The Bridge - Chapter 13

Henry felt the first warning of the coming dawn as paced back and forth in front of the hidden sanctuary under the bridge waiting for Vicki to join him but convinced himself there was still plenty of time for their lovemaking before surrendering life to the day. He craved Vicki's love. Sex was as easy to obtain as blood, but Vicki's love was another matter. It took tenderness and attention to details to get the response from her that he needed to make his continued existence worth the effort. Smiling he imagined the scene of himself and Vicki as only a romantic writer could. He was determined to make a memory that they could share for years to come. He looked at the sky and wondered again what could be keeping her.

Tri spread the linen cloth on the ground and asked Vicki to pick the polished stone that called to her. Vicki's hand hovered over the stones stopping above one then the other only to be pulled towards a third. Finally she put her empty hand behind her back and said, "I want more than one."

"You may take as many as you like if you can pick them up all at the same time."

"Can you move them around?"

"Not I. You may pick up the corners of the cloth, close your eyes while thinking about the stones you want, give it a shake, lay it back down and grab without looking."

Vicki did as instructed. She held out three stones and Tri asked, "Are those the three you wanted?"

"Two for sure." She singled out one dark green stone that had flecks of black and red, "This one not so much but now I like it best of all."

"Those are all good choices for what's to happen. There's healing, warding against evil and enduring love. Keep them with you at all times and never let anyone else touch them. That includes Henry or myself. They have chosen to you."

Tri gathered up the corners of the cloth, put it along with the remaining stones into the silk pouch and set them aside.

"The stones are for you and not a part of the coming battle. Now it's time I teach you the skills to tap into your power over demons."

"I don't have any powers."

"I beg to differ. You've been marked, you've been tempted, you're a vampire and yet there's no evil in your actions. You live your life serving and protecting those weaker than you. That's your strength, using what's available without being contaminated by it. Now we need to focus and use it to push evil back to where it belongs."

Tri instructed Vicki on basic concepts and gestures. She gave her an old book with spells and told Vicki to memorize the ones of her own choosing."

Vicki studied the book and said, "I can't even pronounce half the words in this thing let alone know what they mean."

"Have Henry teach you how to pronoun the words and tell you their meanings, but don't let him know which spells you will be using. We each must come to the battle with our own plans of attack based on our strengths. I've given you and Henry the tools needed to tap into your individual powers and I know which are mine."

"How can you be so certain our strategies will work?"

"This is not my first battle, nor is it yours. Think Vicki, Astaroth tempted you but didn't get you."

"No it got Raymond, then Raymond turned around and stabbed Henry and I'm a beacon attracting demons."

"Then I guess it's about time we douse the beacon. Any more questions?"

"How long before this crap's finished?"

"Too soon as far as I'm concerned. A night or two from now at the most." Tri stood, smeared the salt and herb circle. "Time to head home."

The power of the circle broke and Tri started walking deeper into the woods and Vicki yelled, "Hey wait, what about my vampire? I can't feel it."

"Your vampire's suppressed until the battle's finished."

"I can't very well hunt without fangs."

"You'll figure out something." With that Tri faded and left Vicki standing alone.

Vicki started walking and plowed into a tree. "Crap." She stretched her arms out and started out again only to trip over roots skinning the palms of her hands. Standing, angry with herself she gritted her teeth determined to find her way back to the main path that led out of the park and to the road that would take her to the bridge and Henry. She could feel dawn on the back of her neck and turned toward the east and walked out into the parking lot. Still she couldn't see and had give up and call for help.

Henry felt his cell phone vibrate. Giving it a tap he said, "Where are you?"

"In a parking lot. I'm not sure which one." And then he heard Vicki say, "I need your help."

"Why?"

"I'm lost."

"Vampires don't get lost."

"Half blind vampires without their advantages do."

Dawn was getting closer and Henry could feel the day pulling him away from the world. "Keep talking and stand still."

Using all his senses he ran towards Vicki's sound and scent. He raced against the sun knowing it was going to be close.

Vicki stood still talking aloud about all of the messes she managed to get herself into and making promises to do things differently if she managed to get out of this one. With the coming dawn, Vicki could see a pinpoint of light. Since she'd been vampire she forgot about the RP. Shaking her head she realized the the disease had progressed and had she remained human, she would have lost even more of of her vision. If Henry didn't find her soon she'd end up a crispy critter.

He grabbed her up into his arms, turned back the way he came and continued running, "What happened?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's not my fault."

He moved even faster as he felt the sharp burn of the coming sun. "I didn't think it was."

"Where are we going?"

"Under our bridge."

Vicki woke to the smell of damp cold rock with grit in her mouth. Every bone in her body ached and her palms burned.

Henry woke angry, hungry, cramped and in a seriously bad mood. As he remembered the events of the early dawn he pushed himself back dragging a protesting Vicki with him. Not even bothering to try to control the vampire's rage he snarled, "What...?"

Vicki could tell from the slurred sound of Henry's voice she was dealing with a vampire who was not in any mood for evasions. "She's gone Henry."

Knowing rage and anger wouldn't get the answers he needed, Henry forced the vampire back and spoke softly, "Who's gone."

"My vampire. I met up with Tri and she had me enter a circle as she mumbled some words and my vampire faded. She gave me some polished stones, a book of spells and a few lessons. When she left my vampire didn't come back. She said it won't until the demon's driven back to it's master and the one that changed my mark is destroyed. I'm back where I was before you turned me, but evidently my human eyesight degenerated even more while I was vampire." Taking a deep breath she added, "I'm almost completely blind Henry."

Henry made a fist and took a swing knowing she would duck reflexively if she could see. Vicki stood unflinching and he checked his swing before connecting with her chin. There was no doubt about the truth of her words.

Unaware of what he was doing she said, "Say something."

"What's to say?"

"I wouldn't let Mike help me when my eyes went bad, but Henry, I'm asking you, I need your help."

What was left of his vampire rage faded. He opened the door to the sanctuary, scooped her up into his arms and headed for his car. Vicki started squirming trying to get to her feet. He snarled, "Don't bother. You asked for my help and my vampire intends to protect it's child."

Once back at her house Henry called Tri after helping clean Vicki's wounds. He listened as Tri explained that the demon bothering Joshua and the one that changed the mark on Vicki's arm were not aware of her being vampire.

"You see Henry, we need every advantage in the coming battle. Vicki's the unknown. Her vampire and untapped talents will catch the demons off guard when we drive them back to hell."

"But what about her eyesight?"

"Honestly Henry there was no way for me to know about that when I suppressed the vampire. What's done is done and the plan can't be changed. You'll have to do the best you can until this is over."

Henry snarled into the phone as he broke the connection.

He studied the spell book that Tri had given Vicki before asking, "Did you have a chance to look at this?"

"Only briefly. It looks like Latin, old English and a mix of something else."

"Pretty much. It's bad poetry, mumblings and just plain nonsense." He paused before asking, "What are you to do with this?"

"Memorize spells to use against a demon while not letting you know which ones. And that's going to be tricky, because you will have to read and teach me every word."

Henry continued looking at the pages before looking up and saying, "I'll teach you the sounds until you have them perfect and then I'll teach you their meanings."

"What about grammar, tenses and declension of verbs, you know, all the junk you need to know to read Latin?"

"Don't worry these are just words about nature, good, evil, hope, and despair. Nothing remotely resembling sentences or scholarly work ."

Vicki listened carefully to Henry's voice as he pronounced the words on the pages. She'd echo them back until they were perfect. Then he'd tell her the meaning. Finally she had two phrases that kept repeating over and over in her mind. She'd listened to other words parroting them back and didn't bother to learn the meanings. She'd found her words and began organizing them in a way that made sense to her and gave her a tingling sensation all along her nerves. When a phrase was repeated several times the markings on her right arm grew cold and the altered marks on the left burned. Crossing her arms out front allowing the two marks to touch canceled each other out.

"Enough Henry. I've got what I need."

"Are you sure?"

"Nope, but my mind can't absorb any more. So what's next?"

"When are you scheduled to work again?"

"Crap. Work! I forgot!" She stood up circled in place with her hands out stretched. "There's no way I can do the job almost blind." Reaching out toward where she thought Henry was she said, "Give me the phone!" Dropping her hand she added, "No! Wait. You call. Tell them I'm dead. No. Sick. No. My mother's sick."

Henry reached down and moved the table out of her way as she started pacing, "Henry! What should I say?"

"Stick to the truth. Your eye condition flared up unexpectedly. You need to take time off to have it evaluated. You did them about eye problems when you took the job didn't you? That's your reason for only working nights right?"

"Yes! That's it. Eyes. Give me the phone." While it rang she mumbled to herself, Damn losing another job to bad eyes.

Henry stood beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's only temporary."

"Yeah, I know, but still, I've lost control of my life again."

Sargent Anderson picked up the phone and Vicki explained about needing to take some time off due to vision problems. Sargent Anderson accepted the excuse but said she'd have to have a full physical including vision and hearing before coming back on the job.

Vicki thanked him and let the phone drop to the floor. "Well! That's that. We get these demons back to hell and we move again."

"I thought you wanted to stay here for at least ten years."

"So I did but there's not much chance of that is there?"

"We don't have to make any long term decisions tonight. You've got your spells and I've got mine. Let's go out and find some dinner, then come back and play."

"There's another problem." She tapped her teeth, "No fangs."

Henry brushed some hair off Vicki's face and kissed her lips lightly. "Right! No fangs. A newborn vampire."

"So?"

"So you'll feed from me."

Vicki got a dreamy look remembering the emotional highs she experienced taking blood from Henry and with a deep sigh she said, "Good."

Henry remembering his own feelings agreed and went out to do some gluttonous eating.

Vicki wondered why Henry was bothering to knock as she opened the door. "Did you forget your keys?"

Taken by surprise at not being recognized Joshua Bennett sputtered, "So it's true. You can't see."

Vicki taking a defensive stance said, "I can see well enough to do what's necessary."

Joshua held up a hand in submission, "I don't mean any harm. At least not to you, not now."

Vicki didn't back away as her hand searched for the asp that she kept on the table by the front door. "What do you mean by that?"

Shaking his head as though to clear it, "There's something different."

Vicki said, "Duh. Just because I can't see doesn't mean I've changed."

"Not you. The voices are gone." Stepping back off the porch he added, "I'm not attracted to you. I've got to get away from here and think."

"Wait. Why did you come in the first place?"

"Voices told me to come tonight and I waited until your lover left." He dragged his hands through his hair pulling at it. "The voices are telling me to do evil and Aunt Tri is trying to make the voices stop. She told me to stay away from you."

Henry's hand closed around Joshua's throat from behind. Shaking him like a dog worrying a rag Henry said, "You should have listened."

Vicki's head turned toward Henry's voice, "Don't hurt him. Wipe his mind and send him back to his Aunt."

Henry whispered into Joshua's ear and force marched him off the property sending him back to his aunt.

Vicki moved back into the house and waited for Henry before closing the door. "You weren't gone long enough to feed."

"Actually I was. I found a couple of guys fighting in the alley close to here. It was easy enough to control them, feed and get back."

"You didn't..."

"Of course not. But they'll wake up tomorrow thinking they beat the crap out of each other." He pulled her into his arms and said, "Let's go get comfortable so I can feed you and we can finally make love without interruption."

"That's the best idea I've heard in days."

Vicki licked the wound over Henry's heart as the blood flow slowed to single droplets. The vampire within her was content having been fed and rested without anger toward the vampire within Henry.

Henry lay back on the pillows gently stroking Vicki's head marveling at how his vampire that usually struggled to get away from Vicki and her vampire accepted her closeness and welcomed the sharing of its food. He prayed that a new bond was being forged that wouldn't be forced apart by the vampire's natural territorial instinct.

The last drop of blood was licked away as the wound closed. Vicki raised her head and smiled. "You taste better than ever. Love me Henry. Love me with the skill of five hundred years of practice."

Henry smiled and shift so that she was beneath him, "As you wish, my love."

_ "Earth, winter white rest. Water, spring green birth. Air, summer yellow grow. Fire, fall red consume. Spirit, white grateful. Points, pentagram power. Circle, black binding." Vicki started rolling the words around in her mind before her breathing or heart started for the night. "Despair to hope. Demon to God. Evil to good." She took her first breath as she sat up. Blinking, her vision had improved during her rest. Calling to her vampire she felt it stir but nothing more. Sighing she got up and went to the bathroom.

Henry felt her breathing and leave their bed, but it took him a few moments more before he too joined her in the night.

Vicki came out of the bathroom as he neared the door. They both tensed waiting for their vampires' reactions. When nothing happened Henry spoke first, "I don't think they mind being close to each other."

"I won't be sure until mine's fully back. But for now, she's quiet."

"Are you seeing better?"

"A bit. I can make out light and shadow. Standing close, I can see your face. Keep me pointed in the right direction and I'll get by."

"Want to go over the spell book again?"

"Sure. Listen to the words I've chosen. Make sure I've got the sounds perfect. You're sure I don't have to change anything when I string them together?"

"From what you were given, I'd say no you don't have to change a thing. Just say what you want in the order you want."

(Author's note to reader: There may be a few more errors than normal this time around and I'm sorry for that. So far it's been a rough summer. I hope to have the conclusion to this story completed by the end of August barring any more interruptions. Please be patient and I'll get back to H / V soon. Thank you for reading. RealTears)