Chapter Thirty-Two
The Rising
I started around a corner, and in seconds, I was back behind the corner, pressed against the wall. Both Drewdon and Cecilian were around the corner, at the bottom of stairs that had been pulled into the middle of the hall and led upward. If I wasn't much mistaken, it led to the attic that I had wandered into when Evanen had left my door unlocked one day. The one with the door that led to the large, beautiful balcony. Was this the same one Drewdon had told Cecilian to put Evanen in?
I strained to hear what they were saying as I kept hidden behind the wall. They were talking in desparately fast voices; the vampire language. I was suddenly reminded of Mikel, and a wave of grief moved through me, but I supressed it. Now was not the time to wallow in pity. I waited for some sort of wording that I could actually understand, but they started up the stairs. There was a pause as Cecilian turned towards Drewdon.
"You're sure you want to risk it," she asked uncertainly. I almost sighed in relief that they were speaking english.
"If we have to worry about keeping one weak vampire alive in order to further ourselves in this world, I prefer just having no power anyway. What's the point of immortality if you have to spend it depending on someone," Drewdon asked determinely. There was a pause. I was thinking over what he had just said, trying to connect it with sense. Was Drewdon giving up his place and letting Cecilian take it? Or were they both backing out of the power? Maybe Drewdon was the One of Questions... wait, no, it has to be human. Whatever.
"So, once you get the blood from Evanen, I'll kill him and we'll see if the power still exists in you," Cecilian restated the task to Drewdon, making sure it was what he wanted. She still seemed extremely uncertain. I, meanwhile, almost gasped with realization. They were going to kill Evanen after the Rising whether or not it took away the power.
"And if the power stays, good for us. If not, we're not off any worse than we were before," Drewdon stated. I suddenly heard movement from down the hall coming towards me. Panic took hold, and I slid into the closest room I could, not shutting the door all the way in fear that the noise would attract all the vampires' attention. Through the crack, I saw the albino vampire move past the door and turn to Drewdon and Cecilian. "What's all this about?"
"It's Jove Silverstone, sir," the albino seemed a bit dazed and confused. "He was trying out some sort of mind trick, and he accidentally caused everyone to think they've lost their sight and hearing. It's mass chaos downstairs, sir. We need your help in straightening it all out."
"Why can't Silverstone fix it if he did it," Cecilian snapped, irritated.
"He's not too good on mind control, and he's afraid he'll do even more damage, Mrs. Draele," the albino stated as though repeating something from a play he was reading out loud. There was a moment where no one did anything. Then Drewdon sighed before starting down the hall. As he passed the door, I spotted his irritated look, and saw Cecilian and the albino follow after him. Whatever mind control Jove isn't good at, he sure does make it work for him. He just made everyone forget about me while distracting them from Evanen as well, in the middle of the Rising at all times.
Instead of moving out immediately, I hesitated. There was a good moment of silence before I moved out of the door. I turned the corner and started passing the stairs to the attic, searching furthermore for the dungeon door. Then I paused, hesitating again before looking at the attic stairs with a bit of guilt. Evanen was up there, going through God knows what, and right after he was finished, he was to be killed. As for me, I'm suppose to be killed no matter what happens. Somehow I have made a majority of vampires hate me just by existing. Still, shouldn't I at least try to warn Evanen or something? Then again, Drewdon and Cecilian should be coming back soon enough, and they could just catch me and kill me. Besides, Evanen killed Kyler, and nearly me multiple times. He was just some vampire who lived for nothing but blood and power. Why should I even help him?
I was suddenly stuck in a war of conscience versus survival instinct. I didn't want to become wrapped up in the whole Rising mess. I meant to hide in a hole somewhere until all of it was over and see what happens afterward, but not to actually be in the middle of it. I shouldn't help Evanen because he's a vampire, and if he's a vampire, he could just save himself either way. He did kill Sir Trenton without much effort. But then, he's saved me multiple times as well, and it'd be just cruel of me to just leave him weak and fending for himself. Plus, he doesn't know that they were planning on killing him. But if I help, I'm basically dead. Evanen's dead if I leave. I'm dead if I stay.
I had one foot ready to run away, and the other was planted firmly, waiting to go up into the attic. Breathing just became harder, and fear was planted in my gut as my subconcious decided what I was going to do before I did. I grabbed the stairs and started up into the attic. As I looked into the room I had only been in once, I spotted Evanen immediately. He stood, strapped to the metal table thing that I had seen leaning against the wall. He was stuck immobile by metal straps, but he didn't seem to be trying to get out of the restraints. Instead, he was basically knocked out.
Hesitating, I moved completely into the attic, stepping lightly on the creaking floorboard. "Evanen," I hissed, turning to look behind me. No one was coming yet, so I turned to move towards Evanen's limp body carefully. It was extremely dark up here, but the sky outside seemed to start becoming a bit lighter than the dead of night. The door to the balcony was opened, but if it closed, what sunlight that came up could easily be blocked.
"Evanen," I said quietly, now close to him. I reached up carefully, and placed my hand on his cheek. It was feverishly hot and soft as human skin, and this shocked me to the core. Was he human? That couldn't be. I moved my hand to his neck, still feverish, his arms, feverish, and his hand. His skin was no longer the cold marble I remembered it as. I looked to the side, spotting a small table with a knife and glass on top of it. I assumed this was how Drewdon was going to get his power. Due to curiousity, I grabbed the knife, and moved to Evanen's arm. At first, I hesitated, feeling guilt at even thinking about cutting Evanen when he was weak. Then I could suddenly feel the pain of the gash on my stomach, and the guilt sort of evaporated.
In one swift slice, the knife cut through his skin, and blood started to seep through relunctantly. I watched it with wonder as the blood halted, and the skin started forming together just as a vampire's would. He wasn't human after all. I put the knife back on the table, and reached for Evanen's face. Now becoming a bit desparate, I started tapping his cheek sharply. "Evanen," I hissed again, "Evanen, wake up." When it seemed I was never going to get his attention, I started thinking of what else I could do. I looked about uncertainly.
I could just leave a note. Nah. I looked at the metal straps containing him thoughtfully. For testing, I grabbed one around his wrist and started pulling on it wishfully. It, of course, did not budge. For a moment, I stared at it curiously. Then I moved behind the table to see the straps were locked in the back. They all had the same keyhole, which would unlock it, if I had the key. I moved from behind the table and looked around the attic for a sign of the key. There was none around, which was believable because I would assume Drewdon or Cecilian had it.
There was a sudden noise of footsteps approaching the stairs. Fear suddenly gripped me. I assumed I would die trying to help Evanen, but the key was that I would have helped Evanen. The problem at this point was that I had actually done nothing more than cut Evanen in my time up here. He still had no idea he was to be killed, and he was still stuck on that table. And now someone was coming to the attic, which would end up having me either seen, heard, or smelled easily and I would die without achieving anything.
The most sensible, instinctual thing to do at this point would be to hide, but I knew that would do nothing to prevent my death. Instead, I did, what I believed at the time, the most bravest, stupidest thing possible. I jumped to Evanen, and full on punched him in the face with all my might. Then, without regard for the vampire moving closer to the stairs, I yelled, "EVANEN! EVANEN, WAKE UP!" Amazingly, Evanen opened his eyes with a groan to look at me with a pained expression. Before he could lose focus, I gripped his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me.
"Evanen," I said quickly, "They're going to kill you. You've got to--" A hand choked me off as I was gripped around the neck and thrown across the floor effortless by Drewdon. He looked from me to Evanen with utter rage, and Evanen looked from me to Drewdon with a bit of confusion. I grabbed the back of my head in pain, certain now I was going to die, but at least I did what I came up here for.
"Look what you've done," Drewdon snapped at me, "He could've died without seeing it come, but now you've made it go down the hard path. What was the point in telling him that, huh? He's still going to die. If you haven't noticed, he's a bit tied up. What'd you think, that he put himself there and could easily take himself out? Stupid human." He moved towards me, and I started crawling backward. I looked behind me to see the door out to the balcony. Maybe if I moved out there, the sun could come up in time before he could kill me and finish him off instead. Or he could just throw me off the roof. Whatever.
"Don't touch her," Evanen's voice suddenly growled, and the sound of it scared me. Drewdon turned his head to look at Evanen, who seemed aware of his surroundings suddenly. His hands were clinched in a fist, and there was a sudden glow starting to slide its way through his skin from his fist. At first I thought maybe he was learning a new magic trick, but Drewdon didn't seem too scared. "You leave her alone or I'll kill you."
Drewdon laughed, "You see that light coming from your skin? You're almost done with the transition. I'll get to you once I'm done with your little girl here."
"Don't do it," Evanen yelled angrily, but Drewdon merely smirked.
"Try to stop me," He responded shortly. While he was distracted, I jumped to my feet and ran for the balcony. I got a few steps outside before I noticed that the sun wasn't too close to coming up in time. I was doomed. So I started for the edge of the balcony, but I didn't move a step before Drewdon grabbed me around the waist and spun me around. He had me situated in view of Evanen, who was struggling furiously against his bindings. Drewdon snatched my chin roughly bending my head back painfully. "Say goodbye."
I closed my eyes as Drewdon angrily bit down on my neck, making me gasp in pain. I reached up to try to force his hands off of me, and he bit down more furiously so that I cried out. Evanen roared in the background, fighting against his bindings with such rage that it made the table tremble. I could feel my energy being ripped out of my veins, and it wasn't too long before I lost muscle control and my legs buckled under me. Drewdon kept me up like a ragdoll, and continued to drain me, determined not to stop until I had no heartbeat. I started gasping for air, fighting against whatever death was about to claim me.
There was a burst of light in the attic, and suddenly Evanen was no longer bound by the table. With one swift move unable to be seen even by Drewdon, he plowed into Drewdon, ripping him off of me. I fell to the ground deliriously, my heart fluttering in a desparate fight to continue beating. I couldn't quite move anything in my body anymore, nor could I actually see anything well either. Air was being sharply pulled into my lungs and forced out quickly with struggle, and I was gasping in pain as well. It was like my limbs had all fallen asleep; not a pleasant feeling at all.
Drewdon, having just been thrown across the balcony by Evanen, smiled in malice. "Dear Evanen, it looks as though you've fully transitioned. Do you know what that means," he asked Evanen evily. Evanen was no longer glowing, but there was some definite improvement of quality about his features. Every move he made seemed to be like a humming bird, unable to just move slowly, but flitting about quickly. His eyes seemed to see things no one could possibly imagine, and he looked so hungry for any and everything.
"I think I'll rip you to peices," Evanen responded, and he looked quite eager to do just that.
"Yes, do come over here so that you can pass on the power like you're suppose to," Drewdon suggested, and his fangs appeared in preparance. Evanen glared at him, flitting his eyes to me, who was off in another world in delirium, and back to Drewdon so quickly that it almost couldn't be seen by the vampire eye. "Don't worry about your human anymore. You're beyond that. She's already dead, anyway. She's minutes away if not seconds." He smiled micheviously.
"Why would I give it to you? You're going to kill me," Evanen snarled.
"Evanen, I believe I'm beyond that idea by now. I think I can deal with your existence after receiving the power," Drewdon stated boredly, "If you'd just calm down, you could see that your being alive after all this isn't impossible. Killing you was just an idea Cecilian and I came up with. Just to roll the thought around a bit in our heads. Nothing serious." Evanen hesitated, flitting his eyes to me again.
"if we do this quickly," Drewdon stated, "You could probably save her." This made Evanen hesitate even more, and he looked at Drewdon thoughtfully. The pause seemed to last forever, but it only lasted seconds.
"Fine," Evanen said, "I'll give it to you." Drewdon sighed in relief, and Evanen moved towards him carefully, like a baby learning to walk. When Drewdon was close enough to Evanen, he smiled reassuringly.
"It'll only be a moment," Drewdon responded, and he grabbed Evanen's wrist, which was warm like a humans.
Drewdon reached down to bite into Evanen's wrist, but before he could completely reach the wrist, Evanen said, "Yes, it'll be quick." And he twisted his wrist from Drewdon's grip, reached for his head, and easily twisted it around with such strength that it came off like a bottle cap. Drewdon's corpse collapsed on the ground in dead weight before shriveling into bone dust. He did seem to have come from a long time ago. His head followed suit, and Evanen let it drop to the ground beside him without regret.
Suddenly, Evanen was next to me, reaching down to pull me close to him. "Hailence," He called sweetly, and I felt a sudden calm starting to move through me. Is this death? I barely felt his hand on my cheek, trying to coax me to life. I barely saw his beautiful face twisted with concern. I felt as though I should say something, but I was beyond that point. Evanen bit down on his own wrist, and placed it over my mouth suggestively. I felt the liquid drip lovingly onto my lips, and slide sweetly into my mouth. Evanen had to bite down on his wrist again before placing it back over my mouth. The blood moved onto my tongue, and I could definitly taste the thick liquid that seemed sweet and intoxicating, but held some sort of foreboding decaying scent underneath it.
Whatever the case, the blood suddenly was bringing me back, eating through my body with some sort of goal. I coughed, trying to move away from Evanen's wrist, but he lightly held my head in place. It hurt me that when it came down to it, a promise to a loved one didn't seem important when it came between life or death. I couldn't hold it back any longer, and I pressed my lips on his wrist, surrounding his wound so that I could more successfully gain his blood into my body. The blood continued its devouring goal throughout my body, eating away at all the living cells to replace it with its own. It wasn't too long before it hit my heart, and I suddenly pushed Evanen's wrist away with a gasp of pain. It devoured the cells of my heart, throwing it out into a rapid beat as though it were trying to outrun the blood. But once the blood overtook, my heart stopped...
I gasped as everything came back into view. I wasn't sure what had just happened. Did I die? Was I a vampire already? Evanen had laid me down on the ground of the balcony, and was watching me with interest. I could feel my heart starting back to a regular beat, and everything didn't seem to have changed yet. I groaned, reaching to touch my head, which felt the same.
"It's not over yet," Evanen warned with amusement, "The blood has taken over your body, but now it's going to wait a moment before it starts changing you. Just so that your body doesn't get overwhelmed." I looked at Evanen, feeling a bit scared. He looked the same as he had before the Rising, and that slighlty relieved me. Except there seemed to be a hint of a difference about his features. It was almost unnoticable.
"There's something different about you," I stated.
He shrugged. "I figured as much," he said, "I guess I will just have to see what happens. Besides, I think it'll be interesting to see what everyone thinks now that their future is in the hands of the One of Questions." He smiled happily, as though this were the greatest news in the world. I hesitated, taking this in. He knew I was the One of Questions, but then how could I be if I didn't stop the Rising from occuring? But then I realized what he refered to in that statement.
"You mean... you gave me the key to immortality," I asked in disbelief.
"Yep, you won't be killed now, that's for sure," He stated, "It was the perfect resolution. The best way to save you was to make you the first of the future kind of vampires." I felt a sudden dread. He thinks I'm going to bring about the rising of the vampires, and rule over them. He thinks I'm going to enslave human kind just seconds after I was one. I started laughing. I'm a follower, not a leader, and there's no way I'm going to start killing off humans. Then again, I am technically still human, so maybe actually turning will change my mind.
"You knew about the One of Questions and you still kept me around," I inquired curiously.
Evanen looked a bit tired. "I didn't think you were it at first. The One of Questions is said to have amazing powers that can halt the Rising of Vampires, and you were far from having powers. Though, you did ask a lot of questions... but I figured it out after awhile. I think Drewdon had the idea in his head as well."
"What idea?"
He peered at me with amusement. "Your amazing power," He hinted, "What else would stop the Rising than making the carrier fall in love with a human? A human, of all things, which would be the thing distroyed in the event of the Rising. That was your power. Love. I love you." I felt a power of nerves go off in my gut, and was automatically uncertain and uncomfortable with what to say next.
I turned towards the horizon, where the sun was beginning to come up. I thought about his words, mulling over how blunt he was about everything. It took me a moment to realize there was no bluntness in his statement. He had said it with such softness of his eyes, with such emotion. I thought about what everyone would be expecting of me now that I was the key to immortality. If he loved me, he would protect me, right? He would protect me in whatever decision I made. Right?
I moved my gaze from the horizon to Evanen, opening my mouth in preparation to inform him of my decision to not kill any human beings in the future. I was going to tell him I would not be the leader in the turn of power in the world. Before I could get the words out, I was greeted by a fearful sight. Behind Evanen, Cecilian was raising a silver pole above her head. "EVANEN," I screamed, and he moved to turn just as she struck down. The sudden movement caused me to scream, expecting Evanen to be dead, but his moving caused the pole to stab just below his heart. He seemed startled, and grabbed the pole with pain. Cecilian looked furious that she had missed, and she went to attack Evanen again. With a swift movement, Evanen ripped the pole from his body and thrusted it into Cecilian's chest.
Cecilian gasped, looking down in surprise, and dissolved into the familiar dust and bones. I sighed in relief, turning to Evanen, but he was gripping his chest in pain. For a moment, I waited for him to heal. He looked up from his chest, and looked at me with such pain that it scared me. "Evanen," I asked, confused. I moved towards him slowly, but when he fell over, I nearly stumbled over myself to reach him. "Evanen!" I reached him, and he was gasping in air. "What's wrong?"
"I think.. I think...," I struggled to say the words, and I pushed up his shirt to see the wound was still there, bleeding profusively. Without thinking, I pushed my hands against the wound as though I could heal it by giving it my skin. His blood just moved through my fingers easily each time he took a breath. I could feel his warm skin, and his heart throbbing rapidly beneath my hands. "I think I'm human." I felt as though I could start crying, but tears didn't form in my eyes. It was as though my body forgot how to cry.
"No," I whined, "No, you can't be." Evanen was having even more trouble breathing, and I suddenly felt a wave of pain as my body seized up. I felt a ripple of power move throughout my limbs, and I closed my eyes in pain. I felt as though I was slipping away into some sort of trance, and everything around me seemed to be getting further away.
"You're changing," Evanen stated with a struggle. His voice brought me back, and I focused on him instead of the pain. "I can see it." I couldn't see my hands under the fact that they were being covered with Evanen's blood. I shook my head, trying to will his blood to stay in him. It's unfair. It's unfair. He just got his chance to be human, and didn't even see it until after Cecilian hurt him. It's not fair. Another wave of pain pulsed through me, and I clenched my jaw in agony, trying not to let go of my grip on Evanen's wound. The world was starting to fade again.
"Do you think I have a soul now," Evanen asked suddenly in a low voice. I opened my eyes again, looking at his face. He was looking at the horizon wistfully as though he wasn't dying, but just about to drift into a peaceful sleep.
"Yes," I said, even though I didn't know. I cried out as he gasped in pain. "HELP," I screamed to no one before I felt my own pain push through my limbs. It choked off my scream easily.
"There's the sun," He said, obviously not too worried about his predictament, and I looked at the horizon. The sun was indeed rising over the edge sleepily. It was a beautiful sight, and I hadn't felt the sun's warmth in a long time. It moved over my wriggling, changing skin, and into my sharply tuning eyes without burning or sensitivity. It felt wonderful. "I told you I'd watch the sunrise with you one day." I looked at Evanen, feeling the constant waves of pain now starting to change something about the world around me. Or me. Probably just changing me. I noticed the water in Evanen's eyes as he watched the sun for the first time, and I felt a rush of sadness.
"I love you, Evanen," I said, and amazingly it felt absolutely true. He didn't blink or turn his eyes away from the sunrise. For a moment, I just looked at him, and then I noticed with a sudden wave a pain that I could hear every sound made around me so sharply that it hurt my ears. I could see things I couldn't see before so that it hurt my eyes. I was no longer breathing, and a slow hunger was starting to boil its way into my blood. I closed my eyes, noticing that Evanen wasn't breathing either, and that there was no rush of blood being pulsed throughout him any further. He was dead... and I was beyond death.