatic surface were easy to reach. While his friend, with enviable persuasive skills, laid out plans for transforming the cave into a whole base for the ‘lost boys’. Tony just thought about bringing Marie here, the most beautiful girl in the class. He would bring her through the roof of the cave, he would heroically lower the ladder down for her- no, lowering her down in his arms, no matter how he had to do it. He would show her the dancing stones and the sleeping water. She would be so amazed that she would certainly allow him to kiss her. Then touch and…
“Major Tom, ground control to Major Tom! Did you hear at least one thing that I’ve said?” Rudolph waves his hand in front of his face. “I tried to explain it to you, mortal. You yourself would never have come up with such a thing.”
“You took my player again,” Tony stated, mimicking the vampire's mannerisms and ignoring the caustic remarks. It seems someone was impressed by a David Bowie song.
“You lent it to me.” Rudolph pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest, sitting down on the cobblestone next to his friend. He chose the largest one, standing on which he was the same height as a human. Tony had not noticed before how he managed to grow.
“One year ago. Or does it work the same way as inviting a vampire into the house?”
“Why invite us somewhere?” He didn’t understand.
“Just warn me next time. I looked for him everywhere.” Thompson mentally communicated that this was the last joke on the topic of vampire stereotypes.
“Are you aware, Tony, that your thoughts are completely chaotic? Is this a feature of all people or you specifically?”
“Don't start ... So, Mister Immortality~ Are you ready to spend so much time every time just to get to ‘our headquarters’? Besides, it's only for a day anyway, because we won't be back until the morning. And if girls bother you so much, haven't you thought that sooner or later they'll wonder where we disappeared for a whole day? Where will we organize a new place if they find this one, Alaska?”
Rudolf clicked his tongue in irritation. Age is clearly not good for people, he thought. It irritated him beyond words when Tony switched on the "mature guy" mode that he had shown this summer. He had heard from friends that the time from sixteen to twenty, or even later, is not the most conscious period of life, and he honestly tried not to blame his friend for what was happening. And he had also heard that in no case should you try to reason with a teenager at such moments, reminding him that being boring does not make him an adult.
Taking advantage of the fact that Tony was completely and utterly engulfed in a half angry tirade, he flew up to him from behind, as only vampires could do; with the sound of midnight silence. Sinewy, but not devoid of aristocratic elegance, cold childish fingers lay on Tony's tense shoulders. A moment later with a light, calculated push sent the young man into a short flight. Tony did not immediately realize what was happening when he slid down the stones and into the shiny surface of the glass lake.
“Rud!.. Damn you! Ah-” Emerging from under the water and at first gasping more from surprise than anything. Tony let the water flow through his fingers in amazement. “Oh! It’s so warm!”
“You won't believe it, but now you are speaking more articulately and clearly than usual.” The vampire sat down opposite his friend, noting with some pleasure the gleam of interest and curiosity on his face. After all, Tony was still Tony. Rudolph liked it and that maybe growing up wasn’t so scary after all.
Tony laughed. “Screw you! Come on, vampire, come here and check it out yourself!”
Tony pulled himself up, raising himself on the rock and trying to grab Rudolph. A scuffle ensued. They fought and kicked, laughing loudly, until they had bruised each other and were both soaking wet, finally disturbing the hitherto untroubled transparency of the lake. They had to build an improvised clothes dryer out of branches and stones and make a fire to dry themselves. Tony's persistence was enough to persuade the vampire to take a blanket on the trip.
“I wonder how it happened that the water was so warm? Did it warm up during the day? Yeah, not to that extent…” Tony thoughtfully pointed his finger at the fresh bruise on his friend's face, which was disappearing before his eyes. “Underground springs don't work like that either? We learned about this in geology... I don't remember anything. Do you know anything about such lakes, Rudy?”
The vampire didn't answer and silence fell between the boys. The kind that comes after a sleepless night just before dawn. Sitting in the far and damp corner of the cave, where sunlight hasn't penetrated all day, trying to warm up the icy stones and shivering, the friends pressed their backs closer to each other and wrapped themselves tighter in the blanket. Rudolf listened to Tony's sleepy snoring and exhaled as only vampires can - quieter than a field mouse. A strange feeling came over him - sticky and viscous, extremely unpleasantly aching throughout his body. This summer next to Tony was completely different. And in such a short time, everything was changing too quickly for the vampire. He couldn't keep up with his friend.
“Tony, you need to get out from under the blanket.” Rudolf hissed, pushing Thompson, causing him to awkwardly fall on his side.
“You're right…” Tony responded sleepily, unfolding his things with disobedient hands and climbing into the sleeping bag, tangling in it and cursing barely audibly. “See you tonight, Mr. Immortality.”
“Good night, human.” The vampire answered, hiding under the zipper with his head.
***
Hugging his knees, Rudolph sat on Thompson's bed, staring at him with displeasure. Tony sighed deeply, covering the book, “What?”
“You woke me up,” the vampire hissed, continuing to drill a hole in his friend without blinking. Thompson couldn't help but admit that such a look made him feel uneasy.
Tony tried to justify himself. “The days are long in the summer, you know. I can't sleep from dawn to dusk even if I wanted to.” He stretched out his hand, covering the crack in the curtains, which he had previously left specifically so that at least a little light would fall on the pages of the book.
“You woke me up…” He sounded even more threatening.
“This is all I can do for you.” Tony smiled sarcastically, although the hair on the back of his head instinctively stood on end from just one look at the little vampire.
“You allow yourself too much, mortal.” Rudolph rose into the air, in the blink of an eye covering the distance between the bed and the desk.
“Really?” Tony grinned, although it must be admitted, it came out a little nervously. He was not afraid of his friend, but what to do with that special threatening vampire aura, it was so difficult to resist. To be completely fair, Tony was not to blame for Rudolph's awakening. On the contrary, he did everything possible to move around the room less and chose a place near the table from where the light from a crack in the curtains would not fall on the closet with the vampire. But Rudolph had been sleeping too lightly lately, if he slept at all. And with the control of his own emotions, there were added problems.
Rudolph huffed at him, “I'm angry as hell. I mean, damn. Absolutely damn angry,” right next to his nose, accompanied by a dangerous grinding of teeth.
“Got it, got it. Sorry.” Tony blocked his friend's face with his hand and leaned back in his chair, moving away. “Just don't click your teeth near my face, it's creepy.”
“This is the least punishment you deserve.” The vampire jerked back nervously and fell back onto the bed. Perhaps too nervously, Tony thought, but attributed it to his friend's inherent theatricality.
“What if so?” Tony rummaged through his bag and pulled out an old volume of one of his favorite fantasy books, which he read to pieces as a child. The vampire pursed his lips and tried to look as disinterested as possible.
“You won't bribe my forgiveness with children's books.” Rudolph commented with feigned arrogance.
“What a pity. I thought you liked this story and I brought the sequel especially for you. You'll have to take me back." Tony sighed loudly, looking sideways at his friend.
"And you won't achieve much by talking to me like a child either." A muffled voice came from the bed.
"And that's the whole point?"
"No, that's not it."
"Okay then. You can be mad at me until the end of time, you'll have time for that. But I don't think I have. So I'm going downstairs to sort out that board game. I hope the girls will be more accommodating.
Thompson slowly got up and headed for the door, listening to Sackville-Bagg's reaction. Although he had been counting on trying to hear the vampire, his provocation had succeeded, although not in the way he had hoped, good-naturedly egging his friend on. In the little vampire's head, a hollow echo echoed in different sequences.
The responses were ‘no time’ and ‘accommodating girls.’ Rudolph jumped up sharply and whistled past Thompson to the door.
“Let's race!” Was all Tony heard, although the exclamation sounded more like the rustling of a web, so muffled was it by the vampire's speed.
“Not fair!” Tony shouted loudly before rushing after him.
From early evening until late at night, the boys were captivated by the game. It turned out to be so voluminous, full of tactics, strategies and plot branches, that by the last round the boys were left alone, one against the other. It is worth giving credit to Anna and her friend from among the immortals - they held out for a long time and even showed interest. But in the end they gave in and turned all their obsessive girlish attention to Tony. And only the Creator himself knows what would have happened to the unfortunate man if Rudolf had not driven away his sister and her entourage.
The little vampire was cringing from the very beginning of the game, not missing an opportunity to make a mean joke and could not decide which of the three opponents irritated him the most. It irritated Rude, but he didn’t know why. He couldn’t concentrate, he was constantly distracted by something, he lost and got angry. And he got angry again, realizing that the absence of his sister did not contribute to his attempt to calm his irritation.
Tony tried to calm his friend and carefully moved the playing field away from him. “I think you've had enough for today…”
“I'll decide for myself when I've had enough, human.” Rudolf snapped.
“Not this time. Let's go outside and cool off.” Getting up from the table, Tony hooked the sleeve of Rudy's leather jacket, pulled it easily towards himself and immediately let go, nodding his head towards the open window.
Flying was something special that they shared. After all, every pair of friends should have something of their own that distinguishes them from each other. For Rudolph and Tony - the height, the embrace of the night wind, the tops of trees that you can touch, the smooth surface of the lake that you can disturb in flight with the touch of your palm. All this belonged only to the two of them, while they were holding hands. That's why friends never took anyone else on their travels and that's why flying was a universal way to reconcile in an argument or solve problems. Today, for the first time since the little vampire met Thompson, that exceptional thing they had did not bring peace with it.
The friends sat down on the roof of one of the highest towers of the castle. The immortal shrank again, he couldn't help but compare everything that happened between him and the human. And he couldn't help but remember. In three years with Thompson, Rudolph's life had turned into as many dramatic turns as he would have enough for the next three hundred years. He couldn't understand if their friendship had the effect of destruction or the effect of knowledge? But each time he pulled himself away from this thought. He remembered the Tony he had met for the first time. The one who had been the same age as the vampire, thirteen years old, and a little shorter. The strange and impressionable one.
Thompson, who had made him believe in true friendship and who had destroyed the eternal border between immortals and humans. Rudolph glanced furtively at his friend, who was sitting next to him. The same human warmth emanated from him and the rhythm of his heart remained the same. Yes, Rudolph had calculated it. Calculated and learned it in the first days when they remained in the same room after dawn. He listened before falling asleep to believe in who was next to him. And remembered. When his friend left for home, the little vampire secretly tapped out the melody of a human heart in the silence. It became a lullaby for Rudolph and no one knew its words better than him. Rudolph was clearly not ready to let Thompson go and come to terms with the changes that hung over his friends.
Tony cocked his head as he asked, “What's been happening to you lately?”
The vampire didn’t turn around at Tony's question, but he felt his worried gaze on the back of his head. He was wondering that too. What was wrong with him? Who should ask whom? Although, unlike Rudolph, everything was clear with Tony, he was growing, and it seemed he was proud of it.
Rudolph answered quickly, “I'm fine.” Though the sound came out rougher than the little vampire had intended, he was again, barely holding back his irritation. At himself for being weak towards the human, at Tony because he was different, at the rough roof and the fact that the nights in summer were bitten off like a slice of cheese on a poor man's plate. None of the reasons for these events were truly understandable to the immortal.
They fell silent. Tony always knew when it was time to be silent, Rudolf thought with regret for some reason. And suddenly his head went empty as suddenly as it had been filled with buzzing and confused thoughts. The vampire fell doomed onto the tiles cracking with old age. How long had he been absorbed in the darkness of his own eyelids? Twenty minutes? An hour? A human palm covered his eyes, barely touching them. He did not hear Tony's movements, as he had always been careless with him. As always with him.
"It will be dawn soon, friend." The little vampire heard. How dare he, this human. How dare he change and not change at the same time. How dare he so rudely leave him, the immortal, behind every time, even if he does not move from his place. Rudolph, it seems, has finally become confused about human nature.
“We need to go back.” said Tony, not looking at his friend, staring somewhere beyond the horizon.
“Yeah…” drawled the little vampire.
As if on command, they got up from the roof, Rudolph took Tony by the hand, lifted him into the air, and headed to the window of their room. As always. Only this time everything was different.
***
In three years, the friends have studied the castle quite well. Only one wing remained unexplored, a lot of attention was paid to this place, but it was so creepy and dark that the vampire and the human did not dare to set foot there. The northwest wing was the smallest, most unremarkable and coldest, the only part of the castle that was uninhabited by Rudolph's relatives. This was explained by the fact that ancient magic hovered there, and that no one should disturb it.
Rudolph and Tony were unable to find out from anyone what this ‘ancient magic’ was. Therefore, they unanimously agreed that the vampire relatives were partial to forbidden places and could not do without creating one in the new house. The friends continued to investigate the secrets of the mysterious wing. At a distance, until one beautiful summer night.
The little vampire grinned and raised an eyebrow theatrically inquiringly, “Hasn't your courage increased with age and growth?”
“Does the word ‘cannot’ mean anything to you?” Tony exhaled and looked at his friend hanging upside down in front of him. His patience was rapidly running out, since Rudolf had been trying to persuade him to take part in a dubious adventure for several minutes already.
“Definitely about how boring you are.”
“Stop it, we are not going there…” Tony held on with all his might, constantly repeating to himself that he would not give in to Rudolph's stupid provocation.
"Hey, Rudy, I'm already sixteen, I can be friends with girls, but my knees still shake just from the mention of the Evil Wing!" the little vampire drawled in the most disgusting voice possible, wrapping himself in a blanket with his head and feigning fear on his face.
“Enough! Get ready, let's go there right now!” He almost growled, jumping up from his seat and heading to the closet for a sweatshirt and a flashlight. His self-control was noticeably cracking at the seams.
“You gave in! You gave in!” Rustled behind him, like a lonely leaf being handed down from a branch.
Tony turned around incredulously, not being sure what he had heard. But, noticing a triumphant smile on the lips of the little vampire, he realized that he had not imagined it.
A few minutes later, they were standing in the middle of a wide corridor leading to their goal. Tony was hesitant, shifting from foot to foot, while the vampire hung motionless in the air a little further away, letting Tony pass half a step ahead. They had enough enthusiasm to sneak in here unnoticed. It was even fun, Thompson admitted to himself. But exactly halfway down the corridor, the determination of the comrades disappeared somewhere.
“Well?” Rudolf tried to make his voice tough and confident, but realized that in the face of oppressive dark mystery it did not work.
“Try not to shake the flashlight with such enthusiasm when we go in there.” Thompson tried to be sarcastic, but came to the same conclusion as his friend.
“I'm not shaking the flashlight…”
“Are you saying that your hands are shaking like that?”
“No! Shut up, human! Come on, step forward!” Rudolph pressed the flashlight against Tony's shoulder, nudging him.
How strange, Thompson thought in passing. For several days after their unsuccessful game and the last flight, it seemed to the human that the vampire was avoiding touching him in every possible way. Why? But then Tony stumbled, as if crashing into an invisible wall, and all his attention again cautiously focused on the space ahead, endless because of the darkness.
“Don't forget to shine.” Tony responded quietly and walked forward, huddled, violating the border of the Evil Wing for the first time in three years. Every movement of him in such a piercing silence was akin to a roll of thunder, and the vampire's flight was noticeably whistling in his ears. The boys almost touched shoulders, unconsciously moving closer to each other under the weight of sticky fear, and Tony felt how the vampire shuddered, turning around to look at the walls.
Probably, they were decorated with one of those gloomy paintings that, according to the classic genre, are obliged to hang in dark mysterious corridors. But the assumption remained an assumption, because the beam of the flashlight was directed strictly forward, and Tony decided to save his curiosity for a more suitable occasion. Trying to distract himself from obsessive creepy thoughts, Tony began to count the seconds until the end of the corridor, but they stretched and stuck to his teeth, like marmalade, if it also had the taste of something between dust and damp earth. By the time the friends reached the tall double doors, Thompson had somehow managed to count everything.
o-to forty-three. The vampire slowly illuminated each door from top to bottom.
“Nothing unusual, no goat heads, strange symbols, or scary warning inscriptions. The same doors as in other parts of the castle.” Tony analyzed.
“Goat heads- What?” Rudolf glanced suspiciously at his friend.
“Well, the symbol of the devil, Satan and so on... Don't look at me like you're seeing it for the first time!”
Rudolf would have laughed louder if it had been possible in this atmosphere. “Do you people seriously imagine devils with goat heads? It was one of the stupidest jokes of that century, and you just went and believed it?”
“It's just...Traditional? A stereotype I guess? Stop laughing, otherwise you'll be the first to fly now!”
“Goat heads! How gullible you are!”
“Look, you're only three hundred years old to talk about this with such enthusiasm. It was before you... Appeared.” Tony frowned resentfully.
Rudolph giggled, “Do you think I've never seen devils?”
“Have you?” He raised his eyebrows incredulously.
“Oh, yes. It happened before I got fangs. We lived in an old crypt near the temple in a small village. We had to move there because of some... Circumstances.” Rudolf winced. “And then they got possessed, as often happened in those remote places. Magic is closer to religion for villagers. Although this occupation is not at all for their class, it requires training. But that's how it happened and from that every second village acquired its curses."
The vampire hesitated for a second, noticing his friend's interested look, but did not show it, holding back a smile. “Fortunately, our villagers were not the last savages and instead of dragging the poor man straight to the fire, they collected gold coins for a priest who was knowledgeable in exorcism rites. - Rudolf continued to tell his story. - Gregory found out about it and, of course, he wanted to see. And, of course, Anna and I did too. We snuck into the church closer to dawn and hid under a dark canopy, under the roof... - here the vampire fell silent, staring into the darkness and biting his lip. Tony waited for a minute for him to continue, but his friend seemed dumbfounded.
“What happened next?” Tony asked cautiously in a half-whisper, but Rudolf did not answer. Then Tony gently shook the little vampire by the shoulder and received such a confused and frightened look that he himself involuntarily got goosebumps and swallowed nervously.
“We saw him, of course,” said again a whisper typical of vampires, similar to the light creaking of the wind outside the window. “And believe me, drawing goat heads on devils is like giving a lion a puppy's head.”
The friends fell silent, awkwardly staring at each other, and then fearfully turned to the door.
“Shall we go to the end?” Tony finally decided to ask.
“To the end,” the vampire confirmed, not too confidently.
“Let's go together,” Tony suggested, and Rudolf nodded in agreement. The boys leaned on the doors and pushed them forward. They gave in with a plaintive creak, and a library appeared before the friends. An old, dusty, but very ordinary library. It even looked more like an office, considering that the castle already had one and much more. Releasing the tension, the vampire and the human simultaneously, even with some disappointment. Rudolf handed the flashlight to Tony and the guys split up into the hall to explore.
The vampire suddenly broke the silence, looking critically around the collection of books in the office. “You know, my sister, my brother, and I never talked about that story. And we didn't tell anyone about it.”
“Is that so? So I'm special?” Tony smiled, trying to make out the title of some tattered volume in German.
“Yes. Special.” Sounded in response to him, like the flapping of a moth's wing, and Tony again was not sure that he heard everything correctly. He promised himself that he would definitely ask his friend about how vampires managed to become so quiet from time to time, and sometimes completely silent. But later. Now his thoughts again returned to the events of the past days. Tony could no longer attribute his friend's often strange actions to anything. The vampire was nervous, and very nervous. He was under such tension that Tony could feel it with the tips of his hair. Jokes and barbs behind them could not hide it. But no matter how much Thompson asked, his friend evaded the answer. You can't help someone if they don't want to talk.
Tony was quietly angry, because he felt terribly stupid. Maybe Rudolph had always been like this, and he only noticed it when he grew up. Grew up... Rudolph is a child, Tony suddenly thought. How is that possible, he's three hundred years old, the fact flashed before him. Three hundred years old, thirteen, Thompson corrected himself again. Tony froze, staring at the meaningless text in his hands. If Tony was now in charge, did that mean that he had to find out what was bothering his friend? Could a thirteen-year-old boy himself cope with the anxiety that is already becoming tangible to those around him? And what should Tony do with the fact that he is getting older every year and it is becoming more and more difficult for him and Rudolf to understand each other. For some reason, Tony's hands trembled from the realization of such natural things.
“Interesting?” The vampire asked by Tony’s ear, which made him scream and drop the book, barely holding on to the flashlight. The vampire, not expecting such a reaction, recoiled in fear, crashing into a bookcase. Something shrilly boomed under the floor and creaked behind the wall, echoing loudly along the empty corridor. The friends froze, staring stupidly at the opening in the wall.
“Wow!” Tony whistled in amazement.
“How original. A secret passage in a study library.” Rudolf rolled his eyes, shaking off the dust that had fallen on him from the rack.
“Pretend that you're at least a little surprised.” Tony glanced at his friend with a grin.
“I'm not even going to.”
“Let's go!”
“Lets.”
Tony approached the passage, timidly shining the flashlight in front of him. Behind the wall, he found a long staircase down with steps scratched by some mechanism. Perhaps that was what was making so much noise.Tony carefully stepped forward and stopped.
“Do you think there are any traps in here?” Tony turned to his friend.
“I have no idea.” The vampire shrugged.
“Fly forward.”
“No way.”
Gritting his teeth, Tony began to descend, and the little vampire followed him. Like the corridor, the staircase stretched on forever, but this time no one counted the seconds, succumbing to the oppressive feeling of mystery. It smelled damp and was a little stuffy, as it sometimes is in caves. And Tony couldn't stop thinking about how easily they found the lever that opened the entrance to the dungeon. Perhaps this passage was not a big secret for those who used it before. Having stepped over the last step, the friends came out to the hall, from which three tunnels led in different directions.
“And where?” Tony illuminated each one in turn, but the beam of the flashlight did not snatch even a drop of certainty from the darkness of the ancient arches. The little vampire thought about it, snapped his fingers and rushed back up the stairs.
“Wait a minute here,” was all he managed to say.
“Hey, don't leave me-” Tony wanted to shout, but didn’t dare, eventually saying the phrase almost in a whisper, turning to the ominous arches, “alone…”
Tony shuddered and pulled the neck of his sweatshirt higher. Overcoming himself, he took a step closer to the tunnels, illuminating the walls above them and examining the reliefs. Tony was far from being an expert on ancient symbols, but he was almost certain that the stones and slabs were inscribed with northern runes.
Something crunched suspiciously under his feet and Tony directed the light to the floor. Hundreds of branches carved into the granite stretched from the steps, twisting and intertwining, going further into the darkness. They sparkled so much under the light of the flashlight that it seemed as if they were pulsating like veins. Unable to calm his imagination, Tony backed away until he ran into someone. He turned sharply, snatching Rudolf out of the darkness and loudly exhaling with relief.
"I won't ask what you were doing here without me," the vampire drawled sarcastically. "Look what I have." And Rudolf proudly showed Tony an old book. In German. Of course, he didn't understand anything from the inscriptions.
“And what is it?” Tony asked without much enthusiasm.
“The most valuable book that is in the office. And it becomes even more valuable because it tells what is behind these tunnels and how to get there.” Rudolf opened his find and began to carefully turn the pages. “It was somewhere here…”
“Are we going to read it now?”
“No, we won't. It's an encrypted map. How cleverly disguised as a work on Scandinavian mythology, huh?” Rudolf smiled broadly and Tony thought that this night of adventures could turn out to be the best night of the summer. If only because his friend was so inspired.
“Are we going to decipher it?” Tony asked again.
“Wrong again. Someone has already done it for us and kindly drew a map of the labyrinth on tracing paper.” Having finally found the right page, the little vampire handed the book to his friend.
“How simple it is. A labyrinth, you say? Where does it lead?” Tony began to examine the plan, noting that it was somewhat similar to the interweaving of the branches beneath their feet.
“Let's go and find out!” Rudolf responded too cheerfully, pulling Tony along with him into one of the tunnels.
They walked forward to the vampire's sonorous stories about the ancient northern gods and how cleverly the architects had woven them into the labyrinth plan. Tony did not understand all of this, distracted by the images of battles, feasts and strange romantic scenes that decorated the underground walls. How long ago had this labyrinth been built? How did it survive? Tony was confused by how quickly the vampire found a map to such a mysterious place. Tony had no doubts about his friend's resourcefulness and ability to solve riddles. But it still looked implausible.
“How did you guess?” Tony couldn't resist asking curiously.
“About what?”
“About the map.”
“No way. I was interested in the book and took it to leaf through. And when we went down to the hall, based on the runes and three arches that were also described in that book, I assumed that they were connected. In addition, there was a tracing paper with a map included. If you compare it with the clues given in each chapter, it turns out that it was drawn based on a collection of myths. That's all.”
“So, you weren't even sure that it would work, right? And how did you read it all so quickly?”
“I was sure.” The vampire chuckled resentfully. “I didn't read it, I just skimmed the pages and the content. And I know the Scandinavian myths without it.”
“Don't you think it's too simple?” Tony frowned incredulously.
“It doesn't seem so. Someone just didn't try to hide anything.” Rudolf shrugged.
“I wonder why…”
“Maybe we'll find out when we get there.”
By the time Tony began to understand the plots of the silent scenes on the walls from Rudolf's stories, the vampire suddenly fell silent. Tony illuminated the space around them and realized that they had come to another hall. Only this time it clearly gave off magic. The same one that they had been told not to disturb more than once. Tony shone the flashlight upward and was amazed at how high the vault was above them.
“How low have we gone?” Tony asked quietly.
“Can't say for sure. But we're no longer under lock and key,” the vampire replied.
The friends again concentrated in different corners. Rudolf headed for the dusty stone shelves with old tomes. And Tony to the elevation, vaguely resembling an altar. On top, under a layer of dust, lay an amulet. Tony took it in his hand, cleaning and examining it. The decoration was a powerful tree, leisurely spreading its branches and enclosed in a circle.
“Tony, weren't you taught that it is better not to touch magical artifacts in places like this?”
“What?” Thompson was distracted, looking up at the vampire.
The vampire replied, “That trinket in your hands could be cursed.” Tony froze under his friend's piercing gaze, staring at him in fear. “Give me the camera, human. You should have seen your face! How gullible you people are!” Rudy burst into laughter, leaning on one of the stone shelves. “Leave your trinket and come here, I found something interesting.” Rudolph turned to the books.
Tony looked at him offended, but then caught fire with an idea, remaining in the same position. “I can't.”
“Why is that?”
“I can't move, Rudy, what's so hard to understand?” Tony hissed with a mixture of fear and irritation.
“It can't be-”
“Do something!” Tony interrupted.
“Like what?” The vampire perked up anxiously and flew around his friend from all sides, looking him over from head to toe with concern.
“Hold this!” Tony twisted and deftly threw the amulet right into his friend's hands. He caught it, got scared, and threw it back onto the altar. And then, realizing the situation, he glared angrily at the laughing man. Tony laughed, “You vampires are so gullible! This is where a camera would really come in handy, it's a shame you don't show up on film!” Tony almost fell off his feet, submitting to a new fit of laughter every time he tried to look at the irritated vampire.
“Very witty.” Rudy commented, rolling his eyes and returning to the books.
Tony, having caught his breath, turned to his friend. “So what did you find?”
“Here. The readings of ancient vampires. The search for immortality, various works on the topic of how to beat a painful attachment to blood, about the damned, about people... That explains why we found this dungeon so easily.” Rudolph explained, examining the old books. “Ancient vampires did not care much about the places they left behind, because they took the most valuable things with them. Everything else, due to arrogance, they either rejected completely, or were sure that no one except them would understand anything anyway. Sometimes all at once.”
“So, compared to your ancestors, you have a pretty good character, right?” Tony smiled, illuminating and examining the old frescoes that could only be preserved in a place whose peace had not been disturbed for several centuries.
“Ha, but compared to yours, I see that your intelligence has not increased.” The vampire responded offendedly.
“If the ancient vampires did not care about their old house so much that the book with the map ended up in the office upstairs, and not in the hiding place…” Tony ignored the remark, directing the light to the niche that was filled to the brim with strange devices covered in a thick layer of stone dust. “Then we are extremely lucky that all the subsequent inhabitants of the castle were so superstitious and so afraid of vampires that they did not come down here and did not plunder anything.”
“Have you seen the state of this castle? It most likely has not interested anyone since then. And who can be so bored that he would be attracted to such a wreck in the middle of nowhere?” The vampire looked meaningfully at Tony, to which he only chuckled and turned away. “Listen, take that amulet and hold it close.” Rudolph frowned, peering at the text on his hands.
“What's wrong?” Tony hooked the jewelry by the chain and wrapped it around his wrist. “Oh, I found candles. I had matches somewhere. I wonder if they'll light up?”
“It's... How can I explain it simply... It's connected with the damned.” Rudolph began, while Tony enthusiastically lit and placed small lights everywhere.
“Who are the damned?” Tony asked, interest piqued.
“Vampires who feed on other vampires,” he replied contemptuously. “They usually appear because of curses. That's why they're damned.”
“Ugh. And how will this trinket help us?”
“These are very dangerous creatures. Not every vampire would dare to face one. They are very difficult to neutralize. But, as a rule, each damned one has his own weakness. It depends on where and under what circumstances he became like this. Here in the notes it is indicated that the damned belonging to this order are very sensitive to its banner, which you just now so casually tied to your hand.” Rudy finished his explanation.
“There was a whole order of vampires here? And among them there were damned ones?” Tony stared at his friend in amazement.
Rudolph continued, “I think it is connected with their experiments on overcoming the craving for blood. You know, ancient vampires were real predators compared to us, blood was more of a weakness for them than a way to increase strength. And, it seems, they were more cruel that they were not even ashamed to curse their relatives for the sake of finding a solution. But something tells me that the experiment failed. As you can see, they left, and there was no one left here in the end.”
“The damned too?” Tony asked worriedly.
“I hope…” Rudolph whispered. “ We don't lose the amulet.”
By the time Tony finished with the candles, the hall had noticeably changed. It turned out that it was not as big as the vault above it was high. Tony exhaled and sat down on a stone next to his friend.
“Just look at this.” Rudolph continued thoughtfully, “This is a complete ritual of turning a person into a vampire.
Tony looked at his friend warily, tensing up. “Your family said that this is an extremely dangerous occupation. Being born a vampire is not the same as becoming one.”
He and his friend had only raised the topic of turning once during their acquaintance. Of course, they encountered many obstacles on the way to a solution, one of which was, directly, their parents. And from their parents, many others were revealed.
For example, the fact that people had not been turned for many centuries and the rituals they knew were largely outdated, or the huge list of side effects that Tony could face. Especially if the turn was performed before adulthood. At first, Tony was very upset. Later, he resigned himself and tried to calm his friend down. After a few years, he even began to fear that the little vampire would remember this again, and the immortal simply could not leave it in the past.
“Yes, yes, many complications can arise. If we resort to the method that my family knows. But look at this! It's even elegant in its own way.” Rudy’s scarlet eyes flashed slightly. Perhaps it was the solution to his worries regarding his friend?
“Let's drop this conversation. At least for today.” Tony looked down, turning away; the vampire shuddered, for the first time he could not drive away the thought that the human did not want to stay with him as much as Rudolph wanted him to.
“Leave it? You are so unattractive to the prospect of becoming a vampire?” Tony heard his friend slam the book. Tony bit his lip.
“No, it's just... It's complicated, Rudy.”
Why should a person justify themselves? Life is not made up of only games at night. Thompson couldn't imagine what it was like to give up everything that could be found under the sun. Perhaps only under it? Could he explain what such a choice costs someone who has been hiding in crypts, basements and dark rooms for centuries? And someone who so wants freedom? Tony thought he knew why the little vampire, who had been hidden from the world for so long, clung to him.
“What's so complicated?” A combustible mixture of irritation and resentment was heard in Rudolph’s voice. Perhaps he wanted to hold them back. But disappointment squeezed all his feelings so painfully that for the first time in centuries he began to lack air.
“That I have a life, not only at night.” Tony answered, trying to ignore his friend’s tone and answer him as calmly as possible.
“Oh, come on. Then what am I, a night adventure?”
And then Thompson regretted that he had fallen for his friend’s provocation, that he had gone to the Sinister Wing and descended into this vampire dungeon. It seemed that the tension that had been hanging over Rudolph all this time was now ready to burst into thunder.
“That- I didn’t mean-”
"What can I give you in your miserable daytime life?" the vampire hissed, jumping up from his seat. He did not understand and did not want to understand now why it was so hard for him to move, why he wanted to scream so much. Only one thought was spinning in his head, brightly highlighted in red: his friend would leave him if he did not do something. Tony would disappear from his castle if not now, then in a year or two. He could not afford to lose his only friend.
Rudolph huffed, “What? I didn’t think that you would understand.”
The vampire's tone touched Tony and he could not resist answering in kind. “Family, education, warmth, ordinary communication with ordinary people. And also, I think, a good future, which is what someone who remains human has.”
Tony had finally decided for himself that Rudolf was just a child. Selfish, he thought. The choice was thrown before him, but teenagers are reluctant to make decisions. They do not accept the very possibility of a decision if they are forced to choose directly and openly. Thompson was not the most stubborn young man. But for some reason he was sure that he understood more than the vampire. And so he silently refused to answer his friend's question about whether he would like to become immortal.
Rudolph snapped, clenching his fists, “The future... All people have one future! And for this, you are ready to forget about me one fine day?” Rudolph felt his hands trembling slightly, and the dungeon seemed to be getting hotter from the feeling of irritation that he was currently feeling towards his friend.
Tony turned to the vampire with a laugh of amazement and anger in his eyes. “What are you even talking about?” He thought it was strange for Rudy to say such a thing, that he was acting like an arrogant brat.
Rudy replied, “The truth. Do you think I don't see what is happening? Don't see how you are changing?” Rudolph did not understand why he was the only one worried about this. Why his friend, with whom they had saved his family from the hunter, was looking at him so angrily.
“It is natural for people to change, so you know, it’s not a disease.” Tony didn't understand why the little vampire couldn't accept him as he was, a human.
“Oh, what are you saying? That I am?”
Tony gritted his teeth and rose threateningly from the stone. “Rud, you're doing this on purpose. Grow up or-!”
The vampire showed his fangs warningly and ran his claws along the stone. “Or what? What are you going to do?” Rudolf hissed, his eyes flashing. “You're just a human!”
Tony couldn't cope with the anger and resentment that rose in his throat. Apparently, the same as Rudolf, because the friends swung at each other with all their might. Under the pressure of Tony's fist, the vampire's lip cracked, but the human's cheek was left with an impressive scratch from the claws. None of them even thought about dodging the blows. They took everything, not forgetting to respond twice as much to each subsequent one.
What were they fighting about, why did they stab each other so painfully? Why couldn't they explain how much friendship meant to them? Each wanted the other to understand, but were they ready to understand themselves?
The new blow made Tony's eyes go blurry, and an awkward thought flashed in his head that what he was doing now was wrong. But there was no time for it, because with the next movement Tony knocked the vampire to the floor. Hitting his head on the hard cold tile, Rudolf caught himself realizing that he hadn't wanted his words to turn out like that. Unfortunately, there was no time for that either, because he had to dodge a new siege. With the next sharp blow, the friends threw each other in opposite directions of the room.
Tony awkwardly sank down near the bookshelves, breathing heavily and holding his side; Rudolf collapsed near the altar, shaking with frustration and squinting painfully at the blossoming bruises that would be a sharp reminder of themselves for several more hours. Tony tried to wipe the blood from his cheek, but only cursed quietly, touching the inflamed edges of the scratch.
The vampire did not touch his split lip. The friends looked at each other and this one look seemed to be enough for them to rise again and take a threatening stance. But no one rose, and no one said a word. Tony was the first to look away and close his eyes. There was a ringing in his ears and his throat was dry.
He tried to clear his throat, but only choked on irritation. Rudolf stared at the floor, at the intricate symbols that meant nothing to him. His knuckles ached and the vampire could not clench his fists again. He tried several times, but he could not put the same strength into his hands. Rudolph bared his fangs and hissed quietly, like ice beginning to melt.
When the friends looked at each other again, both of their faces reflected resentment, blurred by the candlelight. A couple of drops of blood from the broken lip and wounded cheek that had flown to the floor mixed. The most powerful magical artifact is hot blood. Especially those who are somehow destined for each other. The runes on the floor sparkled with a bloody shine, and in the distance, in a dark niche, a booming noise of stones being passed was heard, which distracted the friends from each other.
“What was that?” The two of them addressed the darkness almost simultaneously.
A rumbling voice was heard. “A drop... is enough... to awaken... me…” A rotten grinding sound was heard from the darkness, only vaguely resembling a voice. The friends froze in a daze, watching. Something that looked like a person only in outline came out into the light, shaking off stone dust. It awkwardly staggered and fell on all fours, exposing sharp joints through a torn robe. “A human and a vampire.” With sightless eyes, the thing looked around the space and sniffed, turning its dried-out face with sagging skin to Rudolf. “A growing vampire... How nutritious…” The monster creaked again, awkwardly moving towards the little vampire frozen in fear.
Tony barely squeezed out of himself, fighting a new attack of fear. “Rudolph, get out of there!” But his friend did not answer, did not even move, staring dumbly at the thing crawling towards him. Thompson forced himself to get up, quietly groaning because of the stinging bruise on his side.
Grabbing the first object that came to hand, turned out to be a weighty book. He threw it with all his might at the monster, taking advantage of the moment and blocking the path to the little vampire, raising the amulet in the air, which miraculously did not fly off his hand during the fight. Something squealed shrilly and, holding on to the bruised place, rushed from the hall into the tunnels. Tony's trembling legs gave way, and he fell to the floor next to Rudolph, who continued to be in a strange daze.
Tony shook his friend with all his might. “Rudy, wake up, we have to get out of here!”
“He... Was in my head…” Rudolph responded indistinctly. “He-”
Tony’s voice was still panicked, “Get up, let's go!” He looked around. “Where's the map?”
Getting up and holding on to each other, the friends grabbed the book about the labyrinth and ran away as fast as they could. Halfway there, the little vampire, who had come to his senses, grabbed Tony by the arms and lifted him into the air. He flew so fast that Tony didn't even have time to notice how he found himself in the library again. Finding a lever among the shelves, Thompson pulled it hard and sank to the floor to the loud noise of the closing passage.
Tony almost screamed. “What was that thing?”
The little vampire hid in a corner far from the entrance to the dungeon, hugging his knees and trembling slightly. “Damn it…”
Tony crawled up to his friend, looking at him worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Feels like…like a thousand nails... all over my body at once. I couldn't move because of how much pain it was. And he... In my thoughts. Didn't read them, didn't distort them. Just filled everything with himself.” Rudolph closed his eyes, throwing his head back and shuddered. Feeling how his friend wiped the blood from his lips with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Tears welled up in the little vampire's eyes, and he quietly sobbed, shuddering violently.
“Hey, it's not shameful to be afraid, Rudy…” Tony settled down next to Rudolph, putting a comforting arm around his shoulder. He was painfully stabbed with fear when the vampire pressed himself against him, as if everything he had experienced had come together in one impulse and was transmitted to Tony. Even after three hundred years, Rudy could feel fear, after all he had seen and experienced. Tony couldn't hear if his friend was crying, vampires knew how to be quiet when they wanted to.
Rudy mumbled out, “I want to grow up... I want to become stronger. So that next time you won't protect me.” Tony heard a muffled sound, like the sound of a fine drizzle.
“Okay, Rudy. As you say.” Tony answered him. His hands were shaking with fear, and his legs were filled with lead. He vaguely remembered what he had done and how he had done it. He vaguely understood how he had ended up between the monster and Rudolf. Only how he had held the amulet in his outstretched hand, which the vampire had asked him not to lose.
He realized the desire to help, but it took so much strength. It seemed to Tony that he was able to move then only because the damned one had not shown even the slightest interest in him.
And if everything had turned out differently? What would Tony have done then? Would he have been able to do it at all? It is not shameful to be afraid, but it is shameful to admit that you are afraid, Tony thought regretfully and pursed his lips.
Tony was not sure that next time he would be able to help with anything. His fingers were still shaking, and his heart was pounding in his ears.
When the vampire calmed down, the friends walked heavily to their room. They were both overcome by wild fatigue, and the dawn was gaining strength. The friends had a lot to figure out and even more to deal with. Including each other. But not now, when each of them could barely drag their feet. It seemed that the friends had never slept so deeply, but at the same time restlessly.