The Count sneered. “It’s a bit naive to call people innocent.”
“I’m serious.”
“Do you really think the people on the home front are innocent? That they’re just poor civilians who have been swept up in a war between nations? You’re wrong. It’s humans who wage wars. Humans who plan them, humans who shape them, and humans who start them. Simply put, the fact that they weren’t able to stop war from breaking out makes people on the home front equally responsible.”
“But there are people and political parties in every country that tried to stop the war from happening. And babies and children didn’t choose any of this. All they do is suffer because of the decisions of adults.”
“What impudence. It is those same adults who raise the children and babies. Kids don’t live life removed from grown-ups and the societies they create, so by helping the children, you also inadvertently end up helping the men and women who are currently waging war. Not to mention, there’s no guarantee that those children you save will all grow up to become kind, intelligent adults.”
“That doesn’t mean they should be sacrificed… When I was working as a barber, I cut hair for a lot of families—children included. There were all types of kids: happy kids, lonely kids, shy kids. Kids who were quick to bully others, kids who were targets for bullying, kids who stood up to bullies. Gentle kids, hot-tempered kids, kids who would cry at the drop of a hat. All of them—all of them—were good kids. There are kids like that in every city in Germany. And I can’t stand the thought of those children getting so thin they look like shriveled cucumbers and dying.”
“I can’t believe you would say something so ridiculous. They’re not even your children.”
“I don’t see what’s wrong about feeling sympathy for other people. I spent years on the battlefield not allowed to feel anything as a human being.”
The Count lowered his chin and glanced furtively up at Jörg. “Turning you into a monster is easy: You just need to receive some of their blood. Any monster will do, be it a minor ghost roaming the hills and fields or an intelligent being fully integrated into human society. The blood of stronger monsters will grant you more power.”
“So your blood would be the best, then.”
“It seems you understand perfectly.”
The Count steepled his fingers in front of his chest. “Do you have the courage to drink my blood?”
“I do.”
“With this blood, you will become immortal, like me. You will never die, no matter what happens to you. Even if you grow to hate the world and decide to kill yourself. If your body is torn to pieces by an accident or an enemy attack , it will re-form and you will live again. Your life will never end.”
“I’m prepared for that. To gain power that defies the rules of this world… I didn’t assume it would come without a price.”
“One more thing will change. Once you become a monster, your connection to your corpus will disappear, and the magic I cast on it will be gone. That is to say, if your corpus gets injured, it will die like anyone else. Can you accept that?”
“What about outside of war? Say he gets into an accident—will he die?”
“Of course.”
Jörg lowered his eyes and sank into silence for a few moments. Even though they were two separate entities now, his corpus was still his body. It would die. Its protection would be lost. With the current state of the war, one bad decision could leave his corpus dead on the battlefield.
Yet all humans die. His body was no exception. That had been true ever since the day he was born. The only question was whether it happened sooner or later.
Jörg nodded. “I understand. I’m okay with that.”
“There’s one more annoying detail I must tell you about. The blood of another person is mixed into my own. If that blood enters your body, you will be overcome with such fervor that it could drive you mad. It is the radical blood of someone who would sacrifice himself body and soul for his country.”
“Whose blood is it?”
“My master’s. I live today because of that magic.”
It seemed like a complicated situation, but the Count didn’t elaborate.
Jörg repeated his earlier request. “Even so, I wish to receive your blood. Please.”
“You really are a fool.” The Count raised an eyebrow. “You don’t understand the slightest thing about the gift that is death, either as a human or as a living creature. Have you not imagined what peace it might bring?”
“I want power,” Jörg reiterated. “I hate not being able to do anything as I am now.”
“Become a monster and you must give up your faith in God. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t care about losing God?”
“I lost faith in God on the battlefield. It hasn’t returned to me since.”
The Count gripped the armrests of his chair and slowly stood up. “Then come here. I shall give you my blood.”
Carrying the wine bottle and glass in one hand, the Count returned from the balcony to his room. He set the items down on his desk, opened a drawer, and removed a knife. The Count put it to his palm and drew the knife across the skin in a single swift motion. Red droplets immediately swelled in the center of his palm, forming a trickle of liquid that fell from his hand. He squeezed some of the blood into the wineglass. Once it was so full that Jörg started to worry about the man, the Count topped it off with wine from the bottle, then commanded Jörg to drink it all. Every last drop.
Jörg lifted the cup with shaky hands. He touched it to his lips, then downed the entire glass, being careful not to spill any. He didn’t think about it. He knew that if he considered what he was doing even for a second, he would start having second thoughts.
As soon as Jörg swallowed the liquid, his insides began to burn. No longer able to stand, he placed both hands on top of the desk to support himself.
A voice called out to him from within, but he couldn’t make out the words. Something was speaking to him deep in his eardrums.
The Count walked around behind Jörg, supporting him. “You should lie down for a little while. You can use my bed.”
“I’d prefer to sleep in my own room.”
“You’ll collapse before you get there. Please, rest here.”
The Count laid Jörg on the bed and stared down at him.
His eyes narrowed, and his pupils took on a dark glow.
“Thanks to your foolishness, it seems I’ll be able to see something interesting—an experience that is all too rare in my four-hundred-plus years of life. It is sure to be quite the divertisement. ‘I’ll gladly give up my life as a human to save humans…’ That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a human say something like that. I suppose that is the morality of this new era. A flower unable to bear fruit blooming in the soil of the Great War.”
The Count pressed a finger to Jörg’s forehead. “Sleep now. You shall dream for a long time. That is my gift to you.”