I smiled and stretched as I woke up, enjoying the soreness and my hand played across Eric's chest. He was asleep, and I assumed it was sometime during the day. Sitting up after a second, I looked around the dark room. A small set of accent lights ran along the edges of the ceiling, giving me just enough light to see, and I could see a bathroom across the room.
Turning on more lights as I moved around, I quickly got a shower, and chuckled when I realized there were no clothes for me to change into. Eric was a maniacal genius, but he couldn't remember everything. I grabbed one of his long shirts from a drawer and slipped it on, before finding the kitchen. It was completely modern, with everything either black or chrome, and state of the art. A touch screen was set into one of the walls, and using it I figured out that I could control almost the entire place. Thinking back over the hour I had been awake, I realized there were touch screens in every room.
A digital clock in the corner of the screen told me it was almost five in the afternoon, and I wondered how I had managed to sleep the day away.
My hand was midway to my mouth with a bagel, when something occurred to me and I froze. The memories of the night when I got shot with an arrow bounced around in my head, and the realization of how I'd gotten onto the stage shocked me. I nearly dropped my food as I wondered if maybe my fairy powers were becoming more pronounced. Setting the food on the counter, an odd mix of excitement and fear ran through me, and I wondered if I could do it again.
I closed my eyes, and started to picture where I wanted to go. I imagined my kitchen, and the way it would smell if Gran were still alive and cooking an apple pie. Memories flooded through me of nights spent laughing with her and Jason while she made us dinner. In my mind I could see the old timer on the stove, the cracked floors, and everything that made the kitchen a vital part of my home and life. All at once everything about the place washed through me, and suddenly I felt myself being pulled. It was as though something were tugging my entire body across a space, and a popping noise sounded in my ears. My stomach lurched, and suddenly I was standing over my sink. I reached up, and held back my hair as I heaved with the nausea that was quickly fading. Luckily I hadn't eaten anything recently, and I grabbed a glass to drink down some water. My stomach immediately settled, and I smiled.
Looking around, the gravity of what I had done hit me, and all I could do was giggle with disbelief.
Two hours later, I was in a fresh set of clothes, and back at Fangtasia. I had had to call a taxi, and even though it wasn't cheap to go all the way to Shreveport, I wanted to be there when Eric woke up. No matter how much I'd tried, I hadn't been able to pop back to the small secure apartment below the bar, but I desperately wanted to be there. So after Ginger let me in, I went down to the basement and ended up sitting outside the secure door in the small hallway.
It wasn't long before I felt the bond buzz in activity, and a slight panic took him over when he realized I wasn't there. I said his name into the hallway, and just seconds later I could hear the door opening.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked, obviously confused and worried.
I recounted what had happened when I was shot, and then explained how I had managed to move myself to my kitchen. He was surprised by my admission, and started to question me extensively about the experience. We moved into the living room area of his bunker, and sat on the couch.
"Well, I have a few friends that know about fairies from our history books. I'll contact them to see if they have any advice or know anything." He promised to help me figure it out.
"Should we be telling people about the whole fairy thing?" I questioned, and he didn't answer right away. Even though I didn't make a habit of showing off my powers, I knew that word could spread fast. Then it would only be a matter of time before other vampires decided they wanted to walk in the sun while high on my blood.
"You're right to be concerned, but I trust these vampires with my life. They are very old friends of mine, and wouldn't betray my trust. One in particular is quite old, and keeps his existence a well-kept secret." Despite the fact that he didn't ask me to, I went ahead and made a note to myself not to mention it to anyone. The few old vampires I had met seemed to always be quiet about their past exploits.
"What's his name?" I wondered out loud, and he hesitated for a second.
"Julius. He was born at the dawn of the Roman Empire as a human. His father was Augustus Caesar, the Roman Emperor, but nobody in the human world would know of him. His mother was a courtesan to the higher ups in the society, and Augustus often took women to relax. When she revealed her baby to Augustus he would not recognize it publicly, but he put the woman and him in a nice home and afforded for them to live in secret. He didn't know who his father was until he reached manhood. When his mother fell ill, she told him the truth on her deathbed, and he ventured out to meet him. His father turned him away, saying he was a liar, and banished him just like he had his daughter Julia only a year prior. Julius and Julia meet a short time later and realize who they are to each other. Then they banded together to travel all across the continent."
We walked into the kitchen, where I disposed of my uneaten but now-hardened bagel, only to retrieve another one from the cabinet. He stopped while I did this, and I motioned for him to continue when he was ready.
"They were in what is now Australia when Julia fell in love with a man she met at night in the equivalent of a bar. He was a vampire, but she didn't know that. After just a few weeks they ended up married, and Julius was the only one who suspected anything was wrong. He confronted the vampire, Marcus, and after a lot of accusation in private he finally admitted what he was. But Julius didn't hate him or attack him, instead he helped to protect him and break the news to Julia. It took a while but she finally accepted him for what he was, and they all lived together for a time. Then after almost two years, Julia was out by a river one day, when a flash flood swept over the land. She died, and her body was lost, but Marcus felt through their bond that she was no more. After a small private service Marcus told Julius he was planning to leave for South Africa, and asked him to go with him. He agreed, and they set out together. They were only in the country for a few months when Julius became sick, and before he died, Marcus turned him." He started to walk away from me, and I followed him to a door I hadn't noticed in the corner of the living room. Opening it, he revealed an office to me. It was very similar to the one upstairs, with a desk and computer and a couch on one wall, but with one difference. The entire left wall of the room was a built in book shelf, and he pulled down one of the older leather bound books. Flipping through the delicate pages, he finally stopped and turned it to show me a painting so realistic that I almost thought it was a photo before I remembered that it wasn't possible. It showed two handsome men standing with their arms clasped together in friendship, with an elephant behind them, and a bit of the African landscape off to the side. The date at the bottom read South Africa 467 AD.
"This was a long time after he was changed of course, but it's the earliest known depiction of him. They stayed in Africa for almost six hundred years, living amongst the natives and entertaining the tourists, then moved up into Europe. When the news came of the new world, they split up and Julius came here, and settled in what is now California in 1589. He built a little cabin for himself and lived off the land and the natives for a long time, ignoring human affairs, and discovering the new world for himself. He traveled all over South America and Canada and has changed his residence location a few different times. But he's in California now, where he's been since 1904. I'll give him a call later and ask him if he knows anything about your powers." He laid the book on his desk, and I looked at the ornate carvings in the old leather. It didn't have any title or words on the front or side, and I wondered just how old it was.
Of course he noticed my curious stare, and answered my unspoken questions. "It was a gift from him, a long time ago. It's written in several different languages, cataloguing his travels over time, and it comes from a set of only three other duplicates. To put a perspective on the numerical worth, I would say that it's at least three times more valuable than the Mona Lisa. They were created in secret by a master bookmaker, who was glamoured into never even remembering their existence. I have one, while Marcus has another, and Julius himself has the other two. If you want to read it I could have a translated version made for you." He ran his hand across the leather, before giving me a serious look. "Please do not mention them to anyone. Not even Pam knows about them."
I nodded, understanding, and looked at the book one more time before smiling at him and changing the subject. "Why don't we go open up the bar?" He agreed, and after he put on clean clothes, we went upstairs.
Pam arrived just as Eric unlocked the front door to the establishment, and gave us both a knowing look while she licked her lips. "That was quite the performance you two put on last night, any chance for a private show for me?" I just shook my head, and continued prepping the stuff behind the bar. She checked herself in a mirror one last time before taking her spot at the door.
Eric went to his office to do paperwork as people started to come into the bar, and the place was already packed in less than an hour. Many of the people had been there the night before, and thoughts of our exploits were abundant. Word had spread through the regulars and locals, and almost everyone there was hoping for a repeat. But I promised myself that it wouldn't happen again as long as I had a say in the matter. I held almost a permanent blush as I worked, knowing the thoughts of everyone on what had happened. It was almost eleven when Kristen showed up, and sat at the bar. She didn't order or say a single word for a long time, before finally she caught my eye. "I just wanted to say I was sorry." I blinked in surprise at her words, and didn't respond. She took my silence as an invitation, and continued talking. "I didn't realize how serious you and Eric were, or I wouldn't have tried anything last night. I really am sorry."
I thought for a moment, before just nodding, and focusing solely on my work. She stood up a minute later, and went to one of the booths where Mark waited on her.
Jessica came in an hour later with a paper bag in her hand, and I immediately called Mark over to take over for me while I took Jessica back to Eric's office.
"Enter." I heard him say before I could even touch the handle, and we walked in quickly.
He looked up, and called to Pam, before sending her right back out to escort Kristen back to the office. The two girls came in a minute later, and he sent Pam back out. "Ok, what do I have to do?" Jessica asked, and she had Eric clear off his desk while she pulled her supplies out of her purse.
"Did you bring what I told you?" Eric asked Jessica, and she nodded, handing him the bag in her hand.
He handed it directly to Kristen, and she took it as she studied the things he had had to provide as well.
Finally she asked everyone to sit down in a circle, and we did so. She grabbed her length of rope, and started to work. She put a simple knot at either end, and in the circle, making it the perfect length to lie across the top of the bowl. Then she grabbed the labeled vials of blood from Jessica and Bill. She put a few drops of one on the knot at one end of the rope, and did the same thing with the other. Then she combined the remainder of the blood from both on the center knot. The knots became completely red within seconds, but the blood didn't seep onto the straight rope.
She put the water in the bowl below the rope, and started to speak in another language. She chanted for several minutes, before lighting a match, and placing it on the center knot. Her voice was the only one in the room as a sizzling and popping in the room started from the rope. It blazed strongly for several seconds, only burning the knot, and finally the two halves of the rope fell into the water. I was shocked when the water started to boil, until it finally settled and all that was left was an unknotted rope and pure clean water. We all turned to Jessica, who stared right back. "I don't feel any-" She was cut off as she suddenly screamed, and grabbed her own head between her hands.
Kristen spoke up, shouting above the screams. "It's the bond breaking! She'll be fine in just a few minutes!" We watched as bloody tears of pain ran down her cheeks, and then she stopped screaming.
Her arms wound around her midsection, and she held onto herself as she started to quietly sob. "Jessica?" I asked, her head snapped up to look at me.
Her eyes darted around, like she was trying to find something, then she thought for a second, before speaking quietly. "It's gone…I can't fell the connection anymore. I can't feel him at all…I feel…free." She smiled up at me and I got closer to her, giving her a hug. I pulled back a moment later, and everyone stood.
Just as Eric opened his mouth to speak, I felt a void approaching extremely fast, and suddenly Eric's office door shattered in toward us. "Jessica!" Bill roared, standing there in a rage, and she moved behind me and Eric in fear.