On a windy, snowy, morning three days later Humphrey set out on the journey to his new commandery. Brother Conain  accompanied him. The ride to Poitiers would take a few days. Especially in this weather. The temperature was just right for the snow to fall, then melt, and turn into disgusting, wet slush on the road.

Humphrey rode Dragonfly. A destrier was not a horse for long rides in bad weather, so Frostbite walked beside him, attached to a lead line, and covered in thick blankets to stay warm. Even the quiet, laconic Conain had seemed impressed by the horse when he first saw him. His eyes sparkled when he stroked the big stallion as they saddled up for the journey. He liked animals, and this, Humphrey decided, was his only redeeming quality. The rest of Conain annoyed him thoroughly. Especially the way Conain spoke of the Night Brothers.

On the second day of their journey Conain started explaining the duties of a Night Commander. He sounded bored, detached, and mildly derisive all throughout the explanations. He also insisted on calling them ‘vampires’ rather than ‘Night Brothers’, which was a breach of protocol, as far as Humphrey knew. The official word used to refer to the vampires in the Hospitaller Order was “Night Brothers”; Humphrey liked that. It made them seem more like true brothers of the Order, not expandable weapons. Clearly Conain disagreed.

“They get fed once a week. Animal blood is sufficient, though if your knights practice bloodletting the vampire brothers can consume that too,” Gilbert explained. Humphrey cringed at the phrase “get fed”.  

“Most of their supernatural abilities are powered by blood. So, after using their powers, they will need more blood. If they are kept hungry too long, they can become frenzied and out of control.”

Humphrey nodded.

“Also, remember that should you need to stop one, the best way is to stab them through the heart with a silvered blade – this slows their healing abilities.” Gilbert continued, brushing off the snow from his hair and shoulders,  “just remember the heart must be uh pierced all the way through.”

He ignored Humphrey’s scowls and kept on explaining:

“The best way to kill them is to cut out the heart, decapitate them, or set them aflame. Um…that said, regular injuries that would kill a human, such as stomach wounds, chest wounds and so on, CAN kill them too. You just need to deliver more of such wounds.” Conain’s voice was dull and blank. As if he had delivered that same speech thousands of times. Which made Humphrey wonder. All he said in reply though was

“…Right…”  

Conain didn’t mind Humphrey’s minimalistic answers. He continued quite unperturbed.

“The Order requires them to always be under human supervision. So, never send them out on missions alone. Also, their powers vary from individual to individual. They are forbidden from using some of these powers under any circumstances, and it is your duty to make sure that they don’t. You will be provided with a list of course,” he stroked his horse’s neck. “Another thing – they are not allowed to drink blood directly from a human. Should that happen, you are allowed to execute them. Though the final decision is yours as commander.”

Humphrey kept his face politely expressionless. He wished he could roll his eyes. But that would be impolite. Suddenly he had a thought.

“I was wondering about one thing. Do the Night Brothers” he emphasized the term so that Conain would notice, “do they take communion? I mean, clearly, they are not harmed by having religious symbols on their clothes. But what about things which are truly holy?”

Conain seemed surprised by the question.

“You know, I’m not sure about communion actually,” he said slowly, scratching his hair. “ Never really thought about it. I uh…think it varies. I mean…the degree to which they are hurt by holy things depends on the nature of the individual vampire. The more monstrous they are, the more such…things…hurt them. At least in theory.”

That, Humphrey thought, made sense, somehow. He nodded his head, pleased.

“Listen, Brother Humphrey,” Conain said, throwing Humphrey a slow, placid look, “don’t become too friendly with them. The Order’s vampires are relatively young and weak, for safety’s sake, but they all have the potential to become vicious monsters.”

“A commander should never become too friendly with his subordinates, human or otherwise,” Humphrey said, shrugging.

“Yes, but this is different. They are dangerous! You can’t have…fellow feelings for them. And I warn you, outside the Order there are some vampires who truly are monstrous...You would do well to remember that.”

“I’ll remember it,” said Humphrey.

Conain gave Humphrey a sidelong glance. Clearly, he was having doubts Humphrey was up to the job.

“One final thing,” he said finally, “you should think carefully about how you will handle talking about the vampires to the mortal members of your commandery. Some of the normal knights will be afraid of them…you need to handle that.”

That, Humphrey thought, was an excellent point, and one that he hadn’t thought of. He stroked Dragonfly’s neck and let his mind ponder that for the rest of the trip.  

*

They rode into the Poitiers commandery early on the third evening. The commandery was located just outside the city. It consisted of a medium-sized church, a monastic building where the knights lived and dined, a courtyard, stables, armoury, small smithy, and a vineyard. Everything apart from the stable was build out of grey-blue stone. And was surrounded by a high, ominous looking wall.

Humphrey and Gilbert waited on horseback as a gate guard informed the temporary vice-commander of their arrival. The vice-commander, Brother Pierre of Sancerre, was a man of Humphrey’s age who somehow seemed to be much younger. He looked lost and confused. He had only arrived at the commandery a week before Humphrey and found the place ill-disciplined and confusing. He was now running a nervous hand through wheat-coloured hair as he greeted both men politely, then went off to call out the brothers for inspection.

Soon, the knights and sergeants filed out in the courtyard. Above them the sky was a brilliant gradient of pink, grey and blue. But Humphrey didn’t notice it; he was too deep in his own anxieties. This was it. The moment when he would meet the knights.

His knights.

Commander.

The very thought was bizarre and alien. For a dreadful moment he feared he would never manage.

The men drew nearer, their faces growing clearer, more personal, their black, wool and cotton habits rustling. Then they arranged themselves in an orderly fashion, knights in the first line, sergeants in the second. Even in a monastic community, where everyone was supposed to be equal, birth was important. 

There weren’t many of them, only thirteen people in total. This didn’t surprise Humphrey. Conain had told him earlier what to expect.

“There aren’t that many of them yet,” he had said at some point during their three-day journey, “but more will be brought from other commanderies later. As for the vampires, only one is in residence for now. A Brother Amalfi. I do not know him, but reports say he is very young. And common born. And connected somehow to the scandal in Poitiers.”

Humphrey was curious about this. Amalfi was such an unusual name. Not even a real name in fact. It was the name of a city in the south of Italy. As Humphrey watched the men standing before him, looking from face to face, he couldn’t help but wonder which one on them was Brother Amalfi. The vampire. No, the Night Brother.

“Knight Commander,” Brother Pierre said trying to speak clearly and loudly, though a hint of nervousness was clearly there, "the Poitiers commandery awaits your inspection."

Humphrey swallowed. Then he dismounted from his horse. He threw the reins at Brother Conain, who remained on his horse. The man caught them with a bit of a scowl.

Humphrey stood nearer, so they could see him more clearly. He stood straighter and put his hands behind his back, hoping they wouldn’t notice how sweaty they had become.  

“Good evening, Brothers!” he said in that loud battlefield voice he had inherited from his father.

The volume woke up the sleepy ones and made the others stand up a little straighter too.

“My name is Brother Humphrey of Vezelay. The Chapter appointed me to be the commander here in Poitiers, from today on!”

Quiet murmurs passed between the knights. Some of them nodded their heads.

“God-willing, together we will be able to clean off the stain which mars this commandery. I expect from you all obedience and dutifulness. In return I promise you fair treatment and respect. Do your duty by me, and I will do my duty by you!”

More muttering. And curious glances.

“Tonight, we will all take part in Vigil together,” Humphrey continued, “tomorrow, I will meet you all individually so that you can introduce yourselves and tell me your current duties here in the commandery. New duty rosters and a training schedule will be arranged after that.”

This time almost all of them replied.

“Yes Sir!”

“For now, you have free time. We shall meet in church at the eighth hour of the night. You may go.”

They scattered. The discipline totally forgotten, they murmured and gossiped and looked back at him over their shoulders.

Brother Conain decided this was the moment for him to speak up.

 “I’d like Brother Amalfi to report here now!” he called out at the retreating men.

After a bit of confusion, they jostled and pushed a young man towards Humphrey and Gilbert. Reddish-brown hair fell messily onto his shoulders and into his eyes. Brother Amalfi clearly did not approve of hairbrushes. If he had ever seen one before… He was of medium height, and extremely thin. His brown eyes were angry and full of distrust. There were shadows in those eyes, which gave his otherwise boyish face a harrowed look.

“What is it?” the young man demanded glaring at both Humphrey and Conain.

“You’re Brother Amalfi?” Humphrey asked in wonder.

“Yeah…so?” said brother Amalfi irritably. He rolled his eyes too. Like a teenager.

Humphrey cleared his throat.

“Right. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Brother Amalfi. I look forward to working with you,” he stretched out a hard, calloused hand.

Amalfi glanced at the outstretched hand suspiciously as if he expected some trick or mockery. Then his eyes darted warily to Humphrey’s face. For a moment he didn’t move, then cautiously he shook hands with the commander.

As soon as the handshake was over, Brother Amalfi rolled his eyes again, looked away and muttered “whatever…”.

Humphrey rubbed his beard to hide a small smile. All along the way Conain had kept describing the Night Brothers as dangerous, hardened predators. Ferocious weapons of the Order. But what Humphrey saw instead was an insecure, anxious young man, who had clearly seen too much in his life. And who had definitely missed too many meals in his life.

“He’s the vampire that–” Conain began. But Humphrey interrupted him.

“Brother Amalfi will introduce himself further with the other knights tomorrow. For now, he has free time like everyone else,” he said calmly. 

Conain raised his eyebrows but did not reply.

“I thank you for your help.” Humphrey said, “but I will handle things from now on. Right now, I’d like you to make sure our horses are safely lodged in the stables. Then, you’d better get some rest before Vigil. You ride out in the morning.”

And with that, Humphrey turned away from the stunned Conain, and entered his new commandery, gesturing for Amalfi to lead the way.