Chapter 8
There was blood all over the wall. Horror movies didn't have
this much blood. Blood streaked down the walls, covered the
couch and dripped off the end table. A monster with a chain saw
couldn't have made more of a mess.
I didn't realize the human body could lose this much blood and
still survive let alone walk out of here. Strange thing was it
didn't disgust me at all.
Well, okay, when it happened I was a bit disgusted, but I
didn't even become choked up now as I slowly made headway in
wiping it off the walls. I found myself somewhat fortunate that
I wasn't hungry or desperate enough to attempt to lick it up.
Honestly, at the moment I was rather turned off to the whole
drinking blood thing anyway. See, Jeremy had come by to feed me
less than an hour before.
Everything seemed normal as he offered himself to me. I was
neither exceedingly hungry nor did his soul speak to me about
killing him. So no big deal right? Yeah, except as the doofus
fledgling I am, I didn't aim very well.
As I bit down, feeling his soft flesh and smelling his aromatic
body odor, my teeth pierced his skin and then his cartroid
artery. The blood gushed out the hole as his heart pumped more
before the gash could close. It filled my mouth, filled my
throat and began leaking into my windpipe. I gagged and pulled
away as I began to drown in it.
Jeremy grabbed at his neck trying to stop the bleeding. The
blood spurted through his fingers. I grabbed the closest thing,
a throw pillow, and pressed it against his neck. The pillow
soaked some of it up, while diverting the rest to drip down onto
the couch. Clearly, it did nothing to hamper the blood flow.
Before long my vampire instincts took over and I moved the
pillow away while keeping pressure on the wound with my fingers.
I began licking at the skin and not the blood. The healing
power of my saliva was apparent as the bleeding stopped almost
immediately.
There was an awkward moment as we caught our breath and Jeremy
shook a little in shock. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it
around him.
"I'm sorry." I told him.
He nodded. "Happens all the time." Jeremy had been here
longer than I and so he developed a sense of humor about these
things.
I let him rest for a moment then offered, "I'll carry you to
the infirmary."
"It's okay. I can walk." Indeed, he did and had developed
quite a tolerance for lost blood over the years as well. I went
with him and kept him from falling a couple of times. I avoided
all contact with Dr. Wendel. I didn't want to be chewed out for
this.
Now I was back in my room cleaning up my mess. Of course all I
had was water and a few towels. I worked fast but the blood was
already drying. Soon I'd have to face the world and get some
real supplies. A knock came at the door.
Ask and thou shalt receive. Scott was on the other side of the
door with the required cleaning solutions. I opened it and let
him in.
I held my hand out to take the bucket of goodies and he
promptly ignored me while he walked in and examined the damage.
He was fairly new so I let it slide
"Looks like you hit the cartroid artery then tried to suppress
it. You were standing about there."
"You some kind of doctor?" I asked.
"No, I just watch a bunch of C.S.I.."
"C.S.I.?" It was in his head before he could respond, a
grizzly looking man inspecting insects on a corpse with what
seemed to be forensics people marking bullet casings on the
ground.
"It's a fairly popular show. It's the number one rated show,
every week." I couldn't believe that after only a couple of
years in this place I was so out of date with pop culture.
Apparently cop shows had caught on. I thought of my mother.
She's probably happy, she would sit and watch Law and Order for
hours on end, so this show sounded like something she'd watch
too.
Was she happy? Had she moved on with her life without me
around? Was she depressed and stared at a blank TV all day? I
had been much closer to her than my sister had been. Did she
reach out to my sister? Did my sister try to become closer to
her and help her through hard times? No, I doubt it. Both were
fairly independent. Still, I tried to stretch my mind her way,
to test how far my mind could reach. Would I recognize my
mother's mind if I saw it?
"…they even have a spin-off already." Scott spoke and brought
me back to the here and now. "There's been a large surge in
forensic students because of the show."
"Why?" I had a feeling Keir wouldn't like me communicating
with my family anyway.
"Well, 'cause it's cool. They show in detail how autopsies are
done and how a piece of digested food could prove who murdered
the person."
A show about looking through microscopes and running computer
programs didn't sound all that exciting to me, but then my gauge
for excitement had skewed a little since coming here. This must
be what Bram feels like whenever I mention some pop culture
reference he would never understand.
He spread out his supplies and made a trip to the bathroom down
the hall to fill his bucket. When he returned I offered, "If
you get the couch I'll finish the walls."
"No, I've got it."
"But I can help."
"You don't need to. See, that's what us slaves are for."
Scott didn't use a mocking or even indignant tone. It was just
a fact.
"I know, but old habits are hard to break."
"Just let me handle the cleanup okay? The fumes from this
stuff might be a little strong for you so why don't you come
back in a couple of hours." Just for proof he sprayed a little
onto the wall and my head became instantly stuffed up. I didn't
remember it affecting me so when I was human. Finally I
relented and left.
***
"Renate?" The blood splashed across the walls. "Renate?"
Then it dripped down some stairs. "Renate!" I brought my arms
down hard but a hand stopped them.
Heremon's voice broke me out of my stupor and he slowly removed
the sword from my hand. "They're dead. You don't need to hack
them to bits."
His words were of some German dialect, yet I understood them
completely.
The eyes of a vampire moved in its bodiless head. They
followed my every move. I expected the heads to roll towards
their bodies and reattach themselves. I closed my eyes to get
the vision out of my mind. Heremon put an arm around my
shoulder. I fell into his arms. I was tired. I just wanted to
sleep. "We should burn this place." I said.
"I'll do it. Then let's get you home." He spoke kindly, so
unlike him, yet it was natural to me here.
He helped me into our carriage and he drove the horses while I
tried to relax. I couldn't. I killed six vampires. Six, by
myself! That was the most I'd ever managed. I looked to my
husband, Heremon, and was reminded of the one that had nearly
killed him. That one was hard enough to kill by itself. Six in
one day! I didn't know of anyone who had managed such a feat.
Six! Their faces flashed before me then cut up, covered in a
thick liquid and seperated from their bodies. So human like and
yet so grotesque.
We approached our house just as I began nodding off. My eyes
snapped open as the realization hit me that all lights were off
in the house. Our children knew better than to douse the
candles if they were alone. How long had they been alone? Why
were they left alone?
I heard a scream.
I didn't wait for the carriage to come to a complete stop. I
jumped out but landed badly and bent my ankle. I half ran and
half limped the rest of the way into the house throwing open
doors and calling our children's names. I heard a whimper from
the library. I drew my dagger and shouldered the door.
It was dark inside but my eyes had already adjusted to the
night. Four figures, three of them were child size and huddled
in a corner. Thank God! All of them were still alive. The
fourth figure was a woman. She stood over them haughtily. My
children were certainly scared of her.
I took a step forward to confront her. Stupid. I was tired,
hurt and only had a small weapon. I didn't even think about
looking behind the door for another assailant.
It was a man. He grabbed my right arm and squeezed until I
dropped the dagger. I looked up to him and saw the moonlight
glint off his sharp teeth.
Great, more vampires!
He tossed me like a sack of potatoes to the feet of the woman.
My children screamed when they saw me handled so. The female
only laughed. "So, this is Renate? The great hunter? We are
unimpressed."
I began to push up onto my knees when the other vampire stepped
on me. "Have respect for our Queen!"
The Queen bent down so that I could see her sideways. Renate
didn't recognize her, but I did. It was Lenore. "We'll see how
great you are, after I kill your children!" She hissed.
That's when the door blew open. Light leaked in and I woke up.
I blinked as the light from the slave court flooded my little
hideaway.
"Toni, what are you doing?" Bram knelt in the open doorway to
the closet.
"Thinking." I really wanted to shut the door on him but that's
rude.
"Thinking? In the closet? Come on Toni, what's really wrong?
You haven't sat in her for a long time."
"No really, I'm just thinking. I needed some solitude to get
past my writer's block. Then I fell asleep." It was true. I
hadn't written a word since becoming a vampire.
"Maybe we should buy you a coffin."
"Ha, ha. I'm serious. This is a familiar safe place for me to
do some thinking."
"Isn't your room good enough for that?"
"It's being cleaned right now. Besides there's just different
vibes there. There's too much stimuli anywhere else that
distracts my mind. This is a small contained place that keeps
me focused."
He laughed. "Sounds like the inside of a coffin to me."
I smacked him playfully on the arm.
He pulled me up and out of the closet and we began walking
through the slave court arm in arm.
"How well do you know the Queen?" I asked.
"Not as well as others. Why?"
"Was she in love with Al?"
"You should know that more than I."
"I know Al's feelings for her, but I don't know the other way
around."
"I'm not sure she's ever loved anyone."
I nodded only somewhat understanding. "How dangerous is she?"
"In what respect?"
"On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being she wouldn't harm a fly and 10
being she'd kill you if you looked at her funny."
He thought about it for a moment. "Five. She'd kill to
protect herself but that is all."
"She would not kill me if she suspected something was happening
between Heremon and me?"
"I doubt it since Heremon does not seem to be in her favor much
anymore. However," he added with a bit of a smile, "I might.
Are you planning to break up with me for Heremon?"
"No, no, nothing like that. It's just… she asked me to her
room and Heremon acted strange over it and I just wanted to make
sure she didn't misinterpret anything."
"I think it will be safe for you to see her."
We walked through the gym and I expected Bram to stop and make
me work out some of my frustration. Instead he headed into the
sparing room. It was the first time I had entered since I
stabbed Heremon. In a way it surprised me that they ever let me
in again.
Bram was talking and I only half paid attention to him as I
fingered each of the sharp, shiny, pointy, things. "If you are
afraid of being hurt, we should work on your defensive skills."
"I don't want to fight them. I just want them to leave me
alone." I murmured.
"They won't Toni. Believe me."
"So if they won't, I should fight them?"
"That's the general idea."
"You people are messed up. You know that?"
"I'm sorry." Bram said and I finally looked up at him.
"What for now?"
"For keeping you here. For rescuing you from certain death,
for not being able to give you the happy life you deserve, for-"
I kissed him. He kissed me back, somewhat aggressively. He
was hungry and I had awoken a monster with that kiss. He
flipped me backwards and I fell with a soft thud against the
mat. His hands snuck their way up my blouse and to my breasts
as our tongues intertwined. He pressed up against me and his
desire was all I felt and soon I had an enthralling desire all
my own. I moved my mouth away from his and I held onto his back
as I stabbed his neck with my teeth.
He roared in pain, or was that lust? It was so hard to tell at
that point. I didn't hit his artery. It would have been
horribly awkward if I had. No, I hit his vein and his warm
sweet blood slid down my tongue. He bit me then too. I could
only grunt at the sharp pain that ran down my spine. He was
more aggressive in this as well and he arched my back to make
the blood flow better towards my head.
We tussled around on the mat for sometime. When we finally
made love it was a half hearted effort as we had nearly
exhausted ourselves in the foreplay.
As we laid in the afterglow he fingered one of the larger scars
he had just given me. "Look at that bite mark."
I tried but my neck wouldn't contort that way. "What, it's
still there?"
"No." He laughed. "Just a faint mark. I'm just proud it's
still there. That means it was impressive."
"It's a vampire hickey."
He laughed again. I loved his laugh. It was soft and full of
feeling. "Does it hurt?"
"Nah."
"Good because I don't want to cause you pain." He pressed it a
little more. "Does that hurt?"
"It will if you keep pressing it!" I pushed his hand away. It
came right back as his eye twinkled mischievously.
"Does this hurt?" He started tickling it.
I squirmed as he knew how ticklish I was. "No!" I tried to
push his hand away. He was too quick.
"No, it doesn't hurt?"
"No,… don't… tickle." I gasped the words between giggles.
"It doesn't tickle? Okay, how about here?" He attacked my
sides and I crumbled.
"I… thought… we were here… to teach… me defense."
"We are. You're not doing a very good job of defending
yourself."
I slapped his hand away when he went for my belly button. "You
can do better than that!" I grabbed his hand, before I even saw
it coming his other hand hit mine.
"You hit like a girl." I slapped him playfully.
"No, you hit like a girl." His hand flew by and his fingers
barely touched me.
"I am a girl."
"Well then hit like a man."
"I don't want to." I punched him on the shoulder lightly.
"Come on. Hit me."
"I don't want to."
"It's not as if you'll hurt me."
"It's the principle of the thing. My parents taught me it's
not nice to hit."
"Ah, come on." He stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Just
hit me, right here." He pointed at his belly.
I gave in. I gathered my strength and my will, pulled back and
wham! He doubled over. "Ugh, dear God!" He cried.
"Oh no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard, but you
told me to and-"
He popped back up. "Just kidding."
I hit him hard on the shoulder this time. He wasn't expecting
it and took a step backwards rubbing his shoulder. "Actually,
that one was pretty good."
"Don't tease me like that damn it!"
"Right. I'll get a proper punching bag." He put on his pants
and went into the gym returning with one of the standing
punching bags. I dressed too.
"Okay the first thing we've got to work on is hand eye
coordination." He showed me a spot on the bag and had me hit
it, once, twice, half a dozen times, faster and faster working
me into a rhythm of punches. I hit it about 80 percent of the
time which he felt was good. He changed the position of the
spot to hit and now I was doing upper cuts. Another change and
it's now a hook. I hit the thing until my knuckles were raw and
then they healed and I hit it some more. Finally I had spent
all my energy and had to rest.
We sat on the mat for a few minutes of break and he caught me
again fingering one of the swords.
"You like it?" He asked.
"It's ravishing, but it looks like it's been through a lot."
There were quite a few niches on all the swords.
"That one, not as much as some of the others. They'd be in
worse shape if I didn't oil and sharpen them on a regular basis."
"You mean there's something here the slaves aren't delegated to
do?"
He knew I was being sarcastic so he said. "I made most of
them. Some are less than a year old. So I care if they're in
good shape."
"Wow." I wasn't sure what was so awe inspiring. His making so
many fine quality weapons over time, or that he needed to make
so many at all. I imagined though with a vampire's strength
behind it a sword could easily break another. How many had he
gone through in his day?
Each was in a different state of repair. Some I had noticed
vampires using in the battle against the hunters seemed to be
stronger and in better shape, so I assumed the others were
practice weapons. None were rusted, so Bram took extreme care
of them. There were many different styles. The bastard sword
though seemed to be the most popular. Perhaps that was his
favorite type to make.
Perhaps it was his favorite to use as he now picked one out of
the lot. He weighed it in his hands and checked the balance.
Then handed it hilt first to me. "Wield it and see how it
feels."
I moved to the center of the mat and swooshed it around a bit.
"It's a little heavy."
"That's okay. I think you'll become used to the weight soon
enough." He chose one for himself and stood beside me. "You
remember some of the moves I taught you?"
"I remember everything now."
"Okay, show me high guard." I moved the sword above my head.
He matched it. "Middle." I moved the sword in front of me.
"Low." He spoke faster with each one watching me as I moved
fluidly through each. My body remembered the movements better
than my head did. Still, out of the corner of my eye I saw him
perform them with more accuracy than I. He returned me to
middle guard position, then said. "Okay, now against me."
We moved about. Our swords didn't touch that often. We were
just going through the moves after all. A few minutes in I
blocked Bram's inward thrust and countered with close left guard
effectively locking him in that position. We were nose to nose
and I almost kissed him. That's when I heard the clapping.
"Oh, bravo." Keir said. My mind had been sufficiently
occupied I hadn't noticed him entering.
Bram backed off a couple of steps and took Keir's hand. "You
think you can teach her better than I, Sir Bram?" Keir said
with a smile.
"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly teach her to create havoc as you
can." Keir patted him jovially on the back. They seemed to be
on rather friendly terms today.
"We'll see about that." Keir chose the closest sword to him.
I took a couple of steps back as I felt the blackness in his
heart. He didn't feel all that friendly towards me. I raised
my sword back to middle guard keeping him as far from me as
possible.
I saw him swing in his mind before he did and I knew I couldn't
block it. I tried to back up more, but he was still too fast
for me. I ducked to the side but it wasn't enough. His sword
blasted into mine, broke it, and sent me sprawling into a bench.
Bones cracked and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. "Shit!" It
hurt, especially when I moved it a little and it popped loudly
back into place.
"Get up!" Keir commanded.
"Come on. Don't let a little broken arm stop you." Bram
encouraged me.
What the hell? I grabbed a nearby sword, lighter than the last
and before I properly set myself up Keir lashed out and knocked
me down again.
"That's okay, Toni. You're doing fine. He's just playing with
you. Give her a chance to get ready next time Keir."
I cautiously got up keeping a sword's length away from Keir.
He let me get up and brace myself before he whacked me to the
ground again. I tried one more time, this time trying to attack
him before I was even up. He didn't even try to be gentle this
time. He slashed me once on the arm and twice on the torso. He
intended to stab me when Bram called out "Subsisto!"
Keir grudgingly stepped back and lowered his sword. We all
knew he didn't want to. He was upset at me because I failed. I
was weak and no match for him. It hurt me that I couldn't do
better and that he was upset at me for it. What did he want? I
haven't been doing this for hundreds of years like him.
"Get off your ass and fight me!"
Truthfully I was afraid. No doubt he'd just knock me down
again, but more so he would escalate the fight. Every time I
got close to doing something that might give me an advantage I
knew he'd hurt me more than a few cuts or even a stab wound.
No, matter what I did I couldn't win. I should just let him
kill me now. It's the only way this would end.
"Do I need to get out the whip? I will not tolerate suicidal
thoughts."
"No sir." I said meekly. Why did I ever agree to this? Not
to the fight, to becoming a vampire. I know. I thought it
would bring me freedom. Instead it only brought me death and
more slavery. The fight was a dumb idea too. Why do I do these
things to myself?
"Now move!" It pissed him off that I didn't move the moment he
commanded it. So I began to push myself up.
Bram stopped me with a slight gesture as he said. "You don't
have to continue."
"I'm her genitor and for now she has to do as I say!" Keir
didn't like Bram countermanding any of his orders I noticed.
"Come on cry baby. Are you going to lie there and weep? No
progeniei of mine was ever so weak as you."
Well, of course I couldn't stand for that. I knew it was a
typical Keir trick. I knew I was in for a beating, but if I let
him berate me all the time he would never stop. I prepared
myself quickly but not quickly enough as he slashed my leg. He
laughed at me. "Pitiful."
Spurred on by his hateful comments, I lunged. Idiotic, I know.
Lunging is probably the worst thing I could have done at that
moment as his sword plunged into my chest. It was like when
Keir punched me in the stomach that one time he caught up with
me after I escaped. Only this was worse, much worse. It felt
like my stomach was on fire. I retched. As I haven't eaten in
a couple of days nothing came up. I thought I was going to die.
Of course I knew I wouldn't. Maybe it was because I knew as a
vampire I wouldn't, but more so because my life didn't flash
before my eyes. I wasn't ready to die. Not yet.
Using what strength I had left I grabbed the sword and tried to
push it out. It was no use. My hands were too slippery from
all the blood and I too weak.
Finally, mercifully Keir slid the sword from out of my chest.
I could breathe again and I took deep breaths savoring the
clean, recycled air. I could see it in Keir's mind though. He
was disappointed in me and my lack of will. I remembered my
months of isolation with him. All that he tried to teach me.
All I had learned. Wasted.
Bram tried to help me. I ripped my arm away from his hand. It
was bad enough he watched me be humiliated, he didn't need to
make it worse by showing Keir I couldn't take care of myself.
"Come on." Keir hooked his arm in Bram's. "Leave her to be a
little infant and wallow for a while."
Bram did leave with him, but not without looking back and
telling me silently, I love you. I dropped my head to my knees
and let out the sob I had been holding in.
***
I walked out bloody and beaten. As if things couldn't get any
worse, Gary ran up to me. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, just had a lesson from Keir is all."
"It should have been me you know."
"Huh?"
"I should have been made into a vampire next not you. Keir
promised me my time was near."
"I'm sorry Gary-" Did he really want this?
"I know. It's not like it was your decision. That's why Keir
and I were on the outs, but he's shown me the error of my ways.
Kind of like he did you, I guess."
That would explain the bruises. He didn't have to say it
because I felt his pain, every time Keir hit me. "I'm sorry. I
really am."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I came to tell you I know where the
box is. I… Uh… I've known where the box is or at least where it
was going to wind up."
"That's great! Where?"
"I had Lacey take if from your locker. She gave it to someone,
I'm not sure who, but I knew it would eventually get to the
Queen. She's the one who wanted it at least and she wanted it
kept secret. That's why I didn't tell you before." I believed
him now.
"The Queen?" I sighed. He nodded. I'd been avoiding her
invitation. Now it looks as if I'd have to take her up on it.
Bram convinced me the Queen intended me no malice, then Gary's
admission made it clear. I had to go see her. So after a hot
shower I headed for the laundry room for more elegant attire
than my normal street clothes. To approach her in jeans and a
T-shirt as a slave is expected, to do so as a vampire is
offensive. I also fished out for Kama and confirmed that my
protocol for addressing the Queen in private was correct.
I knocked upon the Queen's door and waited for permission to
enter. I curtsied and entered. I was about to curtsy again as
I approached her royal presence when she raised a hand.
"Please, act as you would with anyone else. We are not in a
courtly setting."
Maybe officially, but even as she said this Isabelle bent
slightly at the waist offering me a glass of red wine. Again,
she reminded me of myself. I had performed this service for the
Queen from time to time.
I took the glass and the Queen held hers out for a toast. "To
long life and the unexpected gifts it brings." What exactly did
she mean by that?
"To my lovely Queen." I toasted back wondering where the words
really came from, Al or me? "May her reign be long and
prosperous."
We raised our glasses and then I took a sip. I raised a brow
at the strange combination of iron and grapes. At first I
thought it was my new senses playing tricks on me, like it had
with Bram's whiskey. This distinctively tasted like the grapes
had been crushed in a rusted metal vat, no, a blood-filled vat.
I examined the wine to find it only a little thicker than
normal.
She noticed my inspection. "Do you like it? It's brewed
specially for me. I believe it is the only true reason my
courtiers attend my parties."
"I do." She meant it as a joke, but I could understand why
they might. It was blood and alcohol together, neither too
filling, nor intoxicating. I took another sip and found the
taste much more appealing then the acidic wine I've had in the
past. The blood gave it a smoother taste. I doubt humans would
like it very much though. Otherwise she could market it and
make a fortune.
"I know you are still adjusting to life as a vampire, so I wish
you to know that my door is always open to you. To talk, to
drink, and to play." I felt Al stir inside me at this. It
wasn't what she said, but how she said it, very alluringly.
"Whatever you might like. I am here as your Queen but also your
friend."
"Thank you, I find that very-" I wanted to say "reassuring" in
a sarcastic tone but Al kept me from it, "sweet of you. I will
be sure to take you up on your offer." I wanted to at that
moment and ask her if she knew what significance if any, her
appearing in my dream might have. Al kept me from that too
though. This was her show. She had asked me here. I should
wait for her to reveal the reason for that first.
She might have read my mind for then she said. "From time to
time, I might ask a favor of you. Friends do favors for each
other. Do they not?" Ah ha! We weren't friends. I was a
glorified slave. "You asked a favor of me not too long ago and
now I will ask a favor of you."
Yep, make it so there is only one way I could answer. "Of
course, what might I do for you?"
She reached down, slid a cloth off a box and presented it to
me. "Keep this safe for me."
I looked at her sideways. That was it! That was the box I had
been searching for. It had found its way to her after all. One
thing remained, why would she ask the same thing of me that Eric
had?
"There are those who would destroy it and perhaps you if they
knew you possessed it."
"What's in it?" My curiosity could hold no longer.
"Something precious. You are not to open it, you understand.
You are simply the guardian for now."
I tried probing her to get a straight answer but of course I
couldn't get that far. I wanted to slap her to get the answer.
I knew better and nodded.
"I will do my best."
"Be certain you do a better job than you had before. A locker
can be secure, but not if everyone can pick locks."
***
I searched my room. It was completely clean. So clean, there
wasn't even anywhere a box could be hidden. I looked at it.
Perhaps the thing inside was smaller than the box and could be
hidden more easily. I shook it. It rattled inside only a
little but it was heavy and mostly slid around. I could find
another box, maybe a computer box, which would be an expected
thing to see in my room. If I placed the object in there and
then left the original box out as a decoy I would not need a
very secure place to put it.
But no. I had been told by two people not to open it. I
should just put the whole thing in a computer box. I didn't
like that idea. It was too simple. I needed somewhere else I
might not think about on a regular basis or someplace the
vampires couldn't get to very easily. I wondered if the town's
bank had a safety deposit vault. No, again, the vampires could
easily persuade the bank manager to open it. Perhaps some place
in Phoenix-
"So what do you have there?" I jumped and nearly dropped the
box. No one had been in my room and I didn't feel anyone
nearby. Now I sensed power -- immense. Frightening. Something
beyond that of any vampire I knew. Furthermore, it was kind of
creepy how Velren just popped in and out when he wanted.
"Nothing." I turned to face him at the same time wrapping my
arms protectively around the box. I doubted he was one of whom
the Queen had warned me not to tell. I still wasn't going to
trust him.
"Ah, but it is something. At least to you it is, or else you
wouldn't be hiding it."
"What do you want?"
"I thought I made it clear last time?"
"What do you want right now?"
"I wish to know if you think it is it worth it?" Velren asked.
"Is what worth what?" I asked back.
"All this. Trying to solve their mysteries. Learning
everything you can about them. You are not one of them. You
don't belong with them. You do not need to do as they wish."
"Yeah, well, we've already tried escape. Look where that got
me. I can't get away from them so I might as well join them."
"Oh yes, by all means, play their game. Perhaps you do not
want to learn the truth. They wish to keep the forbidden fruit
from you. Leave Pandora's box unclosed." With that he vanished
as if never here. The box, still in my hands, weighed so much
more than it had before.
By: Christine Schnell
