PART TWO

Chapter 5

It was not until the 1600's when he had finally gotten to realize the error of his ways. That he had gone wrong in every possible way in the teaching and training of his only progeny. And for that, Godric feared that he would have unleashed a demon onto the world, that many innocent humans would fall at the feet of the increasingly talented and powerful Viking. That he had proven himself a danger onto others was undeniable. That Godric had been left reeling at seeing the dead children, the dead babies that were left from the massacre. To say nothing that even after settling here in London for the past years, there was little civility left in either of them when angered enough, when tempted enough. And having witnessed the power, the strength of Eric while out on a walk, the king of England had not been fearful but impressed and in turn had offered a job in his employ. He would have him made his enemies suddenly disappear, being able to sue the plague as a excuse for suddenly missing people. The bodies were already piling up anyway, who would argue? And as for the past months, Eric had found work for the king to be….rewarding in more ways than the gold paid him. There were plenty of healthy women he was provided with and on the outskirts of the city, he and Godric had set up house in a charming, heavily fortified manor house. It was after a conversation with the king that Eric had gone to his maker, bringing with him a pretty English woman who was nearly passed on

"I think….from what we know of her, she would make a fine addition to our….bloodline, do you not think? After all these years of it being only the two of us, why not have a third? To be as deadly and as dangerous as the plague we are immune from….this woman, this Nora…..she has value. You know of her strength, her refusal to bow down to anyone, her spirit….is that not what you saw in me? Together, think of what we could do…..we could have it all…bathing in the blood of those who would try do harm us…we need this…"

It was at that moment, where his own increasing sense of humanity was showing and he had wrestled with that returning for some time. Family was still something that was deathly important to the both of them, even though they were both monsters in every sense of the world. Worrying not of those they had killed. At least, that was how his progeny still was, how Godric had tried not to be. He wanted badly to evolve, to regain his humanity. But it was hard. Perhaps with a new family member to care for, it would do the both of them some good. That he could perhaps undo some of that which he and Eric had gone through. To bring some light into the darkness. Perhaps by turning this young woman, there could be hope for their futures. For all three of their futures. And then the younger one said something that Godric had not expected to hear.

"I…don't relish in the killing like I once did….seeing her here…." Eric nodded to the woman in the bed, barely alive. "I see my dead family and think of what they would think if they saw the things I did. I was supposed to have honor. To be great…at this point I believe I would be denied entry to the afterlife….I am damned being what I am and then after the things I have done…..perhaps I do hope for something different. Perhaps this woman…Nora…she can help us be….honorable. I wanted honor in my old life and I believe I want it back. Perhaps the monster I fear I am won't be all I amount to being. I know you thing the same thing to…that you don't wish to merely be-" he stopped as Godric raised a hand, a frown on his face.

"I believe this is a worthy choice for an addition to our family and perhaps it will help us….change from being monsters….at least, entirely…..it will always be a struggle but from here on out, I believe we can change, use what we have to better each other….to regain that which we think is lost. And so this night I shall give her a new life. One with us."

Chapter 6

It was the next night when the two returned to the grave in the well shrouded yard. Trees stood around the perimeter of the out of the way house, giving them the added protection that wasn't necessarily needed. With all that was going on in the city, deaths by the hour, the people there had more pressing things to worry about than the two living here. And as the woman rose from the grave, veered in a muddy dirt. She looked terrified at first, seeing the unfamiliar surroundings. Then she saw the face of the man who had spoken to her briefly at her bedside, the one who had promised to bring her to his father to heal her. Clearly, he hadn't lied,. But something was oh so wrong. And yet she was feeling better than she had in weeks…months even. "Who…..where….." she was looking around at the night sky and her eyes turned to the lone familiar figure. She remembered him. "I thought you were a dream…from the fever….." she said, trailing off as she was helped up and out of the shallow grave. "And this….your father you spoke of?" she looked at the figure that had helped her out of the dirt.

"I kept my word and brought you here…..that you can live on….that you can be as we are and travel with us….as family." Eric said, approaching her with a slight smirk. "The change is….off-putting to being with but we will teach you all we know….and when you're taught, you will see that this is the greatest gift you could have ever dreamed of. That your life as you knew it was nothing compared to the one before you." and together, he and his maker reveled their….unique teeth before her eyes and she winced before looking at them with curiosity and bemusement.

She looked from one to the other. "I….don't want to be a monster…..I don't want to harm innocent people. I want my soul, I fear I have lost it already."

The two said nothing for a moment, it was not a topic oft brought up on conversation as neither were religious…not in the typical sense. Though the Viking had hopes…long since buried that someday he could, would see his family again. However, he had certainly hardened over the years, having had changes so much mentally and physically since he had joined with Godric. But there was still a flicker of hope, of desire that he certainly, at the very least, didn't want to be damned. That little part of him was buried for the most part under layers of tough exterior, of bravado. For survival. He Didn't want his emotions to get the better of him if his life was on the line. Finally he spoke. "You can have everything you could ever want….and surely we wont make you….serve us." Eric looked at his maker, who had once told him that he had been, in his human days, forced into slavery. And that was a fate Godric would never wish for any close to him.

"Agreed. Your like will be your own always….once you have trained up with us and have learned what you need. Carelessness and inexperience will only get you killed or worse, captured by humans would no doubt execute or study us. And we prefer not to exist as anything more than myths." Godric said with a stern look. "Now…..we have plenty of room here in our home and soon we can procure your first meal."

And so it was that this was the night the family had grown to three, that a lady of privilege and esteem had gained a streak that could be as monstrous as it could be handy. The question was if she could maintain that balance between normal and monster, she feared what she would become, knowing what the others were, knowing that they had likely killed hundreds of people. Soon, she would know their storied backgrounds and would begin to write a new one for herself.

Chapter 7

Years had passed as the three traveled on, around the world more than a couple of times. And though they had all done some barbaric things, there was one evening when, when their maker was away, the vampire siblings had had the chance to sit down and talk. Really talk, about things that troubled them even after centuries after being turned. It was just before the beginning of world war two and they both knew their paths were about to diverge in different directions. This was their second to last night together. As Nora's talents had been discovered by the Authority and a such had been offered a job with the secret vampire group. And it was a post that commanded respect and was very seldom offered, what with the long tenures that the chancellors appointed were given. They served either until they chose to step down or if they were found to have unsavory leanings. Then they were executed. It was a sacred position that was not taken lightly and background checks…well, the authority certainly had their ways, especially with technology having made leaps and bounds over the centuries. And tomorrow evening, she would depart them, leaving for her new position, for the purpose she thought she was meant for. Not that she hadn't enjoyed her life with her family but…..this was a chance not to be missed.

The two were sitting on a overturned tree trunk outside a cabin in the upper rocky mountains….a cabin that was long abandoned but in reasonable condition. They had made some small talk, avoiding the conversation that she knew made him uncomfortable to think on, much less talk about. "So…..its not like we won't ever see each other again." Nora began as she patted Eric's hand, the flickering firelight casting a glow over them. "But I have to say, this Nan Flanigan, the woman who came and found me…..she said it will certainly take up much of my time. Helping to figure out our eventual dream of mainstreaming to become reality…amongst other issues….this is my chance to stop feeling….like I am a monster. Not that I haven't had some fun times…but like Godric has chosen to evolve, I have wanted to better myself too. And what of you?" she asked in her British accent as she looked at him intently. He looked not at her but stared into the fire. "You….you carry guilt…..you can try to portray yourself as closed off…callous….and I have no doubt you have more than enough bloodlust for the three of us….but there is something there I have noticed for some time. You think yourself a monster."

"I wouldn't change anything if I could go back and have the chance to refuse the offer he made to me that night. I regret nothing…this life….what I am…what we are…is better than what we were…he looked at her as he got up, ready to turn in with the day approaching. "I wish you would stay…you have…brought me some semblance of something I thought I was happy to be rid of after that which I left behind in my old life. The painful memories…."

She knew he had become hardened over the years they had been together and she wished she had known him before he had been turned. But he had shared his troubled past with him, and knew the massacre of his family had troubled him greatly, try as he might to hide it from her and their maker. "I am constantly at odds with my past and present lives…and it's a struggle to fight what I am….I have done terrible things." he was finally able to admit his darker thoughts to one of the only people who could understand.

"We all have. But he wants us to become better…I think…I know he regrets things from his own past and he has been trying to do right by people, saving them here and there when he could. Glamouring them of course, to keep them from remembering but-

"I have dreams…dreams in which I return home…to my old life. My family, they are all alive and they seem…overjoyed to see me. They thought me dead. And then…."

She took his hand in hers, knowing that she herself had been helping him try to come back from the dark path he had followed, from the monster she knew he felt he had become and was trying to not be any more. That she had seen both her maker and her brother fail in their quest to better themselves had been hard. But this, this was heartbreaking, seeing the man behind the monster. "You are the bravest, strongest man I have known, save for Godric….he made us a family. And-"

"I dreamed that I entered my family's castle and without any hesitation, was as those wolves were. I killed them with no mercy. Drained them dry, even my infant sister. That I work from that dream upset and yet…excited give you hope for me? I am all but lost and I feel I can't speak of this even to him….though you and I know he has been bettering himself. And yet, I remain a thug, a monster that would be killed surely if I were captured." there were tears starting down his face, tears she knew he had tried to keep from emerging. Tenderly, she took a finger and brushed them away and it was then that their maker had made his presence known.

TO BE CONTINUED