by J N Moon
I had to ask about pets. Animals don’t fear us. We were in the main human before vampire, and unlike the movies would lead you to believe, we cannot live on animal blood. After all, humans don’t have animal blood transplants. And we can’t live on blood banks either. The blood has to come from a living, breathing human. But back to my question, I used to have two cats as a child, and I’m fond of cats.
Pulling himself up, he ran to the altar. "I have no one and nothing, but I have my soul. You cannot have it."
He was right, of course, to fight for his soul. Slowly, I stood and walked towards him, his size not concerning me at all. I stared at the altar, the huge carving of Christ on the cross. Faith that was something I was lacking. Turning back, I asked, "Do you not want to discuss this first, or shall I just turn you? I'd rather...ahh!" I crumpled in agony.
He'd silently grabbed a candle holder, pulled the candle out, and rammed it with his force right into my stomach, then he pulled it out. Screaming so loud, the few fragile glass windows shattered as I lay there in horrendous agony and Andy, above me, about to shove it through my heart. From the candleholder, a huge spike used for holding the candle in place now with my blood, my torn flesh as I writhed in agony, hands over my gaping stomach.
Saliva from his mouth dripped on my face. I held my hands over my stomach as blood gushed out of me. This monolith of a man roared and plunged the thing towards me.
"Oi, brick head. Stop...Bloody hell." In that split second as my attention and his went to Bael's voice, Andy was frozen above me, mid-plunging, candlestick still in his hand, the huge prong sticking out from it, my blood oozing from it, knuckles white from his fierce grip, a slight groaning sound from him as he was obviously trying to fight Bael's magic.
Gritting my teeth and moaning in pain, Jack and Bael rushed over. Bael looked calm, which pissed me off. "Go on, Jack. You got this one. He's your maker. Put your hand over his wound and see it healed. Go on!"
Strain on Jack's forehead, the guy looked less suave now, veins in his face throbbed as the weight of Bael's request fell on him. Shakily, he put his hand over mine, which was still clutching the wound. Shutting his eyes, I felt a trembling throughout my body. From his hands, a violet light shone out, seeped into me, causing me to wail and lose control. Blackness.
When I came around, I yawned, I could hardly keep my eyes open. We were back at the house in Bristol. I was in bed, and no one was in the room. Instinctively, I pulled back the covers and looked at my stomach. Nothing. He had healed me. Slowly, I sat up, expecting some pain to shoot through me, but I felt fine, just very tired. I wondered what had become of Andy.
I was home, or at least close enough to it, and I fell back. As my head hit that soft, cotton pillow, I decided sleep was my best option right now.
When I woke, stretching lazily like a cat in bed, the world outside peeked through a slit in the curtain. Grey drizzle, British weather. But after my sudden downward emotional spiral, it was a familiarity that I loved. Close to my friends, my hometown.
It was evening, and no sounds came from the house. Perhaps they're back in Mexico? Sitting up, there was no note. I pulled on my old jeans and shirt, tied my boots, and grabbed my leather jacket. Keys...keys were still in the pocket. No new messages on my phone. Lightly, I skipped down the stairs and out the door. Something warm churned in my stomach as I got into Nathaniel's car, turning the key. In seconds, I was heading home to Bath. No doubt he'd find me. Right now, I needed home.
Ah, the familiar musty smell of my flat. For a while, I could forget everything. Except now, the hunger had come with a vengeance. I threw myself on my bed, not tired, just needed some space. Closing my eyes, remembering that warm water until I heard a clearing of the throat. "Yeah. I realised you needed some time out but we've still got work to do. I brought Andy here. Well, not exactly here, but back to my house, and I need you to turn him. Look, the quicker we do this —"
"All right, let's get on with it. I still think you'll regret it. It's not normal to turn someone against their will. It's not natural," I replied.
"You did all right."
"Fuck off, Bael. I was doing all right, better than that, actually, before your mindless zombies turned me. Now I've lost everything, including my soul. Bloody hell, you know what, I had more freedom as a human. Come on, then!"
Rubbing his face, looks are so deceiving. Bael was handsome and yet an evil bastard, for sure. Not dissimilar to others I'd met in this immortal nightmare. He snapped his fingers, and we were at his home in another guest room where he had Andy chained by his arms and legs to the bed. Andy was swearing, grimacing, trying to struggle free.
"I will kill you all, and all of your kind," he shouted.
"Shh, you'll wake the neighbours," Bael replied earnestly.
I locked Andy's gaze, he fought it, which instinctively excited me. That was rare. I kept staring until he started to subside. In a second, my teeth pierced his leathery skin. He moaned, and I drank. His scent was strong, his body fixed, unable to move, and I felt his heart flutter as his will to survive kicked in. His blood was pure, clean, divine. I trembled, sucking his blood, his life his memories. As I stood up, I wiped his sweaty brow. He too had had a hard life. He'd fought for everything he had, his childhood brutal, full of fear. He'd found solace only in the little church. And now we, I was taking that away from him. As his eyes lost their last spark of life, I wondered if it would be him that took mine.
Bael, fascinated, stepped closer but I held out my arm to make him keep his distance. "Show some respect," I muttered angrily. He said nothing, unusually.
As Andy's life slipped away, I had to consider disobeying the King. He knew what I was doing. I could feel his rage, and I bit my wrist and held it out to Andy's mouth. Had I not done this, I knew in that second I felt his anger what Bael would do. He would hunt my human family, any friends, mortal or otherwise, and torture them until death. How did I know? Intuition. Andy, at least, would be bound to me, it occurred to me then that they all would be...
"You can nurse him. It's brutal. He'll be sick, vomiting, diarrhoea, fevers...unless you have some demonic cure-all?" I muttered to Bael.
His eyes small as he looked me over. "You did well. Why couldn't you do that yesterday?"
"Oh, God. He was in a church. He didn't want this!"
"God has nothing to do with it, and you have no faith. Ah, because, like you, he had no choice?" Nodding slowly, he said, "It'll be all right. What you saw, felt, as you drank his blood...it was bad, wasn't it?"
"I'm not going to disclose his life. That's his to discuss, but I will say, he's strong, and he's been through shit, so make sure this is worth it. He'll probably kill us anyway. You and me. Maybe not Jack, but definitely me. And you. Can I go now? You'll need a few days before he can be moved, and I'd like a few to myself."
His voice much softer now, he replied, "Sure, you go and catch up with your friends. Feast and feed and I'll pick you up in three days? We'll get Tony next, otherwise known as Beelzebub, Prince of Gluttony. That'll cheer you up. But one thing...you say you feel nothing, have no humanity, yet your actions speak differently."
"I don't. Just because I don't feel doesn't mean I don't know the difference between right and wrong. I'm just going through the motions." I sighed. "Tony, gluttony...and where is this fine delight of a brother?"
"Chile. He's in Chile. Don't even imagine what he's like because you'll be wrong. I'm pretty sure with Tony you'll be laughing, and he'll accept easy. Or, easier, at least. I am grateful. Indebted to you. But still...don't cross me."
Before I could speak, I was back in my flat. Nearly losing my balance, my stomach groaned and churned. I wondered if I was breaking down at a molecular level, or maybe I'd just dreamed the whole thing. God, if only it were that easy. If only I could wake up next to Rachel and it had been a crazy dream. Ha. No such luck.
I text Marcus, asking to meet him alone later that day at my flat. I couldn't handle a public place right now. If he got wind
of my change and started freaking out, I didn't want the hassle of it. He responded a little while later, inviting me to his new place not far from Acacius's home. Good time with my friends, my old ones.
I couldn't be bothered to do anything. There was no point in researching anything about Rachel seeing as I wasn't sure about what she'd been. As for Bael, his history, the Princes of Hell...too late. Probably the less I knew, the better. Any history is mainly written by mortals who know less than me.
***
I worried about Andy. Bael was confident he could handle him for now. As I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling I heard the neighbours rattling around. Other people's lives, so simple, so free. Bolting upright when a knock on my door startled me, who the hell...
Smiling like a fool, I knew by his scent. Opening the door, I bellowed, "Marcus! God, it's good to see you. I feel like I've had the weight of the world on my shoulders. Seeing you makes me happy. Tell me everything's all right?"
His lips curved almost mischievously, then dropped. "Well, I've news. Since you've been away, Acacius has called for the Council to sit, so that's happening. The two demon children, Gabriel and Michael, are under the tutelage of Nicolas and Aaron — can you believe that?"
"God help us all, then. Aaron will turn them into warriors." I laughed. "But I bet Nic is in his element."
"Indeed, and Althea tells me, in private, that Bael has been seen...with you. Is this true, Anthony?"
My stomach flipped rapidly. Suddenly, I couldn't swallow. After losing everyone, everything, Marcus was the closest friend I had. Trying to console my irrational mind, had he wanted me dead, he wouldn't have come without weapons.
Tilting his head, watching me, he said, "I see it is. You're afraid to tell me. Do you know why he sought you?"
I breathed in. "Rachel told me. After she died, her spirit came to me and told me. I didn't believe it. Now I know it — who I really am. You're right, I am afraid of losing your friendship. You're like a brother to me, and I've lost everything. How do we do this? I am a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus. Though Bael has given me some powers, not all, not yet.
“And now you'll feel obliged to tell the Council, and on and on this will go. I die, am reborn...With this power, though, Bael may be able to restore Rachel and Nathaniel. But I have to ask, how did Althea know this? Was she scrying or spying on me?” The truth poured out of my mouth fast.
He said nothing, just stared at me, his face blank. My stomach tossed again, my heart smashing against my ribs. I wasn't ready to give up my family. Were they ready to give up on me? Had I gone too far?
Walking over, his huge arm wrapped around my shoulders. "Anthony, you are a stupid bastard. What you'll do for love, I don't know. No, I won't abandon you. Hell, you took me in after I fell, remember? I had all my kin after me after I succumbed to temptation and drank that blood from that vampire and then I brought Hell on Earth, opened the gates of the damned, and you...you stood and fought with me. You and Rachel stood by me even though your instinct was to hide. I should tell the Council, only because they will hear of it. I asked Althea to keep it a secret for now until I'd spoken to you, and she will, but not for long. She was told by another. I don’t know who, I didn’t ask, but when vampires go swimming and dining with the King of Hell, it does get noticed! So, what now? What is Bael's big plan? No, let me guess. Get all of you back. But how? He cannot resurrect the Princes himself. Otherwise he would've done that by now."
Words weren't needed. My head bowed. I looked at him from the shield of my fringe. Nodding, his voice soft, but I could feel his anger, his upset, he said, "So, you make them vampire, as you were made, and then he can bring their soul into the world of the immortal. Makes sense. I'd do it myself if I were him, but...do you know what happened the last time? How many are back and who?”
"Lucifer and Amon. He wants Beelzebub next. Amon wasn't happy. I wasn't going to do it, but I knew the consequences. Not just to you and the others, but to my family — my human family — the human friends I once had. So, I did it."
"You should now be aware what happened last time, but you have — as hopefully all of you have — changed since then...perhaps. Back in the late seventies, each of you were at the height of your powers. You, for example, were in an up and coming band. You lived up to your reputation of lust, by the way. Beelzebub was a CEO of a multinational fast food company, worth millions. Lucifer..."
"Was a movie star. Hence, I found him working in a cinema."
Sniggering, Marcus added, "Oh, how the mighty fell. You know the rest, then? You know what you all did?"
"I don't."
"It wasn't too bad when you were all separated, but together, your power, your forces...egos became intense, and you all started wrecking wherever you went on an epic scale. Tornadoes, tsunamis, mass global environmental disasters caused by yourselves, your righteous energy. You had to be stopped. Once the Council found a way using some very old, very dark magic, which took them long enough to agree on, it being so unpredictable. Your souls were extracted and sent out of your bodies. Bael was, under much hard work, sent to Hell. Everyone wondered if your souls would enter a mortal's body. Some deemed it absolute. Then we, some of us who sat on the Council, had to watch and wait for your return. I'd never told you. Honestly, I had hoped you could avoid this. But I knew the moment I laid eyes on you, Asmodeus, Prince of Lust. So, the souls of the seven did enter the bodies of mortal babies and grew up, and we waited. The Council sent Watchers to monitor you, so long as you all remained human you were no threat, humans being weak, lacking confidence in their own abilities, their own worst enemy.
When I met you, I was looking for Emidius. She, it turns out, had hoped that the power she bestowed on you would keep you on the lesser of two evils. But I guess you can't fight fate." He plonked down in my chair whilst I stood, open-mouthed. Remembering to breathe, I went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and brought in two beers.
Handing him a beer, his eyes as wide as saucers as he saw me holding a beer for myself, he said, "So you got that back? I'll drink to that."
"You seem remarkably calm for someone who's found out his friend has, or is, regaining his Hell bound powers. What gives?"
Shrugging, he replied, "I'm not calm. I'm fucking scared. But you are my friend. Now, if you turn into some kind of mindless, evil bastard, I'll be first in line to swing the sword, but something tells me you won't. You've changed since I first met you, that's for sure, and to be expected what with what you've gone through. You've shut down. I'm worried that they'll kill you. I don't want to lose my brother. As you said, this will only happen again. I've lived a long time, Anthony. Will this keep happening? Your soul being constantly reincarnated?"
"Well, Amon might get that pleasure. He'll kill me and then Bael, so there're two less for you to worry about."
Staring at my Nephilim friend, he had changed, too. The lines on his face now cut a bit deeper. Strange because vampires usually look younger, but then vampires aren't usually born from fallen angels. It was almost a flashback. We'd been in some nightmares together, Marcus and I. Sitting here, drinking cold beer felt so normal, I didn't want it to end. At least I had some time. Bael would be busy with Andy, and good luck with that.
"I'm off to Chile in two days to get Beelzebub. You think things could be different this time around?" Thinking out loud, "Jack, or Lucifer, when I went to get him, to turn him, he didn't have an evil thought in him. He was bitter. Losing his parents and being fostered. Of course they are all bound to me, me being their maker."
He took a swig from the bottle. "I'm perhaps more sceptical having been around the first time. Lucifer with parent issues? And you believe your hold as a maker will last once he changes them? I hope you're right. So, if Jack or Lucifer had been evil, you're saying you wouldn't have turned him? Yet you did with Andy?"
"I was on my own with Jack. I checked him out. He was a dick, to be honest. Snide, rude, full of contempt. But when I tasted his blood, I felt everything he had, saw e
verything. He was bad, for sure, not evil. He'd failed at life as he perceived it, so took it out on those around him. Any good in his life he pushed away, feeling unworthy. Now, though. Now I see a spark, a man given a second chance. If he falters, I'll end him, Bael or no. But Andy, he knew what we were. He'd worked hard to get where he was. Religion, that had been his only salvation. Now, in his eyes, I'd imagine, he'll think we've damned him to Hell. But I could be wrong."
"Why not come back and —"
"No way. Look, if I do this and get my power back, think of it. Rachel. Yes, I know what she was. I won't lie, it cut deep that none of you, after all I'd done for you, told me about her."
Marcus glanced at the floor. Looking at his empty bottle, he said, "Another one?"
Before I answered, he was up and had gone to the kitchen, pulling out two more beers from the fridge.
"Rachel. Look, we couldn't tell you anything. I'm not happy with any of this and I fear for you, your kin, you the seven Princes of Hell led by Bael. This won't go unnoticed in the supernatural community. They will, I fear, hunt you. She was put there to watch over you, but anyone could see that she fell in love with you. Making her a vampire...bad move."
"That's why Lucius was attracted to her? Because her heritage, her bloodline, was succubus?" Looking out the window, my muscles tensed as I thought of him. Shit, I was glad she killed him.
Rolling his lips, Marcus grinned. "Lucius isn't dead, Anthony. You both underestimated him. He is one of the most powerful demons alive. He isn't wholly physical, so chopping off his head is merely putting him in limbo. He is a master of the occult, of magic, and though his tendency is to be wicked, he saved me, Acacius, Aaron, and our friends from Bael many years ago. Without Lucius, we, I would've been trapped in Hell, tortured for all eternity. Lucius saved us, got us out from Bael's clutches. I know he’s done wrong, but as I said, he's not wholly evil. A thought occurs now that should you leave this doomed path. Lucius, Damien, and Althea may be able to help bring Rachel back, but..."