Chapter 5: The Raven
They met the next morning, just as they had before, Roxanne, Beth, and Lucy standing close together as their Master walked up and down the line.
"It must be done tonight," he said, "He must die tonight."
"Why?" all eyes snapped to the vampire that dared to ask such a question. At first, the Master seemed angry that anyone would question his authority. Then, he smiled.
"Lucy," he sighed, "Such a young vampire. The youngest of us all. Yet, you are the most powerful."
"More powerful than you?" most of them stared, wide-eyed, at this blasphemous child of the night. But the Master had much patience with this girl, this heretic who defied him.
"Perhaps one day. When you understand your powers more clearly. There is still much you must learn."
"You haven't answered my question. Why must it be done tonight?"
"Blood on the moon. A vampire is always formed on nights like these. If it did not happen, it would be like locking a door without a key. Everyone, even the mortals, would feel something was missing. It makes the night complete."
"And if we didn't feed, it would be like trick-or-treating without the candy," Roxanne added. The Master shot her a look.
"Patience, my child, you will have your time."
"May we feed, Master? Just this one night?"
"Possibly, if you are a good little girl..." he nodded.
"Still, why can't we kill someone else?" Lucy persisted. She remembered her dreams, though the face was unclear. Though she was sure it had been Carter she held, burning in her arms.
"He was supposed to have been changed two years ago, with you," the Master answered, "But thanks to Beth, Roxanne, and Paul, it wasn't possible." Lucy spat.
"Paul!" she exclaimed, "Paul Sobriki! I despise that name!" even the Master was surprised at this.
"You despise the name of your sire?"
"Yes."
"You are to respect your sire! He is to be looked up to with dignity!"
"He ripped my life away from me!" Lucy's voice was full of passion, "I was no more than a girl! I could have been a doctor! I could have saved lives!"
"And now you destroy them," the Master whispered, "Accept it, my child. It is your role in the scheme of things. You are a vampire, the Chosen One. You feed off human blood. You kill when you feel it necessary!"
"No," Lucy shook her head, "*You* kill when you feel it necessary! *You* feed off human blood!"
"WRONG CHILD!" he now screamed, "You are one of us! I would have thought you'd accepted this by now! But you are just a naïve, vapid little tramp!" everyone was taken aback. It was the first time he had insulted the Chosen One. The only thing that even he seemed to respect. Even Lucy had to stare.
"I am not naïve," she scowled, "I am certainly not vapid! Maybe I am a vampire. But I will never be the type of vampire you want me to be!"
"Without blood, you will go insane! You will lose your strength! You will die!"
"Then that, dear Master, is my place in the scheme of things. I will die like I was supposed to have died, two years ago!" The Master seized Lucy's shoulders.
"Child," he said patiently, "I understand that you are young and you may not understand the sacrifices we make to survive. We feed off of humans. We need not kill when we feed, though we have the power to. We do not harm humans in cold blood. They feel week and drowsy after a feeding, but no harm has come to them."
"Harm can come to them," Lucy pointed out.
"Only if you drink until you have drunken all their blood. Then, yes, they die of blood loss. We are predators, Lucy, not murderers. We don't kill for sport."
"What about Dr. Carter?" Lucy asked. The Master sighed.
"Yes. All right. Dr. Carter will live to see another sunrise."
"Thank you," Lucy smiled, and walked out. When he heard the door close, the Master grinned. Roxanne knew what that grin meant.
"You prevaricate well, Master," she complimented him.
"It is not a prevarication, Roxanne, but a little white lie to keep her from heartbreak. We will sire him tonight, but unfortunately, my strong one is unable to do it."
"That wasn't the only 'little white lie' you told her," Beth whispered, gravely. She was beginning after two hundred and forty-five years of being a vampire, to question their morals herself. The Master walked over to her and smiled at her.
"You are clever, Elisabeth of Canterbury, but you sound troubled."
"Why must we lie to her?" Beth asked, "If she is the powerful Chosen One, why all these lies? Do you wish to overthrow her?"
"It is to keep her content until she understands what being a vampire means," the Master answered.
"I'm not sure even I understand what being a vampire means yet!" Beth muttered.
"I heard that, Elisabeth," the Master narrowed his eyes.
"Of course," Roxanne nodded, smiling, "We hear everything. We are superior to humans and any other creature on the planet!"
"Even so, we have no right to exterminate them off the face of the earth! Why must we kill? I've killed thousands in my lifetime, all in cold blood, Master! Don't you remember the blood we spilt in Spain in the 1800s? The women we left without husbands? The children we left without fathers?"
"That was for protection; the Spanish were after us! They wanted to kill us all! I can not believe you are questioning now, Elisabeth, when you got over it when you were young! By the time you were sixty, you were as merciless as anything I've seen! You've grown timid in the later years."
"Not timid, just aware. And maybe my conscience is kicking in."
"Oh, dear Elisabeth or Canterbury, you are a smart vampire. You know what must be done. You know that the second Chosen One must rise tonight! We must kill Dr. Carter tonight!" Beth sighed at her Master's words.
"Very well. Que sera sera!" she shrugged. The Master smiled.
"That's the spirit. Whatever will be will be!" and with that, he laughed.
A small raven had been listening, perched by the window, and with a wave of Beth's hand, he flew away.
"Yes, Master," she eyed him, coolly, "What will be, will be."
Dave was in the library, sitting at a table bejeweled with old leather books and things. He was concentrating hard on the words in the book he held in his hands now. So much so that he didn't notice the figure standing over him until she spoke.
"I never thought I'd ever Dave Malucci in a library," Dave jumped at her words and spun around, "Whoa, you're jumpy!"
"Abby!" he sighed and relaxed, "What are you doing here?"
"I haven't seen you all day! Why haven't you come in? I- We were worried!"
"Sorry to worry you," Dave muttered, turning back to his book. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his chest as he found the paragraph he'd been looking for.
"A-Abby?" he gasped.
"What is it, Dave?" Abby demanded, concerned, "What's wrong?"
"Where's Carter?"
A raven settled on the window of Lucy's bedroom with a note tied to its foot. She took off the note.
Take three feathers from this raven and add some lilac petals and azure powder as well as allspice and moonstone. Grind it into a fine mixture and add it to a pool of water. Then, place it in the sunlight. You will see what this bird has seen.
My regards
A friend
Lucy plucked three ebony feathers from the bird who flew away instantly after. She looked through her cupboards for the azure and lilac. She was nearly out of allspice, but she wasn't worried about that. She had mixed potions like these before. What did this friend want to show her?
She crushed the ingredients in a small bowl until they were well mixed. She poured the mixture into a bowl of water and saw a few sparkles on the water top like small stars. She brought the concoction out in the sunlight. Something swirled in the water and an image appeared as Lucy saw with horror what had transpired after she had exited. When the scene was finished, she knew what she had to do.
Gathering a few things in a bag, Lucy set off in search of John Carter.
They met the next morning, just as they had before, Roxanne, Beth, and Lucy standing close together as their Master walked up and down the line.
"It must be done tonight," he said, "He must die tonight."
"Why?" all eyes snapped to the vampire that dared to ask such a question. At first, the Master seemed angry that anyone would question his authority. Then, he smiled.
"Lucy," he sighed, "Such a young vampire. The youngest of us all. Yet, you are the most powerful."
"More powerful than you?" most of them stared, wide-eyed, at this blasphemous child of the night. But the Master had much patience with this girl, this heretic who defied him.
"Perhaps one day. When you understand your powers more clearly. There is still much you must learn."
"You haven't answered my question. Why must it be done tonight?"
"Blood on the moon. A vampire is always formed on nights like these. If it did not happen, it would be like locking a door without a key. Everyone, even the mortals, would feel something was missing. It makes the night complete."
"And if we didn't feed, it would be like trick-or-treating without the candy," Roxanne added. The Master shot her a look.
"Patience, my child, you will have your time."
"May we feed, Master? Just this one night?"
"Possibly, if you are a good little girl..." he nodded.
"Still, why can't we kill someone else?" Lucy persisted. She remembered her dreams, though the face was unclear. Though she was sure it had been Carter she held, burning in her arms.
"He was supposed to have been changed two years ago, with you," the Master answered, "But thanks to Beth, Roxanne, and Paul, it wasn't possible." Lucy spat.
"Paul!" she exclaimed, "Paul Sobriki! I despise that name!" even the Master was surprised at this.
"You despise the name of your sire?"
"Yes."
"You are to respect your sire! He is to be looked up to with dignity!"
"He ripped my life away from me!" Lucy's voice was full of passion, "I was no more than a girl! I could have been a doctor! I could have saved lives!"
"And now you destroy them," the Master whispered, "Accept it, my child. It is your role in the scheme of things. You are a vampire, the Chosen One. You feed off human blood. You kill when you feel it necessary!"
"No," Lucy shook her head, "*You* kill when you feel it necessary! *You* feed off human blood!"
"WRONG CHILD!" he now screamed, "You are one of us! I would have thought you'd accepted this by now! But you are just a naïve, vapid little tramp!" everyone was taken aback. It was the first time he had insulted the Chosen One. The only thing that even he seemed to respect. Even Lucy had to stare.
"I am not naïve," she scowled, "I am certainly not vapid! Maybe I am a vampire. But I will never be the type of vampire you want me to be!"
"Without blood, you will go insane! You will lose your strength! You will die!"
"Then that, dear Master, is my place in the scheme of things. I will die like I was supposed to have died, two years ago!" The Master seized Lucy's shoulders.
"Child," he said patiently, "I understand that you are young and you may not understand the sacrifices we make to survive. We feed off of humans. We need not kill when we feed, though we have the power to. We do not harm humans in cold blood. They feel week and drowsy after a feeding, but no harm has come to them."
"Harm can come to them," Lucy pointed out.
"Only if you drink until you have drunken all their blood. Then, yes, they die of blood loss. We are predators, Lucy, not murderers. We don't kill for sport."
"What about Dr. Carter?" Lucy asked. The Master sighed.
"Yes. All right. Dr. Carter will live to see another sunrise."
"Thank you," Lucy smiled, and walked out. When he heard the door close, the Master grinned. Roxanne knew what that grin meant.
"You prevaricate well, Master," she complimented him.
"It is not a prevarication, Roxanne, but a little white lie to keep her from heartbreak. We will sire him tonight, but unfortunately, my strong one is unable to do it."
"That wasn't the only 'little white lie' you told her," Beth whispered, gravely. She was beginning after two hundred and forty-five years of being a vampire, to question their morals herself. The Master walked over to her and smiled at her.
"You are clever, Elisabeth of Canterbury, but you sound troubled."
"Why must we lie to her?" Beth asked, "If she is the powerful Chosen One, why all these lies? Do you wish to overthrow her?"
"It is to keep her content until she understands what being a vampire means," the Master answered.
"I'm not sure even I understand what being a vampire means yet!" Beth muttered.
"I heard that, Elisabeth," the Master narrowed his eyes.
"Of course," Roxanne nodded, smiling, "We hear everything. We are superior to humans and any other creature on the planet!"
"Even so, we have no right to exterminate them off the face of the earth! Why must we kill? I've killed thousands in my lifetime, all in cold blood, Master! Don't you remember the blood we spilt in Spain in the 1800s? The women we left without husbands? The children we left without fathers?"
"That was for protection; the Spanish were after us! They wanted to kill us all! I can not believe you are questioning now, Elisabeth, when you got over it when you were young! By the time you were sixty, you were as merciless as anything I've seen! You've grown timid in the later years."
"Not timid, just aware. And maybe my conscience is kicking in."
"Oh, dear Elisabeth or Canterbury, you are a smart vampire. You know what must be done. You know that the second Chosen One must rise tonight! We must kill Dr. Carter tonight!" Beth sighed at her Master's words.
"Very well. Que sera sera!" she shrugged. The Master smiled.
"That's the spirit. Whatever will be will be!" and with that, he laughed.
A small raven had been listening, perched by the window, and with a wave of Beth's hand, he flew away.
"Yes, Master," she eyed him, coolly, "What will be, will be."
Dave was in the library, sitting at a table bejeweled with old leather books and things. He was concentrating hard on the words in the book he held in his hands now. So much so that he didn't notice the figure standing over him until she spoke.
"I never thought I'd ever Dave Malucci in a library," Dave jumped at her words and spun around, "Whoa, you're jumpy!"
"Abby!" he sighed and relaxed, "What are you doing here?"
"I haven't seen you all day! Why haven't you come in? I- We were worried!"
"Sorry to worry you," Dave muttered, turning back to his book. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his chest as he found the paragraph he'd been looking for.
"A-Abby?" he gasped.
"What is it, Dave?" Abby demanded, concerned, "What's wrong?"
"Where's Carter?"
A raven settled on the window of Lucy's bedroom with a note tied to its foot. She took off the note.
Take three feathers from this raven and add some lilac petals and azure powder as well as allspice and moonstone. Grind it into a fine mixture and add it to a pool of water. Then, place it in the sunlight. You will see what this bird has seen.
My regards
A friend
Lucy plucked three ebony feathers from the bird who flew away instantly after. She looked through her cupboards for the azure and lilac. She was nearly out of allspice, but she wasn't worried about that. She had mixed potions like these before. What did this friend want to show her?
She crushed the ingredients in a small bowl until they were well mixed. She poured the mixture into a bowl of water and saw a few sparkles on the water top like small stars. She brought the concoction out in the sunlight. Something swirled in the water and an image appeared as Lucy saw with horror what had transpired after she had exited. When the scene was finished, she knew what she had to do.
Gathering a few things in a bag, Lucy set off in search of John Carter.
