thanks for the review TIM...much appreciated to know someone's reading...i'll continue for you...JG
Jaden's eyes opened, and when she saw the glass in James' hand, she blinked away tears as she slid to the floor, murmuring, "what have I done?" under her breath.
James sat down beside her, and wrapped his arm around her, ignoring the way she cringed. In her ear he whispered, "You do know that, even if you weren't turned, that the Organization would have had you killed should they find out you were captured, or even worse, if they discovered you were a Half Blood? Surely you see that."
Jaden glared at him, "No matter what happened, I would have died. Whether by my will or not, I would not go on living as your prisoner, or the captive of my people." The look she gave him was murderous, pain-filled and pathetically desperate, all at the same time.
James could sense that she was uncertain of what to do; nothing in her life had ever prepared her for what was happening to her. She knew only how to kill a Vampire, but not how to deal in a civilized way with one; how to be one. James knew this state of vulnerability was delicate and would be brief; once she became surer of herself, she may begin to rebel against her captors. She could be so easily influenced by the wrong people, for she didn't even know what to think of herself, let alone even consider the decisions and manipulation of others. James knew that he'd have to trap her in their world; make her believe that if she left them, that death would be immediate. He hated having to trick one of his own, especially one so like himself, but it was a necessity, for if Jaden was influenced by anyone who wished to see him or the Nichelle fall, then they were in grave danger.
James smiled ruefully, squeezing her shoulder slightly. "Listen kid, whether you like it or not," he murmured, "we're stuck together. You need to be trained in taking care of yourself; and I need to teach you what it means to be one of us, and to be a Half-Blood Turned."
Frowning, Jaden looked at him, confused. "What is the difference between a Half-Blood Turned and a regular Turned?" she asked.
"Well," he said, sighing gustily, "regular Turned are usually considered scum, who will remain scum, and there isn't much they can do about it. Most of the common Newborns are of these lowly Vampires, which makes them weak. There are not many who are Turned by the powerful Vampires; who are people like me, or my Turned, Ashmore and his, and Tsar and his. We are the elites, sharing blood, through our masters, with the First People; or at least we are closer in blood to them, as every Vampire sprouts from them. And being so elite, we hardly Turn humans, as it requires a lot of work and sleepless days trying to get the Newborn to behave, cooperate, and so on. Common Newborns and Vampires see people like me as their ruler. To them, I am the one who rewards them for exceedingly good performance and loyalty, and the one who has them killed when they mess up. But I am pretty much out of their reach; untouchable; too good to associate myself with them, and if I do, it is a very special privilege."
Jaden raised an eyebrow, "you still haven't answered my question. Why am I so special?"
James gave her a look of mock exasperation, "I was going to tell you, before I was so rudely interrupted!" he said, teasingly. "I have told you what a regular is to expect; but you, my dear," he continued, lightly stroking her cheek, "are hardly mediocre! You are, to start, Alexander Tsar and my Turn. That alone puts you above the rest. Coursing through your veins is the blood of the most and the second most powerful beings of the Nichelle, for hundreds of miles in any direction; that makes you pretty important. You are also ranked high because you were already one of us. Being a Half-Blood makes it so that, deep down inside, you are a Vampire; which explains the dreams that Half-Bloods have, their tendency for violence and their efficiency at killing. And when your Second Father is the third most powerful Nichelle around, you are placed in a whole new category!"
James looked over at her, and said straight to her, "Jaden, you are the Turn and the child of some of the most powerful people on this section of the continent. You haven't even been one of us for a week, and yet you rank higher than most could ever dream of." He clasped both sides of her face and said firmly, "You are a one of a kind type of Vampire, and when you come into it, you will so formidable a foe; you will nearly be unstoppable."
James saw the light shift in her eyes; he saw the greed loom up inside them, and saw a power-hungry demon be given life. "Let me teach you," he whispered against her mouth, not unlike a lover would, "let me show you who you truly are, and what you can easily become! I can help you become more powerful than you could possibly imagine, all you have to do is trust me!"
She pulled away, with hurt in her eyes, "why should I trust you? You were the one who killed me! You destroyed the life I had!" she accused, tearfully.
James smiled dolefully, "because I am the only one who can save you from the hurt of seeing your beloved friends try to exterminate you. I am the only one who can guide you through what will come and what has passed. Please Jaden, you must understand, you won't last a second in the real world, if you don't receive the proper training. It's not just the Agents I speak of! There are new sets of senses and hormones that come with the Turn. Being around a human will make you sick, or blood-crazy, if you don't receive the proper tutelage. You may think that you are a monster now, but a Vampire lost to the Blood Lust truly is one. If you don't allow me to train you, you will become a real monster, uncontrollable and evil."
There was fear in her eyes, along with anger, sadness and vulnerability. She looked away, closing her eyes, and when she looked back at him, her eyes were cold and hard, emotionless. Wordlessly she nodded. She would allow herself to be trained.
James gave her a crooked smile, and said, "come," as he rose to his feet, taking on the role of Master. He helped her up, and then continued saying, "you need to feed."
He steered her towards the door and opened it for her. The instant it opened Jaden felt as if she suddenly walked into a wall of icy water that turned to glass shards that mercilessly buried themselves into her flesh and mind. She gasped and silently screamed in her pain, her face contorting horribly, as she slumped against James. Her stomach twisted agonizingly and her head throbbed so painfully she saw spots.
James supported the girl and marveled. He could sense her suffering, and was impressed at how strong she was in coping with it. He glanced around and saw that there were a few Faithfuls nearby. "You there!" he called to them. They started and began to hurry towards him; the closer they got, the more distressed his student became, so he decided, to mitigate some of the hate that would be directed at him in the future, he raised his hand to stop the Faithfuls once they were close enough that he didn't need to shout. To them he commanded, "Go now, and remove any human between here and my chambers. You'd best hurry!" he pointed to one of them and said, "I want Maddox, Vanessa and her student, Andrew, all in my chambers, by the time we get there. Understood?"
The Faithfuls bowed and scurried away. The farther they got from her, the less pain Jaden was feeling; slowly it abated to a calmer, less intense ache, that still seemed to consume even her soul. With his arms still firmly supporting his student, James led her through the corridors to his rooms. There, as ordered to the Faithful, was the three Vampires he'd asked for, and on the way, there hadn't been a human in sight. He helped a trembling Jaden sit in a chair before his desk, then too his seat behind it.
Jaden looked around the room. She recognized two of the Vampires. The woman casually leaning against the wall behind James' desk, was Vanessa Cartier, the most influential woman of the Nichelle in the city. Vanessa was a tall thin woman, one of the most beautiful women Jaden'd ever seen. She had sea green eyes, and long platinum blond hair, and if she were not so pale, she could be considered a goddess. The other Jaden recognized from Kay's apartment; the huge Vampire who'd killed her friend leaned against the window-frame, staring out into the night. He was a large man, pure muscle, Jaden observed. He stood tallest in the room and was menacing even when his back was turned.
The third Vampire in the room was unknown to Jaden. She studied him as he lounged against a wall, gazing unseeingly at the floor before his feet. With a mop of dirty blond hair, he practically radiated sexuality and power, and as Jaden watched him, he raised his eyes to look at her. They were the color the sky was before the factories were turned on and their gasses blocked it out; the most beautiful and chilling eyes Jaden had ever seen. A crooked smile formed on his lips as he gazed at her, and he nodded his head slightly to her, in greeting. He had the demeanor of a killer amongst his own kind, and it frightened Jaden. Blushing, she quickly averted her eyes.
Jaden looked to James, who had been watching her the whole time. "Well," he said, glancing around, "shall we?" He looked to Maddox and nodded to the door, "Would you be kind enough to fetch my student something to eat Maddox?" he asked. His gaze shifted to Jaden, though he still spoke with the man, saying, "She looks positively ravenous."
Maddox sneered slightly and said, "of course." He turned and left the room.
Jaden looked around, confused. "Come here Jaden," James ordered, coming out from behind his desk. She rose and moved towards him as the door opened behind her. She reached the desk as a sudden pain shuddered through her. She winced and braced herself heavily on the desk, not knowing what was causing her body to react in such a way. James put his arm around her and forced her to turn around.
Now sitting in the chair that Jaden had just vacated was an old man, staring sightlessly forward. Jaden shuddered and looked away from him, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and gritting her teeth. "Now Jaden," James chided gently, "you won't get far as a Vampire if you cringe away from any human that gets in close proximity to you."
Jaden, trying to get a grip on her trembling body, glared at James and softly exclaimed, "Fuck you! I didn't ask for any of this!"
James smiled wryly, saying, "And yet you got it!" He addressed the large Vampire saying, "Maddox, get him on his feet." Maddox grinned and hauled the old man to his feet by the scruff of his neck. Guiding Jaden towards the two men, James whispered, "now is when you take your last step out of your old life," in her ear. "You cannot back out now. The longer you wait to make your first kill, the harder it will be to contain yourself until your next." She looked at him, genuine fear in her eyes.
Jaden looked at the old man, "why doesn't he move?" she asked, confused.
Maddox, who now held the man up by his armpits, said, "he's a deaf-mute who is blind. He has no idea what is going on."
Jaden closed her eyes for a moment, and then let James push her to stand right in front of the old man. She looked into his face, and asked, "What is his name?"
"Jude," was Maddox's brusque reply.
Jaden's head was throbbing painfully now, and as she lowered her mouth to the old man's neck, she paused, wincing. "Goodbye Jude," she whispered, just before she sank her teeth into the flabby flesh of his throat.
