Disclaimer: I own nothing that is remotely tied to Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' books. The inspiration for the title of this chapter and the last was Shakespeare. (He dedicated two-thirds of his sonnets to the "Dark Lady" and the last third to a "Young Man") Apologies for the cliffhanger last chapter. Honestly, I didn't know myself where I was going until I got there!
Young Man
My mind was working a hundred miles a second. Finally, I came to the conclusion that as long as it was only a sample of blood, I could not truly interfere. I watched with a sense of foreboding as the priests took up the great stone bowls from on their pedestals and drew jagged knives from the folds of their robes. The lesser clerics had robes of a brick color – the color of dirty blood.
Since we were seated only four rows from the front, one of the priests reached Niobe, her mother, and myself fairly quickly. Niobe's mother, seated on the edge, was the first to offer her arm. She rolled back her sleeve and allowed the priest to cut a long, thin line with his serrated blade. As her blood dripped into the bowl, the woman lifted her face up in a state of divine ecstasy, her expression akin to the one on the statue. I realized that the vampire, if not the priest himself, was projecting some sort of wonderful image on the minds of the donors.
The priest then held the bowl under my arm, and motioned for me to hold out my arm. Instead of offering my arm, I decided to let them know that their cult had attracted immortal notice. I smiled slightly at the priest, showing off my white teeth. I brought one finger up to my mouth, and cut it lightly with one of my overly sharp canines. My tooth cut through my finger as easily as a knife cuts through butter, and to me, it hurt no more than cutting butter would. I held my hand over the bowl the surprised priest was still holding, and squeezed out a single drop of crimson blood. It fizzled as it hit the pool of hot, mortal blood.
With a shocked expression, the priest moved on to Niobe. I could see her trembling with fear. Though I could not stop them from taking it, I could make the giving a lot easier. I knelt next to Niobe, and took her in my arms. "Don't worry. It won't hurt at all." I whispered to her, knowing that, unlike the promise of so many doctors and nurses, the drawing of her blood truly would not hurt her. I pulled one emaciated arm towards the priest, while holding the girl close to my body. As I held her head to my chest, and away from the knife, I sent calming thoughts and sensations to her.
I could feel the girl trembling still as the priest brought the knife closer, and I held her tight, not allowing her to see him at all. I also blocked her mind more, only allowing in those images of happiness and comfort that I gave her. As the man cut into her small arm, I could feel the wall I placed around her mind being bombarded with other thoughts, but I made sure that none made their way through. Finally, the priest was done.
Somehow, he was able to magically scab her wound over. Before either the priest or the girl's mother could stop me, I conjured a bandage. Still holding her thoughts away from any pain, I broke off the scab. The wound started to bleed again, and I quickly bound it. I too could have made it scab over if I'd wanted, but I decided that it would be better if it were left to heal on its own. I glared up at the priest, daring him to comment on my action. He looked as though he was about to say something, but decided against it.
Finally, the ghastly ritual was over. The priests returned the basins of blood to their stands. If there was one thing I had to give them credit for, it was their strength. As the man had passed us, I noted that the bowl indeed was real stone. That would be heavy enough without the, considerable, added weight of the blood. I started to get up, figuring that the service was over. Niobe tugged at my skirt, pulling me down once more.
Once more, I could feel the pressure of a strong vampiric mind beating down on my own, and I strengthened my shields. "Your offerings shall be passed on to the Nameless One." The High Priest had started speaking again in his annoying, nasally voice. "Before you leave us for this week, the Immortal wishes to remind you to vote for Senator Drace for president in the upcoming elections. It is His will that this is done, but he needs mortal help. Rich rewards will be awarded in this life, and the next, for this service. Now, leave this holy sanctuary, and think on what we have told you today. Remember, the only way to salvation is through the Nameless One."
As the priest finished his preaching, the importance of what he'd said hit me like a ton of bricks. Somehow, a vampire was trying to take control of the government! This was even larger than I first anticipated. I carefully schooled my features to neutrality, making sure that no one saw my temporary lapse in calm. I saw Niobe and her mother shifting to get up, so I followed suit quickly.
We walked quickly to the front of the room. Apparently, none of the worshippers stayed to chat. As we walked to the threshold of the chamber, I noticed a fairly weak vampire at the doorway, likely making sure that people were leaving. The abundance of bonded humans and weak, young vampires gave me interesting insight into the personality of the 'god'. It was obvious that, while he loved to be surrounded by admirers, he could not bare the thought of people getting stronger than he. He'd either chosen weak humans to change, or changed strong ones in a way to make sure that their innate power was decreased.
Before I could explore this intriguing thought further, however, we'd reached the doorway. I paused as we got to the vampire at the door. I pasted a vapid smile on my face, trusting my own odd aura and the other's weakness to effectively cloak my nature. "Do you have other branches of this wonderful religion? My dear friends here brought me into the arms of the Nameless One, but I am only going to be here for a short while."
As the other vampire rattled off a long list of places and times, I started to wonder how no one saw through this. Depending on location, the time and date varied of the services. I started almost feel bad for 'The Immortal'; his schedule was even busier than my own. Finally, the acolyte was finished. Luckily, one of the locations was near to my own, and I thanked him breathlessly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his cluelessness.
I bid Niobe and her mother goodbye, promising the young girl that I would see her again soon. As I transported myself home, my mind was clouded with many troubling thoughts. The one good thing that had come out of the evening was that I could easily bring Sulene to a meeting, and go to them without expending the effort of traveling. Though the drain on my power was miniscule, if it came down to a fight ever, I knew I would need every ounce of my power at my disposal. I lay down on my bed, and after at least an hour of fitful wakefulness, I fell into a state of fitful sleep…
It middle afternoon when I awoke again. After my night with Arcturus, Cafell let me sleep late. As I stretched, I smiled at my mentor as though the argument of the night before never occurred. Cafell did not smile back. "I must leave London today. Are you coming?" I started at her odd choice of words. "I apologize for my harshness, child." Her voice reverted back to the comforting tone she normally used with me. Where I normally appreciated it, today it chafed on my nerves.
"I have foreseen great death and hardship in the path ahead of you." Again, her phrasing confused me. My face must have shown this befuddlement, because she sighed and sat on the cot next to me. She left her bag open, and paused in her packing. "I have a minor gift for seeing the future. I doubt that this is connected to my gifts as a vampire. The time has come for me to tell you a bit of the past, as well as a bit of the future." She looked up to be sure that I was listening and watching. "My mother was one of the High Priestesses of Apollo at Delphi. People would flock from all over to consult with the priestesses for their knowledge of the future. Though most of the priestesses were only able to induce trances through the fumes of the incense burned at the temple, a few, my mother included, were truly prescient."
"I believe I inherited this from her. My power has been much more sporadic than hers was, especially since I was changed. However, it does still warn me about things of great import. I have had two such visions about you. The first was before I was changed, and so I did not immediately know what I was seeing. As time passed, it became clearer. I was going to create a child, one who would have the power to change the world. It would be my duty to harness that power and make sure that it was for good that the world changed.
"The second vision occurred only last night. It warned me of a possible future if you do decide to stay here with Arcturus. It was not very clear, these visions never are. However, the overlying message of the vision was death and pain. I cannot make your decision for you, but I can tell you what you may be dealing with. This is only a possible future, but I believe it will occur in at least most, if not all, futures in which you join Arcturus. The future is like a large web, you see – there are millions of different paths, each leading to a different outcome. Larger decisions affect more things, and tend to lead to only a few different possibilities. When I get a vision, it is usually for one of these large threads. Please choose wisely."
Cafell looked at me pleadingly. I suppose, though, that I'd made up my mind the day before, even though it was subconscious. Thinking back to the previous afternoon, I realized that I must have recognized Arcturus' predatory walk, his shadowy countenance. My voice hardened. "Three-quarters of a century is more than enough time acting as a child. Even more to the point, it is also much too long to have spent paying back the world for sins I never committed. It is time for the world to start paying me. I've had enough of your coddling and enough of poverty. I'm leaving!" My own vehemence startled me. I didn't even know I felt those things until I said them, but once they were out, I couldn't imagine how this was the first time I'd thought about it.
"This is goodbye then. I must only tell you – what Arcturus does is his own problem. As my fledgling, however, you are mine. If you should ever become a threat to human society as a whole, I will do all that I must to stop you. On the flip side, if you are ever in danger, call me. Your blood sings to mine; I will come." With that statement, she was gone. Suddenly, I felt terribly alone in the small room in the inn. I felt a pang of doubt about my actions, but quickly suppressed it.
I looked around, trying to figure out what to do. Than, I realized. Arcturus got me into this, so he'd best be prepared to help me out. I put together what few belongings I owned, and put on the only dress that was vaguely presentable other than the one I'd gotten yesterday. I then transported myself to the Inn of the Bleeding Barman, trying not to think about what I'd just done.
As I'd been afraid of, Arcturus was not there. I decided to go to shopping in the city again with the coin that Cafell had left me. If there was one thing I could not fault her for, it was her fairness with the money. When she left, she did leave me my fair share. For a while, I wandered aimlessly around the marketplace. I couldn't particularly think of anything else to buy. None of the trinkets interested me, and though I needed new clothes, I knew that if I were to live with Arcturus, I'd need a much more fashionable wardrobe than could be bought quickly in the midweek marketplace.
Finally, dusk was settling, so I transported myself back to the Inn of the Bleeding Barman. I was glad to see that by this time, Arcturus had returned. "She let you come back?" Arcturus raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Not exactly." I tried to grin, but my act of nonchalance was very transparent. As composed as I'd acted earlier in the day, the import of what I'd done was just beginning to sink in. "I told her to leave without me." I grimaced, having second thoughts about living with the other vampire.
I looked up through my hair at Arcturus, and to my surprise, he was beaming. "I knew you had it in you! I'm surprised that that old biddy was able to keep you chained for this long. Do you need a place to stay?" I tried not to let him hear my sigh of relief. At my hesitant nod, he bursts into laughter. "Try not to look as though you're walking to the block girl, you're already dead! I have plenty of room in my manor house, and have managed to get a permanent guest suite at the palace. There's plenty of room for one more. Now, shall we be off?"
He held out his arm, which I took. As we walked to his horse, I tried to squelch the horrible feeling that I'd just done something unforgivably stupid.
A/N: Well, I thank you all for reading. Before you go be really nice people and hit the little button and review, I'd like you to think about two things. First, with the way this is going, do you think this will need to be bumped up to M for future chapters? Second, (and yes, I do have a purpose) can vampires have true sex? I'd really be appreciative for any feedback you all can give me on these things. Thanks!
Hermione-Potter-McTaggart: I'm glad you're enjoying so much. Hopefully, the next chapter will not take me nearly as long to write!
Firstevil: Thanks for the praise! Sorry you had to wait so long.
NarinaNightfall: My thoughts as to the blood/veins question? Yes – for this answer I'll site that when someone gets turned, their maker will slit his or her own throat or arm, and offer the fledgling blood from there. This (as well as some stuff said in Anne Rice's books) leads me to believe that vampires do have blood, which differs from that of mortals, flowing through their veins. Good catch about the Wayfarer Redemption reference! I have read Sinner, which ends in a worse cliffhanger than the one I put in the last chapter. Do you have any idea when the next one will come to the U.S.? Thanks for your review, and sorry the update took so long.
Kilyn Bloodstone: Thanks for your glowing review. By the way, I have not forgotten about reviewing your story – I've been really busy (hence the long wait for this chapter) but it is on my "to read" list for the weekend!
