Shadowhunter (Nephilim Quest Book 1)

by Leena Maria

  "Find another option? What option?" I did not understand.

  "People have always dreamt of immortality. They fear death. This fear drives them to extreme actions, when they try to stay truly physically immortal. Some even choose the most extreme measures and volunteer to be infected in order to become vampires." Grandma sighed and sat down on a bench by the wall.

  "As in real blood sucking genuine vampires? Human ones? Are you serious?" I could not believe what I had heard. "You mean someone would actually volunteer to become a creature like that?"

  "Yes. A human who is infected by a Nephilim, and becomes a vampire - if they survive the infection - can go on infecting other people. Some of them survive, and a strange genetic change happens in their bodies. There is barely a pulse, and their life is extended greatly - if they feed often enough," Grandma said. "Blood is the best nourishment - it invigorates their system. And human blood is the best of all. They can drink animal blood as well, but few do so nowadays. In the past it was different - they only took animal lives, but something changed that around 500 BC, or thereabouts. The first vampires to drink human blood appeared around that time in what is today's Turkey."

  "Eww..." I shivered, "are there many of these vampires in the world?"

  "Yes, there are, but not as many as one might think. The reason is that when the human body is infected by the Nephilim virus - for we think it is a virus - by the Nephilim themselves, it causes such a severe illness that not many survive the transformation process. Those that do, however, live long lives. Very long indeed. If a human vampire infects another human, the odds of initial survival are better, but their lives are much shorter, although they can still far exceed those of the ordinary human life span. The vampires have kept their numbers low on purpose, so they won't draw too much attention to their kind and they can hunt in peace. If there was an influx of bloodless bodies in a small area, let alone a lot of humans changed into vampires, then that would certainly draw unwanted attention to their kind. They have strict rules about who is allowed to become a vampire. If a vampire makes another person into a vampire without the permission of their leaders, they don't hesitate - they just destroy the new one," Grandma explained.

  "The ones infected directly by Nephilim are much stronger vampires, and can live on almost forever, if they take care to avoid the things that are dangerous to them. Their bodies also heal themselves amazingly well, so there isn't much they need to avoid in order to stay safe. The human-inflicted vampires are weaker. Despite their extended life span, they eventually grow old and die, if they stay in our physical world. Of course they can also avoid that happening by living in the buffer zone, and that is what most of them do, and only come to our world to feed," Diana said.

  Aemilius bowed slightly to get our attention.

  "I may leave?" he asked.

  "Yes, yes, thank you for explaining what Guardians do," Diana nodded in Aemilius's direction and without further ado he disappeared into the men's locker room.

  "This is unreal... I though vampires were invented creatures." I looked at Diana and Grandma. "How do I recognize a vampire, then?"

  "Many of the clichés do apply. They are cold. They are pale. If they haven't fed in a while, they look sick, and have dark circles around the eyes. And they have an odd smell... Their skin smells sweet. Like fruit about to rot. Just like the skin of the Nephilim. The smell is weaker in those vampires who were infected by a human vampire, rather than one of the Nephilim. Still, if you are close enough to smell the scent, you are probably way too close," Grandma said. "Unfortunately female vampires in particular choose to hide their scent by using heavy perfumes. And to make their skin look healthy by using makeup," she added.

  "And the teeth? They have fangs?" I wanted to know.

  "The ones infected directly by the Nephilim are considered to be some kind of vampire elite... they can prove their origin by their teeth. Like the Nephilim they don't have fangs, but when they attack, their mouths open much wider than those of an ordinary human vampire, and their teeth push out... it is as if the teeth were half inside their skull until they attack and the opening of the jaw forces them out. It's hard to explain, it's almost a mechanical process - you would need to see it happening. Which I hope you never will!" Diana shivered at the memory.

  "And the ones infected by humans? What are their teeth like?" I could hardly believe that I was having this conversation in a gym, with two ordinary looking people, one of whom was my Grandma, for goodness' sake.

  "They're not much different from our own teeth at first glance. But they are sharper, much sharper. They can slice a very deep cut with just the smallest of movements of their teeth against the skin," Grandma clarified.

  "Have you actually seen vampires?" I asked her.

  "Yes, lots of times," she said, "in our travels through time. The vampires also use shadows as their scouts, because they are photosensitive, and prefer moving in the hours of darkness. The shadows don't like sunlight, but they can move in it without being affected by the light as much. So, in my hunt for the shadows, I have occasionally met with their vampire masters too. "

  "Didn't they try to bite you?"

  "If I recognize the shadow belonging to a vampire, I retreat. You learn to recognise them through experience. They are stronger, bigger, and faster than the shadows created by ordinary humans in the buffer zone. Also they feed on animals occasionally, physically eating their flesh. Ordinary shadows created by ordinary people never do that."

  Grandma rose from the bench again and headed for the treadmill.

  "I'm only human, and no match for their speed, so that's why I retreat if I meet a vampire shadow. The best thing to do then is try to warn possible victims from walking alone. Vampires don't want to be seen, and so they prefer lonely prey. Also they prefer young people, whose blood they consider provides better nutrition, so they are not so likely to attack me if there are any young people around. One time was pretty close, though..." Grandma's face revealed the memory was not something she wanted to dwell on, "but someone came to the rescue."

  "Who?" I wanted to know.

  Grandma did not answer. The whole subject was so creepy, I wanted to talk about something else anyway. So I decided to ask about the dream world.

  "What does it look like in the dream world? Lilith was there to meet me when I had my lucid dream."

  "What do dreams look like?" Grandma started walking slowly on the treadmill. "It's a quickly moving environment. Flashes of happenings, sleeping consciousnesses popping to the surface and disappearing again when people wake up. If someone has a very bright consciousness, we follow it to its source, see who it is, and make plans as to whether we should approach them or not."

  "Can the Immortals and vampires and shadows reach that place? And the Nephilim?"

  "Yes. Shadows do. That is how nightmares come about. Running away from some horror that almost catches you is probably the most common sign you have met a shadow in your sleep. Nephilim hardly ever come to the dream zone, though. It seems they have difficulties in moving in the dream world for some reason - also it seems the dark Nephilim don't experience dreams, because you never find their dreams there. Shadows, on the other hand, move freely in the dream world and may find their victims by observing their dreams, to see who are more vulnerable to their attacks. They don't want to attack strong people either, but prefer those that are easier to catch. The things we dream about speak volumes to them." Grandma started jogging, but did not seem out of breath.

  "So they follow the sleepers to see who they are?" I wanted clarification.

  "Indeed they do. And not only to find prey for themselves. If they find out we have an interest in someone, they try to stop us from reaching those people, and we sometimes have to send guardians to be around our chosen ones, until they make their way here. You had one too, just in case. You did not see him often, though. Only during the last few days was he visible to you." Grandma increased speed.

  "Daniel."

  It
wasn't really a question, but an observation.

  "Yes, Daniel. He is one of our best Guardians. He guarded you for months, when you started showing up in the dreamscape. Your light was extraordinary. Knowing who you were, we did not wonder... There was only one occasion, when his attention was taken by other events, and you were almost killed," Grandma frowned at the thought.

  I froze and looked at her.

  Yes. We think the drunk driver was trying to get to you. Kitty got into her way, and you were saved."

  "Why did they want to kill me?"

  "Now that is something we don't understand. We thought they would rather want you alive..." Grandma muttered so I could barely hear her words over the thumping sounds of her jogging.

  "Why? What use would I be to them? Would someone please explain?"

  I suddenly felt a surprising rage rising up my spine. A strong, tingling sensation that spread to my shoulder blades and made my scalp almost itch with energy. It felt the same as sitting on your legs for too long so that they fall asleep. I tried to control the emotion, but it just wouldn't go away. I wondered what was wrong with me these days - usually I could control myself easily, but now I was meeting with strong emotions inside me every day. It had to be all this unbelievable reality I was exposed to.

  Grandma had one look at my face and stopped the treadmill and stepped down.

  "We will explain this all to you, Dana, but not just yet. Trust me, this is for the best now. But you will hear everything in time." She placed her hand over mine, then felt my forehead. "Goodness, you're burning. Are you sure you don't have a fever? Maybe a little hot," she concluded. "Could be all the excitement." She sounded almost uninterested, but I noticed how she carefully avoided looking me in the eye.

  If they thought I did not notice she was hiding something, she was wrong.

  "But Daniel did look after you the best that he could. He was needed elsewhere on many occasions, and when he was away for an extended period, I came to look after you instead. That's why I have popped in for a visit unexpectedly in the past, and also why I came to visit you now, much to your mother's anxiety. We had not seen the shadows around you for ages, despite your light in the dreamscape and did not expect you to be in danger, so I was very surprised at the shadow that crept into your garden. Especially when it must have known I was there," Grandma said. "This shadow must have been an ancient one and very clever, to avoid being detected. And if someone sent a shadow of that kind to hunt you, it means you were in serious danger."

  "Wait, there's something I don't understand... The drunk driver - was she an Immortal, then? You said she was actively trying to kill me!"

  "She was an ordinary woman under shadow influence. Remember how I told you about the shadow that revealed to us the existence of the Book of Watchers? That shadow was waiting for drunken people outside a bar. Desperate, depressed drunken people. These are very close in energies to the energy from which the shadows are made, so there is not much resistance. The woman driving the car was all of that. Badly depressed and drunk. Shadows can control such people. It's like piggy-back riding. They glue themselves to the person who is in that state, and find a way to connect to the lower levels of their mind. Once the connection is made, they can basically just think what they want the person to do, and they are directed to do it. And that was the case here, too. The shadow told the woman to get in her car and drive, despite her intoxication, and she obeyed."

  For the first time I felt sorry for the lady who had killed Kitty. I had had no idea that shadows could do that... well, I had not known of shadows at all.

  "Still, I find it strange that they wanted to kill you..." Grandma was almost talking to herself. Then she suddenly changed the subject. "But that's enough of that for now. Let's tell you about the Hunters. To be a Hunter you need to have second sight. That means you need to be able to see the shadows with your physical eyes. It is a skill not everyone can learn. It is an ability many children have, but they actively want to leave that skill when they grow up. Some still see them as grown-ups, and usually doubt their own sanity because of it. The ones who do, and whom we approach, are usually relieved to hear the shadows are real, and not imaginary creatures. These people are given proper training to kill shadows. To say they are enthusiastic about their jobs, after years of fear and misery, would be something of an understatement to be honest."

  "They cut the cord..."

  "Yes. It can be cut with ordinary weapons too, if the shadow's master isn't paying much attention to its activities and we can take it by surprise. But when the connection is strong, the Shadowmaster can put up quite a fight. They push more energy into their creature - it's a two-way process, they can also take some of the power that these energy-vampires suck into themselves. When the Shadowmaster is fully aware of what's happening, they turn their creature into a veritable killing machine. I just wonder why the teenage preference is to make them look like something out of a bad horror movie..."

  "Do - do the Shadowmasters ever appear themselves?"

  "Only as a last resort. They don't want to risk their immortality, and prefer to let the shadow go, and create a new one. After all, if the shadow is destroyed, the energy they have given it just reels back in to them. It can be hurled back with quite a snap, and it's not pleasant, but they survive it, I have been told."

  "I could see that shadow in the garden," I said, "so do you think I will be a Hunter, then?"

  "Maybe. We need to test your skills in seeing them some more. That means we need to go to the city one evening, to a place where they like to lurk, and see if you can see them for real, or whether the shadow in the garden had simply been made more solid. A Hunter sees them in their 'stealth mode' too." Grandma was chatting almost casually.

  For a brief moment I wondered what other people of my age were talking about with their grandmothers. Certainly not other levels of existence, vampires and shadows... fleetingly, the thought of discussing flower arrangements and theatre and recipes seemed rather alluring compared to the facts of the hidden reality I was being exposed to.

  "Was that invisible person in the bookstore a shadow, then?" I asked.

  Grandma started laughing.

  "No, that would have been Daniel, who came too close to the veil between the lowest buffer zone and our physical world. At the very edge of the buffer zone it can happen that a person standing there appears as a form that seems to be molded out of thin air. One step closer and he would have shown as a more solid form, if still a rather shadowy one. A bit of a creepy sight, isn't it? An invisible man..." she grinned, before continuing, "We need to take Daniel with us on that trip to the city, though. It is potentially very dangerous and things can turn ugly."

  "When are we going?" I turned to Grandma.

  "There's no better moment than the present!" Grandma slapped her hand over mine gently but encouragingly. "We'll leave after we have eaten dinner. You'll be in safe hands with me and Daniel."

  I could only hope Daniel would agree to come with us, after my breaching of the wing-etiquette...

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  35. Merit's Notebook

  The sketchbook became Mr. Donnelly's obsession when he had time to painstakingly translate the next lines. He even sent his servant on errands in order to be able to read and translate in total secrecy.

  "I lay there, dying, when she found me. She walked from the desert as if the sun had no effect on her. She had some kind of an animal skin bottle with her, and she gave me water from it. She carried a piece of cloth on her back, with wooden sticks, and she erected a little tent over me to give me shade. By that time I had already burned my skin. I lost consciousness for a long time. I only remember her giving me water, and humming in a strange way. She must have hunted something, because she began to feed me pieces of dry meat as soon as I could swallow. My burned skin peeled off. When I was strong enough to walk, she forced me to my feet and so we walked. I had no idea how far I had reached from Nabta until I saw the skeletons in the sand.
The huge skeletons of ancient whales, lying where they had died in the ancient sea. I realized I had to be in the Valley of the Whales, the WadiHitan, in Egypt."

  "Imagine that!" Mr. Donnelly exclaimed aloud, "whales in the desert sand? Never heard of such a thing!"

  "I feel so relieved - we are bound to meet some tourists sooner or later!" the writing continued.

  After that there was a hole in the page. Another page had been torn out, or eaten.

  "Ants!" Mr. Donnelly cursed, recognizing what had caused the hole. So this book had been in Egypt, where ants often destroyed any organic material left lying about.

  The text continued.

  "...and we reached the lake. A beautiful, big lake, with crocodiles in it, and a fisher village on its shore. And it was a shock. Elijah - all these people were... ancient. There was nothing modern anywhere. No cars, no TV aerials or dishes , no wrist watches, no brightly colored clothing. No shoes. I fear what this means. I sit here in one of the small mud brick houses, surrounded by women and children who gawk at me, trying to touch my hair all the time. As if they had never seen blonde hair. They speak a language I do not understand at all. I don't even understand the language of the woman who brought me here. I am certain it is not Arabic, though."

  "No!" Mr. Donnelly banged his fist on his table, looked up, scared that someone had heard. The next page was missing - clearly torn away.

  The text continued from mid-sentence.

  "...and this is what I saw from the boat. Elijah - it is a pyramid, and it is whole, not eroded at all. I saw a temple in front of it - and it too was whole. I have no idea how to get back to you! I have no other option but to stay here at Mi-Wer, which is the name of this place of women. How could I send a message to you? Could you come back in time and fetch me? How would you find me now that I have left the stones of Nabta? How could you know how to come to this exact time and place? My heart weeps - I have lost you for good!"