Chapter 2 – Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona nobis pacem
[Agnus Dei – Samuel Barber]

When he had left Laura Freeman that night, he felt forced to do so in the fastest way possible: he took off into the darkness of the starless Dallas sky. The urge to stay with her and wait for her to invite him in – which presumably would have occurred if he had not fled her place – was too overwhelming to gamble with.

It also would do no harm to have a sober mind before he returned to his nest again. It would not have been wise to appear there with his thoughts in such a messy condition as they were in right now.

To be honest, he was quite surprised how much the soothing voice of this reckless young woman had touched him. It was safe to say that he had not been feeling much at all (besides an aching remorse) in the last, at least decades – to the dismay of the few vampires he had come to call friends and who had noticed his aloof manner. Some of them had gone to great lengths to improve his mood – needless to say it was to no avail.

He had played with the thought of meeting the sun for quite some time now, one could almost say he had already made up his mind about it. In most of his years as a vampire, he had just lived to survive and whereas this was not an easy task throughout his first 700 years or so, his nights grew void when his own strength began to surpass those of his enemies and while they decreased in number, he gained the time to become aware of his loneliness.

It took him a few hundred years to find a worthy companion, but Eric had definitely paid off the many solitary nights he had spent searching for him. His progeny had taught him the joy of companionship and he learned to be a father, a brother, a son – at times even a lover. Never before had he had the fortune to have someone he could rely on, he could care for – and who cared for him as well.

At the thought of his progeny, a faint smile flashed over his indifferent mask and before he properly contemplated it, he opened up their bond for a tiny amount, just enough to catch a brief glimpse of his son's emotional condition and let him know that he himself was fine.

And indeed, he felt better, more alive, than in a long time – and all just because of a petite, young woman. To hear this clear, alluring voice sing about life and it's finiteness with humorous, as well as melancholy phrases, stirred something inside of him that he had thought long gone. She had been alone for a reason and still she hadn't chased him away, no, she even went out of her way and sang one of the most beautiful and wise songs for him he had heard in a long time.

A comfortable warmth spread in his chest when he thought about how Laura had reacted after he had revealed himself. She had immediately known that he was a vampire, but had neither shown fear of him, nor offered him her blood or body, as it was so disgustingly common nowadays. It was sort of refreshing to encounter such an innocent but simultaneously broad-minded being.

It took all his over 2000 years of practice, to suppress a grin when he pictured her face in his mind, a few moments before he had left her. Her bewildered look had made it plainly obvious to him that she hadn't had the slightest experience with men and to his shame he had to admit that this thought pleased him beyond measure.

Since his progenies and his path had parted, he had lost any relation to this world, that was left at this point. The insatiable greed for revenge his son felt, was something he couldn't tolerate, let alone comprehend anymore. Every one of his attempts to lead his progeny on a less cruel and dangerous path had been in vain – his reasoning had fallen on deaf ears and that disappointed him tremendously.

At that time he had lost the hope for his kind to evolve, because he lost the faith in any change of attitude of his own son. His dream of a peaceful coexistence with the human world collapsed like a house of cards.

But now an imprudent, young human had achieved that he started to reconsider his mindset. Through the tender and kind demeanor she had approached an unknown vampire with – him, of all who could have found her – she had shown him that at least the human species was ready to alter their course. It was a glimmer of hope he would allow to stir.

When suddenly a feeling of curiosity – that did not belong to him – flooded through his body, he was rudely reminded of the still open bond to his progeny and immediately closed it again. Shocked by his own unmindful behavior just moments ago, he shot even higher into the sky to cool down at last.

By the time he reached the outermost shell of the atmosphere, he had regained his control and started to decrease his speed until he came to a halt. It was comfortingly silent out here and one of the few places he preferred to retreat to. Being a vampire had its perks...

He came here to cool down whenever it was necessary and he was not capable of doing so in any other way. A few nights ago he would not have given in to such an immature idea, as to seek a connection to his son - the son he had not had contact with for decades.

His improved mood had obviously clouded his thoughts - something he would not allow to happen again. Something that should not have happened in the first place!

He was not just any vampire, he was the sheriff of area 9 and one of the most powerful creatures in the new world. He had responsibilities – many lives depended on him. He could not let mere feelings dictate his decisions and actions. It would undermine his authority and change the picture his underlings had of Death, if he showed his emotions.

Always being capable of maintaining an inscrutable appearance, was one of his most beneficial and necessary abilities. It was simultaneously the best attack and most effective defense.

But even with his over 2000 years of practice in self-control, it was hard for him to suppress such strong and welcome feelings, as the encounter with the young woman had triggered.

He took an unnecessary breath of the thin air, before he descended and let go of his thoughts. It was the best for all involved, if he forgot Laura Freeman and her lovely voice as soon as possible. Right now preferably...

He had committed horrible cruelties in the past – and his presence in her life would just bring misery upon her sooner or later. If she had known of the ferocity he had been capable of, she certainly would have fled from him in fear, or disgustedly spitted into his face.

Neither was he worth listening to her soothing voice, nor her presence or her time. Seeing her again, would do her no service...

With cold concrete under his feet once more, he strolled to his nest at human speed, observing the passing cars. The world around him had changed so quickly in the last decades and centuries, he was still astounded by the many technical achievements.

From candles to light bulbs, from telegrams to short messages and cell phones – now smart phones - all that in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with the times.

But despite their impact on atmospheric pollution, he had always had an obsession with automobiles – especially motorcycles. Presumably it had something to do with his passion for speed...

As he reached his residence, he forced his thoughts into nothingness, ignored Isabel's worried questions and went straight to his room.

This was one of the rare nights he welcomed the imminent sunrise. In sleep he was not bound to pretend to be someone, he simply was not anymore. And he was so very tired of pretending…

The next night seemed to be business as usual. He sorted through the piles of paperwork on his desk, while Isabel attacked him with questions of his whereabouts the night ago. Obviously his apathetic mask was not as convincing as he had hoped.

When she didn't stop her bothersome queries despite his constant silence, he darted a warning glance at her, which prompted her to fall quiet immediately and she soon left him alone. It was difficult enough not to think of the petite human, even without Isabel's annoying interrogation, she needed not to rub salt into the wound...

It was around midnight and he just sifted through the requests of settlement in his area, when he heard someone tear the front door to his mansion open and after a whoosh of air his blond Viking kneeled in front him. His head was tilted to the floor, which caused his long blond hair to fall into his face and hide his expression.

He should have known that Eric wouldn't leave it at that …

"Master", his progeny uttered submissively and bowed his head even deeper. They had not seen each other for a long time and the circumstances of their separation had been bitter. It was no surprise that he would react reserved, the moment he came into his maker's sight.

"No need for such courtesies, son", Godric simply stated in a calm voice and rose from his chair to round the office desk and come to stand in front of the Viking. "You may stand up."

Eric immediately rose and let his investigative gaze run over his maker's appearance. He obviously hadn't fed in a while, as his – even for their kind – unhealthy paleness exhibited. Worried, but also curious as to why his maker had allowed him insight into his emotions the night ago, he gestured questioningly to the seat in front of the desk and sat down as he received a silent nod.

"What brings you here, son?", Godric asked in a smooth voice and leant back against the desk while he crossed his arms over the chest. It was obvious to him, why he had come, but he was curious if Eric had the courage to admit it, if asked so directly.

"I merely felt the urge to pay my beloved maker a visit", his progeny teased with a crooked smile, but continued after he received a raised eyebrow from his opposite, "But maybe I'm also interested as to why you have been so … delighted yesterday?!"

Godric merely snorted unimpressed and turned to take his seat behind the desk again. Ignoring his unhealthily nosy progeny, he tended to the settlement requests again. If Eric wanted to know anything in particular, he would have to ask him directly.

"It was obviously not a donor – so, did you meet someone?", Eric thought out loud and as his maker paused with his writing for just the blink of an eye, he knew he was on the right trail.

"How old is she and what does she look like? Who is her maker? Where did she come from?", it bubbled out of him, but he immediately fell silent when he heard a chuckle escape his maker's usually austere mouth.

A chuckle. It had been at least 100 years since he had heard Godric chuckle the last time. Eric was astounded but it only fueled his curiosity.

"Please Eric, bother to enlighten me, as to why you are certain I encountered a vampire?", Godric challenged him, deposed his pen and interlaced his fingers in front of his face while glaring at his progeny questioningly. It amused him that his son still behaved like the narrow-minded Viking he had turned over 1000 years ago – even if only in a few situations.

Eric's jaw dropped in blatant disbelief, but he soon regained control over his facial expression and coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Why wouldn't you drink from her, if it was a human?", he simply asked and tried to sound as if his assumptions were valide.

"And why do you assume that we speak of a woman?", Godric inquired with a wicked grin, "You of all people should know best, that my tastes tend to change!"

His progeny growled in defiance and leant back in his seat. "You won't tell me anything, will you?", he exclaimed in frustration, knowing it would be useless to pump his maker further on. "At least tell me the name!", he insisted and stood up, "I've come the whole way from Louisiana – you owe me at least that!"

Godric just chuckled again and shook his head in amusement. "And I thought you merely felt the 'urge to pay me a visit'?!", he reminded his son teasingly, but genuinely smiled at him. He watched how Eric's hands started to form fists, but slackened the next moment as if they had a mind on their own. His progeny sighed defeatedly and just nodded.

"At least it was a pleasure to see that your mood has improved", he sincerely noted, bowed his head to his maker and turned to leave the room. "And even if it really is a human, who is responsible for that – I'm still deeply grateful for whatever they've done..."

Such caring words scarcely escaped his progeny's mouth, but whenever they were spoken, it warmed Godric from the inside. He did not have the heart to let his son leave like that, so he told him what he wanted to know, while he watched his broad back: "Laura Freeman."

Eric turned in surprise and faced his maker questioningly.

"I will not tell you anything more, but I assume you will screen her anyway", Godric noted in a knowing tone and rested his chin in a relaxed manner on his interlaced fingers, "But do not dare to bother her – did I make myself clear?"

The Viking examined the youthful face of his maker and nodded reluctantly, when his eyebrows started to approach another. "Crystal clear", Eric stated and couldn't suppress a grin. At least he had a name now. Something to start with …

The following nights he had little to tend to, so he left the nest to stroll through the city and, while doing so, check if everything was in order. But no matter which direction he pursued, he always found himself on the same street corner, where he had met the delicate, young woman. And each time, she was already there and sang the same blue songs as two nights before.

Night after night he listened to her enchanting voice from the distance and it broke his still heart, as he watched her look around between the songs again and again, just to eventually sigh in disappointment. She hoped to meet him again – that was why she was here. That was the reason she came to this location every night, although she had to traverse the city.

Godric always waited until she had packed up her things and took the bus home and even then, he followed until she stepped out in her neighborhood, to make sure she arrived safely at her residence.

On the fifth night, however, he had decided that things could not go on like that any more. He had to put an end to her nocturnal excursions, they were far too dangerous and he would not be able to watch out for her every night.

The first people he could find nearby were two young men – probably in their early twenties. They had been drinking – which was unfortunately impossible to miss, thanks to their vile breath – and talking quite loudly about their latest 'pickup'. They seemed to be relatively decent – apart from their dubious intentions regarding women – so he took the time to initiate a quick chat, before he began to glamour them.

"You will be as rude and insolent towards the singing girl you will meet a few blocks away, as you possibly can. Make sure that she leaves this place and is intimidated enough to drive straight home and never leave her apartment alone again after sunset. But under no circumstances are you allowed to touch her!", the ancient vampire demanded of the two motionless figures in front of him. "After you have answered my question you will walk down this road and do what I just said. And you will forget that you ever met me – have I made myself clear?"

They both answered with "yes" and immediately set out to perform his instructions. He watched them from a nearby rooftop and whereas he was disgusted by their words, they had the desired effect – Laura soon realized that they would not leave her alone anytime soon. She hastily grabbed her few things and called for the next passing cab.

When he made it to this particular street corner the next night, she was not there. Just as every following night, he could only gaze at the empty space she had sat in and listen to the monotone traffic noise.

Over the next few weeks, his mood reached an unparalleled low. Threats of vampire-hostile organizations piled up and the resentment of his subordinates was already difficult to calm. Especially the death of reverend Newlin drove a wedge between the already crippled relations between humans and vampires, because the Fellowship Of The Sun blamed his kind for Newlin's death. It was only a matter of time, until the hate speeches of the young reverend would claim the first victim in his ranks.

The only solution to calm the waters at this point, would have been a vampire who voluntarily delivered themselves for all the others. The Fellowship would then be in the position to call them to account in place of his kind and thereby they would perhaps realize, that it was unrewarding to fight violence with violence.

And that was the reason he was currently located in the basement of Mr. Newlin's church. He would burn for all his comrades. And for himself.

The sun would finally obtain his sacrifice...

It was an unexpectedly comforting feeling to know that everything was soon to end. Nevertheless, he had hoped that they would not leave him to stew that long. He sat in his cell for over two weeks now, with nothing more than a cot to sleep on and – as you might expect – a Bible.

Despite what most would assume, he had read this book several times in his long life, especially in the last century. But he could not remember any passage that would justify an execution like his. This may have been the reason why they kept him waiting so long. Maybe Mr. Newlin had come to his senses after all …

"Godric. Godric, can you hear me? Isabel and Eric sent us. Godric!... – I know he's down here somewhere. I heard the awful things they're plannin' to do to him."

He shot up from his sitting position, as he heard a female voice call his name.

She had to be situated in one of the rooms to his left and now tried to calm a man whose voice sounded suspiciously like Isabel's human. Apparently they had not been able to perform their plan as anticipated and were now captured just like him.

Well, not quite – he had basically the opportunity to break out at any time...

He should have known that Isabel would inform Eric about his disappearance and that he – the Viking he was – would search for him with all available resources.

Disappointed, he shook his head and sat back down on the cot. To implicate humans was truly irresponsible, but the girl seemed to be sure that a certain Bill would save them.

His progeny would thus appear soon and probably other vampires would follow him for support. He closed his eyes tiredly and leant his back against the wall. This had not been supposed to happen …

He managed to block the conversations of the two humans out and noticed only subconsciously, that Mr. Newlin paid them a short visit once. Totally withdrawn into himself, he was just sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor, when he suddenly heard the desperate cries of the girl.

That they had been imprisoned because of him was one thing, but he would not allow that they came to harm due to his actions.

Without much effort he rammed down an entire side of the cage and was at the scene within seconds. Gabe was about to lay hands on the young woman, who made every effort to fight back, while Hugo leant unconsciously against the wall.

With a purposeful grip, Godric grabbed this shabby example of the human species by his neck, pulled him away from the petite blonde and made him dangle a few inches over the floor. "Godric, it's me!" After a small movement with his other hand, this particular culprit was finished. Never again would he lay a hand on an unwilling female.

"You should not have come", he declared in a calm voice and watched the woman's attempts to close her lacerated garment. They both turned their heads abruptly in the direction of the basement door, when they suddenly heard screams.

"Bill", she shouted in relief, but he had to belie her expectations. "No", he clarified immediately, and directed his next words towards the door, "I'm here my child. Down here."

Within the next second, his Viking stood before him, eying him with one of the most relieved expressions he had ever seen on him. "Godric.", Eric whispered and immediately fell to his knees.

"You were a fool for sending humans after me", the older vampire noted with slightly furrowed eyebrows. Frustration was resonating in his voice while he stared sternly down at his progeny.

"I had no other choice! These savages they… they seek to destroy you", his son tried to reason with him. Only hesitantly he lifted his head to face his maker.

"I am aware of what they've planned", the older vampire admitted without batting an eye and pointed in Hugo's direction, but kept staring at his son, "This one betrayed you."

The young woman made herself felt in that moment and interposed, that Hugo had been a member of the Fellowship and lured them into a trap.

"How long has it been since you've fed," his son asked him carefully, obviously ignoring the upset female. Concern was clearly visible on his face while his inquiring gaze ran over Godric's appearance.

"I require very little blood anymore," he told him quietly, when suddenly the alarm went off. "Save the human," he demanded immediately before he addressed to the blonde woman in a soothing tone, "Go with him."

"I'm not leaving your side until you are-", the Viking tried to argue, but he interrupted him with the simple statement "I can take care of myself".

The ruffled female called on the younger vampire to go, but before they reached the door, Godric warned him not to shed blood.

Soon after his overzealous son had gone, he also left the basement to watch the chaotic mess of running humans from the church's rooftop. He stoically stood there, as some shouted commands, while others simply wanted to escape from the site, until he abruptly felt his son's unbearable pain.

Alarmed, he immediately headed for the direction he could sense Eric's presence in and was overwhelmed by a blend of misery and pride at the sight in front of him. While he had problems to restrain himself, as not to immediately free his son from the silver chains in which he was chained, he was also incredibly proud that Eric had surrendered without a fight, in order to prevent further turmoil.

While he desperately thought of any possible way to free his progeny without harming anyone, this ominous Bill suddenly entered the church and one thing quickly lead to another: an unknown, young man hit the Reverend with a blue bullet to the head, which apparently did no major damage, and distracted him long enough, to allow the young woman from the basement – Sookie – to rush to his sons side and free him from the silver chains.

Relieved about this unexpected turn, Godric retreated to the organ and watched the further course of action. But contrary to his belief that now everything had changed for good, the door suddenly burst open and a horde of vampires stormed in. Each of them immediately grabbed one of the humans and made sure that they could no longer move.

"Steve Newlin! You have pushed us too far. You expect us to sit on our thumbs while you round up your men to come lynch us? We'll kill you first. Same way we did your father."

He should have known that this dimwitted vampire would show up sooner or later. Only for political reasons had he appointed Stan as lieutenant, for he was neither reliable, nor very successful at the tasks he imposed on him. But he would never have deemed him stupid enough to assassinate the head of the Fellowship!

"Enough!" he shouted as he finally ran out of patience and stepped forward to the railing. "You came for me I assume, underling."

"Yes sheriff."

"These people have not harmed me. You see? We can coexist. Mr. Newlin, I do not wish to create bloodshed when none is called for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?"

"I will not negotiate with subhumans!", Mr. Newlin contered and struggled to stand up. "Kill me!", he demanded defiantly and stared at Erik with a manic look, "Do it. Jesus will protect me!"

"I am actually older than your Jesus. I wish I could have known him, but I missed it", Godric informed him coolly and in a flash he stood behind the reverend and grabbed his neck. "Good people, who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?", he addressed the still armed humans.

Silent glances were exchanged, but nobody dared to say anything. "That's what I thought. Stand down, everyone. People, go home. It's over now."

Gradually, the humans one by one dropped their weapons and stumbled out of the building. With a disregarding move of his hand he pushed the hate preacher to his knees and addressed him in a calm tone: "I daresay my faith in humankind is stronger than yours."

When he started to head to the exit, it merely took a "come" to urge most of the vampires to leave. Only a few stubborn ones still did not make any move to exit the building.

"Sir – after what these humans have done to you?!", Stan reminded him but was silenced by another single, but firm "Come!"

It didn't need another word for his subordinates to follow Godric silently to his nest. His mood sank even more, as he thought of what was in store for him now...

AN: Hey there – sorry that it took me so long, but I was on vacation :)

Thanks sooo much for your reviews downbelowgirl, PrinessFergie, Ilovefashion2001, Lyzz Cullen and ElvenVamp – they are hugely appreciated :)

I hope you're not too disappointed by my Godric-POV, but it was necessary – otherwise the gap between the chapters would have been too big ;) I admid that I entertained the thought of writing a Godric-POV for a long time, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I had assumed and the result is unfortunately nowhere close to the one I had in mind -_-

The next chapter will definitely be a Laura-chapter again, but I'm afraid, it will take some time ... Now that my classes start again, I will not have much time to write :/

So – have a nice day/night, stay tuned ;)

… and please leave a review :)

last update: 05/2021