Maya shoved the glass of blood through the bars to Soborgne as she cursed in pain. “It always hurts. Vampire blood is no pleasant thing.”
Desperate not to just bolt the entire glass down her throat again, Soborgne tried to sip it slowly while waiting for Maya to finish healing. Once her arm was closed up, Maya wiped away the bloodstains and said, “Ok, here’s the deal. You want out, you want to save your nasty little red headed friend, and I want what’s rightfully mine. This is how we are going to do it.”
The girls spoke long into the night making plans and Maya shared what knowledge she had of Soborgne’s captors. Soborgne quickly realized that Maya wasn’t nearly as informed as she thought herself to be and many of the answers the girl supplied were less helpful than Soborgne had hoped they would be.
Finally, all plans were made and Maya gathered herself to leave. As the girl walked away, Soborgne couldn’t help but feel the confusing mass of feeling coming from the servant girl. She could not decipher them into any actual images or thoughts and this only increased Soborgne’s uneasiness. Maya felt so much malice towards everyone, so much hate. She was selfish and cruel and Soborgne was not sure she should have trusted her.
26
Back in the study, Belle continued with her story. Jenda could feel the end approaching and a rising fear was building in her. Soon she would know everything and then what would become of her? She didn’t even notice Matteo moving from the room quietly.
“On my own again after so many years, I was lost. I traveled the world until one day I decided on a strange path. I would find my family. I had no surviving children of my own but there were others that shared my blood. I would pass my time by tracing them and their offspring and perhaps I would choose one to become my acolyte in eternal life.
“I traveled the world in search of those who were my blood, beginning back in the old country. I traced them through my mother’s bloodline so that I would know that the connection was pure and not tainted by the adultery of men. There were many but none with the spark that I was searching for. During my exhausting hunt, I met Matteo. We were in Italy then but that is a story he himself may share with you on another night. Our shared interests brought us together and that is how we have stayed for many years.” Only now did Jenda notice his absence from the room and idly wondered where he had gone.
“In 1973, we were back here in the States. We spent our time in San Francisco, near the famous Haight-Ashbury. We were enjoying ourselves immensely, feeding on the burnt out hippies left over from the Summer of Love and the wasted youth that still congregated there. Those poor street urchins that lived to rebel and gathered towards what they believed to be the “true life”. We had followed a young woman there who was a direct descendent of my sister’s. Her name was Ashley May.
“Ashley was a beauty but when I finally discovered her she was seven months pregnant. I had no desire to reproduce my own history by approaching her and offering her the gift once she’d recovered from the birth of the child. Normal, modern women tend to turn away from the abandonment or murder of their offspring unless it takes place in some shiny office building with clinical doctors overseeing the entire process. It’s as if they believe the presence of steel, surgical instruments and a polite office assistant can wash away the ugly truth.
“Instead, I only watched her haphazardly while Matteo and I enjoyed the California life and I planned our next journey. It was the day before we were to leave for Ireland that I discovered that Ashley had given birth to a daughter. I went to see the child myself and fell deeply in love with her. I learned her name from the minds of those around her, Felicity Dawn. I was ecstatic that I had finally found all that I had been looking for. Her blonde hair was true to her heritage and her tiny infant body was beautifully formed. I made my decision then and there that this child would be my heir to eternity.
“Matteo and I left as planned but I had much work to do. I developed, through my many human connections, trust funds for the child and its mother. Lawyers lied, as they do best, and told Ashley that the money came from a great aunt’s estate. The child and mother were given every luxury. I kept my distance though, not trusting myself to withhold Felicity’s destiny until the time was right.
“Time is not as tangible when that is all you have and the years passed quickly. I kept an eye on Felicity through private investigators who were so discreet neither mother or child ever knew. These humans thought that I was some benevolent and creepy grandmother who had lost contact with Ashley when she’d run away years before. I let them believe those self-created lies and used my mind to help them along when needed.
“The year Felicity was to turn seventeen I knew I had to come home to the States. It was time to claim my child. What I hadn’t counted on was losing my prize to some Irish scum. Upon returning to San Francisco, I learned that my investigators no longer kept as close an eye on Felicity as they should have been. The girl had fallen into ruins. Ashley had fought a losing battle with cocaine addiction and the loss of her mother had driven Felicity to much the same. Now tainted with drugs and knocked up by her Irish born pimp, my heir was nothing to me. Wasted hope, years, and money were all I saw when I looked at the girl.
“I was in such a rage that I murdered two of the investigators in their beds and would have done the same with the third but he died of a heart attack before I could drain his blood. Next, I went after that damnable pimp that sold Felicity to dirty men in old, beat up trucks and paid her in drugs. I broke every bone in his body as he cried for his “ma” before slitting his throat. Not even I would drink the blood of such scum.
“At this time, Felicity was seven months pregnant. I was determined to walk away and not waste any more time with illusions and dreams. Then something unexpected happened. As I slit the Irish dog’s throat, she stumbled into the room. In my anger, I had not heard her enter the little shack through the backdoor. As pale and broken as she was, I could still see the blood drain from her face. She tried to scream but all that came out was a horrible moan. She bent over her small, swollen belly as a rush of bloody water poured from her womb.
“The shock of seeing her lover, her pimp, her dealer, her child’s father dead at my feet had sent her into labor. I fled quickly, calculating each new idea with precise decision. I called the local authorities, pretending to be a concerned neighbor who was convinced that horrible man was killing that pregnant girl. I just hoped they would make it before Felicity bled to death in that dirty, ramshackle hell.
“They did make it. Another little girl was born to another undeserving mother. I couldn’t give up my obsession; I had to try once more. This time would be different though. This time I would leave nothing to chance. I used my mental persuasion and forced Felicity into signing the papers to abandon her sweet little baby. It nearly broke the girl in half when she finally lost that mental war. The state would have taken the baby anyway but I needed to make sure. I toyed with the minds of the nurses and the staff. The social workers who came and went were under my influence as well. Anyone who came near the little, red haired darling loved her and that was the only thing I did not make happen. I encouraged it finally when one of the nurses and her husband decided to take the child in. I helped them along as best I could. I knew under their care that the child would be safe. From that first moment, you held everyone in the palm of your hand. You drew people to you, so little and innocent and without consciousness you began to conquer the world.”
Belle let the last words hang in the air surrounded by the silence of the room. The only sound was the crackling of fire. Jenda’s mouth hung open, she was so shocked, and yet she had known somehow. She had felt it deep in her bones somehow. She was Belle’s heir. She was the long awaited link in the chain. She was that child and this spiteful and psychotic vampire had destroyed her whole life and the lives of the women before her.
Seeing that Jenda was still wrestling with this new piece of information, Belle began to talk to her again. “You see Jenda, it’s b
een you I have always waited for, and I am the reason you have always felt something missing because you were born knowing your destiny. I have strategically influenced many things to have you here with me on this night. I am the reason your family fled Chicago. I have kept vigilance all these years, ensuring your safety and comfort. I am the reason your friend Soborgne awaits you now, a gift from mother to child. You shall have your playmate in your new life just as you did in your old. It is time now that you are brought into your destiny.”
As Belle rose to meet her, Jenda’s only thought was about Soborgne. She was near to her; even in this horror, they would be together.
27
Matteo went quickly to the stairwell that led to the lower chambers. He moved with the mechanical precision of a man who could not stop the oncoming events but had no desire to follow through with his actions. With his vampire gifts, he needed no light to guide him down the stairs. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Jenda, of eternity, and of right and wrong. He knew he was selfish to allow Belle to bring the girl over but his love would not let him watch her grow old and wither and his desire to have Belle’s blood would not allow it either.
He had travelled the world and been Belle’s playmate and whipping boy for too long to give it up. His story was a long, sad tale of loss and pain. Even his rebirth as a vampire had come at a heavy price that he regretted paying every day of his life. For centuries, he had roamed wanting only two things, to find his soul mate and to walk beneath the rays of the sun. When he found Belle, she had promised him both. Now on the eve of their destiny, he couldn’t fight the urge to whisk Jenda from Belle’s grasp and murder his vampire cohort so that she could never give either Jenda or himself a drop of her evil blood.
Preoccupied by these thoughts Matteo did not sense the presence lurking in the shadows by the stairs. He did not recognize Soborgne’s growing anticipation as more than hunger. He reached the bars of the cage to find her there snarling and snapping like a rabid dog. He knew he must unlock the door. He knew he must complete the transformation. Yet, he stood there dumbfounded. Even though he looked directly at the girl, it was not her face he saw. He was seeing Jenda, eyes black with anger and red with hunger. He was seeing her pure monster instead of pliable and loving woman child.
Shaking his head and determined to follow through with his plan, he unlocked the door and stepped inside the cell. Soborgne crouched into a fighting stance, a growl rising from the back of her throat. Before the girl could attack, Matteo snatched her up like a wriggling puppy and held her to him. He did not speak or attempt to comfort her. He simply sank his teeth into her neck and drank deeply. With the first letting of blood, Soborgne swooned and her anger subsided. Matteo drank until her heart sputtered and then forced his wrist into her mouth.
Hungrily, Soborgne drank in deep choking gulps. The pain seared through her body even as her mind became more focused and her world became clear. She tightened her grip on Matteo’s arm, preparing to give Maya the signal but as her mind formed the thought Matteo saw it in her blood. Rage filled him and he grabbed Soborgne by the throat, pinning her against the wall as he turned towards the open door of the cell. He had realized what was about to happen just in time to see Maya coming through the door with a wooden stake in her hand.
The two had conspired to kill him. Maya had promised that if Soborgne helped her kill the vampires in the house that she would help free Soborgne and Jenda. All the girl had asked for in return was for Soborgne to change her before they fled. When in truth Maya had planned to kill Jenda too. She had known that by the time Matteo came to change Soborgne that Belle would have already begun changing Jenda. Maya would know that when they killed Matteo that Belle would have killed everyone in her path, including her red haired fledgling.
Matteo could have almost pitied the little peasant girl if she hadn’t been bent on destroying Jenda. He remembered when they had first brought Maya here. How haughty and beautiful she had been. How she would have done anything for love and money. Now her heart’s desire was blood. Well, he would give her blood.
With one quick motion, Matteo slammed his hand into Maya’s chest. The girl stopped in mid run and her eyes grew impossibly wide as her mouth gaped open. Matteo could feel the girl’s heart still beating in his hand. The essence of life, the fourth chakra, the seat of the soul, her heart struggled in his grasp. Matteo tightened his grip and looked deep into her liquid brown eyes and he whispered, “Goodnight sweet child. May the lord forgive us all.” With one fluid motion, still holding Soborgne against the other wall one handed, Matteo ripped Maya’s heart from her chest. He brought the blood-filled organ to his mouth and drank a small amount before turning back to Soborgne.
He could not blame the poor girl. She had been fighting for what she thought was right. Fighting to save Jenda, the woman they both loved. He would not punish Soborgne; he could not rob her of the eternal life he had only moments ago given her. No, she was meant as a gift to Jenda. Soborgne must live so she could help Jenda transition into her destiny with ease and happiness. He released Soborgne and watched as she slipped dumbfounded to the floor, still numb and weak from the change. He dropped the still warm organ into her hands and walked away, locking the cell door behind him.
28
Jenda was burning. The fire was engulfing her body. She could see nothing but the fog that filled her mind and could feel nothing but the searing, hot flames that seemed to be consuming her from the inside out. She wanted to scream. It hurt so badly. She knew she would die. No one could live through such pain. No one could ever know this torture and live. Her mind was separating itself from her body. She still burned but at least now that she was in the fog she could think.
In flashes, her mind showed her pictures from her past. She saw her adoptive mother and father smiling down on her with love. She saw Janine standing at the front door looking frightened as a woman with familiar eyes peered past the entryway to stare at Jenda. She saw her grandmother wrapped in a quilt before a fire. She saw Soborgne laughing in the sun. All those whom she knew and loved flashed before her eyes. Then with a sudden shock that dulled the pain for a mere fraction of a second, she saw Matteo. Saw him laughing freely and heard his booming voice echo through her mind.
Suddenly the burning began to ease. The pain wasn’t as wide spread. It had a core and all the heat was emaciating from it. It still hurt like hell but Jenda could sense the worst was over. Was she dying now? Was it finally coming to an end? She thought of Neil, Janine, Sobo, and Matteo. She wished she could tell them goodbye. She wished she had known Matteo in some other way. She wished she could have told Sobo how much she had meant to her.
Jenda could feel her heart sputtering in her chest like a bird with broken wings. The pitiful, off-beat stuttering told her she had little time left. The fog was so thick now that she couldn’t make out anything but the thick grayness surrounding her. She was about to begin to build her world. If she were going to die, it would be on her version of consecrated ground. Before she could even construct the first step, Jenda felt something press against her mouth. She could feel a thick liquid filling her and then the flames grew white inside her veins again. Her heart leapt hard against her chest, its beating going from slow and uneven to fast and erratic.
“Oh my God! No, no, no!” Was all Jenda could think. This wasn’t death. This was being changed. Belle was making her a vampire, a monster, an inhuman soulless being. She could feel the pin prick of Belle’s teeth now, could feel the pulling on her veins from the same spot. They were sharing blood! Jenda tried desperately to regain control of her body. She fought through the fog so hard that it did start to clear. Trying to ignore the painful burning, Jenda struggled to find the surface.
29
Matteo burst into the room only to find that his worst fears were correct. Belle stood behind Jenda, both women facing the door. Belle’s face was buried in Jenda’s neck, one arm snaked its way around the girl’s waist to support her weight while the other was press
ed against Jenda’s mouth. The two were locked in a fatal embrace. Matteo felt the rage build inside of him. If he acted now it would kill Jenda, Belle had almost completely changed her. He couldn’t stand by and watch this perversion continue but he could not risk losing the love of his life now that he had finally found her.
Even as he stood there trying to fight the urge to tear the two women apart and slaughter Belle, he saw that the deed was done. Belle broke her wrist free from Jenda’s mouth and raised her own from Jenda’s slender neck. Without even glancing towards Matteo, Belle turned Jenda to face the window behind them. “The world is now ours, my daughter. We shall rule the night and the day, goddesses in our own right.”
Jenda’s face was reflected in the glass and Matteo could see the emotions crossing over her features. Terror turned to shock, then acceptance, and finally awe. He knew what she was seeing. He could remember his first moments when his vampire senses took over and the world took on a completely new light. He took a step forward, forgetting his animosity, only wanting to share this moment with her. His movement startled her and Jenda turned, hissing at the unknown threat. Belle held the girl to her side and within seconds a look of recognition spread over Jenda’s face in the form of a welcoming smile.
Jenda held her arms out to him and softly whispered his name. She beckoned him into her embrace with her languid green eyes. Belle chuckled softly, “Well Matteo, despite your doubts it seems that half of our bargain has been completed. I have given you your soul mate and we shall share eternity.”
Ignoring Belle’s words and trying to forget her presence, Matteo rushed into Jenda’s open arms. As their lips met, warmth spread through him and his heart knew hers. Jenda stood up on her toes to deepen the kiss. She tightened her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his. She bit into her tongue and a small amount of blood passed between the lovers.
Requiem of Humanity Page 15