D.j. had woken long after the sun had risen. He didn't even remember getting back onto the bed much less being tired. He glanced bleary eyed at the chunky black banded and chrome watch on his left wrist. It was a little after ten. He retraced in his mind the last night and it's more than unusual events. D.j. shook the cobwebs of his mind away and replaced the bandana around his forehead pinning his messy hair down again. Once again sliding off the edge of the bed, he lent forward and retrieved his backpack from which he pulled out a clean black button up shirt and rolled the sleeves up.
He quietly pried open the large door to the room he occupied, and when he found himself in the long silent hall, he was genuinely surprised to hear movement nearby. His blue eyes scanned either end of the hall and waited as the movement became footsteps that became louder as they closed in. He frowned in genuine confusion when he laid eyes on Dorian appearing at the south end.
"Good Morning D.j." Dorian greeted the confused younger mortal man.
"I thought vampires slept during the day?"
"Some do some don't. Depends on the vampire and how old you are." Dorian smirked at D.j's somewhat blank expression. "The older one gets, the more tolerant one becomes. We can even go out in it for short periods of time. But as a rule we generally avoid direct sunlight."
D.j. nodded that he understood. Clearly nothing was like the stories. He had so many questions. Unsure where to start. Especially concerning the conversation he had happened to over hear. He hadn't forgotten about that. D.j. walked along the winding corridor in step with Dorian through the quiet mansion. Dorian had picked up on D.j's anxiousness and gleamed his thoughts. He watched the mortal man's face from the corner of his steel gray eye, and caught him pondering his own previous tender mortal age of thirty five when he was reborn. Only a little younger than D.j was now.
Dorian led D.j into his private office. The heavy dark curtains were drawn tight and overlapped the windows so that no sunlight could creep in. despite obvious signs of electricity, like light switches, the laptop and phone on the desk and other sockets; Dorian had kept the room lit by candlelight. For D.j this added a old world air to the aura of the room, and to Dorian. Which made D.j wonder at Dorian's age. The vampire millionaire with his cold stare and regal baring now offered a deep high backed chair by the fire place to D.j. With his back to D.j., Dorian poured what looked like a whiskey of some sort into a glass. But when he passed the glass into D.j.'s hand he made D.j. hold the glass out in front of him. D.j frowned at the sharp faced vampire. Even more so when he extended a long fingernail and made a small incision along his palm and encouraged it to bleed. He held the palm above D.j.'s glass and let his blood drip into the whiskey.
"You heard a sensitive conversation, and you have questions, which are hard to answer in words" Dorian started, stepping back and seating himself in an identical chair opposite the rockstar. He pointed to glass of whiskey and blood. "There, lies some of the answers."
D.j.'s frown now was backed up with his mouth that now hung open a little. He stared at the glass. The amber liquid shimmered with the light of the fireplace. And the swirls of dark blood danced and swirled within it.
"How?"
"Blood holds memories. We believe the soul passes anything it previous has lived through along with the life one leads into your blood. When Lahja tasted your blood, it passed memories confirming who we thought you to be. I have tasted Lahja's blood often enough that some of her memories, along with my own, of certain past events will be present enough in my blood to answer some of those questions; and tell you a story that is, well, a little long and arduous for words."
D.j. leaned back holding the glass, studying its contents. He exhaled hard and swished the liquids around and one swift move quickly swallowed the drink wholly. He swallowed hard afterwards at the very real thought that he'd just drank someone's blood and at the anticipation of the unknown. Dorian leaned forward and stretched out to take the glass from D.j.
"Now lean back and close your eyes D.j., you are about to have quite the experience..."
D.j. never did hear the rest of whatever Dorian said. He slipped into a trance, dream-like state. The rush of images and emotions, and from different people's views, flooded his mind.
Lahja had been trying to rest more. To make sure she'd healed through properly. But she was plagued with thoughts. Thoughts she didn't want. She stopped short when she sensed him near by. She could always sense him when he was close. Just like she used to before. She closed her eyes and let her mind reach out. His mind was chaos and confused. She sensed blood memories, and then felt Dorian's presence. Her dark eyes shot open as she stood furious. Her blood brother just could not help himself from meddling.
She plucked a slightly more decent robe from her wardrobe. Its thick velour velvet bodice had a high neck, had corset boning to hold its shape, and skimmed down past her hip bones. The sleeves, cut from silk chiffon, were puffed and had cuffs of material in two places down the sleeve cinching in a venetian style. The layers of silk chiffon skirt were delicate and reached the carpet and trained behind. Though the robe only did up as far as the velvet bodice. The skirt of robe easily opened and fell apart baring her long pale legs as she stormed down the corridor.
Lahja pushed open the dark wooden doors to Dorian's office with force enough that they whipped to the sides and rebounded off the walls to the sides of the doorway. Dorian's face peered around the side of the armchair to the right of the fireplace. As she neared closer, she could see D.j.'s legs, his tattooed arm on the armrest. She all but appeared by D.j's side in the blink of an eye, and before Dorian could react, the back of her hand lashed out and left a stinging calling card on Dorian's cheek. He conceded he probably deserved that. She scowled at him and turned her attention to D.j., who by all appearances to anyone else, would've looked like he was asleep but having a small fit in a bad dream. She once again reached out with her mind, found his, and subconsciously tried to ease the distress with her presence. It seemingly worked for the time being. Hi mind was in a high state of confusion and distress with the chaos and cacophony of images being streamed to him.
"Honestly Dorian, what the hell were you thinking?"
"Didn't have much of a choice sister," Dorian sighed. "He had gotten wind of things during the night when he overheard myself and Nikki talking. And I know you wouldn't have answered anything. I figured this would be the easiest way."
"Nikki knows?"
Dorian snorted.
"Yes Lahja, he is coming into his gifts rather well now."
She had forgotten Nikki wasn't exactly a newborn anymore. He had adapted well and as each of his 'gifts', as vampires call them, came into being he rolled with it, listened and learned. She stood up from D.j.'s side. She threw a passing glare in Dorian's direction as she turned and started pacing. Dorian smirked. He had seen the flickering display of her emotions. Her concern and care for him. Dorian considered himself to be the only person she couldn't hide anything from.
"Careful, you'll wear down my nice carpet."
"Fuck you and your carpet".
Dorian snorted again.
"How much longer?"
"A little while yet I think."
Lahja turned her head at the door as Nikki and James entered the office. Nikki stopped mid-sentence upon seeing D.j.'s state and the pacing Lahja.
"What the..?"
Dorian rose from his seat and stepped toward Nikki and placed a hand on his shoulder, explaining what was happening and why. Nikki understood then Lahja's charming mood. James knelt near his unconscious younger friend.
"I'm still a little confused, why did he do this again? And what's it to do with Lahja?" James enquired. Dorian and Lahja glanced each other.
"This is your doing brother. You can explain. Besides you're a better storyteller." Lahja immediately deferred to Dorian. He sighed, but he guessed he owed her. Lahja took up residence in Dorian's previous chair opposite D.j. and watched over him. Dorian ushered the other two men over to a lounge suite along the west wall of the room.
"This all starts over three centuries ago, in the Scandinavian royal courts, when Lahja was still a mortal woman.."