Chapter Twelve: Yuletide Rituals and New Revelations
Lincoln sighed. Tonight was the Winter Solstice. He wouldn't be going to Nicodemus or to Nearra. He was going to hunt and then he was spending the night with Lucy and her Coven. He was feeling good. He'd had two pints of blood, which was more than enough for him. For the time anyway. He wasn't sure how long two pints would last, especially since most of the Vampire movies he watched suggested at the very least that an entire body's worth of blood (approximately 5 liters, which was equivalent to approximately 10.6 pints) was required in a Vampiric feeding period.
However, for now he felt good. He would just have to play it by ear and let time tell him how much he did or didn't need to drink. Certainly he would need to know before he moved away to Massachusetts or wherever they decided to move to in the future. He was already starting to look at property costs in Massachusetts near Boston, which was incidentally close to Salem, which was where Lucy was hoping to live. Lincoln was happy to live out there. Supposedly, it was a very open-minded state. So a poly relationship probably wouldn't raise any flags.
He got on his jacket and cape for the ritual. He wasn't big into Witchcraft. But he definitely supported Lucy, and he knew that she wanted him to be there. He had studied some of the rituals that she performed, as she'd allowed him to look at her impressively well-organized and full Book of Shadows, something she said she would trust to few others. He was considering getting into Witchcraft though. Lucy said that her Coven had a spot opening up, once a young man named Leo and his family moved. Lincoln studied Lucy's spellbook, which was immaculately written and incredibly detailed.
Lincoln would probably use a three ring binder for his Book of Shadows rather than the leatherbound diary that Lucy had. A three ring binder would allow him to move spells and pages around when and if he needed to and organize them into various sections in the spellbook for ease of access. He wondered if Lucy wanted him at the ritual so that she could do a big, dramatic reveal that he was a Vampire. He really hoped that she wasn't going to do that. He didn't need that kind of attention. Several members of the family already knew that he was a Vampire. He didn't need strangers knowing.
Even if they were friends of Lucy's, most of them were undoubtedly strangers to him. Still, he took Lucy's hand as she took her Book of Shadows in her main arm. She was dressed up in her Witchy best. She still liked keeping the aesthetic of a Witch, even after all these years. She still wore her cape and her silver jewelry and other accoutrements to show that she was a Witch. She didn't wear her hat anymore. That was just silly, she said. But she did carry wands with her, all of which she had blessed in Hecate's name. They headed to their location in the woods.
As they got there, they saw that there was already a bonfire being started.
"Lucy… Lincoln. Come on over." Haiku said. She knew that Lincoln and Lucy were in a relationship. But she hadn't told any of the other coven members. It wasn't her place. This would be Leo's last Yule ritual with this coven. They wanted to make it special for him.
"I hear that you have chosen to join our Coven, Lincoln Loud. Have you chosen a deity or deities that you'll worship?" Haiku asked curiously.
The members of the coven tended to be pretty open about their deity or deities. Leo sighed. His parents had to move up the date that they were moving. This would probably be the last time he saw any of them. He really didn't want to move again. He always felt so lonely. He never felt like he fit in because he had to move so often. But he had to tell Mason how he felt about him. If he didn't do it now, he'd never be able to. And it wasn't like Mason could make his life miserable for long. He would be moving to Maine. What could Mason even do anymore?
He went over to the young man.
"Mason? Can we talk?" Leo asked shyly. Mason nodded, going over to a log and sitting down with him.
"Mason… I-I know I'm moving soon. But I love you. You're so cool and handsome and strong and I just wanted to-to tell you how I felt before I moved." Leo said timidly. Mason smiled.
"I was wondering when you would tell me. I'm flattered. I'm straight. But I admire you for coming out. It must have taken a lot to do that." Mason said.
"Wait… You're… You're not going to make fun of me?" Leo breathed anxiously.
"Of course not. We're Pagans, not Christians. Pagans have historically celebrated people with same-sex attractions." Mason said. Leo nodded, still trembling lightly. Mason pulled Leo into a hug.
"Come on, dude. What's happening?" He asked.
"Oh… My-we're moving after the New Year. This-this is gonna be our last time seeing each other." Leo said. He really liked Mason, and even if Mason didn't feel the same way, he hated that he was going to have to leave and probably never see him again.
"Oh… Well… Listen, I'm sure that wherever you go, you'll fit in just fine. I've seen you turn from a nervous wreck when you first joined the Coven to a much more confident person. You're still a little shy and anxious. But you're getting a lot better and I have faith in you. Wherever you move, I believe that you'll do fine." Mason said.
"Th-thanks…" Leo said uncertainly. Mason nodded, taking his hand and bringing him over to the circle.
"Alright, everyone! This is probably gonna be Leo's last time with us! So what we need to do is let him lead the ritual! We need to express our intentions for him and throw them into the fire, releasing them to the universe that they may follow him wherever he goes." Mason said. Leo's breath hitched, but he joined hands with everyone, closing his eyes and steeling his nerves. He began speaking, saying the Yule Ritual. He'd practiced it for over a week now. Every night, he studied it. Lucy smiled. He really had advanced in his practice of the Art. He finished it flawlessly.
Once they were done, they went around the circle and spoke. Haiku spoke first.
"For you, Leo I desire luck in your new home, that you may succeed in all that you do." Haiku said, throwing a stick onto the fire. Amelia spoke next.
"For you, Leo I desire resolve in your future endeavors, that while you may waver, you will always find your way back to your path." Amelia said.
"For you, Leo…" Diana said. "I desire foresight, that you may see the benefits and consequences of your actions with clarity and continue on the right path." Mason went next.
"For you, Leo, I desire strength, both physical and emotional that you may stay hardy in your future travels." Lucy went next.
"For you, Leo I desire curiosity, that you may continue to learn the Craft and seek ever greater knowledge." Lucy said. Christopher went next. Lucy was curious to see what his wish would be. She had wished curiosity, which was similar to what Christopher might wish, given his deity in Thoth.
"For you, Leo I desire Resources, that you may never be lacking for access to knowledge and research in the Craft." Christopher said. Lucy smiled.
"Together we pray, together we say. All of these, we wish for thee. As we will it, so mote it be." They chanted together. Over the years, they had gained a connection to each other. They weren't psychic, most of them weren't. They couldn't read each other's minds. But they could follow along well with each other. Lincoln hadn't made any wishes for Leo. But he didn't know much about the Craft yet.
He wasn't really part of the Coven yet. So he was okay with not being included. He waited for Lucy to come over to him after the ritual was done. He took notes and observed. Finally, Lucy came over to him. They began to douse the fire and make sure that the embers were all put out, spreading the coals out in the snow. They began to pass gifts around. Mason, who had come to care for Leo like he was a younger brother, went over to him, handing him a package.
"I'm eager to see what you think." Mason smiled.
Leo opened it and found to his surprise and delight, a huge 11.5x8.25, 240 page leatherbound notebook along with glass dipping ink pens and some inks along with a few beautifully carved and crafted wands. The young man gasped.
"Oh, Mason! This is way too much. I can't accept all this!" Leo protested, blushing heavily.
"We all got it together for you. This is the Coven's gift to you. Look inside the notebook." Mason said.
Leo took out his cell phone and shone the light on the book. It had a beautiful lock on it even. He went into it and saw that it had pages filled out with spells. It left the first seven pages blank for Leo to fill it in with his own things, for example, intentions, charts and so on. Leo felt tears filling his eyes, hugging each of them. They really were the best friends he could have asked for. Soon, the group started separating, heading back towards their own homes and preparing for the next day. Lincoln and Lucy joined hands, officially so that they wouldn't get separated. But really, they just wanted to hold hands.
They headed back to their home together. While Lucy was officially welcome back at Rita's and Lynn's home if she wanted to live there, she liked living with Lincoln, and she knew that soon enough, she would be back in college and separated from him by several states. She knew that Jordan would be separated him as well and that he would be alone. Even if he was able to go back to college, which was doubtful due to him just recently becoming a Vampire. Maybe someday, he could go back to college. But for now, he needed to focus on getting his abilities fully under control.
The two went into the house, sitting down together on the couch. Sunrise wouldn't be for an hour or two, so he had some time before he needed to get into his safe location. He just sat and talked with Lucy. He could tell that Leo was anxious about moving. But he could also tell that Leo was grateful for the Coven's support of him while he tried to get himself ready to move. Lucy nodded. Lucy, unlike Lincoln was a natural empath and aura sensor. Lincoln could see auras and detect lies with his bionic sensory organs. But he wasn't a natural like Lucy was.
He was sure that Nicodemus would love to have Lucy as a Childe. She may in fact have also been a Highly Sensitive Person. She was a rare type, given her spiritual gifts. Lucy claimed that she had those gifts because she was a Natural Witch, having heritage in Witchcraft from her Great-Grandma Harriet, her Great-Great Grandma Beatrice and her Great-Great-Great Grandma Alice as well as Lucille, who was known to practice and have mastered Witchcraft in their ancient abode, Loch Loud. In fact, Angus had allowed Lucy to take Lucille's Book of Shadows with her back to the United States.
Soon, Lincoln had to go down to the basement and sleep the day away. He was actually tired today, not because he'd been up all night, but because he'd been working hard lately, both with Nicodemus and with Nearra. He needed to sleep.
-0-
Lincoln slept through most of the day, feeling rejuvenated by around 5 pm when he woke up. He sighed. It was only the 22nd. So he still had a few days before Christmas, when he would be spending time with his family and then New Year, which he would also spend with his family. By the 5th of January, Lucy and Jordan would both be back in college. He would definitely feel lonely without them. But he would be busy most days working on his comics and most nights, training in his Vampire abilities.
His night with Nicodemus was planned out already. They would be working more on his sensory abilities and determining lies. Nicodemus could tell he was anxious about something. He hadn't thought much about it. But Lucy's own extrasensory abilities were incredible. Nicodemus narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lincoln.
"There's someone in your life who's incredibly perceptive. Tell me about them. A lover? A friend? A former classmate?" Nicodemus asked.
"First off, don't read my mind. Second of all, it's not your business." Lincoln said.
"Your sister… And she's also your lover." Nicodemus said. One of Nicodemus' shortcomings was that he often had a lack of respect for people's privacy and personal boundaries. Lincoln sighed.
"Yes. My sister/lover. Lucy. She's an Empath, Aura Reader and I believe she's also a Highly Sensitive Person." Lincoln said. He figured that Nicodemus would figure it out on his own soon enough.
"And now that she has these bionic organs that your other younger sister provided for you and her, you believe that her sensory abilities have increased even further." Nicodemus said.
"Yes. But I do not give you permission to go near her. If you come to my hometown and go near her, you'll have me as an enemy. I will turn her one day. We will be immortal together. But that day is not today and she's too young still. Actually, I'm still too young as well. I wasn't ready to be a Vampire. I would have preferred to wait about five more years." Lincoln said.
He would have been finished with college and possibly graduate school. But life happened as it did, and there wasn't much he could do. Nicodemus examined Lincoln, observing him, searching him for any chance that he could be bluffing. He could tell the young man was entirely serious. He didn't want Lucy involved in this just yet.
"I see. Very well. I will abstain from offering her immortality." Nicodemus said.
"That said, there are ways that would allow you to age a little bit further if you like." Nicodemus said.
"Alchemy. It's a complex art, but if you're able to do it, you might be able to age up to your desired physical age before stopping. I recommend you do tests on others first before you experiment on yourself. After all, you don't want to age yourself too far. And humans are a dime a dozen. Accidentally aging a human to death would be sad, but it isn't like there wouldn't be a million other humans to take their place." Nicodemus said dismissively.
"You're an alchemist?" Lincoln asked, amazed. Nicodemus laughed.
"I dabbled in alchemy over the years. Most of what I can do is turn one element into another element. I can turn lead or iron into gold, diamond, things like that. But I'm not capable of the complex alchemical rituals that would be required to modify a Vampire's ability to age." Nicodemus said. Lincoln nodded.
"Could you introduce me to someone who can teach me those rituals?" Lincoln asked. Nicodemus sighed.
"It's not so easy to find such a person in the modern world. Most alchemists hoarded their knowledge jealously, especially back in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when such knowledge could be reason enough to hang them for Witchcraft. In modern day, people are so quick to announce their allegiance to what they call the 'old gods', to declare that they practice Witchcraft. But few know what true magic is. Few can call on the powers that the Old Mages could. Now, before you go thinking Harry Potter magic, it's not like that. Yes, I read the Harry Potter books.
"I even met JK Rowling once and got my books autographed." Nicodemus said.
"Anyway, no. Ancient Magic isn't like that. It's more like… Enforcing your will on the universe. Seeing changes being made through alterations of probability. Take this penny. What are the odds that if I drop it, it will land on its edge?" Nicodemus asked, dropping it. Lincoln watched as it spun and stayed on its edge. He was moderately impressed by Nicodemus' prediction that would happen. But had it simply been a lucky guess? Had he made it happen? Or did he have some sort of prescience and saw that it would?
"I can see that you're still skeptical." Nicodemus said, picking it up and dropping it again, making it fall on its edge a second time, then a third.
"Now, the more times I do that, the less likely it will be to work. Magic alters the probability of various things to happen. It allows for human free will though. So for instance, you could increase a horse's chances of winning the Kentucky Derby with magic. But if it really is the worst horse, there's still a chance that it could lose.
"You could use magic to make a bullet miss you by centimeters, or to make it so that a bullet that hit you hit no vital organs. You could use magic to guide you in saying all the right things in an attempt to woo someone you are attracted to. Magic's use is extremely diverse. Most who even can use magic can't use it for anything more complex than winning the Lottery or for slightly bucking their odds in succeeding in a test. But remember, using magic too often for too many things, and especially to force success in the most unlikely of circumstances, eventually your magic will fail.
"Probability can't be tweaked too far or it will simply fail. Punch a brick wall and you may find the weak point and break it. Kick a door and you may find the point where you can cave it in. Continually do those things and eventually probability will betray you. Once chances get to zero, magic will no longer avail you." Nicodemus said. Lincoln nodded.
"So you're saying that I could use magic to allow myself to age normally?" Nicodemus stopped and thought for a long, long moment.
"Theoretically it's possible. However, Alchemy is the safer option for performing that action. Remember that magic tweaks the odds. It doesn't break reality. And the reality is that Vampires are unaging and immortal. However, it's possible that you could age yourself like a human temporarily. The problem is that you might continue to age like a human and die like a human, even if you maintain the powers of a Vampire. That's why you want to have an experienced and strong-willed Mage or Alchemist perform the spell or ritual that would modify your situation.
"I may be able to seek out an Alchemist or a Mage. If you want me to, I will. I am owed favors in certain circles. However, if I am to do that for you, you will owe me a favor." Nicodemus said calmly. Lincoln thought for a long moment.
"Very well. But that favor cannot be giving Lucy to you. I won't have her become your Childe." Lincoln said. Nicodemus nodded.
"That's fine. I'm sure I can think of other favors that you can offer me." Nicodemus said.
"Good. Then we're agreed." Lincoln said. Nicodemus went into his computer. It wouldn't necessarily be a quick process. But the Dark Web offered him many options that he would never have had in the past. One website allowed people to seek out rare, dangerous, illegal or controversial services. He had sought out magical and supernatural services in the past. He typed in a number of commands that Lincoln didn't recognize, but was sure that it would lead them where they wanted.
Finally, he finished, sitting down with Lincoln and going through their lessons for the night. Avery sat in on the lessons as well. They felt like Nicodemus was starting to lose interest in them. Nicodemus had taken so much interest in Lincoln given his, admittedly bionic sensory abilities. Their sensory abilities were far superior to a normal human's abilities. But they were far inferior to Nicodemus' and Lincoln's. They were strongly considering absconding to Nearra, letting themselves be Nearra's pupil. Avery was hardly a warrior. But they were sure Nearra could teach them to be one.
And maybe they would be happier being a warrior to trying to be a sensor. Nicodemus looked over at Avery.
"Lincoln, would you give Avery and I some time alone?" Nicodemus asked. Lincoln nodded, going and reading some of the many ancient books that Nicodemus had.
"Avery… I sense feelings of uncertainty in you. You are considering leaving me." Nicodemus said calmly. Avery could never read Nicodemus.
He was just as good at hiding his emotions as reading others' emotions. They worried that if they said they was, he would become enraged and kill them.
"I… No. Of course not, Master." They said. Nicodemus chuckled.
"You don't need to lie to me, Avery. I have sensed your resentment towards me since shortly after I turned you. I am sorry that I did that. Ultimately, it was a mistake on my part. I could have taken a number of other routes. There was little need to involve you in my world.
"If you wish to leave me, I understand. However, know that there is no known way to get rid of your condition. Even Magic or Alchemy has never shown any promise in ridding someone of it." There were rumors of a Vampire back in the 1700s who was turned back into a human through a form of exorcism. The rumor went that the priest's will and faith were so strong that they were able to bring about God's personal intervention to turn the Vampire back into a human. But there were also rumors that said human still had the abilities of a Vampire and that they still had the thirst, even if it wasn't as strong.
But Nicodemus didn't want to get her hopes up only for them to be dashed. On the other hand, Avery was his mistake. While he had lost much of his humanity, he still believed that his mistakes needed to be owned by him and attempts made at rectifying them.
"Avery… What would you say if I attempted to research a rumor that I heard over 200 years ago? I can't promise that it will bear fruit. But I can promise that I will try." Nicodemus said. Avery raised an eyebrow.
"What was the rumor?" They asked.
"A rumor that there was a priest in the 1700s who was actually able to turn a Vampire back into a human. I don't want you to get your hopes up. But there's a chance that you could become a human once more. It may be a painful process, I don't know. It may be a long process. I know very little about the process. Only that it was rumored to have been done." Nicodemus said.
Avery nodded eagerly. They just wanted to be human again. They didn't like being a Vampire.
"Anything you can do to get me back to being human would be appreciated." Avery said. Nicodemus nodded. He went to his computer and typed in some confusing commands, going to multiple websites, including multiple religious ones on the Dark Web, trying to find any evidence of such a priest. Chances were very strong that no such priest existed anymore and that no such priest ever existed. Finally though, a message came through.
"Is the creature of the night willing to repent for their sins?" Nicodemus typed in.
"Yes. She wishes to become human again."
"I will be at your abode within the fortnight. I must needs finish a few other tasks before I come." The person spoke in a very odd style. But Nicodemus surprisingly wasn't questioning it. Even if his speech pattern seemed strangely familiar. But that was impossible. Every human he knew as a young man was likely dead.
"I have found someone who claims to be able to help you. Within fourteen days, he'll be here." Nicodemus said calmly. Avery nodded, barely daring to hope that it would work. It seemed so far-fetched that she was worried she would be devastated when it didn't work. Lincoln came back in and they finished their lessons for the night, finally sending Lincoln home. Nicodemus would make sure Lincoln was at the home when the priest came, just in case the priest could avail Lincoln of normal aging up to his desired physical age.