The Fury of the Night

Chapter 14 : A Time of Learning-David

David looked around the table at these boys he had chosen, these boys who had become his vanguard. He had changed them, saved them, made them his, and because he had done so, he was responsible for them. Part of that responsibility was their education. He had taught each of them how to survive as vampires; how to kill, how to drink, how to fight others like them who were hostile. They had each taken to their new lives with great enthusiasm, quickly assimilating to life in the darkness and he was proud of them. Now, it was time for them to know more about the night and the creatures that moved about in it. David had decided that he would begin with the tale of his own creation. Looking down the table at where Raven sat, back perfectly straight, hands resting atop her knees, he felt her inside his mind.

"It will be fine." he heard her say there, and felt a wave of calm come over him. Giving her a nod, he began.

"I was born in Romania, in the region now known as Brasov, almost eight hundred years ago. My father was a clan leader, a man of great importance in our village; my mother, a healer of sorts. It was our home that people came to when they needed words of wisdom and decision or a concoction of herbs to heal a wound or cure an ill." David paused briefly, then continued.

"My childhood was happy, though hard. The whole family worked from sunup to sundown and beyond, my father frequently in the forest hunting and my mother gardening or gathering herbs with me and later, my brothers, at her side. When I grew older, I accompanied my father and he taught me how to track wild game and how to build traps and hunt.

"Deep in the winter one year, three young men went missing while out hunting. A search party set out, led by my father. I was left behind to guard our home. The party returned after six days, pulling what was left of the three men on a makeshift travois. That night, the entire clan gathered in our home to listen to my father tell of what had happened.

"On their third day out, they had come upon the bodies of the men, frozen stiff on bloodied snow. They had been set upon by a bear perhaps, or a pack of wolves, though no animal tracks were found. Each of their throats had been torn out, though the beasts had not eaten any other part of their bodies. Perhaps the animal responsible had been rabid, my mother suggested, and had killed in a fevered frenzy. My father agreed. It was sad, especially to the surviving families, but we were people of the wilderness and such things were a risk we accepted. We buried our dead and moved on, keeping an eye open for any signs of wild beasts near our homes.

"Less than a week later, a young girl disappeared while gathering water from the river in the evening. There was only one small boot laying on the bank next to her overturned bucket. We found her the next day, not far away. She had been laid out seemingly with care upon the snow, her skin so pale it almost matched the color of the ground, large holes in one side of her neck. There was not a single drop of blood. Either around her or left in her.

"I remember listening to my father and mother whispering that night as I lay beside my brothers, pretending to sleep. It could not be a wild animal, they agreed. No animal could leave her body laying so carefully, nor could one have killed her with such restraint, not spilling any of her blood yet draining her of all of it. But yet, it had to be, for what of the bite marks upon her neck? They were not left by human teeth."

Here David paused briefly, looking around the table. The boys and Star were listening, transfixed by his words. He looked down-table at Raven, who sat silently, her mind touching his, seeing the pictures of his history as he spoke, though knowing it already.

"In a few days time, a blizzard came; one so fierce it blocked out the midday light. We were huddled around the fire, my mother telling stories to my younger brothers to keep them from being frightened by the shrieking of the wind; my father sharpening his knives; myself carving arrows. The wind seemed to pick up even more and the shrieking became louder and louder. By the time we discovered it was not the wind, it was too late. The door to our hut was ripped away and something stood there, peering in at us. It was dressed like a man, yet was not. It's eyes were yellow and it had great white fangs like a wolf that were dripping with red. My father charged at it and he fell at once, his neck snapped easily by one hand of the monster. I pushed my mother and brothers behind me and struck out with my knife, plunging it deep into the chest of the thing. It did not flinch; it simply flung out an arm and sent me flying through the air to crash against the wall, my mother's screams sharp in my ears. I must have lost consciousness briefly, because when I opened my eyes, my mother's body was on the ground, pale and lifeless, both my brothers beside her. The beast was bent over my father, it's head at my father's throat. I looked around me for anything to use as a weapon but there was nothing. In desperation, I threw myself onto the monster and it simply shrugged me off, as if I were a fly. Again, I got up and again I threw myself upon it, using the only weapon I had…my teeth. I bit at it's head and when it turned toward me, I ripped into it's face, tearing the flesh on it's cheek. My mouth immediately began to burn even as I was being thrown to the ground. It was fire like I had never felt that seeped throughout my whole head, then down my body. The thing stood over me, watching me writhe and scream, those yellow eyes never leaving mine. I was praying for death as it knelt at my side. When it spoke, it's voice vibrated through the very ground.

'Life…or…death?' it asked.

"My body could stand no more of the burning agony, and my family was gone. I wanted to be gone too. So I replied 'death."

David paused again, taking in a breath. He could smell the blood of each of the others around the table. Each a unique blend of elements, but with a common base, except for Raven. She was blood born of fire and even now, caught as he was in the telling of his own tale, she called to him. Her blood and venom, her body, all that she was. He looked at her as she sat in perfect stillness and was thankful he had answered "death" so many centuries ago. He continued, his voice low and steady.

"Death was not what I had thought it would be. The thing reached out and I watched in horror as it slit it's own wrist with a sharp claw. It then grabbed my jaw and poured it's blood into my mouth. At once, the fire within me turned to ice. I could feel it spread down to my toes. The burning was gone and there was only coldness and I thought eternal sleep would come soon; that the coldness was death. I was wrong. I swallowed, and then swallowed again. And what I took into myself was sweet, and it felt pure somehow. I grabbed the thing's wrist and brought it to my mouth and sucked at the delicious flow until finally it pulled away and arose. When it held out it's hand, I took it and stood. I didn't understand what was happening, but as I looked around and saw the bodies of my family, I did not feel sorrow. I did not feel pain. I did not feel worried. I did not feel. I simply was.

"The creature took me with him, and we departed the mountain that night. I found myself able to run at a speed that should not have been possible; able to leap into the very tops of towering trees. As dawn drew near, it led me to a shallow cave hidden by wilderness brush and we took rest there though we had no need of it. It talked to me that day. It showed me magical pictures in my mind of what it was. It told me what I now was and what I had to do to survive. My first lesson was of the sunlight. The creature forced me to stand in the cave mouth and hold my hand out. Instantly I was burned when my hand went beyond the protective shadow of the darkness. Sunlight is always the first lesson."

At this, the boys and Star looked around at each other. This was indeed the first lesson David had taught each of them, and none had to be reminded a second time, such was the pain.

"It fed me from it's wrist as I needed until we came upon a small village. More people than had been in my family's clan. So much blood…I went wild though I was not in need of sustenance. The creature put me into submission by seizing my mind. I was driven to the ground and it held me there by force of it's will until I could control myself. Then, it took me around the village, smelling out the people I'd missed in my massacre. It showed me how to stalk my prey. How to kill cleanly and drink without spilling a drop. How to leave a kill site so that no human would ever know what had happened there, or if indeed anything had happened. I drank in the knowledge like I drank in the blood.

"We traveled together for centuries, sometimes parting ways briefly, but reuniting at a later time. I had thought I was complete in my education and was rather…smug…about being what I was. I was wrong to think so. One night, the creature came to me and told me we needed to talk further about the night. There was more for me to learn. It asked me why I had never questioned where it had come from and I was speechless. The matter simply had never crossed my mind. It told me then, and more so, it showed me. It sat before me and looked deep into my eyes. The next thing I was aware of was standing in a great place of fire. Everywhere I looked there were flames. I remember withdrawing in fear, but the creature told me not to be afraid and took my arm, holding it out before me. I was amazed as the flames held heat but did not burn my flesh, instead wrapping themselves around me as if to protect me. 'No worry, no danger here. Here is home. Here is where all those who are of pure night blood come from.' It led me through the great halls of flame then, letting me look about, explaining what I saw. There were creatures of indescribable beauty and also of indescribable horror flying about completing tasks set to them. It explained how I now belonged here as well because I had drank of it's pure blood; how if I wished to make another of flame, it would have to drink of me directly. It told me if I wanted to build an army, I could do so easily, by giving of myself in a diluted form. We walked through great throne rooms where dark courts met and looked into the council chambers where decisions that affected the world were made. At last, he reached out a hand and we were back, sitting in my room, after having traversed time, space, and planes of existence. His time walking the surface was almost complete, he told me, while my time had only begun."

David looked sternly around the table as he went on. "There is always more around you than what there appears to be. There are places of fire and of light as well; beings of fire…" he looked at Raven then, his eyes meeting hers, "and of so much light that it would blind you to lay your eyes upon them. We all play our own parts.

"I have seen cities rise and fall and rise again. I was there when Vlad the Impaler ruled, and I whispered in his ear while he slept. I whispered of how to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies and friends alike. I courted the Countess Bathory and sat naked with her in a huge copper tub filled with blood. I have crossed oceans and have laid siege to entire countries. And here I am before you."

Dwayne, Paul, and Marko all broke into a simultaneous applause for their maker with huge smiles on their faces, and Raven dipped her head to David with a smile of her own.

David pushed back in his chair and stretched tight muscles, then laid his arms on the table with hands folded before him.

"Boys, you continue to serve me well. We have won battles of blood with other covens though wildly outnumbered at times. Houses have fallen at our feet and we have raked in the rewards. Soon, we will be asked to join another battle, and it's outcome cannot be seen, not even by those who can see. I have already given my allegiance to the cause, but I will not force yours. Each of you will be given a choice to serve only after you have heard it explained and had any questions answered."

He looked directly at Star then, asking in a sincere tone,

"How are you faring, Star? Is it too much?"

Star had barely moved since sitting down at the table. She had become so caught up in David's words that she had barely breathed. Things she had heard as a human; stories she had read, movies she had watched; they had truth in them. And that truth was sitting at the head of this table speaking to her. Of course she knew the reality of vampires as here she sat in the midst of a pack of them. But to hear of the creation of one, his age, his existence woven through history, and to have him sitting mere feet away looking every bit a teenager of the present time, complete with spiked hair and an earring was a little overwhelming. To her credit, she took in a deep breath and answered truthfully,

"It is a lot. A lot. I think I'm okay though." and she nodded to him.

David gave her a small grin, being much pleased with her answer.

"Good. Very good." He pushed back his chair and stood then, raising his arms for them to do the same. As the boys and Star stood, David said "Marko, why don't you go find a good bottle of wine for us to enjoy? There is another story of creation you will hear and a good wine will go well with it."

Raven had stood from her cross-legged position and now walked across the table top to where David was holding out his arms for her. As the boys moved about the cavern, pushing each other and trading insults in their old teasing ways, and Star went to get a bag of snacks from her bedside, Raven stepped off the table as David wrapped his arms around her legs. He let her body slide down the length of his, luxuriating in the feel. He had been separated from her for what felt like forever, even though they had only been a table's length apart. The feeling of her arms wrapping around his neck was a precious treat, and he smiled as she stood on her toes to touch her lips to his. Sparks ignited and flame came into being around them, enclosing them in a private cocoon of soft blue.

Raven had never sought out another's touch as she did with David. He was marvelous, she thought, as his firm lips took control over hers. A cold heat grew within her as she thought of how just hours ago their bodies had been locked together and how pleasure and pain had melted together to create a passion born of hell for them both. She wanted this night god. Wanted him as her own. And heaven help any who tried to interfere, as fire beings were known for their possessiveness…

Star paused by a fire barrel juggling her snacks and a shawl she had picked up as well. Her eyes were pulled to the brilliant blue fire that swirled around David and Raven, the flames twisting and snapping about them. What would it feel like, she wondered, to be enclosed in flame like that? To have such a passion? When she had first come into the group, she had thought she could love David one day. He was certainly beyond handsome, and he had been so charming at first. His charm had only been an act, she now knew. He had no feelings for her, which he had made perfectly clear. As her eyes wandered over the fire she thought of the noises she had heard the night before and the wounds of pleasure that both David and Raven were wearing. He certainly had feelings for Raven. What would it be like? To be on the receiving end of that level of intensity? She shivered a little as she headed over to the table and wondered if she would ever know anything even close to it.

Paul and Dwayne had their arms companionably thrown around each other's shoulders as they started back to the table and they simultaneously paused at the sight of their leader engaged with the small creature they were coming to like very much, even though her presence caused them torment as well. They shared a moment of silliness, bringing their heads together and exclaiming "Awwww…." at the same time before letting out brotherly laughter and moving to reclaim their seats.

Marko held the bottle of vintage wine carefully in one hand and six goblets of heavy crystal in the other as he crossed the large cavern. He noticed the beautiful blue of the flames encompassing David and Raven and smiled hugely. He highly approved of this new member of their group, no matter how thirsty or angry her being here made him. He was fascinated and looked forward to learning more about her, as he had thoroughly enjoyed learning about his creator. This was an exciting night, he thought as he sat the wine glasses down.

David kissed his Night Bird deeply and thoroughly and then released her lips as the sound of the others returning to the table area met his ears. He couldn't resist smacking her ass as she turned from him to move around the table, and her reaction was worth it. He heard her sweet chiming voice inside his mind say "Later, My Night King. I promise. That, and more." and then she was gone, back into herself. He chuckled and said aloud,

"I'll hold you to that."

"To what?" Marko piped up, puzzled. David chuckled again and said "Not for your ears, Marko. I wouldn't want to scar you."

Marko simply shrugged and replied, "Okay." He held out the wine bottle for David's approval and after he was given a nod, he set about opening the bottle and pouring the glasses.

David led them in a toast. "To knowledge," he said in his deep voice, "May it be forever shared with those worthy of it."

"Hear, hear!" echoed around the table and they all took a drink, relishing the fine burn of the sweet wine. Star nibbled delicately on her cheese and crackers and batted at Marko's hand as he tried to steal them away. Harmony vibrated in the air around the seated ones. David and Raven felt it and were both glad for it.

David lit a cigarette and leaned forward in his chair.

"All right. You have heard my story. Now there is another. I would have you know more about our Raven."

Raven pulled one leg up, letting it rest against the arm of the chair she sat in and settled comfortably back.

David gave her a small grin and gestured with his hands.

"Proceed, Midnight Bird. Please proceed."

Raven returned his smile and as all eyes turned toward her, she began to speak.