"I am signaling you through the flames.
The North Pole is not where it used to be.
Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest.
Civilization self-destructs.
Nemesis is knocking at the door."
Poetry as Insurgent Art [I am signaling you through the flames]
by Lawrence Ferlighetti
Journal Of Edward Masen pt. 5
Journal of Edward Masen
November 10, 2010
We have had to arrange ahead of time an appropriate vehicle to rent at the Athens airport: a Mercedes SUV with heavily tinted windows. Emmett joked that it is surely the vehicle of choice for both Russian mob members and internationally traveling vampires. Nick laughed at this, too.
I am amazed at how he takes all this, takes us, in stride. The only hesitation he has exhibited was at the thought of involving his family, other than that he seems perfectly content to let us drag him around the world, no matter what the dangers may be.
Selfishly, I have to admit how incredibly freeing it is to have someone read my journals, to hear my side of the story. I'm sure that's the feeling that people seek out when they tell all their dark secrets to a therapist or a priest. It's disturbing how it brings all of it back to me but at the same time it gives me a companion in my turmoil. It's somewhat comforting to speak to someone similarly confused and confounded by Bella's actions, albeit to a lesser degree. It should be embarrassing but it isn't. Perhaps that is a product of Nick's gift. Perhaps it is my weariness of this life, this rock in my dead chest that I have carried for so long.
Emmett and Rosalie feel that they have located the part of Greece where Nick and his family originated. They have also uncovered a rumor of a Canadian doctoral student who was writing a dissertation on regional legends and folk-tales that may fill in some of the details for us. Emmett is working on getting a copy of the student's work, it was apparently never completed but there may be enough of a paper trail that it may be helpful.
We stop for the day in the town of Korinthos and Emmett goes out to find someplace with an internet connection and a fax machine. It is overcast enough that we are able to venture out into the town a bit. Nick speaks a little Greek he learned from his grandmother and we are able to help with the rest as we buy local delicacies for him and Esme examines textiles and old books. We are all pretending that this is a vacation instead of what could be a dangerous errand for Nick and perhaps ourselves.
Three hours later Emmett returns with a file folder stuffed with thermal paper and fresh photocopies. He distributed copies to all of us present and we eagerly read what he had found.
Sophia Zacharias B.A., unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Ontario, Anthropology. Submitted 12/18/1973.
Immortality myths in the Laconic region of Southern Greece.
The oral tradition of Southern Greece has been well documented. (Abbot and Crane, 1934) While many of these stories tell of documented historical events (Spire, 1960) many of the stories have elements of the supernatural and/or the intervention of the gods (Reed and Mycowski, 1957). This dissertation examines the oral tradition and later recorded tales of the region of Laconia and Sparta; specifically focusing on tales of immortal creatures who were said to have inhabited the area since the Trojan War (12th century B.C.E.)
The earliest tale of the creatures surface just after the Trojan War in a version of the tale of Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. In the tale, not recorded until approximately 1100 C.E., Telemachus, after the death of his father, was traveling and found himself on an island in the Aegean. He and his men provided hospitality by the inhabitants of the island, creatures who looked like men but who were unusually fast and strong. Telemachus discovered them in the act of eating (or perhaps drinking the blood of) one of his servants. He confronted them on their behavior and they felt great shame for they had not been good hosts, a important act in Greek society, and they apologized and promised to help him to find a bride in return. This version of the Telegony has Telemachus' unusual new friends arranging for his marriage to Epicasta, daughter of Nestor. It was said that Homer was their son and that he was made to promise to maintain the oral tradition of the area by his mother at the behest of his unusual godparents. This is consistent with Hadrian's being told by the Delphic Oracle that Homer was the son of Telemachus and Epicasta. (Tales of Homer, trans. Parke, 1967)
Not all of these tales contain such an esteemed pedigree. The villages of Laconia are a rich source of native tales of the supernatural, the kind of stories that live on mainly in the oral tradition; tales of ghosts, giants and immortal monsters that feed upon disobedient children. For the purposes of this paper we will concentrate on the latter. The superstitions of the wives and grandmothers of the smaller villages of this region show a remarkable overlap with this version of the tale of Telemachus in that they talk of a group of immortal blood-drinkers, not dissimilar to the tales of vampires of central Europe or the stregoni of Italy.
I looked up at Emmett. "She wrote a paper on this?" Emmett smiled.
"Yeah, but according to university records, when she went to Europe to do field research for her doctorate she ended up dropping out by phone. The only thing they have on record is a hand-written note by a professor that she called to say that she met a guy in Greece and was getting married. I haven't tracked any members of her family down yet but I can't find any record of her in Canada or the United States after 1974."
"So, you think someone got to her?" Nick says it with such calmness. I am struck by the thought that that could be him if he didn't have us to protect him.
"The Volturi definitely have a history of tracking down and eliminating people doing research about us who get anywhere near the truth." Carlisle looks speculative.
"But I guess we now have a general area to look in. We could head south tomorrow and just keep poking around." Emmett says. For all his light-heartedness Emmett is a good researcher and knows how to get information in ways that are hard to track, even for the Volturi.
We head south tomorrow.
Phantoms Pt 4:
Nick awoke at dawn to the sound of traffic outside his room and the beeping of his phone. He rubbed his face, sleepily, still a little jet-lagged, and grabbed the phone off the nightstand. There was a text from Carlisle:
When you are ready we will get on the road.
He dragged himself out of bed and took a lukewarm shower. They were staying out of the fancier resorts in an attempt to stay as low profile as a large group of gorgeous pale people in a Mercedes could.
They were on the road within the hour, having found Nick some thick coffee and some breakfast from a street vendor.
They drove south to Sparti, planning how to narrow down their search to find some vampires that they weren't even sure existed and without any idea of what kind of welcome they would get if they did.
Edward and Nick made a remarkably good team; Nick asking questions while Edward listened to thoughts. They moved south to the Laconic province, stopping to ask questions of old priests and ancient grandmothers. Nick's questions would often make them nervous; they resisted telling the two tall, American students any of the old stories despite the inexplicable temptation. But when the thoughts floated to the top of their heads Edward could pick it up and they would adjust their trajectory. The thoughts Edward heard became more and more specific as they headed south and into the less inhabited villages and towns east of Sparti, even as the answers became more vague and the people more likely to be off-putting or unwilling to speak.
After three days they found themselves heading down a dirt road near an ancient monastery that an old priest had thought of in a panic when Nick asked him about folk tales about immortal blood drinkers. Emmett rolled down the window and nodded.
"Folks, we have vampires," he said with a subdued voice and Nick smiled at him nervously.
They pulled up to an ancient stone house with a slightly less-decrepit wooden deck stretching across the front. In front of the house was a circle of squarish stones nearly waist high to Nick and enclosing a circle of about a hundred feet with the exception of two openings on opposite sides, one near the road and one near the house.
They stepped into the broken stone circle and paused. There was movement from the house and onto the weathered deck stepped a dark-haired vampire wearing a worn sweater and battered leather sandals. He looked ancient, like a stone statue of an ancient god, powerful and yet somehow peaceful, benign. His eyes were amber, like the Cullens'. He looked at each of them and then stopped at Nick. A faint smile appeared on his face.
A second vampire joined him on the deck and they moved forward slowly, curiously. The second man was very similar to the first in appearance but he lacked the ancient stare. He too looked over each of them, stopping finally at Nick. A look of surprise overtook his face.
"You are the very image of my little brother, Basil," he said, his voice sounding as it was coming from someplace deep within him, as if he hadn't used that particular cadence in a long time.
"He is one of us," the first one said, confidently, calmly. "You are a Geracimos."
Nick nodded. He felt relieved, somehow. He stepped closer to the men. He could see the Cullens tensing on either side of him but he gave them a reassuring smile and continued towards the men. He stopped right in front of the first one and extended his hand. "I'm Nicholas Geracimos." The vampire gave him a gentle smile and opened his arms. "I am Cyril and this is Andreas." He folded Nick into a gentle embrace and then released him to Andreas. Andreas embraced him as Cyril approached the shocked Cullens. He stopped facing Carlisle who gave him a dignified nod of the head and introduced himself.
"Carlisle Cullen, I have wanted to make your acquaintance for so long." Carlisle cocked a brow at him and Cyril laughed. "I have heard stories about you for many years. You are the first of our kind to not live upon humans and to try to live among humans to the degree that you do. I am honored."
The rest of them made their introductions. Cyril paused in front of Edward and appraised him with a fixed, curious look. "You have an interesting story to tell, too. I can see it." Edward tilted his head slightly and started to speak but Cyril turned back to the house and gestured to them to follow.
"Please, we get so few guests. My manners are terrible. Come in and join us. We have a great deal to discuss." The vampires walked into the house, gesturing for Nick to walk with them and the Cullens followed.
The house was all large rooms and shabby furniture. An ancient velvet couch draped with a rug and several faded floor cushions graced the living room. In contrast to this a great many paintings and pieces of artisan pottery were displayed around the room and large bookshelves were filled with books of a wide range of ages. Cyril gestured around with a smile.
"Again, I apologize for the accommodations. Sophia is always telling us that we need better furniture for when people come to visit. She's so much more in touch with the modern world, in my time food and shelter and entertainment were all that was required to be a good host but things have changed."
"Sophia?" Emmett interjected. "Sophia Zacharius, the graduate student?" Andreas nodded this time.
"Yes, she joined us in the 70's. She travels right now but you will meet her soon." Andreas gestured to the couch. "Perhaps we should be seated for Nick's sake." He smiled and they took seats.
"I imagine you have some questions," Cyril smiled.
"The first question I have is why you're not more surprised to see us," Edward's voice sounded tense and Nick looked at him, concerned.
Cyril nodded and folding his hands in front of him, took a deep breath like a man preparing to tell a long story. It was a natural-looking movement on him.
"I want to start by thanking you for bringing Nick to us. It is difficult for us to travel safely and we are grateful to you for sparing us that." Cyril looked at Andreas with the manner of someone intimately familiar with their companion. Andreas gave him a barely perceptible nod and spoke. "We were informed of your arrival by an acquaintance of yours."
"Alice," Edward hissed. Cyril and Andreas nodded.
"Yes, Alice and her mate visited us several months back to inform us that you would be coming to visit. I must admit, however, that I was still surprised to see how like us you are." At this Andreas looked warmly at Nick again.
"She visited you to say that we were coming before I ever met Bella?" Nick spoke, confused.
"I don't know who this Bella is but Alice explained that we would be receiving quite a few visitors, starting with you."
"Nick, remember that Alice can see the future. She would have seen all of this." Carlisle spoke gently.
"Then why all the…" Nick's voice trailed off as he waved his hand in the air.
"Perhaps it will make more sense when we explain who we are," Cyril said to him gently. Nick felt so comforted by him, he didn't have any way of explaining it away but he felt connected to him. Cyril composed himself to speak again.
"I was named Cyril Zoupena by my parents. I was born three millennia ago very near here, around the time of the Trojan War. My father was the local storyteller and I was groomed to take his place. As were many young men in my village, I was sent with the army of the Myceans to Troy to fight but I never made it to the battle. My ship was wrecked and I was washed upon an island in the Aegean with a few of my shipmates. The island was inhabited by one of us, a vampire named Canace, the sister of a king of Lesbos who had been sacrificed to a monster in exchange for his succession to the throne. She devoured the blood of my shipmates but she changed me because I amused her with my stories."
"I stayed with her for fifty years but the population of the island was too small to support two of my kind and I wanted to return home. I returned to the village of my birth. When I revealed who I was the people of my village renamed me and my remaining family members, a few of the grandchildren of my siblings, 'Geracimos' - 'old one' and for many years they worshipped me as a god. I led the people of my village in the Peloponnesian War against Athens, I protected them from harm, and I kept their stories and guided them. Unfortunately, I couldn't protect them from the Romans or from the coming of Christianity, which convinced my people that I was not a man but a devil. It wasn't hard to do as I still fed upon humans then."
Cyril smiled wryly at Carlisle. "I have to admit that we have only fed upon animal for the last fifty years and that it was more out of necessity than out of moral compunction."
"I turned one of my family, my dear Thea, just before the Romans came in. I could see that she had my gift, the ability to draw the truth from people and to keep the stories. But things were very hard for us during the Crusades, we were driven from this place and Thea was killed by Byzantine priests. I fled to Italy, to the Volturi. Among them I was protected from the dark ages and its religious fervor."
"I lived among the Volturi for a millennia until I angered Aro and was forced to leave. It was safer here then but I was forced to turn another of my family for protection. His name was Mattheus. He lacked the gift and was not born to this life the way we were. He hated what he was but remained with me out of loyalty until I found Andreas two centuries ago. Then we destroyed him as he had requested."
"Is Sophia related to you, to us?" Nick asked. Cyril shook his head.
"Sophia's family lived near this area so she may be some relation but she was given a choice to become like us or to die once she got too close to us. We are lucky that she is a natural scholar and took to this life but she is not like you, she doesn't have the gift."
"When did your family leave Greece, Nick?" Andreas asked.
"My grandfather moved to America in the 1920's with my grandmother. Their names were Georgios and Vaia Geracimos." Andreas smiled and looked at Cyril.
"Now that you've heard about us, you understand why we are so happy to see you. You have the gift. You are meant to be one of us." Andreas smiled but he looked anxious.
"It is your choice, Nick," Cyril spoke, looking at Andreas with a frown. "I will never again change someone against their will. Mattheus was a mistake and it was heartbreaking to have to destroy him."
"But we need the protection of numbers!" Andreas hissed at Cyril. "He is clearly intended to join us, why else would he have the gift?"
"Who are Katherine and Sanjo?" Edward asked.
Andreas and Cyril looked at him and then at each other. "How do you know of Katherine and Sanjo?" Cyril asked carefully.
"I can read your mind." Edward answered tersely. "Who are they?"
"They were part of our coven until recently. You have to understand, this is a very tedious charge. We feel compelled to live in this area. As vampires come across our path they tell us their stories. We keep the stories. Our movements are limited." Andreas spoke carefully and then looked to Cyril.
"But there's more," Edward said. "If you are to ask Nick to join you he should know everything."
"I angered Aro. He has made…threatening gestures in my direction. It is safer for us in numbers. We are not safe as just two."
"So, Alice may have sent Nick in your direction knowing that your numbers had been reduced recently," Emmett stated. The two Greek vampires looked at him almost in unison. Emmett had been silent through all of this as had Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle.
"But why would Bella approach me? You said she was a member of the guard." Nick asked.
Andreas and Cyril looked at him in shock. "You have been approached by the guard? And you survived?"
Nick nodded. "She told me her story and then the Cullens came and got me."
Cyril looked to Carlisle. "We must also thank you for that, for saving him. We knew that Aro had become more aggressive in the last few years but we had no idea he had the capability or the knowledge to do any such thing." He looked at the assembled group thoughtfully. "We need to make accommodations for our guests, especially our human." He looked at Nick affectionately. "Perhaps my brother could take you hunting? The wildlife here isn't ideal but it will suffice for a time, I hope."
They stood and began to discuss plans when Nick saw Edward stiffen suddenly. He looked at him curiously and the others followed suit.
"What is it?" Cyril asked. Edward's gaze was distant for another moment before looking at him.
"You have another visitor already."
"Do you know who it is?" Carlisle asked his son. "How many?"
Edward nodded carefully. "Just one. I've met him before." He walked to the door and out onto the deck in imitation of the Greek's welcome for them just hours before. The occupants of the house followed him and in just a few minutes a wiry blond with sharp features and red eyes walked into the clearing. Edward greeted him tersely.
"Demitri."
a/n: Epic author's note is epic. Sorry. Give it up for my persistent and talented beta, EverlastingMuse and my awesome pre-reader Liz3615. Without them I would sink to the bottom and stay there. Thank you for your patience with waiting for this; it's somewhat tedious to write as I have to look stuff up and do research, of all things.
Just a couple pedantic things: in the process of getting my B.A. in history at an uber-politically correct university I had the practice of using "B.C.E." (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) drilled into my head as opposed to B.C. and A.D., because they are markers that are not predicated upon Christianity even though the cut-off is the same year. Plenty of reputable historians probably still use the latter, I am not a professional academic, it's just habit.
Additionally, I really messed with Greek mythology here. It was purposeful, please don't send me a copy of Bulfinch's or anything. I'm just playing around.
Also, I Google-mapped the stuffing out of this one trying to figure out where stuff was so I hope you can take any mistakes in stride, please. My knowledge of Greece is actually quite miniscule. The city of Korinthos where they first stop is the modern name for the city of Corinth, Sparti is where Sparta used to be and Laconia is the region where laconic people come from (this is true! Wiki that shit!)
Aaanndd, finally, I couldn't send any teasers out once I finally had teasers to send out because FFnet has forsaken me and my review replies. So thank you for the reviews and I will hopefully get to respond one day. Xoxo JuJu