Chapter Four: The Trip
"My Dark Prince… I still want you to transform me into a Vampire." Lucy said softly, kissing Lincoln lovingly. Lincoln hesitated. He wasn't sure he was ready to turn her just yet. She was still not even 21 yet. She was 19 and still in college. He would consider transforming her when she graduated college. She was going for Creative Writing, though she personally specialized in poetry, short stories and novels. Her teachers said that she did well bringing a modern touch to her works, which had a delightful taste of Classic Gothic Horror.
Lucy was genuinely one of the most naturally talented writers many of them had taught in quite a while. It stood to reason. Each of the Loud siblings were naturally gifted in their own areas. Lori with golf, Leni with fashion, Luna with music, Luan with entertainment, Lynn with sports, Lincoln with comics and video games, Lucy with writing and witchcraft, Lola with acting and pageantry, Lana with handiwork, Lisa with science and Lily with botany and art.
Lincoln kissed Lucy lovingly, stroking her hair, enjoying just being in her embrace, feeling grateful once again just to be alive, whatever form that life was in. Even if he was undead now. He sighed, holding her close to him. She eagerly leaned into his touch.
"I really want to be a Vampire. Won't you turn me?" She asked. Lincoln sighed, shaking his head.
"Not yet. Maybe after you graduate from college. I need you to live your human life for now. Already, I almost drank Lisa's blood directly. I could have killed her.
"I need to learn to control myself before I make any more like myself." Lincoln said.
"What about me?" Jordan asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a Vampire. But she didn't want to grow old while Lincoln stayed forever young. She wanted to be there for more than 70, maybe 80 years. Alzheimers' ran in her family on her mother's side. So if she could control it, she didn't want to grow old. She never wanted to deal with Alzheimers'. She'd seen what it did to her grandmother, who was now in a nursing home and didn't even recognize her. It was painful for both her mother and for her.
"Well, I don't know what I can do without a teacher, and I'm about 90% sure that I can't trust Nearra, assuming I could even find her. She raped me, so I'd be perfectly happy to never see her again." Lincoln said. Lucy sighed. She knew that Lincoln would have difficulty learning what he needed to without a teacher. She also knew that forcing him to work with the woman who she was sure traumatized him was not a good way to help him learn what he needed to know. She was sure that they could find a Vampire to help Lincoln in Columbus or even in Evanston or Chicago.
Evanston was less likely to have a significant Vampire population. Its human population was only about 75-80,000. But Chicago had an approximately 2.8-million-person population and Columbus had a population of about 900,000. A relatively small city compared to Chicago. But maybe they could rely on it. Lincoln could tell Lucy was thinking.
"What's on your mind?" Lincoln asked. Lucy looked at him, staying silent for a moment, still thinking.
"I'm thinking about how we could find you and possibly Jordan a teacher." Lucy said. Lincoln smiled, rubbing Lucy's head.
"We'll figure something out. Lansing is another potential choice. So is Detroit. They have significant populations, though Detroit is the significantly larger population. And Detroit is only about 20 minutes away from us. So we could easily go there without any problem." Lincoln said.
Actually, he was going to go there tonight and try to figure things out, learn as much as he could, seek out the Vampire population. He might not 'run into' any Vampires tonight. But he wanted to do what he could to set the stage for learning all he could about his condition. He got into warm clothes, making sure that he would blend in with the human population. He didn't know it yet, but his bionic organs made him an entirely new type of Vampire. He would only need to drink every 7-8 days thanks to his bionic organs making his metabolism exceptionally efficient.
And it would get more efficient as time went on. Lincoln kissed Lucy and Jordan and got a generous amount of sunblock that Lisa had provided for him on in case he got stuck in the sun when morning came and then went out to his car. He turned on the radio as he went out of the driveway. Lisa had given him a car for his birthday last year. It seemed a strangely expensive gift to buy. But it was a joint gift by her and Lana, who had worked together to make a prototype of a luxury car that was over ten times more efficient than anything on the market, could run on solar energy and had gizmos and gadgets galore inside.
He drove to Detroit, parking in a garage and turning on the security system. The car legitimately locked down, shades going down over the windows and doors, ensuring that nobody could break into it. It also had defensive systems. Lisa may have gone a bit overboard with the security. But now he was glad she did. It was a car that could likely sell for over a million dollars and he wouldn't want to have to tell Lisa that it had been stolen from under him or jacked of everything it had. He went down to the floor level and walked around Detroit for a while, looking around.
He wasn't sure how he would approach this. What exactly would he do to draw the attention of Vampires? Would he drink from someone to get their attention? Would that draw the wrong kind of attention from them? From the police? The homeless were often unlikely to be believed because of how often they were mentally ill. But he was sure they could be an invaluable resource for Vampires. As he walked, he noticed that he was being followed. He had dressed rather nicely that night. He did have around 400 dollars on him. He didn't need that much money for anything, especially late at night.
But given that he was raised in a home where money was often tight, he liked the feeling of having much more money than he needed. A tall man tapped him on the back and Lincoln felt something press into his back.
"Do you know what this is?" The man whispered. Lincoln nodded.
"Good. Give us your money and I won't have to use it." The man said. Another man came along his other side, holding a knife.
"What are you? Frick and Frack?" Lincoln asked scornfully. The tall man pressed the gun harder into Lincoln's back.
"You think this is a game, boy?" He demanded. Lincoln shrugged.
"No, no. I just don't have any money on me." Lincoln lied.
"It's a shame, but I've got nothing to give you." He said.
He wasn't usually in the habit of lying, especially when someone had a gun on him. But he was pretty sure that even if he took a bullet, he could handle these two creeps. He heard the click of the gun right before the man pressed the trigger down. Lincoln instinctually dodged, twisting to the side and kneeing the man in the stomach, turning and punching the man with the knife in the face, grabbing him and shoving him, sending him flying across the largely abandoned street into a brick wall.
The man slumped to the ground, twitching slightly in pain. Lincoln hadn't realized he could do that, especially when he was a fledgling Vampire. He grabbed the gunman, roaring and biting down on him, gulping down hot, spicy blood. The man ate a lot of very spicy food. Lincoln could tell. He wasn't sure what culture the food was from. But whatever it was from was muy picante. He finally dropped the man to the ground, seeing him slump over. His heart had still been beating when Lincoln finished, probably a result of Lincoln having drunk earlier that day. He didn't need to drain the man.
But the man was badly anemic. Lincoln licked the wound, surprised when he saw it stop bleeding.
"Wow. My saliva seals wounds." Lincoln said to himself, calling an ambulance and disappearing. Lincoln still wasn't alone though. This figure was much better hidden though and followed Lincoln cautiously, seeming to make sure that they weren't following too closely. But Lincoln could hear their footsteps walking in time with his. Finally, there was a hand on his shoulder. Lincoln turned around. A rather small and even fragile looking person smiled blandly at Lincoln, flashing their teeth.
Lincoln saw that their canines were long and sharp like his own.
"You're a Vampire?" Lincoln asked, surprised that he'd made contact so quickly. The Vampire smiled and spoke.
"My name is Avery. I saw how you handled those two thugs. Very impressive. Are you new to the night and just experienced in martial arts? Or have you been in the fold for a while?" They asked.
"Well, I was just turned about a week ago. I woke up earlier tod… Yesterday morning." Lincoln said, seeing that it was about 1 in the morning.
"I went home. I drank some cold blood from a pouch. It wasn't too tasty. But it did the job." Lincoln said.
"Do you know a Vampire by the name of Nearra?" Lincoln asked. Avery thought for a few minutes.
"My master might. But I don't. My master has attained great age and has attained legendary status amongst Vampires.
"While it is true that Vampires mostly exist within small covens, at least according to my Master, there are some Vampires who have become legendary enough amongst Vampires that even Vampires from other covens know of them and their deeds, even if they don't know them personally. My Master is one such Vampire. What town are you from? Lansing? Warren? Columbus, Cincinnati?" Avery asked.
"Royal Woods." Lincoln said, following Avery to their master. Lincoln wasn't sure who he was going to find, but he assumed that their master would be quite intimidating.
"Girl! Where have you been? I expect you to come to my house immediately after you get out of school for the day!" The master demanded as Avery came in the front door.
"Sorry, Master. I had prior obligations with some human friends of mine. I'm unable to rid myself of my human life." They said softly. The master sighed.
"Come here." He demanded. Avery went to him, unable to look him in the eye.
"It's okay. The time will come when you'll be ready. For now, do what you need to do." He said.
"Who is this?" He asked, looking suspiciously at Lincoln. He smelled like a Vampire, but something about him smelled different. The Master came over cautiously to Lincoln, sniffing him, looking at him, cocking his head.
"Who… or what… Are you? You smell like a Vampire, but also not like one." He said.
"My Master is known for being one of the greatest Sensors in the world. His ability isn't exactly supernatural. It's just a result of being able to sense vibrational changes, changes in pheromones, excessive sweating, facial expressions and more that go along with whether someone is being honest. He's better than any lie detector." Avery said proudly. They wanted to learn from him.
"So tell me all that you can." He said.
"Well, I can tell you that I'm a new Vampire. I woke up as one this morning. I was under for seven days before I woke up. Long time sleeping. But the one who turned me thought I was dead… At least I think she did…" Lincoln started.
"Where did you come from?" He asked.
"Royal Woods." Lincoln said.
"Do you know who turned you? Can you give me her name?" He asked.
"Can you give me yours?" Lincoln asked. He didn't enjoy feeling like he was being interrogated.
"Oh, of course. Nicodemus Archibald of Taryn." Nicodemus said.
"I was an Inquisitor for the church before my order was dishonored and fell." Nicodemus said. Lincoln nodded, He didn't recognize the name. But that didn't mean anything.
"Now your name." Nicodemus asked.
"Lincoln Loud… Of Royal Woods." Lincoln said. Nicodemus nodded.
"I see. Small town. I'm surprised there are any Vampires there. In a town of only what? 70,000 people? Vampires would undoubtedly have trouble hiding themselves." Nicodemus asked. Lincoln shrugged.
"I only know of one other than myself who lives there." Lincoln said.
"Who is your Sire?" Nicodemus asked.
Lincoln felt strangely uncomfortable under Nicodemus' gaze, almost as if the man was dissecting him with his eyes, like his entire life, every lie ever told, every trick he'd ever played, every promise he'd ever broken laid out bare for Nicodemus to see.
"I don't know her full name. She only introduced herself as Nearra." Lincoln said. Nicodemus was silent for a long moment before he chuckled.
"Oh… Her." He said, his expression lightening. Avery laughed too, though they didn't fully understand.
"You know her?" Lincoln asked. Nicodemus sighed.
"I knew her a long time ago. I wasn't even sure she was still alive. There are ways to kill a Vampire. It's not easy. But it is possible." Nicodemus said.
"Really? So how do you kill a Vampire?" Lincoln asked.
"All in good time. You're still young. I recommend you focus on learning how to stay alive rather than learning how to kill. That mortal that you slew tonight in the open… Not a good move.
"However, it seems that you weren't in the view of anyone you could see. And it was dark in the area, so perhaps it will be fine." Nicodemus said. Nicodemus had not told Avery everything about himself. He had multiple abilities that were 'beyond human'. He was an Empath, a Highly-Sensitive Person, a Tetrachromat, had Synesthesia between sounds and colors, and an Aura Sensor. He was an interrogator in his time amongst the Knights Templar. He was able to wrest the truth out of nearly anyone. No matter what heresy they had committed, he was dedicated to forcing it out of them, and he rarely needed to resort to torture to get it.
"Please don't read my mind." Lincoln said anxiously.
"Oh, my son. If I wanted to read your mind, there would be precious little you could do to stop me. You see, Avery is similar to me in regards to her abilities. She, like I, is an Empath. She lacks some of the deeper abilities with which the LORD gifted me. I believe I was uniquely placed on this earth to root out lies and evil, and I've dedicated my life as best I could to that endeavor." Nicodemus said.
"But I believe that she can develop greater sensory abilities with practice." Nicodemus said calmly. Avery preferred to go by They/Them pronouns. Sometimes they felt like a girl, other times they felt like a boy. they always preferred They/Them pronouns. But they knew that Nicodemus wasn't going to use those pronouns. It wasn't really that important. They still had their friends who identified them properly. Nicodemus looked carefully at Lincoln, trying to figure out what it was he was sensing in him.
"What is it that I smell in you?" Nicodemus asked, going back to sniffing Lincoln.
"I had surgery earlier today. My younger sister implanted bionic organs in me." Lincoln said.
"Everything from my heart, lungs and stomach to my eyes, inner ears and tongue and voice box were replaced with bionics. She even injected my bones with ultra-dense material." Lincoln said. Nicodemus raised an eyebrow. It was clear to him that Lincoln wasn't lying or at least believed he wasn't lying. But even given modern technology, Nicodemus didn't know of anyone who produced such machines.
Lincoln did what he did before, narrowing his eyes, watching as his vision changed. He zoomed in on Nicodemus, then zoomed out. He changed to Electromagnetic vision, surprised to see how different Vampire electromagnetic resonance was from Human electromagnetic resonance. He changed to Infrared, Nicodemus could see the lenses flashing in his eyes.
"What is it that you are looking for in me?" Nicodemus asked.
"Nothing. I'm just testing out my new abilities. I've only had them since yesterday morning and I need to train my new abilities." Lincoln said.
"What abilities are those?" Lincoln asked.
"Electromagnetic aura vision, Infrared Vision, X-Ray Vision, Sonic resonance vision, I have the equivalent of something like 15 color cones in my eyes. I can see perfectly in the dark, I can zoom in on specific targets or expand my vision.
"My sight, sense, smell, hearing and taste are all linked to the same system, so they are all interconnected. I have the equivalent of total synesthesia." Lincoln said.
"My eyes examine facial and bodily microexpressions, increases in heat and vibrations and I think my sister said a dozen or so other indicators to determine lies. But I'm still working to master all of those abilities. They're hardly on Nicodemus's level yet." Lincoln said modestly. Nicodemus raised an eyebrow. Even if Lincoln didn't yet have mastery of his abilities, that he had so many was incredible.
If Nicodemus were a lesser man, he would have been jealous.
"Perhaps I can help you train in your Vampiric abilities. I assume that you have no intention of training with Nearra?" Nicodemus said. He wouldn't say it, but Nicodemus and Nearra had the same Sire. Nearra was older than him. She was 762 years old. He was only 712 years old. Considering how old both of them were, those 50 years didn't seem like much. But she never let him forget those 50 years she had on him. He and she weren't exactly hostile to each other. But they were hardly friends.
They competed back in the day for their Sire's favor. He had chosen each of them for their individual abilities. Nearra was a warrior in her time. She was also known for her hunting the most dangerous criminals of the day. She alerted them to her presence, made sure they knew that she was hunting them, putting them on alert and then tested them for days to see how well they could evade her. Some made her job interesting, some were merely fun to scare and turn into complete wrecks before she killed them.
Nicodemus felt it was an insult that he was forced to be associated with someone like Nearra. He got over it over time. But he didn't even know that Nearra was in the United States still. He knew that she'd come to New York in the mid-1800s. But he didn't know that she'd left New York. He actually regretted being in such close proximity with her. For many years, they'd been rivals for their Sire's favor. He played them off each other. In his words, he did so to get them to reach new levels of greatness. He wanted to see, how well they could really rise to the challenge that an equally talented opponent could pose.
While they worked together eventually, in the late 1600s, to kill Erasmus. Nicodemus used his sensory abilities to track him and determine when he was at his weakest while Nearra used her talents to temporarily incapacitate him, shooting him in the ankle with a red hot arrow, hobbling him briefly before Nicodemus stabbed him in the heart. A stab to the heart didn't kill or even force a Vampire into hibernation. However, it did stun them. Even old Vampires who had experience with being hit in the heart would be stunned for a few seconds by a stake to the heart.
Nearra swooped in and cut Erasmus's head off. They then burned the halves separately. They weren't entirely sure of how much they had to do to ensure that a Vampire didn't come back. It wasn't easy to kill a Vampire, so very few ever died. He sighed.
"Okay, I have a deal for you. Take me to see Nearra and I will be your new master and I will even permit you to live in Detroit if you wish." Nicodemus said pridefully. Lincoln chuckled. He wasn't sure he wanted to live in Detroit. He might choose a nice city to live in.
But for now, he could commute back and forth between Detroit and Royal Woods. It was only a 20-minute drive between the two locations, and he could park his car in a garage and walk to Nicodemus' home. Nicodemus nodded.
"My ability is not in the physical abilities that go with being a vampire. If you want training in that, I can recommend another. However, I can train you in your sensory abilities. While I do not possess all of them myself, I can aid you in advancing your skill with them." Nicodemus said.
"Now, you may ask one question tonight." Nicodemus said.
"Is there a way to make someone immortal without turning them into Vampires?" Lincoln asked. Nicodemus nodded, seeming to smirk. It was an interesting process.
"This is an interesting first question. But I respect your curiosity. Yes, there is a process like that called Culling. It requires that you give them your Blood. This takes place over five days. You give them your Blood each night for five days. Skipping a single night will undo all the progress.
"You would need to wait until they completely purge their system of the Blood. That takes about a week per day that you gave them your Blood. So be sure that you give them your Blood, preferably at the same time each night." Nicodemus said.
"Once you complete the five-day process, they will develop some Vampiric abilities. Their physical abilities will increase and their potential will increase well beyond human ability.
"Their senses will increase as will their healing, and they may develop a taste for rare or medium-rare meat, though they'll never develop the need for blood that Vampires have." Nicodemus said. Lincoln took notes on this, interested in the process.
"And naturally, the Culled will also gain immortality. However, you need to renew the condition once a month by feeding them once every 30 days. I recommend you put it in your calendar to do. But make sure that nobody sees the calendar, or that you use a pseudonym for the event." Nicodemus said.
Lincoln nodded, bowing politely to him. Nicodemus nodded and saw him to the exit, making sure that he was on his way before he went back in. Meanwhile, Lincoln headed back to the garage, unlocking his car, disarming the security and getting in, heading out and going back to Royal Woods.