And then she disappeared into the jungle.
VX
Tahlia was troubled. She had encountered many toxins in her long life. This one was particularly effective. Since the dawn of ages, vampires knew how their end would come about and they had learned to protect themselves well against these vulnerabilities.
This contagion was probably the most effective vampire killer if you wanted the vampire to suffer through a degrading death. Looking at the once robust frame of Syria, she couldn’t believe it was the same woman. The toxin was eating away at her from the inside. It had drained most of her blood and there was no way of replenishing it. It kept coming up. She was basically starving before their eyes. In the earlier days, long before she had married Jemima and started a family with her, she would’ve bitten Syria and ingested the poison for analysis. Now, she had to take a step back and think this through. And fast. She would hate to have Aria lose her sister. And Jemima her spouse.
“Izaura, I need to find the source of the toxin.” She stood. “I know it sounds like a hopeless cause, but keep feeding her tiny amounts of blood so she doesn’t starve. I’ll be back.” She walked over to where Pierre and Jonas stood. “I’m leaving Leonara and the healer with Syria. The rest of us need to trace the origin of this poison. The creatures infected her somehow, which means that the villagers will know something.”
The two nodded and followed her outside. Paloma climbed to her feet when she saw them.
“Tahlia?”
“We’re going to the village.”
They followed the scent of fire smoke and within ten minutes, stood at the outskirts of the village. They had to dodge the sentries to get this close to the village. The number of lookouts indicated that they were expecting company tonight.
“What if they don’t know anything?” Pierre asked next to her.
“Then we make them remember something,” Tahlia growled. She turned suddenly, piercing the dark. “Show yourself,” she ordered sharply. The blonde fledging stepped out the shadows. “Why are you following us?”
The woman blinked. “I want to help.”
“Like you tried to ‘help’ Syria?” Tahlia took a step closer and watched the girl cringe. “Are you friend or foe, vampire?”
“I was mistaken, my queen, but I was helped to see the truth.” She glanced at Paloma. Tahlia followed her gaze. Paloma nodded. Tahlia fixed an unblinking stare on the young blonde.
“What can you do to help?”
“I can walk into the village and get answers,” she said firmly. “I have a way of getting answers out of the people.”
Tahlia studied her long and hard, before she nodded and took a step back. “In that case, we could do with someone with your set of skills.” The girl swallowed and walked past her towards the village. Pierre sidled up to her.
“I’m sure she can get them to talk.”
Tahlia almost smiled. Pierre was so transparent sometimes. He was obviously interested in the blonde. She touched his shoulder.
“I think so, too.”
They shared a warm look before they began scaling the trees closest to them. Cloaked, no one would know they were there.
†
Lake took a deep breath as she left the Royals and walked into the well-lit center of the village. Her sudden, bold appearance made the men rush to arm themselves. She stopped before the large fire. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see more men coming out of the surrounding jungle. They definitely expected trouble.
“Copernicus Bohme, come out and show yourself.”
The men were circling her now. There was a movement at the main hut and the shaman stepped out. He called one of the women to him and whispered something to her. She walked to a nearby hut and disappeared inside. When she next appeared, Copernicus was with her. He stopped when he saw her. His mouth fell open and closed again. The woman had to push him to get him to move. He stumbled over to where the shaman waited for him, his eyes still riveted on her. She could actually smell his fear from where she stood.
“Hi, lover, not happy to see me?”
Copernicus licked his lips nervously and looked at the scowling shaman. Together, the two of them approached her slowly.
“So, I take it this is your new buddy now.” She gave the shaman a dismissive glance, knowing that it would rile him. “I’m not here to mingle with the natives. I’m here for you.” She could feel the shaman’s baleful gaze on her. She gave him another fleeting glance. “Does he have to be here for this?” She goaded the man further.
“You’re in my village, senõrita. Nothing happens here without my permission.”
She scoffed. “You do know that you don’t stand a chance against me, old man?”
“How are you still here?” Copernicus asked cautiously as he kept scanning the dark forest. “And where is Syria?”
Lake took a step closer and watched with grim satisfaction as Copernicus stumbled backward. “A Good Samaritan took pity on me as I lay dying on that night. As for Syria, she fought valiantly, but those creepy lizards infected her with something.” She shook her head. “It was not a good sight, I must say.” She prayed that her lie didn’t become a reality. “I was clever enough to avoid their claws.” She smiled arrogantly. “I know how to survive.”
“You sound very sure of yourself, senõrita,” the shaman said in an eerily calm voice. “Your fate might change as suddenly as the current of the river.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, making sure her tone carried enough confidence. “Now, you’ll stay out of this while I speak to this cowardly pig. Will you be able to do that?” She felt the air around the man vibrate with his anger. She should tone it down a bit. He hadn’t told her the origin of the toxin yet.
“And the Royals? I know they’re here.”
“They were, but they left.”
“I don’t believe you. They wouldn’t just leave like that.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously.
“I don’t care if you don’t believe me. I’ve heard somewhere that you were stupid enough to get on their bad side.” She chuckled. “Believe me, if they knew you were here, they wouldn’t have let the opportunity to fillet you, slip through their fingers. Those guys are not to be messed with. Now, I’ve talked enough. Time to exact my revenge.” She moved with blinding speed and grabbed Copernicus by the neck lifting him effortlessly off his feet. She opened her mouth wide, showing her fangs. The villagers stopped and looked at her warily. She lowered Copernicus and exposed his neck roughly. Just as she was about to bite down on his pulsing vein, the shaman spoke.
“I can’t let you do that, senõrita.” She growled threateningly and she glanced at the shaman. The man’s pupils were split and there was an ominous aura about him.
“And how are you going to stop me, old man?” she hissed.
“Unless you want the same fate as the other vampire, I’ll give you the chance to leave here.” His words were slurred. “The offer won’t be repeated.”
She wavered slightly and knew he had noticed. “What are you talking about? I can kill you before you get the chance to transform. That way I don’t have to be worried that your claws will infect me.”
The shaman chuckled. “You could try.”
She tossed Copernicus to the ground, hard. She heard him cry out in pain and reveled in the satisfaction it brought her. It was childish, but she couldn’t resist the temptation. She kicked him hard in the head to render him unconscious. She didn’t want him to see the Royals when they came to the rescue. It wasn’t clear how things were going to play out after this, but if they wanted to have Syria infiltrate Copernicus’ circle again, at least her cover could still be salvaged.
“Now, let’s settle this so I can have my dinner.”
The shaman rolled his neck and rows of scales burst out on his arms. He tore the clothes off his body, revealing more scales. Just like the other guy, he didn’t grow much taller than his normal height, but he looked much more menacing with the gleamin
g black scales and his red eyes. A long powerful tail thudded in the dirt as he studied her.
“Ready, senõrita?”
She smiled. “I was born ready, old man.”
His long tongue rolled out of his mouth and she watched as he licked his claws.
Bingo!
†
Tahlia slid out of the tree landing silently. The shaman’s saliva was the toxin. As she strolled into the village, an old memory surfaced. She had been here before. The village was bigger back then; the villagers not so emaciated. They were chasing a band of renegades who were terrorizing the villagers in the area. She walked straight towards the shaman ignoring the wall of guards that stood between her and her target. The warriors glanced anxiously at each other before they all dropped their weapons and stepped aside. She walked up to the large reptilian man. He took a step back and she could read the alarm in his eyes.
“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
“My fight is not with you, Dark Queen.”
She locked her hands behind her back as she stood an arms breadth from him. “Oh, but it is. You are a threat to my people and I can’t have that.” She glanced at an unconscious Copernicus. “I especially don’t like the company you keep.” She turned back to him, allowing her beast to show. The shaman’s tongue flicked out of his mouth as he scented the air. Tahlia watched him closely, her eyes blazing a deep red. “I’ll allow you the first move.”
The reptile’s broad head pulled back and she knew that he was getting ready to attack. Faster than she had expected, the creature’s tongue shot out. She sidestepped it, as well as the swatting claw. She didn’t have time to waste. For every second she tarried, Syria was edging closer to death. Her hand transformed into claws and she viciously took a swipe at the creature. The blow drew blood and she could tell that he was startled by it. She had expected a little more from him than this lukewarm show. She’d have to make it easy for him. He changed his tactic and his powerful tail came around and slammed into her side, knocking her slightly off balance. She saw his claw coming towards her and she waited patiently for it. His face lit up when he made contact with her stomach, leaving four deep cuts. Tahlia had had enough. She got what she came for, except for one last thing. The shaman was still basking in his joy at having landed a blow that he was caught off guard when her claws shot out and tore a good-sized portion of his scaly hide from his neck. She pounced on him and drank deep, before she pushed him away.
Now, she had everything she needed.
She saw him stumble a little before he toppled over. He was going to survive, but once she had analyzed the compounds of the toxin and found a cure, he wouldn’t be a threat anymore. But if he didn’t learn from this episode, she would be happy to return and reorient him.
She could already feel the toxin beginning to work. It was spreading like a fiery lava river though her body. Tahlia glanced at Lake. “You need to bite Copernicus. We need to know what he was doing here.”
The blonde pulled the unconscious man roughly to her and bit him. She closed the wounds and stood back. Tahlia saw the concern on the other woman’s face. If she looked the way she felt, then she understood the other woman’s concern. Just as her knees buckled, she was caught in a strong grip. Paloma swung her up in her arms, Jonas and Pierre flanking her.
She closed her eyes. “You need to bury me when we reach the cave.”
“We will do so.”
She sighed and shut her organs down. That would stop the toxin from spreading. With no blood or organs to pump it through her system, she could study it meticulously.
†
Leo closed her wrist after having fed Syria again. She glanced at Izaura and found her sister staring at the ailing vampire with sadness in her eyes.
“She’ll get better.”
Izi shook her head. “I’m not sure, Leo. This thing is more complicated than anything I have ever encountered. It’s also very old.”
She walked over to her sister and squeezed her shoulder. Izaura was getting too worked up by all this. “Why is this bothering you so much?”
“I don’t want her to die,” she said brokenly. She looked up at Leo, her eyes now filled with sadness. “She deserves happiness. She has sacrificed so much already to have to die like this.” A red tear trailed down her cheek. “I want her to live.”
Leo smiled faintly. Her sister, the romantic. It seemed that since she had found her Prince, she wanted everyone to experience the same happiness. “What can I do to help? I’ll try anything.”
Izi looked at her, warm affection in her eyes. “I have a plan, but I’m not sure if it will work.”
“We won’t know, unless we try.”
Izaura smiled broadly. “Ok. You need to come closer.” She gently cupped Syria’s face bringing the other woman to focus a tormented gaze on her. “I don’t want you to suffer anymore.”
“Sis…sis…ters,” Syria managed to say in between the violent tremors that threatened to shake her apart. “Pro…tect.” She gasped and moaned as a massive seizure pulled her emaciated body taut, looking powerful enough to snap her spine.
“You’ll see them again, Syria. I want to help you.”
Leo looked on and found herself incredibly touched by the ailing woman’s devotion to her sisters. She could relate to that. She adored Izaura and would walk through fire for her baby sister. “Let’s do this. She’s suffering too much.”
Izaura wiped at her cheek and then she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Syria’s forehead. “You are very brave.” She looked at Leo. “We need to press her down into the earth.”
Blinking, Leo kneeled next to Izi. “Why?”
“We need to get her to shut her organs down. Since she can’t do it herself, we need to trick her body into doing it.”
Brilliant! Leo wanted to explode with pride at her sister’s ingenuity. The moment a vampire’s body burrowed into the earth, it automatically started to shut down. It was a biological function that came as spontaneous to vampires as breathing did to humans.
“Not here,” Izi said quickly. “We shouldn’t bury this painful aura with her. You should find a place outside and loosen the ground a little.” Leo left and found a patch of rich earth. She used her claws to loosen the soil, inhaling deeply of the pure, earthy scent. She looked up just as Izi came out of the cavern carrying the shrunken, naked body in her arms. With the greatest gentleness, she placed Syria on the loosened soil. With a quick look at each other, they slowly began to push down on Syria’s shoulders and legs. The earth shifted and began to gradually accept Syria’s body. For a split second, Syria was lucid and Leo could see the gratitude in the sunken eyes before they snapped shut. They stood back as Syria’s body vibrated softly, burrowing itself deeper into the earth. At two meters, the earth began to close in over her and they covered the top soil with twigs and leaves to hide the burrow.
“Now, we wait for Tahlia and the others,” Izi said as she leaned into Leo. The subtle displacement of air, had them both swinging around to see the four other vampires step out of the forest. “Where is Tahlia?”
“She ingested the toxin and asked that we bury her,” Jonas said as he came over to take her in his arms. “And Syria?”
“We also buried her to stop the toxin from spreading.”
Jonas smiled warmly. “Tahlia would definitely applaud your skill.” He gave her a chaste kiss and turned to the others. “It seems all we can do now is to wait. Lake, with dawn approaching, you’ll be out of action for the day. We’ll rotate guarding duties. Paloma guards Tahlia. Pierre and Leo will keep an eye on the village and Copernicus. I’ll keep a watch over Syria.”
Leo found it interesting how the roles switched between the Royals’ nobles. With Tahlia out of action, Jonas immediately stepped in. But she could tell that even then, he was not the leader. Pierre or Paloma could step in anytime and take over from him. Was that what made them so efficient? They’d managed to stay alive for two thousand years and were still ve
ry close. Maybe she should consider that with the Eternals. Rotating leadership roles. It might be more difficult to implement for them, since they had a governing council of six, who reported to her. In comparison, the Royals consisted of a queen and three nobles. Leo appreciated the fact that in the absence of Tahlia there wasn’t a power vacuum. She could make it work, once she had more information about the inner-workings of the hierarchical structure within the Royals’ model.
Pierre slapped her shoulder. “Ready?”
She nodded and followed him into the jungle. With Tahlia having gone under, all they could do for the rest of the time, was to wait for her to resurface. Leo would use this time to pump the nobles for more information. She actually had a reason for doing this.
When her soul mate was ready to bond with her, Leo want to be sure that she could spend as much time as possible with her beloved. She wasn’t going to let her position as Prime take away from that experience.
XVI
Inger was startled awake by the sound of her wife’s voice.
She could make out the smile in the voice and leaned over to switch on the bedside lamp. Her eyes immediately sought out her daughter, who was sleeping next to her. They had been through a rough night with all the vomiting and seizures, but it was great to see the baby resting peacefully for a change. She ran her finger over the sunken cheek. No matter how many times she had fed Isis, nothing would stay down.
My poor, brave angel, Inger thought as she cupped her daughter’s small head.
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