Vengeance by Drucilla Malfoy
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I own neither Blood Ties nor Forever Knight. I'm just playing with them for the moment. And even if you sue me, all I have are student loans, which you're welcome to. (This chapter also contains numerous references to other vampire mythologies. As above, I own none of them and mean no harm.)
Emma seemed to barely notice Vicki as she went about the room closing the blinds.
"So… you don't turn into a corpse at sunrise?" Vicki asked.
"No," she answered, "the sun doesn't even burn me."
"Did Henry make that one up too?" her voice was slightly bitter.
"Sun walking is an acquired ability. When Henry gets to be my age he should be able to do it too."
"Then why the blinds?"
Emma smiled a little. "Just because it doesn't hurt me, doesn't mean it isn't annoying."
"But the resistance to the sun comes with age?"
"Yep. A newborn is out cold the moment the sun touches the horizon and doesn't wake till it's fully dark. Henry already has some leeway."
Vicki seemed to mull this information over quietly.
"I take it you had a specific reason for staying up." Emma leaned on the kitchen countertop.
"Am I that obvious or can you read minds too?"
"I," she emphasized, "can't read minds. I do read body language well, though." Emma sighed. "Let's move into the living room and get comfortable. This is gonna take awhile." She led Vicki into the living room.
"That implies that vampires can read minds." Vicki settled herself on the sofa down from Emma.
"Some can. There are many powers that some vampires have."
"Wow." She paused. "You know I never would have gotten a straight answer from Henry on this."
"He loves you. He's very protective. I've never seen him like this before."
"How do you mean?"
"In love. I've seen him in lust plenty of times; he is his father's son after all. But never like this. This is love. I'm glad he finally found it."
Vicki was shocked silent. She had never really considered how serious Henry's feelings were.
Emma finally spoke again. "You will get answers from me, Vicki, but you need to be sure you want them. Knowledge can be very dangerous, especially when it comes to us."
"I'm already in this. Isn't it best for me to know everything? I've already got these," she held up her wrists, "vampires are the least of my problems."
"Henry told me about that incident. So… where to start? How do you want to do this?"
"Why don't you start at the top and I'll ask questions as you go."
Emma smirked. "Alright, then. So…vampires. Generally, we are creatures of this night. I know it sounds dramatic and corny but it's accurate."
"What do you mean generally?"
"Remember earlier when I spoke of races of vampires?" She continued when Vicki nodded. "Well, there are many exceptions to the rules. Each race has its own traits and some of those contradict the hard, fast rules."
"There are vampires who can go out in the sun?"
"Yes. The more people I've spoken to, the more I've found that it tends to be an ability that comes with age and strength. However, there are a couple of races that never have major issues with sunlight. The group Henry and I were talking about earlier, for example. They have no ill-effects from sunlight. But… Their skin has this odd crystalline structure. They literally sparkle like a diamonds in direct sunlight. It is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Oddly erotic, on some of them, but weird."
"Must be great for blending in."
"Yeah, right."
"So, creatures of the night?"
"Yeah. Despite the exceptions, we are all strongest at night. And we all drink blood. Mostly human blood. Human blood gives us strength. You can survive on animal blood. Preferably from warm blooded animals, carnivores, predators are best, though anything will do in a pinch. Some vampires have made the conscious decision to drink only animal blood. Carlisle Cullen started using the term 'vegetarian' as a joke and it's kind of stuck."
"How common is that?"
"Very, very rare. Some of us are incapable of surviving on animal blood for the long term. It's just not possible. We're all different and all have different needs for blood. It's easier for some than others. The problem with it is your thirst is never truly satisfied. Many who attempt it lose control."
"You said you tried it."
"I did. Just to see. It felt like… Something like how a heroine addict must feel quitting cold turkey. I did more research into it. Each race of vampire is slightly different physiologically. We all use the blood differently. So there are just some of us who are physically incapable of living on animal blood."
"Ok, powers. You said something about powers."
"We are all very strong, very fast. All of our senses are heightened, we heal fast, and we age imperceptibly, if at all."
"Vampires age?"
"We, our race, I should say, do. Henry doesn't look seventeen does he? I was sixteen when I was turned but I don't look that young. It's slow, maybe one year for every century, when we're young. It slows even more as we age. I'll likely never look any older and Henry may only gain another year or two before his basically stops as well. Others are frozen the moment they are changed."
"And… other abilities?"
"Some can fly. The ones we are meeting with tonight, for example. Many of us have some degree of mind control abilities. Fewer can actually read minds. Others can set you on fire, control the elements, crush your body with their minds, even see into the future. You name it; there has probably been a vampire that could do it. It all depends."
"See the future, huh?"
"Foresight tends to have varying effects on the individual's sanity but…"
"Could be useful right now."
"Yeah, it could."
"You said there were two main races of vampires."
"Yes. Us and them. The generally used distinction being that they have one set of fangs and we have two."
"That's enough to distinguish you from all the others."
"It's enough for us. There are other groups with the same numbers of fangs but there are other, bigger differences. Our races, sometimes seen as the 'classical' vampires, are seen as the closest related races. Some believe we are the closest to human."
"Do you believe that?"
"I think it's an interesting theory. We certainly appear the most human. Our skin is pale but not inhumanly so. Our skin still feels human, our eyes still look normal. Even transformed we aren't as inhuman looking as many others. We also tend to have a strong degree of control over our urges."
"Are your races similar?"
"Very much so. There are differences though. Their eyes turn red or green when they transform, the fangs. There are others, but you might call them more trade-offs. They have more extraneous abilities. Flying, much stronger mind control, things like that. But they also have more weaknesses. Really stereotypical ones too. Crosses, garlic, holy water, stuff like that."
"Stake through the heart?"
"Ehhh… It can kill them. If they are weak and it isn't removed it can be fatal. However, it is a survivable injury. Lacroix has been staked twice, that I know of. I only know of one group that is completely killable with a stake to the heart and they turn to dust."
"How do you… kill a vampire." Vicki shifted almost uncomfortably.
Emma closed her eyes a moment. "It's a little different for every group. Decapitation and dismemberment is a common theme. As is fire and sunlight. Especially put together. There was actually a coven in old Paris that used sunlight as a method of execution. Draining away all the blood comes up a lot too. Some believe that if you're old and strong enough nothing can destroy you."
"You're what 3000 years old?"
"Give or take a few centuries."
"Are there any vampires older than you?"
"Um…" She paused to think. "Maharet, Mekare, and Khayman are older and there may still be few of the burnt ones running about that are. Umm… I have a few centuries on Aro, Caius and Marcus. Closer to a thousand years on Lucius, Marius and Pandora." She though out loud. "The Master wasn't that old. His kind never live very long anyway. Vlad's only like 800, walks around like he's an ancient though. The Methuselahs are all supposed to be dead; if they're still alive they're older. If Cain's alive he might be older than any of us. I know I'm forgetting someone and it'll come to me at the oddest moment. But I'm… there are a few. I'm definitely in the top ten. Maybe top five."
"OK. But… where do vampires come from?"
"That's a fairly existential question."
"I know but…"
"It's ok. Individually, we were all human once. The change always involves a bite. For some, one bite, no matter how small, is all it takes. For other, like us, there also needs to be a certain degree of weakness in the human body. Usually, a level of blood loss is necessary for the change to take hold. Whether it comes from the bite itself or outside forces… Others also need to feed the person they're changing an amount of their blood. That usually helps it along, even for us.
"As to the more theological part of your question… Some groups believe they can trace their origins, others have a strong mythology behind them, and the rest of us largely give it up to God, the Devil or evolution."
"You have got to explain this one more."
Emma smiled. "There is one race that can trace their origins straight back to the first. A king and queen in ancient Egypt. Even before my time. They were beset by evil spirits. They were attacked and, as their bodies weakened, the spirits entered their bodies. They emerged bloodsucking monsters." She paused. "I think. I haven't read the story for awhile and I have a feeling it was wildly embellished. Lestat is such an attention seeking little bitch I wouldn't put it past him and I never have the guts to ask Maharet the truth." She shook her head. "One group believes they are the descendants of Cain. That his sacrifice of human blood pleased God and he was rewarded with immortality. They believe Cain will return one day and destroy them all. Another group believes they are little more than demon-animated corpses. I believe this one. They literally have no soul. When they transform they look like demons. They have no control what-so-ever over their urges. All they do is cause chaos. They even have a destiny ordained slayer to kill them. They really are the monsters of nightmares. Well, except Angel. But gypsies cursed him with a soul so… And Spike, for some reason. I don't get that and no one will explain it."
"And the rest…"
"Some think we were placed on Earth by God as a punishment for humankind. Others believe we were created by the devil to torment God's children and then there are the evolutionists."
"Which do you believe?"
"I tend to lean toward evolution. There are a lot of us that do. The lion evolved the same time as the lamb. Why not the human and the vampire?"
"But so many different kinds?"
"How many different kinds of birds are there? Or cats? Or fish in the sea?"
"I get your point." Vicki paused. "Do you believe that you have a soul?"
Emma smiled again. "Personally, I believe that I do. I know Henry does, too. That part is all a matter of personal belief. I don't believe that I am inherently evil, that what I do is evil. I have done horrible things, I won't deny that. What person can claim that they haven't sinned? But I do not believe that my hunger is evil."
"Why? I'm just curious."
"I have very rarely, and not for…at least twenty-six, twenty-seven hundred years killed just for a feeding. And even if I did… Are you evil for eating beef?"
"A cow and a human are not even close to the same."
"How do you know? Have you ever asked the cow about that? Vampires are the only natural predators humans have. Why does that have to make us evil?"
"You said some give up human blood. Why?"
"The ones that are capable of doing it tend to think that drinking human blood makes us less human. You have to understand, despite everything else, there is an animalistic aspect to all of us. It's stronger in some than others but for all of us it's a matter of controlling it. They used to call our thirst 'the beast', because it was the manifestation of our primal, animal urges. Some vampires believe that drinking human blood feeds this beast inside of us. It destroys our humanity, making us incapable of being around humans, even of feeling human emotions, that you reach a point when you can't even relate to other vampires. You completely become a slave to your thirst, purely animal."
"You disagree."
"I don't think it's the blood itself. We need some kind of blood to survive, it's a simple fact. I have always felt when you kill, that is what feeds the beast. Taking a life is such a…rush of power. It can become like a drug, an addiction that is impossible to break. It eats away at your humanity, makes you a creature instead of a person. How much and how quickly depends on the individual."
"Is it hard to stop when you're…?"
"For some it's impossible. The taste of human blood causes a frenzy in them. Many of these, who wish to maintain their humanity go vegan. For others it's easier to stop. We," she gestured to herself, "are more human to begin with. It's easier for us. Especially if you're used to controlling yourself, like Henry."
"Is there a way to stop being a vampire? Like a cure or something?"
Emma laughed heartily. "No. I don't think so. Supposedly, there are some spells that will drain away the vampirism, usually so someone else can steal the power. Technically, those could do it but that's very dark magic. But no, there is no 'cure'. That hasn't stopped some people for wasting centuries trying to find a cure. Lacroix's son Nick has spent most of his life trying to find a cure. Now, he even turned his girlfriend and they're on this quest together. Such a waste of immortality. He has got a major guilt complex, anyway. That's the down side of a religious vampire."
"Henry is religious."
"So am I. But neither of us would have become martyrs or spent our lives flogging ourselves when we were human. Nicholas would have. He joined the crusades to atone for something he did. So now, eight hundred years later, after only two hundred of actually being a bad ass, he regrets everything he has ever done and needs to redeem his soul.
"Hence the cop thing."
"Exactly."
They were silent a moment as Vicki processed everything she'd been told.
"Ok," she said finally, "but the territory thing? You said that was even more complicated.
Emma sighed. "That is another entire story."
Comments, Criticisms??
A/N: I apologize to anyone who disagrees with my personal view of how Nick and Natalie ended up.
So yeah, that's at least a partial relationship of the vampires of the world. Next chapter will try to explain why Henry and Christina can't stand to even be in the same city, at least a bit. There will be flashbacks. I promise.