Hammered

Every house will have one eventually, you will see. «
    He offered me a chair and took the one opposite. A handsome young woman brought me a tankard of ale. I thanked her, and my host waited for me to sample it and offer my compliments.
    » Before I answer the question, I hope you will not think me rude for asking—what do you do for a living? «
    I thought he already knew the answer, but I gave it anyway. » I am a guard at the dockside. «
    » I am in need of guards here. You have probably noticed that I have significant assets that need protection. Would you consider working for me? I would pay more and you could live here in the bargain, free of charge. «
    » I will consider it. «
    » Why does it require thought? It is clearly a better offer. «
    » I still do not know who or what you are. You tend not to answer the most basic questions. You always change the subject. «
    The pale man in purple silk smiled. » I believe I like you, Mr. Helgarson. You are no fool. But verbal dexterity is a skill you should cultivate. «
    » You are doing it again. «
    His smile grew wider. » Yes. But we were speaking of prices. The knowledge I have gathered regarding these creatures was bought at a very steep price. Like my name, I do not give it away for free. «
    » What do you require? «
    » Your loyalty. Work for me—under the terms I described, at a higher rate of pay and living here—and never repeat what I share with you. «
    » Done. «
    » Will you swear in blood? «
    It seemed an odd question, especially in relation to the nature of my quest, but I could see no benefit to refusing. » Yes, « I said.
    Before I had time to take another breath, he was latched onto my neck and draining me. I tried to push him off, but his grip was iron, and I could no more move him than I could move the stars. I punched him in the kidney and it was like punching a pillar of stone. However, my continued struggles must have finally irritated him, for he struck me sharply in the gut and deprived me of breath.
    He withdrew and returned to his chair as my vision began to darken at the edges. I tried to rise from my chair and run but discovered I was too weak. » Now you know what I am, « he said, his fangs clearly visible where none had been before. » I am the thing you would become. Learn to read and write several languages first, and prove your loyalty and discretion. When you are ready, pledge your service to me for three hundred years, starting from when you first rise from the grave, and I will grant you life after death. I will also answer your questions and tell you my name. Then, only then, may you pursue your personal vendetta. Does this sound acceptable to you? «
    » Define several, « I managed.
    He laughed, my blood thickening in his throat. It sounded like caramel. » You still have the strength to spar with me? You are unusually robust. « He sat and faced me, an amused and bloody half grin on his face. » Let us say three. « He ticked off the names on his fingers. » Greek. Latin. German. And as for this Bohemian tongue, you already speak it and that is good enough. I will not have you write anything in it. «
    » And if I refuse? «
    » You will never leave here alive. Your survival depends on literacy, as I mentioned before. If you agree but then attempt to betray me, as others have done, you will die. I demand complete loyalty. «
    » These other people here—they all wish to be like you? «
    » Every one. «
    » Will you … turn them all? «
    » An excellent question. The answer is no. Some will betray me. Some will get killed in the normal course of living in Bohemia. And some will never live up to their potential. «
    » So if I do not learn Greek, Latin, and German, you will kill me? «
    » You are quick, « he said. » Come, you are still losing blood and soon you will be too weak to recover. «
    » I agree to these terms. «
    As before, he moved too quickly for me to follow—especially with my vision fading. I felt his cold hand on my neck and then nothing; I woke up later on a mattress stuffed with feathers, weak but alive. That was in the last month of 1006. In 1010 he told me his name was Zdenik and turned me into a vampire. He told me all the secrets of our kind, of course, though I may share none of them with you.
    I served him for three hundred years. I killed for him—not mere humans but sometimes witches or ghouls and the odd lone werewolf. I helped him defend his territory from other vampires and