“Sorry, right. Okay, so Lilith has also been called the goddess of night, a demon and the bearer of disease, illness, and death. She showed Cain how to use his own blood for magic and evoke his unknown mystical powers. From Lilith, Cain learned how to create others of his kind. This process is called ‘Embracing’…a mortal must be bitten by a vampire, then the venom or poison in their saliva combined with a few drops of the vampire’s own blood begins the transformation. The mortal body ceases and the immortal body takes over. Now this can only happen as long as the mortal is not drained of too much blood–there must be enough to keep the heart beating. The vampire blood and venom enters the mortals system as the heart pumps it through the entire body, and the Embrace begins.”
I pause for a moment to gauge his reaction, which is nothing except complete and intense interest, so I continue with the story.
“The full process can take hours or weeks, depending on conditions of the mortal body. Illness, broken bones, anything that ailed the mortal body begins to repair and heal. The heart beat slows and breathing is no longer much of a necessity as less oxygen is needed. The immortal must learn to use their new gifts, speed, strength, increased senses. A vampire needs very little sleep–although once they achieve fulfillment in their eternal lives a vampire will actually sleep more than they need–mortal food makes a vampire feel ill, and a thirst for blood increases.” I sigh and gather my thoughts. “Is this helping at all?” I ask Nathanial.
“This is the most interesting story I have ever heard, please continue.”
“Okay, well some of the other changes that the new vampire goes through include paling of the skin and feeling cold to the touch, both caused because of decreased blood flow in the body. Blood continues to circulate, just at a much slower rate and with less pressure than a mortal. The new vampire becomes feather light on their feet, and they have extreme photosensitivity. The increased senses include super hearing and sight, increased sense of smell and taste, and increased feeling or sense of touch. A vampire exudes sex appeal, and an increased release of pheromones. This helps to attract the mortals. Even the rogue vampires that live underground, who are not particularly physically attractive, have extreme sex appeal. ” I smile, and Nathanial leans over and gently kisses me.
With a small smile I carry on, “A vampire’s powers include, but are not limited to, creating others, extreme jumping almost to the point of flying, climbing or scaling, and swimming long distances; although, crossing moving water can be difficult, but there are always ways to get around it. Vampires can’t regenerate lost limbs but can reattach them; cuts and small breaks heal within moments, large breaks in minutes. There is also the power of persuasion or compulsion, hypnosis, and of course eternal life. Now, as you already know, there are also separate powers that can be different or are unique to the individual.”
“If the heart slows can a vampire still bleed?”
“Yes. But it doesn’t flow as freely as a living creature. Our blood is also the deepest red you can imagine…almost black.”
“I guess the flow makes sense, but red blood? I thought the blood became red when oxygenated, and if you don’t need to breathe as much how does that work?”
“Well we do still need to breathe, just not as much. A vampire’s body is much more efficient than a mortal’s; honestly, there are just some things that are unexplainable, and our blood and bodily functions are some of them. The most unexplainable vampire fact is our immortality and how we cease aging. There’s lots about us that can’t be explain by biology or physics.”
We both kinda chuckle and nod.
“So what happened to Cain?” Nathanial asks.
“Well, Cain became lonely and Embraced five others, to create his own family. These vampires ravaged the area, feeding carelessly, and used the mortals against one another. Outraged, Cain forbade them from creating any more vampires. Cain was said to have built the ‘first city’. Once he was exiled from Eden, a place where vampires and mortals coexisted peacefully, the peace didn’t last long. The younger vampires began fighting, believing they were better than the mortals. I would assume this was the first case of racism.” I smirk and continue, “They used the mortals for fun, killing uncontrollably, and the city was overthrown. Cain vanished, never to be heard from again, along with the three of the five vampires he created,” I elucidate.
“The two children that stayed became reckless in creating new vampires and fifteen clans were formed. The clans fought each other for power and rule, and numbers reached unhealthy proportions. The mortals began to fight back. They would drag vampires one by one from their lairs to burn in the sun. Once the vampire was weakened and burned enough, the people would tear the vampire apart and behead them, thus ensuring death to the immortal.” I gaze at Nathanial and we smile at each other. He gives my hand a little squeeze, his eyes still wide with interest.
I carry on with the history lesson. “Around the fifth century, nine of the fifteen clans joined in an organization they called ‘The Renata’. They suppressed the radicals and began their conspiracy of silence. They ruled that vampires shouldn’t kill openly and should conceal their natures from the mortals. This began the great myth of vampires. The Renata created six Laws to be followed by all and to continue the conspiracy, laws that Cain would have seen fit to live civilly. The Laws are...
1 Law
The Conspiracy
Thou shall not reveal the nature of thy being to anyone.
2 Law
The Empire
Thy Empire is thine own concern and no other shall interfere.
Only the leaders may intervene if rules are forsaken.
All others owe thee respect while in it.
3 Law
The Ancestry
Thou shall only Embrace another with the permission of thy leader,
Until one’s own Empire is formed and one is released from thy leader.
4 Law
Accountability
Thou art responsible for thy creations; rule them in all things.
5 Law
Respectfulness
Honor one another’s Empire.
Thou must be respectful to the ruler of another Empire.
6 Law
Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another’s Embraced;
The right belongs only to thy ruler.
The radicals who didn’t join were driven into the wastes, and later the Cerberus cult emerged. The wars between the two groups continued for centuries, and still happen today. Now, as with any law the six laws have been broken, bent and slightly changed to fit with the times. The sixth law has been altered to, ‘thou may destroy another of thy kind to protect thine Empire’.”
Nate interrupts, “That is so cool. Does your family follow these ‘Laws’?”
“Yeah, we do.”
“Where is this Renata located?”
“Okay, don’t laugh, but they’re from Transylvania.”
“Seriously? So like Dracula?”
“Yeah, actually he’s one of Cain’s grandsons.”
“That’s so freakin cool! Please go on.”
“The newest of wars were the riots of New York in 1882. By 1905 the worldwide vampire population hit one million. Now, here is a quick rundown of vampire history. In 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the ‘zozobra project.’ The government created a vaccine to fight against the millennia of vampire activity. In 1950 a man in New Mexico was given the first vampire vaccine. The new vaccine was able to weaken the virus but wasn’t able to simulate the antibodies to protect against it. The USA and the Soviets began testing the blood, believing that immortality was in the DNA. In 1967 the United Nations placed a ban on vampire and zombie blood testing. In 1986 President Reagan lifted the ban on this testing and research. Things have been fairly calm for the last few decades, until two days ago when Constance had a vision.”
“What kind of vision do you mean?” Nathanial asks.
“I guess I sho
uld just spit it out; the Cerberus has risen from the wastes of New York. They are on a killing spree and heading our way.” I ramble this out fast, just to get it over with. I feel a sense of relief by sharing, although I can see the concern in his eyes.
“Okay, wait a second; dangerous vampires are headed this way? How concerned should I be, and do you know what they want?”
“Well I’m not quite sure yet, but we’ll know more once we talk to Elijah. He’s in contact with the Renata and my family is working hard to try and figure things out. I’ll tell you what I know once I explain a little more. Are you okay?”
“Not quite sure yet? This is a little more than scary. I guess we just have to see what the plan is once we get back to your place. So what else can you tell me?”
“Well, that is the cliff notes version of vampire history. Would you like to hear about my family history next?”
“Yeah, I do. I’m just shocked that the American government knows about all this! I would not be surprised anymore if you told me area 51 is real,” he jokes.
“Well, aliens are real if that’s what you mean,” I laugh. “And most members of the government do not know all of this to be truth; only a select few know of the supernatural. They like the majority of elected officials and public to believe it to be myth.”
“So vampires, witches, aliens…what else is real?” Nathanial questions with a bit of shock.
“I’m really just kidding about the aliens…that I don’t know about. But yes, vampires, witches, and werewolves, banshees, angels, demons, wizards, and warlocks– those kinds of creatures all exist along with many others.”
“Okay, well, will you tell me about your family now? I’ll let all that sink in later.” He smiles and squeezes my hand.
And so I begin again. “I was born Sophia Suvanto, on October 17, 1876. I was the oldest of three girls and my twin brother Alex was the only son; my family were socialites in Italy, considered a low ranking royalty. Although extremely privileged, I was expected to marry up the social ladder; my family was all about social advancement. My hand had been promised to a suitor, a duke I had only met once, and he was fifteen years my senior. I was extremely unhappy about the arrangement; I wanted more, and I wanted love, but I was bound by duty to my family.” Knowing I've finally found the love I was looking for, I glance over at Nathanial and smile. “I decided to go for a walk one evening to clear my head and focus on the task at hand. I walked the streets of my town in Italy, but I took a wrong turn and ended up down an alley I didn’t know. It was very dark, almost eleven o’clock at night. I felt an unsettling presence behind me, and before I could run someone grabbed me. He began twisting my arm behind my back, shattering almost every bone. I screamed in agony. He beat me, and then bit my neck and began to drink the blood pouring out of my wound. He was having fun and laughing, as if it were a game to him. I heard footsteps running toward the alley.” I shudder at the memory.
“My attacker left and hid in the shadows before the footsteps reached me. The footsteps I had heard were Alexander’s; he’d come to my rescue. Alex tried to control the bleeding, and screamed to the man he saw at the other end of the alley for help. What he didn’t know is that man was not a man; he was a monster. I tried to warn him but couldn’t speak. It was the same monster that had attacked me, and he then attacked Alex,” I continue to explain, just as Alexander did when showing Ebony and her sister with his telepathic powers.
“So you and Alex are not only twins by birth, but also by the day you became vampires?” Nathanial asks.
“Yes, we are both birth and immortal twins. I think it’s kinda the irony of the whole situation. Alex didn’t even realize it was me at first. We entered the world together and entered eternity together. We were both Embraced by Elijah’s clan on the same day. It is Alex’s kind heart that made him a vampire. He thought he was helping some strange girl, and would have done it for anyone. Alex and I were left for dead, barely hanging on. Constance had a vision of us, and that is what led their clan to us. From that moment on Alex and I were considered missing persons; our bodies were never found. It was August seventh, 1894, shortly before our eighteenth birthday and my upcoming nuptials. Thus we became immortal.”
I can see Nathanial getting very upset; I sense the fury raging within him. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“I will be; it is just hearing of someone…something doing that to you for fun…I just wish I could get my hands on him!” he rages.
“No need for that, Elijah already took care of him,” I reassure. “From that moment on we became the Pierce family. Is this helping you to understand?” I ask.
“I enjoy learning about you, though I don’t enjoy hearing of the suffering you endured before becoming a vampire,” he says and hugs me, holding me tighter than ever before. “Can you tell me about Ebony and her family?” he requests.
“I’ll tell you more about our family and Ebony’s a little later,” I insist. “I’d like to tell you more about the vision Constance had the other night…it is fairly important,” I add.
“What is it? You seem so serious–is everything alright?” He appears very concerned now, but tries to comfort me. He rubs the back of my neck and looks deeply into my eyes.
“As I mentioned earlier, on New Year’s Eve Constance had a vision. She saw the Cerberus cult rising from the wastes of New York. There have been several murders in New York lately. The police believe it to be a serial killer, but Constance envisioned the Cerberus being responsible, and they are on their way to the New England area.”
“Do I need to tell my family to leave?” he asks.
“Well, we’re working on a plan to keep the entire town safe,” I ensure.
“The Cerberus knows about the history of the area and the mystical powers around here. The Cerberus cult wants to collect powers and build an army of sorts. Their plan, as Constance saw it, is to challenge the Renata. Elijah has contacted the Renata and our family is preparing for battle; they have entrusted us to handle the matter,” I explain.
“What do you mean ‘handle it’?”
I can see his concern growing even more, as he begins to wring his hands together.
“Could people from here get hurt? Could you get hurt?”
“We all could, but we aren’t going to let that happen,” I reassure.
“I want to be involved,” he insists.
“Absolutely not! I will agree to have you in the know, but you will not be anywhere in sight when the fight happens. You could get killed…it’s way too dangerous,” I argue.
“You don’t want me around because it’s is too dangerous, but what you don’t realize is that I don’t want you to be in danger either,” he disputes.
“Okay, I see your point, but I’m immortal. I won’t get hurt,” I persist.
“Wow. Pretty intense. We’ll see what happens, but I want to know everything, full disclosure,” he demands, and I agree.
“I do want to warn you that the Renata will not be happy if they find out about us telling you our secret. It breaks the first law. They could destroy my family and you as well. We must be very careful,” I say with a hint of fear.
“What about Ebony and her family?” Nathanial wonders.
“They are fine; the law has been modified to include others of supernatural decent.”
“Okay, so we will have to be careful now that the Renata is involved.”
“Yes, you can’t let on that you know anything. My family will have to behave even more human when you’re around. Most of all we have to try to conceal our relationship. If anything, I have to make it appear as though I am scouting you to join, because you have something to offer. What worries me about that is they may make it happen if we’re not careful. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Please calm down…everything will work out! Just so I am clear, you’re worried that they may ‘Embrace’ me, as you call it. My question is, what’s so wrong with that? I realize I promised you I wouldn’t bring it up, but I would be ho
nored,” Nathanial admits.
“Honored? There is nothing honorable about becoming a vampire. For more than a hundred years I have felt trapped, stuck in a teenager’s body and all alone. Everyone else in my family has had someone to share their eternity with, and even though I have you now I want you to have everything I never did and never will. I just won’t allow that to happen! You don’t know what you are asking for–it just isn’t an option, so you can stop asking and hinting!” I start to get upset now. I love Nathanial for who he is, and I don’t want to do anything to change it or him.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you. I won’t bring it up again,” he says, very apologetically.
“Thank you, I don’t mean to get so upset over it; this is just not a life I wish for someone I love,” I insist. We both forget about it and continue to enjoy the surroundings. We agree to the terms of his non-involvement in the fight. I know what he must be going through, but I just can’t handle the idea of taking everything away from him.
I love him so much, I just want to enjoy the time I have with him. Now he’s learning everything about me and my family, I hope he’ll still accept it all. There I go, over analyzing things again. I worry way too much and just need to accept that Nathanial loves me!
“I don’t want to argue with you. I have such a sense of relief that you are learning everything about me and would really love to enjoy this moment.”
“I agree, Sweetie, this is a pivotal moment in our relationship, and we should enjoy it.” Nathanial grabs me and holds me in his arms with love and admiration.
Chapter 4
Preparations
Nathanial and I return to the house shortly before five o’clock. Florence has prepared a little dinner for Nathanial, and I join him just because Florence is such a good cook and I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable eating alone. Elijah has been hard at work, hammering out details and creating a plan with the Renata. They are sending someone to track the Cerberus so we can be better prepared. Once they get close enough we’ll attack and destroy them. Isaac explains the plan to Nathanial and I.
Forbidden Embrace Page 2