Book Read Free

Requiem of Humanity

Page 19

by Catherine Stovall


  Lilith argued that God may not protect Cain from the demons and that he would die. Cain only assured her to have faith in him and to rejoice because soon she would be with child. At nightfall, Asmodeus ordered his demons into the tomb and Lilith watched her husband descend. She was certain that she would never see him alive again. The demons laughed and jeered, awaiting the screams of Cain. Hours passed and the only sounds were that of the five demons in the tomb growling, snarling, and snapping.

  Lilith pled with Asmodeus to free her husband, sure that he was already dead. Asmodeus laughed and cheered with his demon army. “Your foolish mate has chosen to make a deal with a demon and now he must keep his bargain. He will not come out of the tomb until the sun has set on the third day or he has slain the five demon brothers.” Asmodeus laughed even more loudly at the idea of a mere man slaughtering five demons bare handed.

  Lilith turned back to the tomb just as the door crashed open. As the dust cloud wavered, she held her breath and prayed to the very God who had failed her before. From the haze, only one figure emerged. Cain was triumphant. Each demon had tried to slay him and each had perished as if by an invisible hand. He stood before Asmodeus and Lilith proudly and awaited the demon’s reaction.

  Asmodeus was angry and demanded to know what trickery had Cain done. Cain merely reminded him that he had taken no weapons in and so he had won. Asmodeus stomped his feet and cursed. He spit fire and acid, threatened, and bellowed. Still Cain and Lilith stood their ground. Cain had survived and the demons had perished. The deal was kept. Finally, Asmodeus gave in and granted them their wish. “By the next full moon Lilith will be with child.”

  Lilith and Cain then quickly went back to the Land of Nod where they awaited the next full moon. Upon awakening the morning after the full moon, Lilith announced to Cain that she knew that she would bear him a child. “I can feel it deep inside. I know we have been blessed with child.” Together they celebrated and gave thanks for their unborn child.

  Suddenly a clap of thunder shattered their bliss and the sky grew black as night. The earth trembled beneath their feet and the wind whipped Lilith’s long blonde hair so hard it was nearly torn from her scalp. Cain tried to shield her but the torments rained upon them.

  The angels cried out from all around them at the injustice of their acts. “You have joined in a union not witnessed by God, you have created the child by means of a demon, and you give thanks for this blasphemy!” Their accusations were cast like stones, each bruising the flesh of the two mortals before them.

  Cain and Lilith stood before the light of God, stripped of their worldly possessions and bared naked so that the angels’ outraged blows could more easily tear their flesh. Then all fell quiet and the voice of God was the only sound. “You have still not learned what you and all the sons and daughters of Adam must know. For your selfish love and your heinous sins, I must punish you. I will not tear you from each other’s limbs because you are better mated, so that you will not taint the rest of human kind, but I lay this curse upon you. For your sins Cain, you will never father a child that shall not hunger for the blood of man. Your children will kill their human brothers as you have done. For your sins Lilith, you shall never bear a child that will be equal to those who have been born to Adam and Eve. Your children shall be creatures of the night alone.”

  Lilith and Cain tried to protest but they had not the power to speak. God then called upon Asmodeus and he appeared beside Cain and Lilith to stand judgment. “Asmodeus, for your part in this catastrophe, for every child that Lilith conceives a hundred of your demon children will die. You should not play at being a god when you are such a lowly creature.”

  With his final curse issued, Lilith and Cain were cast back into Nod and Asmodeus was cast back into the Red Sea. This was the beginning of vampire kind and the beginning of a feud that has lasted throughout all time. Lilith and Cain bore their first child and she was Lamashtu, the Goddess of Vampires. The day of Lamashtu’s birth, one hundred of Asmodeus’ demons died. Asmodeus swore vengeance against Cain and Lilith and all of their children. From that day forward, demons and vampires began a violent and bloody war.

  Asmodeus, Cain, and Lilith still shared one common thread. All had sworn vengeance on God for the harshness of their punishments. Asmodeus swore that he would rule the earth with his demon army and cast God from his own followers’ hearts. Lilith and Cain swore to populate the earth and steal the lives of all humans who worshipped under God. Asmodeus loosed thousands of demons on to the earth and it is said that Lilith and Cain still live, hidden away, and that their children are the most powerful vampires known. Had demons and vampires chose to work together the war may have been won long before now. Instead, it still rages in the darkness, good against evil and demons against vampires.

  35

  Suddenly the Mercedes veered to the right so hard that Jenda was thrown hard against Matteo’s chest. A horn blared from behind them and an angry driver made obscene gestures towards the back of their car. Jenda shot Soborgne a look that clearly said, “What are you doing, trying to kill us?”

  Soborgne understood that look. She had seen it many times before. “What? I have to get out of this car. Do you realize we have been driving for three and half hours? While you two are back there all comfy I’m up here doing all the work.”

  Jenda just rolled her eyes as they pulled into the parking lot of one of those overlit super convenience stores that can always be found on the side of interstates. Almost as soon as the car was stopped, Soborgne leaped out and ran inside the store. Jenda looked worriedly after her. She did not understand what was happening with Soborgne but there was something very wrong with her best friend.

  Jenda had been watching Soborgne in the car while Matteo had been telling them the story of Lilith and Cain. There were times when her best friends eyes had clouded over and sadness had permeated her features to such an extent that Jenda felt her own spirits sink. Surely, this couldn’t still be about the car. Maybe Soborgne was missing her family. Jenda knew she missed her own. There was just no way to go back to them. That part of their lives was over. She knew that it wasn’t safe to return. She, Soborgne, and Matteo would never age, would never grow, and in reality everyone thought they were dead long before now.

  Matteo was there whispering in her ear, interrupting her thoughts. “Jenda, go get Soborgne. Move quickly, but not fast enough to attract attention. Get her and get in the car. We must go.”

  Jenda turned to ask why but Matteo stopped her short with one word, “Dracul.” She still did not know who the Dracul were but she understood that they were bad and if Matteo was afraid then she should be too.

  Jenda burst into the women’s bathroom but could not immediately see Soborgne. She had assumed her friend would be here primping since they no longer had need of the toiletries with their new vampire bodies. She turned to exit the bathroom when she heard an unmistakable sniffle. Jenda approached the door and stuck her face very close to the door. She whispered as softly as possible, “Sobo, we have to leave, now. The Dracul have found us.”

  The bathroom door slammed open and Soborgne was on the move, grabbing Jenda by the hand and pulling her along. Jenda tensed and pulled her arm out of Soborgne’s grip. “Matteo said to hurry but not to draw attention. Slow down and wipe your face.”

  Soborgne glanced into the mirror. The blood tears that she had wept in the stall had left pink stains down her cheeks and still hovered in the corners of her eyes. Soborgne grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser and wiped her face roughly. Without a word, she grabbed Jenda’s hand and the girls headed as casually to the car as they could. They found Matteo in the driver seat with the engine running. Again no one spoke. Fear had them choking on their own words. As soon as the car doors shut, they were speeding away.

  It was a very quiet and nervous three-mile journey before anyone spoke. During this time, Soborgne had time to think, to cope, and to rationalize. As she had listened to Matteo’s story, she had felt li
ke she herself had been Lilith. She had felt anger, sorrow, remorse, love, fear, and pain. She had wanted to seek vengeance on God. She wanted to give birth to hundreds of demonic children. It had all been so real. The worst part was that images from the strange dream she had the night before kept weaving their way into the scenes.

  She rationalized that the telepathy was what made the story so powerful. She kept telling herself that the strangeness of the dream had brought it to mind. The telepathy was growing stronger. She knew that the cashier at the gas station had thought she was beautiful even if she needed a tan. She knew the driver that she’d cut off had called her some very creative names. She knew that when Jenda found her in the bathroom crying that she thought Soborgne was losing her vampire mind.

  She had to pull herself together. She was not human anymore. Being a vampire was apparently dangerous. She had to help Matteo and Jenda as much as she could. Her choice to not become a day walker had cost them and she was not going to be even more of a burden by weeping in the women’s room of roadside gas stations while dangerous vampires hunted them.

  Matteo’s body relaxed and he stopped checking the rearview every thirty-five seconds. Soborgne could not read his thoughts. When she tried, she only saw an image of a large vault like you would see in a safe. She didn’t need telepathy to know that the immediate danger had passed. Men were easy to read even if you couldn’t see into their heads. She leaned up between the seats and asked cheerfully, “Matteo, can you show me how you do that whole vault thing with your mind?”

  Startled by the question, Matteo stared at her quizzically for a moment. “First, tell me how much your mind reading has progressed.” He sounded impressed but Jenda could feel concern beneath his words.

  “Well it started shortly after I woke up and it just seems to be getting stronger. I can see images of what other people are thinking. Kind of like a silent movie, you know?”

  “Yes. I know exactly what you mean. Soon it will change so that you get actual thoughts with the images. Sometimes the words will be stronger than the images, other times it will be the other way. It mainly depends on the person’s mind.” Matteo looked thoughtful. Soborgne was progressing very quickly. Most fledglings did not begin to read minds for months after the transformation. “Jenda, are you able to do this as well?”

  Jenda shook her head. “I tried back at the shack but I couldn’t. I would have sent you an image of a car with a higher safety rating.”

  Soborgne laughed hard and for that moment, she looked so much like the girl she had been. The girls giggled and spent the next hour reminiscing about old times in the overpriced death trap. Meanwhile, Matteo nodded and smiled like he was paying attention to them but he was lost in his own thoughts. Reading images from others’ minds and transmuting her own thoughts to him from miles away took a lot of power. More power than any fledgling should have. She hadn’t received Belle’s blood. Soborgne had been fed on a mixture of fledglings, humans, and his own. The only way to become this powerful was to be born a child of Lilith or to be changed by one of the elders. Something very strange was happening and Matteo’s blood ran cold.

  Jenda finally gained the courage to ask the question that had been running through her head. “How did you know the Dracul were coming?”

  Matteo reached across the seat and patted her hands which lay folded in her lap. “The Dracul are powerful and once you have developed your gifts then you will be able to sense them as well. It is an indescribable feeling. It is like standing too close to a power source of some kind. The electricity of it makes your hair stand on end and you can feel your skin tingle in fear and anticipation of that deadly shock. Luckily, I sensed them in time because I was watching for them. I was casting out, trying to identify if any of them were getting close.”

  Jenda tried not to look so disappointed but it was hard not to be. She was consumed with fear. She was afraid that Matteo would find her lacking as a vampire and as a woman. What if she never read minds, never grew stronger, what if she turned out to be an immortal weakling. Matteo could read her concern but was gentlemanly enough to not let her know. Besides, he was being sufficiently distracted by the enticing way her lips were puckered and the corners of her mouth tucked in. The girl was irresistible when she pouted.

  Unfortunately, Soborgne was not as kind. “OMG…really Jenda? Seriously! You have always done better than me at everything and now that I happen to be advancing a little faster, for whatever reason, you think you are going end up being the worst vampire in existence. Puhleaase! Just cut the pity trip already and start enjoying the adventure.”

  Jenda’s face flushed red. Half embarrassed and half-angry she turned on Soborgne and spat the most hateful thing she could think of. “Just because you are a drama queen in life and death doesn’t mean the rest of us have to bow down to you. How dare you invade my private thoughts and then insult me. Some best friend you are! You are nothing but a corpse with attitude.”

  Both girls stared at each other for a moment in silence. Their faces were mirror images. Shock and frustration shone from their every pore. Matteo tensed, waiting to see if he’d have to try to keep them from ripping each other’s throats out. Then they shocked him by erupting in laughter all over again. Shaking his head, Matteo muttered, “Women, who can understand them?”

  Slightly out of breath and smiling up at him Jenda asked, “So tell us, dear teacher, what shall we expect to become? What fantastical things can we do now that we have become creatures of the night?” She teased him further by gently pulling at a lock of his hair while she batted her eyes, “Can we fly, turn into bats, walk through walls, or hypnotize unsuspecting virgins?” That sent both girls in to giggles again.

  “You two certainly like to watch corny old movies don’t you?” Matteo was laughing right alongside them and Jenda could sense the happiness inside him. Actually, now that she thought about it, she had been picking up weird sensations from everyone around her since the change. She had only been around a couple people at the gas station but she definitely thought that Soborgne had aroused the clerk. Most of it was coming from Soborgne and Matteo. She had understood more completely everything they had spoken of because of this extra sense. She hadn’t thought about it at the time but now it seemed so obvious. It wasn’t images or words, just feelings.

  Matteo’s words interrupted her reflection and she decided to wait to mention it because she wanted to listen to that beautiful, manly voice. She wanted it to lull her into that state of peace she so needed.

  “There are a few physical appearance things that come with the deluxe creature feature package that you two should love.” Matteo grinned and squeezed her hand. Jenda loved that he hadn’t taken his hand off hers this whole time. “You will never age, no wrinkles for you two gorgeous things. As long as you are drinking blood, you will heal much faster than humanly possible. You can withstand much more trauma to your body than a human can. So no scars or scabs, your body will just make itself right. If you cut your hair, it will simply grow back within the next 24 to 48 hours. Can’t keep it dyed either. It just fades out in about the same time. You’ll have the longest, most durable fingernails in existence. You can claw through almost anything if you need to. However, I don’t advise it because it can be uncomfortable. You can’t gain weight, you can’t get sick, and you can’t be sunburned. Especially you Soborgne because you are not going anywhere near the sun while you are not a day walker.”

  Soborgne barely caught the joke. Her mind was running rampant. “Wait, you mean I can dye my hair neon pink and tomorrow it will be black again and if I shave myself bald it will grow back the next day? Wow! What about body piercings? Can vampires have piercings or do they heal to quick?”

  Matteo looked at Jenda in dismay but Jenda was grinning madly. She just caught on to what Soborgne was thinking and the excitement was catching up with her. They could change their appearance daily. They could try all the crazy and disastrous things they had never dared to do before. “What about tatt
oo’s? Can vampires get tattoos?” Jenda had always wanted to get a little heart tattooed on the back of her neck. It would be her own secret rebellion that she could hide away anytime she wanted and show when she felt like it.

  “Yes, yes, it depends, and I don’t know. We could try it but I don’t think it would work.” Matteo was still looking a little bit off kilter over their enthusiasm for hair dye, body metal, and ink.

  “So wait, we can dye our hair, cut our hair, and it depends on what with the piercings, and I don’t think we want to try the tattoo considering the face you made.” Soborgne was fired up now.

  “If you left the piercing in for too long it might literally become part of your skin but it may work if we used wood but that hurts like hell so I don’t suggest it.” Matteo was getting a little excited too.

  “Okay, so what about other stuff besides the good looks and reconstruction of our bodies?” Soborgne stuck her tongue out at Jenda and laughed. Jenda hated to interrupt the fun but she wanted to know more about what to expect. She was also secretly hoping that Matteo might mention something about being able to sense people’s feelings.

  “Well, wood hurts us, especially a stake through the heart, fire kills us, and so does beheading as long as the head is separated far enough from the body that it can’t be placed back on. Crosses don’t bother us. I actually find them beautiful. We can go into churches and garlic is as ineffective as any other food to our bodies. You can take a bath in holy water and it will be just the same. However, we don’t have as much need to bathe as humans. Our skin and hair is kind of dirt resistant if you will. I still enjoy them and still partake in them, especially since the invention of indoor plumbing. The longer you live the stronger you are as long as you are drinking blood. You can’t starve a vampire to death. It will be madness that kills them. They will stake themselves or throw themselves into the sun if given a chance. Once you have lived a century or two you can actually stop drinking for a long time and be fine. In fact, there are elders who live as statues. Never moving, never speaking, and only drinking once every so many decades. They are treated as gods in some remote areas.”

 

‹ Prev